Hi, I’m Polterbooks but you can call me Polter or if you really want to call me by my name it’s Santiago (Tiago/Santi/Tia are also acceptable). I use he/they pronouns mostly and identify as transmasc/agender. I live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and am nearing my 30s. I’ve had a passion for horror books since I was very little when I would huddle up under my blankets and read Scary Stories to Read in the Dark well past what my mother considered was an appropriate bedtime. I learned early on that I was a part of the LGBTQ+ community but it took me a long time to figure out where exactly I stood on the spectrum and even longer to understand that it’s a spectrum and not a line for a reason. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I discovered queer horror books and honestly, I haven’t looked back since. My favorite queer horror authors include Rivers Solomon and Chuck Tingle but I’m still exploring so many new authors. Some of my favorite tropes/subgenres in horror include cannibalism, horror fantasy, psychological horror, angels, eldritch monsters, and loving monsters for who they are.

This quest is meant to be a safe space for queer folks and their allies who want to discuss horror. Horror here will have a little bit of a loose definition, as sometimes books that have horror elements aren’t always labelled as “horror” by their publishers (example: Pet by Akwaeke Emezi). This quest should have a mix of indie and traditionally published books and should go over a wide range of sexual, gender, romantic, ethnic, national, and racial identities i.e. this should be a diverse quest. I will give fair warning that a lot of these books will include common triggers and phobias, so please look up content/trigger warnings if you know there are certain things you do not want to read. Horror is an incredibly diverse genre but it’s also a space in which we can explore taboo or uncomfortable subjects in a healthy way. However, you should also be conscientious of what you handle and do not feel that you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone if it’s going to affect you in a negative way. My number one goal is to bring us together through common interests, not hurt or discourage any of us.

Please feel free to introduce yourself below with your name/what you want to be called and any thing else you want to tell us (don’t feel pressured!). I would also love to hear what you want out of this quest forum (community, forum games, in-depth conversations, seasonal readalongs, etc) but please save recommendations for the book recommendation post going forward so I can find them easily (but you can still talk about your favorite/influential books).

That being said: WELCOME! PLEASE HAVE FUN! Please note that no transphobia, sexism, racism, homophobia, or otherwise exclusive or prejudiced beliefs will be tolerated. Treat others with dignity and respect.

Want more horror books recommendations? Here’s my directory of specific and niche horror lists Recommend books for this quest here! Discuss what kind of books you want to see for this quest

Look, I work with kids and have seen some very … unique names, but wtf were the parents thinking with Misery 😂

I find it hilarious that the FMC's name is Misery (fitting considering her situation) when her twin brother has a completely normal name... and why are the werewolves called Weres? That is... the worst