The horror genre has always given filmmakers a fearless way to explore what society considers unusual. It can challenge social expectations while telling powerful stories about identity, fear and desire.
It is no surprise that LGBTQ+ stories often thrive in horror and science fiction.
For years, filmmakers told queer stories through homoerotic subtext. This was especially common in movies and television. Today, more films and TV shows can tell openly queer stories.
From gay vampires to sapphic slashers, here are six LGBTQ+ horror films and TV shows to binge-watch this Halloween.
Interview with the Vampire (2022)
Let the story seduce you with Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. The 2022 American gothic horror series adapts Rice’s famous novels.
Rolin Jones created the series for AMC. It now has three seasons.
The first two seasons focus on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac and his stormy romance with Lestat de Lioncourt.
The third season, now titled The Vampire Lestat, aired in June this year. It explores Lestat’s origins as he travels across America on a concert tour.
Louis’ journey towards accepting his homosexuality is one of the show’s most compelling queer stories. His struggle with his sexuality also mirrors his struggle with his vampiric nature.
Many characters also reject traditional ideas about gender and sexuality. Their status as supernatural beings allows the series to explore identity in a fluid way.
Leviticus (2026)
Anyone order more religious guilt?
Adrian Chiarella’s ‘Leviticus’ is a coming-of-age romantic supernatural horror film about two teenage boys being haunted by a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most – each other.
The horror of ‘Leviticus’ lies beyond the blood and the demonic possession; it is also in the still-present notion that queerness is something one must be scared of.
At a Q&A session in January during the movie’s premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, Chiarella said ‘Leviticus’ was “inspired by stories about conversion therapy, but really it’s about being afraid of your own desires.”
First Kill (2022)
Romeo and Juliet but make it lesbian and a forbidden love between a vampire and a vampire hunter.
‘First Kill’ is a 2022 Netflix series created by bestselling author V.E. Schwab.
“Falling in love is tricky for teens Juliette and Calliope: One’s a vampire, the other’s a vampire hunter, and both are ready to make their first kill,” read the show’s synopsis.
The young adult supernatural romance series had been groundbreaking and would have been many queer kids’ version of ‘Twilight’.
Unfortunately, Netflix cancelled the show after the first season, much to the fans’ dismay.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)
A horror marathon will not be complete without a good slasher.
Immerse yourself in a blood-soaked world of desire and fear with Jane Schoenbrun’s ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’.
“A director making a slasher sequel becomes obsessed with casting the original film’s ‘final girl,’ leading both women into psychological and sexual chaos,” said the film’s IMDb synopsis.
Starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ was dubbed by Variety as a “delicious” homage to slasher films, but, of course, with a sapphic twist.
The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)
“You said it was a ghost story. It isn’t. It’s a love story.” … “Same thing, really.”
Created by Mike Flanagan and released on Netflix, ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ follows Dani, a young American woman who, upon being hired as an au pair for a wealthy family in England, began seeing apparitions in the estate.
It is the second instalment in Flanagan’s ‘The Haunting’ anthology series, with its predecessor being ‘The Haunting of Hill House’.
Without any spoilers, Bly Manor is as much a tragic sapphic romance as it is a horror story because of the relationship between Dani and Jamie. You will just have to watch the show to understand why that is.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
It may be the oldest entry on this list, but no one can really resist the embodiment of camp that is ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’.
The 1975 musical horror comedy is considered a cult classic and a must-watch — or rewatch — during Halloween.
Despite being shown in the conservative 70s, Jim Sharman’s ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ was way ahead of its time with its exploration of sexuality.
Just picture a flamboyant and erotic Tim Curry in fishnets singing about being a “sweet transvestite from trans-sexual Transylvania” — iconic, isn’t it?
If you’re looking for something delightfully and outrageously queer with plenty of the usual horror elements still present, then this one’s for you.
