I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books!

This collection was so fun. In addition to being a horror collection with queer protagonists at the forefront of the stories, so many of them were BIPOC! It made a fun blend of culturally specific narratives and lore as well as stories that you think you know but are completely flipped on their heads.

Read this book because there’s bound to be something for you in here.

I love a good YA anthology. A few of these stories were too creepy for me (I’m a big chicken) but otherwise I really enjoyed it. I think the audiobook edition of this will be great if they do it well!

3.5/5 stars
I REALLY enjoyed reading this set of short stories. I wasn't sure what to expect given that I'm not a huge horror lover but I do love short stories and this cover and title really got my attention. I appreciated the depth and insight that many of these stories were able to communicate in such a short number of pages, and there was a lot of creativity in these stories. Some of them were relatively predictable in their endings or weren't exceptionally surprising, but I still really enjoyed how I could relate and empathize with many of the primary characters of these stories.

This book is fun! There's references to all sorts of things that really scream Queer Halloween, like Buzzfeed Unsolved and hardcore costumes. A lot of the stories were really entertaining, with my personal favorites being "Guested," "In You to Burn," and "Hey There, Demons."

I think my biggest complaint is the vastly different tones of each story. Moving from "Guested" to "Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle" is incredibly jarring, as one's a fun story with a dark speculative ending, and the other is a harrowing tale of a hate crime and the fear the central character feels towards his attackers. Neither story is bad, and in fact, "Rocky Road" is a standout piece in its writing and execution, but it's hard to prepare for. Please be aware of the content in the book as you pick it up, and prepare yourself for the stories that cover subject matter that could be hard to read for you specifically. That's the danger of horror; one thing may scare someone way more than something else, and vice versa.

Overall, a fun short story collection I will likely recommend to others!

Absolutely fantastic if I do say so myself. 13 spooky queer stories on the 13th moon of the year, all written by BIPOC authors. The stories range from funny, to heartfelt, to downright terrifying. A perfect Halloween read :)

I'll admit that I hardly read anthologies, unless they're horror, or queer, but mostly horror. This collection blew me away several times and left me feeling better for it. There's nothing more camp, and warm, and safe, than reading about unapologetic queerness. The dark, beautiful, raw, unsettling kind. The soft, loving, patient, gentle kind, too. This features a list of authors I have heard of, but haven't read, and authors I've read before. What I appreciate more is the fact that this anthology is more than queer, it centers around ethnic diversity. I'll quote below the beautiful introduction.

"As queer women of color, we often feel overlooked and underrepresented- and we're not alone." I want to save the rest for all of you to experience, it's moving.

First, this anthology isn't meant for me. I'm white, French Canadian white. Though I am not the target audience, I want to expand my reading to make sure I include diverse, marginalized authors. I'm very lucky to have received this arc over others, I don't deserve it, but I'm thankful to give it the love and support it deserves.

I don't feel comfortable publicly rating individual stories, since I'm not the intended audience and a few of them flew over my head with things I didn't understand. However, I will briefly mention the ones I loved the most.

Starting off: Welcome to Hotel Paranoia by Vanessa Montalban, which yes, if you're me, you will sing in the tune of Hotel California. A beautiful sapphic narrative about a young girl who goes to a party at a haunted mansion abandoned by locals due to its infamy, where a legend of a ghost and an ex-best friend to ex-something haunt her.

"If you would've just waited for me to tell you I felt the same, if you would've never come here, I'd be yours. We'd be hours."

Oh my hearts. All the stars. It had me in a grip. It was also creepy, so a hundred more stars for that.


The second: The Visitor by Kalynn Bayron, was also a favorite, another sapphic short. It's about a girl named Toya whose mother passed on Halloween, and the tradition she holds with her ( amazing ) father every year, the loneliness and comfort of it all. It was also unsettling, and funny, and cute.

"I loved my time with Ari and with my dad. I loved them both, but the happy moments with them were like putting a bandage over a broken bone. It felt like it would never be enough to drown out the ache of my mom's death."

"I think it was just the wind, baby. Must've pushed the door open."
"That's exactly what people say right before a serial killer jumps out and stabs you seventy-six times."

The ending was sort of cheesy and went in a direction I wasn't entirely expecting, but I enjoyed it so much, and it melted my heart, and made me warm and gooey inside. These stories are the ones I want to map on my wall, to scream until my chest hurts. 10/10.


Next, my all time favorite which stole the breath from my lungs; Guested by Rebecca Kim Wells. Wow, just incredible. The prose, written in the second person narrative, blew me awayyyyy. Extra ys.

"You didn't tell him that you'd wanted to be someone else, somewhere else, for tears. That you felt completely empty sometimes, like there wasn't anything in you at all but the determination to see this through."

A story about a younger sister who sneaks her way into being invited to a party that changes your life for one night-- or the rest of them. After her sister is invited, and the next day acts... weird, she decides to see for herself. I won't give anything else away, you NEED to read it. It's funny, modern, interesting, chef's kiss!


I'll quickly add incredible honorable mentions:
- Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle ( very hard-hitting, graphic violence/homophobia TW ), which made me SOB
- Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane by Maya Gittelman, which was PHENOMENAL and scifi-y and so emotional, it wrecked me physically and emotionally.

And finally, one that made me LOSE my mind with how funny it was.... Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim. Just... oh my gosh, it was so funny, and wholesome. Thank you Tara Sim for such a fun ride.

I will say it was hard to gage the ages of the characters in each story, they sort of blended between YA and NA but weren't distinct enough in the writing itself, and I thought more than a couple needed extra rounds of edits or a little more thought into them, but I digress. I loved these so much. Please get this as soon as you can, even if it's not Halloween!

I really love just how diverse this collection was! We need more queer and BIPOC voices and stories in horror. If there is a teenager in your life who is starting to get into horror, I think they will love this collection!

Night of the Living Queers is the perfect Summerween/Halloween season read. It’s a collection of 13 stories happening on Halloween on the night of a blue moon by queer authors of color putting a new spin on classic horror tropes. There are chills and thrills to be had for sure together with stories humor and emotion giving the anthology a really nice balance.

I enjoyed all of the stories this time but one standout for me was Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane by Maya Gittelman. The way it used Halloween to explore that feeling of otherness and finding belonging was really impactful and beautiful. Guested by Rebecca Kim Wells was also a super interesting premise with a haunting ending. The Three Phases of Ghost Hunting by Alex Brown about a ghost haunting a shopping mall was cute and funny. Nine Stops by Trang Thanh Tran was eerie and absolutely chilling. I’ll definitely be reading this again as Halloween approaches.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Night of the Living Queers" is a YA queer BIPOC anthology specializing on my favorite topic: horror and Halloween! I knew about half of these authors and some were brand new to me going in, and I was very excited to get some nostalgic frights and chills from such a great collection of storytellers.

Like all anthologies, there are stories that spoke more to me than others, but they all were enjoyable in their own way. Slashers, ghost stories, monsters, all are represented here. My favs were by Tara Sim (Sim's story was hilarious, spooky, and clever) and Em X. Liu (eerie and strange!). Very much recommended to anyone who loves a good fright and most of all adores Halloween.

Night of the Living Queers is a YA anthology celebrating queer and BIPOC voices on the spookiest night of the year: Halloween! In a wide range of stories, we follow heroes and heartthrobs, horror and fright. “Creative, creepy and queer” is an accurate summation.

I went into this expecting to love it. Instead, the stories were just okay. I loved how this anthology highlighted underrepresented voices in literature, and in general: queer and BIPOC. There is a wonderful array of story topics and it’s always exciting to see how individual authors take the same concept of blue moon Halloween and master it so many unique ways. Despite that, while some truly highlighted the spirit of Halloween, some felt like Halloween just happened to be the day the story took place. I found myself really enjoying some of the stories while rolling my eyes during others.

Overall, not the book for this queer but may it bring more queer, BIPOC voices forward!

This was a fantastic QPOC Halloween/horror anthology that made me feel not only fright but probably every single other human emotion as well. The collection's intro sums it up best, while also highlighting how crucial an anthology like this is for so many reasons. And after having laughed and cried and shrieked my way through it, I was left yearning to read from these authors again (and to pester them into making some of these full-length.) It's hard to pick favorites, but if I had to narrow it down, I really loved Hey There, Demons & Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle (for vastly different reasons.)

I really love seeing books come out featuring poc author’s and queer authors. Horror is not my usual reading as I’m not a fan most of the time but I really enjoyed this and if you’re a fan of horror this is a great choice

It’s been a while since I’ve read a collection of short stories, and this one is definitely worth a read. The introduction explains how this anthology is a way for Queer People of Color to reclaim the narrative of “other,” “savage,” or “monster.” A chance for these authors to celebrate the complexity of their long-denied humanity. It’s meant to showcase their stories and is intentionally set during Halloween, a time when QPOC are most visible. All the stories take place not only during Halloween but during a blue moon, a celestial even where an additional moon appears during the year. It was quite fascinating and ingenious that a collection of stories by and about QPOC are all set on a rare event as a blue moon on Halloween. These stories are about love, loss, acceptance, bravery, adventure, and romance that will comfort, challenge, haunt, and humor.

“Welcome to the Hotel Paranoia”

The first story out of the gate was a sweet romance between Annabel and Chrys. Annabel is awkward and out of place in comparison to her classmates, but she attends a party because Chrys, her best friend and the girl she exchanged a kiss with a couple of months ago, sent her a note to attend. But all is not as it seems, as the night wears on the illusions slowly fade. I was a bit disappointed as I wanted better for Annabel at the end. However, the ending does go into the whole idea of where queer people can be accepted and how.

“The Visitor”

Oooo, this one was particularly creepy and the cliffhanger ending just upped the ante on the creepy scale. Here we have a teenage girl, Toya, who is waiting impatiently for midnight of Halloween. Her and her dad have a ritual they do each Halloween since her mom’s death. But who is the visitor? And is it really her mom? Plus what was with the car that was following Toya and her girlfriend, Ari? Creepy? Definitely? Do I have questions? Duh! Yet, it does tackle the idea of loss and grief and what we do to move on.

“A Brief Intermission”

This was one of my favorites out of the thirteen stories! Our two main characters, Afsaneh and Rusty, work at the local town drive-in movie theatre. One night the owner/boss, Henry, is attacked by an animal, a creature. Henry begs them to break him out of the hospital, which Afsaneh and Rusty refuse, so instead they do the ritual he does for Halloween. They’re not to interact, talk, look at the creatures who arrive, yet Rusty can’t help themselves and who knows where the night will lead. This one was definitely spooky but also the ghosts are racist, homophobic, xenophobic people who make their opinions known. It was a crazy ending that again goes towards the idea of how transgender people and those who live outside the male/female binary are treated and where they’re allowed to live.

“Guested”

This story is definitely going to keep me up late at night! Nina is invited to a Guested party. Guested is a company that allows people to be whoever/whatever they want to be. Nina’s sister, Penny, went to a Guested party a few years ago but Nina is convinced the person who came back isn’t her sister. She’s determined to get to the bottom of this, even if she has to do it alone. So, so psychologically creepy, especially since I’ve watched Get Out as well. I was so impressed with the writing and the story and the themes of queer people having to hide themselves in the world is so potent in this story.

“Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle”

Ugh! This one is difficult. It’s the one story that involves a hate crime. Julian was beaten nearly to death one year ago to the day and his friends and family think it’s time to “get over it.” Because there’s a specific time period to get over not only your near death but also a group of asshole boys beating you up for being gay. I’m especially annoyed with Julian’s best friend, Amber, who thinks it’s more impactful on her, than him. Well, at this party that Julian and Amber go to, Julian ends up summoning a demon and maybe this demon understands Julian more than the others in his life. A beautiful story about grief and revenge that definitely hurts while reading but is quite hopeful at the end.

“The Three Phases of Ghost-Hunting”

An adorable and humorous story about a ghost haunting a mall. Daisy is determined to contact Terrifying Bob with her best friend Iris in tow. The adorable part is that Terrifying Bob isn’t that terrifying, and by the end Daisy and Iris admit their feelings for one another, which was so cute!

“Nine Stops”

I actually bought Trang Thanh Tran’s book She is a Haunting, and after reading this short story, I’m even more excited to read it. The story is reminiscent of one of those internet videos that says if you stop watching it you’ll die. What happens next are events that I’m not even really sure of, but I was disgustingly freaked out. Beware if you get queasy easily as there is a scene that is quite grotesque.

“Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane”

Oh, another story that I absolutely loved. It’s about a haunted house in the village that Leyla lives in called The Vines. A house that looks quite abandoned until the night of the thirteenth moon, where someone catches sight of a light through the window. This Halloween night Leyla and his cousins go out on Halloween, and this night Leyla suggests going to The Vines. It’s there that Leyla sees someone that gives her hope for the future. A great story for transgender and nonbinary people around the world.

“In You to Burn”

An interesting story about fire and queer girls. Luce is a girl who accidental fires keep happening around her throughout her life, but the latest fire harmed another girl in school, Harley. But Harley is no longer herself, she’s changed according to their classmates. Yet, all of this comes to a head at a party on Halloween night. Are Luce and Harley really who they are? Or are their lives the workings of gods?

“Anna”

Another story where the two girls, Elise and Dani, are struggling with feelings for each other and don’t admit it till a dire event on Halloween night. Elise is babysitting two young girls in a supposed haunted house. The two young girls play with a Ouijia board that releases an evil spirit. Who knows who’ll survive the night? A good ole scary story is always something I’m up for and this one definitely delivers in that thread.

“Hey There, Demons”

What do you do when there is a poltergeist haunting your house? Obviously, you summon a demon to help you, or at least, that’s what Noah Kohli accidentally decided to do on Halloween night. But the demon Noah summons isn’t the typical demon from Hollywood. This is definitely an ADHD demon, who’s willing to help Noah get rid of the poltergeist but for a price. No, not a soul! The demon thinks souls will taste like lemons, which he hates. He wants to see what Noah’s family has before he gets ride of the demon. The whole night is a roller coaster of a ride and eventually, the demon does get rid of the poltergeist for Noah with a romance developing between the two. I didn’t know I could ship two characters in such a short story, but gosh do I ship Noah and this demon, Kody. They’re too cute for words and I love the chaos of Kody.

“Save Me From Myself”

A tragic story of a young girl, Mona, who doesn’t want to live anymore. She doesn’t think there’s much worth living, especially with having to hide who she is except on Halloween. Yet, Mona prays to Kali Maa and she answers…or someone answers. Later that night, Kali Maa gives Mona what she wants, in a way. As all deals with gods and demons never turn out as we want. The story is so sad since Mona doesn’t think anyone will miss her nor that she’s worth anything. Her friend, Gaurav, is only her friend because of their mothers. Nadine only kisses her in the maze to humiliate Mona. The ending is hopeful for a moment before it turns tragic once again.

“Knickknack”

A story of a mansion haunted by the clown Knickknack. An urban legend that Noah doesn’t believe in, but the night of Halloween, his brother, Carl, is kidnapped by Knickknack and he does everything he can to save him. Along the way, Noah and his best friend and crush, finally kiss. I was a bit disappointed by the scary story in this one. It wasn’t as strong as the other stories in the collection, but it doesn’t detract nor weaken the collection.

All-in-all this is a wonderful collection of creepy and queer and diverse stories that are worth a read and place on the bookshelf.

Night of the Living Queers arrived in my inbox right at the time I had an itch to read an anthology, and it didn't disappoint! Like all anthologies, there are definitely some stories that are stronger than the others, but overall I really enjoyed it.

Almost all of the stories need trigger warnings, so I highly recommend looking at some before beginning (especially for Jackson and Tran's)! Shonibar is the only one that has content warnings on it, and it's something I wish the other stories had included.


Welcome to the Hotel Paranoia by Vanessa Montalban - ⭐

Honestly, I found the way this one jumped around and explained things to be confusing. Concept wise I loved the idea though!

The Visitor by Kalynn Bayron - ⭐⭐

This is the first time I'm reading something pf Bayron's and I'm really hoping that I enjoy her other work more, because this was honestly pretty disappointing.

A Brief Intermission by Sara Farizan - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Farizan is always a solid read, and this was fun and a little unnerving. It almost gave me Stranger Things vibes too, which is always a plus!

Guested by Rebecca Kim Wells - ⭐⭐⭐

I loved the idea, but wish it had been a little longer to give a more detailed explanation of things. I was a little disappointed by the ending too.

Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle by Kosoko Jackson - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don't even know what to say about this one because despite constantly thinking about it since I've read it, words are failing me. If you read nothing else out of this anthology, it should be this, because Jackson captures emotions so well and weaves a beautifully heartbreaking story that will stay with you long after you're finished.

Three Phases of Ghost Hunting by Alex Brown - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was fun and kitschy in the best way, and I loved the ending so, so much.

Nine Stops by Trang Thanh Tran - ⭐

This jumped all over the place and I have no idea what happened with the video pausing and finishing. I will say that part of that had to do with the formatting of the e-arc I read, so I'm hoping that the finished copy will be better.

Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane by Maya Gittelman - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this so much, watching Leyla confront his frustrations and rage was kind of cathartic, and the house was so cool.

In You To Burn by Em X. Liu - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I've been really excited for Liu's debut, so getting to read this was such a fun treat. This had everything I love in it, rivals to ??? lovers ??? (they aren't sure either), emotionally stunted sapphics, superpowers and K-Pop. I'm deeply considering getting a bearded dragon just to name it Jiyong now.

Anna by Shelly Page - ⭐⭐⭐

Nothing super special, but it played around with traditional horror aspects (creepy toys, babysitting) and I liked the relationship drama on the side.

Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was so much fun. I loved everything about it, and it lowkey reminded me of my favorite human demon couple which was an added bonus.

Save Me From Myself by Ayida Shonibar - ⭐⭐⭐

I ended up crying over this one, but I think that the swapping was a bit confusing at times.

Knickknack by Ryan Douglass - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I wish this one had been a little longer so we could've gotten to know all of the characters a little more, but this was creepy clown goodness and one of the more romance heavy tales.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


You will be pulled in by the title of the first work if you are a Rock fan. The stories will keep your attention and when it ends, you'll be searching for more. This is a magnificent anthology. Great for horror enthusiasts or anyone who loves a great story.

This book was so good. What a wonderful collection of spooky Queer stories! This title included so many of my favorite authors and a few new names. Will definitely be giving this one out to my friends as Halloween gifts. Very fun, very spooky, and the stories were a good size for reading in a single sitting.

Overall this was such an enjoyable anthology. Sometimes I feel like you have 2-3 winners with the rest just okay. Not here. I had a great time with most of these short stories.

Welcome to hotel paranoia by Vanessa Montalban
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Creepy abandoned haunted house+ teenage Halloween party. This one had such creepy vibes and very entertaining

The visitor by Kalynn Bayron
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oh shit! I didn’t know where that was going but damn it was chilling and very surprising mixed with the grief of a father and daughter missing their wife/mom.

A Brief Intermission by Sara Farizan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Eeeek. Drive in movie theater/ monster and ghosts. I gasped at the end.

Guested by Rebecca Kim Wells
⭐️⭐️
I didn’t really enjoy the second person pov but I liked the ending.

Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle by Kosoko Jackson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The scariest monsters are human imo.
This one was powerful, heartbreaking and terrifying.

The Three Phases of Ghost Hunting by Alex Brown
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My biggest critique is more! I wanted this to go one much more. I flipped back and forth a few times confused that it was really over. It was really great I loved the characters but felt like it ended in the middle…?

Nine Stops by Trang Tranh Tran
⭐️⭐️
Hm I just didn’t really like this one. Kinda just left confused.

Leyla Mendoza and Last House on the Lane by Maya Gittelman
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Very intriguing I liked how that one ended.

In You to Burn by Em X Liu
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Such a cool concept-could have been more concise.

Anna by Shelly Page
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Eeeeeee. The perfect babysitter scary story. 😱

Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cuuuuute. Like yeah still spooky and whatever but also adorable.

Save Me From Myself by Ayida Shonibar
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loved the story hated the ending.

Knickknack by Ryan Douglass
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oh god. A clown.
Overall enjoyable, creepy and sweet.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an eARC.

My thanks to the publisher for allowing me a chance to read an ARC of this collection. The big difference with this collection is that it features representation for the BIPOC/LGBTQIA community. Something I don't see very often in any reading I've done recently. If you're looking for representation this is the collection for you. Obviously if spooky stories are for you this will also be your jam.

I enjoyed all the stories in this collection, but my two favorites were: The Visitor, Guested, and Last House on the Lane. As I said all were good and spooky, but these three really had be on edge by the end of each. Thinking about them gives me goosebumps. Some seemed to need some more fleshing out, but were still complete enough to keep me spooked and interested in finishing them. All in all I really enjoyed this one and will be adding it to my collection when it's released this summer.

Wasn’t a big fan of the writing style but the stories were interesting and the cover is pretty cool!

I really enjoyed this anthology! Almost every story was a 4/5 star read, maybe one or two 3 stars. I know a couple, like Guested and Nine Stops, are gonna haunt me for a LONG time! Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane by Maya Gittelman was my favorite, and made me feel all the nonbinary feelings.