Title: Closet Monsters: Zombied Out and Other Tales of Gothrotica Author: Daniel W. Kelly Publisher: Star Books Press Publish Date: 2007 Pages: 278 Genres:: Gay, Fiction Reviewer: Chris R. Morgan

Rating:

Anyone reading this might ponder to themselves at how untimely this review seems; the holiday season is long gone. For anyone who actually likes horror stories, however, they'd know that some of the classic collections (think MR James' ghost stories) were meant for amusement at Christmas time. So, in that sense, the timing couldn’t be more appropriate. But at the same time there's a considerable lack of tradition, at least compared to MR James and Algernon Blackwood, in that there was a greater shortage of naked dudes back then. Daniel W. Kelly has collected stories of the frightening and titillating persuasion for those who crave both fright and titillation. 

Good horror stories are difficult things to come by; the same probably goes with erotica for either sexual preference. Closet Monsters is an earnest attempt to take the best of both worlds to create stories that have equal shocks and hard-ons. There has always been a sexual side theme in horror in both high culture (Bram Stoker's Dracula) and low culture (too many to name), so the combination seems more than natural. Given the playful nature of the cover art, and the fact that zombies are funny now, one would assume this had a campy bent to it as well. You'd be right, but that's only part of what's included.

A recurring instance in this collection is how Kelly blends the sexual and the disturbing and how they seem to overlap. He spends as much time painting lavish descriptions of gore and body parts as he does with the characters' bodies. There are various traditional ghouls that inhabit the stories including vampires, werewolves, a whole novella dedicated to a zombie takeover and some other happenings of the supernatural. One story, "Devil Worship," is a bit heavier in its dealings with sin and religious conflict. Kelly's prose is detailed and fluid in its ability to be read, though the challenge of blending horror and more overt sexual themes is to avoid over-camping the sexual aspects. Kelly overcomes this more often then not as he's good at blending sexual intensity and lust with fear. "Woof!" is a particularly good example of this. The novella Zombied Out might prove more satisfying as Kelly has more space to pack in all of the erotica as well as all of the scares. 

This collection is ultimately a variation on fantasy. Some people get off on these two thrills—though maybe not with zombies involved, but I've heard of weirder phenomenon. There are stories that are more focused on horror, these are usually shorter and done in a more serious tone. Some are more sexually up front, particularly the ones that start off with descriptions of buff dudes and their pungent body odor. For those in search of some entertainment that provokes goosebumps in more than one way, I insist that you seek this out. Those looking for something harsher should best stick to Clive Barker.