We're Here, We're Queer, We're Kindred

G/L/B/T Reference in 'World of Darkness

Novels and Stories

White Wolf has been very progressive when it came to creating stories based on the World of Darkness gaming universe. Not only are the a tremendous amount of novels to choose from, but a fair percentage of them have gay characters or storylines in them.

There are four novels that focus upon g/l/b/t characters, and most of them are written by Don Bassingthwaite.

Pomegranates Full and Fine by Don Bassingthwaite was the first World of Darkness book I was introduced to. The story focuses upon two major themes, the Highsummer Party, which is a festival for changelings, and the Penny Murderer who is terrorizing Toronto. I was impressed by this story not only for how many queer characters it contained, but also in the way it was able to take characters from many of the different WoD games and blend them together. This book contained gay relationships between a vampire and a mage and a vampire and a changeling. It also had some strong lesbian undercurrents between another vampire and a different changeling.

Such Pain, by Don Bassingthwaite, focuses more upon gay and bisexual mages. A young man learns, after his father's death, that he has inherited an extremely large fortune, as well as his childhood demon. This is a good book to show the contrasts between a few different types of mages, including those who ascend through death, and those who ascend through pleasure. Most every male in this book is gay.

Breathe Deeply, also by Don Bassingthwaite, is a werewolf story. When his tribe is slowly decimated by a mysterious epidemic known only as the "Snow Plague", Peter Ward, a Garou from Toronto, embarks on a desperate search for the cure. In the Garou world, werewolf is not to mate with werewolf, because it can produce only deformed, sterile children. So, when Peter is confronted by two gay werewolves in love, he has to overcome his disgust with breaking this taboo, leaving the gay issue as largely unimportant. This book has two gay werewolves.

Blood Relations, by Doug Murray (not Don Bassingthwaite this time) is an S&M lesbian vampire sex novel. Much more aimed at heterosexual men than at lesbians, two vampires (male and female) meet and fall in love with each other and eventually form an unusual family. The woman in this relationship starts out in a relationship with another woman. When the man enters the picture, they form a threesome.

One other novel, As One Dead, by Don Bassingthwaite, has a secondary gay character in it. Bianka is in Toronto to lead the resident pack of 'Camarilla' vampires to freedom. Lot, a 'Sabat' vampire can't allow that to happen. In a West Side Story type of storyline, the two bitter enemies meet and fall in love. According to the author, Lot's male sidekick is in love with him, but very little is said in the story.

Short stories

White Wolf has also produced a large number of short story collections based upon the game. And, as with the novels, these collections have a fair number of queer stories in them.

Dark Destiny, a collection of vampire stories, has one queer vampire story called 'Tools of Empowerment' by Rick R. Reed. In it, three Toreadors - two males and one female - have a three-way relationship. The female vampire meets a human female artist that she adores.

Dark Destiny - Proprietors of Fate, also has a queer vampire story called "Beloved Disciple" by Edward E. Kramer. It deals with Jesus' crucifixion, in a way that the average Christian is apt to take issue with.

Strange City is a general collection of World of Darkness stories and has a queer vampire story entitled " Descent" by Sam Chupp. A female vampire and a female human attempt to have a loving relationship in a house in the suburbs. But, vampire society doesn't easily let one of it's own go. This is a much more lesbian-friendly lesbian vampire story.

The Splendour Falls, a collection of changeling stories has two queer stories within it. The first " The Stuff of Life to Knit You" by Thomas F. Monteleone and Robert Wayne McCoy shows two gay bashers getting what they deserve. The second " Changeling Dirge" by Thomas S. Roche has a three-way relationship.

There are also two stories within the collection of werewolf stories When Will You Rage. "A Useless Death" by Don Bassingthwaite, deals with the aftermath of a relationship between a werewolf and a human, who is now a wraith. "Calley's Story" by Alara Rogers is the only transgender story on the list and shows a hermaphroditic metis (a sterile child of 2 werewolves) helps save the day.

Back to the 'World of Darkness'

To Queer Horror Articles