Bury Your Gays

Wow, what a love letter this is. It's also scary, funny, touching, and thrilling–sometimes all at the same time. It's got twists! It's got horror! It's got action! It might make you teary-eyed! Would it be a good thing or a bad thing if someone's already picked up the rights to it?

Also, I completely missed the name thing 🤦🏻‍♀️

Perfectly captures the bury your gays trope and turns it on its head in unsuspected ways. Definitely some truly graphic and gross moments which I LOVED. Chuck Tingle is a treasure and this is an instant classic.

Shit, what to say about a book as fantastic, scary, sad, happy, and brutally honest as Bury Your Gays is! Tingle takes everything that is wrong in the movie and writing industry and crafts a moving and haunting story that follows the inner turmoil of a successful screenwriter, Misha. When told that he must bury his beloved characters, Misha goes on a horrifying journey that drudges up the past, present and future as he fights for what he holds dear in his life.

Tingle proves yet again that he is a master of horror and of proving that love is real and everyone deserves to have a voice!

Bury Your Gays is my favorite of his and that didn’t come easy because Camp Damascus and Straight were both brilliant.

On a side note, if you’re listening Chuck, I hope that we get more from 2 characters…one that involves smoke and one that is unusually tall…I won’t give away any more but, those characters will forever haunt my dreams!! Also, Misha has more to tell, I can feel it….

Thank you NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group and Chuck Tingle for allowing me the opportunity to read this brilliant book!

Bury Your Gays is a remarkable exploration of what could potentially happen (and somewhat, what has already happened) when capitalists get their hands on technology that's beyond their scope to control. There's a great bit of nuance to this story, delivered in easy to digest prose. There's, of course, a lot of commentary on the treatment of LGBTQ+ identities (especially asexual folks). And all of this is wrapped up in Tingle's classic spine-tingling horror voice. Not one to miss!

I was thrilled to get an early copy of this newest Chuck Tingle novel, I finished this gem of a book in a little less than 24 hours, though I could have burned through it in half the time had life not gotten in the way, pesky things like needing to eat and sleep. I cannot stress enough how delightful, moving, and readable this book was. From the very first scene I was firmly hooked and could hardly rest or put it down until I read the whole thing.

The basic premise of Bury Your Gays is that a successful screenwriter, Misha, is told by studio executives to kill off the stars of his show right after they finally express their long simmering love for each other. He refuses and afterwards is stalked and attacked by movie monsters from his own filmography. The story builds tension and parcels out context and clues carefully, making for an increasingly tense, frightening tale where the stakes so much higher than just one man’s life.

This book is doing a lot, not only is it by turns genuinely funny, utterly horrific, and deeply moving, it also grapples with issues as varied as AI in art, trauma and representation in media, and corporate pride ™ in a refreshingly acute and lucid way. All of these elements are perfectly balanced, working in concert to push the whole narrative forward, rather than drowning out the other themes or hampering the flow of the novel. Believe me when I tell you that, Bury Your Gays does not miss a beat, not once.

This novel was a triumph, I can hardly think of many books that try to do so much and succeed so adeptly. In addition to being a compulsive joy to read, Bury Your Gays represents the creative apotheosis of a genuinely talented and authentic queer voice in fiction. If Chuck Tingle’s previous, “mainstream” titles like Straight and Camp Damascus, weren’t enough to clue people in that the man behind the pink mask is a powerful and talented writer with a unique and arresting vision of queer horror, Bury Your Gays should be a shot across the bow and a wakeup call.

Do yourself a favor and see what all the hype is about, Bury Your Gays is a memorable, thrilling read, quite unlike anything else you’re likely to pick up this year.

A very solid four star read. Bury Your Gays has a great story flow, fascinating concept (definitely not one I've seen before), and some of the best cover art yet this year. Chuck Tingle is quickly becoming an auto buy author of mine. If you like horror and are a tad squeamish, this book would be perfect for you. We always need more queer horror in our lives.

Misha is a mostly closeted gay man working as a screenwriter in LA when he starts to notice his characters are haunting him, trying to kill him and his loved ones if he doesn’t kill off the gay characters in his current television show.

Tingle has taken the fear of AI and its use in capitalism, specifically Hollywood, and created a terrifying novel about authenticity and standing up for what you believe in. Somehow this story was hilarious while also playing on a very real fear of technologies advances being used for financial gain. I loved everything about this story.

Chuck Tingle, you did it again.

"Like the laboratory technician said: there are no feelings here. There's only profit."

"You know who the real villain is? Unchecked capitalism and the desire for capitalist systems to monetize other people's trauma"

Did I expect an anti-AI/algorithm story told through the lens of a queer character with some gore thrown in? Absolutely not.
I loved the story so much and all the pop culture references! I loved being on this journey with Misha and getting a happy ending.
I just loved everything about this book from the obvious messages about the use of AI in the entertainment industry to the discussion of queer representation and when it's just a money grab versus a heartfelt story, even if it isn't entirely happy like in the case of queer horror. PLUS a Camp Damascus mention?? Ahh

Chuck Tingle has once again delivered a horror novel with a poignant and heartfelt twist. Seamlessly blending together a story of learning to love and accept yourself, the ways in which Hollywood treats queer people and creepy gross monsters, Tingle manages to take a topic that can feel overwhelming to even think about and morphs it into a triumphant victory.

The Tingler strikes again! Chuck does queer horror like no other and I am so bloody thrilled that I received an advanced copy from Nightfire. As soon as I got it in the mail, my face was ALL up in dis shit, gobbling it up.

Frankly, life got in the way--I could have easily devoured this is one bite but that pesky sleep called out to me.

This had it all: horror, gore, humor, supernatural (the nod to Supernatural was exquisite and SO clever), but also tender and thoughtful; splendidly executed in a single book, which speaks volumes to Chuck's storytelling abilities. My expectations were high following Camp Damascus and Bury Your Gays far surpassed that...y'all, I'm talking through the roof and into interplanetary fucking space.

Easily makes it into my favorite books of the year. LOVE IS REAL <3

I liked CAMP DAMASCUS a lot but I *loved* BURY YOUR GAYS: this book is a pop-punk scream, loud and fast and furious and yet never for even a second lacking in love and heart. It manages to be a terrific horror novel full of genuinely terrifying monsters—but the real horrors are, you guessed it, CAPITALIST IDIOTS bent on sucking every good thing out of the creative industries without a care for how hollow it'll all be after that. Chuck is throwing bombs here, coming directly for the Hollywood suits who would rather pour money into capturing the likenesses of their actors for AI to make movies forever instead of supporting actual stories told by actual creatives that might -- GASP -- be something new and different and exciting. He manages to get in great shots at AI and the studios but also corporate allyship, the media's role in terrorizing celebrities, our culture's fascination with gossip, the retrograde communities who would still rather torment a gay kid than support them.... And again, he does it with love. Not only is love indeed real... but a book like this just might give you hope that love can and will save the day in the end. And that's a feat in and of itself.

I had no idea what I was getting into with this one, oh boy.

Like every other jilted ex-Supernatural fan, I knew this was going to be a must read. The lead's name is Misha, like. Come on. I was not disappointed, lots of little SPN nods throughout (especially the "agents") that angered me all over again.


I'm not a horror reader, but I couldn't put this one down. I had to know what was actually going on and how the hell Misha was going to get out of it.

The gore was gross as hell, but not too much for me to have to stop and I'm a huge baby. I loved the journey Misha went on, particularly the little heartfelt moments he found himself having in the midst of all the horrible-ness.

A stark look at the way queer people's stories are commoditized and exploited when they'll make a profit and ignored or buried when they won't, Bury Your Gays kept me guessing and enraptured from the start. A gross, endearing win from Chuck Tingle.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve read a book, if not in one sitting, in less than 24 hours. To be honest I’ve never read anything by Chuck Tingle, other than social media posts, so I did not know what to expect. Reader, I was blown away. The plot, in which a writer of horror films is stalked by the characters he created, is certainly clever and fun, but it’s the heart and depth and understanding - both of the characters’ struggles and of genre fiction/films - that won me over completely. I received this as an ARC. I will be buying a hardcover physical copy as soon as it’s published.

This was a wild ride. The book blatantly discusses how Hollywood likes to literally bury gay stories <spoiler>and also the impact that AI (although to the extreme in this book) is going to have on media.</spoiler> This is a great mix of some really scary moments with some truly emotional ones. However the last ten percent of the book felt rushed which is why I can't give this a true five stars. <spoiler>After all of this buildup and tension the fact that they walk right in and destroy the AI nanobot network so simply just feels like it was forced.</spoiler>

While I think I enjoyed Camp Damascus more I'm truly loving Chuck's entry into more mainstream publishing and writing. This is an excellent exploration of the hypocrisy in modern media representation and the allusions to a specific major tv show do not go unnoticed.

A brilliant novel that effortlessly juggles many tones and themes at once, shifting easily between horrifying moments, fun thriller action, the dreariness brought about by capitalism in Hollywood, and queer stories that are raw, heart wrenching, and heartfelt. The cast is a ton of fun with heroes that are easy to root for and terrifying villains. The messages of the story are so important and I hope this proves to be an influential novel for queer media that follows it, at the very least I hope for many more LGBTQ books like this in the future!

This book was so so so much fun. This was my first Chuck Tingle book and I enjoyed it a lot! The characters are beautifully written and have such searing stories and revelations that make them so relatable and loveable and the story itself is so unique and fast faced.

As a queer reader this was a breath of fresh air. It is witty and emotional and gut wrenching and above all, gay. Tingles writing is amazing, and i’ve become a real fan.


A huge thank you to Tor, Chuck Tingle, & NetGalley for allowing me access to a digital ARC in return for my honest review :)

I read Camp Damascus when it came out last year (and loved it), so I was already excited for whatever horror Chuck Tingle was going to come up with next, but when I found out about his inspiration for Bury Your Gays, I was going to be there with bells on. Tingle is unapologetic and genuine in everything he writes and that absolutely holds true here, as well. There's definitely some fun and interesting bits of writing that felt very meta.

Misha, Zeke, and Tara were delightful. I also did not expect some of the twists that happened and loved that the book kept me on my toes. I look forward to whatever next nightmare Chuck Tingle cooks up.

One aside I will say, as with Camp Damascus, this book has some very gory moments, including body horror. Chuck Tingle does not back down from the type of horror he is going for in any way.

Without spoiling anything by implying tone or direction, I will say this about the book’s end:…what a satisfying ending to not just a perfect novel, but a perfect piece of horror literary fiction. It has everything I could ever want. As a horror novel, it’s the equivalent of literary fiction in the ways it meets and surpasses the elements that make for enduring literature that we classify as “literary fiction”. The horrors are HORRIFYING—layered, pulled from all sorts of horror tropes and archetypes and blending them in ways unseen, and scary enough to make one’s breath quicken and eyes dart down the page to make sure all ends well. The Smoker took my breath away and chilled me to the backbone. And it’s not just the monsters that make this book meaningful. The characters are not your average horror fare—they’re all well-developed, even the secondary and passing characters have depth and attention paid to characterization. And our three main folks of the tale—Misha, Tara, and Zeke—are all queer characters in a very real and impactful way. These are not token characters and stereotypes with a bit of spice to switch it up. No, these are characters with depth and humanity and resonance, uniquely developed in personality and person and all equally lovable and relatable. Though the things they experience together are horrific and haunting and fantastical, the characters themselves are grounded in an important reality often ignored by art in general—queer people are not types, they are just people, each unique and complex and contradictory and human like any reader who picks up any book with a beating heart and a pulse.

These endearing and enduring characters are just one of the many things which contribute to the significant success the novel achieves in terms of making its most important statement: horror stories, particularly queer horror stories, make for important and illuminating stories for the culture at large, and we need more human and humane queer stories across all genres and mediums to be seen by a wider audience with a more open mind. Tingle shines in weaving social/cultural commentary into the narrative and presenting it in ways that feel true to the characterizations or circumstances he has created up to that point. The scene at Misha’s high school reunion, as he argues for the importance of horror and tells the story of the haunted room in the basement of his college house, comes to mind immediately, as does the sprinkled-in points about how entertainment treats queer people and queer stories. Scenes like these make the point so beautifully. As a horror scholar myself, Tingle’s subtext about the importance of genre and horror hits harder and makes me fall in love with this book even more. It has it all: the scares, the substance, the standing power, and the staying power. What a gift to the world Tingle created in writing this book.

Chuck Tingle does a great job in showing that they can write a good novel with a great premise. It had everything that I enjoyed from other work that I read from Chuck Tingle. It uses the horror element perfectly and had a great overall feel to it. The characters were wonderfully written and I enjoyed how well the characters fit in this world. I will continue to be a fan of Chuck Tingle and read their books.

This is a fantastic queer horror novel about what it takes to make it in Hollywood seen through the eyes of a gay screenwriter. And what it takes is much more than just talent or artistic abilities. Sometimes it takes blood.

Misha is a screenwriter who is nominated for an Oscar for a short animated film. His success has come from queer horror and he has a fairly successful television series.

But when a studio executive informs him that he has to kill his gay characters or make them straight, he refuses. Although he's outed in Las Angeles, he's not so much out in his hometown in Montana. He's struggled with being partially closeted and he feels his characters allow him to express himself.

But pretty soon, terrifying things start to happen to him and to his boyfriend and his best female friend. At first it appears that some of his most horrific creations are coming to life and trying to kill him. But there's something much more dark going on. Something you won't see coming at first, and this could affect more than just his world.

This is a great read with some twists that examines the lengths greedy corporations will go to make the most amount of money. And as Misha struggles with trauma from his past while trying to protect himself and loved ones from monstrosities come to life it's going to take very drastic measures to stop the unstoppable. And maybe at a cost he can't see coming.

Wildly inventive and brimming with subject matter that feels like it's ripped from headlines, this frightening and action packed novel will have you rethinking everything you think you know about what it means to be an artist and achieve success. I highly recommend it.

"Horror offers a chance to recognize this truth, to explore dark places in a safe way," the fascination with themes of queer embodiment in horror is torn wide open in this new installment to the Tingleverse, by camp king Chuck Tingle.

The story is a fascinating one, a writer is being pushed by big wig executives to kill off his TV series FMC's after their coming out episode while simultaneously being haunted by the monsters of pictures past. This story is incredibly smart, fun, and a quick-witted take on the "bury your gays" phenomenon in entertainment. What I was not expecting was great dialogue around the ethics of AI, coming out, commodification of queerness/pink dollars, and a thoughtful discussion around horror as a playground to explore dark ideas in a safe way. When something as basic as your identity puts you at risk, why wouldn't you indulge in what this horrible world has to offer through the lens of your own imagination?

The characters are campy and fun, the insertion of screenplay excerpts successfully disorients the reader, and the nod to slasher films will put a grin on any seasoned horror fans face.

This is my first Tingle book and I will definitely be watching his career as he continues to map out his literary universe. 5 Stars.

Chuck Tingle - I love you. You provide harsh commentary on our culture and society while lifting with humor and wit.
Misha finally gets his two main characters - lesbians with massive sexual tension, together in his series finale. But The Board does not approve - forcing Misha to "bury your gays" as society continually pushes. Refusing to cave, Misha becomes the target of his horror creations. They stalk him, using their abilities to his life and those close to him.
The commentary is so intense. The ending just nails the swaying of trends - and societal pressures.

So…Chuck Tingle is legit.

This was a really good book! It manages to be sad, funny, hopeful, kind of hopeless at times (opposite day!), and legitimately creepy. I was shocked to find out what was really going on, but even more horrified to know that there are folks out there in a certain industry that would absolutely do this if they had the power.

The book is a rollercoaster ride of both emotion and action and I simply loved it.

I am completely on board with whatever thrills and chills Tingle decides to bring us next!

• ARC via Publisher

I am a recent reader of Chuck Tingle. I heard about him through a book club, and then he also came to a local bookstore with Catriona Ward. I really enjoyed the themes brought up in Camp Damascus, and assumed I would like Bury Your Gays. I also hope I'm referring to Tingle correctly, I read some of his blog posts, and went with ease versus technically correct for the purposes of the review. The book will be released later this year.

While Tingle's books on the surface may seem fairly straightforward, their horror genre roots give ode to a lot of subtext. Kudos for immediately throwing in an Easter egg for those aware of the online lore about who Chuck is underneath the mask. If you know, you know. I "chuck"led every time I saw that particular character's name. There was also a lot of foreshadowing and details to pay attention to as the book went along.

The book combines horror with an examination of the LGBTQA community as well as an examination of AI and its' ramifications. I am going to try to avoid spoilers in this review, but the past and present blur in this book, as we see how what has happened in Misha's past plays an ongoing role in his present life. The villains in this novel were really well written, and pretty much the scariest "monsters" I can think of. Mrs. Why particularly sat with me. It doesn't take gore to make someone terrifying and to be feared. There is also plenty of gore for those who look for that in a horror novel. There's also an ace character we see who plays a vital role in the novel, and I can't think of the last time I saw an ace character in a book. The book works through trauma and grief, as well as trying to reshape the narrative on LGBTQA characters, that they don't always have to end up dead at the end of the plot, and that that's the only way to portray gay people and relationships on screen. The novel really hits home that there should be more happy endings. I hope my review does it justice, and encourages others to pick up this book when it's on shelves.

Please be advised I received an Advance Readers Copy (ARC) of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Diving headfirst into the glitz, glamour, and ghastly underbelly of Hollywood, 'Bury Your Gays' had me on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, and rooting for Misha all the way! This gem by Chuck Tingle is a rollercoaster through Tinseltown's twisted trails, blending real-life terrors with the kind of spine-chilling scares that have you double-checking your locks at night. Misha's journey – a bold stand against the monstrous machinations of studio execs and the actual monsters haunting him – is a masterclass in courage and camp. The book is a love letter to horror aficionados, complete with a treasure trove of nods to classics and cult favorites like 'The X-Files', alongside a cheeky wink to Tingle’s own 'Camp Demascus'. It's a tale that not only entertains but resonates deeply, especially in its unflinching look at the fear surrounding the visibility of LGBTQ+ characters in media. So, if you're craving a story that marries the eerie with the extraordinary, and the profound with the peculiar, look no further. This book doesn't just bury its gays; it immortalizes them in the annals of horror lore. Bravo, Chuck Tingle!

#HorrorLGBTQ #HollywoodHaunts #TingleTerror

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

TW: Ch1ld Neglect, Body Horror, G0re, H0mophobia

🖤 Meta Storytelling
🖤 Queer Horror
🖤 Queer Representation Including a Gay MMC and Ace FC
🖤 Simultaneously Funny, Thrilling, and Moving

This rating may be a little biased because I do truly love Chuck Tingle and the work he does, but I was joyfully surprised at how much this book connected with me!

Bury Your Gays is a queer horror novel that follows Misha, a queer screenplay writer in Hollywood. When 'the board' insists that he should kill off the queer characters in his hit TV series, he decides to stand against them. After making his decision, he thinks people dressed as characters from his previous queer horror films are stalking him...

I won't dive too deep into the story as I don't want to spoil any interesting twists, but know that this story certainly takes a few meta turns, as you would expect with a Chuck Tingle piece!

Misha has a few moments from his childhood that have really affected him (and his writing), and I was very touched by a few of these traumatic moments from his youth. They were written very well, and though I had never experienced moments exactly like his, I certainly relived them with Misha because of how REAL the emotions and scenarios felt.

This story grapples with some very real topics (like, hiding your queerness or the negative effects of queerbaiting specifically referencing a certain popular TV series), and I think it does so very well, sandwiching it with the ways that Misha wrote about these issues as he was working through them as an adult.

The twists were (mostly) unexpected, the horror was genuinely creepy, and I really appreciated the commentary on queer culture and the inclusivity of asexual/aromantic people in that conversation.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5

This is the story of Misha, who is a Hollywood screenwriter. He writes horror (mostly), and his current project is a show that sounds not too much unlike The X-Files. The studio execs have ordered him to kill off his main characters in an epic example of Bury Your Gays. When Misha refuses, he suddenly finds that he is being followed by monsters from his movies, and horrors from his past.

I liked Bury Your Gays quite a lot. I thought it was better than Camp Damascus which I also loved. This appears to take place in the same universe that Camp Damascus takes place in as well, which was neat.

The twist… or… explanation of what exactly was happening was really interesting and I wouldn’t have guessed it in a million years. The same was true of Camp Damascus as well, so maybe it’s just that Check Tingle has some out-there ideas.

If you like a good horror, you may just like Bury Your Gays. It scared the willies out of me a couple of times. At least books can’t really jump scare me, or I’d hide under the blankets, lol.