Pride Month Interviews: Meet A.L. Davidson

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you contribute to the horror genre.

Hi! My name is A.L. Davidson, I am a genre romance author specializing in horror, sci-fi, and paranormal stories! I got my start in the horrormance sphere, and I almost exclusively tell stories with queer and disability rep at the forefront. I like to take realistic relationships, queerness, and disabilities and give them horrific twists that weren't often highlighted back when I first started writing. Thankfully, that's changed, but I will always make those priorities in my narratives. I'm also a regular horror movie podcast guest (former host) and frequent many of my local book events as one of the few front and center horror authors in my area. I live in a pretty fantasy-forward space, so it feels nice to get to be the weirdo showing up in goth outfits while everyone else is in big ball gowns!
 
What drew you to the horror genre?

I've always been into the scary stuff. I don't know what other kids were watching, but my evenings were spent in the company of Scooby-Doo and Ghost Hunters. Once I hit my twenties and had more freedom to do what I wanted, I started binging a bunch of "must watch" horror films and found myself falling in love with the genre in new ways. It was kind of natural that I'd end up here. My jobs outside of writing have been a haunted manor house docent and an assistant funeral director, so the creepy things are what I'm drawn to. I love dabbling in the many subgenres of horror, too. There's always something new to explore, and it's so intrinsically tied to romance - and being a hopeless romantic it was the perfect avenue for my writing career to take off with.
 
If you could recommend one creation of horror that everyone should consume that is queer or queer coded, whether that be a book, podcast, movie, art, etc., what would you recommend? 

I highly recommend the manga series The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumokuren - the anime adaptation and light novel versions are also excellent if you'd prefer those routes, as well. It is a gorgeous story about death, queer suppression and awakenings, small town gossip, folk horror, and self-discovery. Right from page one it draws you in with shocking horror and beautiful imagery about friends uncovering each other's darkest parts while wrestling with the repercussions in rural Japan. It's haunting and well worth the read.

Who are some queer content creators in horror you think more people should discover?

I recently discovered an amazing horror YouTuber by the name of Girl On Film who does deep dives into horror through a queer and disabled lens, with a focus on costuming, history, iconography, and feminism. Every single video is full of deep, thought-provoking looks at what makes horror unique across its many subgenres. With several video series such as "Men Writing Women" which asks questions like "is Saw sexist or feminist?" and "The Fashion of Horror", Girl on Film is a video essayist I highly recommend more people watch.

I've also recently become a big fan of Zane Parker, another YouTuber who does incredible deep dives into films both queer and horror based through a Black lens that isn't afraid to tackle the big conversations when it comes to rep of all sorts in the realm of cinema. Also a big shoutout to my friends over at Voices From The Mausoleum, they do amazing work keeping up with horror news while also championing LGBTQIA+ rights, charities, and voices. They go beyond film into books, comics, and video games, so they're an amazing source for horror news!
 
What advice would you give to the next generation of queer horror content creators coming into the horror genre?

Try everything and do so without fear. Horror is so expansive, there's literally nothing stopping you from jumping around when it comes to subgenres, writing styles, the movies you watch and review, the things you talk about. Horror is bold, so you should be, too. Find the weird things nobody talks about, bring up the interesting subjects, write the absolutely absurd thing people tell you not to. Now more than ever we need queer voices, and horror is often so reflective of real world events and fears, so tackling those things and documenting them - be it through a video essay or a novel or painting - matters more than you know.
 
Where can folks find you these days?

I can be found at disturbancesbyalycia.weebly.com - it's my main website with all of the important links, including my library for my books - and my main social is instagram where you can find me under MaybeMockingbird!