Words / Phil Gomez
Photos / Sam San Roman
What do you get when a haunted house hooks up with a carnival, slides into the DMs of queer nightlife, and invites immersive theater over for a midnight sĂ©ance? You get MONSTROUSâa maximalist, horror-drenched fever dream born from the twisted brilliance of creator and producer Charlie August Kellogg. As soon as we stepped behind the scenes of Camp MONSTROUS, it was clear: this wasnât just an event. It was a world. A universe. A queer horror fantasia where the monsters look like usâand thatâs the point. Underneath the prosthetics, fake blood, and fog machines lives something real: resistance, community, and queer catharsis.
Charlieâs journey to building this beast began with two sparks: a post-election crisis of creative purpose, and a Brooklyn backyard that already looked like a summer camp. âAt first, I thought, who cares about a party right now? But my mom said, âPeople need this. They need each other.ââ That one conversation lit the fuse. What followed was MONSTROUSâan underground celebration of queer legacy told through horror, a genre whose queer fingerprints have always been there, even when hidden. With Camp MONSTROUS, Charlie and their co-conspirators LEXXEÂ and Hannah Gill crafted an ’80s slasher-inspired slayground dripping in nostalgia, lore, and rebellion. Think Friday the 13th meets Now and Then, but gayer. And bloodier.
From the outside, MONSTROUS might look like the coolest Halloween rave youâve never been toâbut inside, it’s theater, it’s story, itâs survival. Picture this: tarot readings, flash tattoos, gogo dancers in full creature SFX, characters from a ghost story youâve never heardâbut somehow know. âThe killer is the state. The weapon is policy,â Charlie tells us. âBut in our version, the queers donât die. They fight back. They win.â Every detail is handcrafted, every cast member a character in an unfolding narrative that fuses trauma with triumph. Even tech fails become canonâlike the werewolf mask that snapped moments before curtain, causing a 30-minute drag improv detour that made the eventual reveal that much more iconic. Charlie recalls a moment from last years event, MONSTROUS: Fang & Fur.
In celebration of Pride Month, MONSTROUS gives us an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse, reminding us that queer joy is loud, messy, political, and impossible to ignore. Proceeds from Camp MONSTROUS benefit the NYC LGBT+ Community Center and New Alternatives to raise funds and collect goods for queer folks in need, keeping community at the heart of the horror. Because queer nightlife isnât just about escapeâitâs about building worlds we deserve to live in. âThereâs no final girl in this story,â Charlie says. âWe survive together.â Itâs a mantra, a battle cry, and a promise. The monsters arenât coming. We are the monstersâand we throw one hell of a party!
