8 Must-Read Books for Fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Hailed as “a personal history of trans visibility since the beginning of moving images,” We See Each Other should be at the top of any Rocky Horror fan’s TBR. In it, Tre’vell Anderson contextualizes seminal trans films like Rocky Horror, walking readers through the history of trans representation on screen.

27 queer writers — including Sarah Gailey, Carmen Maria Machado, and Madeline Visaggio — came together to produce Absolute Pleasure: a collection of essays exploring Rocky Horror‘s relevance to queer communities today. Does the outdated language in “Sweet Transvestite” undermine Rocky Horror‘s contemporary appeal, or is the film still as empowering today?

Stephen Chbosky’s 2009 YA novel may well be where a generation of kids first learned of the existence of Rocky Horror. Here, Charlie and his friends gather together to form their own shadow cast for the film, which plays in the backdrop of his letters — letters that explore sex and sexuality, drugs, and growing up.

Obviously, we have to include Vagabond on the list. Tim Curry’s long-awaited memoir traces his life from his childhood in Plymouth to today. The book takes readers behind the scenes of Curry’s most recognizable roles, including Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and Spamalot‘s King Arthur.

The first book in a planned trilogy, Savage Blooms follows will-they-or-won’t-they couple, Adam and Nicola, who find themselves waylaid on a trip to Scotland and wind up at an eccentric kinkster’s manor house. Sound familiar?

This campy ghost story centers on the eponymous Gwendolyn, who learns from an old friend that the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thinning. But as secrets from her past begin to pop up in truly grisly ways, Gwendolyn must face the skeletons in her closet before it’s too late.

Living on a terraformed planet in the deep reaches of space, trans dropout Oberon Afolayan isn’t having a great time. But when he wakes up with the ability to conjure dreams into reality, it seems as though his life might be turning around. Enter Kon: Oberon’s high-school crush, now his spirit guide to his newfound powers. Oberon might be falling in love with his — literal — dream boy, but Kon has secrets he isn’t sharing… ones that could derail Oberon’s life.

Finally, there’s House of Frank, a cozy book with perhaps the most fitting name for this list. In it, a witch who has lost her powers searches for a way to carry out her late sister’s final wish, and winds up finding the family she didn’t know she needed. It’s warm and welcoming, and if Rocky Horror is your comfort movie, you need to read it.