Camp Damascus

Fun, thrilling, but a bit blocky. Feels very YA

Gets a little tedious & drawn-out near the middle, and I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be so YA, but this is yet another solid Tingle classic. I can think of one specific scene that I would’ve deleted and replaced with one that builds up more of the relationship between Rose and Willow (maybe Rose gaining a nice memory of their time together that’s inconsequential to the plot but encourages more emotional investment in their connection? I like their relationship but the story doesn’t explore Willow enough to make me *really* care about it) but beyond that one little blip I stayed immersed in the story and excited to find out what happens next.

The demons in this book are so fucking cool. That ending with Pastor Bend? How do you even think up something like that? I had to read it a few times over because it was so pleasantly nauseauting and gruesome. The scary parts of this book are indeed scary, even if it leans towards a younger audience.

Not my favorite by this author, but still a great horror novel with a great message.

On the surface, Camp Damascus has the makings of a traditional pulp horror with creepy demons and gore and suspense. But beneath that, the real horror comes from the religious trauma, family alienation, conversion therapy, queer erasure, etc.

“Slowly disconnecting from your community—from your family—is difficult, and while it seems like unearthing their sinister motives and dark secrets might make the process easier, it will never entirely quell the pain. I’ve been avoiding this dark ache by keeping my mind busy while my body couldn’t be, but it hasn’t gone away. The sadness is still there, lurking in the corner like a pale demon in a red polo, just waiting to finally be acknowledged. That acknowledgment could arrive after several decades, or it could happen tonight, but the time will come. Eventually, I’ll have to fully contend with this simple fact: the love I was promised is conditional.”

But there was hope and positivity to be found in Rose - who finds self-acceptance and her own voice while battling these demons. She writes her own “scripture” throughout the story and I was rooting for her all along!

“Rose 1:1–2. She raised a flaming sword, not to rend her heart, but to seal the wound where a heart had been. For those who cast her out did not know this steadfast flame, alight with righteous anger, would never cease until the heavenly kingdom fell.”

Highly recommend! This is my second Chuck Tingle book, and I will definitely be going back for more!

A great book with a poignant message and a satisfying ending, in my opinion. I am not a friend of horror, but the demonic and supernatural elements in the novel are comparatively mild. And on judgment day hell punishes those who are truly "sinful and depraved," not the gay community. (1/22/26)