Chuck TingleFiction · Horror
Camp Damascus
Synopsis
Camp Damascus, nestled in the Montana wilderness, is the world's most effective gay conversion camp. Parents send their children from around the world to experience the program's 100% success rate. But this story isn't about that. This story is about Rose Darling, a God-fearing young lady who can't stop puking up flies.
It's about her parents who ignore her visions of an eerie woman with sagging, pale skin who watches from the woods. It's about the desires deep inside Rose that don't seem to make any sense, and her waking nightmares that are beginning to feel more like memories. And maybe, just maybe, it's a little bit about Camp Damascus after all.
How it reads
Prose complexity 4/10
Content warnings (7)
TraumaAbuseTortureStalkingKidnappingSubstance AbuseViolence
Readers say (1)Funny · Mysterious · Creepy
- love the dig at Mormons Losing Money
- 4.25-4.5 I have all the thoughts for this book, all so extremely positive. CW/TW for this review as I think this is important and shouldn't be hidden in the body: Religion / Religious Trauma -Homophobia / Gay Conversion -Bugs - flies specifically because I felt a certain type of way about them, but it's also on the cover so maybe you're alright with them. Camp Damascus, set in a fictional Montana town with a heavy Kingdom of the Peace presence (think of an ultra-devoted type of religious community), is the number one gay conversion camp. Why it's so successful? No one knows, but after experiencing a handful of events to make her question her faith, Rose finds herself delving into the secrets that lurk beneath the surface. Ultimately, as any good horror book, it's best to go in blind. But I just HAD to speak on how much I enjoyed this book. If secular books of any kind cause any triggering response for you, this book may not be it. There's heavy use of scripture through out, but it's so important to the plot. Rose is the best kind of FMC. She's curious, witty in her own way, and not willing to be blinded as she once was as the plot unravels. Her internal struggle with religion vs her reality is breath taking to see. As someone who grew up Catholic, even if I wasn't as devote, the "Catholic Guilt" kept creeping up on me as I read this. I know people who have a similar thinking to the characters, who preach and twist the narrative so the words of the Book fit their needs. And ultimately, that's the whole point. The paranormal and horror aspects of Camp Damascus are gory to a degree and I agree with many other reviewers where this reads more YA/New Adult than true adult horror. But given the setting and the narrative, I think that works in the text's favor. I think anything too much scarier would detract from the character growth from not only Rose, but the characters around her.