Who Is Chuck Tingle?: Author of the World’s Strangest Erotica

August 3, 2022 by Joseph Sherwood

In this article:

If you get past the best sellers on the Amazon Kindle Store, you can find some seriously odd books. There are instructional books about things no one needs to know, such as How To Find Good Pineapples: A Quick & Essential Guide to Finding & Buying the Best Pineapples. Alright, to be fair, I have accidentally chosen a bad pineapple once or twice.

But, the title of the strangest books that you can find on the Amazon Kindle Store must go to the works of the mysterious Chuck Tingle. 

Chuck Tingle, an elusive and veiled figure, is the author of hundreds of erotic novellas, many of which contain themes such as vampires, cryptids, extraterrestrial life, magic, dinosaurs, living objects, and (most of all) getting pounded in the butt.

Take, for instance, one of his last works titled My Macaroni And Cheese Is A Lesbian Also She Is My Lawyer. Who else but Chuck Tingle would think to write erotica about a homosexual comfort food that’s passed the bar exam? 

And, before we go any further into the mystery of the author known as Chuck Tingle, allow me to list off a few of his other titles so you know what you’re getting yourself into: 

As you can tell, Chuck Tingle is a high-minded intellectual with a gift for scribing some of the most daring and thought-provoking works of the 21st century.

However, little is known about the author’s origins, or even if he’s a real person. For years, rumors have swirled around the internet about Chuck Tingle’s life, inspiration for his novels, and existence. 

Most of Chuck Tingle’s novellas, which he refers to as “tinglers,” follow a similar pattern. There’s a main character, who is typically LGBTQ, who ends up having a sexual experience with Bigfoot, a dinosaur, a unicorn, or some sort of living object.

At first glance, it may seem like Tingle is a bigot taking low blows at the LGBTQ community, but things get a little deeper than that. 

Related

Saul Goodman's Most Complicated Relationships in Better Call Saul, Ranked

The Paqui One Chip Challenge: The Tortilla Chip From Hell

First of all, almost all of Tingle’s books end with some sort of message about how “love is real,” a phrase that he often proclaims in his public appearances.

His books also speak on the importance of learning one’s own body and allowing others to express their sexuality in whatever way they choose. And these are certainly valid and commendable morals. 

However, it’s unclear whether Chuck Tingle’s books are the work of a schizophrenic on the autism spectrum combatting sexual repression or works of satire. And, if they are satire, who and what exactly are they satirizing? And it all really boils down to one essential question: Who is Chuck Tingle? 

Tingle claims to be an autistic man who grew up in a deeply religious household in House of Truth, Utah, the former site of a religious commune that has been a ghost town since 1977.

Later in life, he moved to Billings, Montana, became a taekwondo grandmaster, and got a Ph.D. from DeVry University in holistic massaging (a degree which the online university has never offered). 

He has appeared on podcasts, in which he speaks about his work, the reality of love, and his personal life. He also has his own YouTube channel in which he makes animated videos about his life and has guided mediation sessions in which he wears a paper bag over his head.

He has even appeared in person at events wearing a pink bag over his head. 

One of the biggest windows that we have into the life of Chuck Tingle is his son Jon, who is an adult but lives with and cares for his father. In 2015, on Reddit, Jon claimed that his father uses his outrageous works of erotic fiction as a kind of mask, but that the messages behind them were genuine and real to him.

He also said that Tingle is aware that his works are satirical and that he has an aptitude for comedy and performance art. 

So, if we take this backstory at face value, the story of Chuck Tingle is a nice one. It’s a story of a man who’s found success while living with a disability. It’s a story of a man who overcame religious sexual repression and pokes fun at bigotry.

Chuck Tingle even once publicly denounced the notoriously bigoted internet group “Rabid Puppies” when they nominated him for a Hugo Award to stop female authors from winning the prize. 

So, it would seem that this Chuck Tingle is a pretty good guy. However, if we don’t take him at face value, if we consider that Chuck Tingle might actually be a performance artist who made this entire persona up, then the person (or group) behind Chuck Tingle seems a little less harmless. 

Over the years, many followers of Chuck Tingle have suggested that he may not actually be a real person. Perhaps they are a performance artist who has made up this entire persona to go alongside their wacky erotica.

Perhaps it isn’t even a single person, but a collection of people. And perhaps his son Jon is just the same person or group of people responding to questions on Twitter and Reddit from another account.

The evidence is there: The fact that he claimed to have received a degree that doesn’t exist from DeVry University, the fact that the only photo of him ever released was later found on a stock photo website, the fact that he never appears in public without a bag over his head.

It seems entirely plausible that Chuck Tingle made up his entire backstory. However, all of these things could also be explained by schizophrenic delusions or a desire to remain anonymous. It’s hard to say. 

If Chuck Tingle is, in fact, a performance artist who’s constructed his public persona, it raises some serious ethical questions about what he’s doing.

First of all, if he’s not actually a part of the LGBTQ community, then his books seem less funny and more like a cheap shot at those who are LGBTQ.

And, if the real person behind Chuck Tingle doesn’t actually have schizophrenia, autism, or any of the other conditions that he’s been said to have, then it doesn’t really seem cool to go around acting as if you do have these mental conditions. 

With that being said, there is a chance that some of Chuck Tingle’s purported backstory is true, some of it is for comedic effect, some of it is meant to conceal his identity, and some of it is the result of delusions. At this point, I have no idea.

We tell stories that impact lives. Support our editorial team and help us make an impact on society and communities.