Erotic Horror

Okay, let's face it.  People love horror.  People also love sex.  So what could be better than sexy horror?

Erotic horror is the genre term used to describe works where sexuality and horror are intermingled.  Both the erotic and the horrific are topics of controversy.  Put them together, and you're left with such political un-correctness that it's bound to hit a nerve.

Book stores, television and movies are all filled with erotica these days.  It's no secret that the popularity of the 50 Shades Trilogy has had a part in making this happen.  The topic of BDSM is less of a taboo topic now than it was before.  But E.L. James was definitely not the first person to write of such carnal delights.

The French aristocrat Donatien Alphonse Francois (1740-1814) - better know today as simply the Marquis de Sade - published a number of erotica titles, both under his own name and anonymously.  The combination of sexuality and violence written by the Marquis de Sade landed him in prison - a number of times.

During some of the years the Marquis de Sade was in prison, he was actually encouraged to act out some of his works, using fellow inmates as the actors.  Some time after this, a new law placed the Marquis de Sade into solitary confinement and prohibited the use of pens and paper.  Today, we have words like "sadism" and "sadist" to describe people like this.  Where do you think we got those words?

Traditionally, horror discusses issues people don't like to think about.  Sex, on the other hand, is a topic people aren't supposed to think about.  But I think the human mind has no choice but to ponder over such topics.  "What would happen if..." and "it feels so good to..." are very common thoughts.  When these two things are mixed, it brings about a whole new set of possibilities.