Horror, Sex, and Sexuality

Noizchild

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What are your opinions on horror, sex, and sexuality? I am a little torn on whether or not to go into a little more detail with them for my upcoming Durarara horror fic in August. (I do have a couple of characters in a sexual relationship, but the woman isn't too happy to be in it, but she's trying to save the guy's life. And there is a sexual slavery plot unfolding in the saga.) Should I go halfway "balls-deep", but not too far. (Can't post MA fics.) What do you think?
 

Cindyt

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Do what feels right to you.

As far as how I deal with these three sisters:

Sex: nothing explicit
Sexuality: heterosexual, because that's my orientation.
Horror: as much as is important to the plot.
 
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Anna Iguana

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At times, I think horror touches every aspect of experience. And if a writer wants and needs, s/he should write about it. I'm not sure what your dilemma about "whether or not to go into a little more detail with [horror, sex, and sexuality]" entails. Say more if you'd like.
 

ShaunHorton

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It's kind of funny. I just did a blog post on Horror and Sex not too long ago.

As far as how deep you want to go with it in your writing, it depends on what kind of story you're trying to write, and how long your story is, and what purpose it serves.

A short story, with a full-on sex scene, should probably revolve around it somehow. In a novella to a novel though, it's likely going to be either a plot point or a character moment.

Though, you could also write in the pulp-fiction vein, which has a bit of a history of gratuitousness.
 

Maryn

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I find horror and erotica can be a pleasant mix. As you might know (or might not), I don't sell a lot but I've sold two horror-sex hybrids. It helps to have a market in mind so you don't write too explicit or too vague for the place you hope to sell it.

One was a ghost story in which a grad student who killed herself interacts as instructor and sexual mentor with a struggling undergrad who's lost in an important class. The other was a young woman who sacrifices her boyfriend to her forebears on a rainy night at a cemetery. (That came of a writing prompt exercise, FWIW.)

Maryn, who never could finish that nurse story
 

M.N Thorne

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Personally, I write horror erotica and I enjoy that genre so much. I do not see a problem with mixing horror and sexuality. Well, it works for authors like Clive Baker at least. :)
 

nyalathotep

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I think the an it Blake series does a good job of mixing horror with erotica, from the books I've read. Vampires, werewolves, and other monsters dominating humans and forcing them to like it. A lot of mind control and hypnotization making people vulnerable to these ancient predators. Maybe that could help you. Although it can move into borderline rape territory depending on how you read it.
 

Noizchild

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I think the an it Blake series does a good job of mixing horror with erotica, from the books I've read. Vampires, werewolves, and other monsters dominating humans and forcing them to like it. A lot of mind control and hypnotization making people vulnerable to these ancient predators. Maybe that could help you. Although it can move into borderline rape territory depending on how you read it.

I still need to read that. I read and own "Strange Candy".
 

Crowned in Fireflies

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The original Alien works so well because of the sexual aspect of the xenomoroph creature. It's design is very phallic, and it's life-cycle relies on what is essentially rape: the "facehuggers" jump from eggs, latch on to someone's face, and impregnates them with the xenomorph which is then born by bursting out of a person's chest and killing them in the process. There is a lot about sex that can be terrifying, so it makes sense for horror.
 

Noizchild

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The original Alien works so well because of the sexual aspect of the xenomoroph creature. It's design is very phallic, and it's life-cycle relies on what is essentially rape: the "facehuggers" jump from eggs, latch on to someone's face, and impregnates them with the xenomorph which is then born by bursting out of a person's chest and killing them in the process. There is a lot about sex that can be terrifying, so it makes sense for horror.

I never thought of it that way.
 

louisecooksey

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Personally, I like the horror and erotica mix. Sex can make you more vulnerable psychologically as well as physically. I could see it adding a lot to a horror story.
 

MindfulInquirer

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interesting topic and responses.
Generally my thought is that from an evolutionary standpoint sex is the first basic necessity and therefor will have a paramount role in any society, whether consciously or not, from that very fundamental fact. In fiction and stories, the concept of sex can be utilized and manoeuvred in a way that is either dramatic/emphatic or disturbing; and compelling in the case of horror; because it taps into that intrinsic organic obsession to this basic biological need we all have, while being transformed through fiction and story telling enough that the reader won't immediately feel the connexion.
 

veinglory

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Having written from the horror end and the erotica end, it really depends on the market and readership. You can alienate unprepared readers.
 

MoonTheLune

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What are your opinions on horror, sex, and sexuality?...Should I go halfway "balls-deep", but not too far.
I think the balence is going to be different for each writer. I was raised in a very culturally catholic family in a lot of ways, horror is how I've been working through a WHOLE LOT of repression via parable. We live in a strange culture that is more afraid of sex than of violence, so I kinda... use violence to talk about sex. I know. It sounds bizzare, but here we are.

That being said, any story with humans (or in my case used-to-be-humans) in it will probably have a few of them having sex, the question of the writer is "does it happen on or off screen?". For myself, I always keep it off screen, but I enjoy writing double entendres and heavily implying upcoming or recently-finished intimacy. Plus queer (and straight) flirt-banter is one of my few joys in life so I take what I can get.

Anna Iguana:
I think horror touches every aspect of experience.
I completly agree! We write horror to work through things that scare us, and we live in a culture that is TERRIFIED of sex in a lot of ways, so I think the crossover is inevitable.

I also would like to challenge all y'all in this thread to read a little of Bram Stoker's Dracula if you haven't already, and note all the overbearing sexual overtones because whew lad. I have a very rigid theory that every vampire story is a story about sex, and Dracula is what kicked that theory off. Now I see it everywhere.

Crowned in Fireflies, excellent point about Alien! It is absolutely a story revolving around fear of rape! They're not even making a metaphor, it's literal!

I think a lot of the risk of alienating readers can be mitigated if you are upfront about the content you intend to create. A simple "This chapter contains sexually explicit content" can save unprepared readers, and probably let them feel more comfortable sticking around for the next bit they are comfortable reading, since they have a sense of trust that you will warn them of such things.