Question about Erotic Horror

[Djmac1031]

So we don't discuss this category too often, do we?

But I have an idea for a story and it seems to fit there best. At least I think so.

Here's the deal without telling the whole story. It's not going to have much, if any sex. There will be sexual elements, but I don't think there's going to be any actual sex at all.

There's also going to be a Non Con element to it. But not actual rape.

In fact, it's going to be more of a horror story than an "erotic" horror story.

There will also be a Supernatural element to it.

I suppose my question is; just how dark are we allowed to go?

Besides outright rape and snuff, what else is forbidden? Obviously no underage stuff either but I certainly have no plans to go there.

I honestly don't know just how dark or potentially violent or bloody it might get yet. The story is still in the early planning stages.

I suppose I'm just curious to hear from anyone who writes in that category regularly if there's anything I should be aware of that could potentially cause problems publishing?

 

[NightPorter]

Erotic Horror tends to get a little more leeway when it comes to violence than other categories on the site, within reason of course. You can have a character that's a succubus that kills another character during sex. A concept that is a none starter elsewhere. Where's the line? Only one person knows that answer. Use your best judgment, maybe look at what's already been posted if you want some insight.

 

[Djmac1031]

Use your best judgment, maybe look at what's already been posted if you want some insight.

Probably a good idea.

I did write an Erotic Horror story for Halloween a few years ago that got quite graphic. And didn't have an issue publishing.

For the record, I love a good Horror story. Which is why I wanna try and write another.

I guess I'm just trying to gets a heads-up on how far I can push it before I cross any LE guidelines.

 

[NightPorter]

Write what you want just don't get too attached to it. You may have to make modifications. I would love to give you a guide of what's Go and No Go but the truth is that Erotic horror is a bit of a special case. Submitting stories to that category involves being judged on a case by case basis.

 

[Djmac1031]

Write what you want just don't get too attached to it. You may have to make modifications. I would love to give you a guide of what's Go and No Go but the truth is that Erotic horror is a bit of a special case. Submitting stories to that category involves being judged on a case by case basis.

Thanks.

It's not like I'm planning some bloody massacre.

In a nutshell I'm going to have a Bad Guy plotting a terrible act, only to have things backfire spectacularly and the tables turned on him. And some Very Bad Things will be his fate.

But I don't plan on breaking the essential rules here to do it either.

 

[RejectReality]

Personally, I've always faded to black during the worst of mine in horror. They were early on, and I was still finding out where the line was. Those deaths were sexual in nature, and even though the victims were horrible people, fading to black was most likely why they made it through the queue. Sexual violence is where the real issues arise.

Ebon Genesis in Sci-Fi & Fantasy is another thing altogether. I have him desiccate his half sister who repeatedly raped and tortured him. The stepmother who poisoned his father and sidelined him to take the wealth and power for herself gets slowly crushed to death by his magic, and I describe the increasingly larger bones snapping and popping until her last gurgling wheeze. The MC gets fried by lightning to the point he's blackened and his flesh peeling away. Her accomplice is burned alive. In the end, every member of that accomplice's household meets a equally grisly fate. ( Though only described in a brief narrative )

When it's not sexual in nature, the bar for violence that serves the story isn't that hard to walk in the fantasy categories. The more bad people are meeting deserved fates, the more likely it is to pass. The less your setting resembles the real world, the more likely it is to pass. That applies to non-con as well. It needs to serve the story, but it's not nearly as much of an uphill battle as it might be elsewhere. I describe one of the MCs forced encounters fairly extensively. She's terrible, and it's slowly revealed through the story that he's actually even worse. It's the origin story for the main villain in my stories as Darkniciad, revealing why he's so fucked up.

The readership in the fantasy categories doesn't complain about incest, non-con, M/M, violence, etc. the way the readers of the real world categories do. They expect wider ranging themes, so long as the overarching theme is the fantastical world. When warned about the edgier elements via an author's note, they're even less likely to complain. That's a big reason why there's more leeway there. User complaints have directed the content rules other than the base underage and bestiality core since the beginning, and the readership there isn't as reactionary. Horror readers expect the violence and torment even more than the other two categories, so that doesn't even require a warning there. Some of the S&F and NonHuman readers are looking for lighter fare, so a warning is typically appreciated and heeded.

Avoid sexual violence, make sure any other violence serves the story, and you have a fairly wide range in Horror, S&F, and NonHuman.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I guess I'm just trying to gets a heads-up on how far I can push it before I cross any LE guidelines.

When you think you've pushed the line, you probably have.

 

[AchtungNight]

My Erotic Horror story “Courtney Crowe” had a stripper impersonating a succubus prostitute herself, set two men up for false rape accusations, and drug them and herself with illegal substances. She also sexually assaulted one of the men while he was asleep after learning he was part of a conservative political family and was trying to hide his homosexuality. The story faded to black at the end. In the sequel it was revealed she almost killed both her victims with the drugs and therefore ended up in prison for attempted felony murder. That wasn’t her intent, but in the eyes of the law…

My advice is to look at what is erotic and what is horrifying in your story. The scenes in my story where Courtney has sex with her victims are both. She tells Roger (victim #1) to choke her forcefully and give her a hickey. He doesn’t know she’s setting him up for false aggravated sexual assault charges. Victim #2 is sexually assaulted by Courtney in his sleep. That might arouse some readers. The intent of me as a writer is to horrify the reader with what Courtney is doing. Maybe some readers will think hard about what is wrong with the picture. Is Courtney to blame? The victim? His family? And how might the problem be addressed? It’s not always easy for me as a writer to answer these questions. Some problems can’t easily be solved.

Laurel had no issues with any of these things in my stories. The LW imps were another problem.

 

[PennameWombat]

I have three stories in Erotic Horror, but two of them are there because of depictions of death, as opposed to extremely horrific (YMMV).

Only one, City of Angels, combines sex and death. The MC is an alien body snatcher who takes over a young woman’s body. She 'feeds' by having sex with men and women and after climaxing she absorbs their life force. Think 'energy vampire.'

She prefers and hunts for virgins. She uses hypnosis and mind control, including forcing a church congregation to engage in a mass orgy.

In actuality, she doesn't generally aim to kill her victims, but normally leaves them brain-dead. One does die.

If you read it, I used an explicit gap, in that both parties climax, and she attacks them immediately after, while they're post-coital. But it's inescapable that sex and death are intertwined. I didn’t have an issue getting it posted.

 

[Djmac1031]

Thanks for all the feedback so far.

This story is still in the fledgling stage, and as such, keeps flipping around as to just how far down the rabbit hole it will go when it comes to sex or violence.

I'm basically just jotting down scattered notes at this point. But I have the basic plot in mind, and the ending.

The Devil will be in the details, I suppose...