Erotic Horror?

[EvelynEden]

Hey guys

Me again lol

So I really want to get into Erotic Horror, I reckon it would be a lot of fun to play around with- but if I know me, I want to go all out. I just wanted to know from some Erotic Horror pro's and also, of course, the dabblers--- What are some tips and tricks from one writer to another?
Does anyone know the parameters of this category? Blood, gore, murderous rampage? How far is too far and what's not far enough?

Ok, I think I've surrounded you enough with my unending questions so I'll leave it here

Thank you

 

[Bramblethorn]

Hey guys

Me again lol

So I really want to get into Erotic Horror, I reckon it would be a lot of fun to play around with- but if I know me, I want to go all out. I just wanted to know from some Erotic Horror pro's and also, of course, the dabblers--- What are some tips and tricks from one writer to another?
Does anyone know the parameters of this category? Blood, gore, murderous rampage? How far is too far and what's not far enough?

Ok, I think I've surrounded you enough with my unending questions so I'll leave it here

Thank you

EH is pretty permissive as far as violence and death goes - you really have to be pushing it to get a rejection there. If you browse the category you'll see some examples of what's been posted in the past.

 

[Blind_Justice]

EH, much like Sci-Fi/Fantasy, lives and dies by the amount and quality of description you put into your story. Now, I'm a huge H.P. Lovecraft whore and LOVE the way he can build an atmosphere with a few choice words. So, before going in having vampires and succubi couple with mortals, make sure you have the foundations for a good horror story down. You don't always have to go full-on gorefest - the unknown, shadowy, unseen can be even more terrifying than the elaborately described. Use enough words to have the reader fill the blanks with his own imagination.

And my own personal pet peeve - don't turn the creatures of the night into harmless "exotic" sex things. There is a huge difference between the predator vampire who requires blood to sustain his existence and uses sex as bait versus the tall dark handsome who needs sunglasses even at night but never even nibbles a neck and has a convenient "panty-drop" gaze. Seriously, Anne Rice and Stephanie Meyer have more vampires on their conscience than the whole Van Helsing clan. But that's my personal two cents.

 

[RejectReality]

My personal opinion is that EH should be reserved for actual horror. Stories that end badly. ( in my case, it's always bad people meeting a worse end )

If it's creatures of the night sparkling or romancing, then put it in Non-Human.

As has been mentioned, EH has the least restrictive bar for sexual violence, but there is one. For regular violence, the bar is even less restrictive.

 

[Bramblethorn]

And my own personal pet peeve - don't turn the creatures of the night into harmless "exotic" sex things. There is a huge difference between the predator vampire who requires blood to sustain his existence and uses sex as bait versus the tall dark handsome who needs sunglasses even at night but never even nibbles a neck and has a convenient "panty-drop" gaze. Seriously, Anne Rice and Stephanie Meyer have more vampires on their conscience than the whole Van Helsing clan. But that's my personal two cents.

Or, if you do want to write that kind of story, Nonhuman is probably a better place for it than EH.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The first multi-chapter thing I wrote was a long shaggy dog story in EH, involving a shape shifting woman and a young hero who wanders back and forth in time. It still gets read from folk finding my back catalogue, and gets an occasional favourite. It wasn't a gore fest, but introduced a number of my still recognisable tropes.

One chapter has pride of place as my lowest ever score - it appears those EH guys, as tough as they are, can't handle a bit of father son incest action. Somebody commented that it "went a bit dark in that chapter..." so after a month or two I added a squick warning in the comments of the preceding chapter. Even with a warning, people went ahead and read it, knowing they wouldn't like what they read.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Halloween in the Cemetery- burnt alive

Nockatunga Station- eaten alive from the inside out by aliens

You can do a lot in EH

 

[SolarRay]

I tried it once with "The Girl from the Deep". I used it mainly to write a femme fatale creature story inspired by old sailor lore. It wasn't gory -- more creepy and disturbing with erotic elements and predatory danger. My sense at the time was that the erotic horror readers had some precise expectations about the kinds of characters and plots they wanted to read about, which my story didn't necessarily fit, but that shouldn't dissuade anyone from writing a story they want to write. If nothing else it was a blast to write and share as a dabbler in that category.

 

[Maeven_quinn]

Hey guys

Me again lol

So I really want to get into Erotic Horror, I reckon it would be a lot of fun to play around with- but if I know me, I want to go all out. I just wanted to know from some Erotic Horror pro's and also, of course, the dabblers--- What are some tips and tricks from one writer to another?
Does anyone know the parameters of this category? Blood, gore, murderous rampage? How far is too far and what's not far enough?

Ok, I think I've surrounded you enough with my unending questions so I'll leave it here

Thank you

The first story I submitted here is Erotic Horror. It's a tale of one ambitious young woman's bargain with a sadistic succubus that has consequences spanning generations.

I expanded on these characters in one of my works in Amazon, and it has received an enthusiastic review. Private message me if you're interested in the link.

 

[Voboy]

It's a fun category, mostly because as others have noted the readers tend to be pretty permissive as far as content goes. Plus, I've found they respect good writing and that they like a story that feels realistic, even within the confines of whatever weirdo quasi-magical realm your characters are doing things in.

Go for it! Let your freak flag fly. I find it's a fun palate-cleanser to write these kinds of stories.

 

[J_R_Ashunwhy]

Most certainly more of a dabbler than any kind of 'pro,' but official rules still stay the same: no underage, no bestiality except for supernatural creatures, and no snuff, (though there are stories here that push that last rule to it's limits).

Personally? I've put up a story of a Domme shape-shifter who steals the genetic material of her lovers to double them before disposing of them, an Alptraum gone right, a demon breeding young women unable to conceive, an incubus killing/converting a bi college student before fucking her and aiding for her transition to go full succubus/Lilith, and one of a woman fucking death, but having their romp cut short when she refuses to kill herself for him.

None of those stories were refused when submitted, nor needed to be altered in any way, and all of them gained that coveted little red H; even the Domme one . Again I will repeat that bit about the readers being very permissive, but I think that in part is because most try to avoid the category if they do not like the subject material...unlike some of the other categories.

I think honest descriptions and appropriate tags will be your best friends for gaining a wider readership.

 

[RandyD1369]

Hey guys

Me again lol

So I really want to get into Erotic Horror, I reckon it would be a lot of fun to play around with- but if I know me, I want to go all out. I just wanted to know from some Erotic Horror pro's and also, of course, the dabblers--- What are some tips and tricks from one writer to another?
Does anyone know the parameters of this category? Blood, gore, murderous rampage? How far is too far and what's not far enough?

Ok, I think I've surrounded you enough with my unending questions so I'll leave it here

Thank you

Erotic Horror can be pretty much whatever you want it to be. My first Lit story, An Idol Hour, has no violence or compulsion, but it implies a lot of things. The "ashes" at the end of the story are the remains of the gypsy woman after she destroys the idols. The reader doesn't get to see that because it treads too near to "snuff porn" for the editor's comfort. Okay, I'll buy that; it's her nickle after all.

The down-side is the category is among the least viewed. So, it will stay in the "new" category for 2 to 4 weeks instead of days as it would in, say, Incest/Taboo. After a month and a half, An Idol Hour has only had 2200 or so views. That would be only a couple of hours' views in a more popular category.

Obviously, if you have something that is clearly SF or Fantasy, you'll find a much bigger audience there.

A New Year is like a blank book, and the pen is in your hands. It's your chance to write a beautiful story. Happy New Year.

My stories: https://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=5198496&page=submissions

 

[rutger5]

EH is pretty tolerant on allowing terrible things to happen. My Lovecraft inspired story has a human child sacrifice and it didn't hurt the ratings any so let loose with your darkest imagining.

 

[manyeyedhydra]

General tips would be to always try to use both parts of "Erotic Horror". As in, the erotic part should feel dangerous and the horror part should be sexy.

Literotica is an erotic stories site, so readers tend to be here for sex first and the other parts second. For that reason, I think it's better to lean harder on the "erotic" half of "erotic horror". Personally, I like to make the sex an integral part of the Bad End. Succubi (and similar monsters) are good for this as "Death by Sex" tends to be part of their MO.

That said, the category is not quite anything goes, and I think it might have got stricter in recent times.

 

[RejectReality]

OP, here's your expert opinion from the category MEH is a highly successful veteran of the category for good reason.

General tips would be to always try to use both parts of "Erotic Horror". As in, the erotic part should feel dangerous and the horror part should be sexy.

Literotica is an erotic stories site, so readers tend to be here for sex first and the other parts second. For that reason, I think it's better to lean harder on the "erotic" half of "erotic horror". Personally, I like to make the sex an integral part of the Bad End. Succubi (and similar monsters) are good for this as "Death by Sex" tends to be part of their MO.

That said, the category is not quite anything goes, and I think it might have got stricter in recent times.

 

[SimonDoom]

My lone foray into EH is a story about sentient alien dildo creatures with mind control powers. It hasn't quite yet cracked the 4.5/red H barrier, so perhaps it's a bit too much even for this open-minded crowd. But in general I think it's an accepting readership and it's a fun category, so have at it. I generally agree with RejectReality: go dark. Or, if you don't want to, put it in Sci Fi or Nonhuman, or some other category.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My lone foray into EH is a story about sentient alien dildo creatures with mind control powers. It hasn't quite yet cracked the 4.5/red H barrier, so perhaps it's a bit too much even for this open-minded crowd. But in general I think it's an accepting readership and it's a fun category, so have at it. I generally agree with RejectReality: go dark. Or, if you don't want to, put it in Sci Fi or Nonhuman, or some other category.

Yes, you can go dark, but don't go dark and mix in GM and incest at the same time. My only encounter with the Category Police was in EH, where one chapter of my long shaggy dog story hit several squick buttons (and continues to do so, despite a warning in the comments of the previous chapter).

Since I was writing on the run, I notched the next chapter up even more to fuck with the Category Police - I thought - but strangely, that one doesn't blip anything like as much. It seems you can write an ass-fuck from a big black she-male but a son boffing his dad in the bum is not on. Not with mum in the room getting it away with a lez. My conclusion from that little mind-game is that the Lit homophobes are everywhere, and that's the over-arching reason for what is now my pride of place - my lowest scoring chapter ever .

 

[KyraSaden]

I've yet to post in the EH category itself and I'm guessing it'll be a good long while before I do so. However, a LOT of my other stories contain at least some elements of erotic horror. For me, erotic horror isn't about mixing "sex" and "horror" together. It's about exploring the oftentimes erotic aspects of horror--fear, desperation, & debauchery.

Popular media nowadays tends to romanticize the lore surrounding erotic horror (e.g. vampires, sirens, succubi/incubi) and strip it of its truly frightening aspects. But human beings have been talking about the horror inherent to lust and the lustful aspects of horror since before writing was much of a thing.