Explore Your Monster Fantasies This Halloween
October 28, 2024 by Emily Mendelson
Last year on the blog, we talked about why Halloween is the perfect time to explore your sexy roleplay fantasies, and how you can embrace those fantasies by being strategic with your costume choice. This year, we’re taking this idea one step further and talking about monster fantasies, which involve deriving pleasure from the thought of sexual activity with nonhuman creatures.
How Many People Are Turned On By Monsters?
In the survey of 4,175 Americans Dr. Lehmiller conducted for Tell Me What You Want, he found that one-third of adults reported having fantasized about a monster before (see here for an analysis of some of the most common monster-related fantasies from this research).
The popularity of monster fantasies explains why the number of adults (but especially women) seeking out monster-related romance and erotica appears to be growing. Social media is helping to fuel this through massive sub-communities like “booktok.” which have introduced many readers to this genre. For many, Sarah J. Maas’ A Court Of Thorns And Roses (ACOTAR) served as a gateway read into the world of fantasy romance, specifically as it is related to fairies. The books in Mass’ ACOTAR series have sold over 38 million copies, and in April, Maas was predicted to be the highest-selling author of 2024.
Several popular romance authors have also started experimenting in the monster-romance genre. For example, Ali Hazelwood, who is best known for The Love Hypothesis, released her first monster-fantasy this year titled Bride. Bride is described on Hazelwood’s website as “a paranormal romance” that involves “a dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf.”
While it may be picking up steam, the monster-romance genre is nothing new. Vampire fiction has been around since the 1700s and has always contained undertones of sex and seduction. Perhaps the most definitive example is the novel Dracula, which contains strong themes of sex and sexuality that have resonated for generations and inspired legions of vampire novels and films, such as the Twilight series.
So even if not everyone reports having had a monster fantasy, it is clear that plenty of people are reading, watching, and enjoying content with monster-related elements.
Monster Fantasies and Halloween: An Expert’s Opinion
We know that people’s porn searches change on Halloween to reflect the “scare” in the air. But what’s really behind this? And how does this show up in people’s costume choices? To learn more, we reached out to Ella Galago, who is an expert on all-things related to monsters and desire. Ella is the founder of the Monstrous Desire Study, which examines the cultural history of erotic monsters around the globe and presents research data from over 2,200 respondents. Below are her answers to some of our questions on the topic.
Q: If you had to summarize, what is the psychology behind people’s attraction to monsters?
A: In short, the gratification of safe fantasy is ultimately the largest draw for everyone attracted to monsters. This is quite a broad statement, however, that doesn’t account for the minutiae of why specific people are drawn to monsters. Attraction to monsters means so many different things to people, that can be achieved through fantasy: the freedom to explore sexuality and kink without shame or risk; the thrill of being attractive to or being attracted to something powerful and dangerous; the relatability of being perceived as undesirable by society and reclaiming desirability through subversion; and the liberation from cis-heteropatriarchal structures and standards by loving that which falls outside societal norms. The attraction to Otherness in monstrosity is alluring as it speaks to different aspects of our inner selves, whether they are repressed or not.
Q: Are there any Halloween figures that stick out to you that individuals may be especially attracted to / fantasize about?
A: Each year, popular Halloween costumes rely on what was big in the media that year (as shown by Google Trend’s “Frightgeist“). American cinema has made many characters–and especially certain monsters–not only ubiquitous in our culture, but staples for cheeky and camp Halloween costumes every year: ghosts, vampires, demons/devils, & witches. It’s easy to be sexy and playful as a naughty Devil looking to punish sinners or a vampire that wishes to sink their teeth in you. Though the generic classics never go out of fashion, specific horror figures continue to also strike a horny chord. No matter the time of the year (though he is a very popular costume as well), Ghostface really resonates with women, who lust over thirst-traps and smutty art of the serial killer–the mask and his threatening aura really do something for folks. Same goes for Silent Hill’s Pyramid Head, a sexy favorite for both men and women to cosplay/dress up as. Funnily enough, “Bigfoot” experienced the biggest increase in search interest in Tallahassee, FL this year according to Frightgeist’s interactive map, so maybe people are branching out to different monsters to make sexy.
Q: Do you think there is any connection between attraction to monsters and some of the “sexy” Halloween costumes we see every year?
A: For some monsters, their inherent eroticism lends itself easily to a sexy costume: vampires with big fangs eager to suck your…whatever; rugged and masculine werewolves in torn flannels; demons/devils with plastic pitchforks and horns, etc. However, part of the campiness of sexy Halloween costumes is making anything and everything sexy (many years ago, I dressed up as a sexy Gandalf: beard, wizard hair, and all–which seems to be making a comeback). There is overlap between some of the sexy Halloween costumes and monstrous attraction, yes, but ultimately what both aspects share in common is the joy of fantasy and play. Halloween provides a time in which people can enjoy dressing up, getting silly and provocative without judgement, and maybe (as a treat) indulging in a little scare and aftercare at the end of the night.
Learn More
If you’re interested in finding out if the monster romance genre is for you or just finding a sexy read to enjoy this Halloween season, you can check out this list of recommendations we found.
And if you want to learn more about the psychology behind monster-related attraction, you can listen to this podcast episode we recorded with Ella. Lastly, if you’re interested in participating in the next monster attraction study, sign up to the Monstrous Desire Newsletter or help fundraise for study expenses by buying some cute monster-lover merch.
If you have a sex question of your own, record a voicemail at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology to have it answered on the blog or the podcast.
Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click here to check out other articles on the blog and here to listen to the podcast. You can also follow us on Instagram (@JustinJLehmiller), Facebook (facebook.com/psychologyofsex), Twitter (@JustinLehmiller), or Reddit (reddit.com/r/psychologyofsex) to receive updates.
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Dr. Justin Lehmiller
Founder & Owner of Sex and PsychologyDr. Justin Lehmiller is a social psychologist and Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute. He runs the Sex and Psychology blog and podcast and is author of the popular book Tell Me What You Want. Dr. Lehmiller is an award-winning educator, and a prolific researcher who has published more than 50 academic works.
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