Monsters under the bed can be frightening but monsters in your bed can be a sensual adventure. The thought of vampires, werewolves and zombies may send shivers up your spine but in the bedroom, they can send shivers across your body. Erotic role play is a natural desire in relationships, such as French maid costumes to being a naughty schoolboy, but sometimes even the classic roles can become mundane. Horror can be an aphrodisiac; though most do not equate fear with sex, it can be quite erotic. The damsel in distress being chased by an axe-wielding maniac is feeling a rush of a lifetime because her adrenaline is pumping. The feeling is similar to the fear felt by riding a rollercoaster, except in her case it is uncertain that she will feel the exhilaration of knowing she survived the horror. Adrenaline is responsible for the body’s fight-or-flight reaction, in which our senses become heightened and breathing becomes heavier similar to the body’s responses during sexual activities. So once that axe-wielding maniac catches up to his prey, given he is her partner and not in fact an actual maniac, they are in for some intense sex.

The allure of vampires and the myth of Dracula are tales of intense seduction and the loss of all inhibitions. For centuries, writers have told various versions of the story of Dracula but his sex appeal was always retained throughout each version. The prince of darkness represents wealth, power and charm, qualities that make his victims attracted to him. Women willingly succumb to his charisma and attractiveness, becoming virtually submissive to the trance he puts them in through his art of seduction. Often, Dracula’s castle is the stage for seduction; beautifully decorated rooms engulfed in candlelight where he wines and dines women and says all the right things while maintaining his mystique that keeps them hanging on. Gazing deep into a woman’s eyes, he embraces her, they kiss intensely and he begins to work his way down to her neck. He makes his move and bites into her neck, sucking the blood, her life’s essence from her body and if he chooses to bring her to his side, she will have to drink his blood.

The eroticism of Dracula is more than a horror story; it is the spice that many desire in relationships. Dracula knows how to make a night go right using sensuality. It may seem like a taboo or even a vampire fetish but how abnormal is a romantic dinner, conversation, foreplay and the exchange of fluids? Sounds typical, however, because vampires are presented as undead villains; people lose the connection that Dracula is just a sensuous man with an insatiable appetite for lust. Some may take this fantasy further and play the actual role, wearing fangs and bite lightly on their lover’s neck. There are lifestyle vampire fetishists who are involved in the edge play of sanguinary vampirism where, unlike a blood play fetish, these people believe that drinking the blood of another is to sustain life and energy. Despite the exchange of fluids, like any fetish, the rules of safe, sane and consensual are followed to remain healthy and, in the case of this type of edge play, it is recommended you and your partner are tested for all transmittable diseases before you begin this fantasy.

The werewolf howls at the moon and hunts for its victims with a hunger for flesh and they want you for every tasty morsel of your body. Their rough and untamed masculinity radiate animal sexuality. These hot-blooded lycanthropes are the antithesis of the sophisticated seduction of a vampire. They are wild, aggressive and thrive on the thrill of the chase, getting straight to the point without setting the mood. The hairy body may be a turnoff for some but beneath that furry exterior is a man who only turns into a beast during a full moon, which is more action than most people are having in relationships. This role is not to be mistaken with a furry fetish or bestiality; it is not about the appearance—it is about behavior. Sometimes lovers prefer their partner to be aggressive and take charge, chase him or her into the bedroom with the animal aggression of a lycanthrope and ravage every part of your lover’s body. A werewolf fantasy is about uninhibited, clothes-tearing, spur-of-the-moment passionate sex without the fluff.

You finally find someone who likes you for your brain and is nibbling, biting, sucking and ripping at your flesh. Move over vampires and werewolves, you have company: a horde of undead are here looking to eat your brains and bed your victims. Zombies toss the seduction act and aggression aside; they do not talk back or think about anything other than their need for brains. They mindlessly wander the streets hoping to bump into a meal while you run terrified from the hordes of the undead, some choose not to run and the hunted becomes the hunter. Zombie hunters stake out their prey in a game of survival and the thrill of the hunt can be a great turn on.

It is a game of wits, where each is hunting one another and the most important organ in this role play is the brain. Having two zombies interact with one another may become more interesting than the living versus the undead in bed; two mindless beings senselessly exploring one another trying to understand the parts and feed their desires can also be an intense game of passion. This zombie-on-zombie interaction is explored in the upcoming movie Porn of the Dead, since so many have taken an interest in zombie culture. Zombies are a slowly rising trend in fetish and, with all the zombie pin-up sites popping up on the Internet, there is a growing demand for this interesting lifestyle. Sexualizing zombies is not similar to necrophilia because there is no sexual activity with the deceased; in fact, zombies are walking undead similar to vampires without the mental capacity.

While some fear the things that go bump in the night are going to eat you, others are wishing they would. Sex and horror have always gone hand in hand and it was only a matter of time before it invaded our pornography and bedroom. Vampires, werewolves and zombies are just a small part of large repertoire of horror characters that can be brought into the bedroom. While some think this is a bizarre horror or gothic fetish, it is in actuality simple roles people play in the bedroom with or without a character. Some prefer to add that extra stimulation and creativity with assigning roles such as Dracula or his female lustful counterpart Vampirella. There is no other perfect time to experiment with these desires than Halloween when everyone is a creature of the night and there is no need to check in the closet when the monster is in your bed.