Trigger warnings: murder, survival, mental health, horror, scary, stigma, sex, fantasy, attraction

You may ask yourself, why do horror and sex go together so often?! Let’s start with just one textbook definition of what sex is:

-“Human sexual activity encompasses a wide range of behaviors and practices related to sexual arousal, desire, and satisfaction, both solitary and with others, and can involve physical, psychological, and emotional aspects. It includes behaviors like sexual intercourse, masturbation, and other forms of sexual stimulation. Sexual activity is a fundamental aspect of human nature and is influenced by biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors”.

And a lot of humans mistakenly think sex/intercourse means the penetration of usually a penis into a vagina which is actually a VERY narrow view of ‘sex’, very gendered, and very heteronormative. How blasé. Intercourse, outercourse, and any activity that can be sexually arousing can be classified as sex which widens the variation and opens the definition to be more inclusive. People can start to discuss what sex is to each specific individual and realizing this can bring up very fruitful and interesting conversations instead of shutting them down.

And according to the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) “healthy sexual activity is always consensually conducted, freely chosen, individually governed, and free from undue risk of physical or psychological harm.”

So what do we mean by horror then? Well that’s easier. A genre that has the purpose of trying to scare, shock, frighten you. Again, how do these go together.

Here are the theories:

The vulnerability of horror and the vulnerability to be engaged in sexual activity can bring about similar feelings. When we see this on screen or even see people engaged in activities (intimacy, etc) that are usually “behind closed doors” it can have an overlap of vulnerability and heightened arousal. And as the article (linked below) by Matthew Lockman points out the ‘misattribution of arousal’ can be a solid foundation of attraction for sharing horror with our romantic acquaintances and misattributing these arousing situations for the actual arousal of attraction.

Media, like movies and novels, have that fantasy aspect of engaging in them because we do have the power to turn them off, pause them, or put a pillow in front of our face to avoid that one scene and people each have their own boundaries (similar to our sex lives) when it comes to what we want to consume, avoid, see more of. Each person will vary in what they prefer to see, like that werewolf with the 12 pack abs pursue that women in the woods (I’m looking at you with love monster-f*ckers) or the masked killer who calls someone to ask their favorite scary movie. You can find these roleplay scenarios on tiktok and your local bookstore shelves.

There is attraction AT TIMES in the grotesque and imaginative land of fantasy. Some things will be too close to a particular trauma for some or utilize the trope in an ill-informed and stigmatizing way. We don’t yuck anyone’s yum as long as there is consent among adults and we’re not trampling on others rights and preferences while realizing we all do have preferences and THAT’S OK! To be clear preferences are different than any -isms (racism, sexism, ageism, etc).

Sometimes there are horror movies and other horror media that just drip with sexiness for one person and might be an ick to another. The interesting part is being able to dissect that and have the awareness of the potential reasons and/or see a pattern of specific power dynamics or themes that may consistently be particularly arousing or even just thought-provoking in the realm of human sexuality and horror. I plan on doing several blog posts about different avenues in this realm of horror and mental/sexual health so stay-tuned for the sex nerd out.

Movies: Dracula, Hellraiser, Nosferatu, A Company of Wolves, Splice, Society, Jennifer’s Body, X, The Shape of Water, The Love Witch, Cat People, It Follows, Species, Titane, Interview with the Vampire, Black Swan, From Dusk Til Dawn, An American Werewolf In London, Under the Skin, Thirst, Raw, The Hunger, The Lost Boys

Works Cited

Gama, Daniela. “25 Best Horror Movies That Explore Sexuality.” Collider, 15 Nov. 2023, collider.com/best-horror-movies-about-sexuality/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

Sex, Cleveland. “Cleveland Sex Therapy.” Cleveland Sex Therapy, 11 Mar. 2019, www.clevelandsextherapy.com/blog/horrorandsex. Accessed 16 May 2025.

“Vision of Sexual Health | AASECT:: American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists.” Aasect.org, 2016, www.aasect.org/vision-sexual-health. Accessed 16 May 2025.

Images by: (1) cottobro studio (2) patrice schoefolt via Pexels