Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

A Love Affair With Monsters

It’s funny how trends come and go. It used to be the bad boy was just that, bad. But now the bad boy is good. He’s the one who breaks all the rules and gets all the girls. Vampires are in. Demons are sexy. Monsters are victims of overzealous, judgmental humans who just don’t understand them.

I think it’s fascinating. I’ve always been drawn to the “dark side.” I grew up with Creature Double Feature on Saturday afternoons. On those rare weekends I could escape from my under my parents’ noses (always telling me to go outside and not watch TV), I’d settle in with Dr. Shock Theater. This spooky old guy would introduce the greats: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee or Bela Lugosi in a vintage horror flick. I’d watch my fill of black and white movies about werewolves, vampires, mummies and the creature from the Black Lagoon.

Back then, the monsters were monsters. For some reason they always wanted the girl, and her hero would kill the bad guy/creature and take the woman far, far away from the threat of evil. Nowadays, that hero would be considered evil, because those monsters he’s killing are the new heroes we root for.

The paranormal offers an escape for those of us stuck in the daily humdrum of normalcy. Imagine being able to live forever, but in a perfect body. Oh joy. Imagine having a lover who always satisfies you, and is good for several rounds of “play” at a time. Or the shifter who’s more animal than beast. Mermen, black elves and demons who need human women, usually sexually, to complete them. So much fantasy, yet so much fun.

In my Ethereal Foes series, demons have as much rights as angels in swaying souls. The world needs balance, and humans must find their respective places in heaven and hell. My demon heroes are sexy. Bad and good aren’t so much black and white as gray, with neither side being right more than the other. It’s that equality, that shadowing of definite lines once drawn that enables us to see the world with a new perspective. It sure makes for some entertaining reading, since you can’t count on a person acting a certain way simply because he or she appears to be good or bad.

Something to think about. And if you’re in the mood for more angels and demons, swing by the Samhain Cafe on Friday, Sept 12th. We’re having an Angels and Demons Day with giveaways and excerpts aplenty. I look forward to seeing you there!

Marie
www.marieharte.com