by William Dean
(10/23/02)
Award-winning author Nancy Kilpatrick has published fourteen novels, over one hundred and twenty-five short stories, and has edited eight anthologies. She writes horror, dark fantasy and erotic horror, under her own name, and under her nom de plume Amarantha Knight. Besides all that, she's also written four issues of VampErotic comics. Nancy won the Arthur Ellis Award for best mystery story, has been a Bram Stoker finalist twice and an Aurora Award finalist five times. It seemed appropriate as we near Halloween to track the prestigious dark erotica author to her lair and ask her help in exploring the fascinating
lure of the darker passions.
CS: You've specialized in what many call "dark erotica" for sometime
now. What is the erotic appeal of otherworldly beings, such as vampires, werewolves,
and other things that go "bump in the night"?
NK: I've always seen the supernatural as charged with terror and excitement,
basic ingredients of good erotica. For the most part, we've come to like our
creatures sexually edgy rather than gory. The vampire is a perfect example.
Europe in the 1800s did not lean towards the resuscitated corpse element of
the vampire at all, but started right off fixating on the handsome or beautiful
aristocrat that other characters in the stories found alluring and were mesmerized
by. Those stories and novels in publishing order are: The Vampire by
John Polidori; Varney the Vampire by Thomas Preskett Prest; Carmilla
by Sheridan le Fanu; Dracula by Bram Stoker. Werewolves are, of course,
half man, half wolf -- that's the easiest of the supernatural beings to see,
really -- the civilized man who tosses off the veneer of civilization and becomes
a beast. Even non-supernatural horror characters often have a sexual tone, like
the most famous literary serial killer, Hannibal Lecter. And in films those
chain-saw wielding maniacs almost always go after nubile females...
I think horror and erotica are hot partners between the covers (of a book). Both are hidden, not talked about in polite society, often surfacing in the darkness. And there's a strong element of danger, which gives them heightened appeal. After all, what makes the heart beat harder than building up to a climax of some sort?
CS: Since the book first appeared, the character of Dracula seems to be the most potent erotic icon of dark erotica. What explains such longevity and virility?
NK: You've nailed two of the vampire's appealing characteristics in
your question! Vampires are outside humanity. They are often superior to us
in things we desire for ourselves but can't obtain: the physical strength of
10; immortality; eternal beauty, and youth; the ability to always get our way
-- for example, anybody you want to seduce, well, they capitulate. Wouldn't
that be a nice sexual trait to possess? Male vampires are the ultimate in control,
no flaccid penises there! Female vampires are the ultimate in seduction, so
you won't find any nagging words or sagging flesh worth mentioning. These are
in a sense idealized beings, but from the dark side. This appeal puts them in
charge and we mere humans are their prey, be it for blood, sex, or anything
else they desire and which, presumably, we desire as well or we wouldn't fall
victim to them.
Also, don't forget that throughout history in mythology, the vampire has traditionally been someone known to the victim, and frequently a relative who has passed on, but hasn't completely died. There are plenty of dark and incestuous ties there, and this goes back to how societies used to be, when intermarriages were not forbidden as they are today.
CS: You're very well known now as the author of a series (now being
reprinted) which infuses rich, sensual erotic elements into the classic literature
of horror tales, such as Dracula and Frankenstein. What inspired
you to take on such a monumental project?
NK: Initially I published The Darker Passions series of novels with
Masquerade Books beginning in 1993. The editor there liked the proposal I did
for The Darker Passions of Dracula but wanted a series, so we spun off the series
title from that. I rewrote seven classics: Dracula; Frankenstein;
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; The Fall of the House of Usher; The
Picture of Dorian Grey; Carmilla; and The Pit and the Pendulum.
I had two others to come, The Curse of the Mummy and The Werewolf
of Paris, but Masquerade went belly up. Circlet Press has started reprinting
them. Dracula has been out since the spring of 2002 and has already gone to
a second printing. Frankenstein will be released in the fall, 2003.
The novels are meant to be extremely erotic while laced with tongue-in-cheek humor throughout the story. I've used the characters and followed the plots as closely as possible (given that some were short stories and had to be stretched to 80,000 words!). And I've incorporated lines of original dialogue here and there when I could. I think the eroticism is so extreme that it's clear these are not "How-to manuals." They are meant to be entertaining and arousing and to make you laugh and quiver in horror and pull out your vibrator! I've tried to keep them literate; some high praise has come from the likes of Ramsey Campbell and Doug Winter. And horror collector Forrest J. Ackerman wanted all
of them, signed, so I sent the ones he didn't already have.
But these books come with a warning sticker. They are not for the faint of heart. Anybody who can't handle the idea of whips and chains had best stay away. Basically if you're an intelligent reader and grasp the concept that writing is metaphor, then you'll survive intact, and hopefully have a good time.
CS: "Terror tales" have been chilling children for generations, from
Grimm's fairy stories of ogres and witches to R. L. Stine's Goosebumps
books of today. Do you think these can form a basis for our darkly erotic fantasies
as adults?
NK: I think the unknown coming through the somewhat known is at the bottom of our fantasies. Don't forget that until about 100 years ago, people lived very small lives. They didn't travel much or very far. They didn't have much technology; even the telephone wasn't in every home until a third of the way into the 20th century. Strangers in their midst were rare and provided fodder for both fears and fantasies. Now, we have the Internet, and movies and TV, of course, not to mention the Concord, so our fantasies can be met in other ways. But usually it’s the stranger that works best because we know everybody around us (in a way) and feel inhibited about exposing our inner-most thoughts, at least the kind which might be deemed "aberrant."
And there's always the hope that the ones we don't know will be rich in charms and sexual appeal and find us ultimately the most desirable creature on the planet. Coupled with this is the hope that they will understand and fulfill our every sexual desire, unasked.
Basically these are shadowy parts of ourselves that appear in real life --
why we often use the term "soul mate", someone who is the other side
of us. There are limitations, of course, like the fact that, in reality, the
ideal will probably meet only a fraction of our fantasies. That can lead to
the danger of getting fed up when or if they don't come through like the imagined
lover does. This is where things fall apart. Novels play on these desires, and
bring the fantasy to your door, in a way that is superior to movies and TV,
in my opinion. When it's visual, the image of the perfect lover is already made
and might not be YOUR image. Novels allow you room to visualize your own, as
it were.
The dark element of a fantasy lover makes him or her into the demon lover.
And that goes back as far as the historical eye can see, recorded in The
Epic of Gilgamesh, the first written story, which has a lot of scary and
erotic elements in it. And have you checked out the old testament lately? It
trembles mightily with condoned incest, multi-partnered sex, and rape of both
genders; the most exciting bits are the ones that involve the darkest elements.
The supernatural has always been a rich source of erotic titillation. A ghost, for example, is not limited by the physical realm and can do what no mortal man or woman can. Personally, I think this interest in the darkly erotic is innate in human beings, not something manufactured since the printing press was developed. Carl Jung saw our unconscious (personal and collective) as alive with throbbing archetypes, those major energies resonating through our lives. Sexuality is certainly one, often finding a concrete base in mother and/or father. After all, they are the world for the first several years of our
lives. We tend to build from the base up when it comes to experiences. This is why so many people discover that the lover they hope to find (who is as far from their controlling mother/father as can be) turns out in the end to be just like their mother/father. Now, there's real horror!
CS: Anne Rice, author of her own vampire series, lives in New Orleans, and you live in Montreal. Is there some special "influence" of Old World/French culture that inspires your exploration of vampires and other immortals?
NK: I didn't live in Montreal when I wrote most of that series, although I did live here ten years before, briefly, so I'd say no. Obviously we both love the horror classics, and are both romantically inclined. And of course, she has her erotic series as well, so we are both bent when it comes to the imagination.
CS: Although we know that what you write is fiction, we still have preconceptions that make us think authors "live out" what they write. How do you go into your psyche to bring out such sensual darkness that you portray?
NK: Writing is about imagination. We delve into the psyche in the quiet
and dead of night and drag out kicking and screaming images that usually
lurk just below the surface. With The Darker Passions series, the original novels
lend themselves to erotic passages that, because of the mores of Victorian society,
were not there, but between the lines (in the psyche of the book, if you will).
Francis Ford Coppola made his Dracula erotic as well. His movie came out in
1992 and I'd already submitted my novel TDP: Dracula -- normally it takes
about 18 months to see a book into print. In a sense we were working on our
stories at the same time, and there are some amazing similarities in how we
both eroticised Dracula, although mine are more extreme.
As to "reality", well, every person has sexual fantasies, some of which they act out. Others can't be acted out. In Dracula, for instance, extreme scenes cannot be acted out word for word without it resulting in a fatality. But that's like most fiction, which makes it different from non-fiction, and again, those How-to books which tell you how to achieve the perfect orgasm while dressed in latex, etc. Fiction is meant to SPARK the imagination. Reading a passage of erotica should get you excited enough so that you move into your
own fantasy and perhaps even expand it a bit with a new element. God knows, one of the problems with fantasies is that they are usually fetishes so it's a good thing they don't get acted out all the time or people would bore their partner(s) to tears! Always the same scenario over and over (more horror!). But every once in a while a new bit can be incorporated, and when it's elaborated upon, it can feel like a whole new game, so to speak.
CS: I understand you're working on a new non-fiction book about the Gothic lifestyle. What is it about the lifestyle that makes it so appealing and erotic?
NK: Goths are tremendously appealing, and highly erotic. They mesh these two elements very well. Because Goths are individualistic and somewhat secretive and elusive (an exclusive group in the sense that it's not inviting everyone in), you want to find your way in; and you can. Goth has a "What's-going-on-behind-the-doors" feel to it. You feel like something new and different might be happening in the privacy of the Goth's own crypt. Goths are alternative to the mainstream, and so is their sexuality. They are happy to explore in a lot of directions, and because of basic elements of the Goth psyche, for instance, males can easily embrace their feminine energy and they're not restricted. Also, Goth is a literate subculture and this means they are widely read and can see metaphor for what it is, and see that the world is much larger than their little patch. The grim element is there, adding touches of darkness to everything, but the humor is there, too. Two Goth role models, if I can be so silly as to say that, are Morticia and Gomez Addams. They are funny, clever, respect one another, and they are wildly sexy, ready to drop everything and
make glorious passionate love.
I've just handed in a non-fiction book on the Gothic culture (as yet unnamed) to St. Martin's Press, which should be out fall of 2003.
CS: Are there stories of erotic horror that are just too intense for the publishing genre today?
NK: Oh sure! I have a story Poppy Z. Brite bought for Love in Vein
2 that the publisher yanked. Poor Poppy was mortified, but it was one of 5 stories
they pulled because they were too extreme; by the time Poppy found out about
it, it was too late to do anything about it. That story is Blue-Blood Moon
and has not seen print yet because of the extreme masochistic nature of the
woman, but it was up on the Gothic.net Website. They weren't afraid to tackle
it.
Large publishing is ultimately conservative. They work with big numbers and have to appeal to the broadest audience possible to make money because there's so much money shelled out and so many people have to get paid. Unfortunately, the trickle-down effect doesn't work. It's like farmers and fishermen -- without them, there would be no food, but they get the least amount of money in the long chain of people it takes to get the food to your dinner plate. Same with writers. Advances for books are terrifyingly low and I'm one of the few horror writers I know who earns a living by writing without the aid of a
part-time job, parental support, a spouse with a job, or monthly alimony payments coming in. It says something that glossy horror magazines pay around 3 cents a word, the same rate of pay as in the 1930s! The cost of living has risen, inflation goes through the roof generally, salaries and payment for everyone along the way to publish that magazine have increased tremendously in 70 years, but writers have not gotten a raise! Think about how cruel that is.
CS: Finally, how do you celebrate Halloween?
NK: Years ago, I would go to the World Fantasy Convention, which used
to be held over Halloween, 'til somebody twigged to the idea that folks would
like to be home on that night, with families, taking the kids trick or treating,
or partying. One year I was in Mexico for the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the
Dead) festivities. I just love those little Day of the Dead figures! Generally
(except the convention years) I've been at parties, sometimes at the cemetery.
It's a glorious time, especially for snagging all those cool Halloween items
that are 75% off by All Saints' Day!
Visit Nancy's Website
