Two Day Magazine

Ah Hallowe’en night! The time of year when horror and romance seem to go together.

Why not settle in on All Hallows Eve and watch a good romantic horror flick?

Romantic horror movie? Seriously? Oh yes, indeed. I'm not talking about the sugar and syrup pre-pubescent vampire love stories that have been made. I’m talking classic, psychologically frightening, horror movies with a twisted theme of “beast loves beauty.”  Grab onto your partner and shiver in horrified delight as you watch…….

The 1939 all-time classic, The Mummy starring Boris Karloff. This horror story is one of endless love. Karloff, who was a Shakespearean stage-trained actor, needed no special effects to terrify us with his performance as Im-Hotep, a High Priest, buried alive for the sin of sacrilege in attempting to bring his love, the Egyptian Princess Ank-es-en-Amon, back from an untimely death.  

Through the recitation of the Scroll of Thoth accidentally read aloud by the archeologist who finds his mummy, Im-Hotep himself is brought back to life and stalks modern day Egypt in an attempt to reunite with his lost love now reincarnated into a beautiful young woman. His eyes convey both horror and love, so that, even while we are repulsed and horrified by him, we also feel compassion for someone who would risk his immortal soul to regain the reincarnation of the woman he loved and lost. What a guy, bandages and all!

1931’s “Dracula” is another timeless horror/love story. We know it well. What women secretly doesn’t want a vampire as a lover? While Bela Lugosi’s Transylvanian count is frightening indeed, there’s something sort of appealing about a man in a tux and cape, who offers you a castle and eternal life even if  “living” that life means never seeing the sun again without getting a nasty burn! His performance is horrifying and erotic. Neck biting will do it. Women love a hot vampire! (Think David Boreanz when he was the evil Angelus in the series Angel, and the hot vamps Bill and Eric, in the bloody True Blood series.)

Last but certainly not least, in the black and white scare fest is the “Wolfman" . He portrays Larry Talbot, a gentle man who defends his girlfriend from a wolf attack at a gypsy fair. He kills the wolf but not before he is bitten and suddenly finds himself turning into a hairy beast whenever the moon is full. The wolf he killed, of course, was a werewolf. The story ends with him being killed in front of his love and turning back into a man just in time to give her one last sad smile. Woof for romance!

If you like your supernatural creatures more up-to-date and in lush color, watch Anne Rice's "Interview With the Vampire". Tom Cruise excellently portrays the evil Lestat, a vampire with no conscience and a decided love for the hunt and kill. Fun to watch is Brad Pitt's Louis eternally tormented by his carnal blood-sucking desires yet unable to stop. The horror in this movie is palpable and exciting, as well as erotic.   

So Hallowe’en Night, shut the lights, pop a horror classic DVD and watch your favorite horror masters at work. There's something very sexy about being scared by the "creatures of the night"! Happy Hallowe’en!

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© 2011 Copyright Kristen Houghton

Halloween's coming! Read the award-winning  ghost story, Remember Hetty? By: Kristen Houghton

Kristen Houghton is a Lifestyle writer and the author of the book ranked in the top-selling 100 books of 2011,  And Then I'll Be Happy! Stop Sabotaging Your Happiness and Put Your Own Life First

Her new book, © 2011 No Woman Diets Alone is due out December 1, 2011.

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