by Heather Hein —
Greetings, Loyal Votarists!
I hope you’ve all made it through the horror of the holidays without casting curses or dragging Uncle Fred to an abandoned dark well and tossing him over. This month, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I would like to pose a question: Does love have a place in horror? My answer is a resounding yes!
A quick scroll through Netflix’s “Horror” category will show just how often love is included in creepy tales of fright and torment. Consider all the real-life atrocities committed in the name of love. How many murders, how much heartache, how much hate and spite and fury and downright madness has love inspired? Love held out of reach, love cast aside, love unrequited, love spurned, and love lost. We’ve all been there. We’ve all wanted to hex those who have wronged us in the game of love.
Paradoxically, how many times do we see the theme of “love conquers all” in horror? If one posed this question to a common Muggle, they would vehemently deny this possibility. We spellcasters know better. I can think of a cauldron’s worth of movies and books right this moment: Poltergeist (Carol Ann’s parents save her with their love), Night of the Living Dead (“If you really loved me, you’d let me eat your brains!”), Bird Box, Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, The Exorcist, and nearly all of Stephen King’s enchanted tomes. You could say that these are all really love stories.
Rather thanhorror, love enhances the genre with its many decadent flavors. I submit to you, my little coven-ites, that horror needs love. While possession, creatures from the black lagoon, and space aliens seeking out the human race as incubators aren’t universal experiences, love is. Putting your reader in a wildly unfamiliar situation is an excellent set-up but keeping your characters human (as long as possible) will keep them engaged. Your hero and your villain need something to fight for, someone to fight over, and something to redeem them…at least a little.
Adding a little love potion to your horror stew gives your poor, anxiety-ridden reader a much-needed break. Subjecting your audience to a non-stop onslaught of carnage, murder, shapeshifting nightmares, and anal probes is delightfully horrible, indeed. But giving them a moment to breathe before you proceed to drown them again is a small kindness. Your readers will thank you. Love isn’t the only way to break the tension, but I’m a devoted disciple of the Cult of Love.
There’s simply nothing that is more universally understood. In fact, the real-life King Louis the XIV’s food and drink was fabled to be spiked with disgusting concoctions by an enamored lady of the court. Tales of dead babies’ blood, a gruesome smorgasbord of body parts and organs, and of course, toads and bats. (Yes, really! It’s true!) Nothing says “I Love You” like a devilish smoothie!
So, how do you spike your potent brew with declarations of love? One is in the overall plot. Your main character could be motivated by infidelity and revenge. Internalized rage should never be discounted. What better way to torture your characters than with love lost? Consider the strong, unyielding love among parents and their parasites—I mean, children. When kids are at stake, most parents wouldn’t hesitate to commit atrocities that they’d never even contemplate otherwise. (Pet Sematary, anyone?) Using love or withholding it in exchange for a heinous act is another wicked way to include love in your writing.
If using squishy emotions as a plot device makes your heart shrivel like a desiccated corpse, you can still infest sub-plots to torment supporting characters. An allegiance could be broken or forged, a character could be distracted by love to the detriment of all, or love could be used as a ploy for a deeper, more sinister plot.
I hope you’ll employ a little Love Potion Number Nine in your latest concoction. You’ll find the result is just delightfully intoxicating. I’ll close with a quote from everyone’s favorite Marvel assassin:
“… And yeah, technically, this is a murder. But some of the best love stories start with a murder.”
PS: Want to learn more fascinating history of Valentine’s Day? Visit
HWA Colorado 
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