By Regina Watts
When we think of cannibalism, readers and movie fans alike tend to think one name: Hannibal Lecter. Especially after NBC’s show spawned a wildfire fandom that has continued to thrive after the program’s cancellation, it’s undeniable that the series has had an impact on how we think of cannibalism…especially as an aesthetic. But the truth is that Bryan Fuller’s dark envisioning of this pop horror icon barely scratches the surface of cannibalism in art and literature—and only implies its erotic applications.
By and large the modern notion of sexualized cannibalism is linked with an artist known as “Dolcett.” Their infamous images—of willing women happily roasted alive, hanged, baked and otherwise executed before they’re eaten for the pleasure of others—have cast a fetishistic shadow that might be subtler than Hannibal’s, but one that’s just as long. Here are 5 sensual horror titles (and a couple of honorable mentions) to sate your appetite for less conventional fiction—but, as a short disclaimer, be sure you’re keeping it fiction. Nobody’s advocating you really try to eat the rich…or let the rich eat you.
1. ANGELA CARTER – THE BLOODY CHAMBER
We’ll start with a classic to ease you in: Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber0000, while not cannibal porn per se, certainly dips its toes in the cannibal aesthetic—and when several of the stories in this famous collection draw their influences from variations of “Bluebeard” and “Little Red Riding Hood,” it’s not hard to see why. Known in its time as a feminist work for its fearless exploration of the sexual violence inherent in the fairy tales we’ve known and loved for all our lives, The Bloody Chamber remains a classic of horror erotica and an influence on twisted authors of all genres.
2. ELIZABETH BEDLAM – BILLIONAIRE CANNIBAL FRANCHISE
If you’re surprised to see another billionaire cannibal series on the list, don’t be. Cannibalism as a symbol of decadence among the rich goes hand-in-hand with human history—and don’t even get us started on the intimate intermingling of anthropophagy and more religions than even the ones you’re thinking of. Elizabeth Bedlam is just following a long story-telling tradition—and doing it better than most others on the market. The pulp-influenced horrotica shorts Bedlam churns out with incredible frequency are some of the most fun stories you can find, and not just from the perspective of erotic horror. Bedlam is a hilarious author whose black sense of kitschy humor will keep you giggling between all the scenes of rich femcans (that’s a female cannibal, for the uninitiated) heiresses trying to eat unfortunate Elvis impersonators, among other original and funny premises.
3. PUSSY NAGASAKI – MAKE ME MEAT
Who is Pussy Nagasaki? We have no idea, but we want to know. No, seriously. If you or somebody you know happen to be Pussy Nagasaki, please send us an email at publicity@paintedblindpublishing.com. Our authors want to talk to you—and we don’t blame them. Everything about Make Me Meat, from the cover to the synopsis to the prose, evokes the gritty aesthetic of transgressive fiction from the 80s and 90s and tells you what you can eagerly expect to read. This book, like Nagasaki’s other favorite work of ours, Dead Chic, is straight-up punk rock. If you want an author to spit in your mouth and leave it full of a nice, gritty, Hubert Selby Jr. aftertaste, you need to read Pussy Nagasaki as soon as humanly possible. Just look at that name! How can you turn down a pen name like that?
4. SABINA MURRAY – A CARNIVORE’S INQUIRY
While it’s not an inherently erotic work per se, Sabina Murray’s sensually brooding prose in A Carnivore’s Inquiry proves that erotic cannibalism is not just a fetish, but an aesthetic: a kind of sexualized tenebrism, where the bright notes of human erotic potential are contrasted by the deep, dark shadows of profane appetites. A Carnivore’s Inquiry is an exquisite love letter to compulsive thoughts, major depression, and that rarest of all well-written characters: the female psychopath. Gillian Flynn tends to be the name who comes to mind when we think of such an archetype, but Murray did it first, better, and far more believably.
5. CANNIBAL TELLER - Forced to Be Eaten
We would be remiss if we didn’t at least mention Cannibal Teller, a writer whose Forced to Be Eaten series of kinky pulp shorts could be said to absolutely dominate the Amazon cannibal porn market. With close to ninety titles in the series as of the time of this writing, it’s had to argue that Teller isn’t a staple of English cannibal erotica in a market that’s otherwise thin. Another refreshing quality to Teller’s work is that, like the other titles on this list, it’s available on Amazon rather than just Smashwords, where much cannibal erotica has been consigned. We just can’t imagine why that would be.
GERMAN CANNIBAL EROTICA – HONORABLE MENTIONS
What is it about Germany? Germans seem to be having a whole lot of fun over there when it comes to their kinks. We don’t know German but we do know “Dolcett,” and we can tell you that any German readers interested in plunging through this aesthetic will be shocked and delighted to find the sprawling collection of German cannibal porn awaiting them on Amazon. Aaron Bloodwing, Petru Parnass and Rodrigo Thalmann seem to be the biggest names in this linguistic niche.
Regina Watts is an author of transgressive and psychedelic fiction, including the serialized cannibal horrotica, DOTTIE FOR YOU. If you're interested in erotica with a somewhat different taste, be sure to check out the series on Amazon!