Erotic horror is a subgenre the roots of which can be traced far back in the past. Novels such as J. Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla or Theophile Gautier's Clarimonde (a.k.a. La morte amourouse) set the standard for a number of subsequent stories, novels and novellas featuring "la femme fatale", often of vampiric nature, both in her heterosexual and lesbian version. But this is only a single aspect, although quite popular, of dark erotica. Although the subject may seem to be rather limited, it has actually offered a number of endless literary variations over the centuries.

In the late 80s and early 90s, for instance, erotic horror has produced notable short story anthologies such as Scared Stiff edited by Ramsey Campbell in the UK, and I shudder at your touch and Shudder again edited by Michelle Slung in the USA to mention a few. More recently, modern outstanding pieces in the genre such as Dan Simmons' "Death in Bangkok" and Graham Masterton's "The penis beetle" have been published and repeatedly reprinted. But, most of all, the cornerstone of current erotic horror fiction in the English language has been represented by the short story anthologies of the famous Hot Blood series, a yearly treat for horror fans, which, under the editorship of Jeff Gelb and Michael Garrett, has now reached its 12th volume.

The long life of this series proves both that this subgenre is virtually inexhaustible and that the quality of the stories offered by those anthologies is consistently high, so much so to keep entertained the reader without resorting to vulgarity or pornography.

Strange bedfellows or Hot Blood vol. 12, includes nineteen stories, too many to be singularly commented in detail. Most of the tales are of either fair or good quality, none - fortunately - are bad and a few are real standouts deserving a brief, specific mention.

"Abomination" is a bizarre story of sex and murder involving a couple of Siamese twins, narrated with remarkable skill by former musician Greg Kihn.

In Ilsa J. Bick's gripping story "Driving blind" virtual sex with a ghostly lover becomes an overwhelming addiction for a horny psychiatrist, leading her to neglect her duties as a doctor, a wife and a mother and to face a final ordeal.

Lonn Friend's "Thirty minutes" is the most accomplished of the stories in this book. The tale, concerning a man who loses himself – for ever - in a massage parlour where his exotic sexual encounters take place, offers vivid excerpts of truth about the life of married males, as in this paragraph "...he was a man in the throes of midlife, questioning all, enjoying little. Sex in his home was virtually nonexistent, commonplace to the veteran married man and the bread and butter of these prurient institutions. Jack was lonely, not just sexually but emotionally. He and his wife rarely talked anymore about anything but the day's events, like the kids' schooling or what movie to see on Friday night"

"Faded memories" by Michael Bracken provides evidence that good sex is hard to forget, even when a love affair is over, and that sometimes memories are too real...

"Desire" by J.F. Gonzalez is a compelling story where mysterious blow-up dolls seduce men with their unique properties and drive them to murder.

In "Hypoerotica" by Dana Solomon administering injections to young women turns into an obsessive erotic performance to a doctor sexually repressed. The author, by creating a very effective symbolism between the sex act and the medical procedure, contrives to produce a very enjoyable, delightful piece of fiction.

Finally, with the entertaining "The next best thing" Michael Garrett reveals how after-life sex with a deceased wife can become feasible, thanks to modern technology. But so do rape and adultery...

After more than 300 pages of good erotic fiction like this I know you'll be longing for more.

Rest assured, volume 13 is on its way!