Even Monsters Need Some Lovin’
Written by Esther Smith
It all started with my TikTok algorithm (shock!) and a video that popped up in Summer 2025; someone had finished Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta. The book has nearly 70,000 ratings on Goodreads and everyone on TikTok has been discussing it, okay, so it’s the hot new thing right now. But unlike other smut books that have left the reading circle (50 Shades of Grey, A Court of Thorns and Roses), Morning Glory Milking Farm was different — it had a minotaur as a lead male character… in a romance novel. It’s not the only one: Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon has a staggering 204,000 ratings and the male lead is an alien.
The common denominator is obvious: these are not human love interests. The correct terms for what is happening in these two books are Teratophilia and Exophilia, but if you’d like to be broad, you can just say monster romance.
It may sound bizarre, but attractions towards creatures are a lot more common than you think. Cast your mind back to Beauty and the Beast (1991), where Belle falls in love with the Beast and when the curse is broken, many people agree she was disappointed in Prince Adam’s human form.
I can already tell your eyebrows are raised — or deep in a frown — but I’m asking you to relax them, keep an open mind as we explore the fascinating attraction on creatures and its impact on film.
Where Did It Start?
Monster attraction is so vast, each strand has a different name where philia is tacked onto the end — and their origins are all different: teratophilia (a broad term) dates back to Greek Mythology, whereas tentacle erotica dates back to 1781 but the most famous depiction originated in 1814. Hybrid creatures such as Satyr go back to 500BC in Greek mythology, shape-shifting river dolphins are connected to Brazilian mythology, and the Kitsune is a fox spirit in Japanese mythology.
So, it’s always been around but in modern years it’s become increasingly subtle. Monsters in the Teratophilia category tend to be more human; think Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies — these creatures are closely linked with humans and therefore, more socially acceptable to pair off with humans.
Why Is It So Appealing?
Right, so if Vampires share so many human attributes, what about the monsters that are very much… monstrous? I’m sure we all have, at least, a basic understanding of kinks and fantasies but there’s some interesting perspectives on this particular attraction.
Ella Gallego discusses her research with Dr. Justin Lehmiller on Sex and Psychology Podcast, Episode 302: The Psychology Behind Attraction to Monsters. She found the top attributes of attraction to monsters include monstrous physical features, supernatural powers, and being powerful/domineering. While there seems to be a strong pull towards the physicality of monsters with a secondary pull to the power they have, Reddit user Ignoth points out the fantasy can explore sexuality without shame.
Moore writes about the “raw masculinity” and “overwhelming urges” these characters provide without having to deal with real-world consequences of these traits. “It isn’t really about the ways these characters look, it’s how they behave” — it’s easier to be moon-eyed over a fantasy relationship like this because it’s very clearly fiction and cannot be real, but if we saw this in a human-human romance film, audiences would be frowning at the toxicity.
Guillermo Del Toro reinforces the power over genitalia mindset by saying Shape of Water (2017) is all about “celebrating imperfection, celebrating otherness”. The beauty standards do not exist and in the real world, where real humans are told beauty is a form of currency, suspending your belief can be seen as freeing, a true escape from reality. Alongside this, Bella writes that “A human loving a monster becomes a metaphor for choosing someone based on connection rather than conformity”, highlighting the theme of acceptance we often see in monster romance.
And even though Robbert Eggers had wanted to bring Vampirism back to its horror, gory roots in Nosferatu (2024), there were still viewers who found Count Orlok alluring, proving that audiences can find anything sexy and will go on to make memes that sound so realistic I had to fact-check the dialogue.
The Double Standards
That being said, there have been critiques of the obsession and no, it’s not about kink-shaming, or yucking somebody’s yum.
Many people have pointed out that monster romance can be problematic in terms of heteronormative values, with an Instagram user pointing out that “only men are allowed to be loved at their worst” — yes, there is representation for monstrous women, but not in the same way. Think about it: Succubus and Sirens are indeed monsters, but they’re still conventionally attractive. Moreso, while male-monster romances tend to lean more emotionally romantic, female-monsters are likely to have more of a sexual role. Or, if they’re not sexual, they’re certainly single.
The trope does not subvert beauty standards the same way male-monsters do. How can we have a female-monster romance when contemporary films tend to give the leading lady a makeover when it’s time to be taken seriously?
But wait, I hear you say, Fiona from Shrek is right there! I hear you, Shrek (2001) does an amazing job with discussing beauty standards, but at the end of the day… Shrek is the same species as Fiona, it’s certainly not the same as a human-monster romance. Leela from Futurama, while a cyclops, also falls under the “socially acceptable” role of a monster due to her mostly-human form.
So, what now? It’s not necessarily a case of putting a stop to all monster-human romance, but being aware of the inequality. Films and TV shows need to make money, but can they still turn a profit if their female-monsters break the beauty standards? The War Between The Land and The Sea (2025) is a miniseries that features a monster-romance with a female monster, with fans praising the diversity.
When it comes to diversity, the publishing industry is ahead of the game; we’re seeing women monstersand LGBTQ+ stories — and the internet is championing these voices. Books and film are two very different mediums with different goal posts; there’s definitely an audience for monstrous women, but time will tell if we’re able to see this transformation in film.
Short n’ Sweet Films
It seems like in the short film world, monster romance isn’t as popular but it definitely exists. Your Monster (2020) was a proof of concept short film, screening at Cleveland International Film Festival and Palm Springs International ShortFest before the feature film of the same name, Your Monster (2024), was made and premiered at Sundance Film Festival.
While not a monster romance exactly, He Took His Skin Off For Me (2014) had raised £9,000 on Kickstarter and this covered the entire effects budget. It gives us an idea of the technical hurdle short films face when bringing their ideas to life — if a filmmaker wanted to create a monster romance with a smaller budget, they’d have to approach it in a different way.
Enter: Pablo, Honey! (2025). This mockumentary blends comedy and monster romance perfectly by including a poltergeist as a love interest, showing us that clever writing and hilarious performances can give us a monster romance without the big SFX budget.
Alright, enough of the mushy stuff. I want my monster romance gory! Let me introduce you to Buzzkill (2022) which has more emphasis on horror and comedy. Animation allows audiences to suspend their disbelief while broadening the possibilities of grotesque monsters.
Yay or Neigh?
There are many pieces to this puzzle; an explosion of sexual freedom and the ability to overlook beauty standards are just two of the many reasons why monster-romance is so popular. But the newer generation is leaning away with Gen Z not wanting "unnecessary sex scenes”, the public are bound to be divided on whether monster-romances are needed.
I believe Lehmiller said it best on his Sex and Psychology Podcast when he talked about “striking a balance” between analysing fantasies to understand where they come from, and to understand why they’re different from reality — and just accepting and enjoying them for what they are: fantasies.
So, if you hear your friend say that the 200-year-old radioactive ghoul from the Fallout series is hot… the chances are they’re not wrong. Afterall, Nikki Glaser said it best during the 2026 Golden Globes, “Guillermo Del Toro, keep making weird monster sex movies” — and there’s a large demographic that agree.
