The New Monster-Under-the-Bed?

We all grow up with fear. It's been that way since we first fell out of the trees and realized we had opposable thumbs. It's a survival instinct, and along with ingenuity, part of what helped us flourish as a species. 
First, we were afraid of animals bigger, or faster, or hungrier than we were. Then we were afraid of neighboring tribes with bigger pointy sticks. After that (well, actually, the fear of someone with a bigger pointy stick has never really gone away – it's just that the pointy sticks have become more sophisticated over time) we were afraid of fire, bad harvests, cruel kings, leaky boats, natural disasters, religious deities, the boogeyman, war, disease, terrorist attacks, nuclear arms, and so on and so forth.
The point is that fear is in our genetic makeup, a part of who we are. The cause of our fear changes every so often, but fear itself always remains with us in some shape. It's the reason people like to read scary stories and watch horror movies – because we know they're fake, and hence safe ways to explore our fears. 
Which brings me to the gist of this blog - horror in romance. No, contrary to what a lot of people think, it's not an oxymoron. Yes, Virginia, you can have romance in a horror story, or vice-versa. Albeit there isn't much to choose from because many publishers are leery of publishing it, but it's out there. 
To paraphrase Rule 34: If it exists, there's m/m romance for it. 
I happen to enjoy a good horror story. Since I also happen to adore m/m romance, why wouldn't I enjoy mixing them up? The answer is I do. I like reading it, and I like writing it, but I will say this much -- I am a big proponent for truth in blurbing. I think it should be stated in no uncertain terms in the blurb on the back cover that the story is horror m/m romance. This way, no one is disappointed. 
Speaking of which, I plan on writing a story in answer to a publishing house's call for zombie romances. Yes, ZOMBIE romances. Oh, and before I go any further, may I say that I've been there, done that? 
I already have a zombie m/m romance short story out there, written several years ago, one of the first I believe in which the zombie is the love interest. Before anyone's gag reflex kicks in, the hero was only dead fifteen minutes, and is just as hot as when he had a pulse. The story is called "As Serious As the Grave," and you can find it at Torquere Press Books, or Barnes and Nobel, Amazon, and most of your other favorite book dealers. 
When I wrote that particular story, I went off the premise that, technically speaking, everyone who was ever dead and brought back to life (think CPR, or operating table) is, by definition, a zombie.  "Brought back to life" is key here...no necrophilia, thank you very much. 
Turns out, I was ahead of my time. Zombies are hot now, usually centered around post-zombie-apocalyptic themes. Everywhere you look, the undead are looking back, from movies (Zombieland, Resident Evil franchise) to books (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, World War Z), to television (Walking Dead, Death Valley).  True, most – if not all – picture zombies in a less-than-friendly-eat-your-face-off sort of light, but that may change. The zombie in television's animated show, "Ugly Americans" is just your normal, average, horny twenty-something-year-old. Except that he's dead. And sloughing off body parts now and then.  But nobody's boyfriend's perfect, right?
Anyway, that's my rambling rant for the day. Horror in m/m romance – it exists, and it ain't half bad. If you like horror, give it a chance. It might surprise you. :)