Vampires, Werewolves, Aliens, Oh My!

What is the allure about the fantastical? Is it the oddity? The unknown?

When I first thought about potentially becoming a writer, I decided I wanted to write fantasy romance so I could truly make up everything on my own. Oh, how naive I was. Especially as I've spent time in the contemporary and historical trenches. As a writer who has a series percolating that stars vampires, werewolves and witches, I may be able to make up a lot, but I have to intimately understand the mythology of all three magical beings because my readers have basic expectations of all three. Good thing I'm a librarian by day and have learned how to effectively research ;)

The next question is why are fantastical characters so prevalent within the erotic romance genre? My personal theory is because what makes something erotic to a reader is the ability to tap into that reader's fantasy life. If we're tapping into their fantasy life, why not make it a full-blown fantasy? As a writer, I've hopefully already done my job of getting the reader to suspend disbelief. It's less than a hop, skip and a jump to go the extra bit...if I like writing that anyway. I also think it's a two-way street. Fantasy readers are probably more open to erotic writing because they routinely read about worlds which have little similarity to the real world, at first glance.

As for why vampires, at least, are so prevalent within erotic romance...well, they've got a long history of being there. The concept of sharing blood is visceral in much the same way sex is. Vampire lore is very much one of seduction of the mind. Another element that makes an erotic story a success.

*Sigh* I feel like I'm rambling because it's so late at night for me, and there are just so many different points to which my mind keeps flitting. Save me from this insanity: tell me what you think of the connection between what is erotic and what is fantastical?