If you browse your local bookstores, you’ll probably find a corner set aside for books that fall under supernatural fiction—stories that deal with the unexplained, the mysterious, and the otherworldly.
Despite its popularity, supernatural fiction is often tricky to define. There’s confusion about what the word “supernatural” means and how it relates to other similar genres.
What Is Supernatural Fiction?
In its broadest definition, supernatural fiction is literature that features themes, events, and characters that disrupt the natural order of the world. These are things that science can’t understand and are outside the rules of reality.
We’re talking about gods, angels, devils, resurrection, the afterlife, and more. Because of this, many of its books often tackle religion and other related concepts.
It’s one of those genres that’s hard to isolate, as it overlaps with many others, especially fantasy, horror, and weird fiction. Plus, there’s the ongoing confusion about what separates it from paranormal fiction, which we’ll discuss further down.
Elements of Supernatural Fiction
While supernatural fiction does mix with other genres, there are a few things that make it unique. Below are just a few of them.
Setting
Supernatural fiction is almost always set in the real world. The supernatural element then begins to invade, change, or destroy what is considered normal.
This is the inverse of most fantasy stories, where constructed worlds often exhibit supernatural elements that are considered normal within their rules.
Point of View
Most books of supernatural fiction start out with normal protagonists without any knowledge of the supernatural.
As the story continues, they slowly learn that not everything is as it seems. Eventually, they find themselves fully embroiled in a strange and dangerous new world.
Tone and Focus
Generally speaking, supernatural fiction focuses more on the suspense and mystery of the story and less on the action and adventure. Characters are actively searching for an explanation and, sometimes, the destruction of the supernatural.
It is similar to horror in the way that it deals with dark and ominous subjects and atmospheres. The purpose isn’t primarily to create fear, but to heighten the suspense.
There’s also a strong influence of Gothic themes such as folly, isolation, corruption of the innocent, creepy locations, secretive events, forbidden knowledge, and more.
Forms of the Supernatural
There are many supernatural creatures and events that feature in books. A few favorites are ghosts, demons, haunted houses, and blood rituals.
Something we have to consider, though, is that most of these are things that many people can reasonably believe are real or plausible.
For example, unlike those above, the dragon isn’t featured much in supernatural fiction. This is because while many believe in ghosts, the dragon is considered more as a mythical creature and thus appears more in fantasy.
The origin of these elements must also be considered. When a magician wiggles his fingers and turns an enemy inside out, it’s most likely fantasy. But when he performs an occult ritual and summons a demon to do the deed, it’s usually supernatural fiction.
Prevalence of the Supernatural
In supernatural fiction, the supernatural is often rare, with only one or two elements occurring in a story. The protagonists either stumble upon them or are unsuspectingly led to them by circumstance.
It almost seems like their supernatural qualities isolate them from the world, making the story focus on them more. For example, in Dracula, three of the titular villain’s brides appear at the beginning of the movie but are not seen again until the setting returns to the Carpathian mountains.
Thus, Dracula is made the sole antagonist in the majority of the book. Even in scenes where the brides are involved, it’s clear that Dracula is the uber-villain to watch out for. Instead of spending time building up various villains, Bram Stoker focuses on developing an overall more terrifying one instead.
Examples of Supernatural Fiction
Here are some books that can be classified as supernatural fiction, from the classics to more contemporary works.
1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
In this timeless classic, a brilliant scientist pushes the boundaries of science and succeeds in creating an intelligent, living creature.
The Creature is an unnatural being made through unnatural means and thus, can only be considered unnatural. Its creation is a violation of the rules of this world and approaches the divine—that only God can grant life.
2. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Written in epistolary style, Lewis’ novel concerns senior demon Screwtape’s attempts to educate his nephew in the art of demonic temptation.
Since it’s written from a demon’s perspective on Christian faith, the book is meant to explore humanity’s potential for virtue and vice. It addresses many issues about Christian theology, including faith and reason, free will, and divine love.
3. The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen
A doctor’s experiment to open the mind to the spiritual world goes wrong. Years later, something begins terrorizing the town, driving wealthy men into madness and suicide.
The book concerns an attempt to literally see the supernatural world, explained by the doctor as “seeing the great god Pan.” It is later revealed that the villain of the story is the child of Pan himself and the woman involved in the original experiment.
4. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Claire
A 15-year-old witnesses a murder and is suddenly thrown into a world full of angel-like warriors, dangerous creatures, and demons.
Apart from a race of humans who have blood connections with a literal angel, the series is also full of creatures from many fairy tales, religions, and mythologies.
5. Later by Stephen King
A child is born with the ability to see and learn what no one else can. Though desperate for a normal childhood, he is drawn to the pursuit of a killer whose last evil deed can only be learned from beyond the grave.
The book, while predominantly a crime novel, explores much of what happens after death. The afterlife, a demon-like entity, and the ancient ritual used to defeat it are a huge part of the plot.
Supernatural vs. Paranormal Fiction
The terms “supernatural” and “paranormal” are often used interchangeably. But while they’re closely related, there are subtle differences between the two—the biggest being their definition of what is outside the norm.
In paranormal fiction, the belief is that some things are currently outside of scientific understanding. But there is a chance, however slim, that they can be explained by science someday. This includes vampires, werewolves, aliens, telepathy, psychokinesis, etc.
Supernatural fiction, meanwhile, pertains to concepts that may forever be outside of scientific understanding. This includes gods, the soul, the afterlife, angels and demons, etc.
Both genres are frequently lumped together because of their similarities. They both concern concepts that are outside the rules of the real world, and sometimes the creatures and phenomena that appear in one also appear in the other.
This has led to a lot of confusion about which is which and whether the two are really separate genres. Indeed, most people just think of them as two names for one thing. Whatever the case, both are similar enough that fans of supernatural fiction will generally enjoy exploring paranormal fiction.
What’s your favorite work of supernatural fiction? Share it in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- Exploring Speculative Fiction: Your Guide to this Super-Genre
- Exploring Gothic Horror: A Brief History and Examples
- Cosmic Horror: Your Guide to Incomprehensible Terrors
- Weird Fiction: Stories of the Uncanny and the Indescribable
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
