Genre Question

[Novilia]

Okay, I am confused. Are all novels with things like vampires and werewolves considered horror? Can they be considered fantasy? Does it all depend on how many guts are lying all over the floor?

[Cathy C]

Not at all. There are shades of grey in all of these. Here's kind of how it works:


Vampires and werewolves fall under "paranormal" by definition, because they're based on legends and/or myth. So, it falls on the goal of the book as to where it would be shelved in a bookstore.

If a vampire or werewolf is the HERO or HEROINE of the book, and the good guys win, then it would probably be placed in a fantasy line.

If the vampire or werewolf is the HERO or HEROINE of the book, AND there is a strong romance, then it would probably be considered paranormal romance, and shelved in romance.

If the vampire or werewolf is the VILLAIN of the book, and the villains win (or at least the hero doesn't fare too well), then it is either dark fantasy or horror. True horror requires a constant threat of death to the hero/heroine, and probably death to subcharacters. Quite often, the good guys lose, or at least all of their friends and family do (think Stephen King's Carrie or The Shining)

So, once you know the goal of the book, you can more easily plan which publisher to approach. Does that make sense? :)

[clara bow]

Okay, I am confused. Are all novels with things like vampires and werewolves considered horror?

I'm not sure that any one person could answer this as it would require an encyclopedic knowledge of all books ever written. Based on my own miniscule experience, I would say in general, yes. Of course, it depends on the scope of the role the vampire or werewolf played in the novel that would really determine the extent to which it would be marketed as a horror novel.

Can they be considered fantasy?

I don't see why not. In a way, all creatures like them could be considered fantastical. Depends on how you tell the story. I wrote a gothic fantasy featuring at one point a creature I called a sabrewolfe whom one could consider a distant relative of the classic werewolf.

Does it all depend on how many guts are lying all over the floor?

And also the story being written. You might have a novel with a vampire in a fantasy setting which may depict bloodletting ranging from it's barely acknowledged to full blown horror elements. So the novel becomes more of a hybrid horror-fantasy or vice versa. That's what's so cool about writing, you can play with the elements in so many different ways. Whether your idea is marketable, now that's a different story!


Hope this helps!

[pickman]

Okay, I am confused. Are all novels with things like vampires and werewolves considered horror?

Not necessarily. If it does not play on deep human fears, then it isn't horror (although some here would probably debate that). If you take films as examples, you can see that certain films featuring vampires and werewolves are not really that scary. 'Blade' for example - a great action film with vampires in, but if you can call it horror, then you can call 'xXx' horror as well.

Can they be considered fantasy?

They certainly can. During the nineties I recall "dark fantasy" being something of a craze, with the likes of Laurel K Hamilton, Anne Rice (I know, she was around before the nineties, but she was still very popular at the time), and others. Werewolves, and especially vampires, became very popular because of this genre I believe.

[Rabe]

Not necessarily. If it does not play on deep human fears, then it isn't horror (although some here would probably debate that). If you take films as examples, you can see that certain films featuring vampires and werewolves are not really that scary. 'Blade' for example - a great action film with vampires in, but if you can call it horror, then you can call 'xXx' horror as well.

Well, I would call it 'Horror'.

Or, at the very least, "horror"ible!

Even more horrifying is that they made a sequel. And I've heard of plans for even more sequels.

Rabe...

[vipersmile]

my current horror novel is a mix of werewolves and hitmen. Even though the mobsters are old and remind you of a pre Soprano esque expirience, there is definitley a strong horror element, vibe. Gore and bloodletting make you believe the story becomes horror at some point. While Blade is or could be looked at as an action film, the very fact of its extreme gore and vampire usage makes it horror. Vietnam movies for example are riddled with gore, but there is no cliche' of creature or mood of midnight. Although to me, War is the most horrifying thing there is. From a commercial standpoint and probably young reader and Author, anything pertaining to werewolves, vampires, aliens etc- falls into the realm of horror. It only becomes Sci Fi when the element of an unreal exsistence takes shape.

Werewolves and vampires do not exist, but perhaps could exist in a small town ( IE: Salem's Lot/ American Werewolf in London) But if we are going to the moon in search of uranium and find a cybernetic werewolf monster who swallows hearts and bleeds mercury from it's eyes, I believe the element of an unreal but plausible Sci Fi/fantasy genre is introduced.

Just my opinion,
Eric-

[Vuligora]

Vampires and werewolve books could definately be categorized as fantasy depending on how they are viewed. Are they viewed as monsters or good people or just there. If they're monsters and there is a lot of gore, I would consider it horror.