What genre do I place my short story into?

Hello there,

I recently wrote a short story, The Foster Home, but I really don't know what is the genre that really fits into it. In the beginning, we have Matt entering the foster home and getting to know the kids that live there and will be his future housemates. Then he meets another kid, which in the end turns out to be a ghost. But Matt doesn't know this, and so when the other kids ignore the ghost, Matts get pissed off at them until he realizes the truth. The realization that the kid is a ghost is the end of the story.

The end itself is different. While through the whole story the narration has been at times comical and light-hearted, the end sorts of fits into what we would call "scary." Not only because the kid's a ghost, but because his face changes from being a "normal" kid to a zombie-like face.

Am I being clear enough?

At any rate, the question remains; what genre could this short story possibly fit into?

Thanks.

kuwisdelu,

If you would like, I can send you the story. Tell me if you'd like to read it.

It's more of a mature story than children's, IMO. Mostly because of the end. But I can't see why teens 13+ can't read it.

The story has a paranormal ending, yes. But the ending is the only paranormal thing you'll find. Otherwise, it'd be a "normal" story. Wouldn't call it fantasy (not even urban) because whoever reads it thinking fantasy, will soon be disappointed to find that, in fact, there's nothing fantastic about it. Of course, until the end. In other words, the story is what you'd call fiction but with a paranormal twist at the end. But then, paranormal fiction is not a genre, is it?

DraperJC said:

If you call it paranormal then most of your readers will figure out that the new kid's a ghost right off the bat. Submit it to a magazine that has the widest possible guidelines and let them classify it when they accept it.

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That's excatly what I've been doing. The genre would give away the end, so I've been submitting to mags. that accept all kinds of stuff. Still, I'd like to know where I could place the story, though. It's been bugging me for a while now.