How do I know if a creature or element is paranormal/supernatural or fantasy

The Second Moon

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
3,393
Reaction score
355
Website
mimistromauthor.com
I know that's a stupid question, but I am confused. BTW, I do read paranormal and fantasy. I might just be overthinking.

Can an element or creature overlap between fantasy and paranormal/supernatural? Like I know magic does. (right?)

And mythology? What about that? Like a kitsune for example (Japanese mythology). Is that that fantasy or paranormal or something totally different?

I just want to know the difference between paranormal and fantasy creatures and elements are.

Thank you.
 

ChaseJxyz

Writes 🏳️‍⚧️🌕🐺 and 🏳️‍⚧️🌕🐺 accessories
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 5, 2020
Messages
4,524
Reaction score
6,203
Location
The Rottenest City on the Pacific Coast
Website
www.chasej.xyz
I think it depends on the world in general. Twilight takes place in the modern world. Everything is the same as ours, except that there's vampires and werewolves. The stuff Bella goes through is normal people stuff and she's a normal person. Meanwhile, Frodo Baggins knows that dragons and giant spiders and all other sorts of things exist. They're as normal to him as zebras or elephants are to us.

Paranormal is "beyond normal." That would be stuff that is real life but just a little....more. A ghost or zombie or vampire or a werewolf is a human, but there's 1 fantastical thing about them that makes them different than reality. There are people who believe these things exist and their existence has greatly affected our culture because of it. People dug up their dead loved ones and took actions to prevent them from becoming vampires. People go to Scotland just to look for Nessie.

Fantasy is something that is usually much more different from "normal" and it's generally not considered real by most people. I'm sure there are people out there who travel the world to look for dragons or mermaids, but it's in no way at the level people do for Bigfoot. There's tons of stories of these creatures but they were always "mythical," there was always an understanding that they're probably not real.

Now for stuff like kitsune, that is very cultural. Things like dybbuks are very much real to some Jewish people, like how angels and demons are very much real to some Christians. How much, say, the average Japanese person today believes that yokai is real is like asking the average Scandinavian how much they believe elves/fairies are real. I have a Chinese friend who has a relative who swears he encountered a kumiho (Korean kitsune) during a war. My ex was Wiccan and she 100% believed in ghosts, so anyone saying ghost hunting shows was fake really upset her. So there's a big overlap between paranormal/fantasy/reality, depending on the person/cultural context.

If you're worried as to what your story is, you should look at the setting in general. Paranormal is the regular world but with some mystery/fantastical elements (ghost hunting, cryptids). Fantasy is major parts of the world is different ("hidden world" like HP, magic is real, dozens of fantastical species/kinds).
 

CathleenT

I write
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
5,097
Reaction score
1,981
Location
Northern California
Book genre dictionary defines paranormal as: Books in the paranormal fiction genre are set in the real world, but they include experiences that defy scientific explanation. For example, stories set on earth that include things like angels, demons, ghosts, psychics, vampires, etc. https://book-genres.com/paranormal-fiction-genre/

They also define fantasy as: Stories from the fantasy genre are set in fanciful, invented worlds or in a legendary, mythic past that rely on the outright invention of magic. Knights, wizards, kings, and dragons are all common in fantasy, but aren’t always required. Swordplay, archery, horseback riding, and spell-casting are also staples of the fantasy genre. https://book-genres.com/fantasy-fiction-definition/

I don't know that they're the ultimate authority, but they seem pretty spot on to me, and it's at least a starting place for folks to debate about it. : )
 

Friendly Frog

Snarkenfaugister
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 23, 2011
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
4,943
Location
Belgium
Isn't it all fantasy in general? In any case, I doubt you'll find clear-cut deliniations, probably more like venn diagrams.

I like the description Cathleen found for paranormal (always find it hard to define it myself), but I tend to lump all the other fanciful stuff into fantasy.
 

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
12,977
Reaction score
4,510
Location
USA
Website
brightdreamersbookreviews.blogspot.com
I consider paranormal a subset of fantasy (except when it edges toward scientific/pseudoscientific explanations, in which case it's science fiction... but then the line between F and SF is blurry anyway.)

As has been mentioned, paranormal tends to be "real-world-plus", sort of like urban fantasy. It's 19th century New York City... except there's a hidden community of vampires secretly controlling high society. It's modern Wyoming... but with werewolves stalking the range. There's a touch of the unusual, but the average person is probably unaware of it, and things generally look similar to the Earth we're all familiar with. Turn the dial up higher, warp the world a little more toward the fantastic elements, and you bleed over into the greater fantasy genre or horror (which I also consider part of SFF, particularly when the Scary Thing is paranormal or fantastic.)

Since genres are marketing categories anyway, I'd suggest not worrying too much about it until you're closer to submitting (or self-publishing) and need to know how to pitch it to attract audiences most likely to enjoy it.

JMHO, of course...
 

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
23,083
Reaction score
10,778
Location
Where faults collide
Website
doggedlywriting.blogspot.com
Exact definitions are hard with really fuzzy boundaries. A vampire, demon, fairy, or werewolf set in a secondary world or quasi historic setting might be part of a traditional high, low, historical, or portal, or epic fantasy novel (and all these categories have overlap and debate too), but if it takes place in our "real" and contemporary world it could be part of a paranormal tale or part of an urban fantasy story.

There have been countless threads trying to dissect the difference between UF (or any genre of contemporary fantasy) and paranormal, but I think it comes down to story emphasis and target audience. Paranormal maybe has more emphasis on real-world issues that are altered or enhanced by the addition of the supernatural or fantasy elements (like a bunch of vampires that, for some reason, are hanging out at a suburban high school, posing as normal American teenagers). UF is more focused on the fantasy society or world that exists within, or in parallel, to our own, and on issues central to that world, even if the protagonist moves between the two worlds.

For instance, the Harry Potter books are indisputably fantasy, not paranormal, even though they have werewolves and vampires in them. The emphasis is on the fantasy society and perils that concern it, even if they threaten the mundane world of "muggles" too. Twilight is most commonly categorized as a paranormal romance, however, not a fantasy romance or urban fantasy.

But even that definition gets blurry (as Bella's focus was increasingly on the issues related to Vampire and Werewolf society as the Twilight series progressed). So I think it really comes down to marketing demographics and so on. I've been told that paranormal focuses more on a romance reader demographic, while UF targets readers who are more interested in fantasy first and foremost, though romantic elements can certainly be an important subplot in any fantasy novel.

But there is a fantasy romance subgenre too. So it's complicated, and books can be cross shelved and cross listed.

The general advice people give is to write your story, and you may get more of a sense on where it fits for querying or marketing purposes once it is complete. Genre-savvy beta readers can provide feedback in that respect too.
 
Last edited:

The Second Moon

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
3,393
Reaction score
355
Website
mimistromauthor.com
Thank you everyone. My story is paranormal (it has vampires) but then it also has kitsunes and familiars, so I wasn't sure. Although, you AWers have cleared it up well.
 

ironmikezero

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Messages
1,737
Reaction score
426
Location
Haunted Louisiana
I wouldn't worry about the labels; just write what your muse suggests and see what happens. I once crafted an entire series based upon fantasy and folklore enmeshed with physics and forensics; whatever appeared upon the page had to be somewhat plausible within those stated parameters. Consequently, that was significantly challenging; but ultimately, it became (and still is) a great deal of fun.
 

benbenberi

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 7, 2012
Messages
2,800
Reaction score
843
Location
Connecticut
As Roxxsmom says, the difference is marketing, not substance. Write your story the way it wants to be, and let those whose job is applying labels apply the appropriate label to it when it's done.
 

Polenth

Mushroom
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
5,017
Reaction score
735
Location
England
Website
www.polenthblake.com
Thank you everyone. My story is paranormal (it has vampires) but then it also has kitsunes and familiars, so I wasn't sure. Although, you AWers have cleared it up well.

It's most likely going to be urban fantasy or paranormal romance... depending on whether it's a romance or not. It sounds like you're getting too caught up on using the creature type, but it's really not about the creatures. It's about how the whole thing is framed.

As an example, ghosts are common in paranormal stories and also in urban fantasy. If I'm a ghosthunter in a world where ghosts are everywhere and I'm part of a secret society that fights the bad ghosts, this is most likely urban fantasy. If I'm a ghosthunter in a similar world but the focus is on meeting a hot person (who may or may not be a ghost) and dating them, it's paranormal romance. If I'm an average person who checks out an abandoned home I just inherited, discovers a ghost, then hits the historical records to find out what's going on, this is probably paranormal (or maybe paranormal mystery depending how the story goes). If I go to the same home and I spend a night of terror running from hungry ghosts, this is probably horror. Every story has ghosts, but the way the story is told changes the genre.
 

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
23,083
Reaction score
10,778
Location
Where faults collide
Website
doggedlywriting.blogspot.com
It's most likely going to be urban fantasy or paranormal romance... depending on whether it's a romance or not. It sounds like you're getting too caught up on using the creature type, but it's really not about the creatures. It's about how the whole thing is framed.

As an example, ghosts are common in paranormal stories and also in urban fantasy. If I'm a ghosthunter in a world where ghosts are everywhere and I'm part of a secret society that fights the bad ghosts, this is most likely urban fantasy. If I'm a ghosthunter in a similar world but the focus is on meeting a hot person (who may or may not be a ghost) and dating them, it's paranormal romance. If I'm an average person who checks out an abandoned home I just inherited, discovers a ghost, then hits the historical records to find out what's going on, this is probably paranormal (or maybe paranormal mystery depending how the story goes). If I go to the same home and I spend a night of terror running from hungry ghosts, this is probably horror. Every story has ghosts, but the way the story is told changes the genre.

I think this is a pretty good summary.

It can get complicated, though, when a story is about a secret ghost hunting society, and while on a mission, the protagonist gets trapped in a hell house with some bad ghosts that try to eat her brains, but a hot good ghost shows up and chases them away, and then they have wild ghostly sex and fall in love, so now she has to decide where her loyalties lie re the secret ghost hunting society, which thinks all ghosts are bad, and so on.
 

TurbulentMuse

Muse
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 16, 2021
Messages
56
Reaction score
6
Location
Dallas TX
In my mind, paranormal is adding supernatural elements to the real world while fantasy involves the creation of a whole new world.

For example: if the fae stealing babies is a thing villages or towns must openly defend against then it’s probably fantasy. If the fae are working with a human secret government organization to stop a mad magician who’s been kidnapping people it’s probably paranormal.

There are some stories that blend the line between the two, however. The first that comes to mind is the Netflix cartoon Hilda.
 

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
23,083
Reaction score
10,778
Location
Where faults collide
Website
doggedlywriting.blogspot.com
Still not clear where urban fantasy would fit in with this dichotomy, though, which often has secret underground magic societies that are working with some humans who are in on their secret.

I think the emphasis does make a difference, but people can get really worked up over these definitions, especially when some fans of UF look down on paranormal or UF they think belongs in the paranormal section. But these distinctions do feel more like splitting hairs to some.