Research Guides: Science Fiction: Supernatural/Horror

Horror

Horror

Horror fiction, horror literature and also horror fantasy is a genre of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, scare or startle viewers/readers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural. Often the central menace of a work of Horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for the larger fears of a society. The genre has ancient origins which were reformulated in the 18th century as Gothic horror, with publication of the Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole.

Horror fiction has its roots in folklore and religious traditions, focusing on death, the afterlife, evil, the demonic and the principle of the thing embodied in the person. These were manifested in stories of witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and demonic pacts such as that of Faust.

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Horror Fiction
Supernatural Fiction
Horror Tales
Horror
Supernatural

Supernatural and Horror

Dracula by Bram Stoker; Roger Luckhurst (Editor)
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 019161601X
Publication Date: 2011
'it was butcher work...the horrid screeching as the stake drove home; the plunging of writhing form, and lips of bloody foam'Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic shocker introduced Count Dracula to the world, an ancient creature bent on bringing his contagion to London, the very heart of the British Empire. Only a handful of men and women stand between Dracula and his long-cherished goal, but they are vulnerable and weak against the cunning and supernatural powers of the Count and his legions. As the horrifying story unfolds in the diaries and letters of young Jonathan Harker, Lucy, Mina, and Dr Seward, Dracula will bevictorious unless his nemesis Professor Van Helsing can persuade them that monsters still lurk in the era of electric light.The most famous of all vampire stories, Dracula is a mirror of its age, its underlying themes of race, religion, science, superstition, and sexuality never far from the surface. A compelling read, rattling along at break-neck speed, it is a modern classic. This new edition includes Stoker's companion piece, 'Dracula's Guest'.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
ISBN: 9781877527340
Publication Date: 2009
Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, was completed by Mary Shelley at the age of 19. She infused this original novel with Gothic and Romantic elements. Scientist Victor Frankenstein creates a large and powerful creature in the likeness of man, but is disgusted by his own creation and he abandons the being to fend for itself. Spawning generations of horror stories in the genre, Frankenstein is a gruesome warning against playing God and attempting the engineering of life.
Reference guide to science fiction, fantasy, and horror / Michael Burgess, Lisa R. Bartle. by Michael Burgess; Lisa R. Bartle
Call Number: Z5917.S36 B87 2002
ISBN: 1563085488
Tales of the sacred and the supernatural / by Mircea Eliade. by Mircea Eliade
Call Number: PC839.E38 A2 1981
ISBN: 0664243916
The curse in the jungle / M.D. Spenser. by M.D. Spenser
Call Number: JUV PZ7.S7485 Cu 1996
ISBN: 1576570991
The dark-thirty : Southern tales of the supernatural / Patricia C. McKissack ; illustrated by Brian Pinkney. by Patricia C. McKissack; Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)
Call Number: JUV PZ7.M478693 Dar 1992
ISBN: 0679818634
The short fiction of Edgar Allan Poe : an annotated edition / by Stuart and Susan Levine. by Edgar Allan Poe; Stuart Levine; Susan F. Levine
Call Number: PS2612 .A1 1976
ISBN: 0672514621

Supernatural

Supernatural

Supernatural Fiction is fiction involving the supernatural, as in magical beings and forces outside of the laws of our physical universe. The supernaturalism in this case is based more off of medieval Catholicism than modern, atheistic, naturalistic philosophies. That's not to say all these stories fit in with biblical canon but if you do the research you'll find a cultural, evolutionary link with many medieval myths and superstitions. This evolutionary link is helped by giving Gothic Fiction honorary membership into supernatural fiction.

While dealing with the same subject matter supernatural fiction sets itself apart from Horror and Thrillers with supernatural elements by focusing less on the scream and thrill factors and more on the supernatural elements. In the past Fantasy was restricted to the Standard Fantasy Setting but the rise of Urban Fantasy and Dark Fantasy is making the distinction between fantasy and supernatural fiction very dubious. Alternatively people might put urban fantasy and related genres under the label supernatural fantasy and put fantasies based off the standard fantasy setting under the label epic fantasy. Supernatural Fiction doesn't have to show how fantastical elements are affected by modern society like urban fantasy has to.

Weird West and Supernatural Soap Opera are subgenres. Usually marketed as Horror, Thriller, or Fantasy (with an emphasis on the words paranormal and supernatural). Sometimes marketed as Science Fiction.