This month’s genre to share, supernatural fiction, rose from the traditional ghost story, and in its broad sense (which is how I have considered it here) overlaps with weird fiction, horror fiction, vampire literature, and occult detective fiction.
Sharing Great Stories
One of the benefits of knowing other readers of a genre you like is sharing some of the stories and series you have loved and some you are checking out. I have not read extensively in this genre, but I can recommend a binge-worthy series and a blockbuster novel.
Supernatural Fiction
The roots of supernatural fiction begin in the mid-18th century, but its popularity grew significantly along with a general interest in spiritualism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and first blossomed with the pulps in the 1920s. Its recent popularity comes and goes, primarily based on the attraction to specific authors (e.g., Stephen King), characters (Dracula, Cthulhu), combination with other genres (e.g., romance, in the Twilight series), and its hugely successful translation to film.
According to Wikipedia, the supernatural genre highlights supernatural creatures or happenings within the real world. It also tends to focus more on suspense and mystery and less on action and adventure. However, in there is plenty of action and adventure in the series I recommend below.
On to those great works of fiction.
Classic Supernatural Fiction
The most widely recognized character of classic supernatural fiction is certainly Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), who has been reincarnated thousands of times in literature and film.
One of the most critically acclaimed and studied authors of supernatural fiction as Edgar Alan Poe, whose works ushered in what is called the “Golden Age of the Ghost Story.”
One of the most widely recognized collection of works of supernatural fiction is based in H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos (ca. 1928). Interesting, though, Lovecraft completed only one novel. The popular characters and settings of the mythos were developed in a series of short stories and novellas.
A note to the modern reader, H. P. Lovecraft didn’t just write about creepy creatures, he was a creep of a human himself, even by the sentiments of his times. So, if you dive into his original works, consider yourself forewarned.
The recent popularity of the Cthulhu mythos is primarily driven by the lapse of Lovecraft’s copyrights into the public domain. So anyone can write about his characters and (mostly) creatures, and many have.
The Cthulhu Casebooks
The Cthulhu Casebooks series* by James Lovegrove hits a lot of the tropes and expectations of supernatural fiction as a category.
It is the autumn of 1880, and Dr John Watson has just returned from Afghanistan. Badly injured and desperate to forget a nightmarish expedition that left him doubting his sanity, Watson is close to destitution when he meets the extraordinary Sherlock Holmes, who is investigating a series of deaths in the Shadwell district of London. Several bodies have been found, the victims appearing to have starved to death over the course of several weeks, and yet they were reported alive and well mere days before. Moreover, there are disturbing reports of creeping shadows that inspire dread in any who stray too close. Holmes deduces a connection between the deaths and a sinister drug lord who is seeking to expand his criminal empire. Yet both he and Watson are soon forced to accept that there are forces at work far more powerful than they could ever have imagined. Forces that can be summoned, if one is brave – or mad – enough to dare…
What’s to love about this series? Unfortunately, there are only three books in the Cthulhu Casebooks series, but the Casebooks series continues with more Sherlock Holmes adventures (now six books). Whether you continue with the complete series or stop at three, it will be a quick binge. James Lovegrove has done a fantastic job of recreating the sense of horror in the Cthulhu mythos and the gee whiz of being a spectator of the notorious Watson and Holmes. Packed with action, mystery, and suspense, the series keeps your heart pumping and mind spinning. The series is read by Dennis Kleinman, who portrays the characters with time period believability.
Here are a few Links to help you find the series:
11/22/63 by Stephen King
I have a bonus recommendation this month to help you find a supernatural fiction work that is not also horror… From the most recognized horror author of the century, Stephen King. 11/22/63* is what happens when supernatural fiction is blended with historical fiction, then written as a thriller.
Following his massively successful novel Under the Dome, King sweeps readers back in time to another moment—a real life moment—when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history.
Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.
Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life – a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.
What’s to love about this novel? Even if you aren’t a fan of Stephen King, if you love historical fiction and are willing to accept some supernatural elements, you’ll love this book. Since I am not a fan of horror, I am particular about which Stephen King novels I read. King is a master storyteller and he demonstrates the finest of his craft with 11/22/63. Surprisingly, some King fans didn’t extend their passion to this book because it didn’t fit the mold they created for the author. Don’t be distracted by them. I think this is one of King’s finest works. The book is read by Craig Wasson, who makes every minute of the thirty hours of narration enjoyable.
Here are a few Links to help you find the series:
Supernatural Fiction in Gaming
Dracula and Cthulhu (especially) are extremely popular subjects in boardgames and roleplaying games alike.
The Fury of Dracula (ranked 265 on boardgamegeek.com) is a classic hidden movement, one-against-many boardgame that is now on its fourth edition.
Call of Cthulhu (ranked 1 on rpggeek.com) is the second or third most popular roleplaying game (depending on where you get your stats) and has many spinoffs.
But the game we’ll look at is one of my favorite “big” games, Eldritch Horror by Fantasy Flight Games (ranked 99 on boardgamegeek.com). I say “big” because it has a lot of rules, but mostly because it is long, expect 4 hours for 1-4 players. There are 8 expansions for the base game, so you are unlikely to ever run out of content to play.
The game fits the tense creepiness as well as any media (game, book, or film) of the genre. One caveat however: The publisher claims it plays with up to 8 players. Play with more than 5 players and you will hope the monsters win quickly. Personally, I would never play it again with more than 4 players and think it is best with 2 players.
Honorable mention goes to Ghostel which is a light game where you and a collection of interesting ghosts scare the patrons out of a haunted hotel. One of the cards in this game is a cartoon caricature of yours truly.
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Cover image by Tithi Luadthong/shutterstock.com. Used under license from Shutterstock.com.
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