Paranormal vs. horror

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Paranormal vs. horror

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1timepiece
Feb 12, 2015, 2:42 pm

As a reader of genre fiction, and the main cataloger for my library, I try to make sure that all of our fiction has at least one genre assigned (not always possible beyond "fiction"). I hope we have some patrons who appreciate it.

But, some differences between genres are hard to pin down. Like the title here - how would you describe the difference between paranormal fiction and horror fiction? To my utter surprise, this was not a popular topic on the internet. Imagine my shock. I don't want to say all paranormal is horror, or that all horror is paranormal (which would be closer). And I'm not even going to go into "occult fiction" which appears to be phasing out.

2benuathanasia
Feb 12, 2015, 3:44 pm

To me, the two genres are very different but very often overlap.

Horror is anything intended to scare - regardless of the means (could be monsters, aliens, "jump-scares," or tales of real murderers told in such a way as to excite the pulse rather than educate).

Paranormal is anything that involves creatures or powers outside of the day-to-day or what science generally accepts as known (aliens are possible, but not yet known - therefore paranormal). Paranormal usually falls inside of another primary category (thriller, romance, horror, coming-of-age, action, adventure, etc).

3jjwilson61
Feb 12, 2015, 3:51 pm

>2 benuathanasia: Paranormal is anything that involves creatures or powers outside of the day-to-day or what science generally accepts as known

Isn't that just another name for Fantasy?

4benuathanasia
Edited: Feb 12, 2015, 4:22 pm

I don't distinguish much (if any) difference between the two. The "definitions" I've found online seem to equate paranormal with low-fantasy (fantasy that takes place in our world with magic or special beings thrown in), but paranormal also includes the possibilities of aliens, which fantasy usually does not.

The "real" definitions don't help much more. From Merriam-Webster:

Paranormal - "very strange and not able to be explained by what scientists know about nature and the world"

Fantasy - "imaginative fiction featuring especially strange settings and grotesque characters"
also "a book, movie, etc., that tells a story about things that happen in an imaginary world"

There really isn't too much difference between the two.

5timepiece
Edited: Feb 12, 2015, 4:49 pm

I'll just share that for the past few months my guideline has been, "Is the paranormal force/creature/person the good guy?" - then it's paranormal. If it's the bad guy - generally horror.

You'd be surprised how well this division tracks with how publishers market them.

And generally for me, aliens=science fiction. Period.

6RowanTribe
Feb 12, 2015, 5:13 pm

I'm with timepiece. If the paranormal element is the good guy (especially if it's a love interest) it's in paranormal (usually also a romance, which segues oddly into "urban fantasy" genre) and if it's the bad guy then it's horror or thriller.

Horror is also a lot more wide-ranging than paranormal - horror can be paranormal, psychological, classic, human-interest, fantasy, or sci-fi - it's not the setting, it's the mood music, you know?