Young Adult Literature: Paranormal

Titles Discussed

Blood and Chocolate (1997) by Annette Curtis Klause

The Twilight series (2005-2020) by Stephenie Meyer

Midwinterblood (2011) by Marcus Sedgwick

Far Far Away (2013) by Tom McNeal

Genre Overview

Paranormal describes anything that has some supernatural element that cannot be scientifically or logically explained. Although there is a crossover between paranormal and various other genres, such as horror, fantasy, science fiction, and romance, the distinguishing element of this genre is the introduction of something supernatural as a unifying element for the story. Categorization of work as paranormal, rather than one of these complementary genres, is appropriate when authors make the supernatural a primary focus of the story. The facets of paranormal activity can include a variety of powers, such as telepathy, telekinesis, precognition, immortality, time travel, or reincarnation. As a result, unlike horror literature, paranormal works are not always frightening. Instead, they can be humorous or romantic. They may be more concerned with illustrating how a character develops despite an abnormal ability or how normal humans interact with the supernatural. These supernatural characters might include shape-shifters, werewolves, vampires, witches, ghosts, zombies, angels, or demons.

The interest in the supernatural has been a part of literature for centuries, starting as early as oral tradition with mythology and varying in popularity throughout the centuries. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Gothic novels were among the most popular literature of the time and were so influential that the works of Ann Radcliffe, a pioneering Gothic novelist and the author of The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), were parodied by such authors as Jane Austen. Ghost stories were one of the most popular genres for Victorian audiences, and works such as Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843) remain popular today. Later Victorian authors such as Oscar Wilde, who wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), and Bram Stoker, who wrote Dracula (1897), incorporated paranormal events and characters as essential elements of their stories. Although popular literature of the early twentieth century did not pull as freely from paranormal influences, by the second half of the century, television programs such as Bewitched (1964–72) and I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70) introduced a lighthearted and often romantic component. An influx of paranormal romances in the later part of the twentieth century, including the television show Charmed (1998–2006) and books such as Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate (1997), heralded a resurgence of paranormal fiction's popularity, with appeal to young female audiences in particular. This interest in paranormal romances continued into the twenty-first century with Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series (2005-2020) and stand-alone novels such as Vampire Academy (2007) by Richelle Mead. Several other young adult novels and series continued to explore the paranormal outside of romance, including The Ghost Hunter by Steve Altier (2022) and Letters in the Attic (2023) by Meredith Lindsey.

Works

Blood and Chocolate (1997) by Annette Curtis Klause is an example of a contemporary paranormal romance written for young adult audiences. Like many other books discussed here, the novel describes a girl's growth into emotional and sexual maturity. The story begins with the main character, Vivian Gandillon, watching as her family home burns to the ground with her father trapped inside. The fire is a revenge strike against Vivian's werewolf pack because Vivian and her four friends killed a local human, and the pack's neighbors became suspicious of their involvement. Forced to move away, Vivian struggles with fitting into a new school, grieving for her father, and understanding her place in the pack.

Her mother's flirtations with twenty-four-year-old Gabriel, one of the strongest werewolves in the pack, introduce a graphic and sometimes disturbing theme of sexual activity that runs throughout the novel. This sexual awareness carries over to sixteen-year-old Vivian, who becomes interested in a human boy at her high school. A relationship with gentle Aiden is appealing to Vivian, who longs for emotional support. When Aiden refers to her as “sweetheart,” she thinks, “Sweetheart. He'd called her his sweetheart. She'd been a main squeeze, an ol' lady, and a piece of tail, but she'd never been a sweetheart before. The word bubbled through her like champagne.” On the night that Aiden sets up for a romantic first sexual encounter, Vivian decides to show him who she really is and as he lies in bed waiting for her, she changes into a werewolf. His immediate rejection crushes and confuses Vivian, and Vivian is thrust onto an emotional rollercoaster that leads her to believe that she is a danger to her pack. The sexual development continues as Gabriel becomes leader of the pack, and Vivian is inadvertently named his queen. Despite the six-year age difference and his previous involvement with her mother, the two end the novel in each other's arms.

The paranormal in this novel is primarily in its focus on werewolves. Not only is Vivian a werewolf, but her parents and everyone in her immediate vicinity are as well. The paranormal elements of the story highlight Vivian's conflict over belonging to this group of outsiders as well as her feral characteristics that overwhelm her personality and make it difficult to fit in with the human teens around her. She turns away from her true nature until she is forced to accept her identity. The politics of Vivian's werewolf pack plays a leading role in the novel, with two violent competitions for supremacy, one between the men of the pack and one between the women.

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series roared onto the literary scene in 2005 with the publication of the first book in the series, Twilight. The book introduces Bella Swan, a teenage girl who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington, to live with her father after her mother remarries. Within days of starting at the local high school, Bella is drawn to an unusual young man, Edward Cullen. The two are drawn into a relationship that quickly introduces Bella to the supernatural world when she finds out that Edward and his family are vampires. The series follows Bella for several years, culminating in her marriage to Edward and the birth of their child in the final novel, Breaking Dawn (2008).

Meyer's series shares a romantic theme with Klause's earlier novel, but the Twilight series is much less graphic than Blood and Chocolate. Though Bella's and Edward's romance is the central focus of the whole series, which follows their ups and downs, the two do not engage in sexual activity until the final full novel after Bella has reached adulthood, and they are married. Like Vivian, though, Bella is torn between two men. While Vivian ultimately chooses the werewolf, Gabriel, Bella's continuous choice is Edward, even when he rejects her in a misplaced show of protectiveness. The conflict over whether Bella should choose Edward or her friend Jacob provides much of the drama in the series.

Edward and Jacob ultimately provide the paranormal connection in the novels. Edward is a vampire, while Jacob is a werewolf. A battle between the two paranormal groups alongside the romantic conflict over which love Bella will choose pulls readers into a description of their political systems. Like Klause does in her novel, Meyer establishes these groups as self-supporting and self-policing entities with their own rules, leadership, villains, and heroes. Much of the length of the series is spent establishing an understanding of this hidden world.

In his 2011 novel Midwinterblood, author Marcus Sedgwick takes the paranormal in a completely different direction than Klause or Meyer. The story begins and ends with Eric Seven, a journalist who travels to a small island with the idea of writing an investigative piece on the strangely long life spans of some of the island's citizens. Once there, he is shut off from the outside world, so when the islanders begin to provide him with a tea made from a rare local flower, he begins to suspect something is wrong, but he cannot figure out what it is or how to overcome it. While on the island, he is strangely attracted to a woman named Merle, one of the island's self-proclaimed protectors or wards. This chapter ends with his death in a strange occultist ritual. Overall, the novel consists of seven stories, each featuring a reincarnation of Eric and Merle, who have been tied to one another since primitive times. Eric and Merle experience a variety of relationships throughout the ages, as lovers, parent and child, siblings, and friends.

Though one of the short narratives that make up the whole of the novel does have a vampire as the central character, the principal paranormal element is reincarnation. The cycle begins when King Eirikr is sacrificed to provide his community with a return of healthy crops. As he dies, his wife, Melle, declares, “I will live seven times, and I will look for you in each one. We will always be together.” Her question, “Will you follow?” becomes the thread that ties their lives together for centuries, and as Eric Seven faces death in the epilogue, he knows his fate: “I have lived this before, but I will not live it again. He knows that this is his last life.” Outside the change in paranormal focal point, the format of this piece is unique. While Blood and Chocolate is a stand-alone novel and Twilight is a series of four novels, Midwinterblood is one novel made up of seven short stories.

Tom McNeal's 2013 novel Far Far Away introduces yet another aspect of the paranormal. The novel starts with a blatant connection to the supernatural as the narrator states, “What follows is the strange and fateful tale of a boy, a girl, and a ghost. The boy possessed uncommon qualities, the girl was winsome and daring, and the ancient ghost … well, let it only be said that his intentions were good.”

Jeremy Johnson Johnson is one of the main characters of the novel. Jeremy has always been a bit different, primarily because he can talk to ghosts, a fact he mistakenly shared with a classmate when he was seven years old. In the years that followed, Jeremy became the laughingstock of his community, until Ginger Boultinghouse, a lovely popular girl, started to build a friendship with him. While McNeal develops a sweet romance between the two teens, in some ways reminiscent of Bella and Edward's innocent relationship, he pulls in the paranormal through the revelation of Jeremy's relationship with a ghost companion. This ghost companion, named Jacob Grimm, watches over Jeremy and narrates the story.

The story itself is ultimately a retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Though the budding romance between Jeremy and Ginger is one of the key elements of the tale, and the paranormal is focused primarily on the ghost, there is a villain. Unlike the aforementioned novels that share the political concerns of groups such as werewolves and vampires or the reincarnation theme in Sedgwick's novel, the conflict in McNeal's novel is centered on a desire for friendship. The villain, local baker Sten Blix, is a grandfatherly figure who looks like Santa Claus, so it is shocking when he kidnaps the children. Frank Bailey, another local boy who has been locked up by the baker, tells Jeremy and Ginger, “It's like he wants you to be his friend or something.'” Despite this twist on the theme of friendship, the story provides a positive lesson on judging others, making friends, and caring for family.

Whether the paranormal element is a werewolf, a vampire, or a ghost, the inclusion of supernatural elements in young adult fiction can speak to adolescents' feelings of estrangement and otherness from those around them, their anxieties and fears, and their need to keep secrets or desire to hide their perceived flaws.

Conclusions

The broad spectrum of paranormal characteristics allows writers of young adult literature so many avenues for creative outlet that the popularity of the genre seems guaranteed. Readers who are looking for romance can find flawed characters who can be redeemed when the right person comes along. Those who want an escape from the reality of everyday life can discover strange new worlds where supernatural abilities and societal outcasts are normal. Romance literature with paranormal elements offers a platform for young adult readers to explore their sexuality. As long as young adult readers desire a way to safely escape reality, paranormal literature for this age group will continue to flourish.

In addition to the appeal to readers, the visual attraction of paranormal stories has fascinated Hollywood. Film adaptations of Blood and Chocolate and the Twilight series have been turned profits that encourage further exploration of the genre for new inspiration. Though the box office income from the 2007 film of Klause's book grossed a disappointing $3.5 million in the United States, Meyer's Twilight saga blossomed into five films that had arned more than $3.36 billion by 2024. Other young adult paranormal works that have been turned to film include Beautiful Creatures (2013) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and Warm Bodies (2013) by Isaac Marion. Television has also jumped on the bandwagon of using paranormal literature for young adults with series such as The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017), which is based on the book series of the same name by L. J. Smith.

One vital aspect of young adult paranormal literature that will keep it fresh is the vast range of topics that the genre covers. While romance is popular as a theme in young adult paranormal literature, the genre also looks at identity issues, coming of age, and finding one’s voice. Although vampires remain popular characters, the world of paranormal creations contains myriad forms, such as zombies, witches, ghosts, and other demons, and is ever-expanding. As a result, this genre is likely to maintain a large following for years due to its variety and versatility.

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