March 18, 2024
THE  GENRE OF WEREWOLVES:  HORROR OR  FANTASY ?

THE  GENRE OF WEREWOLVES:  HORROR OR  FANTASY ?

IS THE GENRE OF WEREWOLVES:  HORROR OR  FANTASY ? If you are like me and ever wondered about the werewolf genre within fiction and whether it was classified as horror or fantasy you want to read this post now because this is the post for you.

First before finding out what genre werewolves are classified under  let’s look at the difference of what the fantasy genre and horror genre in fiction is defined as.

The  fantasy  genre within novel writing and  literature  features  both magic and supernatural  elements that  evolve  around  made  up and imaginary  worlds , timelines and creatures .   It  usually has  at least  8  sub categories

  • High or epic fantasy.
  • Low fantasy.
  • Sword and sorcery.
  • Dark fantasy.
  • Fables.
  • Fairy tales.
  • Superhero fiction.

Horror genre is focused more on mood.  In order to work it has to create an unsettling atmosphere and give its intended reader a sense of fear. Even though it may have fantastical elements within its genre, the setting is usually entirely realistic. 

So I found  an article called 144 Genres and Subgenres for Fiction Writing by Tonya Thompson  and in the article  werewolves  are classified under monsters which is a subgenre of Horror.

But did you know there was another sub-genre that is considered in the realm of the fantasy genre?

It is called the paranormal genre or speculative fiction and this genre is a subgenre of fantasy.  The paranormal genre consists of all of the monsters that go bump in the night which includes werewolves.

Whereas wikipedia  has  defined the werewolf genre and classified  it as being  a  genre  that  can be categorized in  both  horror and fantasy      

Just by looking at  these  two definitions  of  where  the werewolf genre  is  categorized  under we  can assume that  the werewolf genre  is  used  both in  fantasy and horror and can be used  in an  exceptional and  varied storylines and plots because of the ancients  roots the werewolf folklores stem from with its various re interpretations   of the genre. 

Thus  a writer can draw  from  previous  folklores  and myths of werewolves  in order to create  a fantastical and horrific  tale.

If you  liked this blog post and you want to see more content involving my work in progress During the Blue Hour join the werewolfpack today and keep up to date with the latest content through a newsletter . THEN  LET’S START A DIALOGUE

 Are you a writer who writes about werewolves in the horror orfantasy genre?

I  want to know so let me know in the comments  below.

Also Check out the excerpt for the upcoming werewolf short story IN THE HOUR OF HUMANITY

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