Paranormal, Supernatural or Preternatural?
TweetPosted By Scath on January 11, 2010
Let’s start with my personal definitions of each, be they wrong or right:
- Paranormal – Ghosts, spirits and psychic phenomena.
- Supernatural – Demons, angels, miracles, unexplainable by science religiously related stuff.
- Preternatural – Vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters and other not human sort of critters.
Because those have been my personal definitions of the above, I was a little surprised when I noticed that some readers who’d purchased Dark Cravings from Amazon had tagged it as a paranormal romance.
My reaction was pretty much ‘Huh?’
I mean, there are werewolves and vampires in it, not haunted houses or psychics.
So I sort of checked around and discovered that pretty much any book with any non-human type characters that have a romance as part of the story are categorized as paranormal romance.
I thought ‘okay, I guess’ and went about my merry way.
But there are weird things that strike me as stuff to muse upon, and so I’ve mused over that for a few months now.
I would personally term Dark Cravings as more of a dark urban fantasy. The existence of vampires and werewolves isn’t common knowledge, hence the urban bit. The main character has had some pretty awful events occur in her life due to certain werewolfish circumstances, and the vampires aren’t your average suavely debonair types, which is where the ‘dark’ bit comes in.
There is a romance in there, yeah. But it’s not what I would personally describe as a paranormal romance.
I read a story in a magazine a long, long time ago. I can’t remember the title or the author’s name, so if the story sounds familiar to anyone, please inform me of one or the other. I want a copy of it for my bookshelves! 
Short version: Married couple goes on whitewater rafting vacation, husband drowns. He returns to haunt his widow, who eventually becomes romantically attached to a male friend or co-worker who has been supportive and is interested in her.
Ghost of husband causes new love interest to fall down some stairs and break his neck, then possesses the body so that he can be with his wife again.
Now that, my friends, is a paranormal romance!
My question is this: when did paranormal, supernatural and preternatural all become lumped together as the exact same thing?
Dark Cravings should be tagged as a preternatural romance, rather than paranormal romance, since no ghosts, demons or psychics are involved.
Who started this trend of lumping all three together? Though I guess there’s not really a giant difference between paranormal and supernatural?
Am I being overly picky here? Probably.
I decided to look up the definitions of each and also to check out Wikipedia to see what other people had to say.
Definitions:
- Paranormal – of or pertaining to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural phenomena.
- Supernatural – adj.
1. of, pertaining to, or being above or beyond what is natural; unexplainable by natural law or phenomena; abnormal.
2. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or attributed to God or a deity.
3. of a superlative degree; preternatural: a missile of supernatural speed.
4. of, pertaining to, or attributed to ghosts, goblins, or other unearthly beings; eerie; occult.
Supernatural – noun
5. a being, place, object, occurrence, etc., considered as supernatural or of supernatural origin; that which is supernatural, or outside the natural order.
6. behavior supposedly caused by the intervention of supernatural beings.
7. direct influence or action of a deity on earthly affairs.
8. the supernatural, a. supernatural beings, behavior, and occurrences collectively.
b. supernatural forces and the supernatural plane of existence: a deep fear of the supernatural. - Preternatural –adjective 1. out of the ordinary course of nature; exceptional or abnormal: preternatural powers.
2. outside of nature; supernatural.
Huh, so their definitions give the impression they can be interchanged with each other on the whole.
Wikipedia’s turn:
- Paranormal is a general term that describes unusual experiences that lack a scientific explanation, or phenomena alleged to be outside of science’s current ability to explain or measure. Notably, paranormal phenomena also lack scientific evidence, as detectable but not well explained phenomena such as dark matter or dark energy are not commonly called paranormal.
- Supernatural
Not to be confused with Preternatural.
For other uses, see Supernatural (disambiguation).
The term supernatural or supranatural (Latin: super, supra “above” + natura “nature”) pertains to being above or beyond what is natural, unexplainable by natural law or phenomena. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are spells and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others. Supernatural beliefs have existed in many cultures throughout human history.
Characteristic for phenomena claimed as supernatural are anomaly, uniqueness and uncontrollability, thus lacking reproducibility required for scientific examination. Supernatural themes are often associated with paranormal and occult ideas, suggesting for possibility of interaction with the supernatural by means of summoning or trance for instance. - The preternatural or praeternatural is that which appears outside or beyond (Latin præter) the natural. While this may include what is more commonly called the supernatural, it may also simply indicate extremity—an ordinary phenomenon taken ‘beyond’ the natural. One may have, for example, a preternatural desire, a preternatural curiosity, a preternaturally acute ear (sense of hearing), or even preternaturally big ears.
The term is often used to distinguish from the divine (supernatural) while maintaining a distinction from the purely natural. For instance, in certain theologies, the angels, both holy and fallen, are endowed with preternatural powers. Their intellect, speed, and other characteristics are described as beyond human capacities but yet still finite.
Some examples of preternatural creatures in fiction include fairies, werewolves, vampires, zombies, and the Chupacabra.
See that last? And where it relates ‘supernatural’ to ‘divine’? Understand why I feel rather confused here?
Paranormal isn’t the same as Supernatural, but Supernatural can also be Paranormal.
Preternatural isn’t to be confused with Supernatural, yet according to the dictionary, they’re pretty much interchangeable with one another.
Basically I guess it comes down to there not being as much of a distinction between the three as I’ve always personally thought, and yes, I’m being too nit-picky over it.
That happens from time to time.
What do you think? Do you feel there should be or is a clearer distinction between the three?
About the author
Scath
I'm a gun-toting alien with a fetish for fur and four-legged creatures who writes fiction & tweets. Bonus! I have a katana. Indie author/self-publisher.Comments
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I found out when trying to decide how to label my reviews with a genre, that this subject is a slippery slope on which I have a tenuous hold.
Now I understand what some readers go through when looking for a book, especially if it is science fiction, romance, or what you mention in this post.
There are much too many sub-genres now (IMO)due to those wanting their own “niche” on the shelf. Some way to be separated, set apart as it were.
Me? I decided on about 12 and stick with them. Or at least I try. If the story seems to fall in between, I will select the more prevalent theme. If I still can’t decide I revert to the most simplistic of them all: Fiction.
Those 12 I go by – and you will note that a few could be considered more a category than a genre.
Anthology
Fiction
Historical Fiction
Magical Realism
Memoir/Biography/Autobiography
Mystery
Non-Fiction (such as History books and documentaries)
Romance
Science Fiction
Translation
Young Adult
So where does your definitions above fit.
I don’t care who, or what, the protagonists are. What is the *theme* of the story.
In other words, I go by the what, not the who.
It is all fiction to me unless it has strong elements of romance, mystery, suspense, science fiction, etc.
Again, just because the characters happen to be creatures instead of humans or a hybrid thereof, I see no need to delve much deeper into the murky genre pool.
It’s just too confusing for this poor reader/reviewer to deal with.
However, again, for marketing purposes, publishers and/or authors may hold a completely differnt point of view.
.-= J.C. Montgomery´s last blog ..Sunday Salon: Down But Not Out =-.
Apparently at Amazon, they fit in either Occult, Ghost, Horror or General Fantasy.
But you visit small presses, you’ll find that paranormal romance is the leading category for such stories.
Or Shapeshifters, Vampires, Werewolves.
It’s very irking.
We had a similar conversation what? Two years ago about genres?
I researched my butt off trying to figure out which my Shadow Connor series fit into.
It’s fiction, it’s fantasy. It’s set in modern time, so it’s contemporary fantasy.
It’s not urban fantasy, but alternate history, because my non-human characters are living openly among humans and have been since the early 1900s.
So Fiction/Fantasy/Contemporary Fantasy/Alternate History.
But then you have to utilize the categories readers have become familiar with whenever possible.
So I tag them with werewolves, vampires, dark fantasy and shapeshifters (since Wolven aren’t the only shapeshifters).
Obviously don’t want to tag them with anything they aren’t, but to make sure readers who like such stories can find them, I think you need to keyword & tag whatever elements a story contains.
I seriously never thought of tagging Dark Cravings as a paranormal romance. I’m not complaining that some of those who’ve purchased and read it have (it’s probably contributed to sales).
It is interesting to see what tags readers put on stories (at least at Amazon, I don’t know if they can at other sites).
I guess it comes down to readers being familiar with certain subgenres and paying attention to which they think a story belongs to.
Or I could head on over to the boards there and see about starting a discussion to see what readers think.
Ah, well, this explains it:
“Paranormal romance is a sub-genre of the romance novel.
A type of speculative fiction, paranormal romance focuses on romance and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, blending together themes from the genres of traditional fantasy, science fiction, or horror.
Paranormal romance may range from traditional category romances, such as those published by Harlequin Mills & Boon, with a paranormal setting to stories where the main emphasis is on a science fiction or fantasy based plot with a romantic subplot included.
Common hallmarks are romantic relationships between humans and vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, and other entities of a fantastic or otherworldly nature.
Beyond the more prevalent themes involving vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, or time travel, paranormal romances can also include books featuring characters with psychic abilities, like telekinesis or telepathy.
Paranormal romance has its roots in Gothic fiction. Its most recent revival has been spurred by turn of the century technology, e.g. the internet and electronic publishing. Paranormal romances are one of the fastest growing trends in the romance genre.”
There was a link to a PDF file at the bottom of the Wikipedia article for it.
Click here if interested.
I’m too finicky. Sticking with my feeling that Dark Cravings isn’t paranormal romance.
For one, there’s no guarantee the characters are going to have their happily ever after, and that’s a requirement of romance!
[evil grin] Not any time soon, that is.
But I guess those who read and tagged it that felt Chelsea, Rance & Will were going to live happily ever after.
Wonder if they’ll buy the second novella to find out?
After reading that PDF, I’m going to categorize my Shadow Connor series as ‘preternatural fantasy’.
Heh, I can too so start my own niche genre!
I’d agree with you on your definitions. It’s funny to see how things get placed sometimes.
We must all break things up more and more depending on our affection or interest in an area.
Jo’s 12 sound good, but I’d include the big headings of horror and fantasy, both with their multitudes of sub-categories (and magical realism would then be a sub cat of fantasy). Well, that’s how I’d feel about it, but I like to read within horror/sci-fi/fantasy.
Then there’s ‘adventure’, which seems to be what you get if you swap out romance for action.
I guess if we’re talking about our personal definitions of terms like that (i.e. what I’d use the words for), then I’d lump ‘paranormal’ and ‘supernatural’ together. ‘Preternatural’ I would use to describe a skill or ability or, particularly, a sense — not an entity. (So a werewolf could be a supernatural or paranormal being, but with preternatural hair growth ability.) But personal definitions aren’t as important as received definitions, since we’re trying to communicate with others, not with ourselves.
Categories of writing used for marketing purposes seem pretty disconnected from the words’ real meanings to me sometimes. I would agree that I’d categorise it as dark urban fantasy over paranormal romance. Because the internet doesn’t have shelf space, I think that’s OK, where in a real bookstore you wouldn’t have room to do that, most likely. To a large extent I think people categorise according to whatever they’re hearing and reading about at the time, so naturally anything that’s got kissing and super-para-preternatural expialidocious characters is bound to be tarred with the Twilight brush that’s currently uppermost in lots of readers’ minds just at the moment. With Twilight itself that category is fine, because (from what I can gather) the story is primarily a teen romance, with fantastic elements there to carry the plot. Where the reverse is true, the categorisation doesn’t seem to sit right.
I think largely I agree with Jo’s list (plus Damian’s additions) but I’d use Translation and Anthology as descriptors under other categories — since I’d never buy something just (or primarily) because it was translated or an anthology.
You made me fall out of my chair, David!
Yay, Damian votes with me on those three! [happy dance]
My opinions were set in stone when I was probably about 11 or so, concerning paranormal and supernatural. I usually thought of vampires/werewolves as horror or fantasy, depending on the amount of gore in their stories.
I’d actually never noticed the word ‘preternatural’ until about, oh…15 years ago? Maybe? And it ‘fits’ werewolves, vampires, etc. to me.
Guess it keeps boiling down to what each person thinks they mean, and like David said, what readers are hearing at the time they’re reading certain stories.
But I’m sticking with Shadow Connor as a preternatural fantasy series, by gum! >:)
And then I’ll tell you from a reader’s standpoint looking through the racks of ye olde local bookshoppe… What A Pain to try to find the authors’ categorizations…! Do I look in Romance? In SciFi? In Mystery? In Fiction? I’ve found some of my favorite authors (same title, mind you) in VERY different categorizations based on city and store. It’s annoying enough that I now prefer finding new titles and authors online and trying to remember those names when I’m in-store, and asking an in-store employee to point me in the right direction. So I say “live on tagging” but I’m making my purchase decision based on precis and “others who bought this also bought” kinds of pointers to what I’m ending up with…
So nice to learn something new everyday. Preternatural is a new term for me that I didn’t even know existed. When I think “paranormal” I think ghosts, demons, entities, orbs, etc. These are the exact types of things I was be interested in if I found a “paranormal romance”. Preternatural is I guess the “technical term” for vampires, werewolves etc, though never heard the term, it makes sense that it would be seperated as it’s more or less fake, versus paranormal which cannot quite easily be explained.
Entertaining blog post, will check in for more.
-Chris