Is it wrong to have dark supernatural elements in my story?

Discussing this question was brought to my mind when I heard a Catholic commentator discussing the subject on his YouTube channel. I was relieved and intrigued that they pointed out in a few moments many of the perspectives I have on the subject. I’ve written several unpublished manuscripts which I’m always in the process of revising and refining, and many of them have supernatural, paranormal or fantastical manifestations of evil represented. Being a Christian I’ve even encountered controversy regarding my Middle Grade Novel for this very same reason. In a Middle Grade Urban fantasy of course, my child protagonists are going to fight monsters and even demons. I’ll touch on all of this but you probably tell from this opening paragraph, I don’t believe representing supernatural or fantastical manifestations of malevolence in fictional works is immoral or evil. However, there are some caveats…. Let’s dive in.

When is it evil?

I’ll begin with explaining there are times I believe doing this are wrong and I’ll be specific about these. On YouTube I heard the host on Pints with Acquinas briefly discussing the genre of Horror with his sister. It was interesting and relatable to me as I have similar ways of assessing art in film or literature and that is of course through the lens of my Christian values. The point the host made, was that any genre has become so corrupt with graphic content (violence, pornographic material etc.) these days that it’s hard to watch or read anything without having your conscience convicting you. This hits the nail on the head when it comes down to condemning a single genre as opposed to the inappropriate elements themselves.

Now, it should be said I don’t predominantly read horror or even fantasy which I’ve also heard many Christians condemn. I believe what these people are condemning isn’t the genre itself but rather what’s being graphically represented. Romance is a good example. The genre of romance in film and novels has increasingly become different pornographic fantasies filled with inappropriate humor. Romance movies really mean two people meet and fall into bed either with each other or various partners. In novels the genre has become a question of how erotic can the writer make the scenarios. Those are the primary reasons I don’t watch or read that genre, and a similar thing is true of horror. Most horror becomes: how disgusting can we make these monsters and how much vile content can we put on the screen or the page? If horror is either a vampire erotic fantasy or a graphic slasher film of people being slaughtered by a man in a mask to no end other than sick enjoyment from the viewer, than yes that is evil.

It should be clarified that the same though could be said of any genre: superhero, horror, fantasy etc. I won’t watch any of these genres if they have content that’s too graphic or explicit. This brings me to my next point which is when representing evil is acceptable, rather— in what way is it acceptable to do it?

When and why is it acceptable in the realm of fantasy?

I’ve written every form of antagonists into my novels from demons, monsters, warlocks, idol worshippers, wealthy super villains and religious hypocrites—sometimes a character may possess one or more of theses qualities simultaneously. The reason for this being, there are MANY kinds of evil in the world and all throughout the Bible which has often spoken to the document’s validity as a historical narrative. The Bible is a book which is warts and all because it shows human nature for what it is. History is replete with the evil actions of men. If our stories have no evil then we’re telling a meaningless piece of fiction, because it’s essential in authentically representing the human experience and our struggle to overcome it. We write dragons, monsters, witches and villains because while readers may not encounter these every day we are confronted with evil in different forms.

In a work of fiction, we want to see our protagonists buckle and bend under the pressure of evil’s might but not for them to be broken by it. We want to see them overcome and we want evil to be defeated or killed.

The reason for supernatural monsters is that unless our heroes are all Punisher, if the villains are human begins, we don’t always kill them. But evil needs to be killed and so we create fantastical representations of evil that can be killed like dragons or monsters.

What about in the realm of horror?

As I said I don’t read any modern horror, primarily because it’s full of the content I spoke of in the first point of this article. All the pieces I’ve read are older literature like Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein 1818, Robert Louis Stevenson Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1886 or Mary Shelly The Mortal Immortal 1833. These stories while disturbing carry the essence of horror which has been long lost in recent films and writings.

What does it mean? What does it say about human nature? What question about human nature and eternity is being asked by this tale and do we find an answer? Is the answer as true as it is unsettling or is there a brighter future? These are the key questions an effective horror story should make us ask. What is the theme?

·         I could write about Frankenstein much more extensively than this but due to length constraints lets get the main questions this dark and epic novel poses out in the open: What is man’s obligation to its creator?

What is the creator’s obligation to the thing which it formed?

Why would a creator allow the thing which he made to suffer to profusely?

Do we owe other human beings human beings’ benevolence if they’ve shown us only cruelty?

These questions are still being pursued and delved into with villain characters today if you study them closely enough and they are timeless themes people will always wrestle with. Mary Shelly just chose to do so through science fiction involving a hideous monster.

·         Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde examines some of the following themes of human nature:

Can a man truly be civilized if all his sins are simply hidden from the public eye?

Can a human being really keep their two natures separate (maintaining morality in one life and indulging sin in the other) and be a good person or are they simply evil?

In the story the good Doctor invents a secret persona by which he can do the things he secretly desires to do without being held morally responsible.  Because Dr. Jekyll is a respectable gentleman and Hyde is a fiend. Jekyll can enjoy both lives but it doesn’t make the good doctor a bad person…so he claims. This is a terrifying theme that forces us to examine human beings capacity to commit, plan and conceal evil.

·         The Mortal Immortal, it examines the following question which is at the heart of many original vampiric horror tales:

Is immortality a gift or a curse?

Why is it so painful for a human to live forever in this world?

What is the cost?

It’s impossible for someone to take a potion and live forever as in the story, but the whole point of it is to explore the character’s anguish in having what everyone materialistically wants.

The same is true of horror involving vampires, monsters, werewolves—if the books containing them are an excuse to have violence and graphic sex then they are simply that and I wouldn’t read ten words of them. However, the original stories which they stem from used the monsters as manifestations of human sin, the struggle between good and evil, the theme of losing one’s soul to gain immortality. This could be examined in Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus as well in which a man sells his soul to gain power from the devil but it results in him being taken to hell. It causes us to examine the cost of or spiritual and moral decisions as well as the consequences. If horror doesn’t have some deeper theme, it becomes an excuse for immorality on parade without meaning.

In Summation:

I don’t write anything that I would object to watching portrayed on screen, that’s my limit and boarder line. I believe there must be reason and tastefulness in the way we show certain things, and even a delicate aspect where if we’re going to portray characters doing evil things we don’t linger on the acts or give them glorification. As a writer it’s my job to portray human nature and evil in it’s true light, without making it glorified. For example:

·         If you’re going to write a scene in which a crime boss kills someone’s family don’t be graphic on showing it. Show as little as you can and as much as you need to so that the audience has a good sense of the danger and the emotional weight but isn’t turned off but how repulsive the scene is.

·         If you must reference or depict certain kinds of evil that are particularly triggering, be tactful and again as always as little as you can and as much as you need is a good rule of thumb. But always ask yourself, why is this here?

As always everyone has things which they are sensitive to that personally offend them and if this is the case with fantasy, horror or anything else then by all means stick to the material you enjoy. For myself, I grew up on fantasy cartoons, superheroes, and now with anime’s like Demon slayer monsters have made it into the mix. For my own work, I believe the use of fantasy and the supernatural to be something which I can employ tastefully while maintaining the severity of the themes.