Category: Fantastic

Tzvetan Todorov is a French and Bulgarian literary theorist and cultural critic who is best known for his contribution to literary theory in the form of his definition of the Fantastic in literature. As an important note, when Todorov discusses the fantastic, he is not discussing fantasy literature. Though fantasy critics, theorists, novelists and fans will often refer to fantasy tropes as fantastic, Todorov adopts the word as a term explicitly separate from fantasy. Instead, Todorov’s theory of the fantastic refers to a much smaller canon of literary works.

In his book The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre, Todorov sets out to define what he calls “the fantastic.” For Todorov, the fantastic is a subjective term referring to a very small canon of literary works. It is a very specific term which stands between two other literary genres: the uncanny and the marvelous. The uncanny is a term originating from the German das unheimlich. In English, given that there is no clear English equivalent for the German, is instead referred to as “the uncanny.” The uncanny is experienced upon encountering something that is at once both strange and familiar. The marvelous, by contrast, is the more traditional view of fantasy. Todorov argues that the uncanny is characterized by a character’s response – often fear – towards something seemingly inexplicable, or impossible. He argues that the marvelous does not require a response from a character, only that the fantastic event occurs.

The fantastic is defined as a moment of hesitation between belief and disbelief of the supernatural. It is a very fragile literary form, as it can all to easily swing from one side to the other. Only that suspension between the two makes the literature fantastic. As Todorov says

“The fantastic occupies the duration of this uncertainty. Once we choose one answer or the other, we leave the fantastic for a neighboring genre, the uncanny or the marvelous. The fantastic is that hesitation experienced by a person who knows only the laws of nature, confronting an apparently supernatural event”.

Essentially, to Todorov, the uncanny is the supernatural explained, and the marvelous is the supernatural accepted as supernatural. Only in the hesitation between deciding which of those two applies can the fantastic be found. To put it differently,

“‘I nearly reached the point of believing’: that is the formula which sums up the spirit of the fantastic. Either total faith or total incredulity would lead us beyond the fantastic: it is hesitation which sustains its life”. Fragility and specificity are the primary indicators of the fantastic.

One of the main weaknesses of Todorov’s argument is that he makes no reference to any literary works published after Edgar Allan Poe. Which is a real weakness, as this approach not only seems painfully incomplete, but suggests that there has been no fantastic literature produced after Poe. Obviously, this is false. Furthermore, his choice to utilize a term which was already – and often still is – used to refer to fantasy literature is problematic on a number of levels, not the least of which is the resultant confusion over terminological distinctions and specifications. When someone refers to an event as “fantastic” or “fantastical,” chances are that they are referring not to Todorov’s fantastic, but to fantasy in general. If anything, rather than enlightening, Todorov’s theory has done little more than obfuscate. Nevertheless, his contributions to the development of genre theory and methodology are vital, despite the work’s shortcomings.

For many readers, literary fiction provides desperately needed escapism so they can endure the difficulties of everyday life. Even when conjured characters inhabit a recognizable world and speak to the human condition, fictional stories can pull readers out of their own heads. This effect is even more pronounced in the fantasy genre. Untethered from scientific and societal laws, and limited only by their imaginations, fantasy authors explore themes by creating their own worlds, where dragons battle in the skies, alien diplomats try to maintain peace between planets, and strange creatures cohabitate Earth with humans.

Fantasy is a genre of literature that features magical and supernatural elements that do not exist in the real world. Although some writers juxtapose a real-world setting with fantastical elements, many create entirely imaginary universes with their own physical laws and logic and populations of imaginary races and creatures. Speculative in nature, fantasy is not tied to reality or scientific fact.

Fantastical elements have always been a part of storytelling, as evidenced by the gods, monstrous beasts, and magic found in ancient mythologies, folklore, and religious texts around the globe. Fantasy as a literary genre is much more recent and differs from its predecessors because its authors are known and both they and their audiences understand the works to be fictitious.

Modern fantasy began in the nineteenth century, following a period of chivalrous European romances and tales whose fantastical elements were still considered somewhat believable. Scottish author George MacDonald, whose novel Phantastes (1858) features a young man drawn into a dream world where he has a series of adventures, is credited with writing the first plainly fictitious fantasy for adults. Englishman William Morris, who’s known for medieval fantasy and specifically his novel The Well at the World’s End (1896), subsequently broke ground in the genre by completely inventing a fantasy world that existed beyond the known world.

Building upon the legacies of MacDonald and Morris, J. R. R. Tolkien penned the first high fantasy, The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955). Both creatively and commercially successful, the epic ushered the genre into the mainstream and influenced countless writers, making Tolkien the undisputed father of modern fantasy. If not for Tolkien and successful contemporaries such as C. S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia series (1950-1956), and Ursula K. Le Guin, author of Earthsea series (1968-2001), the genre might still exist on the literary periphery.

In subsequent decades, fantasy has continued to evolve, diversify, and grow in popularity, with Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara (1977) becoming the first fantasy novel to appear on The New York Times trade paperback bestseller list; J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels (1997-2007) becoming the best-selling book series of all time; and Hollywood adapting many fantasy stories into hit films and television shows.

It’s the uncertainty of the fantastic genre that draws me in. It’s the journey rather than the result itself; take me beyond the threshold. Borrowing from the European Gothic tradition, the American Renaissance morphs the gothic into a uniquely American form. In this blog, I will shine a light on the ‘fantastic’ genre, in hopes of uncovering the feelings or misperceptions we may have about the ‘dark side,’ or the obscure.

As I sat there thinking about what genre of fiction most intrigues me, I noticed the pending cloud storm heading my way, looming over the close horizon. I honestly don’t recall when I first began to succumb to the doom and gloom prescribed to horror. In Highschool I was a fan of science fiction and nonfiction. I would read Kurt Vonnegut, Hawthorne, books about relativity or about scientific theories about neutrinos in solar dispersion or other quirky components of our solar system. Horror wasn’t a thing for me. Even when I began college I was engrossed by the literate and the science fiction. Yeah, I studied English and writing, but horror wasn’t a dark spot yet.

I was uncertain about what it was that drew me to horror or dark fiction. And then it hit me; it’s that very uncertainty that draws me in. It’s the journey rather than the result itself, the anticipation or feeling I get when uncovering something.

Were you aware that the birth of the US nation incidentally coincided with the rise of fantastic fiction on the literary scene? Some main stream examples of this type of literature begin in the 1800’s. Authors such as Washington Irving, Edgar Allan poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Sarah Orne Jewett, Ambrose Bierce, Jenry James, and even H.P. Lovecraft in the 1900’s.

First, the text must oblige the reader to consider the world of the characters as a world of living persons and to hesitate between a natural and supernatural explanation of the events described. Second, this hesitation may also be experienced by a character; thus the reader’s role is tso to speak entrusted to a character, and at the same time the hesitation is represented, it becomes one of the themes of the work. Third, the reader must adopt a certain attitude with regard to the text: he will reject allegorical as well as “poertic” interpretations. The first and the third actually constitute the genre; the second may not be fulfilled.

Ultimately, what we are looking for is not the supernatural or only the instances in which the traditional gothic tropes are challenged. As Todorov writes, “we might indeed characterize such events as supernatural, but the supernatural, though a literary category, is not relevant here. We want to find the crux – not between real and the supernatural, but in which ‘the hesitation occurs between the real and the imaginary”.

It isn’t the uncovering of the mystery, the end of the long hallway, leading you to the obscure figure which turns out to be the deranged ex wife of a wealthy man. The marvel is in the journey. It’s the constant feeling of existing between this world and another, not being able to stay afoot in either one. The second you set both feet in one world you have reached a mainstream genre; thriller, mystery, horror, humorous. There is no punchline but to feel that thought unravelling in your head, only to be turned over to repeat itself.

“The fantastic, we see, lasts only as long as a certain hesitation: a hesitation common to reader and character, who must decide whether or not what they perceive derives from ‘reality’ as it exists in the common opinion. If he decides that the laws of reality remain intact and permit an explanation of the phenomena described, we say that the work belongs to another genre: the uncanny. If, on the contrary, he decides that new laws of nature must be entertained to account for the phenomena, we enter the genre of the marvelous.”

The storm never came, the clouds continue to engross my position -leaving me with that ambivalent feeling. Yet, I find solace in this uncertainty, and I hope you too, will enjoy being on edge.

“The Black Phone” by Joe Hill is a short horror story that was released in 2005 in the United Kingdom and was later released in the United States in October of 2007. Through the use of southern gothic, fantastic horror, and surreal horror, Joe Hill’s short story “The Black Phone,” warns young and fearless teens to be mindful that situations can turn out bad if they are not careful. “The Black Phone” represents art horror and pinpoints the issue of abduction the United States underwent in the 2000s. Although, Finney’s engagement with the stranger, Albert, can be seen as an educational lesson in regard to abductions and the decision-making of adolescents in today’s day and age.

Joe Hill, author of, “The Black Phone,” was born June 4, 1972. Hill is the son of Stephen and Tabitha King. Hill’s father, Stephen King, is a legendary horror and fiction writer. Although his real name is Joseph Hillstrom King, he chose to write under pen name the pen name Joe Hill. In an interview with Guy Kelly, author for The Telegraph news site, Hill states, “When I went into writing, I had to know that if someone bought one of my stories they’d bought it for the right reasons – that it is a good story – and not because of who my dad is” (Kelly). Although Hill tried to avoid leaking his identity as Stephen King’s son, in 2007 Hill’s secret was told, but he had already built a reputable name for himself regardless (Kelly). In 2006, Hill won a World Fantasy Best Collection nominee for his work, “20th Century Ghosts,” along with several other awards for his novel, “Heart-Shaped Box.”

“The Black Phone,” takes place in Galesburg, a town characteristic of cold conditions and occasional kidnapping. The story focuses on Johnny Finney, a thirteen-year-old, who was abducted while waiting for his father outside of Poole’s Hardware, when he goes to help a plump man named Albert with his fallen groceries. Albert, also known as “The Galesburg Grabber,” poisoned Finney by spraying a substance into his eyes and mouth and throwing him into the back of his van. Finney was brought into a confined sound-proof basement with white walls, a black phone, a striped mattress, and a barred, narrow window out of Finney’s reach. Finney is trapped in the basement and searches for ways to escape, being told that the phone doesn’t work and that his loudest screams will not be heard. Albert’s brother is in town and this forces him to hide Finney without his brother knowing, which in turn leaves Finney unattended for long periods of time. After answering the phone several times to no response, Finney finally hears someone on the phone and is told to fill the receiver with sand to effectively kill Albert. Albert’s brother discovers Finney had been abducted and confined in the house, so Albert kills his brother with an ax. The story concludes with Finney using the receiver to kill Albert and escape (Hill).

After reading, “The Black Phone,” Hill targets is a minor, male, and middle to upper class audience. In this story, Hill uses an intense dialogue and, in some instances, profanity amongst the conversations between Finney and Albert. The language Hill uses lets the audience know that Hill is targeting those mature enough to handle and understand it. The way that Hill builds the story around the thoughts and actions of Finney, who is thirteen years old, allows other minors to relate with him. The reader can also see that Hill is targeting a male audience because of his use of mainly male characters. The main characters of the story, Finney and Albert, are both males, along with Albert’s brother. Hill even mentions Finney’s father and the storekeeper at Poole’s Hardware, both of which are males. Lastly, Hill targets a middle to upper class audience through the way he describes the town and the well-being of Finney’s family. In the story as Finney is thinking about what his sister is doing while he is missing, he describes her riding a ten-speed bike with a denim jacket that had the collar popped up. This lets the audience know that Hill is referring to a well-off people. While she rides the bike, Hill also explains her riding down, “residential avenues,” which are well kept up (Hill). Now that the reader understands the audience they can better understand the message that Hill is trying to portray.

In this story, Hill’s message is to warn young and fearless teens to be mindful that situations can turn out bad. As a young teenage boy, Finney thought that as he sat there in front of the hardware shop that helping the fat man whose groceries were slipping would be no problem at all (Hill). While it may be a good thing to do, Finney was unaware of the possible dangers of what he was doing. Hill wants the audience to understand that being in vulnerable situations can be very dangerous. Not only was Finney much smaller than Albert, he did not know him either. When Finney witnesses Albert dropping his groceries, this catches his attention to help him (Hill). Hill wants young teenage boys to realize that they should not talk to strangers alone, even if they appear to be in need. Hill also wants to inform the audience of some instances where a situation can be dangerous. In the story, Hill references a van as Alberts vehicle, which is commonly associated with kidnapping. Hill also uses Albert as being a clown and having balloons to symbolize something that entices teens (Hill). Teens may see the balloons and think that he or she may be no harm, but clearly that was not the case as Finney was poisoned and kidnapped (Hill). Hill uses these elements to allow the audience to see and understand what to avoid and watch out for in order to keep steer clear of harm’s way.

“The Black Phone,” ties directly into a literary work of Art-Horror. Noel Carroll, Doctor of Philosophy in cinema studies and philosophy, defines art-horror as horror that provokes an emotional response or effect on its audience (52). Carroll goes on to discuss the characteristics of art-horror, one being the emotional reaction of the audience connecting to the “positive” character’s reaction to the monster (52). Finney in this case is seen as the positive character in which the audience connects to and Albert is the monster character. As Finney is sprayed in the eyes and mouth with poison by Albert, the audience is able to understand the hurt and pain that Finney is experiencing (Hill). The audience is also able feel sorrow for Finney when he is trapped in the basement and Albert has no regard to feed him or give him anything to drink (Hill). It instills in the audience a sorrow and anxiety that Finney is in this situation. Carroll defines monster as something, “impure and unclean,” which he later refers to as, “categorically interstitial” (54). Categorical interstitial is the state of being, “… categorically contradictory, categorically incomplete, or formless” (Carroll 55). In “The Black Phone,” Albert is categorically interstitial because he is both human and a psychopath. Albert is contradictory to the societal norms, by abducting Finney and leaving him trapped in a soundproof basement without food or drinking water (Hill). Also represented in this story are elements of the southern gothic. Southern gothic is primarily focused on grotesque themes along with mentally unstable characters (Southern Gothic). This relates back to “The Black Phone,” with Albert’s psychological state that he would take a teenager with intention of harming him. Hill also incorporates the use of an ax to kill Albert’s brother, and the use of the receiver to kill Albert, to represent bloodiness (Hill). “The Black Phone,” connects with the art-horror genre and southern gothic, but also has a definable category and subgenre.

The category that this story displays is the fantastic horror and the subgenre is surreal horror. Viktoria Prohaskova, of the Department of Massmedia Communication at the University of Ss. Cyrill and Method Trnava, wrote, “The Genre of Horror,” to explain the various categories and subgenres that horror stories may entail. Prohaskova defines fantastic horror as having no explanation for the events or actions that take place, giving the audiences alternatives of viewing it as paranormal activity or hallucination of the positive character (133). In “The Black Phone,” when the phone rings and Finney answers and is given instructions, the story suggests it is Bruce Yamada, who was another victim of, “The Galesburg Grabber,” who subsequently died. This instance of Finney speaking to someone who is dead can be seen as a hallucination. Finney was sprayed with the poison and is described as confused throughout the story. Finney saying that the phone was breathing and that he was talking to a man who died is seen as Finney hallucinating as a result of the poison or lack of nutrition, which is logical. It is up to the audience to decide for themselves just what happens because Hill leaves them the opportunity to decide as a correlation of the fantastic horror category. Prohaskova states that surreal horror is characteristic of a frightening, yet disturbing story that contains, “dreaminess, grotesqueness, bizarreness, and the fantastic” (134). Hill’s story does just that in frightening the audience at the thought of Finney’s abduction. The surreal subgenre is characteristic of the fantastic horror category, which aligns directly with “The Black Phone.” The grotesque theme is revealed when Finney bites into Albert’s arm until he tastes blood in an attempt to escape him (Hill). The main example of the grotesque in this story is when Albert uses the ax to kill his brother by stabbing him in the back of the head and Hill describes to the author the blood spouting out and covering Albert (Hill). Hill’s use of the fantastic horror category and surreal subgenre connect well and as a result evokes within the audience the fright, grotesque, and alternatives it intends to.

“The Black Phone,” was released in October of 2007 in the United States, while child abduction occurred way too often the past couple of years. Gabe Falcon, CNN writer, posted a blog post from Anderson Cooper to the CNN site, giving statistics behind abductions and kidnappings up to that point in 2007. Cooper’s blog uses data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) by the United States Department of Justice. Cooper wrote that according to the NCMEC, 58,200 children are abducted each year by strangers or those unrelated to the victim (Cooper). Cooper goes on to say that while that number is very large, only a scarce amount of abductions ends up being publicized, or stereotypical kidnapping according to the NCMEC (Cooper). The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children stated that only about 115 victims experience, “stereotypical kidnapping” (Cooper). The NCMEC explains stereotypical kidnapping as, ‘These crimes involve someone the child does not know or someone of slight acquaintance, who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently’ (Cooper). Out of those who are stereotypically, 57% return safely, but 43% do not consistent with the NCMEC (Cooper). Finney happens to be an example of stereotypical kidnapping and luckily would be included in the 57% of those who return safely (Cooper). The Office of the Inspector General conducted observations on child abductions between 2000 and 2007 based on the Federal Bureau Investigation. In the research the number of ransoms, or stranger related abductions have fluctuated from 106 cases in 2000, to 87 cases in 2005, and 77 cases in 2007 (Child Abduction). The numbers do appear to decline over the years, but the audience is still able to see the prevalence of abduction in the United States at the time. Hill uses his short horror story “The Black Phone,” to expose the real-world problem of abduction in the 2000s. Although the story’s message can still be applied today as abduction continues to be a major issue in society.

As today’s audience reads this short story, they too can recognize the issue of abduction that is discussed in “The Black Phone.” Similarly, abductions are continuing to take place today across the United States and the world. In article by Karin Bilich of Parents published in November of 2018, discusses the statistics of abduction are in which she draws from databases and bureaus cited in her paper. In December of 2017, it was reported by the Bureau’s National Crime Information Center that 32,000 people under 18 years old were missing (Bilich). Of the 32,000 people, 24% of them (7,680 people) were abducted by strangers (Bilich). Bilich explains later in her article that those who are abducted by strangers are most commonly teenage girls, but also involve boys. Bilich also states that abductors almost always pull the victims into their vehicles from the street. Young teenagers are not being mindful of their surroundings, and it puts them at significant risk for danger. Abduction is happening more and more in society due to a lack in regard to the dangers of the world.

Similar to Finney, teenagers often make quick decisions without thinking rationally if the decision they are making is good or bad. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry wrote an article to explain why teens are so impulsive or irrational in their decision making (Teen Brain: Behavior…). In the article, it discusses that when you are a teen, you tend to think using the part of your brain known as the, “amygdala,” which develops early and is responsible for sporadic reaction of the human (Teen Brain: Behavior…). As you grow older, your, “frontal cortex,” of your brain begins to develop, allowing you to think logically (Teen Brain: Behavior…). When teens grow with age, their brain develops and shift from using impulse to make decisions, to a thought process of making decisions (Teen Brain: Behavior…).

The abduction and irrational decision making of adolescents described in “The Black Phone,” is still relevant today. In the story, Finney was abducted by a stranger, Albert. This parallels abduction findings today. As Finney was abducted, he did not know the fat man, Albert, who took him, as many victims of abductions do not. Finney was also taken using a vehicle, a key component of abductions today (Bilich). Years later juveniles are still being captured by strangers and taken because similar mistakes are being made. The audience should read Hill’s story and be informed of the dangers of the society we live in, avoiding dangerous situations and being alone. In “The Black Phone,” Finney put himself in a situation where he was alone with someone he did not know, much smaller than the individual, and did not think of the dangers of the situation before entering it (Hill). Hill would like the audience to avoid being a statistic and draw knowledge and education from the mistakes that Finney made during the story, so they do not make the same mistakes (Hill).

After researching “The Black Phone” by determining the way surreal horror, fantastic horror, and southern gothic play into the story, the audience is able to better understand the message Hill displays. “The Black Phone” additionally displays the characteristics of art-horror and identifies abduction’s relevance in the early 2000s. The overlying issue of abduction is still relevant today and Hill wants the audience to read his story and become more aware of their surroundings and carefully avoid dangerous situations.

Work Cited

1. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. “Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making.” No. 95, Sept. 2016, https://www.aacap.org/aacap/familie s_and_youth/facts_for_families/fff-guide/the-teen-brain-behavior-problem-solving-and-decision-making-095.aspx
2. Bilich, Karin A. “Child Abduction Statistics for Parents.” Parents, Parents, 29 Nov. 2018, www.parents.com/kids/safety/stranger-safety/child-abduction-facts/.
3. Carrol, Noel. “The Nature of Horror.” Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism, vol. 46, no. 1, Sept. 1987, p. 51-59. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2307/431308.
4. Cooper, Anderson. “Raw Data: Kidnapping Statistics.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Jan. 2007, www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2007/01/raw-data-kidna pping-statistics.html.
5. Kelly, Guy. “Joe Hill: ‘How I Escaped the Shadow of My Father, Stephen King’.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 23 June 2016, www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thefilter /joe-hill- how-i-escaped-the-shadow-of-my-father-stephen-king/.
6. Prohászková, Viktória. “The Genre of Horror.” American International Journal of Contemporary Research, vol. 2, no. 4, April 2012, p. 132-142.
7. Shmoop Editorial Team. “Southern Gothic Characteristics.” Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/southern-gothic/characteristics.html.
8. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Efforts to Combat Crimes Against Children.” FBI, FBI, Jan. 2009, https://oig.justicegov/reports/FBI/a0908/chapter3.htm