Areas lacking in the super natural genre?

Question

Strange question, but I'm just wondering abouty'alls opinions, since this came up with a convo I was having w some friends. The supernatural scene has been a huge hit. Vampire Academy and Twilight basically dominate vampires. Twilight has some good ground on werewolves, as does TMI. TMI sort of takes over the world of demons. Harry Potter dominates witchcraft. Percy Jackson has a pretty firm grasp on greek mythology, and where that lacks, there's the Covenenant. In your opinion, what are some areas of broad supernatural mythology that haven't really been delved into by YA authors?

Answer 1

The answer to your question is fairly obvious. The "areas of broad supernatural mythology" you mentioned are all staples of Western culture.



But there's a lot more mythology in this world that is non-Western. If you visit a site like the Internet Sacred Text Archive, you can get an idea of just how vast and diverse world mythology really is:

http://sacred-texts.com/



For example, few YA authors borrow themes from Polynesian, Australian Aborigine, African or Siberian mythologies. For that matter, even some European traditions like Slavic and Finnish mythology are under-represented in YA fiction (at least on a global level, outside of the countries to which these traditions directly pertain).

Answer 2

"Vampire Academy and Twilight basically dominate vampires." "Harry Potter dominates witchcraft." Count Dracula and Morgana La Faye from the Arthurian chronicles must be having furious snits in the fictional dimension, not to mention all those other fairy tale witches and sorcerers (who are not the same as witches, according to witches like Starhawk or Scott Cunningham who write about their "craft / religion".) Anyway, it's really the genre that dominates the characters / books in that genre.



Off my soapbox, I agree with the others that the non-Greco / Roman, Judeo / Christian, Celtic / Nordic / Germanic mythologies and folklores have been ignored in story-writing. So there is a fertile field for those wanting to write something different in fantasy fiction.

Answer 3

all the other lame cliches which make up the supernatural genre.



Ghosts, psychics, all other forms of mythology except Greek and Christian, it is a joke that you include this on the list, yet omit the tiresome angels and demons genre of Christian mythology.





Oh and Harry Potter is pure cheese compared to some of the better magic stories out there, such as Earthsea or a friggin' Sabrina the good witch comic book. There are hundreds of "these people know magic" stories out there.

Answer 4

Non-European mythology and folklore has gone largely ignored. China, Japan, India and other countries have their own mythologies and creatures that have been ignored in favor of European-based tales. Ditto for African mythology.

Answer 5

It has all been done to death.