Transforming the Paranormal
A sparkle in my eye the other day got me thinking, why are paranormal characters so popular? They’re everywhere! Television, movies, books, comics—you name it! Vampires, werewolves, and sirens, the whole human/demon shebang seems to be like a moth to a flame these days. If you add a bit of mythology into the mix, well you’ve concocted a veritable goldmine of fantastical elements. Add an undercurrent (over?) of romance and you might as well collect your check.
Ugh.
Before I go any further, I have to admit I’m just as guilty of using paranormal characters in my works as I am for involving a mythology. I’m not saying that using these tropes are a bad idea, I simply believe they have become so overused that in order to be different, so must your paranormal. Para-abnormal if you will.
Grand sweeping statement of unpopular proportions: I don’t like Twilight. But Meyers did herself a favor by differentiating her vampires and werewolves from the endless stories like hers and the legends that started the whole phenomenon. Had they been the stereotypes, I think there would have been less intrigue about the story.
With that said, I know I rather read a unique idea than something I could find in every paranormal tale. And I’m sure you’re the same. As writers, we have the opportunity to bring people into a world where even our imagination’s craziest ideas could exist. So there’s no reason to repeat the same vampire love story over one-billion-and-one iterations.
How does one reinvent something that already has a reputation? Fairly easily, actually.
Step 1- Choose your paranormal or mythological idea
Step 2- Change one (or better yet, several) aspect(s) of its identity to be unique
There you have it! Now your brand new sphinx character can walk upright and has wings. Oh, it shoots lasers from its eyes as well? Aren’t we feeling mighty sci-fi today. How convenient! But seriously, my point is that if you plan to tap into the goldmine that is human folklore, myth and legend, don’t just use it as is, make it different. Make it yours.
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Haha, great post.
I’m also a sucker for the paranormal, and the same old cookie-cutter creatures can definitely get boring with the exception of well written characters.
Professor Lupin in Harry Potter has a very standard werewolf mythology, but as a character, he’s just so easy to empathize with and like.
Otherwise, you’re right. Try something different! Or tape into mythologies that no one else has really dipped into. For every vampire or werewolf you run across, there’s a culture that has it’s own unique take on the myth. Or, just make stuff up yourself!
Thanks for sharing, Rachel. 🙂
Precisely. Great perspective, Mike, I definitely agree. Poor Asian and Norse myths are well forgotten but so rich with details! And it doesn’t end there!