More than other genres, supernatural fiction is defined by atmosphere and characterization. By atmosphere I mean the author's ability to evoke a mood or place viscerally by the use of original and elegant, almost seductive language. The most successful supernatural novels are set in our world. Their narrative tension, their very ability to frighten and transport us, derives from a conflict between the macabre and the mundane, between everyday reality and the threatening other--whether revenant [a ghost that returns], werewolf, or demonic godling--that seeks to destroy it.
Elizabeth Hand in The Writer's Guide to Fantasy and Literature, edited by Philip Martin, 2002
Elizabeth Hand in The Writer's Guide to Fantasy and Literature, edited by Philip Martin, 2002
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