Portal fantasy, also calledportal-quest fantasy,gateway fantasy[1] orcrossworld fantasy,[2][3] is aplot device inspeculative fiction, particularlyfantasy fiction andscience fiction, in which characters enter a self-containedfantasy world through a portal, typically within aquest-based narrative that focuses on exploring and navigating that world.[4][5] Portal fantasy works typically feature protagonists who enteralternate realities, explore unfamiliar landscapes, and encounter distinctive characters. Overall, portals in speculative fiction act as catalysts for narrative movement,worldbuilding, andthematic exploration.[6]
Portals serve as versatile devices within speculative fiction, enabling exploration of power, danger, and the structure offictional worlds, while also challenging conventional notions of travel,causality, andspace. Portals are often used asplot devices that allow characters to reach otherwise inaccessible locations instantaneously or with minimal travel time. Whether natural,magical, or technological, they reflect broader concerns aboutpower,instability, and the permeability of reality. Within modern literature,Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) is frequently identified as one of the earliest clear examples of portal fantasy, in which the protagonist enters a secondary world through a clearly defined portal and encounters a reality governed by its own internallogic.[7]
Infantasy literature, portal fantasy commonly uses this device to transport aprotagonist from the real world into a separatefantastical realm, where the narrative introduces elements such asmagic, unfamiliar environments, non-human characters, orprophetic themes. A portal is a device orphenomenon that enables travel between different locations, worlds,dimensions, or points in time, serving narrative functions such as rapid movement, interdimensional exploration, and symbolic transitions between states ofexistence, thereby playing a significant role inworldbuilding. Works featuring portals may focus less on the journey itself and more on the consequences of travel or the nature of the destinations reached.[8] The function of portals in portal fantasy is often characterized by characters passing between worlds according torules that are only partially explained. Upon entering the secondary world, characters are frequently subject toforces beyond their control, emphasizing their limited agency within the unfamiliar setting. Portals often exhibit a disproportion between their exterior and interior dimensions, with the space beyond the portal differing significantly in scale or nature from its outward appearance.[7]
TheEncyclopedia of Fantasy defines portal fantasy as a type of fantasy "in which transition between the tworealms occurs regularly".[9] Literary scholarFarah Mendlesohn has identified portal fantasy as sharing structural similarities withquest fantasy, noting that both typically involve a protagonist leaving a familiar environment and passing through a threshold into an unfamiliar world. Mendlesohn identifies portal fantasy as a genre in which characters move from the primary world into a secondary one, often for the purpose ofexploration or transformation. However, Mendlesohn argues that, while portal fantasies frequently take the form of quests, not all do, defining the genre as a narrative in which a fantastical world is entered through a portal that serves as a boundary between distinct realms. Building on this framework, critics drawing onJohn Clute's definition of a portal as aliminal structure or threshold have described portals as identifiable transitions that transport characters to another world,time, orreality.[7]
Scholars have also noted distinctions between portal fantasy and portal narratives inscience fiction orhorror. In fantasy, portals are often depicted as one-way passages, with magic remaining confined to the secondary world. By contrast, science fiction and horror portals frequently allow threats or forces to return to the originating world, exposing it to danger. This difference has been used to explain why portal fantasy often features radically altered physical laws, whereas science fiction portals more commonly relocate characters to another region of the sameuniverse. Early literary precedents cited by scholars includemythological and religious journeys to other realms, although these are often regarded asallegorical rather than literal portal narratives. Portals serve multiple narrative purposes – The first iscommunication between worlds, enabling the exchange of information or influence across realities. The second is transformation, as characters often undergopersonal change. The third and most prominent function is travel, allowing characters to bypass conventionalphysical constraints. Characters who encounter portals are often portrayed as having been selected in some way, suggesting that portals function not merely as passages but as mechanisms of narrative choice and initiation.[10] Despite its long literary history, portal fantasy has declined in popularity within contemporary publishing.[7]
Portals vary widely in form and function – Common examples includedoors andgates (includingportals),mirrors,tunnels,labyrinths,screens,wardrobes, and naturally occurring phenomena such aswhirlwinds orcaves, or they may be metaphorical or conceptual. Less commonly, portals themselves may be portable objects, such asamulets, rings, or books.[10] Portals may be situated in a wide range of locations, from small or hidden spaces to monumental structures or entire cities that function as centres of multipleintersections. Portals are sometimes portrayed as so dangerous ordestabilizing that their use is deliberately suppressed. In contrast, portals can also serve as instruments ofdomination. In some narratives, a portal becomesperceptible only when the boundary between worlds is sufficiently concentrated, sometimes detectable only by characters with specialabilities.[7]
Despite their differing appearances, portals generally share the characteristic of connecting two distinct spaces in ways not normally possible within the established rules of thefictional world. In some narratives, portals occur naturally and exist independently of human intervention. These portals are often unpredictable and difficult to control, posing risks to those who encounter them. By contrast, artificial portals are typically created through advancedtechnology, magic, orscientific experimentation. In science fiction, artificial portals may malfunction or produce unintended consequences, highlighting the dangers of overreaching technological ambition. Science fiction frequently portrays portals as technological constructs used forinterstellar orinterdimensional travel. Thepsychological effects of portals recur across speculative fiction, where they are often associated withdisorientation, loss of identity, or unintended consequences.[7] Many portals are guarded by rules, conditions, or prohibitions, and passing through them frequently involves a test or trial.[10]
Fantasy literature frequently presents portals as magical ormystical gateways, often guarded or restricted. Horror,supernatural fiction anddark fantasy narratives frequently use portals to introducethreats from other dimensions. In such works, portals may allowmonstrous entities to enter the primary world, blurring the boundary between the familiar and the unknown. The presence of portals in these genres often underscores themes ofinvasion, loss of control, and existentialfear. Effective use of portals in fiction requires consistent internal rules governing their operation and limitations. Portals often serve asmetaphors for transformation, discovery, or the unknown, while also functioning as practical mechanisms for expandingfictional universes. Their continued prevalence across genres reflects their versatility as both narrative tools and symbolic elements. The presence of portals also shapes social and political structures within fictional settings. Characters who encounter portals are often portrayed as having been selected in some way, suggesting that portals function not merely as passages but as mechanisms of narrative choice and initiation.[7][10]
Early and influential examples of portal fantasy are found primarily in fantasy literature, such asThe Door in the Wall (1911) byH. G. Wells,The Story of the Amulet byEdith Nesbit,Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland andThrough the Looking-Glass byLewis Carroll,The Wonderful Wizard of Oz byL. Frank Baum,Peter Pan byJ. M. Barrie,The Chronicles of Narnia byC. S. Lewis andThe Chronicles of Thomas Covenant byStephen R. Donaldson.[11]John Carter of Mars, beginning withEdgar Rice Burroughs’A Princess of Mars (1912), is a portal fantasy in which an Earthman is transported to the alien world ofBarsoom. In early narratives, portals frequently serve as gateways to alternative worlds that operate according to unfamiliar or illogical rules.[7] TheHarry Potter series contains portal fantasy elements, featuring multiple "crossings" between the ordinary world (theMuggle world) and magical realms, most notablyPlatform 9¾, which serves as a portal toHogwarts and its magical universe.[8]
InThe Dark Tower series byStephen King, portals take many forms and are closely tied to the structure of the multiverse. In Stephen King’sThe Jaunt (1981), instantaneousteleportation results in madness when consciousness is preserved during transit, suggesting that portals may carry severe risks. Beginning withThe Gunslinger (1982), King establishes a recurring motif of doorways and thresholds that allow characters to pass between worlds. InThe Drawing of the Three (1987), Roland Deschain encounters doors emerging from the sea, through which he enters the minds of individuals from other realities. Doors and gateways recur throughout King’s wider fiction. Examples include the doors inThe Talisman (1984) and the dimensional passageways inInsomnia (1994).[7] In the showOnce Upon a Time, magic users have the ability to teleport themselves and others in clouds of magical smoke. Other fantasy examples includeThe Hollowing (1993) byRobert Holdstock,Jumanji,Fairyland,Stardust (2007),The Magicians,Coraline byNeil Gaiman,His Dark Materials byPhilip Pullman andThe Neverending Story byMichael Ende.
| Spatial anomalies in fiction |
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Black holes in fiction •Portable hole •Portal fantasy •Teleportation in fiction •Wormholes in fiction •Stargate •Warp drive •Hyperspace •Time travel in fiction |
 Science fiction portal |
Early "portal" appearances inscience fiction includeA. E. van Vogt's novellaSecret Unattainable (July 1942,Astounding),[12] a radio episode ofSpace Patrol that aired October 25, 1952 (in which it was called a "cycloplex" or a "hole in space"), andRobert A. Heinlein'sTunnel in the Sky (1955) and its "Ramsbotham jump". In2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke uses the term "Star Gate" for the largemonolith "sentinel" TMA-2, which is a classic stargate portal to another part of the universe.[13]
Inscience fiction film and television,wormholes inStar Trek, thehyperspace andStargate systems inStargate SG-1, and artificial gateways inDoctor Who are often portrayed as experimental or unstable, reinforcing the idea that technological portals carry significant risks. In addition to these works,Deep Space Nine (1993–1999),The Matrix (1999),Sliders (1995–1997) andFarscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (2004) have also been described as science fiction works incorporating elements of portal fantasy.[14]
TheStargate franchise centers on an artificial portal device that connectsdistant planets through a fixed network, allowing for large-scale exploration and interaction betweencivilizations. The Stargate series also explores thesociopolitical and cultural consequences of portal travel, includingmilitary conflict,colonialism, and cooperation between worlds. Over time, the franchise expands its scope to include parallel universes and higher planes of existence, further developing the concept of portals as tools for both physical andmetaphysical exploration. InStar Trek, natural spatial anomalies such aswormholes and gateways enablefaster-than-light travel but are often unstable or unreliable.[7]
Ininteractive media, portals are also used to explore perception and space, such as inLegend of Zelda: A Link to the Past,Ni no Kuni,Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning,Final Fantasy,Myst,EarthBound,Ocarina of Time andKingdom Hearts. In the video gamePortal (2007), players can see and interact with themselves across connected gateways, whilePortal 2 (2011) expands this concept by using portals as ametaphor for navigating layered histories and environments. The portal gun allows characters to bypass conventional obstacles, reinforcing the idea that portals function as shortcuts that reshape narrative logic.[7] AlthoughSuper Mario Bros. appears simple in itslinear design, the game has been noted for its "surprising amount of depth and spatial complexity," largely due to the presence of secret areas andwarp zones scattered throughout its levels.[15][16]
