Urban fantasy is asubgenre offantasy, placing supernatural elements in a contemporaryurban-affected setting.[1][2][3][4] The combination provides the writer with a platform for classic fantasy tropes,[5] quixotic plot-elements, and unusual characters—without demanding the creation of an entire imaginary world.
Precursors of urban fantasy are found in popular fiction of the 19th century and the present use of the term dates back to the 1970s.[3][6][7] Much of its audience was established in the 1930s-50s with the success of light supernatural fare in the movies (and later on TV). The genre's current publishing popularity began in 1980s North America, as writers and publishers were encouraged by the success ofStephen King[8] andAnne Rice.[9]
Urban fantasy combines imaginary/unrealistic elements of plot, character, theme, or setting with a largely-familiar world[10]—combining the familiar and the strange. The world does not have to imitate the real world, but can instead be set in a different world or time.[11] Such elements may exist secretly in the world or may occur openly.[12] Fantastic components may bemagic,paranormal beings, recognizablemythic or folk-tale plots, or thematic tropes (such as a quest, or a battle of good and evil). Authors may use currenturban myths, borrowfictional technologies, or even invent occult practices, as well as using established supernatural characters and events from folklore, literature, film, or comics.
The urban component is usually found in the setting—typically a large or small city—or even a suburban community in a metropolitan area. Use of contemporary technology (such as automotive vehicles or communications) and everyday community and social institutions (such as libraries, schools/universities, or markets) establish a familiar context. The period in which the action occurs may be the fairly recent past or the near future, but will typically require merely only casual historical or other special knowledge from the reader. The city-setting is a tool;[13] used to establish a tone, to help move the plot, and may even be acknowledged as a character itself.[14]
Urban fantasy is most often a sub-genre oflow fantasy (where magical events intrude on an otherwise-normal world) and/orhard fantasy (treating magic as something understandable and explainable), and works may be found mixing with sub-genres of, for example,horror,occult detective fiction, or the various "punk"[15][16][17] genres.[18] Common themes include coexistence or conflict between humans and other beings, and the changes such characters and events bring to local life.[19][20] Many authors, publishers, and readers particularly distinguish urban fantasy from works ofparanormal romance, which use similar characters and settings, but focus on the romantic relationships between characters.[1]
The YA authorScott Westerfeld distinguished between urban fantasy and a subgenre calledelfpunk on the basis that "Elfpunk is pretty much full of elves and fairies and traditional shit [...] Urban fantasy, though, can have some totally made-up fucked-up creatures."[21]
During the lateRomantic era, writers ofsensational fiction (includingMary Shelley,Dickens,Hoffmann,Le Fanu,Hugo,Poe,Wilkie Collins,Stoker, &c.) wrote supernatural-tingedmelodramas to explore social anxieties due to population shifts from farms into industrial centers,[22] novel technologies, and fear of 'foreign' immigrants.[23] Re-imagining the contemporary universe by manipulating one or more social/technical realities gave us popular works byJules Verne, as well asDoyle's Professor Challenger stories.Jack London's 1908 dystopian novelThe Iron Heel precededH. G. Wells' novelThe Sleeper Awakes.Karel Čapek,Aldous Huxley, and evenSinclair Lewis (in his novelIt Can't Happen Here) all wrote adventure stories that were post-apocalyptic, and dystopian.
Around the same time, popular mail-delivered periodicals appeared in Europe[24][25][26] and the Americas (The Saturday Evening Post (1821),Godey's Lady's Book (1830), andHarper's Weekly (1857)). The success of these magazines led to ones that targeted specific readerships:Boys' Own Magazine (1855), andArgosy (1882) among them. All of these magazines published short and serialized fiction features, as well as reportage, instructional articles, illustration, and opinion.[27] Before WW1, fantasy vied for magazine space with westerns, romance, mysteries, military adventure, comedies, and horror. Writers often published stories in multiple genres - among themArthur Conan Doyle,Robert E. Howard,Isaac Asimov, andElmore Leonard. A sought-after hallmark for many of these writers was "realism" - although the stories were outrageously fantastic.[28][29]
Dime novels also arrived before theCivil War, some of the earliest re-printing serials from magazines. Commonly associated with Western adventure, they also encompassed romance[30] and crime-fiction.[31] Robert deGraff founded Simon & Schuster'sPocket Books in 1939, he distributed not only to the 2,800 US bookstores, but also in more than a hundred thousand drugstores, news-stands, 5-&-10s, cigar stores, groceries, and diners.[32] By doing this, he established a market - not for copies of Shakespeare or Jane Austen - but for collections and book-length versions of popular magazine fiction.
In 1899,Harper's Weekly editorJohn Kendrick Bangs altered fantasy parameters withThe Enchanted Type-Writer (a series of humorous short-stories supposedly typed by the ghost of 18th century writerJames Boswell) - introducing a benign revenant in a contemporary setting.Thorne Smith was successful in 1920s-30s, especially his two "Topper" farces about a middle-aged banker's adventures with a couple of ghosts (subsequently made into films, radio plays, and a 1950s television series); Smith's posthumously-released novelThe Passionate Witch was made into the 1942 comic cinema romanceI Married a Witch byRene Clair.
WriterCharles G. Finney's celebrated[33] 1935 experimental novelThe Circus of Dr. Lao placed mythical creatures in a contemporary setting to examine the society in a small Arizona town.[34] Gruesome cartoons byCharles Addams began exploring the humorous side of horror in theNew Yorker magazine around the same time.
Occult detective stories, such asManly Wade Wellman'sJohn Thunstone stories - written originally during the 1940s -are credited by many current authors for bringing contemporary characters and American settings into the fantasy and horror genres.[35] These early tales, however, differ from current urban fantasy - they present supernatural beings and acts as unnatural, aberrant, and a possible danger to ordinary citizens.
Unknown magazine (1939–1943) was conceived by its editorJohn W. Campbell as a fantasy equivalent of Campbell's successfulAstounding science fiction magazine; its stories often took place in the present and many had a thoughtful "science-fictional" approach. Writers such asFritz Leiber ("Smoke Ghost", published in 1941),Jack Williamson with"Darker Than You Think" (originally published 1940),H. L. Gold (with his"Trouble with Water", published in 1939) andL. Sprague de Camp's"Nothing in the Rules" (1939) presentedghosts,lycanthropes,gnomes,mermaids,demons and more, in a modern setting, with horrific and/or humorous results. The prolific de Camp and his writing partner, war game inventorFletcher Pratt, also explored urban material with their stories ofHarold Shea in the 1940s andGavagan's Bar stories in the 1950s.
The 1940s saw a number of comic ghost-movies; some of the best-known today includeThe Canterville Ghost (re-telling the 1887 story byOscar Wilde),Blithe Spirit (based onNoël Coward's hit London and Broadway play),The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (based on anR.A. Dick novel), series-fareTopper Returns,Gildersleeve's Ghost,The Smiling Ghost, plus cartoons and short features fromThe Three Stooges,Olsen and Johnson,Walt Disney Productions andLooney Tunes.
Bell, Book and Candle opened on Broadway in 1950, playing 233 performances before it went on a US tour, then played in London for several years. It was released as a film of the same name in 1958. The 1954 best-selling novelThe Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant details a Faustian deal with the devil in major-league professional baseball; it was made into the successful 1957 Broadway musicalDamn Yankees[36] (subsequently revived several times), and then into a 1958 Hollywood film. That same year, Irish-AmericanLeonard Wibberley publishedMrs Searwood's Secret Weapon, about an elderly British widow haunted by the ghost of a Powhatan warrior during the London Blitz. British spy-novel writers Adelaide Manning and Cyril Coles (under the pseudonym Francis Gaites, but published in the United States as byManning Coles) produced a series of humorous novels from 1954 to 1958 placing ghostly revenants of Franco-Prussian War era into 1950s Paris and Como.[37]Herman Cohen's teen-horror films forAmerican International Pictures commenced in 1957 withI Was a Teenage Werewolf, combining supernatural characters with the mundane popular post WW2 teen-culture. In 1959, the fantasy/sci-fi TV anthologyThe Twilight Zone began, after the success of its pilot"The Time Element" appeared as a 1958 episode ofWestinghouse Desilu Playhouse.
In 1962,Ray Bradbury published the dark novelSomething Wicked This Way Comes, which has been cited as a particular influence by writersStephen King,[38]R. L. Stine,[39] andNeil Gaiman.[40] The highly successful TV fantasy seriesBewitched began its 8-year run in 1964, with its rivalI Dream of Jeannie and a less-successful fantasy showMy Mother the Car appearing a year later;The Addams Family based on Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons also debuted in 1964.Ira Levin's 1967 novelRosemary's Baby was a best-seller and critical hit; made into a movie directed byRoman Polanski the following year.Chester Anderson's psychedelic adventureThe Butterfly Kid was nominated for aHugo Award for Best Novel in 1968.[41] Also in 1968, the English translation ofItalo Calvino's short-story collection "Le cosmicomiche" made his fantastic tales built around minor scientific details available to the Anglo-American appetite for the new urban fantasy.
After the success ofStephen King's contemporary horror-storyCarrie in 1973, the author introduced supernatural characters (vampires) into his next book,'Salem's Lot (1976), which he has claimed is his own favorite.[42] Retrospective reviews of King's work note that he "brought reality to genre novels",[43] and have remarked that "Jerusalem's Lot is the main character here, a warm-up for what King would later do with his beloved fictional towns of Derry and Castle Rock. We're given a vivid description, details and foibles, before the town is populated with a cast of characters..."[44]
Anne Rice publishedInterview with the Vampire (a re-working of her own late-60s short story) in 1976 to strikingly mixed critical reviews. Incorporating many genres (horror, eroticism, fantasy, romance, historical fiction), it and its sequels established a new audience for fantasy characters in a real world.[45] Recognizing its potentialAlfred A. Knopf editorVictoria Wilson recommended a very substantial advance; later, the paperback rights costBallantine Books $700,000.[46]
1972's TV horror-filmThe Night Stalker spun-off a 1974 occult detective TV seriesKolchak: The Night Stalker. It featured a Chicago newspaper reporter uncovering and battling supernatural creatures (e.g. vampires and zombies). He was unbelieved and unappreciated, considered by his boss, colleagues, the police and the public as something between a crackpot or an insane murderer as he struggles with both real and metaphorical demons in each episode.
Isaac Asimov'sAzazel stories about a tiny demon (less than an inch tall), most of which were written in the 1980s, take some of their urban character of his mystery stories initially published inEllery Queen's Mystery Magazine.Dorothy Gilman, a writer known for her genre-mergingMrs. Pollifax "cozy-spy" action novels, wroteThe Clairvoyant Countess in 1975 which featured various forms ofESP (and wrote a sequel in 2002).
In the cinema, the re-write ofDan Aykroyd's original 1982 science fiction comedy script forGhostbusters byHarold Ramis replaced the futuristic setting for present dayNew York City.[47] This effectively enabled the film to be made, and introduced to the mainstream the idea of fantastical events taking place in a real-world setting. Two years later,Gremlins brought another batch of supernatural beings into our everyday world. At the same time another low-budget supernatural comedy success,Teen Wolf was popular enough to generate a television show, an animated cartoon, and a cinema sequel. Before its run was finished, another general-audience teen comedy with supernatural elements,Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was in production.
The term began to come into its present use in the late 1970s;[3] however, its meaning kept shifting during the 1980s and early 1990s.[48] This development is apparent in the increased use of the term in contemporary reviews.[49][50]
Terri Windling's sharedBorderlands universe, made up of a number of anthologies and novels, launched with the eponymous paperback original anthology,Borderland in 1986, followed up byBordertown, also in 1986. The series was later touted byNeil Gaiman as "one of the most important places where Urban Fantasy began".[51] An article in Tor.com has stated that "some say, Urban Fantasy was born in Bordertown," which provided "young, beginning writers likeCharles de Lint andEmma Bull" with a platform.[52] Emma Bull's 1987 urban fantasyWar for the Oaks, wherefairy factions battle in present-dayMinneapolis, also received interest and attention. Both Bull's novel and the Borderlands books emphasized young, poor, hip protagonists. In this, they had much in common with the usual protagonist of thecyberpunk sub-genre ofscience fiction.
Sweet Silver Blues, a 1987 novel by fantasy authorGlen Cook, began hisGarrett P.I. series. These tales chronicled adventures of ahardboiled detective in acontemporary fantasy world, and were among the earliest to use a fantastic "underworld" in place of the criminals and thugs ofDashiell Hammett,Raymond Chandler, and their followers. Prolific authorMercedes Lackey started a series in the waning years of the 1980s withBurning Water, exploring the life of a contemporary American witch.
The Vampire Files byP.N. Elrod featured a vampire detective who begins the series by solving his own murder.[53] Set in Chicago in the 1930s, the 12-book series pioneered the vampire investigator role. P.N. Elrod has authored more than 25 books and edited many anthologies. She has won numerous awards for her work in establishing the UF genre.
Shadowrun, atabletop RPG with a similar concept to the Borderlands universe appeared. Like those earlier books,Shadowrun took place in a future Earth setting (specifically 2050, in the first edition), after the reappearance of supernatural powers and beings. Players could play humans (cybernetically enhanced or otherwise),elves,dwarves ororcs, all in a dark high tech setting. The more definitelycyberpunk approach (jaundiced and gritty) of the game's universe exerted its own influence.
Anthologist and professor Dr.Martin H. Greenberg sparked growth in urban fantasy by commissioning established authors to write stories for his many fantasy anthologies (among themWizards,Witches,Devils, andFaeries).[54] The commissioned work was juxtaposed with older fiction; it frequently used supernatural elements in contemporary urban settings.
Several publications and writers have cited authorsLaurell K. Hamilton andKim Harrison as notable contributors to the genre.Entertainment Weekly,[55]USA Today,[56] andTime[57] have recognized the longevity and influence of Hamilton's stories, whileThe New York Times[58] andAmazon.com[59] have noted the work of Kim Harrison. Author Courtney Allison Moulton has cited Hamilton's early works among her inspirations.[60] Kelly Gay has noted Hamilton, Harrison, and Emma Bull as primary influences.[61]Jim Butcher'sThe Dresden Files series have been described byBarnes and Noble as "the gold standard" for the genre;[62] one of the books from the series was nominated for the 2015Hugo Award.N. K. Jemisin'sThe City We Became features major cities acquiring sentience through human avatars; it won the 2020BSFAAward for Best Novel[63] and was nominated for the 2021Hugo[64] and 2020Nebula[65] Awards.
While adult urban fantasy novels may stand-alone (likeMulengro byCharles de Lint orEmma Bull'sWar for the Oaks), the economics of the market favor series characters, and genre-crossing allows sales along multiple lines.
Many urban-fantasy novels are told via afirst-person narrative, and often featuremythological beings,romance, and female protagonists who are involved in law enforcement or vigilantism.[1][66]Laurell K. Hamilton'sAnita Blake series—which follows the investigations of a supernatural Federal Marshal during paranormal cases—has been called a substantial and influential work of the genre.[57]Kim Harrison'sRachel Morgan novels, also regarded as inspirational works, feature a bounty-hunting "witch-born" demon who battles numerous supernatural foes.[67] Multi-genre offerings combine urban fantasy with other established forms (e.g.: police procedurals, as presented in thePeter Grant stories ofBen Aaronovitch, or theCharlie Madigan series, byKelly Gay, which explores challenges a police officer faces while trying to balance her paranormal cases with life as a single mother[19]).
In addition to books which present largely independent characters, certain stories feature men and women who are regularly partnered on adventures—often with an underlying romantic element. TheJaz Parks series, byJennifer Rardin, follows the titular Central Intelligence Agency operative and her vampire boss as they combat supernatural threats to national security.[68] Jocelynn Drake'sDark Days novels follow a vampire named Mira and a vampire hunter named Danaus, who work together to protect their people from a mutual enemy.[69]Night Huntress, a series byJeaniene Frost, centers on a half-vampire named Catherine and a vampire bounty hunter called Bones, who gradually become lovers while battling the undead.[70]
Rather than the professional heroes of adult urban fantasy, many novels foryoung adult audiences follow inexperienced protagonists who are unexpectedly drawn into paranormal struggles. Amidst these conflicts, characters often gain allies, find romance, and, in some cases, develop or discover supernatural abilities of their own.[66] InKelley Armstrong'sThe Darkest Powers series, a group of teens with paranormal talents go on the run while fleeing from a persistent band of scientists.[71]Gone, by Michael Grant, follows an isolated town in which adults have mysteriously disappeared, leaving a society of super-powered children behind.[72] InUnearthly, by Cynthia Hand, a girl discovers that she is part angel and gifted with superhuman abilities, leading her to seek out her purpose on Earth.[73]TheImmortals series, byAlyson Noël, follows a girl who gains special abilities after recovering from an accident, and also grows close to a mysterious new boy at her school.[74]Love triangles also play a prominent part in these and several other urban-fantasy novels.[75][76] Coming-of-age themes and teen 'voices' also often distinguish young-adult urban fantasy from adult books in the genre.[77]Bruce Coville andJane Yolen collaborated onArmageddon Summer which places a standard teen romance in the middle of an imagined apocalyptic cult.
Boarding schools are a common setting in teen urban fantasy.Rampant, byDiana Peterfreund, follows a group of young women at acloisters as they train to fight killer unicorns.[78] TheHouse of Night series, byP. C. andKristin Cast, presents a school where future vampires are disciplined while on the path to transformation, during which several romantic conflicts and other clashes ensue.[79]Claudia Gray'sEvernight novels center on a mysterious academy, where a romantic bond develops between a girl born to vampires, and a boy who hunts them.[80]Fallen, byLauren Kate, revolves around a student named Luce who finds herself drawn to a boy named Daniel, unaware that he is a fallen angel who shares a history with her.[81] Other series, such asCarrie Jones'sNeed, have characters moving to new locations but attending public schools while discovering mysterious occurrences elsewhere in their towns.[82]
A helping of the fantastic is often an element in children's literature, but the two major strands of urban fantasy are well-represented in particular.
Thehidden-world focuses on stories and characters taking place in a fully-realized domain which operates secretly but simultaneously to the world with which we are familiar. An outstanding example are theHarry Potter books of J. K. Rowling - where our own (muggle) world is unaware of an entire universe of wizards and magical creatures; and intersections of these domains provide plot material and character dimensionality for the action taking place primarily in the magic universe - and so being a type ofhigh-fantasy.
On the other hand,magical charm stories operate mostly in the mundane universe, but where a spell or token provides plot-interest. The protagonist ofRobert Lawson's 1945Mr. Wilmer works as a clerk for a big New York City company - but suddenly one morning he can speak with and understand animals. In the magical stories ofEdward Eager, groups of children are granted wishes or transported through time by invoking spells. This makes the stories a variety oflow-fantasy.
Possibly the best-known urban fantasy series for children areP. L. Travers' low-fantasyMary Poppins stories, set in London between the World Wars. As well as eight books, there have been several film and stage adaptations.[83] The high-fantasyHarry Potter phenomenon may soon be in position to overtake Poppins in sales, but not longevity.
Author Jeannie Holmes described differences between urban fantasy andparanormal romance:[1]
The two share 90% of their genre DNA. However, the main differences are this: Urban fantasy focuses on an issue outside of a romantic relationship between two characters. Paranormal romance focuses on a romantic relationship between two characters and how outside forces affect that relationship. The best litmus test to determine if a story is urban fantasy or paranormal romance is to ask the following question: 'If the romance between Character A and Character B were removed, would the plot still stand as a viable storyline?' If the answer is 'yes,' chances are good it's urban fantasy. If the answer is 'no,' it's most likely paranormal romance.
Use of other forms of media has become a common part of the creation and promotion of urban-fantasy works.
"Sometimes the songs influence the book and sometimes it's the other way around, but either way the playlist eventually comes to epitomize the feeling of the book to me."
Several urban-fantasy authors cite music as an inspiration. Certain writers recommend songs or playlists on their official websites, including Courtney Allison Moulton, Jaye Wells, andSarah J. Maas, who couple their recommendations with links to music-providing services.[85][86] Publishers have also used music for book trailers, including the trailer for Carrie Jones'sCaptivate, which features the work of songwriter Derek Daisey.[87][88]
Original music is also produced. In 2010, musicians Alexandra Monir, Michael Bearden, and Heather Holley (a songwriter forChristina Aguilera'sStripped) collaborated to create songs for Monir's debut novel,Timeless.[89]
Book trailers are often used to promote urban-fantasy novels.[90] Publishers such asHarperCollins also produce regular video interviews with debuting authors.[91]
Adaptations of urban-fantasy novels have appeared in comic books andmanga. Among the tales to be adapted are Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series,[92] Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson stories,[93] and Melissa Marr'sWicked Lovely.[94]
Works of urban fantasy have been adapted to or have originated in film and television. Aside from popular ghost and horror films from the 1930s-60s, well-known examples include the 1992 seriesHighlander and the TV adaptation ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer, which is regarded as a seminal work of the genre.[66]
Certain staples of urban fantasy novels are also present in television shows. The concept of peaceful coexistence with paranormal beings is explored in the 1996 seriesKindred: The Embraced, which focuses on secret vampire clans in San Francisco.[95] Works such asWitchblade present the more common matter of a protagonist attempting to protect citizens.[96]
While urban-fantasy novels are often centered on heroines, television programs have regularly featured both genders in leading roles.[97] Shows such asBeauty and the Beast,The Dresden Files,Forever Knight,Grimm,Moonlight, andSupernatural are based around male protagonists, while other programs, includingBuffy the Vampire Slayer,Charmed, andWitchblade, focus largely on female protagonists.[98]
While most fantasy video games take place inscience fantasy orhigh fantasy settings, the subgenre of urban fantasy has a significant niche in the video game media market.[99]
Many urban fantasy video games such asFinal Fantasy VII,Tokyo Xanadu,The World Ends with You series, theShadowrun series, theDishonored series, and theMother series feature urban settings withmagical elements.[99][100][101][102][103][104]
Urban fantasy video games often include characters fromfolklores and religions in modern contexts. Games such asThe Wolf Among Us,Stray Gods,Folklore,Dark,Coffee Talk, theMegami Tensei series, theBayonetta series, theVampire: The Masquerade series, and theYo-kai Watch series are heavily inspired by folklore and religion.[105][106][99][107][108][109] Other urban fantasy video games put a modern interpretation on other fantasy media. TheDevil May Cry series is based onDivine Comedy, andLies of P is based onThe Adventures of Pinocchio.[110][111]
The following is an incomplete list of notable authors of urban fantasy. According to 2013 statistics by the fantasy publisherTor Books, among writers of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, 57% are women and 43% are men, whereas men outnumber women by about two to one in writinghistorical, epic, orhigh fantasy.[112]
