110-748: Shoebox Zoo is a fantasy television series made in a collaboration between BBC Scotland and various Canadian television companies. It is mostly live-action, but with CGI used for the animal figurines. It was first broadcast in 2004, by CBBC . The series was broadcast in the United States by the Showtime network and in Jamaica by CVM Television . The series was conceived by then- BBC Scotland director Claire Mundell and television director Justin Molotnikov in 2002, and then further developed by Brian Ward. The series
220-548: A BBC post production animator, aided in the character designs. Shoebox Zoo mixes Scottish , Celtic, and later, Native American mythology . The first season is set primarily in Edinburgh and other historic locations, while the second season moves to Denver, Colorado , though the season was shot in Canada. The series' protagonist, Marnie McBride, an eleven-year old Scottish-American girl moves to Edinburgh with her father Ross following
330-461: A city in the clouds with the birds and challenges Zeus 's authority. Ovid 's Metamorphoses and Apuleius 's The Golden Ass are both works that influenced the development of the fantasy genre by taking mythic elements and weaving them into personal accounts. Both works involve complex narratives in which humans beings are transformed into animals or inanimate objects. Platonic teachings and early Christian theology are major influences on
440-459: A continued presence in some form of afterlife , the spirit of a deceased person that persists in the material world (a ghost) is regarded as an unnatural or undesirable state of affairs and the idea of ghosts or revenants is associated with a reaction of fear. This is universally the case in pre-modern folk cultures, but fear of ghosts also remains an integral aspect of the modern ghost story , Gothic horror , and other horror fiction dealing with
550-552: A dead person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore , descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy , or in spiritism as a séance . Other terms associated with it are apparition, haunt, haint, phantom, poltergeist , shade , specter, spirit, spook, wraith, demon , and ghoul . The belief in
660-671: A feudal society hindering the modernization of China. Stories of the supernatural continued to be denounced once the Communists rose to power, and mainland China experienced a revival in fantasy only after the Cultural Revolution had ended. Fantasy became a genre of pulp magazines published in the West. In 1923, the first all-fantasy fiction magazine, Weird Tales , was published. Many other similar magazines eventually followed, including The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ; when it
770-402: A ghost has often been regarded as an omen or portent of death. Seeing one's own ghostly double or " fetch " is a related omen of death. The impetus of haunting is commonly considered an unnatural death. White ladies were reported to appear in many rural areas, and supposed to have died tragically or suffered trauma in life. White Lady legends are found around the world. Common to many of them
880-473: A ghost, murders Michael, transforms a captured McTaggart into a weasel , and possesses the Dawn Queen's mortal self, Aurora Dexter, an ambitious television medium . Needing clues to find the book, Ailsa suggests contacting Marnie's mother in the afterlife. However, Marnie is slowly corrupted by the book's magic and plots to use it to resurrect her mother altogether. Marnie summons Wolfgang's ghost to lead her to
990-564: A large audience. Lord Dunsany established the genre's popularity in both the novel and the short story form. H. Rider Haggard , Rudyard Kipling , and Edgar Rice Burroughs began to write fantasy at this time. These authors, along with Abraham Merritt , established what was known as the "lost world" subgenre, which was the most popular form of fantasy in the early decades of the 20th century, although several classic children's fantasies, such as Peter Pan and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , were also published around this time. Juvenile fantasy
1100-471: A main plot element, theme , or setting . Magic, magic practitioners ( sorcerers , witches and so on) and magical creatures are common in many of these worlds. An identifying trait of fantasy is the author's use of narrative elements that do not have to rely on history or nature to be coherent. This differs from realistic fiction in that realistic fiction has to attend to the history and natural laws of reality, where fantasy does not. In writing fantasy
1210-412: A new style of "fuzzy" supernatural texts. The fantastic is on the dividing line between supernatural and not supernatural, Just as during this time period the women were not respecting the boundary of inequality that had always been set for them. At the time, women's roles in society were very uncertain, just as the rules of the fantastic are never straightforward. This climate allowed for a genre similar to
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#17330850795441320-607: A single source. The Welsh tradition has been particularly influential, due to its connection to King Arthur and its collection in a single work, the epic Mabinogion . There are many works where the boundary between fantasy and other works is not clear; the question of whether the writers believed in the possibilities of the marvels in A Midsummer Night's Dream or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight makes it difficult to distinguish when fantasy, in its modern sense, first began. Although pre-dated by John Ruskin 's The King of
1430-406: A specific period to atone for their transgressions in life. Their penance was generally related to their sin. For example, the ghost of a man who had been abusive to his servants was condemned to tear off and swallow bits of his own tongue; the ghost of another man, who had neglected to leave his cloak to the poor, was condemned to wear the cloak, now "heavy as a church tower". These ghosts appeared to
1540-471: A variety of illnesses to the action of ghosts, while others were caused by gods or demons. There was widespread belief in ghosts in ancient Egyptian culture . The Hebrew Bible contains few references to ghosts, associating spiritism with forbidden occult activities cf. Deuteronomy 18:11. The most notable reference is in the First Book of Samuel (I Samuel 28:3–19 KJV), in which a disguised King Saul has
1650-659: A wide audience, with the success of Robert E. Howard 's Conan the Barbarian and Fritz Leiber 's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. However, it was the advent of high fantasy , and most of all J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , which reached new heights of popularity in the late 1960s, that allowed fantasy to truly enter the mainstream . Several other series, such as C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and Ursula K. Le Guin 's Earthsea books, helped cement
1760-615: Is One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) , which is a compilation of many ancient and medieval folk tales. Various characters from this epic have become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin , Sinbad and Ali Baba . Hindu mythology was an evolution of the earlier Vedic mythology and had many more fantastical stories and characters, particularly in the Indian epics . The Panchatantra ( Fables of Bidpai ), for example, used various animal fables and magical tales to illustrate
1870-781: Is ahma , Old Norse has andi m., önd f.), it appears to be a dental suffix derivative of pre-Germanic *ghois-d-oz ('fury, anger'), which is comparable to Sanskrit héḍas ('anger') and Avestan zōižda - ('terrible, ugly'). The prior Proto-Indo-European form is reconstructed as *ǵʰéys-d-os , from the root *ǵʰéys- , which is reflected in Old Norse geisa ('to rage') and *geiski ('fear'; cf. geiskafullr 'full of fear'), in Gothic usgaisjan ('to terrify') and usgaisnan ('to be terrified'), as well as in Avestan zōiš- (cf. zōišnu 'shivering, trembling'). The Germanic word
1980-568: Is a Scots word for ghost , spectre , or apparition . It appeared in Scottish Romanticist literature, and acquired the more general or figurative sense of portent or omen . In 18th- to 19th-century Scottish literature, it also applied to aquatic spirits. The word has no commonly accepted etymology; the OED notes "of obscure origin" only. An association with the verb writhe was the etymology favored by J. R. R. Tolkien . Tolkien's use of
2090-483: Is aided by her best friend Kyle Stone, a descendant of Chief Stonebear. Kyle's grandfather, Nathaniel, the spiritual medicine man of the Lakota people, aids Marnie, along with Hunter, a Native American spirit who can manifest in a horse-shaped ceremonial dancing stick. Michael learns of a second prophecy in which the book will be obtained by the malevolent Dawn Queen, who will use its magic to corrupt mankind. Toledo rises as
2200-720: Is also often used to refer to this genre by the Anglophone literary critics. An archaic spelling for the term is phantasy . Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these can occur in fantasy. In popular culture , the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that emulate Earth, but with a sense of otherness. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy consists of works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works. Many works of fantasy use magic or other supernatural elements as
2310-432: Is dead but her refusal would mean his damnation. This reflects a popular British belief that the dead haunted their lovers if they took up with a new love without some formal release. " The Unquiet Grave " expresses a belief even more widespread, found in various locations over Europe: ghosts can stem from the excessive grief of the living, whose mourning interferes with the dead's peaceful rest. In many folktales from around
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#17330850795442420-399: Is exposed. Wolfgang, jealous that Marnie became Michael's heir apparent, sides with Toledo to act as a spy. Marnie's late mother Rosemary serves in a pivotal role throughout the first season, once considered a potential chosen one by Michael when she briefly owned the toys, but did not possess the magic to awaken them. However, Rosemary appears as a ghost in the series, possessing knowledge of
2530-891: Is no scientific evidence that any location is inhabited by the spirits of the dead. Historically, certain toxic and psychoactive plants (such as datura and hyoscyamus niger ), whose use has long been associated with necromancy and the underworld , have been shown to contain anticholinergic compounds that are pharmacologically linked to dementia (specifically DLB ) as well as histological patterns of neurodegeneration . Recent research has indicated that ghost sightings may be related to degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease . Common prescription medication and over-the-counter drugs (such as sleep aids ) may also, in rare instances, cause ghost-like hallucinations, particularly zolpidem and diphenhydramine . Older reports linked carbon monoxide poisoning to ghost-like hallucinations. In folklore studies , ghosts fall within
2640-410: Is no-one left to remember the one who died. In many cultures, malignant, restless ghosts are distinguished from the more benign spirits involved in ancestor worship. Ancestor worship typically involves rites intended to prevent revenants , vengeful spirits of the dead, imagined as starving and envious of the living. Strategies for preventing revenants may either include sacrifice , i.e., giving
2750-521: Is recorded as masculine only, but likely continues a neuter s -stem. The original meaning of the Germanic word would thus have been an animating principle of the mind , in particular capable of excitation and fury (compare óðr ). In Germanic paganism , " Germanic Mercury ", and the later Odin , was at the same time the conductor of the dead and the "lord of fury" leading the Wild Hunt . Besides denoting
2860-416: Is the concept of a fetch , the visible ghost or spirit of a person yet alive. A notion of the transcendent , supernatural , or numinous , usually involving entities like ghosts, demons , or deities , is a cultural universal . In pre-literate folk religions , these beliefs are often summarized under animism and ancestor worship . Some people believe the ghost or spirit never leaves Earth until there
2970-661: Is the theme of losing a child or husband and a sense of purity, as opposed to the Lady in Red ghost that is mostly attributed to a jilted lover or prostitute. The White Lady ghost is often associated with an individual family line or regarded as a harbinger of death similar to a banshee . Legends of ghost ships have existed since the 18th century; most notable of these is the Flying Dutchman . This theme has been used in literature in The Rime of
3080-612: The Epic of Gilgamesh . The ancient Babylonian creation epic, the Enûma Eliš , in which the god Marduk slays the goddess Tiamat , contains the theme of a cosmic battle between good and evil, which is characteristic of the modern fantasy genre. Genres of romantic and fantasy literature existed in ancient Egypt. The Tales of the Court of King Khufu , which is preserved in the Westcar Papyrus and
3190-509: The Elder Edda and the Younger Edda , includes such figures as Odin and his fellow Aesir , and dwarves , elves , dragons , and giants . These elements have been directly imported into various fantasy works. The separate folklore of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland has sometimes been used indiscriminately for "Celtic" fantasy, sometimes with great effect; other writers have specified the use of
3300-489: The Witch of Endor summon the spirit or ghost of Samuel . The soul and spirit were believed to exist after death, with the ability to assist or harm the living, and the possibility of a second death. Over a period of more than 2,500 years, Egyptian beliefs about the nature of the afterlife evolved constantly. Many of these beliefs were recorded in hieroglyph inscriptions, papyrus scrolls and tomb paintings. The Egyptian Book of
3410-407: The abolition of slavery and women's suffrage . By the late 1880s, credibility of the informal movement weakened, due to accusations of fraud among mediums, and formal Spiritualist organizations began to appear. Spiritualism is currently practiced primarily through various denominational Spiritualist churches in the United States and United Kingdom. Spiritism, or French spiritualism, is based on
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3520-488: The middle and upper classes, while the corresponding movement in continental Europe and Latin America is known as Spiritism . The religion flourished for a half century without canonical texts or formal organization, attaining cohesion by periodicals, tours by trance lecturers, camp meetings, and the missionary activities of accomplished mediums. Many prominent Spiritualists were women. Most followers supported causes such as
3630-517: The motif index designation E200–E599 ("Ghosts and other revenants"). The English word ghost continues Old English gāst . Stemming from Proto-Germanic *gaistaz , it is cognate with Old Frisian gāst , Old Saxon gēst , Old Dutch gēst , and Old High German geist . Although this form is not attested in North Germanic and East Germanic languages (the equivalent word in Gothic
3740-468: The Ancient Mariner by Coleridge. Ghosts are often depicted as being covered in a shroud and/or dragging chains. A place where ghosts are reported is described as haunted , and often seen as being inhabited by spirits of deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property. Supernatural activity inside homes is said to be mainly associated with violent or tragic events in
3850-473: The Book of Forbidden Knowledge. In the series' backstory, Michael Scot lived in 12th century Scotland, where he crafted the Book of Forbidden Knowledge, containing his scholarly work on alchemy and magic. However, the book contained black magic forged from Michael's pride and ambition. He created the series' antagonist, Juan Roberto Montoya de Toledo, a shapeshifting homunculus , using the book's magic. However, Toledo
3960-544: The Dead compiles some of the beliefs from different periods of ancient Egyptian history. In modern times, the fanciful concept of a mummy coming back to life and wreaking vengeance when disturbed has spawned a whole genre of horror stories and films. Ghosts appeared in Homer 's Odyssey and Iliad , in which they were described as vanishing "as a vapor, gibbering and whining into the earth". Homer's ghosts had little interaction with
4070-597: The Falls of Faith, firing the Arrow of Truth down it, which destroys the book, Toledo, and frees Aurora from her evil persona. At the end of the series, Marnie, now twelve years old, leaves the Shoebox Zoo in the same junk shop her mother found them in years before. In the closing moments, the series' narrator approaches and awakens the toys for his own unseen quest. The programme was first broadcast on 21 September 2004 on BBC One , and
4180-585: The Golden River (1841), the history of modern fantasy literature is usually said to begin with George MacDonald , the Scottish author of such novels as Phantastes (1858) and The Princess and the Goblin (1872); the former is widely considered to be the first fantasy novel ever written for adults. MacDonald was a major influence on both J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis . The other major fantasy author of this era
4290-589: The RPG products sold in 2005. The science fantasy role-playing game series Final Fantasy has been an icon of the role-playing video game genre (as of 2012 it was still among the top ten best-selling video game franchises ). The first collectible card game , Magic: The Gathering , has a fantasy theme and is similarly dominant in the industry. Fantasy encompasses numerous subgenres characterized by particular themes or settings, or by an overlap with other literary genres or forms of speculative fiction. They include
4400-676: The Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson , and the Harry Potter films, two of the highest-grossing film series in cinematic history. Fantasy role-playing games cross several different media. Dungeons & Dragons was the first tabletop role-playing game and remains the most successful and influential. According to a 1999 survey in the United States , 6% of 12- to 35-year-olds have played role-playing games. Of those who play regularly, two thirds play D&D . Products branded Dungeons & Dragons made up over fifty percent of
4510-504: The Scottish wraith (of obscure origin), phantom (via French ultimately from Greek phantasma , compare fantasy ) and apparition . The term shade in classical mythology translates Greek σκιά, or Latin umbra , in reference to the notion of spirits in the Greek underworld . The term poltergeist is a German word, literally a "noisy ghost", for a spirit said to manifest itself by invisibly moving and influencing objects. Wraith
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4620-405: The Shoebox Zoo from their centuries-long slumber and begrudgingly accepts to quest to find the Book of Forbidden Knowledge and transform the toys back to humanity. Michael watches over her from Tantallon Castle , his ancestral home, while Toledo serves as an antagonistic force, aided by McTaggart, actually a mole working for Michael. Toledo poses as John Roberts, Marnie's schoolmate, but his identity
4730-470: The Supernatural in the 1890s and 1920s , Lizzie Harris McCormick, Jennifer Mitchell, and Rebecca Soares describe how the social climate in the 1890s and 1920s allowed for a new era of "fantastic" literature to grow. Women were finally exploring the new freedoms given to them and were quickly becoming equals in society. The fear of the new women in society, paired with their growing roles, allowed them to create
4840-505: The air of uncertainty in its narratives as described by Todorov. Jackson also introduces the idea of reading the fantastic through a psychoanalytical lens, referring primarily to Freud's theory of the unconscious, which she believes is integral to understanding the fantastic's connection to the human psyche. There are however additional ways to view the fantastic, and often these differing perspectives come from differing social climates. In their introduction to The Female Fantastic: Gender and
4950-438: The author uses worldbuilding to create characters, situations, and settings that may not be possible in reality. Many fantasy authors use real-world folklore and mythology as inspiration; and although another defining characteristic of the fantasy genre is the inclusion of supernatural elements, such as magic, this does not have to be the case. Fantasy has often been compared to science fiction and horror because they are
5060-609: The baths at Chaeronea by the ghost of a murdered man. The ghost's loud and frightful groans caused the people of the town to seal up the doors of the building. Another celebrated account of a haunted house from the ancient classical world is given by Pliny the Younger ( c. 50 AD ). Pliny describes the haunting of a house in Athens , which was bought by the Stoic philosopher Athenodorus , who lived about 100 years before Pliny. Knowing that
5170-505: The book and events of the past. Marnie and the toys follow a series of clues across Scotland, eventually discovering the book hidden in the University of Edinburgh 's library. Wolfgang is revealed as a spy, but betrays Toledo upon making amends with his father. Toledo assaults Marnie's home, accompanied by Los Contrarios, evil twins of the Shoebox Zoo fashioned by Toledo's magic. However, when they are destroyed and Marnie refuses to surrender
5280-513: The book using the Bow of Wisdom and Arrow of Truth, but the toys fear losing their one opportunity to regain their humanity. Aurora and Toledo plot to unleash the book's magic on live television. Marnie resurrects Wolfgang to complete a binding spell designed to suppress the book's magic, and the group confront Aurora, using the Nathaniel's sacred bundle to weaken her magic. Marnie then teleports herself to
5390-411: The book's location, taking her to the Falls of Faith. Edwin and Ailsa free McTaggart who battles Toledo but is sent plummeting down the falls to his death. Marnie finds the book beneath her grandfather's woodshed, containing an electric generator which channels the book's energy, but Toledo steals it. Aurora, now the Dawn Queen, restores Toledo's body but enslaves him. Marnie makes the decision to destroy
5500-534: The book, Toledo retaliates by casting Wolfgang into a fire, killing him. Marnie eventually discovers the book is in fact a copy, designed to contain Toledo's magic. Toledo is seemingly defeated, and Marnie experiences a vision, learning the real book was sent out to sea and lies somewhere in the United States of America . In the second season, Marnie and the Shoebox Zoo fly to Denver, Michael and McTaggart aiding them from afar. Marnie stays with her maternal grandparents, and
5610-499: The book, casting it down the Falls of Faith, and designed the Arrow of Truth and Bow of Wisdom to vanquish its magic. The book disappeared into history once again, though Stonebear's descendants were aware of its location in the Denver forests. The first season begins with Marnie McBride's eleventh birthday. She and her father Ross visit a junk shop, where the shopkeeper gives Marnie a shoebox containing four carved toy animals. Marnie awakens
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#17330850795445720-471: The book. The second season further expands the backstory. After being lost at sea, the Book of Forbidden Knowledge washed ashore in Colorado in 1811, discovered by Marnie's ancestor Angus McBride, an explorer, who gave the book to the local Lakota people led by Chief Stonebear in exchange for marrying his daughter. Discovering the book's magic to be evil, Stonebear and other chieftains made preparations to destroy
5830-412: The building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide—sometimes in the recent or ancient past. However, not all hauntings are at a place of a violent death, or even on violent grounds. Many cultures and religions believe the essence of a being, such as the ' soul ', continues to exist. Some religious views argue that the 'spirits' of those who have died have not 'passed over' and are trapped inside
5940-580: The central Indian principles of political science . Chinese traditions have been particularly influential in the vein of fantasy known as Chinoiserie , including such writers as Ernest Bramah and Barry Hughart . Beowulf is among the best known of the Old English tales in the English speaking world, and has had deep influence on the fantasy genre; several fantasy works have retold the tale, such as John Gardner 's Grendel . Norse mythology , as found in
6050-631: The circular effect that all fantasy works, even the later The Lord of the Rings , were therefore classified as children's literature . Political and social trends can affect a society's reception towards fantasy. In the early 20th century, the New Culture Movement 's enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantastical shenmo genre of traditional Chinese literature. The spells and magical creatures of these novels were viewed as superstitious and backward, products of
6160-619: The context for these reported visits by the murdered boy. Haunted houses are featured in the 9th-century Arabian Nights (such as the tale of Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad ). Renaissance magic took a revived interest in the occult , including necromancy . In the era of the Reformation and Counter Reformation, there was frequently a backlash against unwholesome interest in
6270-646: The convention. The first WFC was held in 1975 and it has occurred every year since. The convention is held at a different city each year. Additionally, many science fiction conventions, such as Florida's FX Show and MegaCon , cater to fantasy and horror fans. Anime conventions, such as Ohayocon or Anime Expo frequently feature showings of fantasy, science fantasy, and dark fantasy series and films, such as Majutsushi Orphen (fantasy), Sailor Moon (urban fantasy), Berserk (dark fantasy), and Spirited Away (fantasy). Many science fiction/fantasy and anime conventions also strongly feature or cater to one or more of
6380-408: The custom of binding the dead persists, for example, in rural Anatolia . Nineteenth-century anthropologist James Frazer stated in his classic work The Golden Bough that souls were seen as the creature within that animated the body. Although the human soul was sometimes symbolically or literally depicted in ancient cultures as a bird or other animal, it appears to have been widely held that
6490-417: The dark arts, typified by writers such as Thomas Erastus . The Swiss Reformed pastor Ludwig Lavater supplied one of the most frequently reprinted books of the period with his Of Ghosts and Spirits Walking By Night. The Child Ballad " Sweet William's Ghost " (1868) recounts the story of a ghost returning to his fiancée begging her to free him from his promise to marry her. He cannot marry her because he
6600-524: The dead food and drink to pacify them, or magical banishment of the deceased to force them not to return. Ritual feeding of the dead is performed in traditions like the Chinese Ghost Festival or the Western All Souls' Day . Magical banishment of the dead is present in many of the world's burial customs . The bodies found in many tumuli ( kurgan ) had been ritually bound before burial, and
6710-465: The dead residing in the spirit world can be contacted by " mediums ", who can then provide information about the afterlife . Spiritualism developed in the United States and reached its peak growth in membership from the 1840s to the 1920s, especially in English-language countries . By 1897, it was said to have more than eight million followers in the United States and Europe, mostly drawn from
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#17330850795446820-436: The dead was believed to hover near the resting place of the corpse, and cemeteries were places the living avoided. The dead were to be ritually mourned through public ceremony, sacrifice, and libations, or else they might return to haunt their families. The ancient Greeks held annual feasts to honor and placate the spirits of the dead, to which the family ghosts were invited, and after which they were "firmly invited to leave until
6930-469: The difference of critical traditions of each country have led to controversies such as the one led by Stanislaw Lem . Rosemary Jackson builds onto and challenges as well Todorov's definition of the fantastic in her 1981 nonfiction book Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion . Jackson rejects the notion of the fantastic genre as a simple vessel for wish fulfillment that transcends human reality in worlds presented as superior to our own, instead positing that
7040-447: The existence of an afterlife , as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead, is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms , and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic —are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though stories of ghostly armies and
7150-510: The fantastic is a liminal space , characterized by the intrusion of supernatural elements into the realistic framework of a story, accompanied by uncertainty about their existence. However, this precise definition is not the predominant one in English critical literature, and the French term fantastique is used to differentiate the French concept from the broader English term of fantastic, synonym of fantasy. The restrictive definition of Todorov and
7260-429: The fantastic represents the unspoken desire for greater societal change. Jackson criticizes Todorov's theory as being too limited in scope, examining only the literary function of the fantastic, and expands his structuralist theory to fit a more cultural study of the genre—which, incidentally, she proposes is not a genre at all, but a mode that draws upon literary elements of both realistic and supernatural fiction to create
7370-554: The fantasy publisher Tor Books , men outnumber women by 67% to 33% among writers of historical, epic or high fantasy. But among writers of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, 57% are women and 43% are men. Fantasy is studied in a number of disciplines including English and other language studies, cultural studies , comparative literature , history and medieval studies . Some works make political, historical and literary connections between medievalism and popular culture. French literature theorists as Tzvetan Todorov argues that
7480-419: The first time, women started to possess more masculine or queer qualities without it becoming as much of an issue. The fantastic during this time period reflects these new ideas by breaking parallel boundaries in the supernatural. The fantastic breaks this boundary by having the readers never truly know whether or not the story is supernatural. Ghost In folklore , a ghost is the soul or spirit of
7590-479: The five books of the Spiritist Codification written by French educator Hypolite Léon Denizard Rivail under the pseudonym Allan Kardec reporting séances in which he observed a series of phenomena that he attributed to incorporeal intelligence (spirits). His assumption of spirit communication was validated by many contemporaries, among them many scientists and philosophers who attended séances and studied
7700-526: The following: In her 2008 book Rhetorics of Fantasy , Farah Mendlesohn proposes the following taxonomy of fantasy, as "determined by the means by which the fantastic enters the narrated world", while noting that there are fantasies that fit none of the patterns: Publishers, editors, authors, artists, and scholars with interest in the fantasy genre get together yearly at the World Fantasy Convention . The World Fantasy Awards are presented at
7810-528: The genre is inseparable from real life, particularly the social and cultural contexts within which each work of the fantastic is produced. She writes that the "unreal" elements of fantastic literature are created only in direct contrast to the boundaries set by its time period's "cultural order", acting to illuminate the unseen limitations of said boundaries by undoing and recompiling the very structures which define society into something "strange" and "apparently new". In subverting these societal norms, Jackson claims,
7920-629: The genre's popularity. The popularity of the fantasy genre has continued to increase in the 21st century, as evidenced by the best-selling status of J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series, Robert Jordan 's The Wheel of Time series, George R. R. Martin 's Song of Ice and Fire series, Steven Erikson 's Malazan Book of the Fallen sweeping epic, Brandon Sanderson 's The Stormlight Archive series and Mistborn series, and A. Sapkowski 's The Witcher saga. Several fantasy film adaptations have achieved blockbuster status, most notably The Lord of
8030-570: The ghosts of animals other than humans have also been recounted. They are believed to haunt particular locations , objects, or people they were associated with in life. According to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Center, 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost. The overwhelming consensus of science is that there is no proof that ghosts exist. Their existence is impossible to falsify , and ghost hunting has been classified as pseudoscience . Despite centuries of investigation, there
8140-401: The house was supposedly haunted, Athenodorus intentionally set up his writing desk in the room where the apparition was said to appear and sat there writing until late at night when he was disturbed by a ghost bound in chains. He followed the ghost outside where it indicated a spot on the ground. When Athenodorus later excavated the area, a shackled skeleton was unearthed. The haunting ceased when
8250-472: The human spirit or soul, both of the living and the deceased, the Old English word is used as a synonym of Latin spiritus also in the meaning of "breath" or "blast" from the earliest attestations (9th century). It could also denote any good or evil spirit, such as angels and demons; the Anglo-Saxon gospel refers to the demonic possession of Matthew 12:43 as se unclæna gast . Also from the Old English period,
8360-533: The largest proportion and greatest number of followers. The physician John Ferriar wrote "An Essay Towards a Theory of Apparitions" in 1813 in which he argued that sightings of ghosts were the result of optical illusions . Later the French physician Alexandre Jacques François Brière de Boismont published On Hallucinations: Or, the Rational History of Apparitions, Dreams, Ecstasy, Magnetism, and Somnambulism in 1845 in which he claimed sightings of ghosts were
8470-654: The last episode was shown on 27 November 2005. Series 1: Series 2: The series makes good use of its Lothian setting, with significant locations including the University of Edinburgh library, Tantallon Castle , Boroughmuir High School and St Giles Cathedral , while Toledo makes his base in the clock tower of the Balmoral Hotel . Many interior sets were built at the Castle Brae Business Centre (formally Castlebrae High School) in Edinburgh. The second season
8580-533: The living to ask for prayers to end their suffering. Other dead souls returned to urge the living to confess their sins before their own deaths. Medieval European ghosts were more substantial than ghosts described in the Victorian age , and there are accounts of ghosts being wrestled with and physically restrained until a priest could arrive to hear its confession. Some were less solid, and could move through walls. Often they were described as paler and sadder versions of
8690-644: The local priest requested to speak to the boy directly, leading to an extended disquisition on theology. The boy narrated the trauma of death and the unhappiness of his fellow souls in Purgatory, and reported that God was most pleased with the ongoing Crusade against the Cathar heretics, launched three years earlier. The time of the Albigensian Crusade in southern France was marked by intense and prolonged warfare, this constant bloodshed and dislocation of populations being
8800-415: The major categories of speculative fiction . Fantasy is distinguished from science fiction by the plausibility of the narrative elements. A science fiction narrative is unlikely, though seemingly possible through logical scientific or technological extrapolation, where fantasy narratives do not need to be scientifically possible. Authors have to rely on the readers' suspension of disbelief , an acceptance of
8910-554: The medieval period an apparition of a ghost is recorded from 1211, at the time of the Albigensian Crusade . Gervase of Tilbury , Marshal of Arles , wrote that the image of Guilhem, a boy recently murdered in the forest, appeared in his cousin's home in Beaucaire , near Avignon . This series of "visits" lasted all of the summer. Through his cousin, who spoke for him, the boy allegedly held conversations with anyone who wished, until
9020-411: The memory and personality of the dead person. They traveled to the netherworld, where they were assigned a position, and led an existence similar in some ways to that of the living. Relatives of the dead were expected to make offerings of food and drink to the dead to ease their conditions. If they did not, the ghosts could inflict misfortune and illness on the living. Traditional healing practices ascribed
9130-639: The metaphorical meaning of "breath" in certain languages, such as the Latin spiritus and the Greek pneuma , which by analogy became extended to mean the soul. In the Bible , God is depicted as synthesising Adam , as a living soul, from the dust of the Earth and the breath of God. In many traditional accounts, ghosts were often thought to be deceased people looking for vengeance ( vengeful ghosts ), or imprisoned on earth for bad things they did during life. The appearance of
9240-502: The modern fantasy genre. Plato used allegories to convey many of his teachings, and early Christian writers interpreted both the Old and New Testaments as employing parables to relay spiritual truths. This ability to find meaning in a story that is not literally true became the foundation that allowed the modern fantasy genre to develop. The most well known fiction from the Islamic world
9350-474: The other hand used figuratively of any shadowy outline, or fuzzy or unsubstantial image; in optics, photography , and cinematography especially, a flare, secondary image, or spurious signal. The synonym spook is a Dutch loanword, akin to Low German spôk (of uncertain etymology); it entered the English language via American English in the 19th century. Alternative words in modern usage include spectre (altn. specter ; from Latin spectrum ),
9460-423: The person they had been while alive, and dressed in tattered gray rags. The vast majority of reported sightings were male. There were some reported cases of ghostly armies, fighting battles at night in the forest, or in the remains of an Iron Age hillfort, as at Wandlebury , near Cambridge, England. Living knights were sometimes challenged to single combat by phantom knights, which vanished when defeated. From
9570-415: The phenomena. His work was later extended by writers like Leon Denis , Arthur Conan Doyle , Camille Flammarion , Ernesto Bozzano , Chico Xavier , Divaldo Pereira Franco, Waldo Vieira, Johannes Greber , and others. Spiritism has adherents in many countries throughout the world, including Spain, United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, England, Argentina, Portugal, and especially Brazil, which has
9680-465: The popular classical expectation of how a ghost should look. In the 5th century AD, the Christian priest Constantius of Lyon recorded an instance of the recurring theme of the improperly buried dead who come back to haunt the living, and who can only cease their haunting when their bones have been discovered and properly reburied. Ghosts reported in medieval Europe tended to fall into two categories:
9790-543: The property where their memories and energy are strong. There are many references to ghosts in Mesopotamian religions – the religions of Sumer , Babylon , Assyria , and other early states in Mesopotamia . Traces of these beliefs survive in the later Abrahamic religions that came to dominate the region. The concept of ghosts may predate many belief systems . Ghosts were thought to be created at time of death, taking on
9900-405: The same time next year." The 5th-century BC play Oresteia includes an appearance of the ghost of Clytemnestra , one of the first ghosts to appear in a work of fiction. The ancient Romans believed a ghost could be used to exact revenge on an enemy by scratching a curse on a piece of lead or pottery and placing it into a grave. Plutarch , in the 1st century AD, described the haunting of
10010-458: The several subcultures within the main subcultures, including the cosplay subculture (in which people make or wear costumes based on existing or self-created characters, sometimes also acting out skits or plays as well), the fan fiction subculture, and the fan video or AMV subculture, as well as the large internet subculture devoted to reading and writing prose fiction or doujinshi in or related to those genres. According to 2013 statistics by
10120-604: The skeleton was given a proper reburial. The writers Plautus and Lucian also wrote stories about haunted houses. In the New Testament , according to Luke 24:37–39, following his resurrection , Jesus was forced to persuade the Disciples that he was not a ghost (some versions of the Bible, such as the KJV and NKJV, use the term "spirit"). Similarly, Jesus' followers at first believed he
10230-465: The social structure to emerge. The fantastic is never purely supernatural, nor can the supernatural be ruled out. Just as women were not equal yet, but they were not completely oppressed. The Female Fantastic seeks to enforce this idea that nothing is certain in the fantastic nor the gender roles of the 1920s. Many women in this time period began to blur the lines between the genders, removing the binary out of gender and allowing for many interpretations. For
10340-488: The soul was an exact reproduction of the body in every feature, even down to clothing the person wore. This is depicted in artwork from various ancient cultures, including such works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead , which shows deceased people in the afterlife appearing much as they did before death, including the style of dress. While deceased ancestors are universally regarded as venerable, and often believed to have
10450-478: The souls of the dead, or demons. The souls of the dead returned for a specific purpose. Demonic ghosts existed only to torment or tempt the living. The living could tell them apart by demanding their purpose in the name of Jesus Christ. The soul of a dead person would divulge its mission, while a demonic ghost would be banished at the sound of the Holy Name. Most ghosts were souls assigned to Purgatory , condemned for
10560-412: The supernatural. Another widespread belief concerning ghosts is that they are composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. Anthropologists link this idea to early beliefs that ghosts were the person within the person (the person's spirit), most noticeable in ancient cultures as a person's breath, which upon exhaling in colder climates appears visibly as a white mist. This belief may have also fostered
10670-494: The unbelievable or impossible for the sake of enjoyment, in order to write effective fantasies. Despite both genres' heavy reliance on the supernatural, fantasy and horror are distinguishable from one another. Horror primarily evokes fear through the protagonists' weaknesses or inability to deal with the antagonists. While some elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were a part of literature from its beginning, fantasy elements occur throughout ancient religious texts such as
10780-399: The unexpected death of her mother Rosemary. On her birthday, Marnie receives a shoebox containing four carved toy animals from a junk shop owner. Marnie discovers she can magically bring the toys to life, referred to collectively as the Shoebox Zoo. The four are in fact humans transformed into toys by their master, Michael Scot, an immortal alchemist and wizard, for stealing his magical codex ,
10890-485: The word could denote the spirit of God, viz. the " Holy Ghost ". The now-prevailing sense of "the soul of a deceased person, spoken of as appearing in a visible form" only emerges in Middle English (14th century). The modern noun does, however, retain a wider field of application, extending on one hand to "soul", "spirit", " vital principle ", " mind ", or " psyche ", the seat of feeling, thought, and moral judgement; on
11000-466: The word in the naming of the creatures known as the Ringwraiths has influenced later usage in fantasy literature. Bogey or bogy/bogie is a term for a ghost, and appears in Scottish poet John Mayne 's Hallowe'en in 1780. A revenant is a deceased person returning from the dead to haunt the living, either as a disembodied ghost or alternatively as an animated (" undead ") corpse. Also related
11110-525: The world of the living. Periodically they were called upon to provide advice or prophecy, but they do not appear to be particularly feared. Ghosts in the classical world often appeared in the form of vapor or smoke, but at other times they were described as being substantial, appearing as they had been at the time of death, complete with the wounds that killed them. By the 5th century BC, classical Greek ghosts had become haunting, frightening creatures who could work to either good or evil purposes. The spirit of
11220-590: The world, the hero arranges for the burial of a dead man. Soon after, he gains a companion who aids him and, in the end, the hero's companion reveals that he is in fact the dead man . Instances of this include the Italian fairy tale " Fair Brow " and the Swedish " The Bird 'Grip' ". Spiritualism is a monotheistic belief system or religion , postulating a belief in God , but with a distinguishing feature of belief that spirits of
11330-589: Was William Morris , an English poet who wrote several novels in the latter part of the century, including The Wood Beyond the World (1894) and The Well at the World's End (1896). Despite MacDonald's future influence with At the Back of the North Wind (1871), Morris's popularity with his contemporaries, and H. G. Wells 's The Wonderful Visit (1895), it was not until the 20th century that fantasy fiction began to reach
11440-684: Was a ghost (spirit) when they saw him walking on water . One of the first persons to express disbelief in ghosts was Lucian of Samosata in the 2nd century AD. In his satirical novel The Lover of Lies (c. 150 AD), he relates how Democritus "the learned man from Abdera in Thrace " lived in a tomb outside the city gates to prove that cemeteries were not haunted by the spirits of the departed. Lucian relates how he persisted in his disbelief despite practical jokes perpetrated by "some young men of Abdera" who dressed up in black robes with skull masks to frighten him. This account by Lucian notes something about
11550-476: Was co-produced by Toronto-based company Blueprint Entertainment, founded by John Morayniss, who previously worked at Alliance Atlantis , where he helped produce another CBBC programme Ace Lightning . The series consists of twenty-six episodes, split between two seasons made up of thirteen episodes each. The titular Shoebox Zoo were computer generated by Alias Systems Corporation , the characters designed with Celtic mythology and artwork in designs. Paul Kavanagh,
11660-477: Was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults, with the effect that writers who wished to write fantasy had to fit their work into forms aimed at children. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote fantasy in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys , intended for children, although his works for adults only verged on fantasy. For many years, this and successes such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) created
11770-529: Was filmed in Alberta, Canada . Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction which involves themes of the supernatural , magic , and imaginary worlds and creatures . Its roots are in oral traditions, which became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film , television , graphic novels , manga , animations , and video games . The expression fantastic literature
11880-401: Was founded in 1949, the pulp magazine format was at the height of its popularity, and the magazine was instrumental in bringing fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the U.S. and Britain. Such magazines were also instrumental in the rise of science fiction, and it was at this time the two genres began to be associated with each other. By 1950, " sword and sorcery " fiction had begun to find
11990-548: Was probably written in the middle of the second half of the eighteenth century BC, preserves a mixture of stories with elements of historical fiction, fantasy, and satire. Egyptian funerary texts preserve mythological tales, the most significant of which are the myths of Osiris and his son Horus . Myth with fantastic elements intended for adults were a major genre of ancient Greek literature . The comedies of Aristophanes are filled with fantastic elements, particularly his play The Birds , in which an Athenian man builds
12100-445: Was rejected by Michael, inspiring him to seize the book's power and conquer the world. Michael's four students - Edwin, Bruno, Ailsa, and his own son Wolfgang - steal the book to hide it from Toledo, though Wolfgang takes it out of spite towards his negligent father. The book is lost, Michael transforming the four into toys and putting them to sleep until a prophesied Chosen One, identified as Marnie, possesses magic to awaken them and find
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