E Ellis Allen (girlonstilts.com)

*WARNING, SPOILER ALERTS*

Picture it:

A stressed-worn woman and her school-uniform-clad 10-year-old slump in the front seat of their idling car in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The Mom cranes her neck out her side window, back to the windshield, straining to see what’s ahead as a beat cop lights a red stick flair.

Kid: “You know the accident up there?”

Mom: “Yeah?”

Kid: “A lady, she broke her neck — “

Mom: “Oh my god — where is she?”

Kid: “Standing next to my window…”

This is an official trailer of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense” [1999]. It’s a perfect example of the expert blend of Mystery, Paranormal, Drama, and Thriller genres, and the goal for many genre-blending enthusiasts like me.

Although there are endless opportunities for genre-bending, I want to focus on two, literary fiction and paranormal, and why you should incorporate the practice into your work.

Storytelling, like imagination, is vast and time-fluid. It is without bounds and contains endless possibilities, all waiting to be explored. But taking two different genres and swirling them together is something else. It’s alchemy — inventing something precious with basics — familiar and extraordinary tales that stick with you is pure gold!

Furthermore, genre mixes draw you into the plot and make you wonder, ” What would I do if my 10-year-old kid one day said, “I see dead people?”

In regular literary fiction (and most dramas), the story would go from the weirdo child’s admission of communing with the dead to his mother’s psyche implosion, wondering what she did wrong and how she could fix it. Even a financially strapped parent would seek help from an award-winning psychiatrist. This, by itself, is interesting.

A deep dive into one mother’s worry, self-doubt, and struggle to protect her child from tipping off the mental illness cliff is a really good story — now for the spoiler section — but what if that award-toting child therapist is dead?

What if the kid sees him, but no one else does? What if even the psychiatrist doesn’t recognize he’s gone — ended, finito, and bon voyage to the pearly gates already? Snap! That’s a great story — that’s the power of genre-blending.

Story as an art form has always wielded the power to transport us to new worlds, evoke deep emotions, and challenge our perceptions. However, adding elements of other genres creates an echo of the human condition in a whole new way.

What if there are a lot more dead people among the living than we realize? What if I’m dead right now, and no one thought to tell me? See? Talk about your existential crisis!

By merging the narrative twine of literary fiction with the ethereal strand of paranormal elements, writers can tap into universal fears, hopes, and desires, crafting an immersive, multi-dimensional tale that ensnares an audience’s attention and keeps readers turning the page.

From novelists to screenwriters (and everything in between), we can create worlds, evoke emotions, and transport readers to places they’ve never imagined. Blending genres allows us to break free from conventional stories, infuse our narratives with a sense of wonder and unpredictability, and unleash the full potential of storytelling, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of audiences now and for years to come.

What are some of your favorite genre mashups? Please share in the comments!