Write THREE essays. Essays should be approximately 500 words (about 1½ to 2 pages, double-spaced) in length. Your essays should have a clear thesis paragraph which answers the question posed, then a body of several paragraphs where you offer evidence, examples and quotations from the stories we have read, and finally a clear conclusion that wraps up your essay. PICK Three topics from the following list of questions. Write only three essays.
1. How does the literature of the supernatural force the reader to reimagine ordinary places and things as potential sources for mystery, horror and fantasy? Pick three stories that illustrate how the ordinary can become extraordinary.
2. Fate works in mysterious ways in several stories we have read. Pick two stories where the power of fate forces an inescapable conclusion and explain why the outcomes of these stories seem just or unjust.
3. Explain how skepticism can function both positively and negatively in two of the stories we have read.
4. In the stories of Lucius Shepard, how does adding the supernatural to the experience of Vietnam help expand a reader's understanding of the confusion and horror of war?
5. Pick two stories where characters are dealing with past traumatic events that finally have supernatural resolutions. Why is a supernatural resolution fitting for these stories?
6. What is the cost of doing magic or being sensitive to the supernatural? Pick two stories which show how dangerous it is to experience the supernatural and explain what conditions help to generate their unfortunate outcomes.
7. What is the value of doing magic or being sensitive to the supernatural? Pick two stories that show the reward of experiencing the supernatural and explain what conditions help to generate a positive outcome in these stories.
8. Children are often seen as being more in touch with the imagination and, therefore, with the more in touch with the foundations of the supernatural. Pick two stories that feature children and explain what effect is achieved by using children in these stories.
9. How does a ghost story work? Pick three stories that you think best demonstrate what a ghost story should do and explain how and why it works.
10. Kelly Link, Angela Carter and Bram Stoker all write about haunted houses. What are some key differences in how the haunted house function in these stories?
11. Pick three stories that truly surprised you the most, and explain why? Upon second reading does the unexpected element start to make more sense?
12. Some characters encounter great evil, demonic forces, and even, perhaps, the devil.