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{{Short description|Genre of fiction including science fiction, horror and fantasy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Speculative fiction sidebar|cTopic=all}}
'''Speculative fiction''' is an [[umbrella term|umbrella genre]] of [[fiction]] that encompasses all the [[subgenre]]s that depart from [[Realism (arts)|realism]], or strictly imitating everyday [[reality]],<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Oziewicz |first1=Marek |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-020109-8 |entry=Speculative Fiction |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.013.78 |quote=... a super category for all genres that deliberately depart from imitating “consensus reality” of everyday experience. In this latter sense, speculative fiction includes fantasy, science fiction, and horror, but also their derivatives, hybrids, and cognate genres like the gothic, dystopia, weird fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, ghost stories, superhero tales, alternate history, steampunk, slipstream, magic realism, fractured fairy tales, and more. |chapter-url=https://oxfordre.com/literature/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-78 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018080132/https://oxfordre.com/literature/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-78 |archive-date=October 18, 2022}}</ref> instead presenting fantastical, [[supernatural]], [[futuristic]], or other imaginative realms.<ref>{{Dictionary.com|speculative fiction|access-date=20 January 2021}}</ref> This catch-all genre includes, but is not limited to, [[fantasy]], [[science fiction]], [[science fantasy]], [[horror fiction|supernatural horror]], [[superhero fiction]], [[Slipstream genre|slipstream]], [[magical realism]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henwood|first=Belinda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQwBvK1dTHYC&dq=Speculative+fiction&pg=PA86|title=Publishing|date=2007|publisher=Career FAQs|isbn=978-1-921106-43-9|language=en|access-date=29 December 2022|archive-date=5 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105210952/https://books.google.com/books?id=FQwBvK1dTHYC&dq=Speculative+fiction&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}</ref> [[alternate history]], [[utopian and dystopian fiction|utopia and dystopia]], [[fairy tale]]s, [[steampunk]], [[cyberpunk]], [[weird fiction]], and some [[apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction]]. In other words, it speculates on individuals, events, or places beyond the ordinary real world.
The term has been used for works of [[literature]], [[film]], [[Television show|television]], [[drama]], [[video game]]s, [[Radio drama|radio]], and their hybrids.<ref name=":0" />
== Speculative versus realistic fiction ==
The umbrella genre of speculative fiction is characterized by a lesser degree of adherence to plausible depictions of individuals, events, or places, while the umbrella genre of ''realistic fiction'' (partly crossing over with [[literary realism]]) is characterized by a greater degree of adherence to them. For instance, speculative fiction may depict an entirely imaginary universe or one in which the laws of nature do not strictly apply (often, the sub-genre of [[fantasy]]). Or, it depicts true historical moments, except that they have concluded in a completely imaginary way or been followed by major new events that are completely imaginary (the genre of [[alternative history]]). Or, it depicts [[impossible technology]] or technology that defies current scientific understandings or capabilities (the genre of [[science fiction]]).
Contrarily, realistic fiction involves a story whose basic [[Setting (narrative)|setting]] (time and ___location in the world) is, in fact, real and whose events could believably happen in the context of the real world. One realistic fiction sub-genre is [[historical fiction]], centered around true major events and time periods in the past.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kuzminski |first=Adrian |date=1979 |title=Defending Historical Realism |journal=History and Theory |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=316–349 |doi=10.2307/2504534 |issn=0018-2656 |jstor=2504534}}</ref> The attempt to make stories feel faithful to reality or to more [[Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy)|objectively]] describe details, and the 19th-century artistic movement that began to vigorously promote this approach, is called "literary realism", which incorporates some works of both fiction and non-fiction.
=== Distinguishing science fiction from other speculative fiction ===
"Speculative fiction" is sometimes abbreviated "spec-fic", "spec fic", "specfic",<ref>{{Cite web |title=SpecFicWorld |url=http://www.specficworld.com/ |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=SpecFicWorld |archive-date=14 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114224923/http://www.specficworld.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> "S-F", "SF", or "sf".<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Speculative Fiction Blog |url=http://www.sfsignal.com/ |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=SFSignal |archive-date=10 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210221437/http://www.sfsignal.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="sf_vint_MIT">{{cite book |last1=Vint |first1=Sherryl |title=Science Fiction |date=16 February 2021 |publisher=The MIT Press |isbn=9780262539999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cSkWEAAAQBAJ&q=science+fiction+sherryl+vint |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref> The last three abbreviations, however, are ambiguous as they have long been used to refer to science fiction (which lies within this general range of literature).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy |url=http://www.sfsite.com/ |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=The SF Site |archive-date=29 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829084434/http://www.sfsite.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is sometimes also known as "the fantastic"<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Golovacheva |first=Irina |title=Is the Fantastic Really Fantastic? |date=2018-03-27 |work=Is the Fantastic Really Fantastic? |pages=61–90 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783839440278-004/html |access-date=2024-09-09 |publisher=transcript Verlag |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783839440278-004/html |isbn=978-3-8394-4027-8}}</ref> or as ''fantastika'', the latter term attributed to [[science fiction scholar]] [[John Clute]] who coined it in 2007 after the term for the genre in some [[Slavic languages]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Clute |first=John |last2=Langford |first2=David |title=SFE: Fantastika |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/fantastika |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=sf-encyclopedia.com}}</ref>
The term has been used by some critics and writers dissatisfied with what they consider to be a limitation of science fiction: the need for the story to hold to scientific principles. They argue that "speculative fiction" better defines an expanded, open, imaginative type of fiction than does "genre fiction", and the categories of "fantasy", "mystery", "horror" and "science fiction".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Citations and definitions for the term 'speculative fiction' by speculative fiction reviewers |url=http://www.greententacles.com/articles/5/26 |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Greententacles.com |archive-date=26 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126122019/http://www.greententacles.com/articles/5/26 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Harlan Ellison]] used the term to avoid being [[pigeonholing|pigeonholed]] as a science fiction writer. Ellison, a fervent proponent of writers embracing more literary and [[modernist literature|modernist]] directions,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Watts |first=Peter |date=Summer 2003 |title=Margaret Atwood and the Hierarchy of Contempt |url=http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts/PeterWatts_Atwood.pdf |magazine=On Spec |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=3–5 |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref><ref>Davies, Philip. "Review [untitled; reviewed work(s): ''Science Fiction: Its Criticism and Teaching'' by Patrick Parrinder; ''Fantastic Lives: Autobiographical Essays by Notable Science Fiction Writers'' by Martin Greenberg; ''Robert A. Heinlein: America as Science Fiction'' by H. Bruce Franklin; ''Bridges to Science Fiction'' by George E. Slusser, George R. Guffey, Mark Rose]. ''Journal of American Studies'' Vol. 16, No. 1 (April 1982). pp. 157–159.</ref> broke out of [[genre]] conventions to push the boundaries of speculative fiction.
The term ''suppositional fiction'' is sometimes used as a sub-category designating fiction in which characters and stories are constrained by an internally consistent world, but not necessarily one defined by any particular genre.<ref>Izenberg, Orin (2011). ''Being Numerous: Poetry and the Ground of Social Life''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 210.</ref><ref>Leitch, Thomas M. ''What Stories Are: Narrative Theory and Interpretation'' University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1986; p. 127</ref><ref>Domańska, Ewa (1998). ''Encounters: Philosophy of History After Postmodernism''. Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia. p. 10.</ref>
==History==
[[File:Seated Euripides Louvre Ma343.jpg|alt=Statue of Euripides in front of titles of his works|thumb|Euripides]]
Speculative fiction as a category ranges from ancient works to [[The Structure of Scientific Revolutions|paradigm-changing]] and neotraditional works of the 21st century.<ref>Barry Baldwin, Emeritus Professor of Classics, University of Calgary, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, "Ancient Science Fiction", Shattercolors Literary Review</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=逆援助紹介PARADOX! |url=http://www.paradoxmag.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728035612/http://www.paradoxmag.com/ |archive-date=28 July 2010 |website=paradoxmag.com}}</ref> Characteristics of speculative fiction have been recognized in older works whose authors' [[Authorial intent|intentions]], or in the [[social context]]s of the stories they portray, are now known. For example, the ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] dramatist, [[Euripides]], ({{Circa|480|406 BCE}}) whose play ''[[Medea (play)|Medea]]'' seems to have offended [[Athenian]] audiences when he speculated that the titular shamaness [[Medea]] killed her own children, as opposed to their being killed by other [[Ancient Corinth|Corinthians]] after her departure.<ref>This theory of [[Euripides]]' invention has gained wide acceptance. See (e.g.) McDermott 1989, 12; Powell 1990, 35; Sommerstein 2002, 16; Griffiths, 2006 81; Ewans 2007, 55.</ref>
In [[historiography]], what is now called "speculative fiction" has previously been termed "historical invention",<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 January 2005 |title=Mark Wagstaff – Historical invention and political purpose | Re-public: re-imagining democracy – english version |url=http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=126 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116082639/http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=126 |archive-date=16 January 2013 |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Re-public.gr}}</ref> "historical fiction", and other similar names. These terms have been extensively noted in [[literary criticism]] of the works of [[William Shakespeare]],<ref>Martha Tuck Rozett, "Creating a Context for Shakespeare with Historical Fiction", Shakespeare Quarterly
Vol. 46, No. 2 (Summer, 1995), pp. 220–227</ref> such as when he co-locates [[Athenian]] Duke [[Theseus]], [[Amazons|Amazonian]] Queen [[Hippolyta]], English fairy [[Puck (mythology)|Puck]], and [[Roman mythology|Roman]] god [[Cupid]] across time and space in the [[Fairy]]land of the fictional [[Merovingian]] [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] sovereign [[Oberon]], in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''.<ref>Dorothea Kehler, A midsummer night's dream: critical essays, 2001</ref>
In [[mythography]] the concept of speculative fiction has been termed "mythopoesis", or [[mythopoeia]]. This practice involves the creative design and generation of lore and mythology for works of fiction. The term's definition comes from its use by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], whose novel, ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'',<ref>Adcox, John, "Can Fantasy be Myth? Mythopoeia and The Lord of the Rings" in "The Newsletter of the Mythic Imagination Institute, September/October, 2003"</ref> demonstrates a clear application of this process. Themes common in mythopoeia, such as the [[supernatural]], [[alternate history]] and [[Human sexuality|sexuality]], continue to be explored in works produced within the modern speculative fiction genre.<ref>Eric Garber, Lyn Paleo Uranian Worlds: A Guide to Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, 2nd Edition, G K Hall: 1990 {{ISBN|978-0-8161-1832-8}}</ref>
The creation of speculative fiction in its general sense of hypothetical history, explanation, or ahistorical [[storytelling]], has also been attributed to authors in ostensibly non-fiction modes since as early as [[Herodotus]] of [[Halicarnassus]] (fl. 5th century BCE), for his ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'',<ref>Herodotus and Myth Conference, Christ Church, Oxford, 2003</ref><ref>John M. Marincola, Introduction and Notes, The Histories by Herodotus, tr. Aubrey De Sélincourt, 2007</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lendering |first=Jona |title=Herodotus of Halicarnassus |url=https://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodotus/herodotus02.html |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Livius.org |archive-date=18 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118090825/http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodotus/herodotus02.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was already both practiced and edited out by early encyclopedic writers like [[Sima Qian]] ({{circa|145}} or 135 BCE–86 BCE), author of [[Shiji]].<ref>Stephen W. Durrant, The cloudy mirror: tension and conflict in the writings of Sima Qian, 1995</ref><ref>Craig A. Lockard, ''Societies, Networks, and Transitions: A Global History: To 1500'', 2007, p. 133.</ref>
These examples highlight the caveat that many works, now regarded as intentional or unintentional speculative fiction, long predated the coining of the genre term; its concept, in its broadest sense, captures both a [[conscious]] and [[unconscious mind|unconscious]] aspect of human [[psychology]] in making sense of the world, and responds to it by creating [[Imagination|imaginative]], [[inventive]], and [[artistic]] expressions. Such expressions can contribute to practical societal progress through interpersonal influences, [[social movements|social]] and [[cultural movements]], scientific research and advances, and the [[philosophy of science]].<ref>Heather Urbanski, Plagues, apocalypses and bug-eyed monsters: how speculative fiction shows us our nightmares, 2007, pp. 127.</ref><ref>Sonu Shamdasani, Cult Fictions: C.G. Jung and the Founding of Analytical Psychology, 1998</ref><ref>Relativity, The Special and the General Theory by Albert Einstein (1920), with an introduction by Niger Calder, 2006</ref>
[[File:Robert A. Heinlein.jpg|thumb|Robert Heinlein c.1953]]
In its [[English language|English-language]] usage in arts and literature since the mid 20th century, "speculative fiction" as a genre term has often been attributed to [[Robert A. Heinlein]], who first used the term in an editorial in ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'', 8 February 1947. In the article, Heinlein used "Speculative Fiction" as a synonym for "science fiction"; in a later piece, he explicitly stated that his use of the term did not include fantasy. However, though Heinlein may have come up with the term on his own, there are earlier citations: a piece in ''[[Lippincott's Monthly Magazine]]'' in 1889 used the term in reference to [[Edward Bellamy]]'s ''[[Looking Backward]]: 2000–1887'' and other works; and one in the May 1900 issue of ''[[The Bookman (New York)|The Bookman]]'' said that [[John Uri Lloyd]]'s ''[[Etidorhpa]], The End of the Earth'' had "created a great deal of discussion among people interested in speculative fiction".<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 April 2009 |title=Dictionary citations for the term "speculative fiction" |url=http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/438 |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Jessesword.com |archive-date=7 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207012608/http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/438 |url-status=live }}</ref> A variation on this term is "speculative literature".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Speculative Literature Foundation |url=http://www.speculativeliterature.org/ |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Speculativeliterature.org |archive-date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204054002/http://www.speculativeliterature.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The use of "speculative fiction" in the sense of expressing dissatisfaction with traditional or [[The Establishment|establishment]] science fiction was popularized in the 1960s and early 1970s by [[Judith Merril]], as well as other writers and editors in connection with the [[New Wave (science fiction)|New Wave]] movement. However, this use of the term fell into disuse around the mid-1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Wave |url=http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/dial/sfclass/newave.html |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Virtual.clemson.edu |archive-date=22 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122094856/http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/dial/sfclass/newave.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In the 2000s, the term came into wider use as a convenient collective term for a set of genres. However, some writers, such as [[Margaret Atwood]], who wrote ''[[The Handmaid's Tale]]'', continue to distinguish "speculative fiction" specifically as a "no [[Martian]]s" type of science fiction, "about things that really could happen."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Atwood |first=Margaret |url=https://archive.org/details/inotherworldssfh0000atwo_y7y3 |title=In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination |date=2011 |publisher=Nan A. Talese/Doubleday |isbn=978-0-385-53396-6 |___location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/inotherworldssfh0000atwo_y7y3/page/6 6] |url-access=registration}}</ref>
Speculative fiction is also used as a genre term that combines different ones into a single [[narrative]] or [[Fictional universe|fictional world]] such as "science fiction, horror, fantasy...[and]...mystery".<ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last=Canton |first=James |title=The Literature Book |last2=Cleary |first2=Helen |last3=Kramer |first3=Ann |last4=Laxby |first4=Robin |last5=Loxley |first5=Diana |last6=Ripley |first6=Esther |last7=Todd |first7=Megan |last8=Shaghar |first8=Hila |last9=Valente |first9=Alex |collaboration=Authors |publisher=[[DK (publisher)|DK]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4654-2988-9 |edition=First American |___location=New York |pages=343}}</ref>
The [[Internet Speculative Fiction Database]] contains a broad list of different subtypes.
According to publisher statistics, men outnumber women about two to one among English-language speculative fiction writers aiming for professional publication. However, the percentages vary considerably by genre, with women outnumbering men in the fields of [[urban fantasy]], [[paranormal romance]] and [[young adult fiction]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crisp |first=Julie |date=10 July 2013 |title=SEXISM IN GENRE PUBLISHING: A PUBLISHER'S PERSPECTIVE |url=http://www.torbooks.co.uk/blog/2013/07/10/sexism-in-genre-publishing-a-publishers-perspective |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430072612/http://www.torbooks.co.uk/blog/2013/07/10/sexism-in-genre-publishing-a-publishers-perspective |archive-date=30 April 2015 |access-date=29 April 2015 |website=[[Tor Books]] }}</ref>
[[Academic journals]] which publish essays on speculative fiction include ''[[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]]'' and ''[[Foundation - The International Review of Science Fiction|Foundation]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SF Foundation Journal | The Science Fiction Foundation |url=https://www.sf-foundation.org/journal |access-date=1 April 2020 |publisher=Sf-foundation.org }}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Genres==
Speculative fiction may include elements from one or more of the following genres:
<!-- IF YOU ARE GOING TO ADD A NEW GENRE, PLEASE INCLUDE A SHORT DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES JUST LIKE THE ALREADY LISTED GENRES -->
{|class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
|+Subgenres of speculative fiction
|- style="background:#ccc;"
!width=120| Name
!class=unsortable| Description
!class=unsortable| Examples
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Fantasy]]'''
| Includes elements and beings originating from or inspired by traditional stories, such as [[mythology|mythical creatures]] ([[dragons]], [[elf|elves]], [[dwarf (mythology)|dwarves]] and [[fairy|fairies]], for example), [[magic (paranormal)|magic]], [[witchcraft]], [[potion]]s, etc.
| ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'', ''[[Elric of Melniboné]]'', ''[[Dungeons & Dragons|Dungeons and Dragons]]'', ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'', ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', ''[[Warcraft]]'', ''[[The Witcher]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Science fiction]]'''
| Features technologies and other elements that do not exist in real life but may be supposed to be created or discovered in the future through scientific advancement, such as [[Robots in science fiction|advanced robots]], [[interstellar travel]], [[Extraterrestrials in fiction|aliens]], [[time travel]], [[Mutants in fiction|mutant]]s and [[cyborg]]s. Many sci-fi stories are set in the future.
| ''[[Frankenstein]]'', ''[[Halo (franchise)|Halo]]'', ''[[The Time Machine]]'', ''[[Cyberpunk 2077]]'', ''[[Mass Effect]]'', ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', ''[[Terminator (franchise)|Terminator]]'', ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Stranger in a Strange Land]]'', ''[[Blade Runner]]'', ''[[The Expanse (novel series)|The Expanse]]'', ''[[Transformers]]'', ''[[The Three-Body Problem (novel)|The Three-Body Problem]]'', ''[[Stargate]]'', ''[[Babylon 5]]'', ''[[Andromeda (TV series)|Andromeda]]'', ''[[Dune (franchise)|Dune]]'', ''[[Star Trek]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Science fantasy]]'''
| Hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy.
| ''[[Star Wars]]'', ''[[Barsoom]]'', ''[[Space Dandy]]'', ''[[ThunderCats]]'', ''[[Masters of the Universe]]'', ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Superhero fiction|Superhero]]'''
| Centers on [[superhero]]es (i.e., heroes with extraordinary abilities or powers) and their fight against evil forces such as [[supervillain]]s. Typically incorporates elements of science fiction or fantasy, and may be a subgenre of them.
| ''[[DC Universe]]'', ''[[Marvel Universe]]'', ''[[Kamen Rider Series|Kamen Rider]]'', ''[[My Hero Academia]]'', ''[[Super Sentai]]'', ''[[Metal Heroes]]''
|-
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Space Western]]'''
| Hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and the genre of Western.
| ''[[The Mandalorian]]'', ''[[BraveStarr]]'', ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'', ''[[Outlaw Star]]'', ''[[Space Dandy]]'', ''[[Trigun]]'', ''[[Bucky O'Hare]]'', ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'', ''[[ThunderCats]]'', ''[[Masters of the Universe]]'', ''[[Buck Rogers]]'', ''[[Dan Dare]]'', ''[[Flash Gordon]]'', ''[[Duck Dodgers]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Western (genre)|Western]]'''
| Genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada.
| ''[[Wagon Train]]'', ''[[Dollars Trilogy]]'', ''[[Annie Oakley]]'', ''[[Bucking Broncho]]'', ''[[Buffalo Bill]]'', ''[[Buffalo Dance]]'', ''[[Lasso Thrower]]'', ''[[Mexican Knife Duel]]'', ''[[Sioux Ghost Dance]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Supernatural fiction|Supernatural]]'''
| Similar to horror and fantasy, it overlaps with Paranormal Romance, Contemporary Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Occult Detective Fiction, and Paranormal Fiction. It exploits or requires plot devices or themes that often contradict commonplace, materialist assumptions about the [[Natural environment|natural world]].
| ''[[The Castle of Otranto]]'', ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', ''[[Angel (1999 TV series)|Angel]]'', ''[[Big Wolf on Campus]]'', ''[[Teen Wolf (2011 TV series)|Teen Wolf]]'', ''[[Harry Potter]]'', ''[[Percy Jackson & the Olympians]]'', ''[[Stranger Things]]'', ''[[Paranormal Activity (film series)|Paranormal Activity]]'', ''[[Dark (TV series)|Dark]]'', ''[[Fallen (Kate novel)|Fallen]]'', ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'', ''[[Charmed (TV series)|Charmed]]'', ''[[The Others (2001 film)|The Others]]'', ''[[The Gift (2000 film)|The Gift]]'', ''[[The Skeleton Key]]'', ''[[SCP Foundation]]''
|-|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Horror fiction|Horror]]'''
| Focuses on terrifying stories that incite fear. Villains may be either supernatural, such as [[monsters]], [[vampire]]s, [[ghosts]] and [[demon]]s, or mundane people, such as psychopathic and cruel murderers. Often features violence and death.
| ''[[Dracula]]'', ''[[The Exorcist (novel)|The Exorcist]]'', ''[[Cthulhu Mythos]]'', ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'', ''[[Us (2019 film)|Us]]'', ''[[Books of Blood]]'', ''[[The Hellbound Heart]]'', ''[[Resident Evil]]'', ''[[The Blair Witch Project]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Utopian and dystopian fiction|Utopian]]'''
| Takes place in a highly desirable society, often presented as advanced, happy, intelligent or even perfect or problem-free.
| ''[[Island (Huxley novel)|Island]]'', ''[[Ecotopia]]'', ''[[17776]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Utopian and dystopian fiction|Dystopian]]'''
| Takes place in a highly undesirable society, often plagued with strict control, violence, chaos, brainwashing or other negative elements.
| ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]'', ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'', ''[[The Handmaid's Tale]]'', ''[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', ''[[The Hunger Games]]'', ''[[Judge Dredd]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Alternate history]]'''
| Focuses on historical events as if they happened in a different way, and their implications in the present.
| ''[[The Man in the High Castle]]'', ''[[The Last Starship from Earth]]'', ''[[Inglourious Basterds]]'', ''[[The Guns of the South]]'', ''[[Fatherland (novel)|Fatherland]]'', ''[[The Years of Rice and Salt]]'', ''[[Wolfenstein]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|Apocalyptic]]'''
| Takes place before and during a massive, worldwide catastrophe, typically a [[pandemic]] or [[natural disaster]] of extremely large scale or a [[nuclear holocaust]].
| ''[[Godzilla]]'', ''[[On the Beach (novel)|On the Beach]]'', ''[[Threads (1984 film)|Threads]]'', ''[[The Day After Tomorrow]]'', ''[[Bird Box (film)|Birdbox]]'', ''[[2012 (film)|2012]], [[War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'', ''[[World War Z]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|Post-apocalyptic]]'''
| Focuses on groups of survivors after massive worldwide disasters.
| ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'', ''[[The Stand]]'', ''[[Mad Max (franchise)|Mad Max]]'', ''[[Waterworld]]'', ''[[Fallout (franchise)|Fallout]]'', ''[[Metroid Prime]]'', ''[[Metro 2033 (novel)|Metro 2033]]'', ''[[The Last Of Us]]'', ''[[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga)|Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]'', ''[[Wasteland (video game)|Wasteland]]'', ''[[Z213: Exit]]''
|-
|scope="row"| '''[[Speculative evolution]]'''
|Focuses on hypothetical future or alternative [[evolution]] of animals and/or humans.
| ''[[Expedition (book)|Expedition]]'', ''[[After Man: A Zoology of the Future]]'', ''[[All Tomorrows]]'', ''[[The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative Evolution]]'', ''[[Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future]]'', ''[[Snaiad]]''
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==See also==
* [[Biblical speculative fiction]]
* [[:Category:Comics genres|Comic genres]]
* [[
* [[List of genres]]
* [[Megatext]]
* [[Speculative art (disambiguation)|Speculative art]]
* [[Speculative fiction by writers of color]]
* [[Speculative poetry]]
* [[Weird fiction]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
{{sisterlinks|d=Q9326077|c=Category:Speculative fiction|wikt=speculative fiction|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|n=no|b=no|s=Category:Speculative fiction}}
*
* The [http://gutenberg.net.au/sfproject.html SF Page] at [
{{Fiction writing}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Speculative fiction| ]]
[[Category:Fiction by genre]]
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