Suspense fiction creates anticipation and dread in readers, with popular sub-genres including detective fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and true crime stories. Despite being considered a “low” literary form by some, enduring classics like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Edgar Allen Poe’s stories fall into this genre.
In a sense, all fiction contains at least an element of suspense. Readers are pulled into a story because they are looking for some sort of answer that resolves the narrative tension. The suspenseful narrative, however, imbues readers with a sense of anticipation, foreboding, and dread that escalates to an almost unbearable degree as the story progresses.
There are different types of suspense fiction. Certain sub-genres have been immensely popular at various times in history, no doubt because they are cultural reflections of the times. Detective fiction contains many elements of suspense, as do serial killer stories and thrillers about international high crime.
Mysteries, a sub-genre of suspense literature, conceal a handful of clues hidden in plain sight by which an astute reader can unravel and plot before the mystery is unraveled. While many mysteries involve murders, kidnappings, and other serious crimes, some are of a more sedate nature, such as those solving the riddle of lost treasure or a case of mistaken identity. Variety abounds when it comes to mystery types; some feature romances, others focus on the FBI or a police department, and still others are rooted firmly in a historical period.
Thrillers can find their material in the natural world, as well as the supernatural. A fictional tale about a group of travelers who get lost in the Amazon can keep readers on the edge of their seats. On the other hand, some authors aim for the stars; extraterrestrial beings with otherworldly abilities, wormholes, and other dimensions can create settings and situations that inspire true terror.
An increasingly popular sub-genre is true crime stories. Readers are horrified but fascinated by the psychology that drives serial killers and mass murders into action. Every real story of irrational, insane murder is fodder for a fictional counterpart that gives the reader insight into not only how a killer thinks, but also the steps he takes to make sure he doesn’t get caught.
Suspense fiction is considered a “low” literary form in some intellectual circles. This is most likely attributable to its immense popularity and the fact that many suspense works depend on relatively formulaic storylines. Indeed, many successful novels are quickly translated to the screen, and some become runaway blockbusters.
Critics of the form should, however, remember that some of the more enduring stories fall into the category of suspense fiction. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has become both a classic and a cult classic, with new film versions being generated for each new generation. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James provides lasting terror for centuries of readers. Edgar Allen Poe’s terrifying catalog of stories is perhaps the epitome of the genre.
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