Midwinterblood Theme of The Supernatural

Ghosts. Ghouls. Ancient Gods. We modern folks don't usually put much stock in the supernatural, and the people on Blessed Island are no different. In the modern-day stories in Midwinterblood, you'll still see weird, out-of-the-ordinary things happening, but this stuff gets explained away in a rational manner.

As we move farther back in the time, though, the paranormal becomes way more normal. Ghosts and vampires invade our tales and we conclude with a story featuring a king who lives seven lifetimes after drinking from a magical flower. You don't get much more supernatural than that.

Questions About The Supernatural

  1. How do the folks on Blessed Island reject modern advances in science and technology in favor of older and sometimes more supernatural ways of thinking about things?
  2. How exactly does the magic of the dragon orchid work? It can turn a person into an animal and make a man live forever. Is there any limit to what this little plant can do?
  3. Can supernatural elements and magic be abused? Does that happen in this novel?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

The storytelling in Midwinterblood models our own patterns of human storytelling—the farther we go back in time, the more important the supernatural becomes in our lives.

All the supernatural occurrences in these seven stories are tied to the dragon orchid. This is the only source of magic in the novel.