"Weird fiction" a horror. Uwagi terminologiczno-genologiczne

Abstract

The two complementary aims of this article are a terminological and genological analysis of weird fiction, as well as the identification of similarities and differences between this genre and horror in cognitive-aesthetic, semantic and pragmatic terms. The main thesis is that weird fiction is a separate literary genre and cannot be equated with horror or other taxonomic categories, which has so far been the case in Polish literary studies. The article starts by considering the name, history, transgressiveness of the genre and the various terms that have been applied to weird fiction in Polish literary discourse and the publishing market. The second part of the text focuses on considering the similarities and differences of weird fiction and horror. The cognitive- aesthetic part is based on the concepts of horror developed by Noël Carroll and Yvonne Leffler. The semantic approach focuses on the category of space in horror and weird fiction based on Manuel Aguirre’s concepts. The pragmatic sphere aims at the presence of the genre on the Polish publishing market, particularly the new editions of Stefan Grabiński’s works. The analysis shows that authors of weird fiction focus more on the cognitive shock of changing characters’ beliefs about the world than on evoking fear. Unlike horror, very rarely does a monster appear, and often the division of space into friendly and hostile does not apply. Both genres address social problems. On the Polish publishing market, weird fiction is strongly connected with horror, and only specialized outlets highlight the separation of one from the other.