Investigating the Classical Roots of Weird Literature

A remarkable essay authored by Eleonora Carta explores a literary realm that cannot be framed in a genre. From Petronio to Kafka, Manganelli and Lovecraft, an open invitation for newcomers to embark on a fascinating new literary trip. With the recent boom of hit TV series and a fresh wave of authors, Weird fiction is having a massive cultural moment

Eleonora Carta, the author

By Primavera Fisogni

It’s a mind-bending journey that defies conventional boundaries: the essay authored by Eleonora Carta titled "Breve storia della letteratura weird" (A Brief Account of Weird Literature) (Graphe.it, 96 pag., 9.50 euros). From the cosmic dread of H.P. Lovecraft to the psychological chills of Stephen King, Carta explores the razor-thin line between the normal and the uncanny.

Tracing an extraordinary path that stretches from Petronio’s Satyricon all the way to Haruki Murakami, by way of Giorgio Manganelli, the author provides the ultimate keys to unlocking a genre that is too often overlooked. This work won't just captivate hardcore enthusiasts; it’s an open invitation for newcomers to embark on a fascinating new literary trip. With the recent boom of hit TV series and a fresh wave of authors, Weird fiction is having a massive cultural moment. This essay perfectly captures the curiosity of younger audiences and New Adult/horror readers alike, offering a fresh, sharp perspective on the strange worlds we love to get lost in. Rekh Magazine Leisure interviewed the author.

Eleonora Carta, the term weird refers to something strange. How did it enter literature? How does it relate to other genres, such as fantasy?

The term weird derives from the Old English word wyrd, which referred to fate—not so much an immutable destiny as a mysterious force capable of connecting our past actions with future events. It is a concept that, in some respects, recalls Jung's idea of synchronicity.

Over time, the meaning of the word shifted to indicate something strange, anomalous, or difficult to explain.

In literature, the weird emerged most clearly between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through authors such as Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood and, above all, H. P. Lovecraft. Unlike fantasy, which often constructs alternative worlds governed by their own internal rules, weird fiction introduces a fracture within ordinary reality itself. It creates a sense of disorientation because something familiar suddenly ceases to be familiar.

Weird fiction often reveals the presence of the uncanny within ordinary life. Your book goes back as far as Petronius' Satyricon. Why?

Because the weird did not suddenly appear out of nowhere. There is a long tradition of stories in which reality is disrupted by something that should not be there.

The Satyricon, written during the Neronian age, is full of bizarre images that today we might describe as fantastic or supernatural. It already contains one of the fundamental elements of the weird: the intrusion of the inexplicable into an otherwise ordinary setting.

To borrow Freud's term, the uncanny emerges precisely from this dynamic. It does not arise from encountering something completely alien, but from discovering that what we consider normal conceals a crack. The weird lives within that crack.

The tradition seems more male than female. Which women writers should we look to?

Historically, weird fiction has largely been associated with male authors, but there is also an important female tradition that is finally receiving the attention it deserves.

The central figure is probably Shirley Jackson, who transformed the home, the family and everyday life into spaces of profound unease. Works such as The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle remain extraordinary examples of this approach.

We should also mention Daphne du Maurier, Angela Carter and Leonora Carrington. Through their own distinctive sensibilities, they expanded the possibilities of the weird and demonstrated that otherness can manifest itself in forms very different from those codified by the Lovecraftian tradition.

 Television series, especially those distributed through platforms such as Netflix, often incorporate weird elements. Is this because of the narrative power generated by uncertainty and suspension?

The weird adapts particularly well to contemporary serial storytelling because it is built around questions rather than answers.

The three seasons of Twin Peaks, many episodes of The X-Files, as well as series such as Dark and Stranger Things, create worlds in which audiences immediately sense that something is wrong. This generates a powerful narrative tension: viewers continue watching because they want to understand what keeps escaping them.

There is, however, another reason. We live in an age that has lost many of its certainties, and the weird perfectly captures this contemporary sensibility: the absence of clear reference points, our fears, ambiguities and doubts. This is why it continues to resonate so strongly with readers and viewers today.

 Is weird fiction a genre?

From a publishing perspective, weird fiction is often classified—largely for practical reasons—alongside fantasy, horror and science fiction. Yet the weird has always possessed an elusive nature that resists clear categorization.

Lovecraft combines horror, science fiction and cosmology. Kafka introduces elements that we would now call weird without belonging to any specific genre. Borges and Buzzati produced works that are almost philosophical in nature while maintaining a deep dialogue with the weird tradition.

For this reason, I tend to think of the weird less as a genre than as a way of looking at the world. Whether we are talking about Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, David Lynch or the best contemporary television series, the weird reminds us that reality may be far more complex than it appears and that things—owls included—are not always what they seem.

I find it impossible to resist that invitation to complexity, curiosity and doubt.

Eleonora Carta vive tra Torino e la Sardegna. Conseguita la laurea in Legge, ha capito che i palazzi di giustizia non facevano per lei e si è dedicata alla scrittura di gialli (in libreria per Newton Compton, Piemme, Ischire) e all’organizzazione di eventi come la Fiera del libro di Iglesias e il Big Blue Festival di Portoscuso. Con Graphe.it ha pubblicato la Breve storia della letteratura gialla e un racconto di Natale; ha, inoltre, curato la Breve storia del romanzo poliziesco di Leonardo Sciascia.

Breve sintesi in italiano

Nel suo saggio per Graphe.it, Eleonora Carta esplora il genere Weird, oggi al centro di un forte rilancio culturale tra i giovani lettori e nella serialità televisiva (da Twin Peaks a Stranger Things). Intervistata da Rekh Magazine Leisure, l'autrice spiega che il termine, legato all'antico concetto di destino (wyrd), non indica mondi alternativi come il fantasy, ma una frattura perturbante all'interno della realtà ordinaria. Rintracciandone le radici fin dal Satyricon di Petronio, il saggio attraversa i classici di Lovecraft, le grandi voci femminili (Shirley Jackson, Angela Carter) e maestri come Kafka, Buzzati e Manganelli. Più che un genere editoriale rigido, il weird viene definito da Carta come uno "sguardo sul mondo": una narrazione costruita su domande e non su certezze, capace di intercettare perfettamente i dubbi, le complessità e le inquietudini della nostra epoca.