Guest post written by Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places author Claire Kann
Claire Kann is the author of several novels and an award-winning online storyteller. In her other life she works for a non-profit you may have heard of where she daydreams like she’s paid to do it. She loves cats and is obsessed with horror media (which makes the whole being known for writing contemporary love stories a little weird, tbh). Find more stories and random anecdotes on her website.
Most media that incorporates both supernatural and romantic plot lines, in equal measure, usually don’t end with happily ever after. Movies, TV, books—doesn’t matter! The lead pairing is doomed. Someone is likely to disappear under mystical circumstances. Or get their heart broken in a bittersweet ending. Or even get magically transformed into a tree for all eternity (I’m still bitter about that one). But what if it wasn’t that way?
As a lifelong lover of supernatural romance, I’ve also always had a soft spot for the expendable side characters in horror media. For example, the big hearted friend who dies protecting everyone or the overzealous expert who dies in the pursuit of truth. But what if they didn’t have to die?
With those questions in mind, I began researching, brainstorming, and writing what would eventually become my supernatural romance novel, Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places. It stars Lucky Hart, a parapsychologist who schemes her way onto a reality TV show to investigate an alleged haunted house with a notorious reputation. While there she meets the show’s host, Maverick Phillips, and chemistry instantly crackles between them. So much so, everyone on set notices… including the house itself, who wants Lucky to stay forever.
Ugh! I just LOVE it! This is the story teenage Claire always wanted to write. It’s a lifetime of inspiration crammed into 386 pages, and so, I thought it’d be fun to share some supernatural romances that helped get me here. I kept two criteria in mind while making this list:
Supernatural romance is exclusively for humans. I personally allow for special abilities like ESP as long as the pairing remains human at its core. In my potential hot take opinion, paranormal romances are when non-human pairings come into play. If you’re looking for recommendations with vampires, fairies, and shifters, you won’t find them here.
And by definition, if a love story doesn’t end with HEA or HFN (happily for now), then it’s not a Romance—capital R, genre approved.
Possible spoilers ahead!
Both Sides of Time by Caroline B. Cooney
The first book in the Time Traveler’s Quartet was released in 1995. I randomly found it in a library many years later as a teen. Ever since then, I’ve been fascinated with the idea of being separated from your loved ones by time and space. It’s a theme I definitely touched on in my novel, albeit with a special twist.
Verdict: HEA approved (in an interview with the author)
Similar titles: Kate & Leopold, Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds, Night for Day by Roselle Lim.
Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
This show was the first time I saw a superpowered, crybaby, teenage girl save the world again and again because she truly believed in the power of love and compassion. The love story is pure fairytale magic, complete with repeated reincarnation and resurrection. Usagi and Mamoru are so end game, their future daughter literally shows up in the past to train with them. Haunted Places is very rooted in reality, but I couldn’t resist sprinkling in a little power of love magic here and there.
Verdict: HEA approved
Similar titles: Fushigi Yuugi: The Mysterious Play, Cinderella is Dead by Kaylnn Bayron
The Age of Adaline
What’s it like to outlive everyone you will ever love? I wouldn’t know, but it’s something I thought about constantly while crafting Hennessee House’s character. Adaline is functionally immortal and tries to live as normal a life as possible. She’s also unexpectedly drawn to a certain family line. Similar to her, Hennessee has been standing for over 200 years and will never die in the traditional sense. Lucky definitely isn’t Hennessee’s first love, but she’s so special it feels like the first time while simultaneously also being a reminder of everything it has lost over the years.
Verdict: HEA… in a way.
Similar titles: Tuck Everlasting (warning: no HEA)
Ghostbusters
Parapsychologists and psychics get a bad rap. They’re often portrayed as being so obsessed with their work, they neglect every other aspect of their lives, including romance (if it even comes up). This was the first movie that showed me it was possible to create a story that had it all: good character variety, worldbuilding, lore, smart supernatural investigations, and a compelling romance… Dana and Venkman are together at the end of this movie! We’re not talking about the sequels! I don’t want to hear it! Also, it’s no secret that Ray Stantz was the direct inspiration for Lucky. She really, really wanted that HEA for herself, though.
Verdict: HFN approved
Similar titles: Rose Red (HFN implied), Happy Medium by Sarah Adler
