A subgenre of the fantasy genre, Bangsian Fantasy concerns the use of the afterlife as the main setting within which the characters act and interact. These characters may be pre-existing historical or fictional figures.
History
While the sub-genre is named for John Kendrick Bangs whose works from the late 19th and early 20th century deal with afterlives of various famous dead people, he was not, in fact, the first to make use of this idea.
He spun an old idea with a modern twist, producing notable works such as "A House-Boat on Styx", "The Pursuit of the House-Boat", "The Enchanted Type-Writer", and "Mr Munchausen". His works, published from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, were considered collections rather than novels. They all depicted the unique fantasy elements that came to be known as Bangsian after the author himself.
In "A House-Boat on Styx", the premise of the novel is that everyone who dies goes to Styx which is a river that circles the underworld. Bangs starts the story with Charon who is in charge of ferrying souls from one side of the Styx to the other being surprised by the arrival of a houseboat on the river. At first he fears the houseboat will put him out of business, but later discovers that he would be appointed as the minder of the boat. 11 stories follow this and each explores various famous dead people inhabiting the houseboat.
One of the world's earliest pieces of literature, "Epic of Gilgamesh", contains a description of Hell and a voyage across the river of Death in search of eternal life.
Some Greek myths also deal with Hades, however, the idea of Hades is not the same as that of Hell in Christianity. Hades (also known as Erebus in Roman mythology) is a universal collecting place for all dead souls. It doesn't matter what kind of life the owner of the soul lived or what actions he took. Still, Hades contains the reservoir for all damned souls called the pit of Tartarus as well as the haven for all righteous souls called the Elysian Fields. In the Greek and Roman epics such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid, main characters are shown meeting people they have known or great heroes in the underworld as part of their journey.
In Dante's "Inferno" (book I of his Divine Comedy), there is a detailed tour of Hell from Christianity. Hell is described as a cone shape drilled into the Earth due to the impact from Satan's fall. The cone is divided into nine concentric rings, each descending into worse punishments. The worse a person is in life, according to it, the lower the person would be placed in the cone. Dante took a lot of artistic freedom with the Christian concept of Hell and included some Greco-Roman aspects as well as some of his own concepts into his idea of Hell.
Characteristics
✷ Bangsian Fantasy, as mentioned above, takes place in the afterlife
✷ It basically takes place after the main character has died
✷ The most common settings include Heaven, Hell, or Hades
✷ The characters of Bangsian Fantasy are mostly historical or mythical with very few to none being fictitious
✷ It has garnered interest because it seeks to unravel the mysteries of life after death - 'what does one do after they die?'
✷ Bangsian fantasies fall into three main categories - ghosts stuck in the living world, living people stuck in the world of the dead, and people who have died in a Heaven or Hell
Popular Examples
Beetlejuice
directed by Tim Burton
When the deceased couple, Adam and Barbara are unsuccessful in scaring away a family that has moved into their old home, they seek help from bio-exorcist, Betelgeuse.
⇾ The presence of deceased characters taking action is what makes this movie Bangsian.
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The Lovely Bones
written by Alice Sebold
directed by Peter Jackson
Susie, a 14-year-old girl, gets murdered, but she refuses to move on since she has unfinished business. Her spirit continues to watch over her family, trying to reveal her murderer's name to them.
⇾ The presence of Susie in the story makes this a Bangsian fantasy piece. The plot takes place after Susie has passed away. This kind of Bangsian element is often seen in mainstream media where a deceased person's spirit communes with the living.
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A Matter of Life and Death
directed by Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
Peter Carter jumps out of his damaged plane without a parachute and instead of dying, lands on a beach. He must appeal his case for the right to live in front of a celestial jury in the Other World.
⇾ Peter Carter's case is interesting and a unique case of Bangsian fantasy. It shows a different kind of an afterlife where you can argue for your fate. A similar case is seen in the Ben 10 franchise when Ben Tennyson makes use of an alien called Alien X and his body is suspended in another world.
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Heroes in Hell series
written by Janet Morris
Hell becomes an arena in which all the interesting people in history can come together to continue the relentless pursuit of their various ends.
⇾ This is the most famous and well-loved example of Bangsian fantasy. This is because it literally takes place in Hell, a place that exists beyond life. Furthermore, it spins its story around well-known figures from history.
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The Ghost Bride
written by Yangsze Choo
In 1890s Malacca, Li Lan finds herself in the afterlife; she becomes mired in a mystery linked to the sinister, deceased son of a wealthy family.
⇾ This is one of those unique books where two kinds of Bangsian elements take place. First, a dead person communes with a living person through his spirit form. Then a living person wanders around the land of the dead as a spirit.
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Damned
written by Chuck Palahnuik
After her mysterious death, 13-year-old Madison Spencer wakes up in Hell where she works as a telemarketer. Charming people into committing mortal sins, Madison becomes a top recruiter for Hell.
⇾ This is a great example of a Bangsian fantasy work as it shows the protagonists' life after she had died. On top of that, it features several notable historical figures, placing them in Hell after their historic deaths.
