1. The Occult in Young Adult Literature By: Laura Bos & Erin Flynn

2. Common Assumption ? Glee /Fox/2010

3. What People Think the Occult Is Signs Your Teen Might Be Involved In The Occult! Obsession with death and suicide. Cuts, scratches, burns and tattoos. Altars. Excessive fears or anxiety. Fixation on Wiccan symbols and runes. Religious artifacts and bells. Possession of Wiccan, pagan, and shamistic publications. Interest in Vampires, Werewolves, Satanism, etc….. *From Protecting Your Teen From Today’s Witchcraft (p.186)

4. Doorways to the Dark Psychic & Supernatural Activities Read or looked at your horoscope Used a Ouija Board Read a book about witchcraft or Wicca Played a game featured witchcraft or psychic elements Had your fortune told Percentage Who Have Tried It: 79% 35% 34% 28% 27% * Research Designed and Conducted by the Barna Research Group, Ltd. *From Protecting Your Teen From Today’s Witchcraft (p.29)

5. What the Occult Really Is “Literally the word means ‘hidden;’ in medicine ‘occult blood’ simply means blood that has been through testing because it cannot be seen with the naked eye. Today the occult is often used as a semi-derogatory term for anything which is not understood and is therefore feared.” – The Real Witchees Handbook: A Complete Introduction to the Craft (p. 189) “…the word ‘occult’ has, of recent years, been used as a general term descriptive of all magical traditions…” – The Practice of Witchcraft Today: An Introduction to Beliefs and Rituals (p. 31)

6. Americans Who Believe Gallup Poll 2001 May 10-14 (sorted by "believe") BelieveNot sure Don't believe %% Psychic or spiritual healing or the power of the human mind to heal the body 541926 ESP or extrasensory perception502027 That houses can be haunted421641 That people on this earth are sometimes possessed by the devil 411641 Ghosts or that spirits of dead people can come back in certain places and situations 381744 Telepathy, or communication between minds without using the traditional five senses 362635 That extraterrestrial beings have visited earth at some time in the past 332738 Clairvoyance, or the power of the mind to know the past and predict the future 322345 That people can hear from or communicate mentally with someone who has died 282646 Astrology, or that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives 281852 Witches261559 Reincarnation, that is, the rebirth of the soul in a new body after death 252054 Channeling, or allowing a "spirit-being" to temporarily assume control of a human body during a trance 152162

7. Age There are interesting differences in belief in these varied experiences by the age of the respondent. Younger Americans -- those 18-29 -- are much more likely than those who are older to believe in haunted houses, in witches, in ghosts, that extraterrestrials have visited earth, and in clairvoyance. There is little significant difference in belief in the other items by age group. Those 30 and older are somewhat more likely to believe in possession by the devil than are the younger group. Gender Women are slightly more likely than men to believe in ghosts and that people can communicate with the dead. Men, on the other hand, are more likely than women to believe in only one of the dimensions tested: that extraterrestrials have visited earth at some point in the past. Importance of Religion Perhaps not surprisingly, the major difference in belief in these phenomena by importance of religion focuses on the devil: 55% of those who say religion is very important in their daily lives say they believe in devil possession, compared to just 14% of those who say religion is "not very" important to them. Religion is also correlated to belief in extraterrestrials: Those for whom religion is very important are less likely to say they believe in beings from other worlds that may have visited this planet than are those who are less religious. http://www.gallup.com/poll/4483/americans-belief-psychic-paranormal-phenomena-over- last-decade.aspx

8. Belief in several of these experiences has not changed significantly over the last 11 years. For seven experiences tested, however, there has been an increase in belief of more than five percentage points: Haunted houses Ghosts Witches Communicating with someone who has died Psychic or spiritual healing That extraterrestrial beings have visited earth Clairvoyance There has been a significant downturn in belief in just one of the experiences tested: possession by the devil, in which 41% of Americans believe today, compared to 49% in 1990. http://www.gallup.com/poll/4483/americans-belief-psychic-paranormal-phenomena-over- last-decade.aspx How do these beliefs effect book trends?

9. What the Occult is in YA Literature Non-Fiction – Witchcraft, TV/Movie Related, Historical Events, Informational Books, etc… Fiction – Demons, Vampires, Werewolves, Witchcraft, Ghosts, etc… – Theme contains romanticized elements of humans connecting to supernatural beings or elements.

10. Classic Occult Old and New A Christmas Carol Dracula Shakespeare Edgar Allen Poe Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Little Vampire Women Romeo and Juliet and Vampires

11. Author’s Response “I started my writing career when I was in my teens, so it was natural to write for my own age group. Once you become successfully established in a genre, it's almost impossible to break out of it, because that's what publishers and readers want and expect from you. Besides, I really enjoy writing for this age group, who are mature enough to handle sophisticated subject matter, yet are vulnerable enough to be open to new ideas.” – Lois Duncan in a teenreads.com interview, 2003

12. Author’s Response “I enjoy writing young adult novels. Teenagers are the most flexible characters to work with. The can act like mature adults as readily as spoiled kids. Teenagers generally feel much more intensely : love and loyalty, hate and revenge.” – Christopher Pike from The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies p. 361

13. Why Teens Read Occult YA Literature Sex Vampires Mystery Rebellion Hot Boys Scary Escape Appeals to them. Something different.

14. Mead, author of the young-adult “Vampire Academy” series (“Blood Promise” debuts this month), says, “The allure of the forbidden is what draws many people in, the romance between the immortal, sometimes dead, and always dangerous on one side, and the human on the other.” Why Teens Read Occult YA Literature Liu, author of the Dirk & Steele and Hunter Kiss series, says supernatural romance “ is about female empowerment. Shelters for abused women often distribute romance novels, and there ’ s a reason for it. Heroines who kill demons and hunt vampires — they ’ re tough chicks. ”

15. Media Influence Books transition into – Movies/Television shows. – Graphic Novels – Internet: Blogs, Social Pages, websites, etc… & Vice Versa http://www.bookswithbite.net/p/book-list.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou1s3t6q2Q4

16. Challenges By Reason

17. Challenges Fear of the occult – Religious fears – Mental Health fears Harry Potter debate – Between 2001 -2009, Harry Potter series made the Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books list three times as either number 1 or 2 on the list.* In 2001 ALA survey, books that were most stolen from public libraries included occult books and sex books.*

18. Recommended For Your Collection (Occult) Fiction: Vampires: Blue Bloods (Series) Shifters: Nightshade Ghosts: The Summoning Zombies: The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Series) Angels/Demons: Fallen(Series) Witches: Hex Hall(Series) Powers: Gone (Series) Physic/Imortal: Beautiful Creatures (Series) Non Fiction: Teen Witch (Anything by Silver Ravenwolf) Black Magic and Witches Fact or Fiction Spellbound: A Time Tour of Myth and Magic History of the Occult Popular TV/Movie related material The New Encyclopedia of the Occult “Fun” books like How To Be A Vampire

19. Recommended For Your Collection (Alternatives) Fiction: The Chronicles of Narnia The Cooper Kids Adventure Series The Lord of the Rings The Golden Compass The Fallen 1: The Fallen and Leviathan Wrinkle in Time Non Fiction: Protecting Your Teen From Today’s Witchcraft, A Parent’s Guide to Confronting Wicca and the Occult Black Magic and Witches Fact or Fiction Baptizing Harry Potter

20. This Has Been a Bos and Flynn Production