A masquerade is a trope found in

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

, in which a group of supernatural or otherwise extraordinary people hide their existence from the mainstream society in the given setting. The term was first coined by Robert A. Heinlein's ''

Methuselah's Children ''Methuselah's Children'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Originally serialized in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' in the July, August, and September 1941 issues, it was expanded into a full-length novel in 1958. ...

'' in 1958. Those hidden groups may form a wainscot society, wherein they live adjacent to mainstream society in a covert manner, but overall remain their own distinct entity with their own culture. In a fantasy context, it means that magic is hidden, whether in secret locations, such as

Diagon Alley J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' universe contains numerous settings for the events in her fantasy novels. These locations are categorised as a dwelling, school, shopping district, or government-affiliated locale. Dwellings The Burrow The Wea ...

in ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'', or by magical forces, such as the Mist in ''

Percy Jackson Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a fictional character, the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan's ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. He is also one of seven main protagonists of the sequel series ''The Heroes of Olympus'', appearing ...

'', or a

glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

placed on individuals. That is typically done to avoid some type of mass panic that would result in the destruction of the magical world by far more numerous normal people fearing the unknown. Masquerade societies may seek to hide this information from outsiders, or they may be disbelieved due to ignorance, conspiracies, or

consensus reality Consensus reality is that which is generally agreed to be reality, based on a consensus view. The appeal to consensus arises from the idea that humans do not fully understand or agree upon the nature of knowledge or ontology, often making it unce ...

. In works of fantasy with horror aspects, such as H. P. Lovecraft's

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...

, the

Buffyverse The Buffyverse or Slayerverse is a Multimedia franchise, media franchise created by Joss Whedon. The term also refers to the shared fictional universe in which the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel'' are ...

, or

White Wolf Games White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant

World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with '' Vampire: The Masquerade'', '' Werewolf: The Apoca ...

setting, the majority's ignorance of the fantastical elements of their world will be portrayed as being to their own benefit. The trope is used not only in fantasy but also in

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

stories. A common device to keep hidden events from the masses in science fiction is the existence of

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

, such as in the ''

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi-government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses t ...

'' series. The

secret identities A secret identity is a person's alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pimpernel in 1903, the concept was widespread in pulp heroes and is particularly prevalent ...

of superheroes are also a type of masquerade, and the only superheroes that show their true identity are ones who can keep their family safe or have nothing to protect. The masquerade trope assists writers by adding additional tension to the story, as well as helping the story appear plausible. It also saves the author from needing to write an

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

in order to explain the existence of magic.

Examples

Masquerade society ''Vampire: The Masquerade'' is a tabletop role-playing game (tabletop RPG) created by Mark Rein-Hagen and released in 1991 by White Wolf Publishing as the first of several Storyteller System games for its World of Darkness setting line. It is ...

from '' Vampire: The Masquerade'' * ''

'' series by

J.K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

* ''

The Borrowers ''The Borrowers'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author Mary Norton, published by Dent in 1952. It features a family of tiny people who live secretly in the walls and floors of an English house and "borrow" from the big people in ...

'' by Mary Norton * ''

Neverwhere ''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was dev ...

'' by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

(Gaiman's works often make use of "wainscotting") * ''

Little, Big ''Little, Big: or, The Fairies' Parliament'' is a contemporary fantasy novel by John Crowley, published in 1981. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1982. Plot Turn-of-the-century American architect John Drinkwater begins to suspect that within ...

'' by John Crowley * Most of the work of

Tim Powers Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels ''Last Call (novel), Last Call'' and ''Declare''. ...

* The '' Highlander'' series * ''

The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are wri ...

'' by

Jim Butcher Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary fantasy ''The Dresden Files'', ''Codex Alera'', and ''Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1971. He ...

* ''

Percy Jackson and the Olympians ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st centur ...

'' series by

Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...

* ''

The Littles ''The Littles'' is a series of children's novels by American author John Peterson, the first of which was published in 1967. Sixteen years later, Peterson's books were adapted into ''The Littles'', an animated series by DIC Entertainment. The t ...

'' by John Peterson * ''

Skulduggery Pleasant ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' is a series of dark fantasy novels written by Irish author Derek Landy. The books revolve around the adventures of fledgling detective Valkyrie Cain, her mentor Skulduggery Pleasant, along with other friends and allie ...

'' by

Derek Landy Derek Landy (born 23 October 1974) is an Irish author and screenwriter, best known for the ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' book series. Career Landy has written two screenplays that have been made into films, the IFTA award-winning '' Dead Bodies'' an ...

* '' The Magicians'' by

Lev Grossman Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), '' The Magician King'' (2011), and '' The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technolog ...

* ''

That Hideous Strength ''That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups'' is a 1945 novel by C. S. Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological science fiction Space Trilogy. The events of this novel follow those of '' Out of the Silent Planet'' and '' Pere ...

'' by

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

* ''

The Underland Chronicles ''The Underland Chronicles'' is a series of five epic fantasy novels by Suzanne Collins, first published between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of a boy named Gregor and his adventures in the "Underland,” a subterranean world located under ...

'' by

Suzanne Collins Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer. She is known as the author of the book series ''The Underland Chronicles'' and ''The Hunger Games''. Early life Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, in ...

References

Fantasy tropes {{Fantasy-stub

Examples

See also

References