Growing up, I would often daydream about finding a magical world in the woods or under the stairs; a world where I could explore, do magic, and be a hero. I imagine that fantasies like this are common among many children, which could explain the massive popularity of stories with Secret Worlds in the last few decades.

In fantasy, a common way to keep a clear distinction between what is normal and what is magical is with a Secret World—a magical world hidden from the normal world, usually right under the noses of regular people. Having an ordinary person stumble upon a secret society is a great hook to begin your story, and an outsider to your world gives the author an easy excuse to explain the rules of said world.  

But how do these worlds remain secret? How do these magic societies remain undetected from the general public? The way a creator hides their secret world can be a key part in building up a believable universe that a reader can get invested in, as well as helping their story stand out from others in the same genre.

The Dresden Files is an Urban Fantasy Noir series, following wizard/detective Harry Dresden. The series is set primarily in Chicago, which is rife with supernatural activity—vampire courts and wizard councils, werewolf clans and fairy kingdoms.  Throughout the series, there are huge, magical, public battles, usually with a body count. There is a Special Investigations division of Chicago PD specifically for strange events. Even Dresden himself is listed in the phone book as a wizard.  That’s a lot of magical activity for one city. So how does this world stay a secret?

As far as the general population is concerned, the world of The Dresden Files is the same as ours. So of course, magic isn’t real because this is the real world. Harry Dresden is typically considered a loon or a conman, and the SI division is seen as a group of loser cops, forced to deal with crackpot conspiracy theories. The magical societies of Chicago remain secret mostly by the fact that most of the world simply refuses to believe that they exist. The public is always more comfortable with a mundane explanation for supernatural events—explanations often encouraged by Dresden and the SI division.

Next, we have the Percy Jackson series. Percy Jackson is a series of Young Adult Fantasy novels that follow the modern-day children of Greek gods. Our heroes face off against monsters, magic, and even gods themselves—often in extremely public locations like New York City. Yet, the regular people of America are unaware of the supernatural events around them, thanks to the magical influence of Mist.

 Mist is a magical force in Percy Jackson that alters people’s perception of magical occurrences, replacing them with more mundane sights. Percy’s sword often appears as a bat, and a confrontation with the god Ares appears as a shootout between two humans. Mist does not only impact normal humans but demigods like Percy as well. This makes Mist both a useful tool for worldbuilding and for revealing plot elements.

Of course, these two stories are far from the only examples of Secret Worlds, but they do have very different solutions to the same problem. So, is one better than the other? Is there a “best” way to use your Secret World?

There are countless ways to hide a Secret World, whether it’s through magic, ignorance, or simply a very specific method of access. What works for one story may not work for another. As long as the rules of your world are consistent, a reader can be willing to believe a lot. But that’s one of the most enjoyable parts about creating a Secret World—the only rules are the ones that you decide. The only limit on your world is your own imagination.

Cor O’Neill

Cor is a Professional Writing student at Algonquin and a horror enthusiast. If he’s not working at the library or attending class, he’s usually creating in some form. He writes in a wide variety of genres and his life dream is to meet Mothman.