Episode Details

Our hero rides a broom. The sidekick turns his enemy into a toad. Then things get even dicier when another character talks with a ghost, or predicts the future. What’s a Christian fan to think about fantasy stories that include magic? Or creatures? Or (especially around this time of year) creepy and evil-looking creatures? How does Scripture actually warn us about the occult, and why?

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Here’s a fantasy for middle-grade readers: Legend of the Storm Sneezer, from author Kristiana Sfirlea. Monster Ivy Publishing says this is “for fans of Doctor Who and the darkly whimsical.”

13-year-old Rose Skylar (rose SKY-ler) sneezed a magical storm cloud at birth, and it’s followed her around ever since. But when Stormy causes too many disasters, Rose is taken to an asylum for unstable magic in a haunted forest whose trees have turned to stone. Guided by time traveling letters, Rose teams up with her future selves and her (maybe) imaginary best friend to save her storm cloud and solve the mystery of the specters and the stone trees.

But will they find what killed the ghosts before what killed the ghosts finds them?

• Explore more at KristianasQuill.com.
• See listings at Amazon, Bookshop, Indiebound, and Barnes & Noble.

Concession stand

First, a word about expectations.

• We use “fictional magic” to mean made-up magic that doesn’t work in reality.
• We use “occult magic” to describe suspicious practices, likely forbidden to us.
• Also, this isn’t just about “mechanics of writing,” like magic systems or style.
• It’s about whether and why, not what or how, magic appears in fantasy.

Second, we won’t dismiss the challenge as if only legalists would care.

• Rather, this is an important challenge. It’s about holiness and obeying Jesus.
• If someone could show me that fantasy magic is sin, we must get rid of it.
• After all, Jesus got “harsh” by saying even offending limbs have got to go.
• Christians have many stories. S