African literature has traditionally been a place where the seen and unseen coexist, where reality is inextricably linked to the supernatural. Unlike Western literary traditions, that often separate myth from history, African storytelling embraces the spiritual as an extension of the physical world, weaving together witchcraft, dreams, and prophecies as potent instruments for both narrative and meaning. These elements are more than just fantasy embellishments; they are firmly embedded in traditional belief systems that represent African nations' fears, hopes, and spiritual consciousness. Across oral traditions, colonial and postcolonial literature, and modern fiction, the supernatural continues to shape characters' fates, drive plots, and serve as a lens through which readers engage with African cosmology and history.

In African oral traditions, which form the bedrock of the continent’s literary landscape, the supernatural is not just an element of fiction but an accepted part of reality. Many African societies believe in the influence of spirits, ancestors, witches, and diviners, and these beliefs naturally permeate their stories. The griots of West Africa, custodians of history and tradition, often recounted tales in which characters received messages from the spirit world through dreams or were guided by the prophecies of seers. The Yoruba Ifá corpus, for instance, is filled with divination stories that offer wisdom and moral lessons, often predicting the rise and fall of individuals based on supernatural insight. Similarly, Igbo folktales include various stories where witchcraft is used as both a destructive and protective force. These stories maintained communal values, warning against greed, betrayal, and the abuse of mystical powers, while also validating the role of the supernatural in everyday life.

When African literature transitioned into the written form, particularly during and after colonial rule, supernatural elements did not disappear; rather, they took on new dimensions, often serving as centers of cultural resistance. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, is one representation of the supernatural in African literature. The story depicts a world in which the spiritual and physical realms are intricately linked. The Oracle of the Hills and Caves, known as Agbala, makes key judgments that define Umuofia's destiny, dreams are interpreted as omens, and ancestral spirits maintain a powerful presence in the community. Okonkwo's tragic downfall is, in part, tied to his inability to navigate his society's spiritual demands, demonstrating how belief in the supernatural governs not only personal fate but also societal stability. Achebe presents these beliefs as more than just superstition, but as an essential element of the Igbo worldview, challenging colonial narratives that dismissed African spiritual systems as primitive.

In African storytelling, the theme of witchcraft is often utilized to explore power dynamics within communities as well as between Africa and the colonial world. Amos Tutuola's The Palm-Wine Drinkard is an early example of how African writers infused their works with supernatural elements while preserving a distinct African narrative style. In this story, the protagonist embarks on a surreal journey through a spirit-infested terrain, encountering witches, ghosts, and supernatural beings in a world reminiscent of Yoruba mythology's deep spiritual consciousness. Tutuola's combination of oral storytelling techniques and written literature created a text that was both deeply traditional and radically creative, establishing a pattern for other African writers who sought to incorporate indigenous storytelling elements in their works.

Ben Okri's The Famished Road takes this supernatural engagement even further, embodying the concept of the abiku—a spirit child who exists between the world of the living and the dead. The protagonist, Azaro, constantly drifts between these realms, experiencing visions and encountering spirits that depict the political and social turmoil of post-independence Nigeria. The novel's dreamlike narrative style, often described as magical realism, is profoundly founded in African storytelling traditions, where dreams are more than just subconscious wanderings, but doorways to truth and revelation. In many African communities, dreams are interpreted as messages from ancestors or deities, and Okri's work depicts this worldview in a way that is consistent with indigenous epistemologies rather than Western literary classifications.

In the late Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Wizard of the Crow, supernatural elements are used to critique the excesses of dictatorship and the absurdities of postcolonial African politics. The titular character, the Wizard, operates within a world where magic is a form of resistance against tyranny. This reflects a long-standing tradition in African storytelling where magic is not merely a tool for malevolence but also a weapon of justice, a means by which the oppressed can fight back against unjust systems. The novel cleverly blurs the line between political reality and supernatural intervention, demonstrating how African writers use mystical elements to engage with real-world issues.

Similarly, Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions and its sequel, The Book of Not, use dreams and supernatural experiences as psychological and symbolic manifestations of colonial trauma. Tambu, the heroine, has moments where dreams and reality collide, expressing her internal conflicts about identity, education, and cultural displacement. In this way, the supernatural is not just manifested as ghosts or witches, but also as psychological hauntings that signify the weight of history and oppression.

Prophecies, another important part of African storytelling, often serve as narrative foreshadowing or to propel characters towards their destinies. In Arrow of God, Achebe introduces Ezeulu, a priest whose prophetic visions put him at odds with his people and the British colonial authorities. His failure to accurately interpret divine revelations results in personal and communal disaster, demonstrating that prophecy in African literature is more than just a plot device; it reflects how knowledge and power are handled in traditional communities. Similarly, in Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman, the tension between prophecy and colonial interference takes front stage, revealing how spiritual obligations and political realities often clash in African historical tales.

Even in contemporary African literature, the supernatural remains an effective storytelling element. Akwaeke Emezi's Freshwater reimagines the traditional Igbo concept of multiple spiritual selves, delving into mental illness and identity through the lens of Indigenous spirituality. The novel's protagonist, Ada, is inhabited by different spirits, resulting in a story that questions Western psychological frameworks while affirming the intricacies of African metaphysical beliefs. This demonstrates how modern African writers are not just reproducing ancient supernatural tropes, but also reinterpreting them to address contemporary issues.

Ultimately, the persistence of witchcraft, dreams, and prophecies in African literature underscores the fact that the supernatural is not a relic of the past but a living, evolving aspect of African storytelling. These elements serve multiple functions: they preserve indigenous knowledge, challenge Western literary norms, provide allegories for political and social struggles, and reflect the deeply spiritual nature of African cultures. Whether through the ominous prophecies of Achebe’s characters, the spectral wanderings of Okri’s Azaro, or the mystical resistance of Ngũgĩ’s Wizard of the Crow, African literature continues to affirm that the supernatural is not an escape from reality but a deeper engagement with it. In a culture that often seeks to rationalize and compartmentalise knowledge, African storytelling remains unapologetically mystical, claiming that reality is never just what meets the eyes.