History HalfHumanHybrid / Literature

** The most famous Half-Elven family (descending from two separate mixed marriages, whose members married each other) that descended from Lúthien, Beren, and Eärendil. The early members of that family each had to make a choice to be counted among either Elves or Men, because elves and humans have incompatible afterlives for cosmic reasons. Not all members of that family chose the same, causing a lot of grief for them whenever close relatives were separated by the afterlife ''for all time''
*** As a further bit, this choice isn't binding on your descendants for the Elven side. In the contemporary setting, the Half-Elven (of which there are four: Elrond and his three children) can choose to "opt out" of the Elven immortality and afterlife and instead take the Gift of Man (death). Arwen eventually chose this path to marry Aragorn and eventually dies a mortal death. It is, however, binding on the Man side, as none of Elros' descendants were given a choice.

** The most famous Half-Elven family (descending from two separate mixed marriages, whose members married each other) that descended from Lúthien, Beren, and Eärendil. The early members of that family each had to make a choice to be counted among either Elves or Men, because elves and humans have incompatible afterlives for cosmic reasons. Not all members of that family chose the same, causing a lot of grief for them whenever close relatives were separated by the afterlife ''for all time''.
*** As a further bit, this choice isn't binding on your descendants for the Half-Elven side. In the contemporary setting, the Half-Elven (mostly Elrond and the Rivendell folks) can choose to "opt out" of the Elven immortality and afterlife and instead take the Gift of Man (death). Arwen eventually chose this path to marry Aragorn and eventually dies a mortal death.

* Averted in Robert J. Sawyers’s ''Calculating God'': Tom Jericho is showing ''Franchise/StarTrek'' to a StarfishAlien:

* An early modern version is [[spoiler:the boy Jervase Cradock, who is part FairFolk]] in ''The Three Imposters'' by Creator/ArthurMachen.
* In ''Literature/LoyalEnemies'', humans can have children with elves. Among named characters, LittleMissBadass Virra and [[TheBard Bard]] Hraik are half-elves. There's a strange tradition in mixed human-elf marriages where the elf among the parents always names the resulting child by deciding whether it looks/feels more like a human or an elf. This resulted in the sisters Danka and Virra, who have the same parents, receiving a human and an elven name, respectively.
* Averted in Creator/PoulAnderson's short story, ''Literature/TheHighCrusade'', which includes an instance of the humans finding one or more [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe green-haired, feathery-antennae'd space babes]]. In the words of the narrator, "Nor was there any possibility of issue between [the Space Babe's] species and our own." Nevertheless, he indicates that the complications didn't stand in the way of InterspeciesRomance... though being a priest, he does worry that "the prohibitions of Leviticus might apply," i.e. that it counts as the sin of beastality.
* Creator/PiersAnthony's works.
** Literature/{{Xanth}} series, filled with InterspeciesRomance (including much LovePotion-induced romance) as it is, has a number of {{Half Human Hybrid}}s; such hybrids are ''always'' fertile, and in some cases entire new races are created this way. It can be taken to ridiculous extents, such as a character who is 1/2 brassy 1/4 human 1/8 ogre and 1/8 nymph.\\
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In cases where the two species involved are otherwise physically... ''incompatible'', love springs have an inherent magic that overrules the laws of biology, allowing for even more bizarre blendings. When the two species are simply too different to coexist in a single form, they become were-creatures, able to transform from the one species to the other.
** In the ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' series, such hybrids were thought to be impossible. Right up until someone thought to check [[BigBookOfEverything the Book of Magic]] for a solution. A fertility ritual was found[[note]]The couple has to mate in each of their separate forms, for an entire day in each, necessitating the intervention of an Adept to transform one or both parties[[/note]] and along comes the half-human/half-unicorn Flach. And later, the half-troll/half-vampire, Al.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', they're generally treated with a lot of prejudice from much of the wizarding world.
** Hagrid had a human father and a giant mother. Madame Maxime is also at least part-giant, but trying to pass as "pure human."
** Fleur Delacour is a quarter Veela.
** Marcus Flint is often speculated to have troll-blood in him, though that might just be an insult and not meant to be taken seriously.
** Professor Flitwick is "human with a dash of goblin," according to WordOfGod. Though that's more like "remote goblin ancestor." In the movie it's much more obvious, largely because [[ActingForTwo the same actor plays several of the goblins]].
* Shadow from ''Literature/AmericanGods'' [[spoiler:was the son of Odin and a mortal woman.]] Similarly, Charlie and Spider from ''Literature/AnansiBoys'' are the sons of the spider god Anansi and a mortal mother.
* [[spoiler:Tobias]] from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. His father was an Andalite (specifically [[spoiler:Elfangor]]) {{Shapeshifter Mode Lock}}ed in human form. While this would seem to make him all human, in the book ''The Illusion'', he is able to see a GeneticMemory of his father, which Andalite legend says can happen when one is near death. This could be a side effect of having acquired Andalite DNA from [[spoiler:his uncle, Ax]], in the same book.
* Creator/MarionZimmerBradley's ''[[Literature/{{Darkover}} The World Wreckers]]'' includes a romance and eventually a child between a human and an alien chieri (one of a race of SpaceElves). It's explicit in a number of the books that the Chieri and humans have been interbreeding infrequently for a long time now. In fact, the breeding program that created powerful psychics as well as leaving the nobility inbred with a number of "lethal recessives" was brought about to strengthen the psychic gifts inherited from the Chieri. Also, a number of Chieri features show up now and then in the noble families, particularly the ruling Hastur, including abnormally long life, tall slim builds, six fingered hands, and low fertility rates, even compared to the already low norm.
* In Creator/PatriciaBriggs's ''Hurog'' novels, half the cast have a dragon ancestor several generations back. ([[spoiler:Dragons can assume human form.]]) There is also [[spoiler:Axiel, who is half-dwarf. And his claim to be the dwarf king's son is actually true.]]
* Literature/JohnCarterOfMars, the hero of Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''A Princess of Mars'' and subsequent books, had two children with Dejah Thoris, a red Martian princess. Martians lay eggs. Go figure. Then again, John Carter may not be human; he says he is very old and can recall no childhood. There is no mention of the other human/Martian couple in the series (Ulysses Paxton/Valla Dia) having children. The whole thing's made even stranger because it's strongly implied the various Barsoomian HumanAliens can't even fully interbreed with ''each other''; In ''The Gods Of Mars'' the White Martians try to expand their gene pool with outbreeding, and get a bunch of pitiful monstrosities that are kept hidden away.

* In Creator/DavidEddings's ''The Dreamers'' series, That-Called-the-Vlagh (or just The Vlagh) is a giant female insect who creates thousands and thousands of eggs, and whenever she sees a characteristic she likes, she mixes and matches animals with the characteristics she likes... creating the craziest creatures ever. But very, very, deadly.
* Damsel of Austin Grossman's ''Literature/SoonIWillBeInvincible'' is not the actual child, but the genetic combination of her father's DNA and that of the GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe he fell in love with. This is actually addressed with Damsel confessing that the combination isn't stable and she is constantly sick because of it.
* Saaski, the protagonist of the Newbery Medal-winning novel ''Literature/TheMoorchild'' is born among the Folk, which are the traditional Northern European idea of fairies (i.e., pagan spirits of nature, fond of music and games, and completely amoral as long as something looks to be fun). However, she is actually the hybrid child of a Folk woman and a human man who wandered into their domain. As she's unable to exercise all the powers of the Folk, and seen as a danger to them, the Prince declares she must be sent out among the humans as a changeling child. Naturally, she doesn't fit in there either, as the humans fear and hate her, and she retains a terror of everyday features of human life like crosses, yellow flowers, salt, and iron (particularly unfortunate as her "adoptive" father is a blacksmith).
* In Creator/WilliamHopeHodgson's ''Literature/TheNightLand'', the Giants are an extremely unpleasant example, "fathered of bestial humans and mothered of monsters." While generally humanoid in form, they're hideous, squat, furry, warty, and ''bigger than elephants''.
* In ''Literature/TheThreeWorldsCycle'' books by Ian Irvine there are four humanoid species: Charon, Faellem, Aachim and old human. Those with ancestry from two of the above are blendings, three makes a triune and four makes a tetrach. This may be slightly played with as the books state that many hybrids are sterile, have a short lifespan and various mental and physical problems, these worsening the more "mixed" the blood is.\\
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Also, at least some of these human species are directly derived from others. While it's likely there'd been enough genetic drift to make separate species, it's possible that at least a couple of these races are in fact from the same species. There are other non-human species in the series, but no-one's particularly keen to mate with them to see what happens.

%%* [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Anthrozils]] in ''Literature/DragonsInOurMidst''.%%ZCE

* Both protagonists of the [[Literature/TheSagaOfTheNobleDead Saga of the Noble Dead]] series are {{Half Human Hybrid}}s. [[ActionGirl Magiere]] is a dhampir whose birth was only possible because an EvilSorcerer intervened (and it took him years to get the spell right). [[TroubledButCute Leesil]] is a half-elf, born the usual way.

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'':
** Caspian's tutor, Dr. Cornelius, in ''Literature/PrinceCaspian'' is secretly part dwarf, and it's implied that Caspian's childhood nurse is also descended from dwarfs who'd avoided Telmarine pogroms by passing themselves off as short humans. Caspian's own son is half ''star'', stars being glowing humanoid beings in the world of Narnia. Furthermore, ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' states that the children of Narnia's first human king and queen married wood-nymphs and river-spirits.
** In ''The Magician's Nephew'', we also learn that the White Witch--and indeed, all people of Charn--are part giant. But Subverted in Jadis/the White Witch's case, as she only ''pretended'' to be part human to assert her claim to the throne. Her non-giant blood is actually ''genie'' (jinn), not human.

* [[spoiler:Mordred]] in the [[Literature/TheWindThroughTheKeyhole final volume]] of Stephen King's ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' is the child of [[spoiler:two full-blooded humans, one demon elemental who was turned human by {{Magitek}}, and one PhysicalGod who had at least one human ancestor and may be as much as half-human.]] ItsALongStory.
** Also in ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series, the Can-Toi, or the "low men" are half-human, half-taheen.

* The Literature/{{Dragonlance}} series of books started the original Chronicles Trilogy off with one of the main characters as a half-elf, the conflicting emotions he felt stemmed from the mixture of his two races and serves as the character's main plot for most of the books; his name Tanis [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Half-Elven]].
** Played doubly straight. "Among the Elves... I am Half-Man."

* Humans in ''Literature/BlackDogs'' seem to be able to hybridize with almost anything, from the plausible elves, FridgeLogic dragons and ''demons'' that vary wildly and possess more random body parts in otherworldly dimensions than you can shake a stick at. A couple of these hybrids are even main characters.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has a couple of variants on these.
** There are changelings, who are the scions of humans and one type or another of the Fae. Outwardly, they look human, but as they grow older they take on characteristics of their Fae side; for example, a scion of a human and a troll would become large and brutish and with odd-colored hair. Eventually, the changeling has to "Choose" whether to embrace their faerie heritage and become a full-blooded faerie, or to remain human and lose the faerie powers.
** Jared "The Hellhound" Kincaid, a centuries-old hitman who is the scion of a human and something from [[{{Hell}} Down Below]].
** Thomas Raith, who's the son of the King of the White Court of Vampires and [[spoiler:a human wizard called Margaret [=LeFay=] Dresden, making him Harry's older half-brother]]. It's implied that most if not all White Court vampires are the offspring of a human/White mating.
** Even Harry's dog Mouse gets in on the action, since he is a Fu Dog, scion of a Tibetan Mastiff and a canine guardian spirit.

* In Richard Ellis Preston Jr.'s ''Literature/ChroniclesOfThePneumaticZeppelin'', Max and her brother are half human, half "Martian". (The aliens definitely come from much farther away than Mars, but the name stuck.)

* In ''Literature/TheDarkProfitSaga'', humans are the "default" for the races of Man capable of interbreeding (elves, gnomes, and sten). Any Union between these produces humans, which is how humans came to be and why they now make up the majority of the races of Man. First-generation humans can frequently be distinguished by their heterochromia.

** Half Troll was used to describe some of the Haradrim's allies, its unknown if they are actually this, but some of the video games depict them as genuine.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', HalfHumanHybrids are generally treated with a lot of prejudice from much of the wizarding world.

* Caspian's tutor, Dr. Cornelius, in ''Literature/PrinceCaspian'' is secretly part dwarf, and it's implied that Caspian's childhood nurse is also descended from dwarfs who'd avoided Telmarine pogroms by passing themselves off as short humans. Caspian's own son is half ''star'', stars being glowing humanoid beings in the world of Narnia. Furthermore, ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' states that the children of Narnia's first human king and queen married wood-nymphs and river-spirits.
** In ''The Magician's Nephew'', we also learn that the White Witch--and indeed, all people of Charn--is part giant.
*** Subverted in Jadis/the White Witch's case, as she only ''pretended'' to be part human to assert her claim to the throne. Her non-giant blood is actually ''genie'' (jinn), not human.

* Also present in Lynn Flewelling's Literature/{{Nightrunner}} and Tamir series, wherein the [[OurElvesAreBetter Aurënfaie ]] and humans can interbreed, and such interbreeding is the reason some humans possess the ability to use magic. Such mixed-race individuals are known as Ya'shel (they would be half-elves in almost any other universe). This is all made even more interesting by the fact that the Aurënfaie are themselves [[spoiler:part-dragon]].

* Creator/MarionZimmerBradley's ''[[Literature/{{Darkover}} The World Wreckers]]'' includes a romance and eventually a child between a human and an alien chieri (one of a race of [[OurElvesAreBetter space elves]]). It's explicit in a number of the books that the Chieri and humans have been interbreeding infrequently for a long time now. In fact, the breeding program that created powerful psychics as well as leaving the nobility inbred with a number of "lethal recessives" was brought about to strengthen the psychic gifts inherited from the Chieri. Also, a number of Chieri features show up now and then in the noble families, particularly the ruling Hastur, including abnormally long life, tall slim builds, six fingered hands, and low fertility rates, even compared to the already low norm.

*** Recent additions to the lore rendered the near-human argument moot as not only near-humans can interbreed with humans but also species like Zabrak and Twi'lek.

* Used early on but mostly averted in the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse''. Two unconnected characters are said to be "hybrids", and it's never explained exactly what species they're hybrids of. Since a lot of different species are related--humanity, for instance, has a long list of "near-humans", offshoots that can in some cases look very unusual--these hybrids might well be more plausible than some of the others on this page. There are also enough mentions of bio-engineering that some species might well be able to make a hybrid. However, in the few examples of InterspeciesRomance, it's generally proven true that "the parts match up just fine, but that's about it", as [[Literature/XWingSeries Gavin]] says of Asyr.

** One of the early ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' books has a crossbreed mechanic whose parentage is also never described, who admits to Han Solo that he's not wholly of either species and is relieved when Han is okay with that.
** The ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' is filled with hybrids, due to the large number of "[[HumanAliens Near-Human]]" races, which aren't so much alien species as subspecies of humanity that descended from early space explorers who were cut off from the original human homeworlds thousands of years earlier, only to be rediscovered later. How far they diverge from regular humans varies; some just have [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe different skin colors]], while others have more extreme differences (the Miraluka, for example, have no eyes and see using TheForce instead). On the other hand, species that ''aren't'' Near-Humans explicitly cannot interbreed with humans, no matter how human-like they appear to be.

* Efrel in ''{{Literature/Kane}}'' novel ''Darkness Weaves'' has it as her back story. Her mother was raped by [[{{EldritchHorror}} ocean-dwelling demons]] Scylredi and lost her mind. As a result of her mixed blood, Efrel is very skilled at dark arts, not to mention very hard to kill.

* The Nephilim of ''Angelology'' who are descended from {{Fallen Angel}}s called Watchers. They look like tall, pale and beautiful humans, have lifespans measured in centuries and have wings like their fathers. They also have a warrior caste called Gibborim who are [[EvilAlbino pure white with red eyes]] but red wings which they can use to [[PlayingWithFire create an incendiary wind]].

* In Jacqueline Carey's ''Literature/TheSundering'', Ushahin Dreamspinner (one of [[BigBad Satoris's]] three [[TheDragon lieutenants]] is half-human, half-Ellylon.

* In David Weber's [[Literature/TheWarGods Bahzell stories]] , humans have split into 5 separate species, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Hradani, and Halfings. It is possible for any of the species to interbreed although only Elf-Human hybrids (Half-Elves) are common--several of the other matches produce offspring that die young or are infertile, although most of the human population of the Axeman Empire have some Dwarf blood. Half-Elves consider themselves to be the fifth species (since they came about before Halflings); however while breeding with each other and with full Elves preserves both the Human and Elvish traits, the offspring of a Human and Half-Elf will show a significant reduction in the Elvish traits. Finally it is established that only Humans and Half-Humans can be wizards or magi.

* ''Literature/RedMoonRising'' has half-vampyres and half-werewulves, as well has vamp[=/=]wulf hybrids.

* ''Literature/TheHanSoloTrilogy'': Shug Nix is the son of a human father and mother who is from another species. Han can tell right away from his looks, though they're not ''that'' different from a full human.

* Averted in Creator/PoulAnderson's short story, ''Literature/TheHighCrusade,''which includes an instance of the humans finding one or more [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe green-haired, feathery-antennae'd space babes]]. In the words of the narrator, "Nor was there any possibility of issue between [the Space Babe's] species and our own." Nevertheless, he indicates that the complications didn't stand in the way of InterspeciesRomance... though being a priest, he does worry that "the prohibitions of Leviticus might apply," i.e. that it counts as the sin of coupling with beasts.
* Creator/PiersAnthony's Works

* {{Discussed|Trope}} in ''[[Literature/FortunesOfWar Dreadnought!]], when a native of Palkeo Est introduces herself to the lead character and jokes that her species is a lot like humans but can't successfully mate with them...and they've tried.

** At the same time we see in ''TheDarkArtifices'' that hybrids between humans and werewolves or fairies are in no way exceptions, but occur more frequently.

* And presumably the basis of the {{Nephilim}} in Creator/MadeleineLEngle's ''Literature/ManyWaters''.

* {{Referenced|Trope}} in ''[[Literature/FortunesOfWar Dreadnought!]], when a native of Palkeo Est introduces herself to the lead character and jokes that her species is a lot like humans but can't successfully mate with them...and they've tried.