Man vs. supernatural is a type of external conflict in which a character struggles against gods, ghosts, demons, or other forces that transcend ordinary natural law. The opposition is not merely human or environmental.

Epic confrontations with monsters, Faustian bargains, hauntings, and cosmic horror all belong to this category. The conflict often tests faith, courage, or the limits of human knowledge. Because the adversary operates by rules beyond the everyday, the protagonist must discover those rules or find allies and tools that can meet the threat on its own ground. Resolution may be exorcism, sacrifice, uneasy coexistence, or the character’s destruction.

The supernatural antagonist can externalize internal fears or embody cultural anxieties. In religious narratives the conflict may carry explicit theological meaning; in secular horror it may remain unexplained. In either case the presence of the supernatural raises the stakes beyond ordinary human opposition.

When the opposing force belongs to a realm beyond nature, the conflict is man versus supernatural.