Magical/Supernatural worlds - secret or not?

I voted other because for me it really depends on the world itself. I have some worlds where magic is just the norm, “mundane” society doesn’t exist because magic users are such a common part of how society works and functions. I also have worlds where it’s very hidden and secretive, with magic users fighting to keep themselves secret to the rest of society. And some that are somewhere in between. It really just depends on what I feel fits best with the story I want to tell.

I like the idea that it's not secret, but is still seen as separate from the norm. Something people spread rumors or make rude jokes about, sometimes while unwittingly talking to a member of the group they're talking about.

I think it depends on the media, but I gotta say, I'm more of a fan of "magic as a known fact" because I've seen the WE HAVE TO HIDE THINGS FROM THE MUGGLES handling so much, especially if the setting is modern?

I tend to prefer magical realism the most! But I don't have a hard "no" for any of those options listed as I think it comes down to what their purpose in the story is and how well it's executed (if it's a story I'm reading). I admit though that I have a lot more "aesthetic" based squicks with full fantasy integrated world vs any of the other, but it's mainly because most of the stuff I consumed especially as a preteen was of that brand of fantasy narrative, so I saw a lot more. 

I fall somewhere between "Secret Underground Magic World" and "Magic Without Community." I really like urban fantasy as a genre, and I especially like urban fantasy that also veers into crime fiction and horror. The sense of isolation that can come from the fact that your main characters can't really talk to just anyone about what's going on is very compelling to me, and also makes for a far more interesting allegory for marginalization than any elf/dwarf racism ever has.

In the world where most of my stories take place, there's a vast magical world tied directly to the belief of regular people. Gods get their powers from being worshiped or being mentioned in any shape or form by things like works of art, textbooks, fiction books, sketches, etc. But most people don't know that's the case, and truth be told the system only started in 1960. And even if they did, the stories are about the gods who protect non-believers and the god-ranking system, and the mortals that get tied up in their plots. 

I love to read all kinds of fantasy stories. I'm pretty much game for all of them, as long as the worldbuilding is interesting and the story isn't too generic. There's a lot of really generic fantasy out there that I avoid and go looking for more specialized works, especially by authors of marginalized identities.

I LOVE MAGIC so much, a lot, everyday i wake and think of magic & fantasy. I have a main universe that merges the two first options-- Magical beings come from a parallel world where magic is an everyday thing for them, but they travel to the human world and must remain disguised- so humans have no idea about magic for their (the magical beings') own good!

I generally prefer to explore these things FROM the magical beings perspective, because even when they're hidden i love the idea of somebody looking human but only so much, leaving the trail of something strange, impossible.

There's so much potential in all of this though! I just... love thinking about it.. it's at the core of my soul

For me, I prefer stories where people generally know about the magic and what it is capable of doing, but still allows for creativity and for people to find tricks and exploits and explore those.

Reading or writing it myself, I prefer hidden supernatural elements, but I have always liked the secret society, mystery, supernatural horror, intrigue, etc stories whether it's really magic or not. To me, half of the fun is succeeding or failing to keep the secret/finding out who knows what and just the right amount of understanding to where you can comprehend the gist but not so much that you have lost all mysticism. Magic being part of everyday society kind of takes the "magic" out of it for me, especially where magic is so well understood that it just comes across as mundane to me at that point. Stories where it is known but still treated as an "other" or feared works for me to, just not as well. Same with isolated unnatural incidents, if there's nothing deeper to dig into then I don't care unless there's a crime twist on it, ie, non-alien related episodes of X-Files. However, I don't like stories where the only real drive is trying to keep it a secret, there needs to be other more important things going on inside/outside of those organizations and relatively believable systems for keeping these huge secrets.

I like exploring how magic/different forms of technology would impact the development of society, politics, and culture, so I tend to lean towards stories where magic is a part of the known world.  That doesn't mean the characters can't discover new secrets - maybe they uncover some new powerful spell or creature or ability that they have to keep hidden, or that nobody believes in.  It's all relative to that society's understanding of magic and what is normal, I think - just because there already is some type magic in that world doesn't mean it can never be considered bizarre or unusual in other forms.  Kind of like how we have computers, but if some day I found a teleporter - that'd be weird!  In fact, I like treating it like a very specific, hard to get into area of science.  Most average people know it's a thing, but wouldn't personally have much to do with it.  Then you can have organizations, groups of people, or the lone eccentric scientist delving into it in different levels and directions.  That's my preference, anyways.

I like all but the problem with hidden fantasy is sometimes it gets too plot hole-ish and it gets annoying how magic can exist to such an extreme extant yet somehow it's never noticed. 

I'm kinda a mixture of there being no boundaries and it being mostly unknown. I love books that mention how there's a magical world that's hidden away from our modern world, and I try to do that with my own characters. Although one of my top villains rips that veil away, and by the time he's gone the fantasy and modern worlds co-mingle.

Bloof is definitely right, though. There are tons of plot holes that come with any way you describe these two worlds together.

it's all good tbh