This chapter examines the thematic and narrative significance of magic mirrors in the contemporary literary fairy tales of Mizuki Tsujimura and Erin Morgenstern and their function as liminal objects staying between the protagonists and the traumatic chronotopes they visit or inhabit. Through the comparative analysis of Morgenstern’s The Night Circus (2011) and Tsujimura’s Lonely Castle in the Mirror (2017), this study investigates how American and Japanese authors employ the fairy tale motifs, particularly the one of the magic mirrors and fantastic locations, to portray the psychological complexities of their characters and heavy experiences they go through. The chapter contextualises the role of mirrors in traditional fairy tales, emphasizing their symbolic importance as portals to other realms, reflections of truth, and metaphors for self-perception. It does so by entering the academic discussion on fairy tales started by V. Propp (1928/2010) and J. Campbell (1949) and carried on by J. Tolkien (1947), M. Warner (1995), A. Byatt (2002), and B. Bettelheim (2010). Building upon the Bakhtinian concept of chronotopes, the comparative analysis herein reviews Tsujimura’s and Morgenstern’s works, examining how their respective narratives represent magic mirrors and fairy tale topoi as catalysts for transformative journeys and explorations of identity. In addition, this chapter studies the ways in which both authors utilize glass, mirrors, and magic time-space to represent themes of trauma, loss, and personal growth. The theoretical framework of the representability of trauma in literature is based on the works of C. Caruth (1996), R. Luckhurst (2013), D. LaCapra (2014), R. Kurtz (2018), and the research aims to show how the fantastic elements enable depiction of trauma putting it into another—fantastic—realm. In Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Mizuki Tsujimura engages the mirror and the Castle it contains within as a means for characters to confront themselves and cope with school bullying and domestic abuse, as well as navigate the complexities of adolescence. Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus makes use of mirrors, light, and the shifting location of the Circus as portals to a fantastical world where characters face their desires and fears. The study contends that magic mirrors and fantastic chronotopes serve as literary devices in contemporary literary fairy tales, allowing authors to explore the depths of human experiences, often traumatic as they are.