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Dark fantasy is asubgenre of literary, artistic, and cinematicfantasy works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combinehorror elements with one or other of thestandard formulas of fantasy.[1]
A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down.Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy".[2] BothCharles L. Grant[3] andKarl Edward Wagner[4] are credited with having coined the term "dark fantasy"—although both authors were describing different styles of fiction.Brian Stableford argues "dark fantasy" can be usefully defined as subgenre of stories that attempt to "incorporate elements of horror fiction" into the standard formulae of fantasy stories.[1] Stableford also suggests that supernatural horror set primarily in the real world is a form of "contemporary fantasy", whereas supernatural horror set partly or wholly in "secondary worlds" should be described as "dark fantasy".[1]
Additionally, other authors, critics, and publishers have adopted dark fantasy to describe various other works. However, these stories rarely share universal similarities beyondsupernatural occurrences and a dark, often brooding, tone. As a result, dark fantasy cannot be solidly connected to a defining set oftropes. The term itself may refer collectively to tales that are either horror-based or fantasy-based.
Some writers also use "dark fantasy" (or "Gothic fantasy") as an alternative description to "horror", because they feel the latter term is too lurid or vivid.[5]
Charles L. Grant is often cited as having coined the term "dark fantasy". Grant defined his brand of dark fantasy as "a type of horror story in which humanity is threatened by forces beyond human understanding".[3] He often used dark fantasy as an alternative tohorror, as horror was increasingly associated with more visceral works.
Dark fantasy is sometimes also used to describe stories told from amonster's point of view, or that present a more sympathetic view of supernatural beings usually associated with horror.Anne Rice'sThe Vampire Chronicles,Chelsea Quinn Yarbro'sSaint-Germain,[6] andNeil Gaiman'sThe Sandman are early examples of this style of dark fantasy. This is in contrast to the traditional horror model, which focuses more on the victims and survivors.
In a more general sense, dark fantasy is occasionally used as a synonym for supernaturalhorror, to distinguish horror stories that contain elements of the supernatural from those that do not. For example, a story about awerewolf orvampire could be described as dark fantasy, while a story about a serial killer would simply be horror.[7]
Stableford suggests that the type of horror conveyed by fantasy stories such asWilliam Beckford'sVathek andEdgar Allan Poe'sThe Masque of the Red Death "is more aesthetic than visceral or existential", and that such stories should be considered "dark fantasies" rather than the "supernaturalized thrillers" of conventional horror fiction.[5]
Karl Edward Wagner is often credited for creating the term "dark fantasy" when used in a more fantasy-based context.[4] Wagner used it to describe his fiction about the Gothic warriorKane. Since then, "dark fantasy" has sometimes been applied tosword and sorcery andhigh fantasy fiction that features anti-heroic or morally ambiguous protagonists.[1] Another good example under this definition of dark fantasy isMichael Moorcock's saga of thealbino swordsmanElric.[6]
The fantasy work ofH. P. Lovecraft,Clark Ashton Smith and their emulators have been specified as "dark fantasy", since the imaginary worlds they depicted contain many horror elements.[1]
Dark fantasy is occasionally used to describefantasy works by authors whom the public primarily associates with thehorror genre. Examples of these areStephen King'sThe Dark Tower series,[6]Peter Straub'sShadowland[8] andClive Barker'sWeaveworld.[6] Alternatively, dark fantasy is sometimes used for "darker" fiction written by authors best known for other styles of fantasy;Raymond Feist'sFaerie Tale[8] andCharles de Lint's novels written asSamuel M. Key[9] would fit here.
Roald Dahl's novelThe Witches (and its film adaptations) is described as dark fantasy.[10] Dahl's poetic reworking of "Cinderella" (which features in his poetry collectionRevolting Rhymes) sees him upend the happy tale.
Berserk, amanga andanime franchise byKentaro Miura that debuted in 1989, is frequently noted as an example of the genre due to its depictions of extreme violence, moral ambiguity, apocalyptic storylines and anti-hero protagonists.[11][12]
Attack on Titan is a dark fantasy for its intense violence and thedystopian world it takes place in.[13]
Ridley Scott's filmLegend (1985) has been described as a "dark fairy tale" fantasy film.[14]Guillermo del Toro's fantasy filmPan's Labyrinth (2006) has been described as a "sort of a dark spin onAlice in Wonderland".[15]
The 2013 fantasy action role-playing gameDragon's Crown contains many elements of dark fantasy, such as werewolves, vampires, zombies, homonculi, and human-monster hybrids.
Modern games from Japanese game development and publishing companyFromSoftware are lauded as exceptional representations of the dark fantasy genre, notably theDark Souls series along withBloodborne and laterElden Ring.[16]
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