Dark Fantasy

Needs Work 🛠️

This page requires improvement. Please help us by expanding it. If you are unsure how to help, check the article guide Format and Content.

Dark Fantasy is a literary, artistic, and cinematic subgenre of fantasy that incorporates the disturbing, sinister, and often frightening thematic and visual elements typically associated with horror.^[1] It blends conventional fantasy settings and tropes with a grim, existential tone, frequently featuring terrifying monsters, supernatural threats, and apocalyptic storylines. The thematic focus often includes deconstructing common fantasy tropes by exploring the darker implications of magic, creature existence, and societal structures.^[2]

A strict definition for Dark Fantasy is often ambiguous, existing in a blurred space between fantasy and horror. The genre emphasizes themes of mortality, extreme emotional and moral conflicts, and tragic or bittersweet outcomes for protagonists.^[1] The morality of central characters is a key component, frequently featuring anti-heroes or morally ambiguous figures, a narrative style sometimes told from the perspective of a monster or villain.^[2] The term is sometimes used as an alternative to "horror" for supernatural stories that are considered less visceral and more aesthetically or psychologically unsettling.^[1]

Visuals[]

The aesthetic is designed to establish a permanently creepy and foreboding atmosphere in both its natural and architectural settings. The visual style relies on heavy use of dim lighting, profound shadows, and muted colors contrasted with occasional vivid elements like blood or fire.

Atmosphere and Environment[]

Settings are overwhelmingly gloomy, frequently depicted at twilight or midnight under perpetually overcast skies. Environments favor isolation and decay, including dark forests with branches that resemble long, spindly fingers, crumbling ruins, and hushed, foreboding villages. Architectural backdrops often feature severe, monolithic structures like stone castles, fortresses, and citadels with rigid, stoic guards and pale, withdrawn servants. Even transportation is ominous, with large ships often shown rising dramatically out of heavy fog near rough port cities.

Macabre Symbolism[]

The visual language incorporates imagery of decay and ill intent. This includes bones, skulls, and full skeletons, alongside macabre accessories like thin, dripping candles and practical yet menacing elements such as iron-wrought lanterns, shackles, and chains. Weapons are frequently depicted as bloodied, reflecting constant, brutal conflict. The natural world is represented by symbolic creatures like corvids (crows and ravens) and venomous animals (snakes and spiders). Magic is visually represented with palpable danger, often cast with visible ill intent or suggesting a terrible price has been paid, appearing alongside potions and cauldrons.

Modern Developments[]

One of the most significant modern directions within Dark Fantasy is the aesthetic known as Epic Dark Realism. It builds on the traditional imagery of Dark Fantasy but emphasizes a cinematic, hyper-detailed, and monumental visual language. Instead of romantic escapism, this approach highlights the tragic weight of power, sacrifice, and mortality.

Aesthetic Traits[]

Heavy use of light and shadow contrasts (fire, ash, ruins, glowing skies)
Symbolism of angels, demons, warriors, and temples as mythic archetypes
Realistic textures of blood, steel, stone, and decay
Compositions that resemble epic historical paintings or film stills
Atmosphere of tragic seriousness rather than irony or cynicism

Distinction[]

While traditional Dark Fantasy often blends horror and fantasy in broad strokes, Epic Dark Realism insists on precision and gravity. It presents darkness not as decoration but as the central narrative force, shaping characters and worlds alike.

Fashion[]

Dark fantasy elapses a broad amount of different fashion genres, but notably plays off of gothic, academia, pirate, and royal aesthetics. This is expressed through dark colors and heavy fabrics, such as wool, tweed, leather, suede, and velvet. (Please note that if you are creating a Dark Fantasy outfit, the cost of these different fabrics varies greatly and should be taken into account.)

Masculine[]

Leather gauntlets, gloves, and belts
Knight armor
Minimal jewelry
Signage rings
Open, white poet shirts
Heavy jackets

Androgynous[]

Hooded cloaks
High collars
Masks
Gloves
Timepieces, or other clockwork accessories
Walking canes, especially those with ornate handles
Wire spectacles (mainly for the visually impaired, but can also be used just as a style)

Feminine[]

Natural-textured hair
- Hairstyles can be complicated if it fits the look that you're trying to achieve
Flowing dresses
Corsets
Ornate jewelry
Veils

Media[]

Books[]

First and foremost are the fairy tales. These are not the ones that Disney packages into children's movies, with their true love's kiss and happy endings. These are fairy tales in their original form, with heroines that are not always immune to death and villains who suffer worse before dying. Limbs will get cut off.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Berserk series by Kentaro Miura
The Beyonders trilogy by Brandon Mull
Black Wings Beating, by Alex London
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
The Conqueror's Saga series, by Kiersten White (Dark Historical Fantasy)
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman (Modern Dark Fantasy)
Devilman series by Go Nagai
Elric series by Michael Moorcock
Exorcism Chronicles series, by Lee Woo-hyeok (Dark Urban Fantasy)
Ferals series, by Jacob Grey (Dark Urban Fantasy)
The First Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Harry Potter series, by J. K. Rowling (limited to the second half)
The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert
Karsearin: Adventures of a Red Dragon, by YKB
The Looking Glass Wars series, by Frank Beddor
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series, by Ransom Riggs
The Old Kingdom series, by Garth Nix
Re:Zero by Tappei Nagatsuki
Six of Crows duology, by Leigh Bardugo (Dark Urban Fantasy)
A Song of Ice and Fire series, by George RR Martin
Three Dark Crowns series, by Kendare Blake
The Witcher series, by Andrzej Sapkowski

Television Shows[]

Live-Action[]

Game of Thrones
The Hexer
Shadow And Bone
The Witcher

Animated[]

Bastard!!: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy
Berserk series
Devilman: Crybaby
Disenchantment
Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning
Gargoyles
Over the Garden Wall
The Owl House

Movies[]

Alice in Wonderland (2010)
The Black Cauldron
Coraline
The Curse of Sleeping Beauty
The Dark Crystal
Harry Potter series (limited to the second half)
The Hexer
The Huntsman: Winter's War
Labyrinth
Legend (1985)
Pan's Labyrinth
Snow White: A Tale of Terror
Snow White And The Huntsman
Valerie & Her Week of Wonders

Tabletop Games[]

Warhammer Fantasy Battle
Warhammer 40,000
World Of Darkness (Franchise)

Videogames[]

American McGee's "Alice: Madness Returns"
Little Nightmares (1 and 2)
Bayonetta
Bloodstained
Castlevania
Darkstalkers
Fear & Hunger and Fear & Hunger 2: Termina
FromSoftware's games (Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, 2 and 3, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring)
Kingdom Hearts (especially with the Heartless, Nobodies, Realm of Darkness/Dark Realm, End of the World and Organization XIII Parts)
Knights Contact
Lies of P
Most Shin Megami Tensei installments
The Witcher series
What Remains of Edith Finch