Dark Fantasy

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Dark Fantasy is a broad subgenre of Fantasy, which is "a genre of fiction set in a fictional universe." However, Dark Fantasy is unlike Fantasy in that it takes on a darker, more mysterious tone.

A Dark Fantasy is a fairytale without a happy ending, or it may have a happy ending that is only achieved with a great cost. It is despairing, violent, or sometimes even gory, but still contains elements of elegance and intrigue.

However, the term can also refer to a dark, almost vampiric style of fashion and general aesthetic mood, and a type of music as well.

Visuals[]

Generic[]

Magic cast with ill intent, or magic that comes with a price
Potions, cauldrons
Trees with branches like long fingers
Bones, skulls, skeletons
Thin, dripping candles
Iron-wrought lanterns
Iron shackles and chains
Bloodied weapons
Dragons crouched upon their hoard
Corvids, like crows and ravens
Nocturnal animals
Venomous animals, like snakes and spiders
Animals that are generally associated with witches

Setting[]

Gloomy settings with dim lighting
Twilight, midnight
Perpetually overcast skies
Dark forests
Crumbling ruins
Hushed villages
Large ships rising out of heavy fog
Rough port cities
Citadels with severe, stoic guards
Palaces with pale, withdrawn servants

Architecture[]

Stone castles and buildings
Climbing ivy
Gargoyles
Dungeons
Long, winding staircases
Creaking stairs
Secret passages
Hidden rooms
Spindly towers
Cobblestone streets
Rain-slick rooftops
Old, decrepit, or abandoned mansions, fortresses, and cottages

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.

Berserk series by Kentaro Miura
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Black Wings Beating, by Alex London
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman (Modern Dark Fantasy)
Ferals series, by Jacob Grey (Dark Urban Fantasy)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series, by Ransom Riggs
Six of Crows duology, by Leigh Bardugo (Dark Urban Fantasy)
Three Dark Crowns series, by Kendare Blake
The Conqueror's Saga series, by Kiersten White (Dark Historical Fantasy)
The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert
The Old Kingdom series, by Garth Nix
The Looking Glass Wars series, by Frank Beddor
The Beyonders trilogy by Brandon Mull
The First Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

Television Shows[]

Live-Action[]

Shadow And Bone

Animated[]

Disenchantment
Gargoyles
Over the Garden Wall
The Owl House

Movies[]

Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Coraline
Pan's Labyrinth
Snow White: A Tale of Terror
The Curse of Sleeping Beauty
Valerie & Her Week of Wonders

Tabletop Games[]

Warhammer Fantasy Battle
World Of Darkness (Franchise)

Videogames[]

American McGee's "Alice: Madness Returns"
Little Nightmares (1 and 2)
What Remains of Edith Finch
FromSoftware's games (Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1 2 and 3, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring)
Fear & Hunger and Fear & Hunger 2: Termina