Dark fantasy
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Dark fantasy is a subgenre that combines elements of fantasy, including marvelous abilities, with those of horror.[1]
It has yet to be solidly connected to its own particular subgenre of fantasy. Stories often described by some as dark fantasy may be placed by others in either the horror or fantasy genres, based on which genre the story tends more toward. As a natural consequence, the term itself may refer collectively to tales that would more properly belong in very different genres.
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[edit] Tending towards horror
"Dark fantasy" is sometimes considered a variant of the horror genre, but the opposite is often the case. Horror fiction where the threat is of supernatural origin can rightly be considered dark fantasy; Charles L. Grant's The Pet, Stephen King's The Shining, and Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart are just some of the examples. However, dark fantasy also includes stories about dark supernatural creatures (frequently vampires) depicted as potentially sympathetic beings with human motivations. Anne Rice is among the most successful in the genre, with her Vampire Chronicles, but other writers such as Poppy Z. Brite, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Thomas Ligotti, and C.S. Friedman have also had success. Michelle Sagara West often uses more demonic figures, as in her The Sundered tetralogy and her Sun Sword series. Stephen Marley in his Chia Black Dragon novels produced a dark fantasy series that was cited as a prime example of the genre in Clute/Grant's The Encyclopedia of Fantasy.
[edit] Tending towards fantasy
Dark fantasy in this context refers to stories that focus on darker themes, sometimes akin to those of horror, but which take place in a setting more alike sword and sorcery or high fantasy.
There is a strong overlap between this style of fantasy and sword and sorcery, due to the often bleak, pessimistic tones, and moral ambiguity (especially when compared to the more dualistic themes of high fantasy). Michael Moorcock's Elric stories and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane sequence are two examples of this overlap, latter having actually coined the term "dark fantasy"[2].
Clark Ashton Smith's setting of Averoigne is a good example of a dark fantasy world, using horror themes in a medieval setting.
Another example of fantasy mixed with horror is the Ravenloft series of novels, inspired by the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting of the same name.
[edit] Dark fantasy in other media
As dark fantasy has yet to be clearly defined, it is often difficult to agree upon what is dark fantasy and what is regular fantasy. The most clear distinction can likely be seen in role-playing games, which have had a number of popular games and campaign settings, especially those who are closer to fantasy but includes horror elements. Dungeons & Dragons used to support Ravenloft.
Other games of this type include Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, which rightfully claims that it is the "original dark fantasy game", a D20 campaign setting called Midnight, Stormbringer and later the Elric RPG, which takes place in Michael Moorcock's multiverse.
The setting of Blizzard Entertainment's hack-and-slash computer role-playing game Diablo (and, to a slightly lesser degree, its sequel, Diablo II) can be considered dark fantasy. In contrast to the more "typical" fantasy universe of its Warcraft series, Blizzard's Diablo franchise is centered around much darker demonic and horror themes. Disciples: Sacred Lands and its sequel can be categorised as Dark Fantasy video games too.
Many comic books and manga are set in dark fantasy worlds, such as Froideval's Black Moon Chronicles and Kentaro Miura's Berserk and others. Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series has been influenced by dark fantasy, superhero comics, G. K. Chesterton, and C. S. Lewis.
[edit] References
- ^ Philip Martin, The Writer's Guide to Fantasy Literature: From Dragon's Lair to Hero's Quest, p 46, ISBN 0-87116-195-8
- ^ Reading suggestions in epic, dark, sword & sorcery fantasy fiction genres
