Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of literary, artistic and cinematic fantasy that incorporates elements of horror fiction. The term is used broadly to describe stories that combine horror elements with one or another of the standard formulas of fantasy.
Facts
Place of OriginA late-20th-century American genre-fiction term, credited to critics and writers Charles L. Grant and Karl Edward Wagner, who used it in two different senses within horror and fantasy criticism. 1 Notable ExampleAnne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles and Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, both cited as early examples of dark fantasy told from a sympathetic or monster's-eye viewpoint on figures usually associated with horror. 1 Defining TraitA subgenre of fantasy incorporating elements of horror fiction, sharing no single defining set of tropes beyond supernatural occurrences and a dark, often brooding tone. 1 Dark Fantasy
Filter Results2 entries
Connections
Features Author
Source H. P. Lovecraft (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: James Herbert
Source Wikipedia: Stephen King
Form Of Genre
Sources
1. Dark Fantasy (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Dark fantasy or fantasy horror is a subgenre of literary, artistic, and cinematic fantasy works that incorporates elements of horror fiction.
Definition section
However, these stories rarely share universal similarities beyond supernatural occurrences and a dark, often brooding, tone. As a result, dark fantasy cannot be solidly connected to a defining set of tropes.
Concept and history section, sympathetic monster viewpoint
Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Saint-Germain, and Neil Gaiman's The Sandman are early examples of this style of dark fantasy.
Concept and history section, Grant
He often used dark fantasy as an alternative to horror, as horror was increasingly associated with more visceral works.
View the Source H. P. Lovecraft (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Features Author: H. P. Lovecraft, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: H. P. Lovecraft, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Lovecraftian horror, dark fantasy, weird fiction, horror fiction, mythopoeia, science fiction, fantasy
Wikipedia: James Herbert
Features Author: James Herbert, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: James Herbert, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Horror, dark fantasy, thriller, science fiction
Wikipedia: Stephen King
Features Author: Stephen King, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Stephen King, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Horror fantasy supernatural fiction drama gothic genre fiction dark fantasy post-apocalyptic fiction crime fiction suspense thriller children's fiction
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