A Guide To Dark Fantasy
Dark fantasy is a fantasy sub-genre – essentially, a mixture of horror and fantasy. Some of the earliest writers in this genre included Gertrude Barrows Bennett, A. Merritt and HP Lovecraft. It wasn’t until the 1970s, however, that Charles L. Grant came up with the name for this particular genre.
Dark fantasy is sometimes known as gothic fantasy or horror fantasy. Often this genre mixes other sub-genres, such as fairy tales, into the stories. However, it is rare for dark fantasy to be mixed with a high fantasy genre. The setting of these tales is often historical or urban, in which case they are known as ‘urban dark fantasy’.
While it is a mix of horror and fantasy, dark fantasy is certainly a genre within itself. With horror fiction, the aim is to scare the reader. Dark fantasy definitely has elements of horror such as the paranormal, violence and brutality, but it addresses more of the emotional and psychological aspects of the story.
The fantasy aspect comes into play with the characters and the worlds they inhabit. Often the characters featured are fantastical or supernatural creatures such as vampires, demons, fairies, witches, or werewolves. In many dark fantasy novels, these characters are shown as sympathetic and having human motivations. A good example would include Anne Rice and her series the Vampire Chronicles.
Today, one of the leading authors in the dark fantasy genre is Charlaine Harris. Charlaine Harris is the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series. The stories have been adapted into the HBO’s TV series, True Blood. Another popular author in this genre is Stephanie Meyer with her Twilight series.
If you are looking for the story that includes the supernatural, with a mix of fantasy and a bit of horror and then dark fantasy is a perfect choice.
