Dark fantasy

A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L. Grant and Karl Edward Wagner are credited with having coined the term "dark fantasy"—although both authors were describing different styles of fiction. Brian Stableford argues "dark fantasy" can be usefully defined as subgenre of stories that attempt to "incorporate elements of horror fiction" into the standard formulae of fantasy stories. ==Concept and history==

Charles L. Grant is often cited as having coined the term "dark fantasy". Grant defined his brand of dark fantasy as "a type of horror story in which humanity is threatened by forces beyond human understanding". and Neil Gaiman's The Sandman are early examples of this style of dark fantasy. This is in contrast to the traditional horror model, which focuses more on the victims and survivors. In a more general sense, dark fantasy is occasionally used as a synonym for supernatural horror, to distinguish horror stories that contain elements of the supernatural from those that do not. For example, a story about a werewolf or vampire could be described as dark fantasy, while a story about a serial killer would simply be horror. Stableford suggests that the type of horror conveyed by fantasy stories such as William Beckford's Vathek and Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death "is more aesthetic than visceral or existential", and that such stories should be considered "dark fantasies" rather than the "supernaturalized thrillers" of conventional horror fiction. and Clive Barker's Weaveworld. would fit here. Roald Dahl's novel The Witches (and its film adaptations) is described as dark fantasy. Dahl's poetic reworking of "Cinderella" (which features in his poetry collection Revolting Rhymes) sees him upend the happy tale. ==Other media==

Anime and manga Berserk, a manga and anime franchise by Kentaro Miura that debuted in 1989, is frequently noted as an example of the genre due to its depictions of extreme violence, moral ambiguity, apocalyptic storylines and anti-hero protagonists. Attack on Titan is a dark fantasy for its intense violence and the dystopian world it takes place in. Films Ridley Scott's film Legend (1985) has been described as a "dark fairy tale" fantasy film. Guillermo del Toro's fantasy film ''Pan's Labyrinth (2006) has been described as a "sort of a dark spin on Alice in Wonderland''". Video games The 2013 fantasy action role-playing game ''Dragon's Crown'' contains many elements of dark fantasy, such as werewolves, vampires, zombies, homonculi, and human-monster hybrids. Modern games from Japanese game development and publishing company FromSoftware are lauded as exceptional representations of the dark fantasy genre, notably the Dark Souls series along with Bloodborne and later Elden Ring. ==See also==