Dark Fantasy

[bardiphouka]

A bit dicier to define than High Fantasy. In fact the two often overlap. As an example..Michael Moorcock's Elric series could be seen as either with its swords and magic creatures bound in a dark universe where there are really no happy endings. Actually many of the old ballads would fall into Dark Fantasy, which might explain their continuing popularity.

One of the underlying factors of Dark Fantasy, regardless of the worldview it inhabits, is the darkness of the theme. It is a world of murky fog and dark nights where the sun seldom shines, and if you are unfortunate, Cthulu lurks off the shore.