I’ve had some readers express surprise about the level of gore and violence within my writing over the past few months. Surely, the blend of high dark fantasy and horror is something you do not come across that often anymore these days. However, it is actually rather essential to this genre.
So how come that people aren’t used to darkness in dark fantasy anymore? Some thoughts from a writer.
Dark Fantasy is not Dark Romance
Young adult dark romance books certainly have taken the world by storm over the past few years. And while they of course have their legitimacy, they often blur the line between dark romance and actual dark fantasy.
A good example here is what has become of so-called vampire stories. They once were some of the darkest tales every told. Today, they revolve around teen love interests of mortal High School students and sometimes rather questionable relationships between centuries old men and barely of age teenage girls.
And here lies the tragedy of modern dark fantasy: It is mistaken for dark romantisy.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is not the same as The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, the latter being a much less romanticised take on vampirism, yet more grounded in historical aspects and established folklore.
Rice delves deep into mythology, psychology and societal aspects to create her dark fantasy world, whereas Meyer goes less into depth but instead focuses more on common themes of romantisy loved by younger readers. Don’t get me wrong, romance elements in dark fantasy are great. But they should not and cannot replace a proper plot of dark nature.
Nice to know: Before Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles was deemed dark fantasy as is the case today, her novel series was categorized as gothic horror.
As for me, I have always been a huge fan of old vampire legends, mythology and history alike. I’ve absorbed them all, from ancient Greek, Egyptian, African and Norse mythology to Celtic folklore and German fairiytales.
Speaking of fairytales in general, if you step away from modern adaptations provided by commercial companies like Disney, you may find that a lot of these tales have an origin darker than is commonly perceived. Blood, gore, and violence play a vital role here, causing original fairytales often to border on horror rather than tales about sparkling fairies (or vampires).
Fantasy loves Horror
Heels being cut off, people being decapitated, stomachs being filled with stones, children being cooked alive and eaten—all of this is common imagery portrayed in some of the most popular fairy tales in history Fantasy and horror have always progressed side by side, beginning with ancient tales that date as far back as tales from the ancient high culture of Sumer.
Interestingly enough, vampirism also has its origins in Sumerian mythology. But that isn’t all. Some of the most beloved themes in dark fantasy, such as ghosts, demons, the underworld, forbidden knowledge, rebirth and undeath all come from myths and legends deemed early eldritch horror. Among them:
– the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
– the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh Epic
– Homer’s Odyssey from ancient Greece
– the Christian and Jewish Book of Enoch
– and the Norse Edda,
just to name a few. In late antiquity to medieval times as well as early modern times, works such as Arabian Nights, Dante’s Divine Comedy and the legendary writings by Edgar Allan Poe paved the way for eldritch horror writers like Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley and H. P. Lovecraft whose contributions to this subgenre of horror remains undisputed.
At the same time, they are all deeply associated with dark fantasy. It almost appears as if you couldn’t write true dark fantasy without elements of horror. Which raises the question why plenty of modern-day dark fantasy lovers are so shocked when they are presented with such horror.
Cosy Horror vs. Real Darkness
Historically, the darkness in dark fantasy has always been intense and relentlessly introspective. Only in recent years has an audience who claims to love dark themes in fantasy proven to be rather sensitive towards the true depths of their beloved genre.
The main reason for this can be found in the commercialisation of darkness for the sake of sales. In an attempt to make dark fantasy more accessible and appealing to a broader audience, it has been sanitised, romanticised and standardised.
Meanwhile, plenty of truly dark writing draws inspiration solely from reality. If you watch one of the popular true crime or dark history channels on YouTube or Netflix, you will immediately understand what I mean.
Therefore, dark fantasy, as I understand it, is meant to challenge not only your imagination but also your psyche and perception, confronting you with the very dark reality of thoughts you are surrounded by.
Not for you to drown in it, but to be your armour. Not for you to succumb to it, but to be your guide for walking securely through the “nine circles of hell” as in Dante’s Inferno.
Is Legend of Gardyan too Dark?
I don’t know if my novel series is “too dark” but it certainly doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable truths and calling darkness by its name. In my opinion, a fantasy of darkness must be so severe that it requires a fight against it. The fantasy world must be at risk, threatened, agonised, divided, hurting, painful, before it can experience salvation.
In many ways, this reflects our own reality. For mankind has proven time and time again that it is incapable of light unless it is forced to stare into the darkness. If this scares away some readers, I shall accept it. But I can promise that every reader who dares to walk through my darkness will meet some light on the way.
