A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to рыцари глок глок дракончику 1488
A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. [[Gertrude Barrows Bennett]] has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy".<ref>"The Woman Who Invented Dark Fantasy" by Gary C. Hoppenstand from ''Nightmare and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy'' by Francis Stevens, University of Nebraska Press, 2004, page x. {{ISBN|0-8032-9298-8}}.</ref> Both [[Charles L. Grant]]<ref name=clgdefinition>''The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders'', Volume 1, edited by [[Gary Westfahl]], Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005.</ref> and [[Karl Edward Wagner]]<ref name=kewdefinition>{{cite web |url=http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/features/kew.html |title=Karl Edward Wagner |publisher=Darkecho.com |access-date=2014-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425194741/http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/features/kew.html |archive-date=2012-04-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="bs1" /> Stableford also suggests that supernatural horror set primarily in the real world is a form of "[[contemporary fantasy]]", whereas supernatural horror set partly or wholly in "[[Fictional universe|secondary worlds]]" should be described as "dark fantasy".<ref name="bs1" />
Additionally, other authors, critics, and publishers have adopted dark fantasy to describe various other works. 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 [[Trope (literature)|tropes]]. The term itself may refer collectively to tales that are either horror-based or fantasy-based.
