Dark horror - what is it?

Aschenbach · Oct 2, 2008

I have seen many horror fiction mags ask for dark horror in their submission guidelines; I am a little confused as to what they mean.

Is dark horror more gory, more extreme, rather than the more genteel 18th-19th century style of supernatural horror fiction, i.e. more Clive Barker than M.R. James?

Are their particular themes or approaches associated with dark horror? What does it mean to you guys? I ask because I am wondering if my stories are dark enough. They usually start off in a seemingly normal setting, which then develops into something darker. Would dark horror START in that dark situation and stay there? :Huh:

Jcomp · Oct 2, 2008

Honestly, no clue.

If the submission guidelines offer nothing beyond "dark horror" to specify what they are looking for, then I wouldn't put too much stock in the above phrase.

Horror is inherently "dark." Even more comedic, lighter fare has a level of darkness to it. If they don't want any elements of romance or comedy submitted to them they should be more direct about that, I think. If they want more violent, graphic stories... well, that sort of spills over into the "splatterpunk" sub-genre if that's the emphasis of the story. And again, they should state that directly.

I'm inclined to believe any sites you come across asking for "dark horror" are just using the phrase because it seems appropriate to them, but what they really mean is "horror." Unless they have something more specific to go by in their guidelines, or some issues available for you to read through to see what they've accepted in the past, I wouldn't worry about it.

CACTUSWENDY · Oct 2, 2008

This is only my two cents.

Someone on this forum told me that dark deals with giving glory to the bad stuff....the evil stuff. Instead of evil being bad it is looked at as being the good. Does that make sense?

I am doing a demon story type and it is from the demon's point of view making the demon look like what he does is normal. To me this is dark. Now I might be wrong on this. I am sure someone will come by with a better way of saying this.

Kerr · Oct 2, 2008

From almost every guideline I've read through, dark horror asks for gore only if it is relevant to the storyline. Don't worry over the level your darkness. Good is still what cinches sales.

rsmccoy · Oct 2, 2008

It definitely mean different things to different people. Best advice is always to read a current copy of the mag. I've had writers tell me they don't have time, but then they wait 90 days for a rejection because their style of writing didn't match up with what the editor takes at that mag. Take one hour and save yourself a possible rejection, and be honest about your story. Marketing is the hardest part (after titles, I suck at titles) in my opinion.

Horror doesn't have to be dark. Horror by HWA definition can simply instill unease. It may sound cliche, but for me, I know it when I read it.

Aschenbach · Oct 2, 2008

Thanks for your replies :Thumbs:

I'm glad that no one knows exactly what dark horror is, because that means I am not out of the loop. I would be disturbed if, with all my years of reading horror, a clearly defined sub-genre had developed that I wasn't aware of!

I am just going to submit and see what shakes down. Then I will know if my horror is dark. Or if it is lame. Or perhaps poorly written.

Kerr · Oct 3, 2008

Aschenbach said:
I am just going to submit and see what shakes down. Then I will know if my horror is dark. Or if it is lame. Or perhaps poorly written.

Not necessarily, unless you are submitting your story to Necrotic Tissue. They do respond and offer writers words of advice, but they are not the norm. And, of course, there is also Share Your Work. It's not a perfect system in here, but you will get feedback if you want to try your story out beforehand.

Aschenbach · Oct 3, 2008

Kerr said:
Not necessarily, unless you are submitting your story to Necrotic Tissue. They do respond and offer writers words of advice, but they are not the norm. And, of course, there is also Share Your Work. It's not a perfect system in here, but you will get feedback if you want to try your story out beforehand.

NT was on my hitlist because I thought they seemed very writer-friendly. They try to give feedback, and they accept sim subs. I might use SYW as well, although to be honest I am fairly new to the board and haven't really checked out SYW yet.

The stories I am going to sub have all been beta'd, so they have been tested on unsuspecting readers.

Kerr · Oct 4, 2008

Luck to you on your submissions Aschenbach. Sounds like you've found your way around just fine.

ManyAk · Oct 4, 2008

I am fairly certain that what they mean by Dark Horror (I also heared Dark Thriller) is films like Saw. Some people don't even consider those films like horror films, but dark thrillers.

HoraceJames · Oct 5, 2008

Dark horror has the highest percentage of pure horror, as opposed to milk horror, which has been adulterated with the excretions of lactating mammals. Yeah, there's white horror, but what the hell is up with that? My Little Werewolf?

I like dark horror with nuts.

Jcomp · Oct 5, 2008

HoraceJames said:
Dark horror has the highest percentage of pure horror, as opposed to milk horror, which has been adulterated with the excretions of lactating mammals. Yeah, there's white horror, but what the hell is up with that? My Little Werewolf?

I like dark horror with nuts.

I gave my girlfriend a box of horrors for Valentine's Day once. Did not go over as well as expected...

HoraceJames · Oct 6, 2008

Jcomp said:
I gave my girlfriend a box of horrors for Valentine's Day once. Did not go over as well as expected...

Should have waited until the heart-shaped box stopped beating, I guess.

Kerr · Oct 6, 2008

HoraceJames said:
Should have waited until the heart-shaped box stopped beating, I guess.

Oo, very good Horace. That counts as dark in my book.

Albert Buck · Oct 6, 2008

The term is new to me as well.

If I were to guess, I'd suppose 'dark horror' is not so much a matter of gore and violence but rather the overall tone of the work. I mean, the ending of NOTLD might not be gross, but it punches you in the gut like few other films. Anyhow, that's what comes to my head when I hear 'dark horror' -- leaving the story with a sinking feeling in your stomach. I might be way off: God knows.

Personally, I never really think of making stories 'dark.' Making them good is hard enough. lol.

MRevelle83 · Oct 11, 2008

There's horror that isn't dark?

Seriously, when I saw dark horror, my first reaction is that they want horror that is more 'adult'. As in, with a more disturbing premise or dealing with taboo subjects. Though regular horror does this too. So what the hell?

Xfonic · Oct 12, 2008

Think of Clive Barker and his Books of Blood stories... Like Hellraiser.

That is more "Dark" Horror. It simply means more gore or stereotyped occult symbolism in the story. Satan worshiping , cannibal, vampire truck drivers terrorize a small desert town ..

Interesting but not always a great read in my opinion.

Inarticulate Babbler · Oct 28, 2008

Sub-genres are listed here, and from what I can tell, Dark Fiction and Visceral might be an alternative use. After an exhaustive search, I could only find Dark Fantasy, Dark Romance and Dark Fiction. Dark Horror produced results in all sub-genre catagories. The only intriguing consistancies I found were cannibals, zombies and religious horror.

I guess you'll either have to query them or re-read the guidelines in hopes you made a mistake.

Captain Howdy · Oct 28, 2008

Xfonic said:
Think of Clive Barker and his Books of Blood stories... Like Hellraiser.

That is more "Dark" Horror. It simply means more gore or stereotyped occult symbolism in the story. Satan worshiping , cannibal, vampire truck drivers terrorize a small desert town ..

Interesting but not always a great read in my opinion.

speaking of which, I just saw Midnight Meat Train. Wow! Most certainly "dark Horror".

:e2headban

Dark horror - what is it?

Aschenbach

Moral Marjorie

Jcomp

CACTUSWENDY

An old, sappy, and happy one.

Kerr

I vant to bite you

rsmccoy

A sphincter says what?

Aschenbach

Moral Marjorie

Kerr

I vant to bite you

Aschenbach

Moral Marjorie

Kerr

I vant to bite you

ManyAk

HoraceJames

Jcomp

HoraceJames

Kerr

I vant to bite you

Albert Buck

MRevelle83

Complication

Xfonic

Inarticulate Babbler

Pissin' Everyone off, 1 at a time

Captain Howdy

closer + prettier than ever