History Main / TheDarkArts

--> -- ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', "The 30% Iron Chef"

* MindManipulation
* [[{{Necromancer}} Necromancy]]

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': Magia Erebea is powered by nasty stuff. Negi [[spoiler:isn't even human anymore]] due to overuse of it. In fact, Evangeline started teaching it to him because she wanted to ''corrupt'' him into her "mini boss" flunkie.
** At least, she jokes about it. She could tell soon after meeting Negi that his MartyrWithoutACause complex would cause him to jump at the chance to learn it if that ever arose, and didn't so much teach it to him as slant his regular training towards surviving making that choice. That this suited her sadistic tendencies just fine (it meant she had to break him — just a bit, and carefully — as while you don't quite have to be evil to use Magia Erebea, you can't consider yourself entirely [[{{Determinator}} committed to any ideal or virtue]]) was providentially coincidental.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Human transmutation is forbidden because it violates RuleNumberOne of Alchemy, EquivalentExchange. "For what can equal a human soul?". Because of this, practioners always lose body parts and resurrections always ComeBackWrong.
* In ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'', [[spoiler:Marcille dabbles in forbidden magic, believing that magic is inherently neither good nor evil and only man can be both. She could also be terribly, terribly wrong about this — when she's using forbidden magic to cast dispel on the Lunatic Magician's dragonblood minions, she starts chuckling and smiling as she's spattered with blood, bleeding from the nose, and her eyes are unclear and distant. However this are also symptoms of large usage of mana, which BloodMagic uses so it might just be that.]]
* The magic-users of ''Literature/RentalMagica'' has the set of taboo, mainly prohibiting things that either turn the user into an insane BlobMonster more often than not (including [[CameBackWrong resurrection]]) or cause a massive area contamination. A plain magical crime (like slaughtering the whole village to get a lot of zombies quickly) apparently isn't lumped with it. Of course, there's an opposition, [[ForScience Ophites]].

* The Cyberdarks in ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''. Apparently the wrong set of children's playing cards exude evil energy and can give people heart attacks.
* ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'': Spells of the Lord of Nightmares. All of them are destructive, likely to go horribly wrong, the most well known of them can end the world, and they are based on the power of an EldritchAbomination creator deity. Even Lina, who tends to cast the more tame BlackMagic spells like there's no tomorrow, is very serious about these spells. The UnholyNuke "Dragon Slave" is PlayedForLaughs every second time; these spells never are.
* The Black Arts in ''Manga/FairyTail'', made up of [[CreatingLifeIsBad Living Magic]] and [[WalkingWasteland Death Magic]]. Living Magic involves breathing life into often inanimate objects, while Death Magic is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin and instantly [[InstantDeathRadius kills anything it touches]]. For rather [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow obvious reasons]], both of these types of magic are explicitly banned by the Magic Council, especially after [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Black Wizard]], [[TheDreaded Zeref]], absolutely mastered them, and literally [[TomeOfEldritchLore wrote the book on it]]. [[spoiler:And he knows damn well [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone what he's done]] to the world because of it.]]

* ''Fanfic/{{crawlersout}}'': In this story, "dark" magic is magic that requires a "price" (usually emotional, but spiritual or physical aspects are possibilities as well) to perform. They're considered "dark" because they're much easier to abuse than "light" magic. It's actually perfectly legal to learn dark magic, it's just heavily frowned upon in magical communities that are highly conservative, such as Magical Britain. Some of the more useful and comparatively less objectionable spells, such as the Patronus Charm (which is fueled by happy memories) often return the "toll", and thus many are unaware that they qualify as dark magic. On the other hand, there are some spells whose "tolls" are so terrible that usually only the most evil of people would ever consider using them; the Killing Curse, for example, takes a piece of the user's soul. The three Unforgivable Curses, along with BloodMagic and soul magic, fall under this category.
* In ''Fanfic/NewBloodArtemisgirl‘’ Hermione has read a few of these books [[spoiler: from Quirrel]], even if she has no intention of using them.

** There's some categorization in-universe on the [[SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness seriousness]] of offensive magic, as such spells are called either jinxes, hexes or curses. Jinxes are defined by WordOfGod as "spells whose effects are irritating but amusing". Hexes are darker, intended to cause some pain or discomfort, while curses are described as "the worst kinds of dark magic". Three in particular, the "Unforgivable Curses"-- [[AgonyBeam Crucio]], [[OneHitKill Avada Kedavra]], and [[HypnoRay Imperio]]-- are so called because any use of them is punishable by life in prison. Villains use them all the time, naturally, but our heroes will only ''consider'' it after crossing the GodzillaThreshold.

* Black magic in ''Literature/ShamanOfTheUndead" includes Necromancy and everything connected to demons, as first requires necromancer to do some terrible things and second mostly ends with magician possessed by demon (not good - most of them prey on people when given chance to escape to mortal world). However, magical police of the setting hires necromancers because the knowledge resurrected people may provide is sometimes almost invaluable. Other wizards treat them with dislike and distrust.
* Black magic in Creator/TrudiCanavan's ''Literature/TheBlackMagicianTrilogy''. It involves drawing magical energy from a target through a cut, and allows a magician to store far more power than they would otherwise be able to generate. [[spoiler: Actually, "higher magic" is only forbidden in the Allied Lands; the Sachakans and Traitors use it all the time. Also, the good guys eventually wise up and start using it to defend against anyone ''else'' who might use it, but put strict limits on it to avoid abuse.]]
* In ''Literature/WhenDemonsWalk'', there are all sorts of magic spells that can be fueled by blood, body parts, or torturing people. Using one's own blood is somewhere inbetween, some think it is evil, but the protagonist considers it justifiable.
* Randall Garrett's ''Literature/LordDarcy'' series. A royal investigator in a magical world.
** "Black magic is a matter of symbolism and intent."
** "Black" magic uses dark symbols and/or intends to harm. It inevitably harms the soul of the practitioner.
** In one story, a major MacGuffin is a magical device that disrupts those intending to do harm. Since it only sows confusion instead of intending harm it is not itself black magic.
* In ''Literature/PresidentsVampire'', {{Necromancy}} and some forms of [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemy]] are called "Dark Arts" by Cade, due to the fact that they need HumanResources to work properly.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has the Seven Laws of Magic laid down by the White Council that bar against certain types of magic; the penalty for breaking any of them is death. These laws prohibit: using magic to kill a mortal, {{Necromancy}} (specifically, ''human'' necromancy), TimeTravel, [[ForcedTransformation changing another's shape]], MindRape, or summoning [[EldritchAbomination Outsiders]]. Preventing killing and MindRape is pretty self-explanatory, [[ForcedTransformation changing someone else's form]] will probably destroy their mind as a side-effect, time-travel is too likely to backfire in your face, and Outsiders want to destroy all reality. The laws are always enforced with death after the first transgression (unless the transgressor is vouched for by another wizard), which is actually a case of ShootTheDog. See, to make magic happen you have to believe that doing it is right; ergo, BlackMagic users are genuinely choosing to [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jump off the slippery slope]] [[TheCorruption real fast]].
* In ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'' normal sorcery is done by manipulating the energy of raw chaos which has been filtered through the Imperial Orb. Elder sorcery is done by ''directly'' manipulating raw chaos, and by imperial edict practicing it carries the death penalty, because making a blunder with raw chaos... well, the results would be Bad with a capital B. Of course, this doesn't prevent several of the main characters from dabbling in elder sorcery.
* In ''Literature/ShadowOps'', the "dark arts" are "prohibited schools" of magic, which are rare but immensely powerful types of magic, or use of a "legal" school in an illegal way. These include {{Necromancy}}, Sentient Elemental Conjuration, Gate Magic, and [[EntropyAndChaosMagic Negramancy]], with the illegal uses of legal schools being Whispering (use of [[DishingOutDirt terramancy]] to control animals) and [[BodyHorror Rending]] (offensive use of healing magic). If a human manifests powers in any prohibited school, they get a simple choice: death or military service, and in the latter case, if you don't shape up, they lobotomize you to make you more compliant.
** The military service is a secret. The officially given choice is death by execution or death resisting arrest.
* In ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'', using the power of any element/force of nature or an ancient immortal, whether it's Darkness or Light, is PowerAtAPrice. It's played straight with Neferet but subverted with Rephaim who has only been shown thus far to use his Dark powers in a good way.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', the problem is largely irrelevant in the beginning of the story because the only people openly [[MagicByAnyOtherName channeling]] are the Aes Sedai, who willingly put themselves under a powerful {{Geas}} that prevents them from doing anything really bad with it. Nevertheless, some [[MagicByAnyOtherName One Power]] weaves and uses are seen as evil:
** The Balefire weave is a DangerousForbiddenTechnique whose use permanently damages the structure of the universe. Mere knowledge of it is supposed to be enough to be Stilled by the White Tower, since the world was once almost destroyed by channelers abusing it. The significant number of people knowing it we encounter in the series show that this ban is not so strictly enforced, but all of the good guys (and even some of the bad guys -- and we are speaking of people who have no problems killing or torturing thousands of innocents at once) consider it something inherently ''wrong'' and to be used as a last-resort weapon only.
*** When it starts being openly used in the last book, the world literally starts to fall apart, with cracks to nothingness appearing in the ground.
** Compulsion (magical mind-control) and Rending (torturing and directly ripping apart someone's body using the Power) are seen as weaves that can almost only be used for evil purposes. In the beginning of the series, [[LostTechnology the knowledge of them has been lost for a long time anyway]], but most Aes Sedai consider that a good thing.
** The True Power, which is a variant of the One Power bestowed by [[BigBad the Dark One]], is incredibly addictive and will make you mad. The Dark One only allows his most favored minions to use it, but even they are not really overenthusiastic about it (except Ishamael, who ''is'' mad.)
* For a considerable time in Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' history, almost all technological research was considered this. The Earth government suppressed any new technology that could be weaponized, which turned out to be everything.

* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', Diabolism is seen as this because making a DealWithTheDevil tends to cause damage to the world itself and nothing good comes from it.
* Necromancy in ''Literature/AnArmyOfTheDead'', which revolves around using the energy of formerly living things to power spells. Oddly enough, the time it was actually used was for a ''good'' reason.

** Ordercraft gives everyone the willies because it is contrary to reality, which is based on chaos, can shut down all other forms of magic, and will eventually corrupt its user into an EmptyShell. It's treated like NecessarilyEvil and those who practice it legitimately, as guardians, are held in high-esteem.
* Sorcery in ''Literature/TheSilentWar''. It revolves around summoning demons, MindRape and gruesome curses, and works better if human sacrifice is involved. It is also stated to corrupt anyone using it, explaining the general mindset of the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Brotherhood of the Pit.]]

* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': The Masters of Padmasa along with their servants practice magic which involves drawing blood, inflicting pain or killing to work. It's used for creating horrific war monsters.

* ''Literature/SweetAndBitterMagic'': Dark magic, which here means the kind that draws power directly from the earth, causing a severe imbalance that can do things like release {{mystical plague}}s which kill people slowly. It's a fast way to power with terrible consequences for everyone else, and the world generally. It also quickly [[TheCorruption corrupts the user]], turning them cruel and hateful, while once {{depower}}ed they will return to their previous personality.

* The UsefulNotes/HardangerFiddle music was accused of this a lot. Legendary fiddlers, usually from the eighteenth century and before, was known for doing tricks with the fiddle, like moving inanimate objects (usually pots of beer) while playing or luring girls, just by plucking the strings. This, coupled with an uncanny knack for going into trance while playing, and making people dance against their will, made the fiddle an acceptable target for religious movements come the nineteenth century. Fiddlers going into trance while playing - let`s just say it is still happening. At least one fiddler who died as late as 1970, was [[ReallyGetsAround notoriously]] [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane known for getting the girls he wanted just by playing for them]].

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* ''Series/PiliFantasyWarOfDragons'': Martial arts from the Demon Realm are generally this, not evil per se but usually nasty to the victim. For one, there's the "exploding head technique".
[[/folder]]

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' adventure C2 ''The Ghost Tower of Inverness''.
-->Duke Justinian: Hodar, you dared to defy a royal order and continued to dabble in sorceries which I had forbidden to all the people of my realm.

** In ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' there are prohibitions from the gods of magic (covering FantasticNuke, endangering of the world's magical circuit and a few crimes against the magic-using community) plus whatever local laws and traditions don't approve, typically including the most unpleasant forms of necromancy and/or using wild magic in populated areas. From what is known about the elven kingdom of Cormanthyr, it prohibited some enchantments that allow massive binding of magical items and creatures, some blood magics, using mass-destruction and later also selective spells in modes aimed to harm elves or "allied" beings. A few areas don't approve arcane magic at all, claiming it's "[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy dishonorable]]", but in fact it's the places when magic may attract a curious spell-grub, and no one wants ''[[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong that]]'' anywhere around.

** In 4th Edition, the [[DealWithTheDevil Warlock]] and classes with the Shadow power source are this.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' supplement ''The Blood and Dr. [=McQuark=]''. People on the planet Ea are forbidden to use magic or powers that involve interdimensional travel because it could lead to the unleashing of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s.

* ''TabletopGame/TheWorldOfDarkness'' settings ([[TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness Old]] and [[TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness New]]), [[CrapsackWorld naturally]], are full of those.

** Refinement of Flux for the [[TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated Prometheans]], which is based around rejecting humanity and accepting one's monstrous side. Centimani, as they're called, often twist themselves into hideous mutations, and due to the nature of Vitriol, can no longer gain it normally - forcing them to rely on ''lacuna'', a form of MindRape that Prometheans view in much the same terms as actual rape.
** ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful:''

** In ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion'', three Arcanoi are forbidden in the Western Underworld on pain of soul-forging - Intimation, the power to create and remove desire (because of its great capacity for abuse); Mnemosynis, the power to explore and manipulate memory (again, because of its capacity for abuse), and Flux, the power to affect the structure of inanimate objects, strengthening them, decaying them, and animating them (because of wraithly politics, rather than any potential to abuse others).
* A few ones in the ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' setting.
** Necromancy. Although it is ''not'' evil or corrupting in itself and some spells can actually be used for good, it almost always involves gruesome rituals or blood sacrifice. And its foremost practitioners (but not the only ones, and not even the first ones) are the Deathlords and Abyssal Exalted, who ''are'' evil by most standards.
** Demonology in general is seen as a dangerous, risky and best avoided field of study. The line between demonology (using demons) and infernalism (being used by demons) is thin, it is easier to summon a demon than to control it or to banish it, and during the First Age the sorcerers of the whole world had to to gather for a great feast every Calibration night just to make sure none of them attempted the dreaded ritual to summon a Third Circle demon (which can only be done during that night).
*** The fact that summoning demons is one of the first spells you learn at the Realm's WizardingSchool contributes much to the awe and dread it evokes. (Although it is actually a no-nonsense and intelligent approach: the idea behind it is that most wizards will end up trying to summon demons anyway, so it is more sensible to teach them how to do it properly and to thoroughly warn them about the dangers than to ban or restrict the spells and let the would-be demonologists dabble into it on their own with partial knowledge.)
** Some martial arts styles are really frowned upon. The Ill Lily style is about poisoning one's opponent and has a horrible reputation. The White Veil style is only taught by an infamous and semi-legendary secret society and knowing it is equivalent to admitting membership in the conspiracy. The Infernal Monster style is a brutal and unusually powerful celestial martial art but it literally comes from hell and many sifus don't want to have anything to do with it [[spoiler:and they are absolutely right to be cautious, since mastering it allows the Yozis to mind-control you once in your lifetime]]. The Kaleidoscopic Border of Logic and Obsidian Shards of Infinity styles are so powerful they question things like identity and the nature of reality, and the Exalts who know them will only teach them to students they really, really trust. Finally, the Quicksilver Hand of Dreams style is linked to TheFairFolk and is considered unsafe by most experts since nobody really understands where it comes from and how learning it changes you.
** Charms like Ghost-Eating Technique that can permanently destroy the essence of spirits and gods are considered very very evil by said gods and spirits, who usually consider themselves immortal and hate being reminded that it is not really the case. They can intuitively feel any Exalt who knows such techniques and they fear and hate them intensely.
** You have also infernal charms with the ''Blasphemy'' keyword. These are powerful techniques that are linked to the nature of the Yozis (demon princes); their use unleashes a surge of infernal energy which is detected by nearby gods and spirits and also triggers automatic alarms in the control room of the Realm Defense Grid, and at the Loom of Fate in Heaven, quickly alerting both the keepers of Fate (the Sidereal Exalted) and whoever is in charge at the Imperial Manse (currently the Scarlet Empress) that someone is somehow using [[SealedEvilInACan evil energies which are supposed to be sealed away for a long, long time]] and they should investigate at once.
** Interestingly, infernal charms with the ''Heretical'' keyword are considered the Dark Arts by ''the demon princes themselves'', since most of them are designed to allow Infernal Exalted to free themselves from their patrons and become their equals. A few charms are even labelled as both Blasphemy and Heretical, which means that both Heaven and Hell freak out if you use them.
* ''TabletopGame/BlueRose'' has arcana classified as sorcery, which involves directly enforcing your will on another being, and harms the wielder in the long term. While there are few effects exclusive to sorcery, using sorcery is almost always easier or more powerful than the alternative, making it a temptation to those willing to risk the costs.
* In ''TabletopGame/GURPSTechnomancer'', this concept as such isn't really a part of American magical discourse. Knowing a spell is almost never illegal (though you might be asked questions if you lack the proper security clearance, and some potions and items ''are'' illegal), raising zombies is unlawful interference with a corpse (except in Louisiana, where executed criminals work on the zombie chain gang), and summoning demons is a violation of immigration law. The one area where this trope is widely played straight is that ''everyone'' is rightly afraid of magical mind control.

* ''Any'' magic in ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'', explicitly so.
* The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' games have variously treated [[PlayingWithFire Pyromancy]] and Hexes as dark and nefarious. Pyromancy was seen as unrefined and wild in the first game, with practitioners from the Great Swamp being stigmatized for using it. It didn't help that there is a history of practitioners literally burning themselves to death or descending into madness. The corruption of the Witch of Izalith when she used her Soul of Flame to try to create a substitute for the First Flame (and dooming herself and the citizens of the city of Lost Izalith to become demons in the process) may have had something to do with that.
** By the second and third game, Hexes had taken Pyromancy's place as the most reviled form of magic. Hexes are what you get when you take sorcerous/wizardly FunctionalMagic, or holy WhiteMagic and corrupt it so that instead of using intellect or faith to power them, using the connection to the Dark Soul of humanity and the Abyss. Sometimes Hexes don't just cost typical VancianMagic attunement slots, but drain your character's Soul (XP). The reputation isn't entirely undeserved, since the "bad guy" faction of New Londo is also big into hexes, and often described in flavor text as using negative emotions or causing the targets pain.
* ''Franchise/DragonAge'' has BloodMagic. While magic itself is not evil, blood magic revolves around using life force for power. Most of the blood mages in the game are evil, or at the very least enemies of the heroes. The power is also taught to humanity by personifications of emotions (ingame only a personification of desire teaches it, no information on which emotions are able to), and while it ''can'' just be used as an alternate means of powering normal spells, the big headline blood magic spells allow for MindControl, blood-boiling and similar nastiness. Also, of course, the life force you use to power the spells need not be your own, a temptation that few blood mages can resist.
** Although other magic schools serve to light people on fire or freeze them alive, hurt or even kill them by tormenting them with visions and so on.
** According to one codex entry, the Tevinter archons of old were taught BloodMagic by the Old God Dumat the Dragon of Silence. Since an Old God is basically an EldritchAbomination that happens to look like a dragon this makes BloodMagic even more unsettling.
* Outsider magic (that is, most if not all functional magic) in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}''. Its practitioners are hunted and slain by the Overseers of the Abbey of Everyman. The Overseers are [[PathOfInspiration a fanatic religious police headed by corrupted people in league with an oppressive political power]], but as bad as they are [[WellIntentionedExtremist they might have a point]] on that magic. It looks extremely corrupting since people who get involved with it fall in two categories:

** Necromancy is banned in most places throughout Tamriel, with pretty good reason. Although it ''can'' be employed without any major consequences, the mere fact of raising a dead body - [[CameBackWrong without its soul or intelligence]] - is generally considered evil. Tamriel's long history with evil necromancers, especially one Mannimarco and his Order of the Black Worm threatening the whole continent, doesn't help, [[AlwaysChaoticEvil nor does the tendency of lesser necromancers to hide out in caves, kill anyone who walks by, and use them for experiments]]. Thus many magic schools ban it outright, and the ones that don't (there is a contingent that argues [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood Necromancy can be useful and ethical]]) tend not to publicize their use of it.

** Daedric "Ritual Magic" (the kind used by most mortals to commune with the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Princes]] and to permanently summon/bind [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]]) is almost universally considered this, though exceptions may be made for those invoking the Daedric Princes considered to be "Good."
* In the ''VideoGame/DivineDivinity'' series, Source magic is known to be dangerous, powerful, and likely to [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity drive its users mad]]. It's used for {{Healing|Hands}} magic in the original game, but by the time of ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'', Source magic also [[MagicIsAMonsterMagnet attracts Voidwoken]] and Sourcerers are being [[FinalSolution rounded up]] ''en masse''.
* In ''VideoGame/CavesOfQud,'' one in-game book discusses the Dark ''Calculus,'' a branch of mathematics with some disquieting implications about ''[[ExistentialHorror the nature of consciousness itself.]]'' Even ''[[EldritchAbomination Ptoh]]'' agreed to leave them alone, though he indicated his agreement by ''destroying an entire research station.''

* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': This is one of the main things that drew Melissa to become [[WickedWitch Melinda's]] apprentice. She now swears off using it due to that association.

* ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'': Nether Summoning is viewed by most as a evil and dangerous art, as in the past, the nether demons nearly wiped out the fae races, killing entire kingdoms with their aura feeding abilities. The Sharen's use of it in combat marks the sheer desperate levels they have fallen to in their war against the Sarghress, who are winning their war.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Literature/VoidDomain'' has two forms of magic that, while technically morally neutral, are frowned on by MagicalSociety:
** Demon {{Summoning Ritual}}s are shunned because Demons tend to be [[ItsAllAboutMe amoral]], bloodthirsty, bored, and ''powerful'', and often try to escape or {{eat|Thesummoner}} their summoners. Eva gains several trustworthy demon allies, but catches a lot of distrust for it.
** BloodMagic can be fueled by the blood of the mage or of a consenting human or demon, and even has positive applications like healing otherwise lethal zombie bites. However, its greatest spells require [[BodyToJewel bloodstone]], which is transmuted from freshly extracted [[HumanResources human hearts]], so most people assume that every blood mage is a SerialKiller.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and its SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' have Bloodbending which lets user control water in a body of another person turning him/her into a [[PeoplePuppets Human Puppet.]] This technique is mostly seen as morally questionable, because it takes away victim’s freedom and violates his/her body. Almost every known Bloodbender seems to use it for sinister purposes (Hama kidnaps innocent villagers, [[spoiler: Tarrlok]] forces Korra out of the city, [[spoiler:Yakone]] used it to try and conquer the city, [[spoiler:Amon/Noatak used it to ''remove people's bending'']]) and only one that doesn’t (Katara) has to be forced to learn it, because she is terrified and disgusted at a very thought of using it on another human being. She does use it again when she's in an especially bad place mentally.
** Bringing this back to the "misunderstood" side of the trope, the [[AllThereInTheManual show website]] once [[http://kr.turbonick.nick.com/shows/avatar/index.jhtml referred]] to this as a non-violent counterpoint to Firebending's ultimate technique of lightning generation. Rather than destroy an opponent, Water seeks to control and pacify. Potentially, an ethical Bloodbender could subdue any opponent without harming them. They ''also'' point out [[http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Avatar_Extras_%28Book_Three:_Fire%29#.22The_Puppetmaster.22 as fact]] that those who use this technique open themselves up to madness.

* A lot of what humans know about the effects of freezing and phosgene gas on the human body comes from Nazi experimentation - the ethical debates are still raging. One side holds that it is inherently tainted due to the sheer evil acts that were committed to gain them, while the other holds that not using available knowledge to save lives is cowardly at best or hypocritical at worst.

* Spells of the Lord of Nightmares in ''Literature/{{Slayers}}''. All of them are destructive, likely to go horribly wrong, the most well known of them can end the world, and they are based on the power of an EldritchAbomination creator deity. Even Lina, who tends to cast the more tame BlackMagic spells like there's no tomorrow, is very serious about these spells. The UnholyNuke "Dragon Slave" is PlayedForLaughs every second time; these spells never are.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* The UsefulNotes/HardangerFiddle music was accused of this a lot. Legendary fiddlers, usually from the eighteenth century and before, was known for doing tricks with the fiddle, like moving inanimate objects (usually pots of beer) while playing or luring girls, just by plucking the strings. This, coupled with an uncanny knack for going into trance while playing, and making people dance against their will, made the fiddle an AcceptableTarget for religious movements come the nineteenth century. Fiddlers going into trance while playing - let`s just say it is still happening. At least one fiddler who died as late as 1970, was [[ReallyGetsAround notoriously]] [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane known for getting the girls he wanted just by playing for them]].

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': Magia Erebea is powered by nasty stuff. Negi isn't even [[spoiler:human]] anymore due to overuse of it. In fact, Evangeline started teaching it to him because she wanted to ''corrupt'' him into her "mini boss" flunkie.

** Some martial arts styles are really frowned upon. The Ill Lily style is about poisoning one's opponent and has a horrible reputation. The White Veil style is only taught by an infamous and semi-legendary secret society and knowing it is equivalent to admitting membership in the conspiracy. The Infernal Monster style is a brutal and unusually powerful celestial martial art but it literally comes from hell and many sifus don't want to have anything to do with it [[spoiler:and they are absolutely right to be cautious, since mastering it allows the Yozis to mind-control you once in your lifetime]]. The Kaleidoscopic Border of Logic and Obsidian Shards of Infinity styles are so powerful they question things like identity and the nature of reality, and the Exalts who know them will only teach them to students they really, really trust. Finally, the Quicksilver Hand of Dreams style is linked to the Fair Folk and is considered unsafe by most experts since nobody really undeerstands where it comes from and how learning it changes you.

* Nether Summoning in ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' is viewed by most as a evil and dangerous art, as in the past, the nether demons nearly wiped out the fae races, killing entire kingdoms with their aura feeding abilities. The Sharen's use of it in combat marks the sheer desperate levels they have fallen to in their war against the Sarghress, who are winning their war.

* ''Literature/TheWitchOfKnightcharm'': The Scholomance is an institution dedicated to teaching these. Judging by the skill of the team which attacks Emily during her first mission, it’s a very effective teacher.

* Spells of the Lord of Nightmares in ''Literature/TheSlayers''. All of them are destructive, likely to go horribly wrong, the most well known of them can end the world, and they are based on the power of an EldritchAbomination creator deity. Even Lina, who tends to cast the more tame BlackMagic spells like there's no tomorrow, is very serious about these spells. The UnholyNuke "Dragon Slave" is PlayedForLaughs every second time; these spells never are.

* The magic-users of ''LightNovel/RentalMagica'' has the set of taboo, mainly prohibiting things that either turn the user into an insane BlobMonster more often than not (including [[CameBackWrong resurrection]]) or cause a massive area contamination. A plain magical crime (like slaughtering the whole village to get a lot of zombies quickly) apparently isn't lumped with it. Of course, there's an opposition, [[ForScience Ophites]].

* Spells of the Lord of Nightmares in ''LightNovel/TheSlayers''. All of them are destructive, likely to go horribly wrong, the most well known of them can end the world, and they are based on the power of an EldritchAbomination creator deity. Even Lina, who tends to cast the more tame BlackMagic spells like there's no tomorrow, is very serious about these spells. The UnholyNuke "Dragon Slave" is PlayedForLaughs every second time; these spells never are.

[[folder:Fanfic]]

* For a considerable time in Creator/LarryNiven's Literature/KnownSpace history almost all technological research was considered this. The Earth government suppressed any new technology that could be weaponized, which turned out to be everything.
* The [[TheFederation Confederacy]] in S.A. Swann's ''Hostile Takeover'' series bans LegoGenetics of humans or other sapients (Explicitly including new types of [[UpliftedAnimal Moreau]]),[[AIIsACrapshoot AI]] in any form, and {{Nanomachines}} likewise. The first two date from the devastating wars immediately preceding the MoreauSeries, the third from a GreyGoo incident on Titan. This prohibition is so strong that OrbitalBombardment of any community found to be practicing them is considered restrained. [[EarthShatteringKaboom Sterilizing]] the [[ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure entire planet]] is also on the table.
* In ''{{Literature/Pact}}'' Diabolism is seen as this because making a DealWithTheDevil tends to cause damage to the world itself and nothing good comes from it.

* A lot of what humans know about the effects of freezing and phosgene gas on the human body comes from Nazi experimentation - the ethical debates are still raging.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has the Seven Laws of Magic laid down by the White Council that bar against certain types of magic; the penalty for breaking any of them is death. These laws prohibit: using magic to kill a mortal, {{Necromancy}} (specifically, ''human'' necromancy), TimeTravel, [[BalefulPolymorph changing another's shape]], MindRape, or summoning [[EldritchAbomination Outsiders]]. Preventing killing and MindRape is pretty self-explanatory, [[BalefulPolymorph changing someone else's form]] will probably destroy their mind as a side-effect, time-travel is too likely to backfire in your face, and Outsiders want to destroy all reality. The laws are always enforced with death after the first transgression (unless the transgressor is vouched for by another wizard), which is actually a case of ShootTheDog. See, to make magic happen you have to believe that doing it is right; ergo, BlackMagic users are genuinely choosing to [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jump off the slippery slope]] [[TheCorruption real fast]].

Basically, The Dark Arts are any science, discipline, magic or martial combat style[[note]](or all of the above, as a NinjaPirateZombieRobot of {{Supernatural|MartialArts}} MartialArtsAndCrafts [[MagicFromTechnology From Technology]])[[/note]] that is deemed by society in general and the establishment in particular as a Bad Idea.[[labelnote:®]](For some reason, actual artistic techniques are rarely considered a Dark Art)[[/labelnote]]

In other words, if there are ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow, you can expect someone to have thought it would be cool to make an [[TomeOfEldritchLore easy to read how-to book on it]]. The "Dark" Art might [[DarkIsNotEvil not necessarily be evil]] or dangerous, but there's always at least some cause to consider these powers/skills potent and not to be left open for everyone to learn.

** It invokes dangerous [[SentientCosmicForce forces]], [[HijackingCthulhu beings]], and [[CapturedSuperEntity entities]] which are [[EvilIsNotAToy impossible to control once released]], and which tend to hold a grudge about being forced into service - if they were [[UnwittingPawn ever really under the user's control to begin with]] and not just [[DealWithTheDevil giving them the rope to hang themselves with]].

** [[LovecraftianSuperpower Looks really scary]], or a [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch small but dangerous band]] used it. Usually the Art itself is DarkIsNotEvil, but the negative cultural associations make the establishment distrust it.

** Could change the status quo by altering social, economic or military realities. This can be good if it would remove the weakness in a TerminallyDependentSociety (and bring the corrupt leaders down with it), or bad if the change would cause widespread chaos.

There are a lot of possible tropes that can be treated as a Dark Art, here are a few:

So, just who practices the Dark Arts in spite of all these dangers? Lots of people/things! If it's magical, then an EvilSorcerer, if it's a science then a MadScientist of course, and if it's a martial art then the ArrogantKungFuGuy is likely to know it. Expect them to learn their craft in the AcademyOfEvil. If ''any'' kind of magic/science is considered to be the Dark Arts, you have MagicIsEvil or ScienceIsBad.

Not to be confused with shadow magic, which [[CastingAShadow allows the user to bend and make darkness and shadows via magic]].

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' Magia Erebea is powered by nasty stuff. Negi isn't even [[spoiler: human]] anymore due to overuse of it. In fact, Evangeline started teaching it to him because she wanted to ''corrupt'' him into her "mini boss" flunkie.
** At least, she jokes about it. She could tell soon after meeting Negi that his MartyrWithoutACause complex would cause him to jump at the chance to learn it if that ever arose, and didn't so much teach it to him as slant his regular training towards surviving making that choice. That this suited her sadistic tendencies just fine (it meant she had to break him - just a bit, and carefully - as while you don't quite have to be evil to use Magia Erebea, you can't consider yourself entirely [[{{Determinator}} committed to any ideal or virtue]]) was providentially coincidental.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Human transmutation is forbidden because it violates RuleNumberOne of Alchemy, EquivalentExchange. "For what can equal a human soul?". Because of this practioners always lose body parts and resurrections always ComeBackWrong.
* In ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'' [[spoiler: Marcille dabbles in forbidden magic, believing that magic is inherently neither good nor evil and only man can be both. Could also be terribly, terribly wrong about this - when she's using forbidden magic to cast dispel on the Lunatic Magician's dragonblood minions, she starts chuckling and smiling as she's spattered with blood, bleeding from the nose, and her eyes are unclear and distant. However this are also symptoms of large usage of mana, which BloodMagic uses so it might just be that.]]

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': There's some categorization in-universe on the [[SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness seriousness]] of offensive magic, as such spells are called either jinxes, hexes or curses. Jinxes are defined by WordOfGod as "spells whose effects are irritating but amusing". Hexes are darker, intended to cause some pain or discomfort, while curses are described as "the worst kinds of dark magic". Three in particular, the "Unforgivable Curses"-- [[AgonyBeam Crucio]], [[OneHitKill Avada Kedavra]], and [[HypnoRay Imperio]]-- are so called because any use of them is punishable by life in prison. Villains use them all the time, naturally, but our heroes will only ''consider'' it after crossing the GodzillaThreshold.

** Despite dissent towards witchcraft, The Catholic Church wasn’t entirely against magic. The church believed ceremonial Magic was evil, as they thought it relied on making pacts with spirits, while another type of magic, natural magic, was permitted as practitioners of it claimed to be using natural processes, not spirits, to do supernatural feats. These natural magics usually were composed of [[HermeticMagic|The Hermetic Arts]] and the primary types of magic used were [[AlchemyIsMagic|Alchemy]]: The replication of geological phenomena through manual craft and early experimentation with medical herbs, and [[TheAstrologer|Astrology]]: The prediction of events and diving of information through the observation of celestial body movements.