History Main / TheDarkTimes

* WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}: The opening song, 'The Gospel Truth' tells the story of how eons ago, massive Titans wrecked the earth. And then along came Zeus.

** The Dark Age of Technology was followed by a genuine Dark Time when human civilization collapsed, thanks to a NegativeSpaceWedgie ending all interstellar travel and communication. Earth in particular became a hellhole where warlords, despots, and techno-barbarians fought against each other, committing all sorts of atrocities in the process. Peace didn't return until the Emperor proved himself the greatest warlord of all and subjugated the entire planet with his armies, with the galaxy to follow. However, as with everything else about ''Warhammer 40,000'', exactly how bad things were varies greatly DependingOnTheAuthor.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has several Dark Times: the aftermath of "The War in Heaven" stands out when all life was enslaved under the rule of the [[PhysicalGod C'tan]], until a ''plague of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s killed 99% of all living things.''
** By most series' standards, Warhammer 40k is entirely made up of Dark Times.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' frequently referred to the war between the Jedi and Sith, which led to the dominance of the Jedi, and the threat of the prequel trilogy is solely the return of the Sith. The gap between ''Episode III'' and ''Episode IV'', during which the Empire ruled uncontested, enslaved world after world and hunted down the surviving Jedi, is referred to as "the Dark Times", in-universe. Specifically by Obi-Wan in ''Film/ANewHope'' when giving Luke the short version of the Jedi Purge and [[JediTruth his father's death]].

* ''LightNovel/WorldEndWhatDoYouDoAtTheEndOfTheWorldAreYouBusyWillYouSaveUs'': The world was originally a barren wasteland inhabited by strange creatures. This all changed with the arrival of the Visitors, who used their powers to change the world into something far more recognizable. [[spoiler: The trope gets subverted when it’s revealed that planet’s original inhabitants did not view their world as a wasteland; rather it was a paradise that the Visitors had stolen from them. These creatures, later known as the 17 Beasts, would eventually re-emerge and attempt to return the world to way it once was. This desire has unfortunately led to the current conflict between the beasts and the surviving Visitor created races.]]

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[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

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* In Literature/TheBible, it's implied that during the time when the Earth was formless in the first chapter of Genesis, {{Satan}}'s Rebellion was in progress. While Adam and Eve were initially spared from experiencing this conflict, it all went to pot when they were tempted to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, kicking off a period when humans became increasingly more wicked and started producing giant offspring with angels. Things got so bad that {{God}} had to destroy the old world in TheGreatFlood minus everyone and everything in the Ark.

* The Earth of the mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse had one of those during the time of the Elder Gods, who came into existence shortly after the planet's formation. After an unknown period of peaceful cohabitation, one of them, [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Set]] killed and devoured one of his kin to absorb his powers; others began to imitate him, resulting in an apocalyptic orgy of cannibalistic violence that saw most Elder Gods killed or corrupted by their actions into {{eldritch abomination}}s. Only four survived -- Gaea (mother of Thor), who gave birth to an über-god to destroy her corrupted kin; Set (he of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Serpent Crown]]); [[EvilSorcerer Cthon]], who fled said über-god's onslaught to other dimensions; and Oshtur (one of the [[PowersThatBe Vishanti]], from ComicBook/DoctorStrange), who'd been away exploring the cosmos since before the whole thing started.

* [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos In the Slender Man fic]] ''Fanfic/ByTheFiresLight'' this is where it is implied the Slender Man hails from [[spoiler: and what it is attempting to bring back.]]
* ''Fanfic/StrengthsOfTheHeartAndMind'': Long ago, when the Dark Bonneters (dark versions of the hat spirits in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'') ruled the Corona Empire, they ruled by fear, keeping morale low on purpose to make their subjects easy pickings for their possession. Countless victims were possessed and subjected to horrific tortures so their spirits would fade and the Dark Bonneters would have full control over their bodies. These times ended when the [[LaResistance Red Berets]] stormed the capital and killed King Krános, sparking a war which killed most of the Dark Bonneters and forced the rest to set up laws against possessing humans and various other species.
* ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'': In the backstory, ancient alien races (the Ancient Ones, the Angels...) and powerful deities fought over the galaxy long before the birth of the mankind. The [[EldritchAbomination Angels]] met by the main characters are the last survivors of their wars.
* In ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'', [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos cosmic horrors]] ruled the Earth in the far past. The story happens because they're returning... and they don't particularly care about the ape-like creatures infesting their ancestral homeworld.
* In ''Fanfic/TheElementsOfHarmonyAndTheSaviorOfWorlds'', the 20 years between Queen Majesty's death and [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyRescueAtMidnightCastle Megan's first arrival]].

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' frequently referred to the war between the Jedi and Sith, which led to the dominance of the Jedi, and the threat of the prequel trilogy is solely the return of the Sith.
** The gap between ''Episode III'' and ''Episode IV'' are referred to as "The Dark Times", in-universe. Specifically by Obi-Wan in ''Film/ANewHope'' when giving Luke the short version of the Jedi Purge and [[JediTruth his father's death]].

* In ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', the Dark World of the title is the home of the Dark Elves, a race from before the current universe who wish to return all that exists to this state of non-existence.

* The ''Literature/CalLeandros'' series includes as part of its distant past a time when the world was ruled by various monsters like the Auphe.

* Manga/{{Devilman}}'s backstory involves demons returning after having been dormant since around the ice age.
* The world of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' was besieged by the near-almighty [[spoiler: Ten-Tailed Beast]] centuries ago, until it was sealed and imprisoned by [[spoiler: The Sage of Six Paths]].
* In ''Franchise/OnePiece'', the “Void Century” that preceded the present day has been completely censored by the World Government. The most anyone knows about it is that it was dominated by a “Great Kingdom”, that the World Government began as an alliance of smaller kingdoms formed to destroy it, and that all knowledge about the Great Kingdom (up to and including the fact of its existence) is considered an immediate threat to the World Government. Research into the Void Century and the old Kingdom is utterly forbidden; the ability to read the hieroglyphs that the ancients wrote is enough to make the World Government use the most powerful attack known to mankind to completely wipe an island off the map.
** Although considering how ruthlessly amoral the World Government is on so many levels, it's anybody's guess if these times were any worse than [[CrapsaccharineWorld present times]].
** An alternate fan theory is that the World Government IS the terrible enemy spoken of in the ancient texts and which potentially world-destroying weapons were created to fight.
* The world of ''LightNovel/WorldEndWhatDoYouDoAtTheEndOfTheWorldAreYouBusyWillYouSaveUs'' was originally a barren wasteland inhabited by strange creatures. This all changed with the arrival of the Visitors, who used their powers to change the world into something far more recognizable. [[spoiler: The trope gets subverted when it’s revealed that planet’s original inhabitants did not view their world as a wasteland; rather it was a paradise that the Visitors had stolen from them. These creatures, later known as the 17 Beasts, would eventually re-emerge and attempt to return the world to way it once was. This desire has unfortunately led to the current conflict between the beasts and the surviving Visitor created races.]]

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation universe has the Church of the Second Hytoth, whose adherents believe that before the universe there was a dark time called the "Voru", filled with all kinds of nasty creatures inimical to life. The first universe to be created was destroyed by the Voru; we're in the replacement, i.e. ''Second'' Hytoth. The Voru are still around, and attempting to destroy this universe as well, but fortunately seven PhysicalGods called the "Koru-Teusa" survived from First Hytoth and stuck around to protect this one. ''Un''fortunately, six out of seven are dead or MIA, and the only survivor may well be on his last legs...

''In the OpeningMonologue of ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'', Galadriel describes the darkest times and greatest war that ever took place on Middle-earth at the end of the First Age. She alludes at the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor, the Battle of the Sudden Flame, the complete destruction of Beleriand during the War of Wrath. All those events, left Middle-earth in complete ruins.

In the beginning, when the world was first formed out of dust and ice, before mankind came to dominance, the world was ruled by [[EldritchAbomination dark forces]], [[UltimateEvil evils beyond imagination]], [[AbusivePrecursors ancient tyrants]]. Or at least that's what some horror and fantasy stories want you to believe, that before man arrived (and even sometimes after) there were creatures that ruled this world that are now gone.

* The Earth of the mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse had one of those during the time of the Elder Gods, who came into existence shortly after the planet's formation. After an unknown period of peaceful cohabitation, one of them, [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Set]] killed and devoured one of his kin to absorb his powers; others began to imitate him, resulting in an apocalyptic orgy of cannibalistic violence that saw most Elder Gods killed or corrupted by their actions into {{eldritch abomination}}s. Only four survived -- Gaea (mother of Thor), who gave birth to an über-god to destroy her corrupted kin; Set (he of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Serpent Crown]]); [[EvilSorcerer Cthon]], who fled said über-god's onslaught to other dimensions; and Oshtur (one of the [[PowersThatBe Vishanti]], from DoctorStrange), who'd been away exploring the cosmos since before the whole thing started.

* TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} has several Dark Times: the aftermath of "The War in Heaven" stands out when all life was enslaved under the rule of the [[PhysicalGod C'tan]], until a ''plague of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s killed 99% of all living things.''

* ''VideoGame/{{Dark Souls}}''. In the Age of Ancients the world was unformed, shrouded by fog. A land of gray crags, arch trees, and everlasting dragons.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', as it builds upon Myth/JapaneseMythology, mention an era where terrible {{Youkai}} ruled the land of Gensokyo until they were pacified by the ancestors of the humans. In a subversion, the majority of those youkai still exists today, content to be left alone [[spoiler:[[DeathOfTheOldGods because the humans Outside refuse to believe in their existence anymore]]]].