Dark Magic

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"*This spell asks you to tap into dark places. Places of temptation. Places you can't handle.*"
— **Abby** about dark magic in *Before Sunset*

**Dark Magic**, also referred to as the **Dark Arts** or **Black Magic**, is a powerful form of witchcraft that draws on malevolent powers that asks the practitioner to tap into dark places of temptation. Such magic has typically been used for dark purposes that deliberately cause harm in some way, e.g. to injure or kill, to cause destruction or misfortune, or for personal gain without regard to consequences. In popular usage, the term "dark magic" is often used to describe any form of magic that goes against the Balance of Nature. Dark sorcery requires a steep price to be paid in exchange for power. Those willing must sacrifice that which they hold most dear.

A "dark witch" refers to any witch who has tapped into dark magic, either to perform something they were not strong enough to do individually with traditional or other forms of magic or as a means to empower themselves with far greater strength. Despite its power, dark magic is known to corrupt the practitioner by distorting the human perception between right and wrong and most practitioners of dark magic become malefic over the course of time. Alaric explains that it gets inside the heart and it poisons the mind.

## Throughout The Vampire Diaries

Dark magic was first mentioned by Esther Mikaelson after she explained how she used it to create the original vampires. Abby also used dark magic when she desiccated the original vampire, Mikael.

Bonnie would eventually turn to the dark arts in order to desiccate Klaus. Later, Bonnie Bennett resorted to using dark magic again, in an attempt to help her friend after the Spirits turned against her. However, after Bonnie is warned about the dangerous consequences that come with dark magic from her Grams, she plans to quit the Dark Arts for good. Though is quickly forced to use dark magic yet again by the infamous Klaus to place his spirit back inside his original body and subsequently having the spirits punish her through her Grams.

## Throughout The Originals

Over a millennium ago, Esther sought out her sister Dahlia to make her fertile. Dahlia used dark magic to perform the fertility spell. Dahlia also used dark magic over the following years to link herself to Freya; perform the century slumber spell, channel Freya, make herself and Freya invulnerable and sense the newborn of each generation's magic. It is also possible that Dahlia used dark magic to link herself to Klaus and channel his immortality.

Like her sister Dahlia, Esther is also very skilled in the Dark Arts. Esther promised that if Dahlia took Freya, she would return to the Dark Arts and take revenge. Many years later, Esther used dark magic to perform a variation of Qetsiyah's immortality spell to turn her family into vampires. She then preceded to use dark magic to place the Hybrid curse on Klaus. Over a millennium later, Esther used dark magic with help of the Bennett witches to link all of her children together.

Eva Sinclair also used Dark Magic for The Rite of Nines which included linking herself to eight teenage witches so that they would die with her if Eva's body died. When asked to help break the link, Vincent tells Rebekah that this kind of Dark Magic is tricky, but he agrees to reverse-engineer Eva's work. Vincent manages to come up with an unlinking spell that is successfully performed by Rebekah with the help of Davina Claire.

## Throughout Legacies

Like other members of her family, Hope Mikaelson is no stranger to dark magic and is versed in various spells that use it, such as locator and death spells. After sacrificing a rat, she and Josie performed the locator spell to track down Landon, which she intended to use the death spell on. However, she instead used the spell against a fully transformed dragon, which resisted the spell's effect.

Josie Saltzman has also tapped into dark magic on several occasions, first of which helping Hope with her locator spell to track Landon and other times to to harm students, whether intentional or not. Specifically with Josie and Lizzie, when one twin uses or is exposed to dark magic, they both suffer physical symptoms such as vomited "black goo" or horrible rashes. Unlike other practitioners of dark magic, Lizzie and Josie are the only known witches to suffer physical consequences of using such magic. Josie, however, continued to use dark magic under the tutelage of Ryan, disguised as Professor Vardemus while using a mora miserium. She eventually broke the mora miserium and was consumed by the dark magic, creating a dark alter-ego.

The Necromancer was once a world-renowned necromancer, whose name alone caused people to tremble. His legacy, however, was essentially reduced to "barely a footnote" for a brand of sorcery, the practice of necromancy, when he was erased by Malivore. The Necromancer was a centuries old witch, well versed to many spell using dark magic, which was kept in his grimoire. On at least two occasions, he sacrificed those he held most dear for more power, namely Oscar and Chad, explaining that dark sorcery requires a steep price to be paid in exchange for power.

Cleo Sowande is also familiar with using dark magic, believing that magic is neither good or bad. Its alignment, positive or negative, is set off by the user's intention.

## Practitioners

* Esther Mikaelson †
* Freya Mikaelson
* Celeste Dubois †
* Annie La Fleur † (possessed by Céleste)
* Genevieve †
* Bastianna Natale †
* Papa Tunde †
* Valerie Tulle
* Mary Louise †
* Nora Hildegard †

* Beau †
* Oscar †
* Malachai Parker †
* Valerie LaMarche †
* Abby Bennett (formerly/undead)
* Eva Sinclair †
* Bonnie Bennett (formerly)
* Davina Claire (formerly)
* The Kindred †

* The Sisters †
* Ariane †
* Madison †
* Cynthia †
* The Hollow †
* Hope Mikaelson
* Josie Saltzman
* The Necromancer
* Cleo Sowande

## Trivia

* In *Night Has A Thousand Eyes*, Freya mentions how sacred ground that's been stained in the blood of the innocents that were massacred creates a place of "dark power", based on her revelation it would be safe to say that such a place serves as a source of Dark Magic as well.
* Dark Magic allows a witch to circumvent the common rules of witchcraft that apply to other forms of magic. Such examples include:
	+ A dark witch's ability to reach the purgatory for supernatural beings by inducing death in themselves while returning to life is powered by the sheer force of will.
	+ A dark witch's ability to access the Ancestral Plane despite not being an ancestral witch.
	+ A dark witch's ability to return to life following the performance of a suspension spell depending on a life link despite that link being broken. This is powered by the witch's force of will as well.
* Spells of possession are considered to consist of dark magic, though not all spells are out right stated as such.
	+ Traveler passengers spell are forms of possession, though it is never accurately stated that they've used dark magic specifically. This is the most likely case though as they sacrifice multiple people on several occasions to fuel their most potent spells.
* Expression is an extremely powerful source of dark magic; it isn't even credited as magic by witches.
	+ Shane states Expression is neither good nor evil.
	+ Nandi LaMarche states that the magic her mother practiced was "unnatural". In *We'll Always Have Bourbon Street*, when Stefan asks if it is like black magic, to which she replies that its worse than dark magic. Many years prior, Nandi's mother, Valerie LaMarche stated to Damon that the magic he sought was 'dark' and 'powerful' and that dark magic draws power from dark places. Casting the spell he needed would require the sacrifice of 12 human souls.