History Main / HistoricalFantasy

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', the backstory involving Mei's ancestor Sun Yee takes place in the UsefulNotes/MingDynasty and involves the gods granting Sun Yee the ability to turn into a giant red panda.

* ''Series/TheTerror'':
** First season shows the 1845 Lost Franklin Expedition being slowly destroyed by a supernatural monster and meeting Inuit shamans that are mystically connected to it.
** Second season deals with a ghost in a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Campione}}'' the modern myths of King Arthur were created and perpetuated by Guinevere. The original story is far different, with "Artos" being a god the British worshipped after he killed a [[HistoricalInJoke Roman general who had become a Campione]] and became their land's protector.

* ''Literature/TallTaleAmerica'': a retelling of American history, but focusing less on tariffs and more on people digging the Grand Canyon with their bare hands.

* ''Film/TheVVitch'' follows a family of [[NewEnglandPuritan New England Puritans]] in the 17th century who live in fear of witches in the woods... and the witches are completely real, with their portrayal lifted from writings of the time, instead of portraying the protagonists as MedievalMorons and coming up with some explanation based on ergot or mass hysteria like other works would.

* ''Film/{{Errementari}}, loosely based on a Basque folktale about a blacksmith who makes a DealWithTheDevil, set in the aftermath of the First Carlist War.

* ''Film/47Ronin'' is set in Japan during the Edo period but the country is teeming with witches, demons, dragons, and other fantastical creatures.

* On that note, ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'' qualifies as well, since it's Sengoku-era Japan but with {{youkai}} and magic, and yet the timeline appears to be unchanged.

* ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'' is set in a version of Muromachi-era Japan where spirits and gods openly walk the earth.

* On that note, ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'' qualifies as well, since it's Sengoku-era Japan but with demons and magic, and yet the timeline appears to be unchanged.

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' injects [[HermeticMagic alchemy]] (specifically, the [[ImmortalityInducer Elixir of Life]] and [[ArtificialHuman homunculi]]) into the [[{{Gangsterland}} organized crime world]] of the 1930s.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Campione}}'' the modern myths of King Arthur were created and perpetuated by Guinevere. The original story is far different, with "Artos" being a god the British worshipped after he killed a [[HistoricalInJoke Roman general who had become a Campione]] and became their land's protector.

There can be some overlap with AlternateHistory (particularly Alien Space Bats) if the fantastic elements are shown to have actually changed history as we know it. Expect the throwing in of fantastic elements to lead to a {{Historical Hero|Upgrade}} or [[HistoricalVillain Villain Upgrade]]. May overlap with WeirdHistoricalWar in stories set during historical conflicts. Essentially the inverse of {{Demythification}}, which is a genre that takes the supernatural elements out of an existing myth or legend. GaslampFantasy and MedievalEuropeanFantasy are subtropes.

* ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' lovingly showcases JK Rowling's magical community in 1920s New York, putting the movie squarely between this and UrbanFantasy.

* ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' the movies take place in the 1930s and 50s where Indie has to encounter various mythical artefacts such as TheArkOfTheCovenant and the HolyGrail.

** And ''Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters''.

** Courtway Jones' ''In the Shadow of the Oak King'' similarly strips out the magic except for making Arthur and his half-brother Pelleas telepaths. Pelleas also [[BondCreatures bonds with]] a pack of wolves. Merlin is a blacksmith and general wise man.
** Bernard Cornwell's ''Literature/TheWarlordChronicles'' trilogy, which casts Arthur as a Celtic pagan king during the Anglo-Saxon settlement and Christianization of Britain, takes the MaybeMagicMaybeMundane route for the first two books, but the waters get muddy in the third book due to some {{Contrived Coincidence}}s. It also has an UnreliableNarrator.
** Creator/DavidGemmell's ''Literature/GhostKing'' and ''The Last Sword of Power'', much more akin to "fantasy" than "historical" fiction though they're set in post-Roman Britain.

** Mary Stewart's ''Literature/MerlinTrilogy'' (later expanded to five) is mostly realistic but has some magical elements.
** Lavie Tidhar's ''By Force Alone'' is a [[{{SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism}} fairly cynical]], DarkerAndEdgier take on the legend (with Arthur being less of a romanticized [[{{KnightInShiningArmor}} Once and Future King]] and more of a medieval mob boss and TheDungAges are in full effect), while simultaneously being heavier on the "fantasy" and lighter on the "historical" side. It is a loose adaptation through the lens of {{Postmodernism}}, with a smattering of the FantasyKitchenSink (just two examples: Lancelot, in this version, is a [[TwoferTokenMinority Black Jewish]] member of some sort of [[{{NinjaPirateZombieRobot}} semi-magical ninjaesque order]]; as a minor sideline of the plot, but still quite central to two chapters, [[{{AliensInCardiff}} aliens show up for some reason]]). All of this is very much in line with Tidhar's usual style.
** ''Literature/MordredsHeirs'' by Creator/JoelRosenberg

* ''Literature/TheCatsOfSeroster'' by Creator/RobertWestall is set in a fairly realistic version of 16th Century France, with the tactics, weaponry and technology of the era preserved intact. It's just that there also happen to be [[{{telepathy}} telepathic]] cats and mystical knives that grant immortality to the wielder.
* ''Child of the Eagle'' by Creator/EstherFriesner. [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Venus]] appears to [[AncientRome Marcus Brutus]] and convinces him to thwart the assassination of UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar.

* Creator/DavidGemmell:

* ''Literature/GodsAndWarriors'', by the same author as ''Chronicles of Ancient Darkness'', is set in archaic Greece (before the Trojan War and the fall of the Minoan civilization, and before most of the Greek gods had the names we know them by). It has similar elements of mysterious gods or spirits, and communication with animals.
* Creator/GuyGavrielKay is a specialist of the variant, with ''Literature/{{Tigana}}'' an obvious stand in for Renaissance era Italy, ''Literature/TheLionsOfAlRassan'' for Spain at the time of the Reconquista, ''Literature/TheSarantineMosaic'' for the Byzantine Empire under Justinian, and ''A Song for Arbonne'' for France at the time of the Albigenoise Crusade.
** He has since added ''The Last Light of the Sun'', based on 9th-century England, and ''Literature/UnderHeaven'', based on the An Lushan Rebellion in Tang dynasty China.

* ''Literature/KeturahAndLordDeath''. Romance with Death taking place in the Middle ages.

* Creator/MercedesLackey, Creator/EricFlint and Creator/DaveFreer wrote the novels ''Literature/TheShadowOfTheLion'' and ''Literature/ThisRoughMagic'', which are set in [[CityOfCanals Venice]] in the 1530's but contain [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]], elemental spirits, and FunctionalMagic.

* Creator/CarolineStevermer's ''Literature/ScholarlyMagics'' series is set in an AlternateHistory early twentieth century with FunctionalMagic.
* ''Literature/ShadesOfMilkAndHoney'': Mary Robinette Kowal's sweet evocation of Creator/JaneAusten and her own art of puppetry (recast as the magic of illusions). Quietly focused on characterization and a slow-burn romance, but with the magical talents an integral, trivial yet all-pervasive force, building to a quite exciting climax.
** It is RegencyEngland [[InSPACE with Magic!]].

* Creator/PatriciaCWrede and Creator/CarolineStevermer's ''Literature/SorceryAndCecelia'' and its sequels (RegencyEngland, but with [[FunctionalMagic mages]]!). Also, Creator/PatriciaCWrede's ''Literature/MairelonTheMagician'' and ''Magician's Ward''.
* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/{{Stardust}}'' is an odd example, since most of the action takes place outside of historical England. The majority of the mystical parts are contained within the land beyond the wall. The wall is just a low stone wall running across the bottom of a village, which happens to contain a gate to the world that is spoken of in fairy tales. The part of England in that world is full of living stars and lightning smugglers. The real world, however, is so mundane that any part of the fairy realm that isn't at least partly from the real world would not survive the trip, turning into lifeless matter.

* Creator/NaomiNovik's ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series is set during the Napoleonic wars... with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] as air support!

* The books in Creator/AnneRice's [[Literature/TheVampireChronicles Vampire cycle]] that are set in the past qualify since they are depictions of history - except with [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]].

* Most of Andrzej Sapkowski's newer, post-''[[Literature/TheWitcher Witcher]]'' works fall into this category. This includes the "Literature/HussiteTrilogy", a series of {{historical fantasy}} adventure novels taking place in 15th century Silesia and the Kingdom of Bohemia [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin during the time of the Hussite Wars]].

* The PowerMetal RockOpera project Music/{{Avantasia}}'s ''The Metal Opera'' duology tells a story of an early 1600's Dominican monk named Gabriel who in an attempt to save his sister from a WitchHunt ends up discovering a gateway to another dimension called Avantasia.

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* On that note, ''Manga/InuYasha'' qualifies as well, since it's Sengoku-era Japan but with demons and magic, and yet the timeline appears to be unchanged.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' downplays it but it's based on the ballad of Hua Mulan, a Chinese legendary figure. It's a fantasy version of Ancient China, though the only overt fantasy elements are the spirits of Mulan's ancestors and her talking dragon sidekick.

* ''Literature/DustDevils'' is a 2014 horror vampire novel set in 1885.

* The ''[[Literature/EarthsChildren Earth's Children]]'' series, which doesn't quite fit into [[GenreBusting any one genre]], sometimes has fantastical elements, although technically it would be '''pre'''historical fantasy in this case, the series being set in Europe during the last Ice Age. It's downplayed on account of a heavy dose of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane; it's never made clear if the characters in the setting really do have psychic powers or extrasensory abilities, or if it's all just coincidence, people mistaking phenomena or abilities they don't understand [[DoingInTheWizard for magic]], or the result of [[MushroomSamba really good drugs]] (or heck, maybe a mix of both). Likewise, it's never confirmed if the [[PowersThatBe spirits and deities]] people believe in are real or not, though as with the supposed powers people have, certain occurrences do lead the reader to wonder...