A sub-genre of folk music originating in the mid-to-late 1990s which features a blend of traditional Nordic folk and ambient. It distincts itself from the experimental sound of original neofolk artists (rooted in post-punk and industrial music) for its melancholic nature and minimal soundscapes.

Due to lyrical and stylistic overlap, dark folk is closely related to metal (most notably black metal and doom metal) with many artists combining these two genres.

Ulver's "Kveldssanger" is widely considered as one of its earliest and most important examples, yet the genre has roots in the original neofolk movement as well, most notably Fire + Ice whose impact on the German scene was considerable. Other key artists who helped to establish the genre include Orplid, Tenhi, Empyrium, Forseti, Darkwood, Vàli and many other, mostly German and Nordic bands and musicians.