The story of 'The Scorpion and the Frog' is also a dark moral story. A scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a river. The frog is hesitant because it knows the scorpion might sting it. The scorpion promises not to, but in the middle of the river, it stings the frog anyway. When the frog asks why, the scorpion says it's its nature. This shows that some people (or in this case, creatures) can't change their harmful nature, no matter how good the situation seems.
One example could be a story about a haunted house where a family moves in and strange, terrifying things start to happen at night. They hear unexplained noises, see shadowy figures, and slowly start to lose their sanity.
In the story of the boy who cried wolf, the moral 'Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth' can be seen as funny in a way. It's humorous that the boy's false alarms lead to his own downfall when there really is a wolf.
A Dark MLP story might involve a villain who has found a way to corrupt the Elements of Harmony. This could lead to chaos as the ponies struggle to regain control of these powerful artifacts and restore balance to their world. For instance, the villain could use the corrupted elements to turn the ponies against each other, creating a lot of internal conflict and despair in Equestria.
Here is one: 'Lost love, forever in pain.' Another could be 'Murdered dreams, silent screams.' And 'Lonely soul, end in the dark.'
In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Frollo's obsessive and cruel nature towards Esmeralda is quite dark. He represents religious extremism and lust, which are dark themes. His actions of trying to hunt down Esmeralda because of his 'forbidden' desires are part of the story's darkness.
One example could be a story where a furry character is ostracized from their community because they have a strange marking that is seen as a bad omen. This leads to their journey of self - discovery in a cruel world.
In the Grimm's Fairy Tales, there are many such stories. For instance, 'Hansel and Gretel' where the two children are abandoned in the forest by their parents because of poverty. They then face the danger of the witch who wants to eat them. This shows the dark side of a childhood filled with abandonment and the threat of death.
A super dark story might involve a family that moves into a new house. Little by little, they notice that things keep disappearing. One day, the youngest child starts talking to an 'imaginary friend'. But it turns out this friend is a malevolent spirit that was once a victim of a murder in the house long ago. The spirit begins to torment the family, driving them to the brink of madness.
One example is 'Wuthering Heights'. Heathcliff and Catherine's love is dark. Their passion is mixed with revenge and envy. Heathcliff is treated poorly as a child, and his love for Catherine turns into a dark obsession after she marries another. Another is 'The Phantom of the Opera'. The Phantom's love for Christine is dark as he tries to control her life in the name of love.
Some dark nursery stories include 'Rumpelstiltskin'. The little man is very menacing and will take the queen's child if she can't guess his name. 'Beauty and the Beast' in its original form has darker aspects, like the Beast being more of a terrifying figure at first. And 'The Girl Without Hands' which tells the story of a girl who has her hands cut off by her father because of a deal with the devil.