It was a dark and stormy night

"It was a dark and stormy night" is an often-mocked and parodied phrase considered to represent "the archetypal example of a florid, melodramatic style of fiction writing",[1] also known as purple prose.

The status of the sentence as an archetype for bad writing comes from the first phrase of the opening sentence of English novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1830 novel Paul Clifford:[2] It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind that swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Lytton Cobbold defended his ancestor, noting that he had coined many other phrases widely used today such as "the pen is mightier than the sword", "the great unwashed", and "the almighty dollar".

[11] Janet and Allan Ahlberg wrote a book titled It Was a Dark and Stormy Night in which a kidnapped boy must keep his captors entertained with his storytelling.

"[15] While discussing the importance of establishing the tone of voice at the beginning of fiction, Judy Morris notes that L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time opens with "Snoopy's signature phrase".

Her co-lyricist, Don Fried, had read of a competition in The New Yorker to write a story opening with "It was a dark and stormy night" and was inspired to put it in the lyrics of "Crazy Cries of Love".

[20]In the second season of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the twelfth episode "The Royale" features Enterprise crewmembers trapped in a strange hotel on a planet otherwise incapable of supporting human life.

The contest, sponsored by the English Department at San Jose State University, recognizes the worst examples of "dark and stormy night" writing.