History Main / ATrueStoryInMyUniverse

* In ''Anime/ScottPilgrimTakesOff'' Young Neil apparently writes a script in his sleep for a movie that follows the plot of the [[ComicBook/ScottPilgrim original comics]]. It's even directed by Edgar Wrong (a parody of Creator/EdgarWright who directed ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld). The movie gets cancelled but made into a stage musical. It turns out to [[spoiler be written by a future version of Ramona adapted from a book that Old Young Neil wrote about she and Scott's lives in the original timeline.]]

* In ''Film/{{Logan}}'' we see some real life ''ComicBook/XMen'' comics based on the in-universe group's adventures.

* According to the ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' tie-in comics, the game itself is a "documentary" based on the events of the comics.

* One issue of ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' has Comic Book Guy giving Milhouse a Bart Simpson mask to disguise himself. Milhouse asks why there are Bart masks and is told they came with the Bart Simpson cereal that ties in with Bart's comic book. When Milhouse asks why Bart has his own comic book, Comic Book Guy tells him his questions are becoming as tedious as the last three ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}'' movie.

** The novelization to ''[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor Day of the Doctor]]'' has the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors sit down and watch the two Peter Cushing movies then ring him with their ideas for a third.

* ''Franchise/FantasticFour'': Goody Two-Shoes was a supervillain. Kinda. He appeared only once, had nuclear-powered shoes, and kicked the hell out of the Thing by himself. Then the Thing managed to defeat his terrible foe. ''Then'', the "real" Thing read the comic-book and went to the editorial [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry absolutely pissed]]. We realize then that Goody Two-Shoes was defeated with [[OneHitPointWonder a flick from the Thing]], and they made up the whole fight to make the story interesting. Then the Thing does them something... uh... ''interesting''.

** ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' is a propaganda video loosely based on Hugo Danner from ''Literature/{{Gladiator}}''.

** The sequel, ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'' shows Miles' roommate, Ganke playing ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', presumably based on Spidey's adventures here. The protagonist also appears as one of the alternate universe Spider-Men.

* In ''ComicBook/AstroCity'', comic book companies publish titles based on both their own fictional characters and licensed real-life supers. The ones based on real heroes are more popular, but are also required to stay within known facts; Manny Monkton of Bulldog Comics repeatedly gets into trouble when he pushes the boundaries.
** The end of the "Dark Age" arc reveals that the entire story is an [[BasedOnATrueStory embellished novelization]] of what had happened in-universe, with some details changed, including the real names of the main protagonists.

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E8TheHauntingOfVillaDiodati The Haunting of Villa Diodati]]", it's implied Creator/MaryShelley got the inspiration for ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' from the evening's events.

** In "[[DoctorWhoS38E8TheHauntingOfVillaDiodati The Haunting of Villa Diodati]]", it's implied Creator/MaryShelley got the inspiration for ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' from the evening's events.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' episode "[[Recap/MiraculousLadybugS03E02Animaestro Animaestro]]", series creator, Thomas Astruc plays an in-universe version of himself making a movie based on Ladybug and Cat Noir. What we see of the film is the "[[https://youtu.be/FlwV3scCgAM Ladybug PV]]" anime pilot short that predated the series.

* The previous ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' games exist in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysVRHelpWanted'' based on urban legends about mysterious deaths at the pizzeria.

* ''VideoGame/BurgerShop'': Midway through the game, in the intro to the Beach Hut, the FeaturelessProtagonist licenses their restaurant chain's name to [=GoBit Games=] (the game's actual development studio), who are interested in making "a computer game with a 'restaurant game mechanic' based on [their] unique food service techniques." In exchange, they get a large amount of money and a private cruise.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* As of ''First Amongst Sequels'', the first three ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' novels sort of exist in the Nextiverse, although they're very different to the real world versions. [[spoiler: Until Thursday alters them to match our versions, just as she did to ''Literature/JaneEyre'' in the first book.]] Thursday's unwanted fame has therefore increased, and worse yet, people expect her to act like the fictionalised version.

* Fred Saberhagen's PerspectiveFlip novel ''Literature/TheDraculaTape'' is built entirely on this, with the Count frequently quoting the original ''Dracula'' novel (aka Mina's compilation of all the participants' accounts as it's presented in the original) directly while giving his own version of events. The core idea is that original authors weren't lying per se, but that there were multiple misunderstandings and places where they were decieved and Mina had her own agenda that included helping him fake his death so [[VanHelsingHateCrimes Van Helsing wouldn't murder her]].
* Tim Lucas's ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' novel, ''The Book of Renfield'', explains that Stoker just cleaned up the original journals and such.
* One chapter of ''Literature/SevenStars'', in the Literature/DiogenesClub series, revolves around the filming of the 1922 ''Theatre/SherlockHolmes'' movie starring Creator/JohnBarrymore -- which is BasedOnATrueStory in-universe because the Diogenes Club originated in a Literature/SherlockHolmes story.
* ''Literature/GoMutants'' mentions ''Film/Godzilla1954'' being a documentary and ''Film/KingKong1933'' being based on a true story.
* In the foreword for ''Literature/TheTalesOfBeedleTheBard'' that an InUniverse Creator/JKRowling is working on a seven volume biography about ''[[Literature/HarryPotter Harry Potter's]]'' time at Hogwarts.
* ''Literature/DaughterOfTheDeep'' by Creator/RickRiordan is similar to the 2008 ''Literature/JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth'' movie where ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' and ''Literature/TheMysteriousIsland'' were based on fact but Creator/JulesVerne was persuaded to make it FictionAsCoverup because TheWorldIsNotReady for Nemo's technology.
* ''Literature/DanielX: Watch The Skies'' mentions ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' being based on an actual alien.
* ''Literature/VillainDotNet'' says a lot of superhero comics and movies are based on actual heroes and villains that the public don't know exist. Basilisk says he was the basis for a movie supervillain. He doesn't specify which one, just says the film never got a sequel.
* ''Literature/TheMagicians'' trilogy has an InUniverse ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' analogue called ''Fillory and Further'' whose author got the story from neighbour children who actually had been transported to the titular MagicalLand.
* Lewis Padgett's short story "Literature/MimsyWereTheBorogoves" applies this trope retroactively to another famous series of books. In the story, a scientist millions of years in Earth's future sends two boxes of strange toys back through time, where they are discovered by children. The main plot centers on the box that lands in 1942 (contemporary time when the story was published); Scott and Emma, a brother and sister, find the toys and begin to display TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior as they influence them. The toys compel the pair to build a strange machine, but they can't quite figure out how to make it work because they lack a key equation to activate it. The solution is presented when readers discover where the other box landed--"the latter half of the nineteenth century." There, an unnamed little girl hums a poem to herself, to the delight of a nearby adult taking care of her. He remarks that he will put the rhyme in one of the books he is writing, which are based on the stories the girl's "magical toys" tell her, although he has to change them immensely to make them understandable to others. The girl then refers to him as "[[Creator/LewisCarroll Uncle Charles]]," revealing her identity as Alice Liddell--the poem is "Jabberwocky," and the stories are ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''. Alice herself is too old to be fully affected by the toys, but the books, and especially "Jabberwocky," are "the way out" and provide Emma and Scott the equation they need to activate their machine and vanish through time and space.
* The chapter in the autobiography for James T. Kirk that talks about the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' movies says ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' was an in-universe movie made on [[Recap/StarTrekS2E25BreadAndCircuses Magna Roma]]. Though the only "true" element is the Enterprise crew existing.
* In ''The Return Of The Indian'' Omri writes an award-winning story called "The Plastic Indian" which is based on the events of the original ''Literature/TheIndianInTheCupboard '' book.
* "The Portrait-Painter's Story" by Creator/CharlesDickens is a longer retelling of one of the segments from his "Four Ghost Stories", both published in the ''All The Year Round'' periodical. It starts saying they got a letter from a man claiming to be the person that "Four Ghost Stories" was based on with no idea how they heard his story. The rest of the story is his letter explaining what "actually" happened.
* According to the ''Literature/{{Flashman}}'' novel ''Royal Flash'', ''Literature/ThePrisonerOfZenda'' was inspired by the events of the novel as told by our hero to Anthony Hope.
* The pronunciation guide at the back of the ''Literature/{{Deverry}}'' books by Katherine Kerr includes references to an ongoing fued between the author and a professor of Elvish about the simplifications she uses. There are also a few references in the text itself suggesting that the books were written by a Deverrian, some centuries after the period in which they're set. The final book names this author as Cadda Cerrmor, which in Deverrian would be pronounced "[[AuthorAvatar Katha Kerr-mor]]".

* The ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode, "[[Recap/StargateSG1S5E12WormholeXtreme Wormhole X-Treme]]" has the gang investigate the titular TV show that's eerily similar to their adventures. Turns out it's made by an alien refugee who subconsciously remembers Stargate Command.

* Two episodes of ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' involve Herc in the modern day as an actor named Kevin Sorbo working on a Hercules series. It's implied that the show we're seeing is the same one being produced in-universe. Herc's reactions to some of the producer's decisions also suggest that any goofs and continuity errors in this show - and by extension, the aforementioned Xena - are a result of the events being misinterpreted over time or the show staff trying to spice it up, so we're not seeing the "true" events that happened.
* In the first episode of ''Series/SupermanAndLois'' Clark Kent sees his son Jordan fighting against Superman in ''VideoGame/Injustice2''.
* In the first episode of ''Ferris Bueller'', Ferris claims that the ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'' movie that the show was based on was actually based off his life. Doesn't make sense as his love interest Sloane moves to Ferris's school in the first episode when she's his girlfriend in the movie.
* The final episode of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' ends with Chloe reading a ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' comic to her son.

* It should be noted that giving samples of "genuine in-world text" is one of best methods to demonstrate a setting's flavour and encourage non-[[OutOfCharacter OOC]] style.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' [[TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles RPG]] is presented as a draft version of an in-universe RPG based on the setting, with notes and queries by assorted characters, and text marked for deletion with angry notes from Harry Dresden about not giving away White Council secrets.

** There are a half dozen hints (one of which had to be decoded by the reader in order to be understood) across 4 different books released in that last 5 years that hint at something that makes a lot of sense, that [[spoiler:Clan Wolverine joined Comstar after fleeing the Homeworlds, and during the next 300 years quietly gained significant influence over the organization, and after the Word of Blake Schism have nearly complete control over Word of Blake. The point of all of this was to try to unite the Inner Sphere under their leadership against the eventual clan invasion.]] The rumors surrounding what happened to them are among the oldest in canon, with the very first ground work laid years before the clan invasion event, which started in ''1988''. More and more rumors were added over the following 2 decades, weaving a murky and complicated tapestry of half-truths, rumors, and questionable intelligence reports. Even among diehard fans, the above spoiler is open to question, as the actual events that make the connection happened centuries ago in canon. Deep and complicated mysteries are quite at home in a universe with 800 years of history, including a 300 year period with maybe 2 decades of peace, in fact things being lost into the pages of history and coming back, (possibly with a vengeance) are a recurring theme in TabletopGame/BattleTech.

* In ''TabletopGame/GURPSSupers: IST'', a sidebar about IST merchandise includes the licensed RPG from Steve Jackson Games.

* One of the Cursed Artifacts in ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' is a DVD of the movie ''Ghostbusters''. In the item's backstory, it was brought into the past by the Cult of Gozer in an attempt to see what the future would bring.
** Interestingly, the movie itself is a fictionalization in ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters''.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' starts in a world very similar to the real world, in which the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series exists. The plot starts with the discovery of a book that causes, in effect, fiction to become reality, and ends up creating an (in-universe imaginary) world very similar to that of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', but with some clear differences. In other words, this is TheGameComeToLife crossed with A True Story In My Universe as a justification of why the game is set in a Final Fantasy-like world despite belonging to a different continuity from the other games in its series.

* A recurring theme in ''Franchise/StarTrek'' set ''Webcomic/TheHeroOfThreeFaces'' strips is holodramas being made based on mission logs. Usually with the characters complaining about the holodramas taking massive liberties with characterisation and events, and presenting a version of the Prime Directive that is both inconsistent and unworkable.

* The ''Website/SCPFoundation'' universe has a breakfast cereal parodying Cocoa Puffs called "Super Coco Pows". The Sonny the Cuckoo Bird parody, Bradbury Buzzard is based on [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1160 SCP-1160]]. A giant bird that gets weaker the more people who know about it. Given that the Foundation's entire purpose is to preserve the {{Masquerade}}, the best way to keep it known but secret at the same time was to turn it into a cereal mascot.

* The DistantFinale of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' shows that he grows up to write the [[Literature/{{Arthur}} children's books]] that the show is based on.

* In the final episode of ''WesternAnimation/InsideJob2021'', the last reality glitch that they can't bring themselves to destroy is ''Film/AirBud'' from a reality where that movie was a documentary.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' episode "[[Recap/MiraculousLadybugS03E02Animaestro Animaestro]]", series creator, Thomas Astruc plays an in-universe version of himself making a movie based on Ladybug and Cat Noir. What we see of the film is the "[[https://youtu.be/FlwV3scCgAM Ladybug PV]]" anime pilot short that predated the series.

* ''Anime/MacrossDoYouRememberLove'' is usually referred to as a movie made after the actual events of ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' -- in the ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' universe it's essentially "based on a true story."
** This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Anime/{{Macross 7}}'', in which Mylene and Basara appear in a remake of the movie, and Max and Miriya (who were there for the original events) comment on some of the exaggerations and distortions therein.
** ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' had an episode which adapted the events of ''Anime/MacrossZero'' into a movie, which was mainly an excuse to lavishly reanimate some of the more distinctive bits of ''Macross Zero'', as well as allude to similarities between the characters of both series. It was based on ''[[GratuitousEnglish Bird Human]]'', the biography of one of the main characters of ''Macross Zero''.
** WordOfGod apparently has it that ''all'' Macross works are this. We do not see the actual events, we see in-universe media about the actual events (like a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII movie in our reality). This neatly explains any incoherencies within the canon, as the media creators might have different viewpoints.
* [[AudioAdaptation Sound Stages]] reveal that ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha TheMovie First'' is an actual film being produced in the Nanohaverse about the childhood of Nanoha and Fate, with those two serving as technical advisers to make sure that the facts are reasonably accurate and that the battles are as realistic as possible.
** This came back in the ''second'' movie, which has a fairly large rewriting of the story [[spoiler:because a good chunk of the plot in the series was driven by a high-ranking TSAB officer gone WellIntentionedExtremist.]] One shudders to think of what this means for [=StrikerS=]...

* ''Anime/YuYuHakusho'', in the anime at least, is revealed at the end of the penultimate episode to be a compilation of footage taken by Spirit World as they monitored Yusuke's adventures.
* ''Literature/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' reveals that the beings of the Literature/CthulhuMythos were simply members of alien races, and in particular one Nyarlathotepian told Creator/HPLovecraft stories from space that he turned into the Mythos. However, it's unclear just how accurate the stories are; the series remains vague as to whether or not the title character is '''the''' Nyarlathotep or simply a member of the same race with the same name and a vastly different personality.
* ''Manga/KillerKiller'' shows that a mangaka's been selling a "true crime" comic about the events of [[Franchise/{{Danganronpa}} the Killing School Life]]... problem is, he's been killing innocent folks [[MuseAbuse to use as "reference" for the corpses]]. Hijirihara put it (and its author) on [[PayEvilUntoEvil permanent hiatus]].

* The ''[[Radio/ThirdDoctorRadioDramas Third Doctor Radio Drama]]'' "The Ghosts Of N-Space" mentioned The Doctor doing invisibility experiments with Creator/HGWells, implying these were the basis for ''Literature/TheInvisibleMan''.
* The ''Creator/BigFinish Doctor Who'' story, ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho229TheSilurianCandidate The Silurian Candidate]]'' had The Doctor saying that Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs knew the Silurian capital as "Literature/{{Pellucidar}}", implying that the Silurians inspired the titular series.
* The ''Big Finish Series/{{Torchwood}}'' audio play "[[Recap/BigFinishTorchwoodS04E04GoodbyePiccadilly Goodbye Piccadilly]]" says that Creator/HGWells wrote ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' to help Torchwood cover up an AlienInvasion.

* In Marvel Universe continuity, there is a "Marvel Comics" company that re-tells the exploits of various heroes as comic books. They're quasi-journalists, and their work is thus used as historical research in legal comedy series ''She-Hulk.'' In continuity, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour the Fantastic Four]] regularly popped by the Marvel offices to lambast the staff who were supposed to be telling their stories over plot elements that they didn't like. Similarly, [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]] not only lectured writers and editors for making him too violent, but also at one point ''penciled his own comic.''
** Most issues of ''ComicBook/WhatIf?'' are told by the Watcher, who watches not just the usual Franchise/MarvelUniverse, but the whole multiverse.
** Also in Marvel Comics, ''ComicBook/TheSentry'' originally was based on a supposedly lost series of comics from the Silver Age, featuring a more traditional invulnerable-and-superstrong character. The new series dealt with why nobody remembers this classic character existing before in a very meta-way. They come up with a save-the-world explanation in the fictional universe for his fictional nature... then it gets complicated.
** Both the ''ComicBook/PatsyWalker'' humour book and the original version of ''The ComicBook/TwoGunKid'' are explained as being works of fiction in the Marvel Universe based very loosely on the canonical characters, making them a sort of Untrue Story in My Universe.
* Most citizens of Marvel Earth believe the Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Monster to be a fictional character, and don't realize Shelley's novel was based on real events. Ditto for almost every character from [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Norse]] and [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Greek]] mythology.

* A 2020 "Hook Jaw" story in ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'', a Cornish village is using the legend of the monster shark as a tourist attraction. The pub at the centre of the tourism industry has a framed copy of ''ComicBook/{{Action}}'' on the wall.
* Goody Two-Shoes was a supervillain. Kinda. He appeared only once, had nuclear-powered shoes, and kicked the hell out of the Thing by himself. Then the Thing managed to defeat his terrible foe. ''Then'', the "real" Thing read the comic-book and went to the editorial [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry absolutely pissed]]. We realize then that Goody Two-Shoes was defeated with [[OneHitPointWonder a flick from the Thing]], and they made up the whole fight to make the story interesting. Then the Thing does them something... uh... ''interesting''.

* In ''ComicBook/AstroCity,'' comic book companies publish titles based on both their own fictional characters and licensed real-life supers. The ones based on real heroes are more popular, but are also required to stay within known facts; Manny Monkton of Bulldog Comics repeatedly gets into trouble when he pushes the boundaries.
** The end of the "Dark Age" arc reveals that the entire story is an [[BasedOnATrueStory embellished novelization]] of what had happened in-universe, with some details changed, including the real names of the main protagonists.
* The gimmick of the original ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' magazine strips were that the boy reporter published his stories in comic strip form. In ''Cigars of the Pharaoh'', the sheik is familiar with Tintin from reading his past adventures.

* ''Franchise/DoctorWho'':
** The "War Of The Worlds" story from "Tales Of The [=TARDIS=]" series has The Doctor talking about his friend, George experiencing a Martian invasion. The ending reveals George to be Creator/HGWells, implying this was the inspiration for ''Literature/WarOfTheWorlds''.
** The "Peaceful Thals Ambushed!" story in ''TV Century 21'' had ''Film/DrWhoAndTheDaleks'' as a movie based on the Dalek-Thal war that Creator/TheBBC had recently covered.
** The ''TV Action'' story, "The Eternal Present" has The Doctor team up with a Victorian time traveler called Theophilus Tolliver. At the end of the story, Theo recounts his adventure to his friend, Creator/HGWells. Implying that Theo is the inspiration for the unnamed protagonist of ''Literature/TheTimeMachine''.
** In "The Weeping Angels of Mons" Titan story, Jamie compares the [=TARDIS=] to Welles' ''Time Machine'' and The Doctor says that "Herbert" stole the idea from him.
** The ''ComicBook/DoctorWhoTitanTenthDoctor'' story, "Echo" has The Doctor mentioning he was present for the events that inspired ''[[Film/KingKong1933 King Kong]]''.
* ''ComicBook/Marvel1985'' is about a portal to the Franchise/MarvelUniverse bringing supervillains to our world. It ends with the protagonist growing up and writing for Creator/MarvelComics. In ''ComicBook/KickAss'', Chris buys ''Marvel 1985'' and the clerk tells him the author claims it was based on a true story.
* ''The Mysterious Motr Of Doov!'' has ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' TrappedInAnotherWorld in an OffToSeeTheWizard adventure. At the end, the Motr is revealed to be Creator/LFrankBaum himself who based his ''Franchise/LandOfOz'' series on the world of Doov.

* According to the ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' tie-in comics, the game itself is a "documentary" based on the events of the comics.

---> '''Second-Age video-game developer:''' The stories in our games...! THEY ACTUALLY HAPPENED?!

* In the [[Fanfic/TheElementsOfHarmonyAndTheSaviorOfWorlds Hasbroverse]], Megan Williams wrote children's books titled ''My Little Horsey'' based on [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTVSpecials her adventures]] [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie1986 with]] [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends the ponies]]. It was soon after everyone on Earth knows of the existence of Equestria did they realize those stories are in fact true. Conversely, Megan's exploits in Equestria have become ShroudedInMyth, and "The Mag'ne" is now only slightly less revered than fully-accredited {{Physical God}}desses Celestia and Luna. Megan is not terribly comfortable with this.

* The [[http://pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Pulp.htm Wold Newton Universe]] fan community, based on the works of Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer, uses this in the same way as Farmer did, to a greater or lesser extent. Some articles just say "this is what really happened", others go into more detail about "this is what really happened ''and this is why the published version is different''". Some even use this to re-retcon Farmer's own retcons!

* The sequel, ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'' shows Miles' roommate, Ganke playing ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', presumably based on Spidey's adventures here. The protagonist also appears as one of the alternate universe Spider-Men.

* The Spanish film ''Voyage to Nowhere'' (1986) features an old Carlos Galván telling the story of his life to a biographer. In those scenes, Galván himself admits that his recalling of events cannot be 100% correct and, at some points, he had intentionally taken another people's sentences as if they had been his. Simply because it looks cooler that way, you know.

* ''Film/{{Scream 2}}'' has the movie ''Stab'', which is the in-universe movie [[RippedFromTheHeadlines made about the events]] of ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}'', adapted from the IntrepidReporter Gale Weathers' TrueCrime book about the murder spree.

* ''Film/ReturnOfTheLivingDead'' established early on that Creator/GeorgeARomero's classic ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' was made to [[FictionAsCoverUp cover up]] the leak of a gas called 2-4-5 Trioxin that brought the dead back to life. Unfortunately for the protagonists, the government cover-up decided to maintain certain things that really could have helped them, such as the fact ''[[OurZombiesAreDifferent these]]'' zombies are damn near unkillable, even shrugging off getting their heads torn off.
-->"You mean the movie ''lied!?!?!?''"
* The ending of ''Film/UrbanLegend'' reveals that the events of the film had become, well, an {{urban legend|s}}, told to a new group of college students by [[spoiler:the surviving killer Brenda]]. The students soon start arguing over the various details they heard of what ''really'' happened during the massacre, indicating that the film we just saw was told to us by an UnreliableNarrator.

* ''Film/GraveEncounters2'' centers on a film student who believes the original film (which also exists in this universe) was real. He discovers he is right...and decides to prove it by [[TooDumbToLive going to the exact same place where everyone from the original film was horribly murdered]].
* The ''VideoGame/{{Tron}}'' arcade game exists in ''Film/TronLegacy''. Made by Flynn based on his adventures in [[Film/{{Tron}} the first movie]], similar to how it already appeared in the ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh'' game.

* ''Film/ClerksIII'' has Dante and Randall making a movie called ''Inconvenience'' about themselves working in the Quick Stop. Essentially the original ''Film/{{Clerks}}'' in-universe.
* In the 2004 ''[[Film/Hellboy2004 Hellboy]]'' movie, the titular character has reached cryptid status and we see one of the original ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' comics based on him.
* In ''Film/{{Logan}}'' we see some real life ''ComicBook/XMen'' comics based on the in-universe group's adventures.
* In ''Film/T2Trainspotting'', Spud decides to write a book based on his life. From the excerpts we hear, he seems to have written Creator/{{Irvine Welsh}}'s original ''Literature/{{Trainspotting}}'' novel.

* The action sequence at the start of ''Film/AustinPowersInGoldmember'' turns out to be an in-universe "Austinpussy" movie based on Austin's adventures with Creator/TomCruise playing Austin.
* ''[[Film/MarcelTheShellWithShoesOn2021 Marcel The Shell With Shoes On]]'' stars creator, Dean Fleischer Camp AsHimself filming Marcel to make the [[WebVideo/MarcelTheShellWithShoesOn original web shorts]] that the movie is based on.
* ''Film/DrJekyllAndMsHyde'': The film portrays ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'' as being based on a real man, Richard's great-grandfather, who was Creator/RobertLouisStevenson's friend, and the inspiration for his novel.
* ''Franchise/ChildsPlay''
** ''Film/SeedOfChucky'' has the Chucky and Tiffany dolls being used in an in-universe movie called ''Chucky Goes Psycho'' based on urban legends about a serial killer possessing a doll. Tiffany is played by the actress, Creator/JenniferTilly who voices her and played her human form in ''Film/BrideOfChucky''.
** During the TimeSkip at the end of the movie after Tiffany has possessed Tilly's body, a poster for ''Seed Of Chucky'' can be seen, implying that Tiffany might have starred in an in-universe version.
** The ''Series/{{Chucky}}'' TV show has a brief mention of ''Film/BrideOfChucky'' existing in-universe while also being a true story.

* The ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' books by Creator/MercedesLackey may possibly be an example -- frequent reference is made to Herald-Archivist Myste (Lackey's AuthorAvatar; her nickname is "Misty") who is occasionally said to be collecting accounts of the adventures recounted in the books.
* All of the Literature/DanielHawthorneNovels by Creator/AnthonyHorowitz: ''The Word Is Murder'', ''The Sentence Is Death'', ''Literature/ALineToKill'', and ''Literature/ATwistOfTheKnife''. Horowitz writes himself into the series as an AuthorAvatar, with the conceit being that he is writing true crime books about the exploits of master detective Daniel Hawthorne. When ''A Line to Kill'' appears to be ending with an unsatisfactory {{Anticlimax}}, Horowitz worries that he may not be able to write a book.

** It's explained in a minor book. [[spoiler: There are Outsider style grimoires that do NOT follow the 'spreading' rule. They get MORE powerful the more people believe in them. One of these is ALMOST discovered by Harry. Thomas is responsible for making sure no one learns about this kinda stuff.]]
* Both ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' are revealed at the end to share the same title as a book written by the lead character at the end of each (''There and Back Again: A Hobbit's Holiday'' and ''The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King'', respectively). Bilbo's uncompleted ''"Translations from the Elvish"'' is claimed to be the (then-unfinished) ''[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Silmarillion]]''.
** The hypothesis was also used to excuse a {{Retcon}} of ''The Hobbit''. In the original edition of the book, Gollum is quite willing to hand over the Ring itself as a prize for winning the riddle contest -- utterly out of character given the plot of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', so later editions change that scene. The preface of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' justifies the correction by noting that Bilbo himself wrote the original ''The Hobbit'' as memoirs and, already slightly corrupted by the Ring, lied about how he got it when he put the tale to paper; Gandalf eventually talked him into revealing the truth.
** The ''Red Book'' itself is said to have a companion volume of ''"Translations from the Elvish"'', which presumably contains the source material of ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. Many of ''those'' texts are attributed to specific Elvish scribes.
*** The Akallabêth (one of the stories in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'') is attributed to Elendil, a Man, and supposedly came from a copy of the Red Book as preserved in Gondor, rather than as one of Bilbo's translations.

* Fox's memoir in ''{{Literature/Inda}}'', which details the events of the Inda books, exists in two versions within the Sartorias Deles universe - one is heavily abridged and used as propaganda for his descendants, and the other is apparently a much more detailed, accurate version that very few people are aware of and which is hidden in a secret chamber in what was once his home.
* Played with in ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'': despite the fact Bob Howard lives in a world where {{Eldritch Abomination}}s are expected to destroy the world any day now, and the government has a peace treaty with the Deep Ones, he's clear that the works of Creator/HPLovecraft should ''not'' be considered factual. They're closer to reality than most people realise, but HPL was writing fiction, not history. Mostly.
* Creator/MichaelConnelly's mystery novels (all in his Harry Bosch universe):
** ''Literature/ThePoet'' received a direct sequel in ''Literature/TheNarrows'', and the further adventures of ''Poet'' protagonist Jack [=McEvoy=] were later told in ''Literature/TheScarecrow''. In both of those later novels, ''The Poet'' is a true crime book written by [=McEvoy=]. The third [=McEvoy=] novel, ''Literature/FairWarning'', reveals that ''The Scarecrow'' is also a [=McEvoy=] true crime book.
** The Creator/ClintEastwood movie ''Film/BloodWork'' was an adaptation of a Connelly novel. In ''Literature/AngelsFlight'' protagonist Literature/HarryBosch sees a poster for ''Blood Work'' and remembers that it's a BasedOnATrueStory thriller about a case involving a friend of his. In the later novel ''Literature/TheNarrows'', a character complains about how he was portrayed in the ''Blood Work'' movie.
** ''Literature/TheLincolnLawyer'' was a film about a notable case the title character, Literature/MickeyHaller, was involved in, making it BasedOnATrueStory InUniverse. The book spawned dozens of imitators and the courthouse he frequents becomes littered with Lincoln Town cars.
** Harry Bosch does not appear in the Connelly novel ''Literature/TheLateShow'', but a murder victim is an aspiring actress who was an extra in an episode of ''Series/{{Bosch}}''. Turns out ''Bosch'' the TV show is a true crime drama based on the exploits of Detective Bosch.
* ''Literature/ReadyPlayerOne'' opens with the main character explaining that many people tried to write his story (in various mediums, like games and movies) and everyone fell short or got something wrong, so he's writing the book to clear things up.
* An unusual example (in that the film in question is not directly connected to the work other than using the same idea): ''The Medusa Chronicles'' by Creator/StephenBaxter and Creator/AlastairReynolds; in the 20th century backstory, the point of divergence from our world is that NASA discover the asteroid 15566 Icarus is about to hit Earth and have to activate MIT's plan to repurpose the Saturn rockets to divert it. In the 21st century scenes, a descendant of the pilot says it's popularly believed that his grandfather was played by Creator/SeanConnery in the 1979 movie, but actually Connery played a scientist, implying that ''Film/{{Meteor}}'' exists, but is based on actual events rather than an MIT what-if paper.
* ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'':
** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresTransit Transit]]'' by Ben Aaronovitch, Kadiatu's collection of research materials about the Doctor includes an opera based on the events of Aaronovitch's earlier ''Doctor Who'' adventure "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E1Battlefield Battlefield]]".
** ''Lucifer Rising'' mentions a holodrama [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory Very Loosely Based On]] the events of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E5TheSeedsOfDeath The Seeds of Death]]", with no mention of the Doctor and his companions, and a TokenRomance grafted on.
** Near the end of ''Salvation'', there's a mention that the events inspired a Very Loosely Based movie starring Creator/PeterCushing as a heroic (human) scientist in place of the Doctor.
** The novelization to ''[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor Day of the Doctor]]'' has the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors sit down and watch the two Peter Cushing movies then ring him with their ideas for a third.
** Some Paul Magrs' stories like ''Bafflement and Devotion'' and ''The Magrs Conundrum!'' have him as an in-universe biographer who writes his books based on The Doctor and ''[[Franchise/IrisWildthyme Iris Wildthyme's]]'' adventures
** Also by Magrs, the ''Brenda and Effie'' series is loosely connected to the ''Doctor Who'' universe. The "Brenda's B&B" short story mentions an in-universe ''Brenda and Effie'' series of books based on the characters.
** ''Forever Autumn'' says that Jar Jar Binks managed to make telepathic contact with Creator/GeorgeLucas who created the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise based on what he thought were his own ideas.
** ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes'' is often true in the Whoniverse but the source varies:
*** ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresAllConsumingFire All Consuming Fire]]'' has Holmes actually existing and is written from Doyle's point of view in a DirectLineToTheAuthor style.
*** John Peel's ''Literature/DoctorWhoMissingAdventures'' novel, ''Evolution'' says that Creator/ArthurConanDoyle based Holmes on the Fourth Doctor after seeing him wearing a deerstalker cap. The plot has similarities to ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'' and presumably inspired Doyle to write it.
*** Sherlock Holmes inconsistent existence is actually justified in the ''Franchise/FactionParadox'' short story, "The Book of the Enemy" where Holmes reads the titular book and gets turned into a fictional character.
** "The Book of the Enemy" story mentioned above also has Sherlock saying that ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' is based on an actual Martian invasion realising that the War In Heaven is messing with reality and turning it into fiction.
** The Creator/JamesSwallow novel ''Peacemaker'' says that Creator/JulesVerne was inspired to write ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' after an adventure with The Doctor but had to be persuaded not to mention the Silurians.
** ''The Wonderful Doctor Of Oz'' has Missy placing Creator/LFrankBaum in a recreation of Oz. Although he gets his memory erased afterwards, the ending implies subconscious memories of this influenced him writing ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz''.
** [[Creator/EoinColfer Eoin Colfer's]] "A Big Hand For The Doctor" short story had The Doctor visit 1900 and fight SpacePirates who levitate children with an anti-gravity beam. This is witnessed by an author who's implied to be Creator/JMBarrie who wrote it into [[Literature/PeterPan a book]].
* ''Literature/{{Holes}}'' got an in-universe spin-off book titled ''Literature/StanleyYelnatsSurvivalGuideToCampGreenLake'' which mentions that ''Holes'' was written In-Universe based on Stanley's time at Camp Green Lake.
* Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer:
** In his novels ''Tarzan Alive'' and ''Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life,'' he claims that Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs and Lester Dent were just the biographers of Literature/{{Tarzan}} and Literature/DocSavage. He claims that their books were highly fictionalized and sensationalized and presents somewhat more mundane, but still sensational versions of the stories that correct various factual inaccuracies and continuity errors. For example, he explains that whenever Tarzan encountered a lion, a plains-dwelling animal, in the jungle, it was actually a leopard and Burroughs exaggerated because lions were bigger and more dangerous looking. He also tries to explain away both characters' great strength and intelligence by claiming their [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wold_Newton_family ancestors were irradiated by a meteor]] and that other relatives of Tarzan and Savage whose ancestors were exposed to that radiation include [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy]], Literature/SherlockHolmes, Literature/FuManchu, and Literature/BulldogDrummond.
** There's a lovely moment in ''Tarzan Alive'' when Tarzan tells Farmer the actual story behind one particular book, adding that the secondary hero's love interest was [[DownerEnding killed by a hit-and-run in New York City some six months after the book ends]]. Farmer comments that he likes Burroughs' version better (the lovers stay in a [[LostWorld medieval city]] in Africa), and Tarzan smiles and says, "He knew what he was doing".
** In Farmer's short story "Literature/AfterKingKongFell", Tim claims to his granddaughter that both the original ''[[Film/KingKong1933 King Kong]]'' and its 1932 novelization are mere dramatizations of events that took place in 1931, that he experienced first-hand.

* The ''Literature/BarryTrotter'' trilogy is set in a world where a series of ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' expy books turn out to be based on a true story. [[TheUnmasquedWorld Magic gets exposed]] and thousands of Barry Trotter fans camp on the grounds of the WizardingSchool.
** Barry's friends with a [[Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory Charlie Bucket]] expy who had a successful children's book based on his life.

* In TheVerse of ''Literature/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'', the Franchise/CthulhuMythos was based on stories told to Creator/HPLovecraft by aliens claiming to be gods. The main character is [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname called]] Nyarlathotep (Nyarko for short), and is a Nyarlathotepian alien, but insists she isn't the same one Lovecraft wrote about (though she does claim to have pretty much all of his abilities, like 1,000 forms).

* The sequel, ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'' show Miles' roommate, Ganke playing ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', presumably based on Spidey's adventures here. The protagonist also appears as one of the alternate universe Spider-Men.

* ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' reveals that the beings of the Literature/CthulhuMythos were simply members of alien races, and in particular one Nyarlathotepian told Creator/HPLovecraft stories from space that he turned into the Mythos. However, it's unclear just how accurate the stories are; the series remains vague as to whether or not the title character is '''the''' Nyarlathotep or simply a member of the same race with the same name and a vastly different personality.

* In TheVerse of ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'', the Franchise/CthulhuMythos was based on stories told to Creator/HPLovecraft by aliens claiming to be gods. The main character is [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname called]] Nyarlathotep (Nyarko for short), and is a Nyarlathotepian alien, but insists she isn't the same one Lovecraft wrote about (though she does claim to have pretty much all of his abilities, like 1,000 forms).

* ''Film/ReturnOfTheLivingDead'' established early on that George A. Romero's classic ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' was made to [[FictionAsCoverUp cover up]] the leak of a gas called 2-4-5 Trioxin that brought the dead back to life. Unfortunately for the protagonists, the government cover-up decided to maintain certain things that really could have helped them, such as the fact ''[[OurZombiesAreDifferent these]]'' zombies are damn near unkillable, even shrugging off getting their heads torn off.

** The Creator/JamesSwallow novel "Peacemaker" says that Creator/JulesVerne was inspired to write ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' after an adventure with The Doctor but had to be persuaded not to mention the Silurians.

*** John Peel's ''Literature/DoctorWhoMissingAdventures'' novel, ''Evolution'' says that Creator/ArthurConanDoyle'' based Holmes on the Fourth Doctor after seeing him wearing a deerstalker cap. The plot has similarities to ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'' and presumably inspired Doyle to write it.

** "The Book of the Enemy" story mentioned above also have Sherlock saying that ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' is based on an actual Martian invasion realising that the War In Heaven is messing with reality and turning it into fiction.

** Also by Magrs, the ''Brenda and Effie'' series is loosely connected to the ''Doctor Who'' universe. The ''Brenda's B&B'' short story mentions an in-universe ''Brenda and Effie'' series of books based on the characters.