History Main / ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. In "Look at the Princess", John Crichton and the eponymous princess are trapped in a room being filled with DeadlyGas. Suddenly they see [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]] advancing on them through the clouds of white gas, but instead of an assassin it turns out to be their alien servant, who has [[BizarreAlienBiology glowing red eyes]] that she uses to guide them to safety.

* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando'' introduces Slim Cognito, a FriendOnTheBlackMarket who only ever appears as one of these, peeking out through the opening to whatever shelter he's hiding in.

* ''WesternAnimation/BigTim'': After Tim gets sent to the sheds for Kid Friction causing him to wreck his first train, all we see of him is his eyes in the darkness. The other engines open their eyes to signify they're there when talking to TIm.

* ''Webcomic/FreddyFox'': In [[https://www.freddyfoxcomic.com/comic/fearsome-predator/ the 64th strip]], the only part of Cathy the cat that can be seen during her nocturnal prey hunt are her eyes for three panels... until she get her tongue caught in a mousetrap, waking up Angie in the process.

Depending on how it is drawn, can be LazyArtist. While drawing the scene in the page image takes as long as normal, when a cartoon simply shows the character's eyes in pitch black it saves a lot of animation time. Then again, the eyes are very good at reflecting light in dim environments, as anybody who's been around a black cat in the dark can tell you, [[note]]Cats have more reflective eyeballs than humans, but the concept still applies to humans[[/note]] and eyes can easily convey a ''lot'' of emotion quickly.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Hearthstone}}, the game table for the first adventure, ''Curse of Naxxramas'', has a dark passage with a GiantSpider hiding inside. The spider's many eyes can be periodically seen from the entrance.

Depending on how it is drawn, can be LazyArtist. While drawing the scene in the page image takes as long as normal, when a cartoon simply shows the character's eyes in pitch black it saves a lot of animation time. Then again, the eyes are very good at reflecting light in dim environments, as anybody who's been around a black cat in the dark can tell you [[note]]Cats have more reflective eyeballs than humans, but the concept still applies to humans[[/note]], and eyes can easily convey a ''lot'' of emotion quickly.

* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' does it in season 2 episode 20 of the remake series, when Yuki is locked in a closet. The door shuts behind him leaving him in pitch darkness for a moment complete with him blinking before shifting to HollywoodDarkness for the rest of the scene.

* ''Manga/KonohanaKitan'': In episode 6, as soon as Satsuki mentions she's afraid of the dark, a ghost leaves her and Natsume in complete darkness with only Satsuki eyes visable for a moment.

* ''Animation/BoBoiBoy'': In episode 5, after [=BoBoiBoy=] [[BuriedAlive buries Adu Du and Probe with a landslide after trapping them in a pit]], Adu Du's eyes are visible despite them being underground (Probe's red glowing eyes don't count since he's a robot).

* In episode 3 of ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf: Marching to the New Wonderland'', the lights are turned off completely, leaving only the Spider of Justice's eyes and Mr. Slowy's glasses visible.

* Laura at the end of Issue #5 in ''ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine''. [[spoiler: Because Luci gave her her powers, and her eyes glow faintly red with her cigarette]].

* In ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'', Oscar, Finley and China Girl are spied on by a whole lot of pairs of gleaming eyes when they enter [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Dark Forest]]. Several times they turn around suspiciously, but are an instant too late to spot the eyes [[spoiler: until the snappy animated plants they belong to are ready to attack]].

* In ''Film/{{Nightlight}}'' (2015), the dog's eyes reflect as twin circles of light whenever the flashlight glints off them in the dark. [[spoiler: That's all we see of it - points of light being violently yanked off-camera in the blackness - when it dies.]]

* The dragon from TSR Games logo does [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM3Yxwd-DEo this]].

* The Goa'uld of ''Series/StargateSG1'' do GlowingEyesOfDoom. It is done in the dark on occasion, and once by a villain as he stepped ''into'' the dark, so his eyes are the last thing to go into the shadows.

* A rather unsettling number of examples come from Chromeo's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkbpfPmqqbw music video for "Don't Turn the Lights On,"]] at the end culminating in the lights coming back on showing [[spoiler: ''just'' the lead singer's floating eyes.]] Which, given the rest of the video, is a bit more humorous.

** ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVI'': In the large labyrinth, one room is so dark that all the player can see of Alexander is his white eyes against the black surroundings. If the player doesn't have a source of light, rumbling noises and a growl are heard as the Minotaur enters the room, while Alexander's eyes are lifted up, shaken, and... well, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN8_cUuSaSU that's gotta be painful]].

* This [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1997453273&searchtext= Cartoon Cat SNPC mod]] for ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' does this, seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chGSGKry4D4=953 here]]

* ''WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions'': Happens to Blue when he gets locked in a room a la Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado as punishment for going on tangents by Red in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4da1S6moF2Q&list=PLDb22nlVXGge8g-zuhd2Ts9b7_ln5JQSJ&index=25 this video]].

* ''Webcomic/{{Project 0}}''. Cleverly coupled with GlowingEyesOfDoom [[http://centralcitytower.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d5miak2 when Ciro and Kareem go into shadow mode]].

* ''Webcomic/{{Underling}}'': Done for effect [[http://underlingcomic.com/page-one/ in the intro]] or with the Lilitus [[http://underlingcomic.com/page-one-hundred-seventy/ in a dark cave]].

* [[http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-120/ Hartmann's]], in ''Webcomic/TheSpecialists''.

** In "The Nobody", Gumball and Darwin stumble into a darkened basement [[FailedASpotCheck they didn't know they had]] while looking for an intruder. At first, Gumball apparently has a third eye but then the torchlight shows that it's just a reading lamp. Nevertheless, the apparent extra eye turns out to be a bit of {{Foreshadowing}} once they discover that [[spoiler: Rob, a {{Cyclops}}, is the intruder]].

* Seeking shelter on a coral reef, Chris and Martin on ''WesternAnimation/WildKratts'' are joined in a pitch-black rock crevice by a ''huge'' pair of eyes. This is all the more alarming in that they're miniaturized at the time, hence ''very'' vulnerable to predators. [[spoiler: Fortunately, it's just a harmless blowfish.]]

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftII'' uses this in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CRawxPZNbk the Tomb of Sargeras scene.]]
* In the ''Videogame/WorldOfWarcraft: [[ExpansionPack The Burning Crusade]]'' trailer, the first thing you see of Vindicator Maraad is his eyes. However, that's [[GlowingEyesOfDoom justified because he's a draenei]].
* This is utilized during the final battle of ''VideoGame/{{Okamiden}}'' in that one of the attacks of the BigBad is to cloak the battlefield in darkness, and his glowing eyes are the only way to find him, attack him until he's stunned, and then bring the light back.

* The alien ''atevi'' of the ''Literature/{{Foreigner}}'' series have reflective retinas (just like real-life cats), causing their pupils to shine in dim light; this unnerves a lot of humans. Conversely, the fact that the eyes of humans ''don't'' shine in dim light unnerves a lot of atevi.

* ''WebVideo/CrossedLines'': In Episode 8, Kindred Spirits, when Ferrus is talking, we see his eyes glowing in the darkness of the building he was relegated to as a pumping engine.

* ''WesternAnimation/FetchWithRuffRuffman'': This happens in this [[https://archive.org/details/fetchpromodisc rare promo]], "Ye Olde Colonial Episode", and the Humble Media Genius video "An Orange Dog Goes Green".

* ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' (1973/74) episodes.

* Done rather nicely on ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' when the Titans fight a bunch of machines in a dark sewer-like area. Starfire's green energy bolt is the only source of light. Beast Boy, in human form, is cornered by a machine. When the light goes away, his pupiless eyes remain. When the light comes back, it's revealed he turned into a gorilla and crushed the machine.