History Main / DecoyHidingPlace

* ''Series/DadsArmy'': In "The Lion has Phones", a montage shows the Home Guard platoon disguising themselves as haystacks, garbage cans, and gravestones for their camouflage training. Then when we see a row of milk churns lined up like the platoon, who actually turn out to be hiding behind a fake wall attached to a nearby barn.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* One episode of ''Manga/DetectiveSchoolQ'' has a man breaking into Megu's home doing this. There's a twist - the decoy hiding place was revealed when Megu noticed that the plates in the china cabinet had been rearranged, something most people wouldn't notice within moments of entering their home, especially when they're worried about a break-in. The fact that the decoy hiding place would only be noticed by someone with a very good memory implied that the thief knew that one of the residents had a photographic memory, which a person robbing a random home wouldn't.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', Sid looks around his room for Woody and sees an upside-down milk crate where Woody was hiding. He lifts up the crate, expecting to see Woody... but sees nothing, because Woody was {{Ceiling Cling}}ing onto the milk crate. In a deleted scene, Sid would have found Woody hiding under the milk crate at an earlier point in the movie, which is why it seemed like the obvious hiding spot when Sid was looking for Woody this time.

* In the 2005 ''Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', the heroes are hiding from an alien probe. The probe sees the tip of Rachel's shoe sticking out from behind a mirror, and moves in for the kill... but the shoe is empty. The heroes have already moved to a new hiding place.

* Marv's tale sequence in ''Film/SinCity'' has him luring Kevin into the woods by hanging his coat on a tree in order to trick him into attacking it while he attacks with an ax from behind.
* In ''Film/TheSting'', Johnny Hooker escapes from a hitman by having the diner waitress go into the bathroom and open the window. He has the hitman chase him into the bathroom and then hides in the bathroom stall with the waitress sitting on his lap (so the hitman can see her shoes under the door). It doesn't help him, because he runs out of the front door of the diner and in the same direction that the hitman had gone. [[spoiler: He escapes because the waitress was another assassin and didn't want the hitman to take the target she was setting up. She shoots the hitman and lets Hooker escape, so she can set up a better opportunity to kill him.]]
* In the climax of ''Film/BlueVelvet'', [[spoiler: Jeffrey remembers that BigBad Frank has a police radio, so while using one he found to alert the actual police, he lies about where he's hiding. Frank falls for it, which gives Jeffrey time to grab a dead man's gun, which he uses when Frank uncovers his actual hiding place.]]
* In ''Film/PimpernelSmith'' (aka ''Mr. V''), Creator/LeslieHoward is in a room with the woman he has come to rescue when the Gestapo starts up the stairs. He asks the woman about other exits and she indicates that there is a fire escape outside the window. When the Gestapo men arrive they see a table moved away from the window and a tipped over vase. Some go out the window to chase them down while the others go back down the stairs to cut them off. When they are gone, the camera slowly pans to a closet. The two poke their heads out and Howard said "I'm almost embarrassed to use that old trick. but it almost always works."
* ''Film/{{Fargo}}:'' When two criminals break into the Lundegaard house to kidnap Jean, she flees into the bathroom and locks the door. The kidnappers break the door and find a seemingly empty bathroom and an open window. Jean is actually hiding in the shower; she only gets caught because one of the kidnappers lingers in the bathroom to disinfect a cut on his hand.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. An accidental version in "Powerplay". A soldier notices the latches on the hatch to an inspection channel in the floor are raised instead of flush with the hatch. However that's because our heroes were leaving the channel, not entering it.

* In ''VideoGame/DejaVu1985 II'', you are at one point captured and stowed into a shack while the baddies leave to decide what to do with you. As soon as you're alone, you have to cut your ropes, open the door to the outside... then hide in a laundry hamper. When the baddies come back and see the open door, they assume you've fled into the desert and give chase, leaving you ample time to search their hideout for clues.

* Peter from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' buys a hut and a New York newstand and sets them up in his bedroom just to use this trope. He was in fact hiding in the bathroom.

* In ''VideoGame/DejaVu II'', you are at one point captured and stowed into a shack while the baddies leave to decide what to do with you. As soon as you're alone, you have to cut your ropes, open the door to the outside... then hide in a laundry hamper. When the baddies come back and see the open door, they assume you've fled into the desert and give chase, leaving you ample time to search their hideout for clues.

** In the novel ''Discworld/{{Lords and Ladies}}'', Magrat gets the drop on an elf by tricking it into thinking she's hiding in the garderobe (for those not in the know, it's a sort of medieval lavatory) when she's really hiding under the bed. She kicks him down the garderobe while he's distracted. It's unknown whether this would be fatal to the elf, but you can certainly bet it wasn't pleasant.
** A DoubleSubversion in ''Discworld/MenAtArms'': Vimes is hiding behind a wall, and holds his helmet out on a stick so the man with the Gonne will think he's leaning his head out. The man with the Gonne knows it's a trick and aims for Vimes, not knowing that Vimes got ''a longer stick'' in case the guy figured it out.
** Also used in ''{{Discworld/Eric}}'', when the Odysseus-inspired character of Lavaeolus uses the Tsortean Horse for this purpose. The Tsorteans take in the big wooden horse, see that it's full of air holes, and surround it with spearmen. Then Lavaeolus' small, elite squad sneak in through the secret entrance, which they know about because they got the janitor drunk.

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[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* In ''[[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Knightsend]]'', ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} finds herself cornered in an office with a bunch of goons on her tail. To throw them off, she hurls a chair through the window and hides under the desk, causing her pursurers to think she's escaped outside.

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* The ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'' movie ''ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything'' opens with the BigBad taking over the ship the Prince and Princess are on. A Mook goes into the cabin to find the princess, sees a green cylinder that looks suspiciously like a leek's foot, draws the curtain away, and... it's a vase. He leaves, and the princess and her butler come out from the trapdoor.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', Sid looks around his room for Woody and sees an upside-down milk crate where Woody was hiding. He lifts up the crate, expecting to see Woody... but sees nothing, because Woody was {{Ceiling Cling}}ing onto the milk crate. In a deleted scene, Sid would have found Woody hiding under the milk crate at an earlier point in the movie, which is why it seemed like the obvious hiding spot when Sid was looking for Woody this time.

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* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/{{Lords and Ladies}}'', Magrat gets the drop on an elf by tricking it into thinking she's hiding in the garderobe (for those not in the know, it's a sort of medieval lavatory) when she's really hiding under the bed. She kicks him down the garderobe while he's distracted. It's unknown whether this would be fatal to the elf, but you can certainly bet it wasn't pleasant.

* ''Film/Fargo:'' When two criminals break into the Lundegaard house to kidnap Jean, she flees into the bathroom and locks the door. The kidnappers break the door and find a seemingly empty bathroom and an open window. Jean is actually hiding in the shower; she only get caught because one of the kidnappers lingers in the bathroom to disinfect a cut on his hand.

* In the climax of BlueVelvet, [[spoiler: Jeffrey remembers that BigBad Frank has a police radio, so while using one he found to alert the actual police, he lies about where he's hiding. Frank falls for it, which gives Jeffrey time to grab a dead man's gun, which he uses when Frank uncovers his actual hiding place.]]

* In "Pimpernel Smith' (aka "Mr. V") Leslie Howard is in a room with the woman he has come to rescue when the Gestapo starts up the stairs. He asks the woman about other exits and she indicates that there is a fire escape outside the window. When the Gestapo men arrive they see a table moved away from the window and a tipped over vase. Some go out the window to chase them down while the others go back down the stairs to cut them off. When the are gone the camera slowly pans to a closet. The two poke their heads out and Howard said "I'm almost embarrassed to use that old trick. but it almost always works."

* In ''TheSting'', Johnny Hooker escapes from a hitman by having the diner waitress go into the bathroom and open the window. He has the hitman chase him into the bathroom and then hides in the bathroom stall with the waitress sitting on his lap (so the hitman can see her shoes under the door). It doesn't help him, because he runs out of the front door of the diner and in the same direction that the hitman had gone. [[spoiler: He escapes because the waitress was another assassin and didn't want the hitman to take the target she was setting up. She shoots the hitman and lets Hooker escape, so she can set up a better opportunity to kill him.]]

* In ''Series/TheATeam'', Col. Decker is chasing the A-Team into a sporting goods store and loses them. Decker then sees a manniquin completely covered with winter gear and, well aware of how Hannibal Smith is a MasterOfDisguise, suspiciously walks around it. Meanwhile, the camera keeps on the manniquin as if to suggest it is Hannibal hiding in plain sight. Suddenly, Decker tackles it, only to learn that ''it is'' only a mannequin and the A-Team was really hiding in a nearby tent.

** Keiko Yukimura does something similar during the Maze Castle arc of ''YuYuHakusho'' with a scarf.

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Meanwhile, the main character is hiding somewhere less obvious, [[CeilingCling possibly on the ceiling]] waiting for either a chance to attack, or for the guard to decide that ItsProbablyNothing

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* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Blackwing the raven pulls this ploy on Qarr the imp, using a shed feather sticking out from behind a pillar.

The pursuer enters the room, looks around, then notices the obvious place to hide or sign of activity. Perhaps some furniture is covered with a dust sheet, or there's a window that shouldn't be open. Perhaps the [[AirVentPassageway air vent cover]] has been mysteriously removed. Either way it's obvious where the character is. And so the pursuer pulls the sheet or looks outside, and finds... no sign of anything.

* In ''[[{{Knightfall}} Knightsend]]'', ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} finds herself cornered in an office with a bunch of goons on her tail. To throw them off, she hurls a chair through the window and hides under the desk, causing her pursurers to think she's escaped outside.

* In the novel ''{{Neuromancer}}'', protagonist Case pulls one of these early on. Running to the end of a corridor while being pursued, he kicks one door open, leaving an attention-grabbing distraction. He then pops the latch of a side door as a less-obvious hiding place. [[spoiler: He freaks out and gives himself away soon after.]]

* One episode of ''TanteiGakuenQ'' has a man breaking into Megu's home doing this. There's a twist - the decoy hiding place was revealed when Megu noticed that the plates in the china cabinet had been rearranged, something most people wouldn't notice within moments of entering their home, especially when they're worried about a break-in. The fact that the decoy hiding place would only be noticed by someone with a very good memory implied that the thief knew that one of the residents had a photographic memory, which a person robbing a random home wouldn't.

* Peter from ''FamilyGuy'' buys a hut and a New York newstand and sets them up in his bedroom just to use this trope. He was in fact hiding in the bathroom.

* Nami does the 'conspicuously open vent' version in the ''Manga/OnePiece'' filler arc G-8. Actually, she's not even hiding--she's pretending to be a nurse, claims the real pirates escaped through the vent, and urges the marines to give chase, all so she can grab Chopper (who ''is'' hiding, under the sheet on an ''occupied examination table''), convince the doctor (who had fainted) to let them go, and escape while everyone was distrcted.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Blackwing the raven pulls this ploy on Qorr the imp, using a shed feather sticking out from behind a pillar.