History Main / DontLookBack

* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', Rohan and Koichi are trapped in a looping neighborhood until they can learn the story of Reimi Sugimoto so that they can solve her murder (itself inspired by [[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lighton.asp similar stories to this trope]]). Once she has explained all this, she guides them to the exit, but gives them the warning that if they look back in escaping this haunted alley, the resident ghosts will drag them to their death. She walks behind them to be sure of when they are out of the alley, and instructs them to close their eyes, as the dimension can play tricks on them. Using her guidance, they make it farther out than anyone ever has before. However, the dimension also takes advantage of her guidance, and [[spoiler: simulates a rush of feeling suggesting they have passed the entrance, then fakes her voice instructing them that it's okay to open their eyes. They do, and Koichi looks back. Fortunately, before he can get dragged to his death, Rohan quickly activates his Stand ability, Heaven's Door, to edit Koichi's memory and vision to make it incapable for him to look, thus saving him until they can actually emerge.]]

* The [[Literature/TheBible biblical account]] from the Literature/BookOfGenesis of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah includes God's warning to Lot, his wife and daughters to not look back as they flee the cities prior to the cities' imminent destruction ("Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed" (Genesis 19:15-17)). Yet, [[CuriosityKilledTheCast Lot's wife does]], and upon [[WatchingTroyBurn seeing the flaming ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah]], is turned into a [[TakenForGranite pillar of salt]].

* The [[Literature/TheBible biblical account]] of the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah includes God's warning to Lot, his wife and daughters to not look back as they flee the cities prior to their imminent destruction ("Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed" (Genesis 19:15-17)). Yet, [[CuriosityKilledTheCast Lot's wife does]], and upon [[WatchingTroyBurn seeing the flaming ruins of both cities]], is turned into a [[TakenForGranite pillar of salt]].

* The Izanagi and Izanami myth from [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Japanese lore]]. They created Japan and lots of stuff happened, but then Izanami died, and went to [[{{Hell}} Yomi-tsu Kuni]]. Izanagi decided to [[ToHellAndBack go there and bring his beloved back from the land of darkness and death.]] Izanami greeted Izanagi from the shadows as he approached the entrance to Yomi. She warned him not to look at her and said that she would try to arrange for her release from the gods of Yomi. [[FreudWasRight Full of desire for his wife]], Izanagi lit a torch and looked into Yomi. Horrified to see that Izanami was a rotting corpse, Izanagi fled. Angry that Izanagi had not respected her wishes, Izanami sent [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill hideous female spirits, eight thunder gods, and an army of fierce warriors]] to chase him. Izanagi managed to escape and blocked the pass between Yomi and the land of the living with a huge boulder. Izanami met him there, and they broke off their marriage.

* The biblical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah includes God's warning to Lot, his wife and daughters to not look back as they flee the cities prior to their imminent destruction ("Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed" (Genesis 19:15-17)). Yet, [[CuriosityKilledTheCast Lot's wife does]], and upon [[WatchingTroyBurn seeing the flaming ruins of both cities]], is turned into a [[TakenForGranite pillar of salt]].

* ''[[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/boyfriend.asp The Boyfriend's Death]]''. When the girl is told to get out of the car by the police they tell her to not look back. She does, and sees either (a) the body of her boyfriend hanging down from a tree limb and scraping the roof with its fingers or (b) the madman who killed her boyfriend sitting on top of the roof and tapping it with her boyfriend's head.

To avoid the whole WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic debate, purely practical examples (such as being chased by a {{Medusa}}) are not excluded from this trope. This extends to video games that use it as a particularly brutal way of enforcing RatchetScrolling: Turning back kills you instantly.

* The song at the end of ''ShadowTheHedgehog''.

->''Don't look back. [[GenreSavvy Something might be gaining on you]].''

* The Izanagi and Izanami myth from [[JapaneseMythology Japanese lore]]. They created Japan and lots of stuff happened, but then Izanami died, and went to [[{{Hell}} Yomi-tsu Kuni]]. Izanagi decided to [[ToHellAndBack go there and bring his beloved back from the land of darkness and death.]] Izanami greeted Izanagi from the shadows as he approached the entrance to Yomi. She warned him not to look at her and said that she would try to arrange for her release from the gods of Yomi. [[FreudWasRight Full of desire for his wife]], Izanagi lit a torch and looked into Yomi. Horrified to see that Izanami was a rotting corpse, Izanagi fled. Angry that Izanagi had not respected her wishes, Izanami sent [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill hideous female spirits, eight thunder gods, and an army of fierce warriors]] to chase him. Izanagi managed to escape and blocked the pass between Yomi and the land of the living with a huge boulder. Izanami met him there, and they broke off their marriage.

* Orpheus of GreekMythology wanted his dead wife back, so he visited Hades (after moving Charon and making Cerberus fall asleep with his incredible music playing). Hades agreed on the condition that Orpheus not look back until the couple were back in the living world. Sadly, Orpheus turned to look JUST as they were almost out of the Underworld, because he wanted to be sure that his wife was really behind him.

* In SluggyFreelance Gwynn spent a long time possessed by the demon K'z'k. There would be occasional scenes during this period set in Gwynn's "inner universe" where she could be seen trudging determinedly along a road with K'z'k's avatar badgering and cajoling and trying to trick her into looking at what was following her. Gwynn steadfastly refused until K'z'k started using her body to kill her friends, showing her the events as they were unfolding and taunting her with her powerlessness to stop them. Finally, in desperation and with no other ideas, [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/010314 Gwynn turned around.]]

* In ''TheItalianJob'', Charlie Crocker fears that his girlfriend's involvement in the heist is putting her at unacceptable risk, so he buys her a plane ticket back to England. He tells her to walk straight to the plane, "Look neither to the right nor to the left," to avoid attracting attention. She, of course, turns around and shouts "Bye, Charlie!" the entire way to the plane. Nothing bad comes of this.
* Played for laughs in ''TheGumballRally''.

** Rock group Boston's 1978 hit "Don't Look Back."

* The biblical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah includes God's warning to Lot, his wife and daughters to [[DontLookBack not look back]] as they flee the cities prior to their imminent destruction ("Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed" (Genesis 19:15-17)). Yet, [[CuriosityKilledTheCast Lot's wife does]], and upon [[WatchingTroyBurn seeing the flaming ruins of both cities]], is turned into a [[TakenForGranite pillar of salt]].

-->''Don't look back. [[GenreSavvy Something might be gaining on you]].''
-->--[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satchel_Paige Leroy "Satchel" Paige]]

* The biblical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah includes God's warning to Lot, his wife and daughters to not look back as they flee the cities prior to their imminent destruction ("Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed" (Genesis 19:15-17)). Yet, Lot's wife does, and upon seeing the flaming ruins of both cities, is turned into a pillar of salt.

* At the end of ''SpiritedAway'' by Creator/HayaoMiyazaki, Chihiro is forbidden to look back as she is journeying out of the spirit world. She nearly does, but conquers that temptation.

* In Literature/TheBible story of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his family live in a city full of sinners. God allows them to escape while He destroys the city. However, they are told not to turn back. Lot's wife, however, does it anyway, and she is then turned into salt.

* The biblical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah (Genesis 19) includes God's warning to Lot, his wife and daughters to not look back ("Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed" (Genesis 19:15-17)). Yet, Lot's wife does, and upon seeing the flaming ruins of both cities, is turned into a pillar of salt.

[[folder:{{Mythology}}]]

* Invoked in ''JudgeDredd'', during the "Apocalypse War" StoryArc, Mega-City One is ravaged by the [[GloriousMotherRussia Soviet]] city-state East-Meg One to the point where a massive throng of civilians (in the comic, said to be "an estimated 27 million people") are at one point seen making an exodus. One child being carried by his father looks back and says, "Bye-bye city," while his father responds, "DontLookBack, boy! You might catch something!" Later, the freak weather conditions caused by the destruction of [[WeatherControlMachine Weather Control]] creates hurricane conditions, which sweeps up the escaping refugees and "unceremoniously deposits them back in the city from which they fled."

Can lead to CuriosityKilledTheCast. Has nothing to do with DontLookDown: "Back" is where you are coming from, not merely a direction opposite to where your head is facing. Also unrelated to UnflinchingWalk, where you Don't Look Back at the ''explosion'' happening behind you simply because [[RuleOfCool it looks cooler]]. Contrast with LookBehindYou.

-->''Don't turn around... [[GenreSavvy That thing standing directly behind you will just get pissed off]]...''
-->--{{LetsPlay/Markiplier}}, just trying to add a bit of fear to our lives while making a rather [[SlasherSmile unsettling]] face

[[folder:RealLife]]
* "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you."
-->[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satchel_Paige Leroy "Satchel" Paige]]
[[/folder]]