History Main / EmptyPilesOfClothing

* An extremely dark version in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen Vol 1 41''. A young man known only as "J"’s mutant power manifests one morning, which is to involuntarily vaporise all organic matter within a certain radius of himself after a short time of it being exposed to him. He wakes up on a normal day to find the house deserted and his mother’s clothes lying on the floor and all the organic food in the kitchen vanished. He heads off to school, passing an empty dog collar on the ground, then spots some people nearby but doesn’t notice them disintegrating as he turns away. When he arrives at school students start disintegrating around him shortly after he arrives leaving their clothing behind, including his girlfriend who identifies him as the source of the phenomenon as she burns away. The story cuts to ComicBook/Wolverine (who’s immune to J’s power thanks to his HealingFactor) entering a cave where J is hiding having been sent by ComicBook/ProfessorX who explains what’s happened, that at least two hundred and sixty five people were killed by his power. After explaining that the situation will be covered up by a story saying a corrosive chemical leak will be blamed, Wolverine has to tell J that the story can never get out as if it becomes public a mutant was responsible it would lead to a worldwide pogrom against mutants. J, already distraught that his power is to be an uncontrolled WalkingWasteland understands the implication and tells Wolverine to "just do it". Wolverine is shown leaving the cave alone the next morning, implying that he made in off panel MercyKill of J and buried the body in the cave.

* The tripod's weapon in ''Film/WarOfTheWorlds'' disintegrates any humans it hits, leaving only their clothing behind.

* The [[[[http://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/c/cd/Legends_5.jpg cover]] of DC Comics' ''[[ComicBook/LegendsDC Legends]]'' issue 5 has [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] standing amidst a pile of empty superhero clothes.

* The cover of DC Comics' ''[[ComicBook/LegendsDC Legends]]'' issue 5 has [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] standing amidst a pile of empty superhero clothes.

* ''Film/MomAndDadSavesTheWOrld'': The effect of the light grenade is "Pff! Grenade remains, person disappears." At one point a patrol of soldiers trigger one, living it surrounded by empty uniforms. Played for comedy.

* ''Manga/ZetsuenNoTempest'': When Hakaze Kusaribe time travels to the past, she vanishes in a flash of light but her clothes fall to the floor, and she arrives naked.

* Used in H.P. Lovecraft's short story "From Beyond". The servants of the crazed experimenter are given instructions to leave the electricity off while his Resonator is operating. One forgets and turns on a light. [[spoiler:The experimenter hears screams - and then finds their clothing dropped where they stood.]]

* Used in ''Literature/TheTimeTravelersWife'', when the title time traveler... time travels.

* In the Creator/StephenKing book series ''Franchise/TheDarkTower: Literature/TheGunslinger -- Little Sisters of Eluria'', one of the sisters betrays the others to help Roland, The Lone Gunslinger. After they have gotten away and believe they are safe, they rest in a cave. But during the sleep, Roland hears tiny bells and awakes to find only the empty clothes of the woman who helped him. [[spoiler:She was turned into a bunch of tiny bugs by the sound of the bell.]]
* In the book ''Literature/BloodMusic'' by Greg Bear, a strange infection ravages North America that totally and complete destroys the human (in most cases almost instantly), leaving only their clothes.
* In the William Essex novel ''Slime'', the living, flesh-eating toxic waste dissolves and consumes its victims, leaving nothing but their empty clothes behind, without any blood or even any residue of itself.
* ''Literature/{{Slimer}}'' by Harry Adam Knight concerns a [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever mutated great white shark]] which absorbs the minds and bodies of its victims (similar to ''Phantoms'') leaving behind just their slime-drenched empty clothing.
* ''Literature/TheClone'' has an interesting variation. The [=titular=] BlobMonster is an ExtremeOmnivore that absorbs both living and nonliving matter, but there are certain types of fabrics it won't eat. Nylon, for example, will get incorporated into the "clone" mass, but cotton will be rejected. Regardless, there's always ''some'' kind of empty clothes left after it gets done with someone.

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', mysteriously abandoned armor is often the only warning you'll get that the room its in is filled with a nigh-invisible, flesh-dissolving gelatinous cube.

** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E7PrehibernationWeekLifeOfCrime Prehibernation Week]]" [=SpongeBob=] ends up leaving his clothes behind on a plant when hiding and Sandy thinks that he's gone missing ("[=SpongeBob=] always folds his clothes neatly before running around... in the nude!"). Naturally, when she gets the town to look for him, HilarityEnsues.

* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'': in the season 3 finale, [[spoiler: a pile of empty clothes is all that's left of Simon after he gets killed by a Ghom.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'': in the season 3 finale, [[spoiler: a pile of empty clothes is all that's left of Simon after he gets killed by Ghoms.]]

* There's a pile of firefighters' uniforms in the CreepyBasement of the Pripyat hospital near UsefulNotes/{{Chernobyl}}. Of course, we ''do'' know what happened to the people wearing the gear- they died of radiation poisoning, being the first responders after the accident. Those uniforms are ''still'' bad news, because they absorbed some of the radiation the firefighters were exposed to. Even decades later, they're radioactive enough to increase your cancer risk if you get too close.

** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E13PrehibernationWeekLifeOfCrime Prehibernation Week]]" [=SpongeBob=] ends up leaving his clothes behind on a plant when hiding and Sandy thinks that he's gone missing ("[=SpongeBob=] always folds his clothes neatly before running around... in the nude!"). Naturally, when she gets the town to look for him, HilarityEnsues.

* ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'': Happens to [[spoiler:Mother Gothel]] at the end, as a result of Flynn finally cutting Rapunzel's hair [[spoiler: and depriving her of her FountainOfYouth, which kills her.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Anime/DragonBallZ https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/empty-piles-of-clothing_2233.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350: [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Man]], [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich they wasted a perfectly good breakfast.]]]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''
** "Ménage à Troi" has a Ferengi teleport the captive Deanna and Lwaxana right out of their clothes and into another room where they reappear nude.
** In "The Best of Both Worlds", after Picard is captured by the Borg, the search party looking for him on the Borg cube initially find only his uniform in a locker. They shortly thereafter find out he's been turned into a Borg himself.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. In "The Best of Both Worlds", after Picard is captured by the Borg, the search party looking for him on the Borg cube initially find only his uniform in a locker. They shortly thereafter find out he's been turned into a Borg himself.