History Main / HorrorStruck

Related: GoingNative, ApocalypticLog, SupernaturalProofFather, SkepticNoLonger.

* ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'' has poor Ichabod, after spending much of the early movie strenuously denying that there is such a thing as the Headless Horseman, meeting with him face to, well, lack of face, and watching him [[OffWithHisHead take off the Magistrate's head]]. He proceeds to [[{{Fainting}} faint dead away]] after not only witnessing this, but having the Horseman pick the head right out from between his legs with his sword.

* In ''Film/TheMothmanProphecies'', John Klein, a journalist, investigates a mothlike creature roaming in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The usual glowing eyes, mauled livestock, scratched tree bark reported from townsfolk and cops...[[spoiler:So those phone calls and dreamlike predictions coming from this so-called Mothman? They're real. We know what's in that drawer. Chapstick.]]

* In ''Film/MyNameIsBruce'', Bruce Campbell follows this trope to the letter. His frenzied flight includes shooting at the men who came to help him slay the beast, stealing a bike from a little kid, and carjacking an old lady before he finally makes his cowardly escape from the town.

* In ''Film/TheWolfman2010'', Lawrence is initially skeptical to being a werewolf and towards werewolves in general, until, you know, he actually '''becomes''' one. Played a little more straight with [[spoiler:Aberline, upon realizing he's been bitten]].

* ''Film/FourteenOhEight'': Mike Enslin, despite being a non-fiction writer about the supernatural, is a skeptic and expects a normal night's stay in the titular hotel room. It soon becomes apparent that there really is something supernatural about the room, and it intends to claim him as its 57th victim.

* Just about every Creator/HPLovecraft story.
* Interestingly played with in ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}''; the people of Djellibeybi believe deeply that the sun is pushed by a scarab beetle, the stars are painted on the body of the Goddess of the Night and so on. But you're not supposed to be able to actually ''see'' them, and when they do, the idea that all the things they've sincerely believed are actually ''true'' freaks them out.
-->Seeing, contrary to popular wisdom, isn't believing. It's where belief stops, because it isn't needed any more.

->''"On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was [[TropeNamer horror-struck]] on perceiving that he was headless!..."''

* In ''Film/TheMothmanProphecies'', John Klein, a journalist, investigates a mothlike creature roaming in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The usual glowing eyes, mauled livestock, scratched tree bark reported from townsfolk and cops...[[spoiler:So those phone calls and dreamlike predictions coming from this so-called Mothman? They're real. I know what's in that drawer. Chapstick.]]

-->-- ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' by '''Washington Irving'''

* Interestingly played with in ''Discworld/{{Pyramids}}''; the people of Djellibeybi believe deeply that the sun is pushed by a scarab beetle, the stars are painted on the body of the Goddess of the Night and so on. But you're not supposed to be able to actually ''see'' them, and when they do, the idea that all the things they've sincerely believed are actually ''true'' freaks them out.

Inspired by the protagonist of ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' and in particular Ichabod Crane's portrayal in Tim Burton's ''Film/SleepyHollow'', this state is what results when mundane presuppositions come crashing against the supernatural reality, and the character in question just can't handle it.

* ''Film/SleepyHollow'' has poor Ichabod, after spending much of the early movie strenuously denying that there is such a thing as the Headless Horseman, meeting with him face to, well, lack of face, and watching him [[OffWithHisHead take off the Magistrate's head]]. He proceeds to [[{{Fainting}} faint dead away]] after not only witnessing this, but having the Horseman pick the head right out from between his legs with his sword.

* In ''Film/TheMothmanProphecies'', John Klein, a journalist, investigates a mothlike creature roaming in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The usual glowing eyes, mauled livestock, scratched tree bark reported from townsfolk and cops...[[spoiler:So those phone calls and dreamlike predictions coming from this so called Mothman? They're real. I know what's in that drawer. Chapstick.]]
* ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm''. Since the brothers are skilled at faking monster attacks for their protection racket, naturally they think the events on this small town are caused by another hoaxster like themselves. They're wrong. They are ''so very wrong''.

* ''Film/SleepyHollow'' has poor Ichabod, after spending much of the early movie strenuously denying that there is such a thing as the Headless Horseman, meeting with him face to, well, lack of face, and watching him [[OffWithHisHead take off the Magistrate's head]]. He proceeds to [[{{Fainting}} faint dead away]] after not only witnessing this, but having the Horseman pick his head right out from between his legs with his sword. Yikes.

* ''Film/SleepyHollow'', natch. Not so much in the original legend, since in that version 1. Ichabod believes the story, and 2. it was (probably) a hoax.

Related: GoingNative, ApocalypticLog, SupernaturalProofFather, SkepticNoLonger

* ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm''. Since the brothers are skilled at faking monster attacks for their protection racket, naturally they think the events on this small town are caused by another hoaxster like themselves.

* In ''Film/MyNameIsBruce'', Bruce Campbell follows this trope to the letter. His frenzied flight includes shooting at the men who came to help him slay the beast, stealing a bike from a little kid,and carjacking an old lady before he finally makes his cowardly escape from the town.

* In ''Film/TheWolfman2010'', Lawrence is initially skeptical to being a werewolf and towards werewolves in general, until, you know, he actually '''become''' one. Played a little more straight with [[spoiler:Aberline, upon realizing he's been bitten]].

Inspired by the protagonist of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and in particular Ichabod Crane's portrayal in Tim Burton's ''Film/SleepyHollow'', this state is what results when mundane presuppositions come crashing against the supernatural reality, and the character in question just can't handle it.

* While it's up to the player to decide precisely how to react, this is conveyed pretty well in ''VideoGame/{{Nethergate}}'' when you find out just what's living in the caves you're investigating. It's subverted later on, though--facing an assault by hordes of ghosts, you shrug it off through sheer force of {{Badass}}.

* The ill-fated trio featured in the "Kitchen" VHS tape in the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' demo. They visit an old plantation house that was mysteriously abandoned in order to film an episode of their show. Their financier is the most skeptical, just treating the expedition as another day at the office until [[spoiler:they get separated from the host of the show and when they find him, he has been brutally killed by...something]].

* Present in quite a few works in TheSlenderManMythos: especially in later blogs, where people [[WrongGenreSavvy start assuming that Slendy's just an urban legend]], and his appearance in their lives is problematic. For particular examples, see ''Blog/SeekingTruth'' and ''WebVideo/EverymanHYBRID''.

Related: GoingNative, ApocalypticLog, SupernaturalProofFather