History Main / ItSQuietTooQuiet

** Played straight when the TARDIS materializes [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth on what appears to be a construction site in the middle of London]]. The Doctor seems ill at ease and when his companions call him out on this, he points out that they've been there for nearly twenty minutes and not heard anything. "No sound of birdsong, no voices, no sound of shipping, and not even the chimes of old Big Ben. It's uncanny. Uncanny."

* ''Literature/TortallUniverse': In ''Trickster's Choice'', Aly notes that the jungle animals are all quiet...however, her sneakiness and the experience of the guards thwart the subsequent ambush.
* In ''Literature/TheZombieSurvivalGuide'' by Max Brooks, this trope is invoked in numerous ways; wildlife of all kinds instinctively flee when they detect Solanum, the virus responsible for reanimating zombies. In areas abundant with noisy wildlife such as jungle and swamps, silence means that the undead must be close as these areas would never, ever be silent normally. In addition, heavily infested areas are found devoid of any wildlife by survivors as everything has been consumed by ghouls, so cities especially but also other areas known for constant noise, whether human or wildlife created, become jarringly and eerily silent.

* ''Literature/RedDwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers'': Played with a bit when Lister is released from cryostasis. As he wanders the ship's corridors wondering why he hasn't seen anybody else, he suddenly realises he can hear a strange noise that he eventually realises is the fans of the ventilation system. He'd never consciously heard it before because it was impossible to pick out from the persistent background hum of mining and ore-processing machinery, the ship's transit system and all the miscellaneous white noise that comes from being onboard a massive industrial spacecraft with a crew of several thousand people... background noise that's now ominously absent. EverybodysDeadDave...

* ''VideoGame/StarFox'':

* ''Literature/TheFellowshipOfTheRing:'' The Fellowship is resting in hiding near the entrance to Moria when a vast ominious science falls on the countryside, so much so even non-Ranger Sam realizes something is very wrong.

* ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'': When Ensign Tilly is being bothered by a telepathic alien manifesting as her dead friend May, characters believe something is wrong with her because she is speaking less. In the first episode, Stamets actually [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor wanted her to speak less]], but he changed his mind when she ''did'' start speaking less.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._DeWitt#Internment_of_Japanese_Americans internment of Japanese citizens in the US]] was justified, in part, by General John [=DeWitt=] because, "The very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken." [[CircularLogic Clearly]] Japanese-Americans were not committing sabotage not because they were loyal, but because they were waiting for the right moment to strike.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._DeWitt#Internment_of_Japanese_Americans internment of Japanese citizens in the US]] was justified, in part, by General John [=DeWitt=] because, "The very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken." Clearly Japanese-Americans were not committing sabotage not because they were loyal, but because they were waiting for the right moment to strike.

* ''The Little Drummer Girl''. The terrorist leader Khalil becomes suspicious of [[HoneyTrap Charlie]] because of the extreme quiet around the country house they're in. There's a Mossad team outside waiting to move in and assassinate him on Charlie's signal.

* ''Literature/AHouseWithGoodBones'': One of the early signs that something is [[HauntedHouse badly wrong]] at Sam's late grandmother's house is that the rose garden is completely silent -- there is no other life there, even an insect. The sterility is a stark contrast to the kind neighbour's lush yard.