History Main / LightswitchSurprise

[[quoteright:330:[[http://taintedink.com/?comic=287-curfew-2 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lightswitch_surprise.jpg]]]]
%% This image is used with the express permission of the artist as long as we linked it back to his website. That's why the link goes there rather than to our page on the comic. Please leave it linked to the actual comic, not our page.
%%

After a long night with the guys, Bob comes home at 3 a.m., and walks into the room. He reaches for the light switch, until he hears a familiar voice saying nearby, "Hello Bob." It is his wife, Alice, perhaps in curlers and carrying a [[RollingPinOfDoom rolling pin]]. [[OhCrap Bob is in for it now.]]

This is a trope most commonly found in WesternAnimation and sitcoms, where a married man is out later than usual and upon returning is suddenly surprised to see his wife, despite it being late at night, or just not expecting her at all. The room is usually dark. It can be expanded in all areas, like children coming home late at night with their parents waiting.

See also MatchlightDangerRevelation.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Comedy]]
* This is the subject of a few Creator/JeffFoxworthy bits:
** There is, of course, every guy who stays out way too late drinking with his buddies.
---> "We always say something like, "Baby, I'll be back by 5:30, quarter 'till six at the latest." Then we come rolling in, like...February."
** And then there's teenage Jeff trying to sneak back into his house after curfew, only to meet "The Creature from the Bathrobe Lagoon".
---> '''Mom:''' I don't wanna know where you've been, what you've been doing, or who you've been doing it with.\\
'''Jeff:''' Thank goodness, Mom, 'cause the details are a little fuzzy to me at this point.\\
'''Mom:''' You march your fuzzy butt in here, mister. Now where were you tonight?\\
'''Jeff:''' Well, Mom, I was in a hot tub with ten naked women.\\
'''Mom:''' That is sick. I don't wanna hear about it.\\
'''Dad:''' Hold on, baby, I'd like to hear a few details. ''Ten'' of 'em, huh? That's my boy!

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* Happens in ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' with Jeremy sneaking home after his curfew and thinking he's got away with it, but his parents are laying inside his bedroom door in a sleeping bag. He faints.

[[folder:Films — Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Bob returns home, eats a slice of cake, and discovers Helen waiting up for him. Cue kung-fu pose with cake in hand.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/HouseParty'', Kid has returned from the eponymous party, sneaking into the house through the window. He's just taken off his pants and is crawling into bed. Cue the voice of his father in the doorway.
-->'''Father:''' I wouldn't do that just yet. ''[belt snap]'' 'Cause your ass is mine.
:: This is followed by an absolutely hilarious conversation during the credits as Kid's father monologues punctuated by cracks of the belt and Kid's cries of pain.
* In the Creator/StanleyKubrick adaptation of ''Film/{{Lolita}}'', Humbert Humbert comes home and turns on the lights to reveal Claire Quilty (known to the audience but not Humbert) in the guise of the college psychiatrist, Dr. Zempf. "[[JustAStupidAccent I sat in ze dark to save you ze expense of ze electricity.]]" Given his general behavior, it's likely this is a deliberate attempt to screw with Humbert's head.
* ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' re-introduces James Bond in this fashion; waiting in a darkened office for his current target, only revealed when said target switches on a light to reveal that Bond has been in his safe:
-->'''James Bond:''' M doesn't really mind you earning a little money on the side, Croydon. She'd just prefer it if it wasn't selling secrets.

[[folder:Literature]]
* Played for absolute drama in ''Literature/{{Peeps}}''. She uses the darkness to test his reflexes, proving her suspicions he's a Peep.
* The Creator/FredricBrown short story "Nightmare in Yellow": The main character is coming home from work on his birthday and decides to start a new life, starting with killing his wife. He does so on the front porch when she comes out to greet him, then steps inside propping up her body, turns on the light and... [[spoiler:all the birthday guests shout, "SURPRISE!"]]
* ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington From the Highlands]]'' reverses the usual parent-child version of this trope. At the end of the story, Anton sneaks back into his cabin to find his teenage daughter waiting up for him.
* Early into ''Literature/TheOutsiders'', 14-year old Ponyboy accidentally falls asleep with a friend and stays up past his curfew (which is 12 AM). When he arrives home at 3 AM his PromotedToParent brothers give him a scolding.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
%%* ''Series/WhiteCollar'' does it with [[spoiler:TheReveal]].
%%* ''Series/{{Psych}}'' also had an episode with this.
%%* ''Series/MadMen'', naturally. Always played for drama.
* On the show ''Series/{{Titus}}'', Christopher Titus describes a surprise party they threw for his uncle. When he walks in the door and the lights go on and people start yelling, he draws a revolver and starts shooting, injuring at least one guest. He then realizes what's happening and says "You guys."
* On the show ''Series/TeenWolf'' Scott came home, closed the window, turned on the lights and BAM! There was Derek, sitting in a chair expectantly. Stiles went to Scott's house, went to his room, closed the door, turned on the lights and saw Scott sitting in a chair.
* In ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', in the episode "The Bizarro Jerry", Kramer returns home to Jerry's apartment after a day at "work", when he turns on the light and finds Jerry sitting in the dark. Jerry is sitting at the table and they argue about Kramer being late.
* ''Series/TheGeorgeLopezShow'': TheStinger for "George Goes to Disneyland" has George coming home late and being greeted by Max, who reminds him that he called into work sick with a tummy ache. He then turns on the light to reveal George covered in Disneyland merchandise, and he yells "I knew it! You went to Disneyland without me!".
* In ''Series/StrangerThings'', when Nancy returns home late from Steve's party, her mother is waiting in the corridor to berate her.
* ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': When Matt drops by the ''Bulletin'' to grab Karen and move her into police protection, he announces his presence by turning on a desk lamp at the cubicle outside her office door, getting her to look up from her work.
* Played for laughs in ''Series/BlackBooks'', when Manny comes home from an evening out with friends to find Bernard sitting in a chair waiting up for him, with Bernard proceeding to yell at him like a parent who's been waiting for an errant child all night. For context, Manny is a middle-aged man and Bernard is merely his employer/landlord.
-->'''Bernard:''' Maybe all those other little boys who work in bookshops can do whatever they want, but you're under my roof! You'll follow my rules! This isn't Waterstones!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* The Music/StephenFoster song "My Wife Is a Most Knowing Woman" has these lines:
-->Not often I go out to dinner\\
And come home a little "so so,"\\
I try to creep up through the hall-way,\\
As still as a mouse, on tip-toe,\\
She's sure to be waiting up for me\\
And then comes a nice little scene...
* Happens in the music video for "Love of My Life" by Music/ErykahBadu: she comes home late (and presumably drunk, given the way the music is "screwed" and the scene is blurry) with her date (actually Li'l Flip), to find her mother waiting on the couch and asking where she's been.
* Country singer Music/ColinRaye has a song called "That's My Story" in which he insists that he fell asleep in the back yard[[note]]He was actually up all night playing cards with his friends[[/note]] only to find out that his wife put the hammock in storage a week ago.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/ClockTower2'', one of [=ScissorMan=]'s encounters at the library has him surprising Helen in a water tank once she turned on the light switch.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In ''WebAnimation/MarvelRisingUltimateComics'', Dante tries to sneak home after being out too late, but his parents are there waiting for him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The short ''Switch'' is built around this trope. A young man is dropped into a small darkened room and all he can find is the switch for a unseen overhead light. Whenever he turns on the light, the room [[BoringButPractical might be empty]]... or there might be a huge monster growling at him. Or there might be a mass of tentacles there. Or [[MsFanservice a pretty girl in a bikini]]. Or... ''[[MindScrew eyes.]]''. [[spoiler:The empty room is boring and the pretty girl keeps turning the light off, if you're wondering why he doesn't stay on one of those two.]]
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'':
** One episode has Harold walking in with his wife there waiting, unknowingly to him, with wonderful news.
** This is played straight and inverted in an episode where the Professor begins dating a disguised Sedusa. The first time it's used, she scolds the girls for being out at night despite them being superheroes. Later on, the roles get reversed when the girls sit in the living room waiting for her to come home after a crime-spree.
%%* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill''
%%* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'', with Granddad and another one of his insane girlfriends.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' had an amusing example: Patrick came home from a party to a waiting [=SpongeBob=].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Brother from the Same Planet", Bart comes home from spending time with his "bigger brother" Tom. He opens the door to find Homer sitting on the stairs in the shadows. Homer confronts him about where he was.
-->"You've been out gallivanting around with that floozy of a bigger brother of yours, haven't you? ''Haven't you?!''
* A recurring sketch on BlackComedy ''WesternAnimation/MonkeyDust'': A sad looking man arrived home late at night to find his wife waiting up for him. He explains his lateness with an elaborate, detailed and dubious story. Skeptical wife asks him what he's really been doing. Man confesses to something disturbingly degrading. Funnier than it sounds.
* The ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "All About Steve" has a [[RuleOfThree three-fer]]. Stan comes home and walks into the living room, where Steve confronts him over having a black man else pose as him at a CIA softball game because he's ashamed that his son is a weak nerd. Then he enters the kitchen, where Francine chews him out about the same. Finally, he goes to the bathroom and is greeted by a bruised-up Roger, who tells him [[ItMakesSenseInContext "I got beat up by a taco"]].
* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' attempts to pull this [[spoiler: on Hollyhock]] in Season 4, sitting in the dark for ''five hours'' to invoke it. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for him, he realizes only after trying to turn the light on that the bulb had burned out, prompting him to run out of the room to replace it, and ''then'' pull the trope off]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Not an ''un''common tactic for parents to employ with teenagers who stay out past curfew.
* More than one person with a poor sense of smell has discovered a gas leak in this fashion, [[StuffBlowingUp when the tiny spark created before they close the switch ignites the built-up gas.]]
[[/folder]]
----

[[folder:Film - Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Bob returns home, eats a slice of cake, and discovers Helen waiting up for him. Cue kung-fu pose with cake in hand.

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* In ''Film/HouseParty'', Kid has returned from the eponymous party, sneaking into the house through the window. He's just taken off his pants and is crawling into bed. Cue the voice of his father in the doorway.
--> '''Father:''' "I wouldn't do that just yet." *belt snap* "'Cause your ass is mine."\\
This is followed by an absolutely hilarious conversation during the credits as Kid's father monologues punctuated by cracks of the belt and Kid's cries of pain.
* In the Creator/StanleyKubrick adaptation of ''Film/{{Lolita}}'', Humbert Humbert comes home and turns on the lights to reveal Claire Quilty (known to the audience but not Humbert) in the guise of the college psychiatrist, Dr. Zempf. "[[JustAStupidAccent I sat in ze dark to save you ze expense of ze electricity.]]" Given his general behavior, it's likely this is a deliberate attempt to screw with Humbert's head.
* ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' re-introduces James Bond in this fashion; waiting in a darkened office for his current target, only revealed when said target switches on a light to reveal that Bond has been in his safe:
-->M doesn't really mind you earning a little money on the side, Croydon. She'd just prefer it if it wasn't selling secrets.

[[folder:Literature]]
* Played for absolute drama in ''Literature/{{Peeps}}''. She uses the darkness to test his reflexes, proving her suspicions he's a Peep.
* The Creator/FredricBrown short story "Nightmare in Yellow": The main character is coming home from work on his birthday and decides to start a new life, starting with killing his wife. He does so on the front porch when she comes out to greet him, then steps inside propping up her body, turns on the light and... [[spoiler:all the birthday guests shout, "SURPRISE!"]]
* ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington From The Highlands]]'' reverses the usual parent-child version of this trope. At the end of the story, Anton sneaks back into his cabin to find his teenage daughter waiting up for him.
* Early into ''Literature/TheOutsiders'' 14-year old Ponyboy accidentally falls asleep with a friend and stays up past his curfew (which is 12 AM). When he arrives home at 3 AM his PromotedToParent brothers give him a scolding.

* ''Series/WhiteCollar'' does it with [[spoiler:TheReveal]].
* ''Series/{{Psych}}'' also had an episode with this.
* ''Series/MadMen'', naturally. Always played for drama.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Happens in ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' with Jeremy sneaking home after his curfew and thinking he's got away with it, but his parents are laying inside his bedroom door in a sleeping bag. He faints.

[[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]]
* This is the subject of a few Creator/JeffFoxworthy bits:
** There is, of course, every guy who stays out way too late drinking with his buddies.
---> "We always say something like, "Baby, I'll be back by 5:30, quarter 'till six at the latest." Then we come rolling in, like...February."
** And then there's teenage Jeff trying to sneak back into his house after curfew, only to meet "The Creature from the Bathrobe Lagoon".
---> '''Mom:''' I don't wanna know where you've been, what you've been doing, or who you've been doing it with.\\
'''Jeff:''' Thank goodness, Mom, 'cause the details are a little fuzzy to me at this point.\\
'''Mom:''' You march your fuzzy butt in here, mister. Now where were you tonight?\\
'''Jeff:''' Well, Mom, I was in a hot tub with ten naked women.\\
'''Mom:''' That is sick. I don't wanna hear about it.\\
'''Dad:''' Hold on, baby, I'd like to hear a few details. ''Ten'' of 'em, huh? That's my boy!

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/ClockTower2'', one of [=ScissorMan=]'s encounters at the library has him surprising Helen in a water tank once she turned on the light switch.
[[/folder]]

* The short ''Switch'' is built around this trope. A young man is dropped into a small darkened room and all he can find is the switch for a unseen overhead light. Whenever he turns on the light, the room [[BoringButPractical might be empty]]... or there might be a huge monster growling at him. Or there might be a mass of tentacles there. Or [[MsFanservice a pretty girl in a bikini]]. Or...''[[MindScrew eyes.]]''. [[spoiler: The empty room is boring and the pretty girl keeps turning the light off, if you're wondering why he doesn't stay on one of those two.]]
* In ''WebAnimation/MarvelRisingUltimateComics'', Dante tries to sneak home after being out too late, but his parents are there waiting for him.

After a long night with the guys, Bob comes home at 3 a.m., and walks into the room. He reaches for the light switch, until he hears a familiar voice saying nearby, "Hello Bob." It is his wife, Alice, perhaps in curlers and carrying a rolling pin. [[OhCrap Bob is in for it now.]]

[[folder: Film - Animation]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]

[[folder: Web Original]]
* The short ''Switch'' is built around this trope. A young man is dropped into a small darkened room and all he can find is the switch for a unseen overhead light. Whenever he turns on the light, the room [[BoringButPractical might be empty]]... or there might be a huge monster growling at him. Or there might be a mass of tentacles there. Or [[MsFanservice a pretty girl in a bikini]]. Or...''[[MindScrew eyes.]]''. [[spoiler: The empty room is boring and the pretty girl keeps turning the light off, if you're wondering why he doesn't stay on one of those two.]]
* In ''WebAnimation/MarvelRisingUltimateComics'', Dante tries to sneak home after being out too late, but his parents are there waiting for him.

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

* ''Film/CasinoRoyale'' re-introduces James Bond in this fashion; waiting in a darkened office for his current target, only revealed when said target switches on a light to reveal that Bond has been in his safe:

* Happens in ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' with Jeremy sneaking home after his curfew and thinking he's got away with it, but his parents are lying inside his bedroom door in a sleeping bag. He faints.

* Played for laughs in ''Series/BlackBooks'', when Manny comes home from an evening out with friends to find Bernard sitting in a chair waiting up for him, with Bernard proceeding to yell at him like an abandoned spouse or a parent who's been waiting for an errant child all night. For context, Manny is a middle-aged man and Bernard is merely his employer/landlord.

* ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': A minor one, but when Matt drops by the ''Bulletin'' to grab Karen and move her into police protection, he announces his presence by flipping on a desk lamp outside her office.

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' has Harold walking in with his wife there waiting, unknowingly to him, with wonderful news, and another with Sedusa (one where she's on the giving end on the girls, and one where the roles are eversed).
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Bob returns home, eats a slice of cake, and discovers Helen waiting up for him. Cue kung-fu pose with cake in hand.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Played for absolute drama in ''Literature/{{Peeps}}''. She uses the darkness to test his reflexes, proving her suspiscions he's a Peep.

[[quoteright:330:[[Webcomic/ContemplatingReiko http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lightswitch_surprise.jpg]]]]

* The StephenFoster song "My Wife Is a Most Knowing Woman" has these lines:
-->Not often I go out to dinner
-->And come home a little "so so,"
-->I try to creep up through the hall-way,
-->As still as a mouse, on tip-toe,
-->She's sure to be waiting up for me
-->And then comes a nice little scene...
* Happens in the music video for "Love of My Life" by Erykah Badu: she comes home late (and presumably drunk, given the way the music is "screwed" and the scene is blurry) with her date (actually Li'l Flip), to find her mother waiting on the couch and asking where she's been.
* Country singer ColinRaye has a song called "That's My Story" in which he insists that he fell asleep in the back yard[[note]]He was actually up all night playing cards with his friends[[/note]] only to find out that his wife put the hammock in storage a week ago.

* The FredricBrown short story "Nightmare in Yellow": The main character is coming home from work on his birthday and decides to start a new life, starting with killing his wife. He does so on the front porch when she comes out to greet him, then steps inside propping up her body, turns on the light and... [[spoiler:all the birthday guests shout, "SURPRISE!"]]

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill''
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''

* A recurring sketch on BlackComedy ''MonkeyDust'': A sad looking man arrived home late at night to find his wife waiting up for him. He explains his lateness with an elaborate, detailed and dubious story. Skeptical wife asks him what he's really been doing. Man confesses to something disturbingly degrading. Funnier than it sounds.

* Happens in ''{{Zits}}'' with Jeremy sneaking home after his curfew and thinking he's got away with it, but his parents are lying inside his bedroom door in a sleeping bag. He faints.

After a long night with the guys, Bob comes home at 3 a.m., and walks into the room. He reaches for the light switch, until he hears a familiar voice saying nearby, "Hello Bob." It is his wife, Alice. Bob is in for it now.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' [[TheSimpsonsDidIt has done it]].

-->"You were hanging out with that floozy big brother of yours, haven't you? ''Haven't you?!''

* The ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "All About Steve" has a [[RuleOfThree three-fer]]. Stan comes home and walks into the living room, where Steve confronts him over having a black man else pose as him at a CIA softball game because he sees him as inferior for being a weak nerd. Then he enters the kitchen, where Francine confronts him about the same. Finally, he goes to the bathroom and is greeted by a bruised-up Roger, who tells him [[ItMakesSenseInContext "I got beat up by a taco"]].