History Main / MatchlightDangerRevelation

* Episode 21 of ''Machinima/ShepardsMind'' starts with him turning on his night vision and finds an alien staring at him.

* In ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'', [[https://rustyandco.com/comic/level-11-23/ Presti goes down a cellar full of magical darkness]] while a mysterious voice tries to scare her by whispering. She doesn't let it impress her and cast a ''light'' spell... revealing that she's surrounded by four lava golems.

* On ''Webcomic/GoneWithTheBlastwave'', two soldiers [[http://www.blastwave-comic.com/index.php?p=comic&nro=70 fall into a pit and ends up underground]]. The flamethrower guy lights up his flamer, revealing a wall full of giant, mutated arthropods. Thankfully, they seem to be scared of the light and scatter away.
%%* ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'' has an example that would [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/oil-spill/ do Wile E. Coyote himself proud]].

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-507 SCP-507]], a man who is randomly teleported to different dimensions. In one case he found himself in total darkness with the feeling that someone else was very close by... His request for a flashlight granted, he ended up back there and found himself eye-to-eye with a HumanoidAbomination when he turned on the light, and this time it asked "Back so soon?"

* One ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'' storyline culminated with him chasing a criminal gang into a warehouse filled with highly explosive drug components, then cutting the power and waiting for them to light a match.

* In ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'', Yosemite Sam is vanquished when the heroes knock him into the gunpowder room of his own casino and he performs this trope.

* ''Film/SpaceJam'': WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck are digging their way to Michael Jordan's home to get his lucky shorts. Daffy decides to take a shortcut and surfaces inside a doghouse. He lights a match and finds himself facing Michael's bulldog, then lets out a feeble [[IWantMyMommy "Mother"]].

* In the first ''Film/{{Juon}}'' film (the original video version, not the theatrical version), Yuki decides to investigate the strange noises she hears coming from the attic of the house. As it is extremely dark up there, she starts to dig out her lighter. Suddenly, the camera switches to the POV of what is in the attic, which crawls towards Yuki at an incredible speed before stopping right in front of her face. The terrified Yuki slowly and shakily manages to flick on her lighter and... BAM. The ghost of Kayako is staring her right in the face, and she is not happy.
** A similar scene was also featured in the US remake, ''Film/TheGrudge''. (In fact, the entire above scene was recreated almost shot-for-shot for the remake, but it ended up as a deleted/alternate scene on the DVD.)

* Dramatic usage: One of the characters in the movie ''Film/PitchBlack'' is being stalked by monsters that fear light. His light source is running out, and he knows he's about to die. He swigs some alcohol, holds up his guttering torch, and blows a column of flame that reveals the army of monsters surrounding him. The second the flame's gone, they attack.

* ''Film/Rogue2020'': Not a match, but the same principle. After nightfall, Barasa is keeping watch for Sam and Joey as they search for the generator when the water-damaged night vision binoculars go on the fritz. He accidentally knocks them of the tower and climbs down to get them. On the ground, he fiddles with binoculars until he gets them working again. He lifts them to his eyes, and immediately sees the jaws of the rogue lioness filling his vision as they close around his head.

** Dwarves had a special job to clear out pockets of flammable gas, where a miner called a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knocker_(folklore) knockerman]] would don many layers of protective clothing, a slingshot, a lamp, a ball of oil-soaked rags, and a cage of crickets, then head alone into the mine. When the crickets stopped chirping, the knockerman would back up, light the ball of rags and throw it forwards, either becoming a hero or dying as one. Due to the inherent nature of the sacrifice demanded, dwarf kings are usually taken from the knockermen's ranks, which is why there is considerable friction when an Ankh-Morpork dwarf discovers that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_lamp putting a metal mesh on the lamp causes the lamp to burn blue in the presence of minedamp without setting the rest on fire]].

* It happens in an episode of ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977''. Banner and two friends are locked in a dark bank vault. Banner transforms, but no-one can see it. They hear the Hulk's breathing and realize that they're locked in with something. Cue one of them lighting a match and revealing the Hulk's face.

->'''Chepito:''' They don't bother me. Guess I'm too ''bright'' for them, [[LaughingAtYourOwnJokes heh heh heh!]]

* An unscripted, but likely, example from ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': A later mission has you faced with a field of vision-obscuring fog, naturally calling for the use of the Clear Skies ability, revealing [[spoiler: [[BigBad Alduin, The World Eater]] [[JumpScare about a meter and a half in front of your face]]]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-507 SCP-507]], a man who is randomly teleported to different dimensions. In one case he found himself in total darkness with the feeling that someone else was very close by... His request for a flashlight granted, he ended up back there and found himself eye-to-eye with a HumanoidAbomination when he turned on the light, and this time it asked "Back so soon?"

* Roy and Valerie wander into a pitch black cave at one point in ''[[WebVideo/TheCartoonMan Journey of the Cartoon Man]]''. When Roy strikes a match, a cartoon bear, lion, and dinosaur are revealed growling behind them.

* ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'' features the "room full of explosives" variation when Guybrush and Wally are escaping Lechuck's lair in act 3. And of course Guybrush drops the match when it burns his fingers, causing the whole thing to go up in a massive explosion, destroying the fortress and conveniently catapulting Guybrush to the location of the final act.

A trope commonly found in animation; two or more characters, usually hiding from something, have found themselves in an entirely pitch-black environment. One of them remarks on or complains about how dark it is. The other strikes a match -- maybe even [[HardToLightFire their last match]] -- but the sudden burst of light reveals that the characters are, in fact, standing in the middle of an amazingly dangerous environment, be it a room filled with monsters (who have, up until this point, been remarkably quiet) or -- to give the danger an added boost of irony -- a room packed with an unimaginably large store of explosives (especially if the "match" turns out to be a DynamiteCandle). [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Guess what]] [[OhCrap happens next?]]

* A variation occurs in the ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' episode "Vapor Chase". Aladdin, Jasmine and the gang have to stop a fire powered ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}} Chernabog]]-like monster called "the Sootanai" from burning Agrabah down. As the gang try to hide inside a dark storage area...

* ''Manga/DetectiveConan'': One of the Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story arcs has the Detective Boys ([[TagalongKid as usual]]) sticking their noses into the hunt for a serial arsonist. At one point they try to decipher a clue in a dark alley, one of them complains they can't see properly, and [[OhCrap guess who]] [[WouldHurtAChild considerately strikes a match for them from behind]].

* ''Film/PoliceAcademy7MissionToMoscow''. The first thing Harris sees when lighting a match is a "no fire" sign. The next thing we see is an explosion.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The illustration for the ''corpse candle'' spell in the ''Spell Compendium'' sourcebook is exactly this trope. The wizard using it finds himself entirely surrounded by spectral undead, along with the caption:

** Wile E. Coyote in particular has a bad habit of finding shacks full of explosives. (The page image comes from "WesternAnimation/BeepBeep.")

** While the action itself is never shown in "WesternAnimation/TheDixieFryer,'' WesternAnimation/FoghornLeghorn does set it up when Elvis and his pappy chase him into a shed full of explosives.
--> '''Elvis:''' "Pappy? What do T-N-T spell?"

* ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'' features the "room full of explosives" variation when Guybrush and Wally are escaping Lechuck's lair in act 3.

* ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'' features the "room full of explosives" variation.

A trope commonly found in animation; two or more characters, usually hiding from something, have found themselves in an entirely pitch-black environment. One of them remarks on or complains about how dark it is. The other strikes a match -- maybe even [[DownToTheLastMatch their last match]] -- but the sudden burst of light reveals that the characters are, in fact, standing in the middle of an amazingly dangerous environment, be it a room filled with monsters (who have, up until this point, been remarkably quiet) or -- to give the danger an added boost of irony -- a room packed with an unimaginably large store of explosives (especially if the "match" turns out to be a DynamiteCandle). [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Guess what]] [[OhCrap happens next?]]

A trope commonly found in animation; two or more characters, usually hiding from something, have found themselves in an entirely pitch-black environment. One of them remarks on or complains about how dark it is. The other strikes a match -- but the sudden burst of light reveals that the characters are, in fact, standing in the middle of an amazingly dangerous environment, be it a room filled with monsters (who have, up until this point, been remarkably quiet) or -- to give the danger an added boost of irony -- a room packed with an unimaginably large store of explosives (especially if the "match" turns out to be a DynamiteCandle). [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Guess what]] [[OhCrap happens next?]]

Subtrope of LightswitchSurprise, which covers any surprising sight when a light is turned on. A likely to happen when lighting a MatchInABombshack.

* In ''Literature/TwentyYearsAfter'', the heroes' servants discover the ship they're on is packed with explosives, about to go off, this way. They are appropriately terrified.

* ''ComicBook/TomorrowStories'': In Greyshirt's origin story, psychotic gangster Johnny Apollo is pursuing the future Greyshirt Frankie Lafayette through the pitch blach tunnels under Indigo City. Wounded and lost, Apollo strikes his lighter to work out where he is. The first thing he sees by the light of the lighter's flame is a sign reading 'FUEL DUMP'. [[MatchInABombShack BOOM!]]

* A variation occurs in the ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' episode "Vapor Chase". Aladdin, Jasmine and the gang have to stop a fire powered ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}} Chernabog]]-like monster called "the Sootanai" from burning Agrabah down. As the gang try to hide inside a dark storage area...
-->'''Genie:''' Sure is dark in here.\\
'''Iago:''' Yeah, and there's a funny smell here, too. It kinda smells like...like... ''[Genie lights a fire with his thumb and the room lights up revealing barrels around the gang]''... lamp oil.\\
'''All:''' [[OhCrap LAMP OIL?!]]\\
'''Aladdin:''' Don't do that! ''[shoves Genie's lit thumb into the blue guy's mouth]'' One spark, and this place will blow like... like...\\
'''Iago:''' Like it's ''full of barrels of LAMP OIL!!''\\
'''Genie:''' Sorry...

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/DeCapeEtDeCrocs''. The heroes go to a dark room they assume to be the ship's magazine. To everyone's horror, Eusebio lights a candle, revealing they're in the ship's larder. A later scene plays it straight via inversion (they thought they were in the larder, it turned out to be the magazine).
* One ComicBook/{{Venom}} storyline culminated with him chasing a criminal gang into a warehouse filled with highly explosive drug components, then cutting the power and waiting for them to light a match.

* A ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' strip does this once, during the storyline when Garfield ran away from home.

* Used in the ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'' short ''WesternAnimation/AGrandDayOut'', with [[spoiler:the robot inside the rocket's fuel tank]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheCatCameBack'', after falling down a mine shaft and seeing a pair of eyes, the main character lights a match only to find himself surrounded by rats, bats and snakes. The first rat then helpfully blows out the match.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCroods'': Grug is trapped inside a cave, so he tries to make a fire. When he finally does, it reveals a tiger behind him. The tiger blows out the torch, [[spoiler:but stokes it back when it gets spooked by an offscreen explosion.]]

* In ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'', Yosemite Sam is vanquished when the heroes knock him into the gunpowder room of his own casino and he performs this trope.

* Dramatic usage: One of the characters in the movie ''Film/PitchBlack'' is being stalked by monsters that fear light. His light source is running out, and he knows he's about to die. He swigs some alcohol, holds up his guttering torch, and blows a column of flame that reveals the army of monsters surrounding him. The second the flame's gone, they attack.

* In the 1999 film ''Film/{{The Mummy|1999}}'', as Rick (Creator/BrendanFraser) and Evy (Creator/RachelWeisz) escape the rapidly collapsing pyramid, they are forced to leave Rick's traitorous friend Beni behind, and the pyramid seals itself behind them. Beni retreats back into a massive room filled with treasure, with the only light source being his illuminated torch. Thousands of (flesh-consuming) scarabs stream into the room around him, and the light slowly goes out on the torch as they get closer, and... you know the rest.

* A similar scene was also featured in the US remake, ''Film/TheGrudge''. (In fact, the entire above scene was recreated almost shot-for-shot for the remake, but it ended up as a deleted/alternate scene on the DVD.)
* Parodied in ''Film/ScaryMovie4'': When Cindy moves the lighter near the ghost's face, we pan down to see the lighter is burning the ghost's hand.
* In ''Film/TheDescent'', one of the girls is using the night vision on the camcorder to see her way through the caves. During a particularly tense scene in which several of the girls are panicking, the camcorder rests on Beth... and the sudden appearance of one of the Crawlers standing '''right behind her'''. For bonus points, this is the first clear look at a Crawler. And it's one of the most terrifying moments in the film.
* A variation is used in ''Film/TheRocketeer'' in which [[TheDragon Lothar]] uses a match to verify the identity of his sleeping victim, and the light gives the audience the first good look at him.
* In ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' upon arriving at the pub Shaun goes to the back room to fix the fuses and get power to the TV. When he flicks one of the switches it turns on the light outside the door next to him, illuminating a pack of zombies just outside. He rapidly turns it back off and goes back to the main room.

* Used VERY effectively in the indie film ''The Passage''. The protagonist finds himself in a series of tunnels in the Atlas Mountains, using only candles for light. When they run out, he has to use the flash of his digital camera. It's a tense scene as he waits for the flash to recharge. The first few moments are suspenseful, and then, well, he's not alone.
* Happens in ''Film/{{Airheads}}'' when station accountant Doug Beech is hiding in the janitor's closet. He accidentally spills some liquid on himself, and he lights his cigarette lighter to see what it is. When he sees it has a "Caution: flammable" sticker on its container, he panics.

* In ''Film/MrHulotsHoliday'', the eponymous vacationer lights a match inside a shed which is revealed to be filled with fireworks.
* ''Film/{{Scarecrows}}'': At the end of the film, CigarChomper Corbin is on the plane and fleeing the farm: the danger seemingly over. He lights a cigar and the flare of his match reveals and undead [[spoiler:Al the pilot]] lurking the shadows over his shoulder.
* In ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'', the Indoraptor is chasing Owen, Claire and Maisie and Owen shuts off the lights of the room they are in to prevent the creature from tracking them by sight. But unwittingly Zia and Franklin switch the lights on just when they were relying on the cover of darkness. Maisie then looks at her own reflection on a window ... [[TheDarknessGazesBack only to realize that something is behind it.]] As it turns out, the Indoraptor had been staring Maisie in the face the entire time, less than three feet away.
* [[DoubleSubversion Double subverted]] in ''Film/TheConjuring''. It's only a few seconds ''after'' Carolyn lights the match that she, and we, hear [[ParanoiaFuel "hey, wanna play hide and clap?"]] ''[[JumpScare <clap clap>]]''
* In ''Film/Scream3'', Ghostface cuts the power to the mansion that the characters are in, causing them to flee outside, then sends a fax to the house to lure them back inside. Tom takes the bait, and lights his lighter to read the fax... only to realize too late the contents of the fax.
-->'''Tom:''' "And the killer will give mercy to... whoever..." piece of shit. ''[lights lighter]'' "Whoever [[ExplainExplainOhCrap smells the...]]"\\
''[[[KilledMidSentence house explodes]]]''
* In ''Film/LockjawRiseOfTheKulevSerpent'', [[OutWithABang Clayton is killed while having sex with Ashley]]. Ashley initially thinks Clay has come prematurely and, when the serpent pulls him off her, she lights to lighter to have a cigarette. In the light of the lighter flame, she sees her boyfriend impaled upon the tail of giant snake. She screams and drops the lighter, which goes out.

* In ''Literature/TwentyYearsAfter'', the heroes' servants discover the ship they're on is packed with explosives, about to go off, this way. They are appropriately terrified.

* ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'' features the "room full of explosives" variation.

* The opening sequence of ''VideoGame/{{Silent Hill|1}}'' and its film adaptation. Both protagonists go into a dark alleyway and light a match to find that they are surrounded by bloody corpses, chain-link fences, and gray demon children.
* In the final act of ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest: Open Season'', you enter a dark room in the theater, and turn on your flashlight to reveal the BigBad, who knocks you out and [[NoGearLevel strips you of your possessions]].
* An unscripted, but likely, example from ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': A later mission has you faced with a field of vision-obscuring fog, naturally calling for the use of the Clear Skies ability, revealing [[spoiler: [[BigBad Alduin, The World Eater]] [[JumpScare about a meter and a half in front of your face]]]].

* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries''; in the remake of "Breaking the Bank", picking the shovel sees Henry digging down until he hits something. He lights a match to reveal he just broke a gas main. [[StuffBlowingUp Explosions ensue.]]

* Episode 21 of Machinima/ShepardsMind starts with him turning on his night vision and finds an alien staring at him.
* [[spoiler:Jasper]] died this way in the backstory of ''WebAnimation/CampCamp''. While investigating a cave full of contraband, he broke the light by accident, and what he thought was a candle was a stick of dynamite. He panicked and threw the dynamite at [[OhCrap what turned out to be a pile of dynamite]].

* On ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop'', episode "Arabian Desert Danger", after the Ant Hill Mob were tricked into driving into an oil pipeline, Dum Dum struck a match inside the sealed pipeline. Of course, this led to a [[NonFatalExplosions Non-Fatal Explosion]].
* A variation occurs in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Homer ends up in a dark closet, and lights a match...
-->'''Homer:''' ''[sees skeleton]'' Aah! ''[drops match, light goes out]'' That was a close one... ''[lights another match, sees skeleton again]'' Aah! ''[drops match again]'' That was a closer one! ''[lights yet another match]'' Aah! ''[drops match yet again]'' Oh, thank God I'm out of matches! Oh, no, here's another one...
* Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Leela and Fry are trying to find their way out of a pitch black area. Fry lights a match to see better and promptly screams, causing Leela to cry out "What? What is it?" Fry responds, "I burnt my finger."
* A variation occurs in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. In the episode "The Waterbending Scroll", Aang is separated from Sokka by a huge cloud of smoke originating from smoke bombs used in a battle between pirates and firebenders. Aang, getting tired of the smoke, blows it away, hoping it allows Sokka to find him... only to find himself in the middle of a battle with no less than seven weapons pointed at him. He promptly brings the smoke back.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', season 3, the PowerTrio are exploring a mine. Kevin finds a big pile of boxes, and lights a flare so he can read what's written on the boxes. "TNT" is written on the boxes. Ben quickly blows out the flare. Kevin yells "Hey!" and... [[TooDumbToLive lights another flare.]] Luckily, Ben blows that one out, too, and Gwen berates Kevin for his stupidity.
* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'' episode "The Fraudulent Volcano". When Jonny and Hadji sneak into the enemy base and end up in the dark:
-->'''Hadji:''' I wonder what's in those boxes?\\
'''Jonny:''' Wait a minute, I got a match. ''[lights it]'' It says E...X...P...L...O...Ex...Explosives!\\
'''Hadji:''' Forget I asked you! Let's get out of here!
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Not a match in episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E6BoastBusters Boast Busters]]", but otherwise played very straight: While they are in the cave of the Ursa Major, Snips complains about the darkness and Snails uses magic to create a light at the tip of his unicorn horn. And thus the two foals discover that they are right under the nose of the giant ursine monster.
* ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'': In "The Strange Case of the Ghost Bus", DM and Penfold traverse a dark tunnel, and the two cannot fathom why they're holding each other's hand or why they feel like fur gloves. DM strikes a match to show they've both been holding hands with a yeti.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': In "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobinE3Trial Trial]]", the lights are knocked out just as the assembed criminals are about to kill Batman. When Two-Face gets out his lighter, they see that Batman has escaped.
-->'''Two-Face:''' Everyone spread out! Don't let him get away!\\
'''Batman:''' ''[voice from the darkness]'' [[MookHorrorShow Who says I'm leaving?]]

* It happens in an episode of ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk''. Banner and two friends are locked in a dark bank vault. Banner transforms, but no-one can see it. They hear the Hulk's breathing and realize that they're locked in with something. Cue one of them lighting a match and revealing the Hulk's face.

Subtrope of LightswitchSurprise, which covers any surprising sight when a light is turned on.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke: Go West!'' features villains Crook and Bartleby, after a ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes moment in an abandoned mine, lighting a match only to find themselves next to a ''mountain'' of dynamite boxes. However, the match isn't the biggest problem... more pressing is the fact that [[DogsAreDumb Rantanplan]] was chasing after them with a lit stick of dynamite, [[GoFetch which he lets go at their feet]].

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The illustration for the ''corpse candle'' spell in the ''Spell Compendium'' is exactly this trope. The wizard using it finds himself entirely surrounded by spectral undead, along with the caption:

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In ''WebVideo/{{Idiotsitter}}'', Billie is led into the darkened garage by Joy, who explains the situation of "Fight Day" by matchlight. Then the match goes out and Joy flees, leaving Billie to light a match of her own-revealing Gene right behind her, who lampshades this trope.
-->'''Gene:''' I'm behind you, and that's scary!
* Roy and Valerie wander into a pitch black cave at one point in ''[[WebVideo/TheCartoonMan Journey of the Cartoon Man]]''. When Roy strikes a match, a cartoon bear, lion, and dinosaur are revealed growling behind them.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-507 SCP-507]], a man who is randomly teleported to different dimensions. In one case he found himself in total darkness with the feeling that someone else was very close by... His request for a flashlight granted, he ended up back there and found himself eye-to-eye with a HumanoidAbomination when he turned on the light, and this time it asked "Back so soon?"