History Main / MissingReflection

!! Examples:

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* Used for a gag in ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'' where Mavis practises a speech in front of a mirror even though as a vampire she has no reflection.

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]

** In ''Film/{{Dracula 1931}}'', Van Helsing observes that Dracula is not reflected in the mirrored lid of a box, and shows it to the Count, who dramatically slaps it away.

* Inverted in Sergey Lukyanenko's ''[[Literature/NightWatch World of Watches]]''. Vampires can glamour the minds of humans to hide themselves from sight. This does not work on Others, who can easily see through these mind tricks. The only way for a human to see a hidden vampire is to look at a reflection, as glamour only works in direct line-of-sight.
** Video cameras work fine as well.

* ''Series/QuantumLeap'' episode "Blood Moon" had Sam Beckett leap into the body of a madman who lives in a castle and thinks he's a vampire, in order to protect a young woman from being killed by the vampire cult. Throughout the episode, Sam scoffs at the existence of vampires, until just before he leaps out; he finally sees a mirror, only to find that he has no reflection.
* ''Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}''

--->'''Angel:''' I'm invisible!
--->'''Cordelia:''' No you're not.
--->'''Angel:''' Oh. [[TomatoInTheMirror I'm a vampire]]. [[OhCrap They're gonna kill me.]]

[[folder:Mythology and Folklore]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims4'', vampires don't have reflections in mirrors. Somehow this doesn't stop them from using mirrors the same way other Sims do - freshening up their makeup, trying on outfits, practicing speeches, calming down from potentially deadly emotional extremes, etc.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* One strip of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' has a man ranting on a soapbox about vampires being everywhere. None of the passersby seem to be listening to him, and the reason why is apparent in a large mirror being carried across a nearby street [[RightBehindMe behind his back]], which shows a reflection of him alone.
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/FrightNight2NewBlood'': Variation, with vampires not showing up on cameras. In the intro, this leads to a girl being attacked in a convenience store looking she's being held up to the ceiling by nothing but thin air.

[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ghost_picture_day.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"I'm not paying for that."]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Daniel}}'', a vampire appears in a mirror as a faint translucent silhouette.

* In ''Literature/TheNightFlier'' by Creator/StephenKing, this is the tip-off that the eponymous serial killer is a vampire.

A popular conception about vampires is that they cast no reflection in a mirror and often have an intense aversion to them. GenrySavvy characters may become aware of places that lack mirrors or contain several broken ones {{foreshadowing}} this trope.

A popular conception about vampires is that they cast no reflection in a mirror and often have an intense aversion to them. The reason for the mirror-phobia has to do with the idea that mirrors reflect souls and because [[TheSoulless vampires don't have souls]], they don't have reflections, unless the mirror has a backing that's not silver. There is also the old argument that blood suckers exist in two worlds, in the living and in the dead. But since it isn't fully in either one it will not be seen in a mirror. Mirrors force vampires to confront their nature of existence as an undead, which is why many vampires do not like mirrors.

GenreSavvy characters noticing a lack of mirrors (or several broken ones) will have the same effect. Depending on the setting, this [[TropesAreFlexible may include]] not appearing on film and/or digital cameras, or being inaudible on telephone or recording.

Note that traditional vampire folklore doesn't necessarily include the lore about vampires and mirrors. In fact, the idea [[TropeMaker originated]] from Bram Stoker's renowned novel ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' (1897) wherein Jonathan Harker notices Dracula's missing reflection in his shaving mirror.

* In part 2 of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', this is exploited by Joseph Joestar in his fight against the vampire Straizo, who thinks he managed to score a fatal hit with his EyeBeams, only to realize that Joseph was behind him the whole time and he actually attacked his reflection in the mirror.

* ''ComicBook/FiendsOfTheEasternFront'': Hans realizes that the Romanian soldiers his company are partnered up with are vampires when he notices that they have no reflections in the water.

** In ''Film/HouseOfDracula'', John Carradine's Dracula throws [[https://srichardwilkcom.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/dracula-no-reflection-in-house-of-dracula.png?w=550&h=412 no reflection]].

* ''Film/TheNightFlier'': The vampire can't be seen through a mirror, most notably at the end when he manhandles the main character inside an airport bathroom and it just looks like he's being held up by thin air. This is also a BerserkButton for the vampire, who prefers smashing every mirror he sees.

* Bram Stoker's ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'': Soon after his arrival at Castle Dracula, Jonathan Harker observed the building was devoid of mirrors. When Dracula silently came into Harker's room while he was shaving, Harker noticed that Dracula, who was standing behind him, did not appear in the shaving mirror as he should have. The Count reacts violently and flings the mirror out a window. The missing reflection is the first solid evidence of his vampiric nature that Johnathan directly observes.

* In ''Series/QuantumLeap'', one episode had Sam Beckett leap into the body of a madman who lives in a castle and thinks he's a vampire, in order to protect a young woman from being killed by the vampire cult. Throughout the episode, Sam scoffs at the existence of vampires, until just before he leaps out; he finally sees a mirror, only to find that he has no reflection.

* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' had a man ranting on a soapbox about vampires being everywhere. None of the passersby seem to be listening to him, and the reason why is apparent in a large mirror being carried across a nearby street [[RightBehindMe behind his back]], which shows a reflection of him alone.

** Zig-zagged in ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade''. Vampires do not have any problems with cameras barring any supernatural Flaws that do something about it. However the Lasombra either don't leave images on cameras and mirrors, or they have a weird abnormality which means their reflection is that of what they would really look like if they weren't turned into vampires: usually a rotting corpse or a walking skeleton.

* When Aqua reaches [[HallOfMirrors The World Within]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage'', Aqua has no reflection in the mirror she came through. When Aqua completes the first mirror room, a blurry, obscure reflection can be seen, becoming more and more clear until it is completely normal after completing every mirror.

* ''Webcomic/PerryBibleFellowship'' explores [[http://pbfcomics.com/169/ how inconvenient this is for makeup application]].

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostBusters'' episode "No One Comes to Lupisville" Egon notices that their "hosts" don't have reflections.

A popular conception about vampires and other [[TheSoulless soulless being]] is that they cast no reflection in a mirror and often have an intense aversion to them. The reason for the mirror-phobia has to do with the idea that mirrors reflect souls and because vampires don't have souls, they don't have reflections, unless the mirror has a backing that's not silver. There is also the old argument that blood suckers exist in two worlds, in the living and in the dead. But since it isn't fully in either one it will not be seen in a mirror. Mirrors force vampires to confront their nature of existence as an undead, which is why many vampires do not like mirrors.

[[/folder]]

A popular conception about vampires is that they cast no reflection in a mirror and often have an intense aversion to them. The reason for the mirror-phobia has to do with the idea that mirrors reflect souls and because vampires don't have souls, they don't have reflections, unless the mirror has a backing that's not silver. There is also the old argument that blood suckers exist in two worlds, in the living and in the dead. But since it isn't fully in either one it will not be seen in a mirror. Mirrors force vampires to confront their nature of existence as an undead, which is why many vampires do not like mirrors.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ghost_picture_day.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"I'm not paying for that."]]

SubTrope to GlamourFailure and SisterTrope to TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf. What's happening here is that the mirror is ''not'' showing the "true self' - the vampire is real, and (s)he's present, despite the empty space that the mirror shows. GenreSavvy characters noticing a lack of mirrors (or several broken ones) will have this same effect. Depending on the setting, this [[TropesAreFlexible may include]] not appearing on film and/or digital cameras, or being inaudible on telephone or recording.

When it comes to the folklore part of this myth, the reason for the mirror-phobia has to do with the idea that mirrors reflect souls and evil beings have no souls, therefore no reflection. Likewise, the same works for vampires: Because they don't have souls, they don't have reflections, unless the mirror has a backing that's not silver. There is also the old argument that blood suckers exist in two worlds, in the living and in the dead. But since it isn't fully in either one it will not be seen in a mirror.

TropeMaker is most likely Bram Stoker's renowned novel ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' published in 1897.

Compare CastsNoShadow, which is to this trope what TheShadowKnows is to TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf.

* The title villain of Bram Stoker's ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' does not have a reflection and reacts violently to seeing Jonathan Harker's shaving mirror. The missing reflection is the first solid evidence of his vampiric nature that Johnathan directly observes.

* In "Literature/TheNightFlier" by Creator/StephenKing, this is the tip-off that the eponymous serial killer is a vampire.

* Zig-zagged in ''Series/ForeverKnight''. Nick wasn't supposed to show up in a mirror, but budget limitations led to occasions where it was [[HandWaved said]] his humanity let him show up in the mirror.
* ''Series/{{Ultraviolet}}''. Vampires have no reflection, neither can their image or voice be transferred by electronic media such as telephones or CCTV cameras. Even their fingerprints can't be recorded. The government team that's hunting them therefore use small video cameras [[GunAccessories attached to their weapons]] to [[ExploitedTrope confirm their target]].

* ''Film/VanHelsing'' shows one of the common ways in which vampires can experience this -- lacking a reflection in a mirror. Those paying close attention can see the later OhCrap moment coming--not only is Dracula not showing up in the mirror, but neither are [[spoiler:the other couple hundred people in the room]].

* ''Film/CountDracula1977'': After Dracula's third attack on Lucy. Helsing goes to check on her, but looks at a nearby mirror and realizes he's too late to save her when she doesn't cast a reflection anymore.

* The title villain of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' does not have a reflection. In fact, this is the first solid evidence of his vampiric nature that Johnathan Harker directly observes [[FromBadToWorse (it goes downhill from there)]].

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]
* ''Film/VanHelsing'' shows one of the common ways in which vampires can experience this -- lacking a reflection in a mirror. Those paying close attention can see the later OhCrap moment coming--not only is Dracula not showing up in the mirror, but neither are [[spoiler:the other couple hundred people in the room]].
* The same trope of vampire lore was parodied in ''Film/DraculaDeadAndLovingIt'', where a big dance scene ends up being ridiculous when seen in a mirror, particularly when Dracula is spinning the woman in the air.
* Exploited during the ballroom scene in ''Film/TheFearlessVampireKillers''. Since vampires cast no reflection, a mirror was used as a trap to indicate who was human during the vampire ball.
* ''Film/CountDracula1977'': After Dracula's third attack on Lucy. Helsing goes to check on her, but looks at a nearby mirror and realizes he's too late to save her when she doesn't cast a reflection anymore.

[[folder:Literature]]
* The title villain of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' does not have a reflection. In fact, this is the first solid evidence of his vampiric nature that Johnathan Harker directly observes [[FromBadToWorse (it goes downhill from there)]].
* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/TheVampireFiles'', vampires can become intangible and invisible to direct sight, but their intangible forms' ''reflections'' are visible as clouds of mist. It takes quite a few books for the vampire protagonist to discover this, as his normal solid form casts no reflection at all, so he normally avoids mirrors altogether.
* Inverted in Sergey Lukyanenko's ''[[Literature/NightWatch World of Watches]]''. Vampires can glamour the minds of humans to hide themselves from sight. This does not work on Others, who can easily see through these mind tricks. The only way for a human to see a hidden vampire is to look at a reflection, as glamour only works in direct line-of-sight.
** Video cameras work fine as well.
* In ''Literature/TheNekropolisArchives'', vampires look human, but cast no reflection or [[CastsNoShadow shadow]].

* On TheRealGhostBusters episode "No One Comes to Lupisville" Egon notices that their "hosts" don't have reflections.

** A GenreSavvy vampire actually makes sure to keep all mirrors out of their surroundings to avoid this. Unfortunately for him, this, along with the heavy curtains and slightly suspicious behavior, causes the even more GenreSavvy Cordelia to figure out exactly what he is.

* A hilarious moment in ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' where Black Widow, having been bitten by a vampire, attempts to escape from Captain America and Iron Man... [[HoistByHerOwnPetard and promptly knocks herself out running into a mirror because she didn't see her reflection.]]

* Zig-zagged in ''Series/ForeverKnight''. Nick wasn't supposed to show up in a mirror, but budget limitations led to occasions where it was said his humanity let him show up in the mirror.
* ''Series/{{Ultraviolet}}''. Vampires have no reflection, neither can their image or voice be transferred by electronic media such as telephones or CCTV cameras. Even their fingerprints can't be recorded. The government team that's hunting them therefore use small video cameras attached to their weapons to confirm their target.