History Main / MissingReflection

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989 animated series]] episode "[[Recap/TheLegendOfZelda1989E7Doppelganger Doppelganger]], Link is initially fooled by the evil fake Zelda that was created by a MagicMirror secretly sent by Ganon and replaced the kidnapped original. But when they ride past a lake on horseback, he notices that only her horse has a reflection rather than her. He plays along to stage a rescue mission.

* In the "Doppleganger" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989'', Link is initially fooled by the evil fake Zelda that was created by a MagicMirror secretly sent by Ganon and replaced the kidnapped original. But when they ride past a lake on horseback, he notices that only her horse has a reflection rather than her. He plays along to stage a rescue mission.

* In ''Film/VanHelsing'', a mirror reflects a person dancing, but not their vampire partner. Same goes for the other couple hundred people in the ballroom. Those paying close attention can see this OhCrap moment coming.

* This is exploited in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'' 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.

* In the "Doppleganger" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda'', Link is initially fooled by the evil fake Zelda that was created by a MagicMirror secretly sent by Ganon and replaced the kidnapped original. But when they ride past a lake on horseback, he notices that only her horse has a reflection rather than her. He plays along to stage a rescue mission.

** In ''Film/{{Blacula}}'', a photographer at a nightclub takes a picture of the titular vampire wooing a woman named Tina who bears a striking resemblance to his deceased wife, but it is not until after she goes home to develop the film does she realize the truth too late...

* In the "Doppleganger" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda'', Link is initially fooled by the evil fake Zelda that was created by a MagicMirror secretly sent by Ganon and replaced the kidnapped original. But when they ride past a lake on horseback, he notices that only her horse has a reflection. He plays along to stage a rescue mission.

* A blink and you'll miss it moment in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfVoxMachina'': As the Briarwoods walk past a mirror on their way to their room at the feast, [[spoiler:Delilah is visible but Sylas isn't, giving the first tell that Sylas is undead.]]

** In John Badham's ''Film/{{Dracula 1979}}'', staring Frank Langella as the Count, Abraham Van Helsing and Jack Seward show Jonathan Harker the fact that the staked Mina Van Helsing (Jan Francis) has no reflection — they then cut out her heart to finally free her.

** In the present day, Dracula attacks TV reporter Valerie Sharpe and her cameraman while they are filming the crashed plane he was on. Initially the cameraman can't see him through the camera, so when Dracula grabs Valerie and cuts at her neck a bit, all he sees is her struggling and the cut suddenly appearing, until he lowers the camera. Likewise when Valerie runs to their van, she sees her cameraman being tossed aside by an invisible force on her monitors.

* ''Film/Dracula2000'' had this when Dracula attacks a reporter and her cameraman when they covered a crashed plane he was on. Initially the cameraman can't see him through the camera, so when Dracula grabs the reporter and cuts at her neck a bit, all he sees is her struggling and the cut suddenly appearing. Likewise when the reporter runs to their van, she sees her cameraman being tossed aside by an invisible force on her monitors.

* When Reinhardt or Carrie passes through the Villa in ''VideoGame/Castlevania64'', they will encounter a villager who offers to help them. However, he's standing next to a mirror in which he doesn't appear, revealing himself to be one of Dracula's minions.

* ''ComicStrip/ThePerryBibleFellowship'' explores [[http://pbfcomics.com/169/ how inconvenient lacking a reflection is for makeup application]].

* PlayedForDrama in ''InfinityTrain/SeekerOfCrocus'', [[spoiler:A six-year-old Gloria's reflection got sanded by the Mirror Cops in the Chrome Car. And just like Tulip, it's completly ''gone''. Present day Gloria has to pretend she has a fear of mirrors so no one finds the truth.

* Bram Stoker's ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'': Soon after his arrival at Castle Dracula, Jonathan Harker observes the building was devoid of mirrors. When Dracula silently comes into Harker's room while he was shaving, Harker notices that Dracula, who is standing behind him, does 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 ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', the Lasombra don't leave images on cameras and mirrors. However, this only applies if the camera uses mirrors for imaging. It's noted that older Lasombra are starting to see their image for the first time in centuries, due to digital imaging - which means they usually end up having ''words'' with the ghouls they relied on to paint portraits, after realizing they don't look like that.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'': As a vampire spawn, Astarion lacks a reflection in mirrors. This is {{Lampshaded}} by him several times and is a bit of a sore spot, given he forgot what he looked like prior to becoming a spawn.