History Main / OneMythToRuleThemAll

->"I hate the good wizard from faerie tales. They all turn out to be ''[[TimeTravel him]]''."
-->--'''River Song''', on [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor himself]]

Closely related to AllMythsAreTrue, but rather than every myth and legend being fact, they are mostly hokum--but with one common grain of truth in all of them. If the story is about vampires, then Rasputin was a vampire, Hitler was trying to breed an army of super [[Franchise/{{Blade}} suckheads]], and Dracula was a wimp. If it's about wizards, Moses was an uber-powerful mage and there's evidence Jesus was, too (if he's not [[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus suspiciously absent]]). If the story is about aliens, ''everything'' can be explained by alien superpowers and SufficientlyAdvancedTechnology.

Often results in a TakeThat at history, {{Historical In Joke}}s, and SadlyMythtaken moments. See also AMythologyIsTrue for a similar concept, as well as BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy (he might have been, in this universe). AncientAstronauts are often involved when the myth is aliens. Is also related to DoingInTheWizard--it wasn't a wizard, it was aliens! (or what have you)

Done insensitively or with too much cultural bias on the author's part, however, this trope can be full of UnfortunateImplications, as it can potentially imply "''My'' gods are real, and anyone worshipping other ones is either worshipping my gods by another name or has been tricked by demons."

Compare to ConspiracyKitchenSink, where AllMythsAreTrue but not necessarily related.
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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* ''Manga/ToLoveRu'' has all sorts of things, from ghosts to witches, explained by aliens. Normally it's wacky alien powers, but sometimes it's strange technology. A notable exception is the CuteGhostGirl, who is just randomly magical.
* A subversion happens in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''. Depending on whom you ask, aliens/time-travellers/esper powers can explain everything, with their own {{Technobabble}}.
* In ''Manga/ShamanKing'', it was stated that both Jesus and Buddha were former Shaman Kings.
* In ''Manga/MushiShi'' it is explained that most supernatural phenomena like ghosts are actually mushi; mushi are strange, mystical life-forms that defy human concepts of "life" and "death" and usually have bizarre properties. Sorcerers are really just guys who've mastered how to manipulate mushi, and "curses" or "blessings" are usually the result of a mushi either being exploited or malfunctioning when it interacts with humans.
* In ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'', it was revealed that most of Earth's legends (Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, vampires) were an ancient race of Transformers. Or something like that.
* It's implied in ''Manga/PlusAnima'' that creatures from legends like werewolves, mermaids or angels are really people with Anima, whose power is to turn into PettingZooPerson. [[DudeLooksLikeALady Husky]], fish +Anima, is at least two times taken for a mermaid and Cooro, crow +Amina, constantly freaks people out, because they think he is black angel.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* JackKirby's Eternals, immortal beings created by space gods Celestials, have been the source behind multiple myths. Thena has been inspiration behind goddess Athena, Ajak has huge influence on Aztec and Mayan mythology, Icarus was the inspiration behind Ikaris, and Gilgamesh not only existed but was an amnesiac Eternal. Similiarly, their EvilCounterpart Deviants were inspiration of most legends and tales concerning demons. Atlantis and Lemuria existed and were Deviants' territory, which was destroyed by Celestials. And then Marvel put them all into the MarvelUniverse with its Crossover Cosmology, so now they exist alongside real gods, and Thena fought with Athena a few years ago.
** The Celestials themselves are responsible for a good bit of Marvel Universe wackiness, such as the X-gene that forms the basis of ''ComicBook/{{X-Men}}''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''Film/TheMatrix'', "Every story you've ever heard about vampires, werewolves, or aliens is the system assimilating some program that's doing something they're not supposed to be doing."
* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'' is this for slasher films.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]

* The ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' series has a number of historical events caused by wizards, and at one point it is mentioned that real witches enjoyed being burned at the stake, because of a spell that rendered the flames harmlessly ticklish.
* In ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', everything is caused by gods, their children, or some other Greek monster. Well, anything note-worthy. For example, Houdini, the Beatles and Blackbeard were all demi-gods, and that's only the start of it.
** There's also Percy's first encounter with the empousa. He first mistakes them for vampires, but they simply laugh at him and point out that ''they'' were the inspiration for such monsters. And before that, there's Artemis commenting on how her mode of transport (reindeer drawing a sleigh) inspired SantaClaus. ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' also features a voodoo practitioner who managed to summon Pluto.
** TheKaneChronicles, which take place in the same universe, adds Egyptian wizards to the mix, channeling their gods to repeat archetypal stories throughout history.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', most of Terran myths are actually accounts of aliens visiting Earth.
* As the page quote indicates, a lot of ''Series/DoctorWho'' stories seem to cast aliens as the inspiration for Earth myths, with the Doctor as their foil.
** Far less consistently, but still quite often, the monster of the week had some connection to Time Travel, even the giant spiders from "Planet of the Spiders". Hell, even the [[spoiler: fairies]] from {{Torchwood}} could time travel. Of course, the main character is a time traveller, so it makes sense.
* All myths in ''Series/LostGirl'' are actually different subspecies of Fae. Yes, everything from almost-human oracles to completely-not-human-at-all EmotionEater spiders.
* In the [[AllMythsAreTrue Enchanted Forest]] of ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Rumpelstiltskin is not only himself, but also Literature/{{Cinderella}}'s fairy godmother, [[Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast the Beast]], and [[Literature/PeterPan the crocodile]], and has his hand in so many more fables.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* Each gameline in ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' generally tends to claim that all history was orchestrated by the supernatural group on which it focuses (though vampires have the upper hand thanks to the overwhelming amount of supplemental material compared to other races). How their intents have managed to avoid contradicting each other is HandWaved.\\
\\
From ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' fluff:
-->''"Year 33: The Malkavians claim that their greatest practical joke happen during this year, when they perform a bit of [[{{Jesus}} graverobbing in Jerusalem]]."''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* The ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series explains that anything in human history, ever, happened because either a Templar or an Assassin did it.
** The former also rewrote the history books, completely wiping out all evidence of [[spoiler:the first civilization]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* The ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' is a superhero setting. So... all those historical and mythical warriors we hear about in the stories? You know, Hercules, and Ajax, and Achilles, and Pontiac and Roland and King Arthur? Yeah... they all had superpowers.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''Most'' mythical beings from the world of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' are eventually revealed to be members of [[TheFairFolk the Third Race]], or "Oberon's Children", although a few supernatural phenomena (including the gargoyles themselves, who are considered their own race) are left unaccounted for.
* At least in the [[WesternAnimation/MenInBlack animated version]] of ''Men In Black'', everything supernatural is an alien, similar to ''Series/DoctorWho''. The Christmas special reveals Yeti, Elves, and Santa are of alien descent, too.
* ''ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' explains all animal-based myths (i.e. Sun Wukong and the Egyptian gods) as being caused by inter-dimensional beings who took animal forms to assist mankind in development. Talking animals like Scooby-Doo are explained as being descendents of these beings.
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Real Life ]]

* This is {{Demonization}}, in a nutshell: "Your gods are all just our demons."
** And Euhemerism: "Your gods are just famous people."

[[/folder]]
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Done insensitively or with too much cultural bias on the author's part, however, this trope can be full of UnfortunateImplications, as it can potentially imply "''My'' gods are real, and anyone worshipping other ones is either worshipping him by another name or has been tricked by demons."

Done insensitively or with too much cultural bias on the author's part, however, this trope can be full of UnfortunateImplications, as it can potentially imply "My gods are real and everyone else is a godless heathen monster."

* ''Manga/ToLoveRu'' has all sorts of things, from ghosts to witches, explained by aliens. Normally its wacky alien powers, but sometimes its strange technology. A notable exception is the CuteGhostGirl.

Closely related to AllMythsAreTrue, but rather than every myth and legend being fact, they are mostly hokum--but with one common grain of truth in all of them. If the story is about vampires, then Rasputin was a vampire, Hitler was trying to breed an army of super [[{{Blade}} suckheads]], and Dracula was a wimp. If it's about wizards, Moses was an uber-powerful mage and there's evidence Jesus was, too (if he's not [[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus suspiciously absent]]). If the story is about aliens, ''everything'' can be explained by alien superpowers and SufficientlyAdvancedTechnology.

* ''ToLoveRu'' has all sorts of things, from ghosts to witches, explained by aliens. Normally its wacky alien powers, but sometimes its strange technology. A notable exception is the CuteGhostGirl.

* In ''ShamanKing'', it was stated that both Jesus and Buddha were former Shaman Kings.
* In ''MushiShi'' it is explained that most supernatural phenomena like ghosts are actually mushi; mushi are strange, mystical life-forms that defy human concepts of "life" and "death" and usually have bizarre properties. Sorcerers are really just guys who've mastered how to manipulate mushi, and "curses" or "blessings" are usually the result of a mushi either being exploited or malfunctioning when it interacts with humans.
* In ''TransformersCybertron'', it was revealed that most of Earth's legends (Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, vampires) were an ancient race of Transformers. Or something like that.
* It's implied in Manga/PlusAnima that creatures from legends like werewolves, mermaids or angels are really people with Anima, whose power is to turn into PettingZooPerson. [[DudeLooksLikeALady Husky]], fish +Anima, is at least two times taken for a mermaid and Cooro, crow +Amina, constantly freaks people out, because they think he is black angel.

* In Film/TheMatrix, "Every story you've ever heard about vampires, werewolves, or aliens is the system assimilating some program that's doing something they're not supposed to be doing."
* TheCabinInTheWoods is this for slasher films.

* The ''HarryPotter'' series has a number of historical events caused by wizards, and at one point it is mentioned that real witches enjoyed being burned at the stake, because of a spell that rendered the flames harmlessly ticklish.
* In PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians, everything is caused by gods, their children, or some other Greek monster. Well, anything note-worthy. For example, Houdini, the Beatles and Blackbeard were all demi-gods, and that's only the start of it.
** There's also Percy's first encounter with the empousa. He first mistakes them for vampires, but they simply laugh at him and point out that ''they'' were the inspiration for such monsters. And before that, there's Artemis commenting on how her mode of transport (reindeer drawing a sleigh) inspired SantaClaus. ''TheHeroesOfOlympus'' also features a voodoo practitioner who managed to summon Pluto.

* In the [[AllMythsAreTrue Enchanted Forest]] of ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Rumpelstiltskin is not only himself, but also Cinderella's fairy godmother, [[BeautyAndTheBeast the Beast]], and [[PeterPan the crocodile]], and has his hand in so many more fables.

* At least in the cartoon adaption of MenInBlack, everything supernatural is an alien, similar to DoctorWho. The Christmas special reveals Yeti, Elves, and Santa are of alien descent, too.

** The Celestials themselves are responsible for a good bit of Marvel Universe wackiness, such as the X-gene that forms the basis of ''{{X-Men}}''.