History Main / SkeletonKey

A skeleton key (also known as a pass key) is a master key often used by [[MasterOfUnlocking locksmiths]], that will open any lock in the set of locks for which it is made. In fiction, a skeleton key will open ''any'' lock or LockedDoor, ''period'', and will often be shaped like a skeleton, skull or bone (partly a VisualPun and partly a visual clue as to the key's purpose).[[note]]This has confused generations of foreign viewers, as very few languages' terms for "skeleton key" actually involve a "skeleton" part.[[/note]] More realistic examples have a full ring of them, one for each type of lock.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderscrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', the Skeleton Key is a regular lockpick with a 100% success rate. You get it for completing the ThievesGuild quest line, however, by that time, you're likely a [[MasterOfUnlocking skilled enough lockpicker]] to not even ''need'' it. Thus, it often ends up in the player's TrophyRoom.

* ''[[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/hybrid-hive-eat-shard-worm-mgln-complete.55056/ Hybrid Hive: Eat Shard]]'': Since Taylor ''once'' had to open a lock, Hive does some designing and produces a mana-based object that will reshape itself to fit any lock. It's also possible to use a Device's matter manipulation capabilities to generate a specific key on the fly.

* ''VideoGame/SCPSecretLaboratory'' has the O5 Keycard, which can open any door or locker in the facility, go through both checkpoints and gates, and gives access to the Intercom. It is also one of only two keycards[[note]]the other being the Facility Manager card[[/note]] that can [[YouNukeEm trigger the Alpha Warhead]]. O5 Keycards do not spawn naturally - they must be created using SCP-914.
* Alyx Vance appears to have an electronic one about half-way through ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which opens all doors in Nova Prospekt and can also hack Combine computer consoles.
* Subversion: In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', the key to open the Scholomance door is called the Skeleton Key and has a skull-shaped bow, but otherwise is apparently just a normal key that opens one particular door. Played straight, however, with the Skeleton Keys made by Blacksmiths which will open any lock up to a particular difficulty.

* ''VideoGame/MarioParty2'' and ''VideoGame/MarioParty3'' have Skeleton Keys to unlock door passages on the board, of which Luigi is particularly fond - [[ArtificialStupidity even if he isn't interested in actually using them properly]]. After a very long absence, the item makes a return in ''VideoGame/MarioPartySuperstars''.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': The first two games -''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' and ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink''- both have the Magical Key item that basically serves as infinite keys for the remainder of the game. The sixth palace in ''Zelda II'' can't be beaten without it unless the player knows the trick regarding the Fairy Spell to bypass the doors in a different way.

* ''Videogame/NetHack'' has both a SkeletonKey ''and'' a SkeletonKeyCard.
* ''Videogame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has skeleton keys that can be used to bypass doors in the Daily Dungeon, which is the only guaranteed way to open them safely. They are made by gluing a skeleton's teeth onto a bone. [[spoiler:One is required (and consumed) to reach the Naughty Sorceress.]] It also has the same SkeletonKeyCard from ''[=NetHack=]'' as a ShoutOut. This one doesn't break, because it's an incredibly rare and valuable item.
* In ''Videogame/DeadlyPremonition'', York is given a master key for every police car in Greenvale.
* In the adventure game ''Videogame/TheLastExpress'' you can obtain a key that opens all the locks on the train, belonging to the conductor, and you can use it to sneak into other people's compartments and snoop around for information.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' has ''three'' different skeleton keys, with the final incarnation being able to open any door. Or you could just use [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers that spell]].
* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance'' features a Lure Key that opens almost all the doors in the castle, to ease backtracking in the later parts of the game. There are only two doors on which it doesn't work - MK's Bracelet opens one, and the Skull Key opens the other.
* In ''Videogame/UltimaV'', the player can acquire Skull Keys which effortlessly open magically locked doors. Oddly, since they can all be unlocked by the "Unlock Magic" spell anyway, magical doors are notably *less* secure than normally locked doors.
* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'':
** The original has a Skeleton Key item that grants 99 standard InterchangeableAntimatterKeys. Good luck running out of those!
** ''Rebirth'' adds golden keys, a rare pickup that grants unlimited keys for the rest of the floor. It also has Dad's Key, an activated item that opens all doors in the current room, and a lockpick trinket that allows locked chests to be opened for free.
** ''Afterbirth'' adds Store Key, a trinket that makes stores free to open.
** ''Repentance'' adds a unique skeleton key with the Blue Key, a trinket that lets you open any locked door for free but requires you to fight through a room with a few tough monsters each time you do. It also adds Sharp Key, which lets you throw keys to unlock doors, including doors that keys wouldn't normally be able to open.
* The Master Key, one of the starting gifts in ''Videogame/DarkSouls'', can open several non-progression related doors that would otherwise require other keys to open. The Thief class starts with one for free, allowing them to take a different starting gift in addition to it.
* ''Franchise/{{Doom}}'' has skull keys that are literally just skulls. Like keycards, they come in three colors: yellow, red and blue. In the official games, they're interchangeable with keycards of the same color; the Boom source port allows users to make doors that require specifically a skull key or a keycard.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has several of these. In ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' and Yellow, there is a key card that, once obtained, unlocks all the doors in the Rocket Hideout. A similar key must be obtained in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' and Platinum to unlock all the doors at the Team Galactic building in Veilstone City. ''Red and Blue'' also has Silph Company's Card Key, which unlocks all the doors in their building.
* In ''Mailstrom'' on the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, the least violent way for the postman protagonist to open pillar boxes is to use a skeleton key.
* One level in ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' has Neo saving a girl who was given a skeleton key by the Key Maker. In the end she uses it to help herself and Neo escape, then destroys it.
-->'''Neo:''' You should keep that, it could come in handy.
-->'''Girl:''' ''[snapping the key]'' No way, man, I've had enough of magic keys.
* ''VideoGame/DokaponKingdom'' has an item called the Skeleton Key, which allows you to choose the item you get out of Item Spaces, including red ones.
* ''Videogame/RiskOfRain'': One of the usable artifacts is a Skeleton Key, that will open every chest visible onscreen when used. The item log specifies it may operate through {{Nanomachines}}, the sender attempted to sell it to the Merchant's Guild (expecting a hefty sum, because otherwise the entire guild would get robbed blind), and that testing showed it opened [[TheLongList lock and bolt, card readers, eye scanners, dead bolts, chains,]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking zippers and phone passwords]].
* ''VideoGame/PandorasTower'': The Crimson Key, which can open each and every red door in the towers without a waste. The only downside is that it's only obtainable during the NewGamePlus, so the locked rooms will remain that way during the first playthrough.
* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': While it's not called a key, the Eternal Lockpick ignores the one use limit of other chest opening items, allowing you to unlock every chest with it alone.
* In the main adventure of ''VideoGame/DarkTales: The Mystery of Marie Roget'', the player character notes that with as many locks as they pick in their work, they really ought to invest in a skeleton key. Come the bonus chapter, and they acquire exactly that. It's a BrickJoke and also a VisualPun, since the key in question looks like a skeleton. Unfortunately, it's ''not'' a true skeleton key - it can only be used on one specific lock.
* The Lab Key/Master Key in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'' can unlock the cell door and the door leading to the helipad. It's also speculated that the key is how the BigBad manages to [[DungeonBypass move around in the mansion grounds without having to solve the same puzzles you have to do]].
* ''VideoGame/SweetHome1989'': Emi's special item is the key which is required to open any locks found within the mansion. Should she somehow become unavailable, other party members will be able to find extra keys around the house.
* In ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', after Jeff is given a bent key for the lockers by his friend Maxwell Labs which doesn't work, Maxwell replaces it with the "Bad Key Machine", which is short for "''Machine that Opens Doors, Especially When You Have a Slightly Bad Key''". This allows Jeff to unlock all of the lockers to gather supplies for his journey to find Ness and Paula. Said machine comes in handy to unlocking their cell door in Threed.
* ''VideoGame/AsheronsCall'' had a Shimmering Skeleton Key as a rare item, which could unlock any lock in the game but only had one use before it broke. The best bet was the use it on the Colosseum Vault (which normally required you to win the Colosseum to get a key for, and, in addition to some really good random loot, always had two random Empyrean Rings.) Once the Gauntlet (basically the Colosseum on steroids) was added near the end, it became better to use the key on the Gauntlet Vault instead.
* In ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheWizard'', the Keystick, which can only be used by Meyna, can unlock any door or chest without consuming any of your keys.
* In the ''[[VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy Hitman World of Assassination Trilogy]]'', this comes up in two ways. The more literal version is a key or keycard that opens every locked door in the level (the most blatant version being the Master Key in Paris or the Master Keycard in Bangkok), although not every level has one of these. The more figurative version is that many levels have a master disguise, one that isn't considered out-of-place in any area of the level (Helmut Kruger or Sheikh Salman Al Ghazali in Paris, who have access to almost all parts of the level), so that Agent 47 can freely walk around in any area without alerting anyone that wouldn't be an enforcer for that disguise.

** A possible subversion, as almost all handcuffs use the same standard (and pretty simple) key.

* Used JustForPun in ''Series/TheMonkees'', when Mickey finds one in the pocket of a skeleton's coat.

* This trope is literalized in ''ComicBook/ZitatheSpacegirl'' where a skeletons
fingers and toes can open any lock.

* Depictions of Franchise/{{Batman}}'s UtilityBelt that listed its contents used to include a set of skeleton keys that could unlock 90% of known locks.

* ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'' and his SuperTeam in the ComicBook/{{New 52}}, the Others, have Joshua Cole, a.k.a. Operative, who has an Atlantean key that has the magic property of being able to unlock any lock.

* The Lab Key/Master Key in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' can unlock the cell door and the door leading to the helipad. It's also speculated that the key is how the BigBad managed to [[DungeonBypass move around in the mansion grounds without having to solve the same puzzles you had to do.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'', after Jeff is given a bent key for the lockers by his friend Maxwell Labs which doesn't work, Maxwell replaces it with the "Bad Key Machine", which is short for "''Machine that Opens Doors, Especially When You Have a Slightly Bad Key''". This allows Jeff to unlock all of the lockers to gather supplies for his journey to find Ness and Paula. Said machine comes in handy to unlocking their cell door in Threed.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[quoteright:175:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skeleton_key_9988.jpg]]

* ''VideoGame/MarioParty2'' and ''VideoGame/MarioParty3'' have Skeleton Keys to unlock door passages on the board, of which Luigi is particularly fond - [[ArtificialStupidity even if he isn't interested in actually using them properly]]. After a very long absence, the item makes a return in ''Mario Party Superstars''.

** The Skeleton Key takes a [[TookALevelInBadass level in badass]] ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation at least in-story]]) in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''. It can unlock ''anything'', [[FullPotentialUpgrade including]] the [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower limits of human potential]]. [[spoiler:Mercer Frey]] uses it precisely for this purpose in the ThievesGuild quest line. Unfortunately, in the hands of the player, it once again serves as ''just'' an unbreakable lockpick. (And in order to complete the Thieves' Guild questline, you have to return it to Nocturnal, though you do get some good armor and a once-per-day superpower out of the deal. Granted a Lockpicking perk gives you an unbreakable lockpick anyway and the minigame isn't hard.)

* In the ''[[VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy Hitman World of Assassination Trilogy]]'', this comes up in two ways. The more literal version is a key or keycard that opens every locked door in the level (the most blatant version being the Master Keycard in Bangkok), although not every level has one (and a couple levels only have one locked door, making it moot). The more figurative version is that many levels have a master disguise, one that isn't considered out-of-place in any area of the level, so that Agent 47 can freely walk around in any area without alerting anyone that wouldn't be an enforcer for that disguise.

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' has skull keys that are literally just skulls. Like keycards, they come in three colors: yellow, red and blue. In the official games they're interchangeable with keycards of the same color; the Boom source port allows users to make doors that require specifically a skull key or a keycard.

A skeleton key (also known as a pass key) is a master key often used by [[MasterOfUnlocking locksmiths]], that will open any lock in the set of locks for which it is made. In fiction, a skeleton key will open ''any'' lock or LockedDoor, ''period'', and will often be shaped like a skeleton, skull or bone (partly a SightGag and partly a visual clue as to the key's purpose).[[note]]This has confused generations of foreign viewers, as very few languages' terms for "skeleton key" actually involve a "skeleton" part.[[/note]] More realistic examples have a full ring of them, one for each type of lock.

* The Keyblades of ''Franchise/ KingdomHearts'' fame can open or close any lock as one of their many abilities. It doesn't end with mundane locks, either: metaphysical locks like "unlocking a person's heart" or opening doorways between worlds are also possible. A quick-time event in ''Dream Drop Distance'' taking place within a computer suggests they may be capable of opening electronic or coded locks as well.

* The Keyblades of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' fame can open or close any lock as one of their many abilities. It doesn't end with mundane locks, either: metaphysical locks like "unlocking a person's heart" or opening doorways between worlds are also possible. A quick-time event in ''Dream Drop Distance'' taking place within a computer suggests they may be capable of opening electronic or coded locks as well.

* ''VideoGame/SweetHome'': Emi's special item is the key which is required to open any locks found within the mansion. Should she somehow become unavailable, other party members will be able to find extra keys around the house.

** The original has a Skeleton Key item that grants 99 standard InterchangeableAntimatterKeys.