History Main / SupernaturalFearInducer

* Being a [[spoiler:HumanoidAbomination]], ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'''s Ronnie Schiatto has managed to employ this technique to scare literally everything in a room (except for [[FearlessFool Isaac and Miria]]) stiff -- including the ''air''.

* Orsted from ''LightNovel/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation'' is {{curse}}d with this. Anyone crossing his path will be paralyzed with terror, as seen by Eris and Ruijird in their first encounter. Rudeus, not being from this world, isn’t affected.

** The [[AIIsACrapshoot Angel computers]] use BedtimeBrainwashing to make Darv forget about the Paradise survey recording, by associating it with a [[YourWorstNightmare childhood nightmare]] to make his subconscious mind afraid of remembering the recording. Later when Darv gets insolent they induce a fear response by transmitting a subliminal signal to remind him of the nightmare. The 'nightmare barriers' guarding the Angel's central switching room use this in combination with holograms of monsters.

* In ''Literature/CodexAlera'', [[PlayingWithFire firecrafters]] can project a directed aura of fear. In one of the later books, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Gaius Sextus]] hits an army with such a powerful fearcrafting that the front ranks actually ''die of fear'', complete with {{Psychic Nosebleed}}s.

** The Scarecrow uses fear gas to cause hallucinations, paranoia, and even full-on panic-induced heart attacks in his victims. This sometimes overlaps with IKnowWhatYouFear, while other times it's just straight up irrational terror. In fact, during the events of ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', he's deputised into the [[Characters/GLSinestroCorps Sinestro Corps]], which proves him to be one of the scariest entities in his ''space sector!''[[note]] "One of" because the yellow ring detects residual traces of a green ring when it goes for the scariest: [[TerrorHero Batman himself]].[[/note]]

** Characters with an extraordinarily high Riatsu (“Spiritual Pressure”) can also be this, as characters aware of it can feel it like a physical weight.

* A side effect of the drug used to commit the murders in Literature/SherlockHolmes in the Adventure of the Devil's Foot was that it caused a paralyzingly intense sense of fear.

* Ruti from ''LightNovel/BanishedFromTheHerosParty'' is a tragic version of this. Her aura as the Hero causes people to become fearful, even when she’s trying to be friendly. Even friends and allies aren’t immune, as seen when Tisse was frightened into drawing her sword at Ruti’s approach, who was only trying to be friendly to her pet spider. Needless to say, this aspect of her leaves Ruti terribly lonely.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation''

->''"This stuff has a name that's as long as your arm. It was developed by the military during one of our more contemptible wars. It concentrates a powerful stimulant to a section of the right hemisphere of your brain. A strong dose and you die of fright in fifteen seconds. A light dose, like this, and you spend twenty or thirty minutes reliving your least favorite nightmare."''

** The Scarecrow uses fear gas to cause hallucinations, paranoia, and even full on panic-induced heart attacks in his victims. Sometimes this overlaps with IKnowWhatYouFear, while other times it's just straight up irrational terror. In fact, during the events of ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', he was deputised into the [[Characters/GLSinestroCorps Sinestro Corps]], which proves him to be one of the scariest entities in his ''space sector!''[[note]] "One of" because the yellow ring detected residual traces of a green ring when it went for [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} the scariest]].[[/note]]
** The concept of a "fear gas" actually first appeared in ''Batman'' comics 27 years before the Scarecrow was shown using it, in ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' #46, where the DiabolicalMastermind Hugo Strange uses a "Fear Dust" to terrorize Gotham City.

** In ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Batman uses a fear-inducing chemical compound to reduce Two-Face's hired goons to quivering wrecks, and {{Private Eye Monologue}}s about its effects as seen in the page quote.

* Gachnar, the Fear Demon from the fourth season Halloween episode of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
* ''Series/DoctorWho''
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace "Frontier in Space"]], the Master is using a hypnosound to make humans see his Ogron mooks as their former enemies the Draconians, and vice versa, to create a war between the two species. He later tries using it on Jo Grant, who sees him as creatures she's encountered in past adventures, but by that point she knows it's an illusion and is able to fight off its effect. Then the Doctor gets hold of the hypnosound and uses it to frighten off the Ogrons holding them captive.
** Used in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E4TheSunMakers The Sun Makers]]" by the evil tax-gathering government to control the human populace. The Doctor inverts the technology to make people angry instead.
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'':

* ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'''s BigBad, Ryubee Sonozaki AKA the Terror Dopant, is able to generate a black sludge that causes anyone he wants who touches it to suffer from intense fear, with results ranging from leaving them curled up in the fetal position and screaming like a madman to making his victim so scared to think about him that they repress all memory of him without even realizing that they're afraid of something. Ryubee's been using the Terror Memory for so long that he can use some of its power even without transforming.

* In ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'' episode "[[Recap/Supergirl2015S3E2Triggers Triggers]]", Kara faces off against a metahuman with this ability. She's utterly incapable of stopping or even resisting Psi's attacks, even with J'onn's assistance. Fortunately, she manages to realize what she's ''really'' afraid of and confronts that fear. At that point, Psi's attacks are a NoSell on her.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In the animated web series ''WebAnimation/BrokenSaints'', this is the form [[SuperpoweredEvilSide angry Shandala's]] empathic powers take towards any hostiles.

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1346 SCP-1346 ("Phobia Induction Corridor")]]. Anyone who tries to go down the SCP-1346 corridor starts becoming afraid at around the 50 meter mark. The fear becomes stronger the longer they stay in the corridor and the farther they go down the corridor. The Foundation's tests indicate that there's a creature beyond the door at the end of the corridor, presumably the source of the fear effect.

The person who has this may be psychic and can alter your emotional state. Maybe he's got magic powers that can do the same. Maybe he gives off a pheromone that attacks the amygdala and induces terror. Maybe there is no obvious explanation. However he does it, it isn't natural, and now anybody who wants to fight him will have to do so while struggling to avoid wetting their pants.

This tends to be a villainous power for [[BadPowersBadPeople obvious reasons]]. Having your hero stand up to someone who can literally transform his enemies into {{Dirty Coward}}s makes for good drama. Many of those who possess it will, accordingly, be {{sadist}}s of one stripe or another, reveling in the terror they cause. It isn't impossible, though, for a hero to harness this power to a better purpose, scaring off people they might otherwise have to hurt. Regardless of the side they're on, characters with this sort of control over the fears of others are unlikely to be mentally well-adjusted.

* The ''Series/{{Haven}}'' has a couple variations on this theme. In season two's "Fear and Loathing," a girl's [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Trouble]] makes everyone hallucinate their worst fear, sometimes causing the victim to lash out violently and hurt someone. In season four's "William," new BigBad William uses supernatural goo to induce paranoia in Dwight, Nathan, and Jennifer, causing them to hallucinate scenarios that aren't actually happening, but prey on their fears.

* The titular red gas in ''The Crimson Skew'' causes hallucinations that make people see those around them as monsters or enemies, resulting in massacres that wipe out whole settlements. [[spoiler:It's revealed to be a biological defence released by an {{Innocent Plant Child|ren}} the BigBad has exploited to create a PretextForWar.]]

-->--'''ComicBook/{{Batman}},''' ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''

* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' foe Mister Fear is able to use his fear gas to instill unrelenting terror in his victims. In lesser doses, he can induce a constant feeling of paranoia (as opposed to all-out screaming terror) which can be far more deadly in the long run.

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': Fright Knight can scare anyone who looks at them but seems to require visual contact or at least a good portion of their attention for it to work. Tim manages to avoid being scared because he's focused on other escapees, but those who look when they call for attention end up terrified and on their knees.

* In the ''Nick Fury: Agent of ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}'' feature in ''Strange Tales'' #157, Fury throws a "Hallucination Cube" at a bunch of ComicBook/{{Hydra}} {{mooks}}, which emits a vapor that induces hallucinations of their greatest fears. It's really just an excuse for Creator/JimSteranko [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rco009_1469622714.jpg to draw something creepy and surrealistic]].

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]] & [[ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth Vol 5]]: Phobos and Deimos can induce fear and panic in others, and exponentially increase any that's already there.

* In ''FanFic/ThroughHerEyes'', [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Ruby Rose]] has to wear tinted goggles whenever she interacts with another person, since her [[RedEyesTakeWarning Grimm]]-[[BlackEyesOfEvil eyes]] cause an overwhelming fight-or-flight response of anyone looking into them - either fleeing in terror or attacking her in perceived self defense. In the original version of the story, this even carried over to photographs, while the ''Remastered'' story makes them the only safe way to look at them.
* In ''Fanfic/PokemonMysteryDungeonJournal'' Jaroda and Lady Christine have access to an Aura technique called Fear Aura, which Jaroda uses to force Heath to take a job for him.
* The Morrigi's favorite trick in the ''Franchise/MassEffect''/''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'' FusionFic ''Fanfic/ShepherdOfTheStars'', because of their affinity for EmotionControl. The Asari are rapidly learning how to do it too. Thane gets hit by a particularly nasty one midway through the story and has yet to fully recover.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' when confronted by Orochimaru in The Forest of Death during the Chuunin Exams, Sasuke and Sakura are paralyzed by fear from just one of his Evil Glares. Sasuke had to stab himself in the leg with a kunai in order to "wake up", grab Sakura, and escape before Orochimaru's kunai could finish them off.

* ''Radio/{{Earthsearch}}''

** In ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Batman uses a fear-inducing chemical compound to reduce Two-Face's hired goons to quivering wrecks.
--->''"This stuff has a name that's as long as your arm. It was developed by the military for one of our more contemptible wars. It concentrates a powerful stimulant to a section of the right hemisphere of your brain. A strong dose and you die of fright in fifteen seconds. A light dose, like this -- and you spend twenty or thirty minutes reliving your least favorite nightmare."''

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace "Frontier in Space"]], the Master is using a hypnosound to make humans see his Ogron mooks as their former enemies the Draconians, and vice versa, to create a war between the two species. He later tries using it on Jo Grant, who sees him as creatures she's encountered in past adventures, but by that point she knows it's an illusion and is able to fight off its effects. Then the Doctor gets hold of the hypnosound and uses it to frighten off the Ogrons holding them captive.

* One of these was used in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E4TheSunMakers The Sun Makers]]" by the evil tax-gathering government to control the human populace. The Doctor inverts the technology to make people angry instead.

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The Dread Masters are a cabal of powerful Sith Lords, who draw on the power of TheDarkSide of TheForce to induce panic in entire Republican armies and fleets at once.

* A ''very'' popular ability in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is the ability to inflict fear (or, worse yet, ''terror'') on the enemy. Necron pariahs have this effect on people, due to the inherent wrongness of their lacking souls entirely. Some human blanks have this ability, but whether or not this is because they don't have souls seems to vary ([[Literature/CiaphasCain Jurgen]] is generally repulsive to everyone around him, but this is generally because of his poor hygiene and appearance rather than his being a blank -- though sometimes hinted to be merely how people ''perceive'' it).

** Dark Eldar: this might take a while. Terrorfex and Horrorfex grenades are squad and vehicle versions of a grenade that does morale damage; the Haemonculus can broadcast the sound of a tortured slave across the battlefield (causing enemies to fire slower); Slave Chambers can be upgraded to deal continuous morale damage and attack enemy units' souls for more morale damage; and then there's their Soul Powers: Rend Soul causes morale damage to enemy leaders, while Screams of the Damned instantly reduces the morale of ''every'' enemy on the map at once.

** {{Subverted|Trope}} in the prose short story "The Origin of the Polarizer". An unnamed man who works at a radio parts store notices all the electronics ordered by Bruce Wayne and realizes that Wayne is Batman, so decides to become a supervillain to capitalize on this knowledge. In their first encounter the Polarizer claims he has a "fear ray", but all it does is fry the electronics in Batman & Robin's utility belt paraphernalia, rendering their assorted devices inoperable. "Well, it's more of a 'consternation ray,' but that just doesn't have as much of a ring to it."

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': Fright Knight can scare anyone who looks at them, but seems to require visual contact or at least a good portion of their attention for it to work. Tim manages to avoid being scared because he's focused on other escapees, but those who look when they call for attention end up terrified and on their knees.
* Phobos of the ''ComicBook/SecretWarriors'' uses this as his main power — an unusual example in this list because he uses his powers for good. He is the literal [[PhysicalGod God of Fear]] from Greek myth, as his dad is actually ''Ares''.
* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'', [[spoiler:Chaos]] did this. It was, however, resistable, as two characters were able to get close to it this way (Sonic achieved it by concentrating on rage).
* In ''Comicbook/SleeperWildStorm'', Peter Grimm has the ability to trap someone in a mental loop reliving their greatest fear until they die.
* Phobia, a minor enemy of the ComicBook/TeenTitans and sometime member of the Brotherhood of Evil, has this power, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as her codename indicates]].

--> "Fear ensures loyalty!"

* The Terrifying Presence perk from ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' allows the Courier to pick dialogue options that intimidate foes enough that many will run instead of fight you.
* The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series has the Fear status, which makes those afflicted by it so afraid that they either skip a turn or withdraw from battle. ''VideoGame/Persona3'' has Fear make characters more vulnerable to critical hits, while in ''VideoGame/Persona4'' they become vulnerable to the [[OneHitKO Ghastly Wail]] skill.
* In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'', most dragons are continuously surrounded by a magical aura of fear that makes any attacker flee unless they make a Will save.
* Some champions in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' are built around this:

* In ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'', Talion can acquire various upgrades and runes that scare Uruks and cause them to run if he murders Uruks in particularly brutal ways. This, alongside his other supernatural powers and guerilla campaign against the forces of Sauron, quickly makes him TheDreaded to his enemies.
* The Dread Masters in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' are a cabal of powerful Sith Lords, who draw on the power of TheDarkSide of TheForce to induce panic in entire Republican armies and fleets at once.
* In ''Videogame/{{Mother 3}}'', the Pigmasks use their Frighbots to interrogate [[spoiler: the Mister Saturns]]; however, when you fight them, [[HarmlessVillain they have no offensive or status-affecting abilities at all.]] Instead, [[InformedAbility you're simply told that their stories are really scary as you smash them to pieces.]]

* Fear effects are a common game mechanic in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' and other MMORPGS, with afflicted players and monsters running randomly around the place. Many a player has cursed this when feared right into the ''next'' bunch of monsters, and it used to be that you could be scared right off a cliff!
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'':
** Banshees scream to attack, with their basic spell cursing enemies to miss a third of the time in combat.
** The Howl of Terror ability reduces nearby enemies' attack.
* Befitting his status as the Lord of Terror, ''Videogame/{{Diablo}}'' is able to sow panic among his enemies and, as a bonus, is utterly incapable of feeling fear himself.
* The Fear Point in ''VideoGame/ImmortalDefense'' may count. It slows down enemy targets, but represents the player character's own anxieties and its effect is probably just caused by its environment's metaphor tangibility. If fully upgraded, it "panics" and fires blindly.

* Orsted from ''LightNovel/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation'' is {{curse}}d with this. Anyone crossing his path will be paralyzed with terror, as seen by Eric’s and Rujird in their first encounter. Rudeus, not being from this world, isn’t affected.