History Main / TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou

** ThisTroper heard that an {{easter egg}} on the DVD of the American Remake has the footage from the video tape in its entirety, and after it's over the movie plays a phone ringing sound, placed so that on a surround sound setup it sounds like it's behind the viewer, ''coming from their own phone.''

* In Clive Barker's book ''Mister B. Gone'', this trope is used [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel horrifyingly]] [[GoneHorriblyRight well]]. The demon narrator tells the reader to close the book and burn it, at first asking, then begging, then moving into genuinely terrifying treats. Given [[CompleteMonster what he does for the whole second half of the book]], his descriptions of what he will do to torture you and his noting that he could be right behind you, that you could turn around and not have time to scream are not easily shrugged off. No reader, even the firmest of cynics, would want to finish the book. [[hottip:* : (The editor who added this entry was too scared to even go back to the book and find direct quotes, and also stopped a chapter before the end.)]]

[[caption-width-right:350:The image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel...]]

* ''TheGreatTrainRobbery'' might be the UrExample for film. It doesn't even fit into the plot: just that at the end, a rough-looking bandit aims and fires his revolver at ''the audience''.

* DaveTheBarbarian has the dark lord Chuckles the silly piggy kidnaps the narrator and uses him to control the story.

* In the "[[HoneyIshrunkTheKids Honey, I Shrunk the Audience]]" attraction at [[DisneyThemeParks Disneyland]], a bunch of animals are shown prominently giving the effect they're almost getting out of the screen and endangering the audience. Of particular notability are rats that would "jump" into the theater at the same time... something, would rub into the spectator's legs.

* "Wild Cards," an episode of ''JusticeLeague'', is presented (sans opening and ending) as a real-life television program hijacked by the Joker, who has planted a number of bombs on the Vegas strip and will detonate them unless the Justice League can stop him and his Royal Flush Gang henchmen. [[spoiler: It's then revealed this is a BatmanGambit designed to trick as many people as possible into watching, because one of the Gang is a telepath whose gaze - even through the screen - can drive people insane. [[MoodWhiplash And while the Joker explains all of this to you and his corny TV music ends to be replaced by ominous cords]], ''her eyes are still staring at you from the top of the screen''.]]

* ''{{Bleach}}'' gives us one character's mass hypnosis ability, which is so strong it affects the reader, only letting us see the illusion. [[UnreliableNarrator We can't even trust what appears to be coming from an otherwise omniscient point of view or his inner thoughts to be real]]. And he uses it to really {{kick the dog}}.

* There's a fairly obvious thing that penetrates the fourth wall even under ''normal'' circumstances- ''dialogue''. It's ''meant'' to affect viewers/readers, and if the HannibalLecture is vicious enough, you'll wish it hadn't. [[spoiler:(And that's how {{Acacia}} was {{Mind Rape}}d by [[{{Monster}} Johan Liebert]].)]]

* In the DCComics series ''InfiniteCrisis'' and the MarvelComics series ''Infinity Crusade'', both {{Big Bads}} intentionally endanger the reader.

* In TheLegendOfZelda: MajorasMask, after the Skull Kid screams to bring the moon down you get a [[NightmareFuel absolutely lovely closeup]] of it ''staring right at the screen'' with a giant evil grin on its face.

** Tactile effects have become pretty popular in 3-D attractions. "{{Shrek}} 4-D" at Universal Studios and "Borg Invasion" in the (now closed) StarTrek Experience in Las Vegas are two more examples.

* On Discovery Kids' Channel, there was a show called ''TruthOrScare.'' One episode was about vampires, and the final few minutes were devoted to the story of Dracula. The host mentions it's a bit odd that a simple bowie-knife killed Dracula, and perhaps he was meant to come back. She then suddenly stares directly at the camera, leaning forward with a creepy look on her face, and monotones "Harker, ''[[YouFool you fool..."''

* ''HouseOfLeaves'' begins with repeated warnings from Johnny Truant ([[LiteraryAgentHypothesis the fictional editor of the book]]) ''not'' to read the book because it will scare the pants off of you and prevent you from sleeping ever again [[color:red:[[strike:if the Minotaur doesn't rip your throat out first]]]] and you will find yourself noticing that the walls of your [[color:blue:house]] are maybe just a tiny bit ''off''. As the book continues, Johnny Truant steadily goes insane after reading Zampano's notes, even though he believes them to be largely fictional.

* The most obvious example is Kevin [=McCarthy=] near the end of the original ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers''; "You're next!"

* In one of BillCosby's comedy routines, the "Chicken Heart" story of the radio program ''Lights Out'' ends with the titular monster paying the audience a visit. "It's in your home state!" ''* bump-bump* * bump-bump* '' "It's outside of your door!" ''* bump-bump* * bump-bump* '' "And it's going to eat YOU up!" It scares Little Cos badly enough to both smear Jello all over the floor AND set the sofa on fire. CrowningMomentOfFunny.
* In the "[[HoneyIshrunkTheKids Honey, I Shrunk the Audience]]" attraction at [[DisneyThemeParks Disneyland]], a bunch of animals are shown prominently giving the effect they're almost getting out of the screen and endangering the audience. Of particular notability are rats that would "jump" into the theater at the same time... something, would rub into the spectator's legs.
** There's a similar one in Disney's California Adventure based on ''[[ABugsLife A Bug's Life]]'', too. That latter one fits the trope especially well, since it can cause actual discomfort - there are rods that poke out of the back of the seat to simulate ''giant bee stings''. Potential NightmareFuel for sure.
*** At this particular point, it's common to see most of the audience lean forward for no apparent reason. Woe betide the newcomer who does not follow suit.
** Tactile effects have become pretty popular in 3-D attractions. "{{Shrek}} 4-D" at Universal Studios and "Borg Invasion" in the (now closed) StarTrek Experience in Las Vegas are two more examples.
* Also, at an ''AlienVsPredator'' performance in Universal Studios the Predator actor would routinely walk among the audience and scare them.

* A great example is in ''PaperMario: The Thousand Year Door''. In this game all your fights take place on a theater stage, and you derive power from the in-game audience's reaction. During one boss battle, the boss seems to be defeated, but then gets up and ''eats the audience'', becoming more powerful than ever.
** Happens more than once in the game. Cortez [[strike:eats the audience]] ''steals the audience's souls'', Magnus Von Grapple 2.0 uses audience members as ammunition for a rapid fire machine gun, and the Shadow Queen absorbs the audience to restore health.
*** Hooktail actually does eat the audience.
** Works in reverse too... the fourth wall doesn't protect Mario, the partners or the enemies either. Cue audience members charging on stage, with Shy Guys knocking over background decorations, Boos making characters immune to damage and everything from items to food to rocks being thrown at Mario (or anyone else) depending on how well you're doing.
** In super PaperMario, several characters refer to the player as "A being from another dimension". The FridgeHorror? Count Bleck plans to destroy EVERY DIMENSION!
* The music video for WillSmith's ''MenInBlack'' has him using the neuralizer on the audience. A commercial for the film also did this:
--> '''Announcer:''' For those who have already seen ''Men In Black''...
--> '''Will Smith:''' Sorry! ''(activates neuralizer)''
** The Men In Black ride at Universal ends similarly. IIRC, the idea for the ads was so that you could see the movie "again, for the first time."
** This was also done in a ''CodeGeass'' {{AMV}} set to "Men In Black", with Lelouch geassing the viewer.
* The narrator in ''DangerMouse'' was sometimes affected by whatever EvilPlan was afoot. When Baron Greenback interfered with the world's transmissions, the narrator kept talking over the end credits, saying he was probably going to be cut off soon. He was.
* ''LooneyTunes'', being BornInTheTheatre, occasionally involves gags with the audience. See that trope for details.
* In the episode of ''ThePowerpuffGirls'' where Mojo Jojo turns the world's population into dogs, Mojo turns the effect on the Narrator about halfway through.
** Also, a body-switching ended with everyone back to normal... except Bubbles and the Narrator somehow ended up switched.
** Not to mention the episode where Mojo kidnapped the narrator, took over, and made the Powerpuffs commit crimes.
* In an episode of ''EarthwormJim'', Psycrow and Professor Monkey for a Head capture Jim by pointing a gun at the narrator and making him read out, "After Psycrow and Professor Monkey for a Head had captured Jim..."
* In one episode of ''TheSimpsons'', a bully who preys on {{geek}}s and {{nerd}}s lunges at the viewer right before the show fades to black.
* In a ''CalvinAndHobbes'' strip, Calvin's Dad does this by his intention to read Calvin a bedtime story about a severed hand that strangles people. Calvin faints around the point Calvin's Dad sticks a hand through the neckhole of his own shirt and grabs his own throat, screaming. This proves to be the most effective way of getting Calvin quiet and into bed.
* In DCComics' ''AnimalMan'' comics written by GrantMorrison, the evil and crazy Psycho-Pirate has become aware of the comic-book-reader audience and is trying to goad his army of resurrected super-villains into attacking them. (Morrison's entire run is about the growing awareness of the characters that they're in a comic book.)
* The peak of this is probably when the hero has a mind-expanding peyote trip, looks out of the frame at the reader and cries "OH MY GOD! I CAN SEE YOU!"
* [[NightmareOnElmStreet ''Wes Craven's New Nightmare'']] involved Freddy escaping into the "real world", so that a new movie had to be made to imprison him again.
** The earthquake was written into the script before it occurred for real. Robert Englund plays both a fictionalized version of himself and Freddy Krueger, who is listed as "himself" in the end credits.

* ''The Last Horror Movie'' is based around this trope. The entire premise is that a real-life serial killer has taped over the slasher movie you rented, and [[spoiler: when you finish watching the film, he's going to come and kill you, too]]. Unfortunately, the effect is spoiled somewhat if you [[FridgeLogic bought the film on DVD]].
** Although it might work somewhat if you [[TheScourgeOfGod pirate it off the internet]]
* Similarly, I once read a short story something like "Don't Look Behind You", which was ({{if I remember correctly}}) the alleged first-hand account of a supposed real killer who got a hold of one of the copies of the short story collection you were reading, inserted this one and only version of the story under an appropriate-looking title and is lurking around near whoever got the copy of the book with it: maybe one of the people in the book store where you got it! The author apparently didn't take into account that some people, like myself, may have checked the book out of a public library a great many years after it was published, but you have to admit it's a novel concept.
** Was it in the short story collection ''Horowitz Horrors''?
** Can't find the collection to check, but it's by sf & mystery author Frederic Brown in a Hitchcock collection (I think ''Stories That Scared Even Me''). A story with the same gimmick by Steve Gerber, titled something like "In The Shadows, In The City", appeared in the black-and-white Marvel magazine Haunt of Horror (not their short-lived prose mag of the same title).

*** Taken UptoEleven in "Into the Woods," when the narrator (who had been narrating the first act and the second act up till now) gets noticed by the charecters in the story, and offered up as bait for the giant that wants to kill them all, stating "he's not one of us." [[spoiler: This is ultimatly how the narrator dies--the giant picks him up then simply drops him. Splat!]]
* In the DCComics series ''InfiniteCrisis'' and the MarvelComics series ''Infinity Crusade'', both {{Big Bads}} intentionally endanger the reader.
** DC used this on occasion, under the claim that "Earth Prime" was the reader's home dimension, and so any threat to the multiverse was a threat to the reader. This... stopped working. Hey, remember how the universe was destroyed by a wave of antimatter in 1985, and suddenly reappeared in 2006? [[FakeMemories Me neither]].

* In ''{{Gremlins}} 2: The New Batch'', the Gremlins break out of the movie and assault the projectionist, forcing them to run other movies. They are eventually stopped by Hulk Hogan and the movie proper resumes. When the movie was released to video, the sequence was changed to the Gremlins breaking into the TV and being defeated by StockFootage of JohnWayne. The theatrical version with Hulk Hogan is restored for the DVD release.
* Played with at the end of ''YellowSubmarine''.
* Somewhere on [=YouTube=] is a video of a J-Pop group Morning Musume watching ''TheRing'' in absolute horror... so when a girl with black hair and a white robe pops out from under the TV and starts lumbering towards them, they '''FLIP THE FUCK OUT'''. Funny stuff. (Especially if you don't like that pop band.)
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ney8Sl9R00 Found it.]]
** The American remake plays with this. The movie ends with [[spoiler:Rachel guiding her son into making a copy of the tape to save his life]]. When he asks what will happen to the people who see it, the camera zooms into the video screen and forces the audience to watch the tape again, implying that that's ''us.''
** Even without that implication, one of the reasons this film was an international success is surely that it plays on the fear behind this trope: not only are these "fictional" horrors real, they're coming to get you.
** ThisTroper heard that an {{easter egg}} on the DVD of the American Remake has the footage from the video tape in its entirety, and after it's over the movie plays a phone ringing sound, placed so that on a surround sound setup it sounds like it's behind the viewer, ''coming from their own phone.''
* ShelSilverstein once wrote a poem about the ugliest, scariest, meanest monster in the world. And it's standing right behind you.
** Seriously scary when you're not expecting it. Despite clearly remembering that poem and having though I'd gotten over it, I had to check behind me when I read this.
* Played for laughs in Weird Al's song "I'll Sue Ya", where he points at the screen at one point and shouts "I might even sue YOU!"
* The ''Thackery T. Lambshead Guide To Discredited Diseases'' has a number of entries marked with a symbol that means "Can be contracted by reading this entry". One of them, Buscard's Murrain, causes the speaker to continuously repeat a word called "the wormword". The disease is caused by pronouncing the word correctly... and of course they've gone and printed the word in the entry ([[spoiler:yGudluh]]).
* The short story "Federal Reserve Skateboard" on the ''{{XKCD}}'' blog includes this line:
--> "At last, Bernanke got a solid grip on Greenspan's collar and hurled him through the fourth wall, knocking you to the ground."
* The main enemies in ''Latale'', the Agasura, are said to be after the game's {{Game Master}}s for their omnipotent power of 'hack'.
* Roman Nebakov of ''{{Life}}'' officially makes the jump from {{Smug Snake}} to {{Magnificent Bastard}} when he ''breaks through the fourth wall'', killing the cameraman from season one, and using the camera to make a ransom video.
* The GrandFinale of ''DigimonFrontier'' included the UltimateEvil broadcasting the message "You must choose to follow me or be destroyed" on [[DoNotAdjustYourSet every TV screen on Earth]] as the heroes race to stop him/it. The CliffHanger ended with the message appearing on your, the viewer's, screen.
* An in-movie example happens at the beginning of ''Demoni 2'' (''Demons 2'' in english), when a young girl watches a movie about a ZombieApocalypse caused by [[TheVirus virulent]] DemonicPossession, a demon inside the TV pushes its way out into the real world and turns her, triggering a new outbreak. It seems just like a gimmick at first, but then [[spoiler:[[FridgeHorror you realise YOU'RE watching the same kind of movie she was...]]]]

* ''TheGreatTrainRobbery'' might be the UrExample for film. It doesn't even fit into the plot: just that at the end, a rough-looking bandit aims and fires his revolver at ''the audience''.
* ''{{Bleach}}'' gives us one character's mass hypnosis ability, which is so strong it affects the reader, only letting us see the illusion. [[UnreliableNarrator We can't even trust what appears to be coming from an otherwise omniscient point of view or his inner thoughts to be real]]. And he uses it to really {{kick the dog}}.
** The ''author'' once joked that he himself was even being affecting by it and that guy ordered him how to draw one scene.
* One episode of ''TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' ends with Nurgle, desperate for friends, using his magic powers to turn everybody into the same type of demon that he is. At the very, very end of the episode, he faces the screen, says "And you will be my closest, bestest friend of all", and transforms the viewer.
* In L. Frank Baum's ''The Magic of Oz'', the story reveals a word that causes magical transformations when uttered. The omniscient narrator says that he would dare not reveal the word to the readers if he thought the readers would be able to use it to transform themselves or others, but since no one (other than Bini Aru or Kiki Aru) had been able to pronounce the word "Pyrzqxgl" correctly, he felt safe in revealing the word to the reader.

* The original ''HouseOnHauntedHill'' ends with one of the characters facing the camera and stating that the ghosts will come for "you" next.
* "Wild Cards," an episode of ''JusticeLeague'', is presented (sans opening and ending) as a real-life television program hijacked by the Joker, who has planted a number of bombs on the Vegas strip and will detonate them unless the Justice League can stop him and his Royal Flush Gang henchmen. [[spoiler: It's then revealed this is a BatmanGambit designed to trick as many people as possible into watching, because one of the Gang is a telepath whose gaze - even through the screen - can drive people insane. [[MoodWhiplash And while the Joker explains all of this to you and his corny TV music ends to be replaced by ominous cords]], ''her eyes are still staring at you from the top of the screen''.]]

* No, not even {{fanfic}} authors are protected by the fourth wall, as proven in episode 13 of ''FanFic/PrettyCureHeavyMetal'' when Zero escaped from the author's computer and assaulted him after he said CandleJack's name in the [[InterruptingMeme nar]] [[supersecretspoiler:You guys never learn, do you?]]
** Three episodes later, the author made a similar mistake: say {{the Hypnotoad}}'s na- [[InterruptingMeme ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD]].
* There's a fairly obvious thing that penetrates the fourth wall even under ''normal'' circumstances- ''dialogue''. It's ''meant'' to affect viewers/readers, and if the HannibalLecture is vicious enough, you'll wish it hadn't. [[spoiler:(And that's how {{Acacia}} was {{Mind Rape}}d by [[{{Monster}} Johan Liebert]].)]]

** Some brilliant soul on YouTube pointed out that (allow me to paraphrase): "I think it's safe to say that anyone actually named Desmond in real life probably s** t themselves at this moment."
* Similarly, Jesus may be able to "see" back down the wormcam in ''The Light of Other Days'', although this is only vaguely hinted.
* From ''TheDarkTower'', about Mordred:
-->Just don't take your eye off what you see, for even in your imagination, here is a creature who can do damage. [[spoiler: Remember that it came of two fathers, both of them killers.]]
* In Clive Barker's book ''Mister B. Gone'', this trope is used [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel horrifyingly]] [[GoneHorriblyRight well]]. The demon narrator tells the reader to close the book and burn it, at first asking, then begging, then moving into genuinely terrifying treats. Given [[CompleteMonster what he does for the whole second half of the book]], his descriptions of what he will do to torture you and his noting that he could be right behind you, that you could turn around and not have time to scream are not easily shrugged off. No reader, even the firmest of cynics, would want to finish the book. [[hottip:* : (The editor who added this entry was too scared to even go back to the book and find direct quotes, and also stopped a chapter before the end.)]]
** In the end [[spoiler: he admits it was all a trick. He WANTS you to burn the book, and set him free. He can't really do anything to you after all. He asks if you will give the book to someone you don't like even. :P]]
*** [[spoiler: I still give Barker credit for writing the book that managed to be the master of this trope.]]
* In ''HeartcatchPrettyCure'' episode 28, Cobraja hatches a scheme to turn kids who don't want to do their summer homework into [[MonsterOfTheWeek Desertorians]]. Pretty Cure, of course, save the day, but at the end he says there's still a chance for his scheme to succeed, points to the camera, and says "Kids out there who haven't done your homework, I'm coming for you!". {{Anvilicious}} much?

----

[[DoctorWho http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Doctor-Who-Weeping-Angels-Series-5-570x320_6566.jpg]]
[[caption-width:570:The image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel...]]

* * In Clive Barker's book ''Mister B. Gone'', this trope is used [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel horrifyingly]] [[GoneHorriblyRight well]]. The demon narrator tells the reader to close the book and burn it, at first asking, then begging, then moving into genuinely terrifying treats. Given [[CompleteMonster what he does for the whole second half of the book]], his descriptions of what he will do to torture you and his noting that he could be right behind you, that you could turn around and not have time to scream are not easily shrugged off. No reader, even the firmest of cynics, would want to finish the book. [[hottip:* : (The editor who added this entry was too scared to even go back to the book and find direct quotes, and also stopped a chapter before the end.)]]

** Three episodes later, the reader might make made a similar mistake: say {{the Hypnotoad}}'s na- [[InterruptingMeme ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD]].

* In ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark: The Tale of the Midnight Madness'', the vampire escapes from the movie and terrorizes our heroes.