History Main / ThePresentsWereNeverFromSanta

* Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2''. Fortune believes that she has been 'cursed' with luck, allowing her to deflect any sort of attack away from her, but it is the result of electromagnetic fields generated by a device controlled by Ocelot. He later disables it so she can be killed, but as she lays dying, she somehow manages to deflect several missiles away from Raiden, Snake, and Solidus.
** Also ''literally'' invoked in regards to Naked Snake, who never learned the truth about Santa Claus because The Boss would, without fail, deliver presents to him every year. It's funny and heartwarming until you factor in that this stopped after the events of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' for obvious reasons, with Naked Snake believing that his actions had [[MoralEventHorizon permanently put him on the naughty list]] [[StartOfDarkness and make it that much easier to make morally dubious decisions]].

* In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games, the Covenant, who think they are doing the will of the Forerunners, are trying to activate the ringworlds because they believe that will elevate them to a new plane of existence just like their "gods" did. What they don't realize is that the Forerunners used the rings [[HeroicSacrifice to kill themselves instead and take]] [[EldritchAbomination the Flood]] with them.

* In the world of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', there are plenty of real, actual demons, many of whom are openly seeking humans with whom to make an infernal pact. So it's kind of impressive that the GoldfishPoopGang HarmlessVillain manages to be a fervent worshipper of a demon who doesn't exist.

* In the ''{{Series/Supernatural}}'' episode "Bad Day At Black Rock" a hunter pursuing Sam Winchester comes to believe that {{God}} himself is on his side after he finds Sam through a series of remarkable coincidences. In reality, Sam has just been suffering really bad luck after losing a cursed Rabbit's Foot.

* In the ''Nighthawk'' mini-series in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, Nighthawk is in a coma and has a vision of an angel that facilitates his healing and bestows on him a "second sight", which enables him to see criminal acts before they are committed. In return, he must punish the would-be criminals. Once healed, Richmond becomes Nighthawk once again and fights crime until forced into a confrontation with Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, whom he kills. The "angel" then reveals itself to be the demon Mephisto, who transports Nighthawk and Daredevil's corpse to Hell, intending to claim Daredevil's soul.

* Played for maximum tragedy & angst in the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Course Oblivion". The crew put their trust in a shape-shifting alien who they believe to be the Starfleet Captain Kathryn Janeway until they discover that they are also shape-shifting aliens that have been removed from their homeworld, forgetting that they were copies of the original crew. This creature does believe itself to be Janeway, and it's trying to keep her crew safe and get them home, just like the real Janeway would. Too bad for the crew that she's not a real Starfleet officer, and has a flawed understanding of what is "safe" and what is "home".

* Pip from ''Literature/GreatExpectations'' believes his sudden endowment to be from Miss Havisham to groom him into a proper husband for her ward, Estella. He's quite shocked to find otherwise.
** PlayedWith because he knows for a fact that he ''does'' have an anonymous benefactor, it's just his guess is incorrect; it's actually [[spoiler:the convict he helped at the beginning of the book]].

* This becomes the plot of ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' when the Thermians, a [[AliensStealCable TV-stealing]] alien species with [[BizarreAlienPsychology no concept of dishonesty]] or even [[CannotTellFictionFromReality fiction]], recruit the cast of a ''Franchise/StarTrek''-[[WhereNoParodyHasGoneBefore esque]] TV series under the assumption that the show is a historical document detailing real heroic exploits and that the cast can stop a GalacticConqueror from finishing the Thermians off.

* Much of the narrative in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' centers on "Buzz Lightyear" coming to terms with the fact that he's a toy that lacks the powers of [[CaptainSpaceDefenderOfEarth Buzz Lightyear the heroic spacefarer]], who's a fictional character in the Franchise/ToyStory 'verse.[[note]]He does, however, exist in the show ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' and in the AlternateCo tinuity movie ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'', both {{defictionalization}}s of the character's in-universe franchise.[[/note]] In this case, "Santa" would be Star Command.

* Much of the narrative in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' centers on "Buzz Lightyear" coming to terms with the fact that he's a toy that lacks the powers of [[CaptainSpaceDefenderOfEarth Buzz Lightyear the heroic spacefarer]], who's a fictional character in the Franchise/ToyStory 'verse.[[note]]He does, however, exist in ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', a {{defictionalization}} of the in-universe show.[[/note]] In this case, "Santa" would be Star Command.

* Much of the narrative in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' centers on "Buzz Lightyear" coming to terms with the fact that he's a toy that lacks the powers of [[CaptainSpaceDefenderOfEarth Buzz Lightyear the heroic spacefarer]], who's a fictional character in the Franchise/ToyStory 'verse.[[note]]He does, however, exist in ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', a {{defictionalization}} of the in-universe show.[[/note]]

* Much of the narrative in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' centers on "Buzz Lightyear" coming to terms with the fact that he's a toy that lacks the powers of Buzz Lightyear the heroic spacefarer, who's a fictional character in the Franchise/ToyStory 'verse.[[note]]He does, however, exist in ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', a {{defictionalization}} of the in-universe show.[[/note]]

* Much of the narrative in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' centers on "Buzz Lightyear" coming to terms with the fact that he's a toy that lacks the powers of Buzz Lightyear the heroic spacefarer, who's a fictional character in the Franchise/ToyStory 'verse.[[note]]He does, however, exist in ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', a {{defictionalization}} of the in-universe show.[[/note]]

Compare ''and'' Contrast WindmillPolitical: While a {{windmill}} is a threat that isn't a threat, this trope features a kind of help that ultimately isn't helpful. See also ScamReligion, for when Bob tries to get others to believe in his nonsense. The MagicFeather can be the token of Bob's specialness, a gift from his benefactor that symbolizes Bob's not-so-real powers. For the real thing, contrast EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity in general as well as specific characters such as SantaClaus or TheChooserOfTheOne. Also see TheCorrupter, where the ''character'' being tempted is unsure themselves of their benefactor, but is attracted to doing what it asks, nonetheless.

** Considering the group committed the crime obliviously, and that the Paladins themselves had actively suppressed and hidden any information which might have let anyone outside their order even know it was a dangerous thing to do, the group probably would have been just fine with a real Angel (and it would have saved everyone some hassle/murder down the line when the fact the trial was rigged comes to light). [[FromACertainPointOfView Also, said ghost is]] LawfulGood, if not exactly pure.

** The subsequent episode plays with this more [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane ambiguously]], regarding a local FortuneTeller whose prophecies come true but are {{self-fulfilling |Prophecy}} in nature.

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Bob thinks he has someone really special helping him. A guardian angel, a fairy godmother, the president of the United States, a wise alien, God, something like that. This fake or imaginary benefactor (Faux Empowering Entity) gives Bob (Faux Empowered Person) something that makes him feel special and chosen. Consequentially, Bob may consider his own actions justified based on having the benefactor's blessing (or acting as per her advice or direct order).

Unfortunately for Bob, he is totally wrong. And the results are likely to be disastrous, as Bob builds his life on a lie and maybe drags others into the mess.

Compare ''and'' Contrast WindmillPolitical: While a {{windmill}} is a threat that isn't really a threat, this trope features a kind of help that ultimately isn't helpful. See also ScamReligion, for when Bob tries to get others to believe in his nonsense. The MagicFeather can be the token of Bob's specialness, a gift from his benefactor that symbolizes Bob's not so real powers. For the real thing, contrast EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity in general as well as specific characters such as SantaClaus or TheChooserOfTheOne. Also see TheCorrupter, where the ''character'' being tempted is unsure themselves of their benefactor, but is attracted to doing what it asks, nonetheless.

* ''Manga/SgtFrog'': In one story Tamama pretends to be a god (angel in the Funimation English dub) after being caught by a boy practising soccer. While he did help the boy become more confident he gave some rather strange advice, especially in the manga and English dub, not to mention teaching the boy a soccer kick fueled by resentment.
* Kyoko of ''Manga/SkipBeat!'' still believes she got her purple worry stone from a fairy prince named Corn, which is very important to her. The pretty blond boy in question was ten at the time, and she was six; he presumably thought it was harmless to play along with such a ridiculously cute little girl. [[spoiler: Now that Hizuri Kuon has grown up and [[BecomingTheMask become]] Tsuruga Ren, the ethical issues involved in his convoluted lies have become really ridiculous.]] Incredibly, none of it has actually bitten yet.
** Kyoko, in a mini version of this, has become Ren's gag Obi Wan in costume as a rooster named Bou. His relationship with the rooster has evolved oddly and with no apparent introspection on his part over the course of the series, although he seems to think it's a guy older than himself. Since his reaction when this comes out will be primarily embarrassment (and amazement at how oblivious she can be, given Bou's been giving him advice about seducing the teenage girl he loves without Kyoko ever suspecting it's her), it's much easier to look forward to than the collapse of Ren's web of lies. It should be ''hilarious''.
* In the world of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', there are plenty of real, actual demons, many of whom are openly seeking humans with whom to make an infernal pact with. So it's kind of impressive that the GoldfishPoopGang HarmlessVillain manages to be a fervent worshipper of a demon who apparently doesn't actually exist.

** Then again, Ryuk himself muses that he never expected what amounted to a prank to have such a massive impact on the world, and that it was a one in a million chance that the person who found the book had both a grandiose ambition for it and the intellect to achieve it. Even the HeroAntagonist says that a normal person would never have done with it what Light did, even if they still chose to kill with it (though, to his mind, that just means Light is crazy) and in the one-chapter sequel the owner of another Death Note ends up being just a pale imitation of Light. So, perhaps, Light is on to something...
* Done in spades to Nagato from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. Blessed with the legendary Rinnegan eye power, he is first told by Jiraiya that his eyes are a sign that he is destined to do great things. Also, Jiraiya was given a prophecy that foretold that he would train a special kid who would change the world, and believing that the kid was Nagato he decided to train him. Sometime later Tobi outright tells Nagato that he is the reincarnation of the Sage of the Six Paths. But much later, after getting his ideals shattered, Nagato strays from the right path and becomes Pain, [[AGodAmI calling himself a god]] and justifying all his atrocities by his beliefs. Turns out [[spoiler:that the reason Nagato even had the Rinnegan in the first place was because at some point Madara Uchiha had implanted his own eyes into him as part of a ThanatosGambit, so that Nagato could learn to use them for the purpose of reviving him when the time was right.]]

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': [[spoiler:Although [[EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity Kyubey]] does legitimately grant powers and [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor a wish]] to {{Magical Girl}}s he contracts with, he otherwise misleads his charges about everything else that being a Magical Girl entails. For one, he is not a magical creature but an [[AliensAreBastards alien]] of the [[BlueAndOrangeMorality eldritch variety]], and the reason why he creates Magical Girls is not at all to defeat the [[EldritchAbomination Witches]], but to make ''more'' of them. More specifically he's '''solely''' interested in the energy released by the [[DeathByDespair despair-induced]] [[TheHeartless Witch transformation]], which his kind uses to [[WellIntentionedExtremist stave off the entropy that leads to the heat death of the universe]], and any collateral damage caused by a Witch is roughly irrelevant, near the end it is revealed he is mostly unconcerned about [[ApocalypseHow the Earth itself getting wiped out by a monstrously powerful Witch]] just as long as he can gather a massive amount of energy from it.]]
* ''Anime/MushiShi'' has an episode featuring this. It tells the story of Gen, a troubled little boy. He's constantly angry due to his mother's unexplained sickness and the fact he hasn't ever seen her. He often fights the other children to vent his frustrations. The only time he's ever seen smiling is when he is staring at what he has dubbed an angel. It constantly accompanies him wherever he goes. Meanwhile, Ginko discovers that Gen's mother inadvertently wove clothing using a threadlike Mushi and ended up catatonic as a result. Having discovered the problem, he goes to see her along with Gen and his father. Gen is overjoyed to finally see his mother (she had fallen ill shortly after he was born) and happily exclaims that she's the angel that's been watching over him. Ginko administers the cure and reunites her spirit with her body.

** Arguably, "The Guardians of the Universe" have a hint of this as well, acting as an Empowering Entity to the Corps but with their qualifications sometimes called into question. Unlike most, it's not out of manipulation, misunderstanding, or madness, but arrogance; consider for a moment that they gave ''themselves'' their title. While they mean well, they generally refuse to show any hint of humility or [[TheSpock emotion]]. They also have a tendency to cover up things they feel [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow Man Was Not Meant to Know]] (Parallax, the massacre of sector 666, Agent Orange, the Blackest Night prophecy, the White Entity), and those coverups have an equal tendency to come back and bite them in the rear.
* In ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'', false gods and other devils often fill the Faux Empowering Entity role, offering people what the victims already have or what the devils can't provide. Especially God-as-worshiped-by-Catholics-and-Muslims gets portrayed this way a lot. However, humans are fully capable of being Faux Empowered People without any help from demons. There's a tract where a kid goes JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and becomes a serial killer from ''finding out Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny aren't real''.
* In ''Comicbook/{{Fables}}'', Cinderella is quite disillusioned with the Fairy Godmother, who set her up with that jerk "Prince Charming" in spite of already knowing about his track record of failed marriages.
* In ''Comicbook/CinderellasSister'', the "fairy godmother" is all about hurting young women's self esteem so that they will desire more expensive clothes, cosmetic surgery etc. And she's not a real person either, merely an advertisement mascot.

* An issue of ''Comicbook/{{Madman}}'' had a powerful being claim to be God and empower an IRA agent who sought redemption. This was all a ruse in order to create an avatar to kill the title character. Once the agent realized Madman was innocent and that he was trying to kill an innocent man [[spoiler: he [[DrivenToSuicide killed himself]]]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'', [[spoiler:Rocky the rooster can't actually fly or teach the other chickens to do so. He's just a circus animal whose act involved being fired from a cannon.]]

* In ''Film/ABeautifulMind'', John Nash is getting increasingly erratic orders from the government agent who made him a KnightInShiningArmor against the evil communist conspiracy. [[spoiler: The questgiver is actually a delusion, caused by John's schizophrenia.]]
* In ''Film/TheExorcismOfEmilyRose'', an angel gives the titular character blessings and tactical updates in her war against the devil. While psychiatry (in the movie as well as in RealLife) is convinced that Emily was insane and that it was wrong of her priest to advise her to stop taking her medication, the movie makes it [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguous]] whether the battle was all a matter of insanity (making the angel a FauxEmpoweringEntity who helped Emily destroy herself) or a real battle between spiritual forces (making the angel a EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity who helped Emily defeat the devil and [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth move on to a better place]]). Even if she was insane, the movie indicates that maybe her faith was more important anyway. Emily herself was positioned to play this role for people looking for some confirmation of spirituality in the modern world; the movie suggests that if her faith had this positive effect on the world, maybe that was more important and the sacrifice she made would still mean something even if she was actually crazy.
* In ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'', a prophetic dream makes Golde accept that her daughter will marry a poor tailor instead of a rich butcher. Good for the daughter, and also for the husband (who lied about the supernatural vision in order to dodge the wrath of his wife) - but clearly against Golde's true wishes.
* In ''Film/KungFuHustle'', a street bum sells Sing an overpriced kung fu manual in a flashback, which sees our protagonist down the road of misery and failure. The bum appears at the end of the film, after Sing has defeated the Axe Gang and the Beast, trying to sell an array of kung fu manuals to another unsuspecting kid. [[spoiler:Possibly subverted since the manual did contain a legendary martial arts technique.]]
* Discussed in ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'': The peasant Dennis didn't vote for King Arthur, so why should he accept King Arthur's rule? Because some strange woman lying in a pond distributed a sword? Or is it truly because Arthur will have him silenced if he don't pretend to go along with that logic? Come see the violence inherent in the system! ("Help, help, I'm being repressed!")
* In ''Film/TheLedge'', Gavin argues that Shana's inner strengths and weaknesses comes from herself, not from God or the Devil.

* In the ''{{Literature/Nightside}}'' series, the Removal Man believes his power was granted to him by God, and that he is using it to do God's work. He is DrivenToSuicide when John Taylor reveals who has actually been backing his power, and for what reason.

* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}: Literature/TheForerunnerSaga'': The Forerunners believe their "Mantle of Responsibility" for the Milky Way was given to them by the Precursors. As it turns out, [[spoiler:the Precursors actually view them as unworthy of it. Not only that, but the surviving Precursors are actively trying to ''destroy'' the Forerunners, having transformed themselves into [[ParasiteZombie the Flood]] to do so]].

* Played for maximum tragedy & angst in the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Course Oblivion". The crew put their trust in a shape-shifting alien who they believe to be the Starfleet Captain Kathryn Janeway until they discover that they are also shape-shifting aliens that have been removed from their home world, forgetting that they were copies of the original crew. This creature does believe itself to be Janeway, and it's trying to keep her crew safe and get them home, just like the real Janeway would. Too bad for the crew that she's not a real Starfleet officer, and has a really flawed understanding of what is "safe" and what is "home".

* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Spike is set up as a possible replacement for Angel. After all, the Shanshu Prophecy doesn't tell us ''which'' vampire-with-a-soul it's talking about. Angel got his soul as a curse, whereas Spike fought to get his back. He sets himself up as a small private investigator helping the hopeless on behalf of the Powers That Be, as represented by their psychic emissary, Doyle. Yes, this is exactly the first-season plot. Except that "Doyle" is really Lindsay, the evil Wolfram and Hart runaway, out to get revenge on Angel by undermining his faith in his own destiny and using his chief rival Spike as an unwitting errand-boy.

** In Clawfinger's song "God is Dead," an unspecified audience is accused of killing each other on behalf of a deity they dreamed up in their own nightmares, the legitimacy of their holy wars against each other reduced to self-absorbed lunacy. Mistaking one's own fantasies for the voice of God might explain how some people who believe in the same God also believe that he wants them to kill each other in his name.

* Madame Trashheap started out as a Faux Empowering Entity in the early episodes of ''Series/FraggleRock'', doling out simple adages that the Fraggles interpreted as wisdom and giving away useless items claiming they were magical but were really {{magic feather}}s. Early on, she began to develop true oracular powers, often bordering on the omniscient, and could even do real magic (like the time she made all the radishes disappear).

* ''TabletopGame/ScarredLands'': One of the lesser ChaoticEvil gods is fake. The Chaotic Evil overgod killed but then pretended to make him a God so that his followers would pray to the overgod who slayed him while believing that it is him they serve. Why? ForTheEvulz, of course. And all the poor minions get for their faithful service is the horrors of Hell. Note that this isn't a ScamReligion: It is a real ReligionOfEvil that really worship an evil God - it's just that they have been deceived regarding ''which'' evil God hears their prayers!

* In ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', the Phantom tutors Christine in singing while telling her he is the Angel of Music, sent by her deceased father to guide her. Even after she sees [[StalkerWithACrush who he really is]], it takes her a while to break free of [[TheSvengali his influence]].
* ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' leaves it ambiguous whether the ghost is really Hamlet's dead father, a demon manipulating Hamlet into violence, or just a figment of Hamlet's imagination.

** The game's remake, ''The Binding Of Isaac:Rebirth'', is less clear about this. One ending has Isaac [[spoiler:turn into a demon]], another has [[spoiler: Mom finding his remains in the chest]], and a in-between level cut-scene has Isaac fantasize about the Voice of God represented as [[spoiler:The Lost]]. One has to remember that it was never implied that Mom was insane, just very religious; whether or not it ''is'' God, someone else, or just in her and/or Isaac's head is unclear.
* Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2''. Fortune believes that she has been 'cursed' with luck, allowing her to deflect any sort of attack away from her, but it is in fact the result of electromagnetic fields generated by a device controlled by Ocelot. He later disables it so she can be killed, but as she lays dying, she somehow manages to deflect several missiles away from Raiden, Snake, and Solidus.
** Also ''literally'' invoked in regards to Naked Snake, who never learned the truth about Santa Claus because The Boss would, without fail, deliver presents to him every year. Funny and heartwarming until you factor in that this stopped after the events of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' for obvious reasons, with Naked Snake believing that his actions had [[MoralEventHorizon permanently put him on the naughty list]] [[StartOfDarkness and make it that much easier to make morally dubious decisions]].
* Played with in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition''. For a large portion of the game, the Inquisitor and those who follow him/her are led to believe that s/he was chosen by Andraste (the setting's resident CrystalDragonJesus, the bride of the main religion's god) to serve as Her Herald and save the world from the forces of evil. [[spoiler:Then it's revealed that the woman who saved the protagonist, whom people thought was Andraste, was really somebody else.]] Ultimately, however, it's not explicitly stated whether Andraste was really involved or not; it's sort of up to the Inquisitor to decide whether the presents were from Santa.

* The first episode of the web animation ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/doraleous-and-associates Doraleus And Associates]]'' deals with a strange (emphasis on ''"[[CloudCuckooLander strange]]"'') pond lady (actually called "Lady of the Lake") who guarded the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Zephyr]] [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Blade]] in waiting for TheChosenOne to wield. She handed out increasingly random things like a tiny dagger, a biscuit and a branch, and asked Doraleus to use [[strike:it]] them to fight an incredibly deadly beast hidden in the darkness, until Doraleus got fed up and left. Later on, it [[SubvertedTrope turns out]] that while she's clearly insane, the [[spoiler:branch really was the Zephyr Blade]]!
* Website/YouTube user [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyWUn_bj5rM Shockofgod]] likes to claim that this is indirectly the reason people become atheists: When they realized Santa isn't real, they decided that [[InsaneTrollLogic if Santa isn't real, neither is God.]] Actual atheists beg to differ.
** Though other atheists [[http://www.bornagainpagan.com/photos/002-santa-dear-children.jpg note the similarities between Santa and God.]]

** Considering the group committed the crime totally obliviously, and that the Paladins themselves had actively suppressed and hidden any information which might have let anyone outside their order even know it was a dangerous thing to do, the group probably would have been just fine with a real Angel (and it would have saved everyone some hassle/murder down the line when the fact the trial was rigged comes to light). [[FromACertainPointOfView Also, said ghost is]] LawfulGood, if not exactly pure.

* In ''Webcomic/TheSanityCircus'', the identity of Nimbus' mysterious benefactor who's stopped him getting caught all this time is eventually revealed. [[spoiler:It's Sammy Talbot, a fear-eating EldritchAbomination.]]

** [[TheCowl The Blue Spirit]] initially appears to be a powerful, mysterious entity come to rescue Aang from Zhao's clutches. Turns out [[spoiler:it's Zuko trying to capture Aang and get the glory for himself]].
** The subsequent episode plays with this more [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane ambiguously]], regarding a local FortuneTeller whose prophecies come true but are {{self fulfilling|Prophecy}} in nature.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'', a recurring character is "The Lady of the Lanes," (real name: Laverta Lutz), an [[{{Gonk}} ugly]] woman with a terrible cough and a BeehiveHairdo styled into a bowling pin shape. She helps Daggett a lot, although it's said that most of the time, [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve it works because Daggett believes in her and in himself]].
** In another episode, Daggett is fooled into thinking he has found the elusive [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Big Byoo-tox]], and asks him to train him in the art of being sneaky, so he can get a toy that Norbert won't let him have. "Big Byoo-tox" turns out to be a big, hairy, naked Canadian guy. [[spoiler: The ''real'' Big Byoo-tox is out in space, holding the Earth up with his butt.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' ChristmasEpisode "A Lost Claus" has 8-year-old Mac having his belief in Santa shattered when a few hundred Santas show up at the home. He believes that if children imagined all these Santas then maybe he isn't real. Madame Foster has a heart-to-heart with Mac about it, stating that's a rite of passage for kids when they stop believing in Santa ("The truth will eventually come out," she explains). The night before Christmas, Mac sends out a prayer to Santa (who is actually never himself shown apart from the ones the kids imagined) asking for a sign he's real. He doesn't want the usual swag kids ask for, he asks for something incredibly mundane: underwear.

* Madame Trashheap started out as a FEE in the early episodes of ''Series/FraggleRock'', doling out simple adages that the Fraggles interpreted as wisdom and giving away useless items claiming they were magical but were really {{magic feather}}s. Early on, she began to develop true oracular powers, often bordering on the omniscient, and could even do real magic (like the time she made all the radishes disappear).

* Discussed in ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'': The peasant Dennis didn't vote for King Arthur, so why should he accept King Arthur's rule? Because some strange woman lying in a pond distributed a sword? Or is it truly because Arthur will have him silenced if he don't pretend to go along with that logic? Come see the violence inherent in the system! ("Help, help, I'm being repressed!").

* In the world of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', there are plenty of real, actual demons, many of whom are openly seeking humans with whom to make an infernal pact with. So it's kind of [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation impressive, in a retarded kind of way]], that the GoldfishPoopGang HarmlessVillain manages to be a fervent worshipper of a demon who apparently doesn't actually exist.

'''Dennis the Peasant:''' Well, you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!

->Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
-->-- '''Dennis the Peasant''', ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''

* In ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'', false gods and other devils often fill the Faux Empowering Entity role, offering people what the victims already have or what the devils can't provide. Especially God-as-worshiped-by-Catholics-and-Muslims gets portrayed this way a lot. However, humans are fully capable of being Faux Empowered Person without any help from demons. There's a tract where a kid goes JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and becomes a serial killer from ''finding out Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny aren't real''.
* In ''Comicbook/{{Fables}}'', Cinderella is quite disillusioned with the fairy godmother, who did set her up with that jerk "Prince Charming" in spite of already knowing about his trail of failed marriages.

** Indeed, Haley is immediately suspicious of this verdict because the logic of the closing statements pointed towards "Guilty, sentenced to community service." Unfortunately for the rest of the Order, she's TheUnintelligible at the time and thus cannot explain this without resorting to charades.