History Main / TheTower

* "SleepingBeauty" is sometimes told with the spinning wheel that dooms her to eternal sleep being at the top of the tallest tower of the castle she inhabits.

* ''{{Frankenstein}}'', ''{{Dracula}}'', and countless others.

* Throughout HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Professor Trewlany can be seen going around mumbling about predictions, [[CassandraTruth which no one heeds]]- particularly about how she keeps dealing the card of 'The Lightning Struck-Tower' foretelling great danger and upheaval. Then comes the chapter by the same name, which takes place in the ''actual'' astronomy tower, the highest part of Hogwarts. [[spoiler: Its there that Snape kills Dumbledore, fulfilling the prophecy both literally and metaphorically.]]

* How could we forget ''DevilMayCry3'', where the majority of the game takes place in a massive demonic tower that just bursts out the ground? In addition, the challenge levels take place in an ever ascending version of the same tower.

* The Ministries in ''[[NineteenEightyFour 1984]]''

* "Childe Rowland to the Dark Tower came..." is a line from an old ballad quoted in ''KingLear'', retold in the English fairy tale "Literature/ChildeRowland", and used as the basis of a famous poem by Robert Browning.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1203735828_71fbbefa97_8658.jpg]]

An old trope that can be either physical or metaphorical in its appearance within a story. In the Tarot, The Tower is considered a sign of ill omen or adversity, but can also stand for civilization, or lone, defensive strength when regarding a specific character.

* BigFancyCastle
* The [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Black Tower]]: [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Tall, dark, and evil]].

home of the CorruptCorporateExecutive or MegaCorp in a contemporary or futuristic setting.
* ImpossiblyTallTower: or StarScraper, any structure whose [[AbsurdAltitude height is beyond imagining]].

* The [[WizardsTower Wizard's Tower]]: or MageTower usually contains telescopes, orreries, [[InexplicableTreasureChests hidden artifacts]], [[SecretPath secret passages]], [[TomeOfEldritchLore tomes of eldritch lore]], and [[{{Magitek}} dangerous devices]] PoweredByAForsakenChild in a terribly-cramped [[BiggerOnTheInside footprint]].

!!Subtropes and related tropes:

* EvilTowerOfOminousness

* The "New Tower of Babel" in the silent movie ''{{Metropolis}}''.

* {{Ulysses}}: The first episode of the novel is set in the Martello tower at Sandycove.

* The Tattered Spire in ''VideoGame/{{Fable II}}''.

* Mu's fortress from ''MonsterRancher'',

* Ganondorf's tower from ''TheLegendOfZelda: OcarinaOfTime'' and ''TheWindWaker'', game that also has the Tower Of The Gods; Eagle's Tower in LinksAwakening and the Stone Tower in MajorasMask.

TheTower is Card XVI in the [[TarotMotifs tarot deck]], although mostly symbolic. In the Rider-Waite deck, it's a tower being shattered by lightning. Generally speaking, it represents a [[GoMadFromTheRevelation truth unearthing something not pleasant]].

** Volumn two even has the title ''The Two Towers.''

TheTower is Card XVI in the [[TarotMotifs tarot deck]], although mostly symbolic. In the Rider-Waite deck, it's a tower being shattered by lightning. Generally speaking, it represents disaster.

* Ganondorf's tower from ''TheLegendOfZelda: OcarinaOfTime''and ''TheWindWaker'', game that also has the Tower Of The Gods; Eagle's Tower in LinksAwakening and the Stone Tower in MajorasMask.

* StephenKing's ''TheDarkTower''.

In many fantasy settings, towers are usually the [[MageTower homes, laboratories and/or schools of magic users]]. This convention is probably based on Saruman's tower, [[{{The Lord of the Rings}} Orthanc of Isengard]], though some settings justify it by having mages who are [[AwesomeButPractical also astronomers]].

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has a striking number of significant towers -- most importantly Sauron's fortress Barad-Dûr (meaning "[[EvilTowerOfOminousness Dark Tower]]"), Saruman's [[MageTower Orthanc]], and the fortresses of Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul, both of which are centered around tower.

* "Childe Rowland to the Dark Tower came..." is a line from an old ballad (I ''think'' "Child Rowland and Burd Helen") quoted in ''KingLear'', retold as an English fairy tale, and used as the basis of a famous poem by Robert Browning.
* ''{{The Lord of the Rings}}''
* StephenKing's ''TheDarkTower.''

* ''[[TheBible The Tower of Babel]]'' is probably one of the more infamous examples of the trope.

* The Combine Citadel from ''HalfLife2'' certainty qualifies.
* The Tattered Spire in {{Fable}} II.

* Classic ''{{Rapunzel}}'' is depicted to be trapped in a tower till someone comes to rescue her from imprisonment.
* ''SleepingBeauty'' is sometimes told with the spinning wheel that dooms her to eternal sleep being at the top of the tallest tower of the castle she inhabits.

* Throughout HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Professor Trewlany can be seen going around mumbling about predictions, [[CasandraTruth which no one heeds]]- particularly about how she keeps dealing the card of 'The Lightning Struck-Tower' foretelling great danger and upheaval. Then comes the chapter by the same name, which takes place in the ''actual'' astronomy tower, the highest part of Hogwarts. [[spoiler: Its there that Snape kills Dumbledore, fulfilling the prophecy both literally and metaphorically.]]

** The Tower Social Link in ''{{Persona 4}}'' is represented by Shu Nakujima, a ChildProdigy whose proud mother pushes him to overachieve even further, leading to his becoming socially isolated and discontent.

* The last dungeon of ''{{Mother3}}'' which is, intended or not, somewhat relevant to the Tarot Motif.
* [[FinalFantasyVII Shinra Building]]

* FinalFantasyVIII's Lunatic Pandora.

* Ganondorf's tower from ''TheLegendOfZelda: OcarinaOfTime'',

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* [[{{ptitlenc0emkf3}} It's All Upstairs From Here]]

* [[FinalFantasyVII Shinra]]