History Main / VaginaDentata

[[quoteright:300:[[Film/{{Teeth}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/teethbath.png]]]]

[[quoteright:288:[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batman_poison_ivy_vagina_dentata2.PNG]]]]
[[caption-width-right:288: Holy Freudian imagery, Batman![[note]]Image from the game ''The Adventures of Batman & Robin'' for the SNES[[/note]]]]

A classic BodyHorror, the Vagina Dentata is a folk myth of toothed female genitalia, which occurs in many cultures worldwide, from Maori to Native American. It is suspected that the concept originally came into play as part of a ScareEmStraight cautionary tale, warning of the dangers of sex with strange women, but the surreality of the image, and the [[GroinAttack castration anxiety]] it evokes, has made it a hallmark of psychoanalytic painters and writers. Currently, many anti-rape female condoms work along the same principle.

* [[http://gonintendo.com/wp-content/photos/scan0011.jpg This phone card art]] for ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' gives local BigBad Giygas an... ''unusual'' face. "Is that an EldritchAbomination in your pocket, or are you just angry to see me?"

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Poison Ivy's [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE5PrettyPoison introductory episode]] features her ManEatingPlant trying to devour Batman, and, as it's shaped similarly to a giant Venus fly trap, it of course evokes this imagery. This got adapted into the SNES game ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobin''.

* In ''Grim Prairie Tales'', James Earl Jones relates a similar tale about a demonic woman who does the same thing to unsuspecting males -- but becomes ''pregnant'' as a result, sucking him into her womb, while the hapless male confidante ''becomes her unborn child--'' which then gradually vanishes, as she repeats the process with another unsuspecting man, whom she dupes into helping a "pregnant lady." When her prior lover/victim is fully vanished, she then later tells the new "good Samaritan" that she was just ''faking'' pregnancy with a pillow, in order to avoid rapists; and so she "shows her gratitude" to his nobility, by having sex with him. And so the process repeats. (In response, Jones's conservative listener expresses disgust with the story).

Of course, usage of the trope is just as likely to not originate in Sexual subtext or Freudian imagery at all, instead just being a normal horizontal mouth that was rotated ninety degrees for the sake of BizarreAlienBiology or BodyHorror. Can be paired with PsychosexualHorror

Of course, usage of the trope is just as likely to not originate in Sexual subtext or Freudian imagery at all, instead just being a normal horizontal mouth that was rotated ninety degrees for the sake of BizarreAlienBiology or BodyHorror.

** Its SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' takes this trope even further with enemies such as the Crawlers (giant [[TentacledTerror squid-looking thingies]]) and the [[EldritchAbomination Fluorescent Flower]] (picture a [[CreepyCentipedes giant centipede]] crossed with an AlluringAnglerfish sporting a vertical mouth that's got [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily as many teeth as you'd expect]]). Bonus points: the former is [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything full of infant-sized Messengers]] and the latter has a the Gaping Dragon's gushing attack... yeah. ''[[DemonicSpiders Both of these are technically mooks]]'' (though they're also mercifully rare). [[spoiler: It's even partly justified, given the [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong later revelations]]...]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Poison Ivy's introductory episode features her ManEatingPlant trying to devour Batman, and, as it's shaped similarly to a giant Venus fly trap, it of course evokes this imagery. This got adapted into the SNES game ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobin''.

* ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'': Princess Clara's WickedStepmother cursed her and now her genitalia are a tentacle monster (an "Octopussoir") that scares away potential suitors until she finds her True Love's kiss. Naturally, ''that'' event didn't go quite as planned. The vagina is later surgically removed and goes on to have a more fulfilling love life than its owner. Also subverted in that the "Octopussoir", aside from being a little jumpy]], was actually a very kind creature.

* Wiki/{{SCP|Foundation}}-[[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-688 688]] can replicate this, under the right conditions.

* In ''VideoGame/DantesInferno'', the "temptress" creatures in the circle of Lust have these.

Note that a woman with a Vagina Dentata, especially one who can control it, can be an example of a HornyDevil too, as both tropes were born from legends warning against sex with strange women. Or a warning for women to not come too near in [[MenstrualMenace that special time of the month]]. Some cultures [[WomensMysteries kept their women in special houses]] at that time, others would just say: try anything and theirs will eat yours -- or make it fall off. Subtrope to SuperSexOrgans. Raunchier SisterTrope to LampreyMouth and FlowerMouth. The GenderInverted version of the trope, "Penis Dentatus", usually in the form of oblong objects or creatures with teeth or spikes, is not entirely unheard of and tends to symbolize masculine dominance or brutality, if not being an outright metaphor for sexual violence ... and shockingly enough, is TruthInTelevision for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penile_spines certain animal species]] (the most infamous being cats).[[note]]Thankfully, the most horrific examples that approach true "Penis Dentatus" territory are limited to invertebrate animals; most if not all of the vertebrate examples are quite tame in comparison.[[/note]]

* ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'': This is one of the powers you can give fomori (humans possessed by demonic spirits), especially those whose powers revolve around [[HornyDevils seduction]]. This includes male variants as well.

* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerIII'': [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Daemons]] of [[HornyDevils Slannesh]] factions' [[SiegeEngines Siege Towers]] have designs based on this, especially the part below where the men enter.

* The Khezu from ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' possesses a rubbery, elastic neck that can stretch to bite its prey. Its mouth is a maw filled with teeth.

* In ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', the Elites have sets of mandibles similar to the Predators. Lampshaded in ''Machinima/ArbyNTheChief'', where Chief calls Arby Vagina Face occasionally.

* The classic [[VideoGame/GarrysMod Gmod]] monster species, the Machinima/{{Vagineer}} are Engineers from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' [[MeaningfulName whose mouths resemble a vagina]]. They are often seen fighting or teaming up with the just as classic gmod monster, Machinima/PainisCupcake. The implied {{squick}} from putting these two concepts together is not helped by the fact than Panis' catchphrase is "I am Panis Cupcake, I will eat you!".

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW5CkHqIh1A These monsters]] from ''Film/BattleBeyondTheSun'', Roger Corman version of a Soviet sci-fi movie ''The Sky is Calling'' that was re-edited and re-dubbed for release in the United States. Original Soviet version doesn't have this things. Wiki/TheOtherWiki says this was deliberate.

* ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'': Princess Clara's WickedStepmother cursed her and now her genitalia are a tentacle monster (an "Octopussoir") that scares away potential suitors until she finds her True Love's kiss. Naturally, ''that'' event didn't go quite as planned. The vagina is later surgically removed and goes on to have a more fulfilling love life than its owner. Also subverted in that the "Octopussoir", aside from being a little [[BerserkButton jumpy]], was actually a very kind creature.

* ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'': In novella ''Equoid'', the protagonist reads a letter by Creator/HPLovecraft about his encounter with the MotherOfAThousandYoung, who is using Hetty van t'Hooft (a girl the then fourteen-year-old Lovecraft is smitten with) [[MeatPuppet as a lure]] to gain victims. The encounter no doubt explains Lovecraft's later phobia about sex.
-->''I looked up, straight at Hetty’s female parts, and saw then what had been hidden in waiting for me: a livid appendage, either vastly expanded from her natural organ (like the clitoris of the spotted hyena) or worse, an extrusion of Shub-Niggurath itself, capped with the [[LampreyMouth concentric circular jaws of a lamprey]], alternately gaping open to bite & snapping closed with vile frustration, streaked with blood & mucus, pulsing as it quested blindly from its vulval nest to seek my face--''

* A lengthy sequence in ''Literature/AmericanGods'' culminates in a succubus-like reinvention of Bilquis the fertility goddess/the Queen of Sheba devouring a man whole through her sexual organs. There is later mention of a young recently enslaved African girl (a twin, and thereby believed to have magic powers) convincing a would-be rapist that she had this.

* A lengthy sequence in ''Literature/AmericanGods'' culminates in a succubus-like reinvention of Bilquis the fertility goddess/the Queen of Sheba devouring a man whole through her sexual organs. There is later mention of a young recently-enslaved African girl (a twin, and thereby believed to have magic powers) convincing a would-be rapist that she had this.

* Creator/WarrenEllis' prose novel ''Literature/CrookedLittleVein'' features a variant of this trope when the protagonist stumbles into a conversation with a demented fellow mystery explorer that mentions a homicide by Anal Dentata. Yeah, the book is kind of like that. Warren Ellis is kind of like that.

* [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Coldheart_(Doctor_Who)_Vagina_dentata,_what_a_wonderful_phrase....jpg This]] cover from a ''Series/DoctorWho'' novel. Oddly enough, it doesn't have very much to do with the story.
* The Shit weasels (well, that's what the characters call them...) in Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Dreamcatcher}}'' are described with a vertical, jawless mouth lined with teeth. One of them uses this to chew its way out through a guy's butt (hence their nickname).
** A Shit weasel also attacks [[spoiler:Pete]]'s penis when he goes for a leak. He gets better... [[spoiler:for a while]].
* The Gugs of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Dreamlands'' qualify on a symbolic level.
-->"Then two pink eyes shone, and the head of the awakened gug sentry, large as a barrel, wabbled into view. The eyes jutted two inches from each side, shaded by bony protuberances overgrown with coarse hairs. But the head was chiefly terrible because of the mouth. That mouth had great yellow fangs and ran from the top to the bottom of the head, opening vertically instead of horizontally."
* Creator/FrederickForsyth's political thriller novel 'The Fist of God' references this.
-->"Why?" asked Gidi. "Think she’s going to bite it off when you drop your jeans?"
* In ''Literature/{{Genome}}'' by Creator/SergeyLukyanenko a genetically engineered super agent girl turns out to have a sting in her intimate parts that administers excruciatingly painful toxin to an unfortunate wannabe rapist.
* The short story ''Hillbettys'' had a male traveler stop at a house occupied by two beautiful sisters and their equally hot mother; mom and the elder daughter try to seduce him while the third is more hesitant. Turns out all three of them have vagina dentata, with the twist that the fangs are incredibly poisonous, and two of the women use them to seduce, rob and murder men. The traveler fights back and, with the help of the good daughter, kills the mother and elder daughter. He's fallen for the good one in the process, and as the two run away together, she asks how they can be together with her poisonous pussy. He cheerfully responds by revealing his occupation: [[spoiler: "I'm a dentist! If there's one thing I know how to do, it's pull teeth!"]]
* In the ''Literature/HyperionCantos'' this happens to Kassad when [[spoiler:his girlfriend Moneta]] turns into [[TheDragon the Shrike]] in the middle of sex. He is livid afterwards.
* A rare toothless example, but fits the spirit of the trope nonetheless: in ''Literature/IAmAmericaAndSoCanYou'', Creator/StephenColbert claims that Kegels will can make woman's pelvic muscles to become so strong that she can tear a man's penis off with them. Even worse, a woman you're next to could be doing Kegels ''right now'' and you ''wouldn't even know.''
* In Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/JinxHigh'', the evil magic user's artificial servant was deliberately created with this feature, and is fed through that orifice.
* In ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'' novella ''Equoid'', the protagonist reads a letter by Creator/HPLovecraft about his encounter with the MotherOfAThousandYoung, who is using Hetty van t'Hooft (a girl the then fourteen year-old Lovecraft is smitten with) [[MeatPuppet as a lure]] to gain victims. The encounter no doubt explains Lovecraft's later phobia about sex.

* Played with in the German parahistory crime novel "Meckels Messerzüge" by Wilhelm Bartsch. Titular anatom Meckel makes a section of a female corpse and finds teeth in her vagina. Actually, not ''her'' teeth, and don't bother to ask how they [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext got in there]] in the first place, but the allusion to this trope is obvious.
* Vampires in ''Literature/{{Necroscope}}'' are capable of this, among many other [[BodyHorror bodily modifications]], and have been known to use the other modifications to [[VampiresAreSexGods enhance sex]] before using this one to [[OutWithABang put an end to the whole thing]].
* ''Polymorph'' by Creator/ScottWesterfeld. The main character, who can shift any part of her body at will, creates these [[spoiler:while she is being raped by another polymorph]]. The results are quite... [[{{Squick}} graphic]].
* An unfortunate drunk would-be rapist encounters one of these in ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'', it's implied the woman possessing it is the protagonists' {{Moe}} maid too.
** {{Jossed}} in ''Literature/MoonOverSoho'' where despite the teasing hints at the end of ''Rivers'' it turns out to be a different woman, and she racks up a string of similar killings all against {{Asshole Victim}}s. The sheer physical impossibility of any human woman being able to contract her pelvic muscles enough to do any damage, even with 'false teeth', is also lampshaded by Peter and Stephanopolous.
* Popular science/humor writer Mary Roach, in her non-fiction history of scientific sex research ''Bonk'', mentions a case in which a woman's cervix reportedly sucked in, then clamped shut around, the tip of a condom her husband had donned prior to intercourse. (Her gynecologist had to forcibly extract the prophylactic's torn-off tip from her body, although her spouse wasn't harmed.) The incident was evidently reported to the ''British Medical Journal'', in or shortly before 1931, in a letter to the editor.
* The female Firvulag in the Julian May ''[[Literature/SagaOfTheExiles Pliocene Exile]]'' series all had this, and this was given as a source for human legends of the same.
* In Neal Stephenson's ''Literature/SnowCrash'', Y.T. has a futuristic anti-rape device called a 'dentata', which is sort of a spring-loaded autoinjector that jabs an unwelcome penis with a tiny needle and a heavy dose of narcotics -- it doesn't prevent penetration ''per se'', but does quickly incapacitate the attacker. At one point, she forgets to remove it prior to having entirely consensual sex, which results in a somewhat awkward scene.

* ''Literature/TheWarAgainstTheChtorr''. In "A Season for Slaughter", a robot probe is sent into a Chtorran nest, which turns out to have OrganicTechnology doorways [[OurDoorsAreDifferent resembling a labia]]. On seeing this on the camera screen, one soldier quips, "If there are teeth behind that thing, I'm turning gay."
* In Creator/TanithLee's short story ''The Weasel Bride'', this is the reason the groom [[spoiler: murdered his bride on their wedding night.]]

** It also has the more symbollic Quelaag in ''I'' and Najka in ''II'', both of which are beautiful women who's lower bodies are giant insects (spider and scorpion respectively) with giant, toothy maws where their crotches would be.

** Don't think too hard about this, but: the (''original'' -- see below) sarlacc pit. ''With tentacles.'' Eeeewww. In fact, the recently released Sarlacc Pit playset has a Sarlacc that looks "so" much like a vagina that you have to wonder if someone did it on a bet. [[http://forums.earth-2.net/index.php?/topic/5218-target-sells-my-childhood/ There's no WAY this isn't intentional.]] This did not go unnoticed on I-Mockery.com's [[http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/returnofthejedi/ Ten Things I Like About Return of the Jedi (#8)]]

* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'': The monster that [[spoiler:eats Jack Sparrow towards the end of the movie. The fact that it actually does devour him should at to the Freudian Nightmare potential.]]

** In ''Film/BladeTrinity'', while Hannibal King is recounting his past experience with a particular evil female vampire, he jokes about how unlike normal female vampires, this one's fangs are located in her vagina.