History ParanoiaFuel / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/LegendsOfTheHiddenTemple'': Those nightmarish Temple Guards could be hiding virtually anywhere in the temple. Special mention goes to the Dark Forest and the Room of the Ancient Warriors where the Guards could be hidden in the room's props. Kids frequently screamed in terror finding them during the show's run.

* ''Series/LegendsOfTheHiddenTemple'': Those nightmarish Temple Guards could be hiding virtually anywhere in the temple. More than one kid screamed in terror during the show's run.

* ParanoiaFuel/OneThousandWaysToDie

** There was an episode called "Killed by Death," featuring a demon that a.) could only be seen by sick little kids and b.) ''kills them by sucking out their life through its eyes''.
** The episode "Normal Again" from season Six. Buffy couldn't tell whether the world where she was in a mental institution or the world where she's the Slayer was the real one. The episode ends it ambiguously.
** Hansel and Gretel's power is ParanoiaFuel itself.

** Anybody want to watch "A Study in Pink" while waiting for a cab? Cab driving is the perfect job for a serial killer; people will jump into your arms without a thought of caution, you can drive them to a quiet and isolated place without them noticing, and no one will ever connect your face to the crime because no one ever bothers to look at a Cabbie's face. Jeff even wonders why "more of us don't branch out." Feel like taking a cab now? And that's just the beginning. And to top it all, this is actually TruthInTelevision in several countries. Yeah, when you're visiting a friend in another country and he tells you to not take a cab, ''don't''.
** "The Reichenbach Fall"... What if everything you read in newspapers and watch on television and accept as accurate is as ''far from the truth as you can get?'' [[spoiler:How many people watching the episode were horrified at themselves for starting to doubt who Sherlock really was?]]

* The final scene from ''Series/TheSopranos''. Including the suspicious guys we can see during the restaurant scene (an italian-american looking man walks into the bathroom, [[Film/TheGodfather does not he remind you of something?]]). The scariest part is that we are not even sure what will happen after the SmashToBlack. Also doubles with NightmareFuel.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. The [[ShapeShifter Changelings]] of the Dominion infiltrating TheFederation. The fact that they were able to push a galaxy-spanning, peaceful society to the brink of collapse with something like ''four'' moles sowing suspicion and mistrust is ''deeply'' unsettling. Plus the [[WhamLine classic line]] from Odo:
-->"He said, 'it's too late; [[WeAreEverywhere we're everywhere]]'."

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "Free Spirit" is a prime example of this, as a [[TheDisembodied disembodied person]] with a grudge goes after the scientists responsible for his state by [[BodySurf possessing all sorts of people]] to off them one by one, his victims never being able to know where the danger might come from. In the end he reveals [[spoiler:that he framed the protagonist for several murders by taking control of her body, then visits her in prison to assure her that he'll be tormenting her for some time to come.]]

* Creator/InvestigationDiscovery channel. Anyone, including your neighbors, loved ones, or friends, could end up killing you. Living in a small town will not help you.
* ''Two by two... hands of blue...'' That's River's MadnessMantra in ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. It refers to two men who are out to find her, who can monitor communications to find where she's been and will track her ''anywhere.'' In one episode, it's revealed that they have no problem using a harmless-looking device to kill anyone who's had any contact whatsoever with her. They just pull out what looks like a pen, and a minute later the man they were talking civilly to has ''bled to death through every orifice.'' And it's every bit as painful as it sounds.
* The final scene from ''Series/TheSopranos''. Including the suspicious guys we can see during the restaurant scene (an italian-american looking man walks into the bathroom, [[Film/TheGodfather does not he remind you of something?]]). The scariest part is that we are not even sure what will happen after the SmashToBlack. Also doubles with NightmareFuel.
* Watch ''Series/{{House}}'' too much and you'll turn into a hypochondriac every time you so much as sneeze.
* The true-life ''Series/MysteryDiagnosis''! At least for House's victims the symptoms just suddenly "appeared" - imagine living with mysterious, disfiguring, incredibly painful and seemingly incurable symptoms ''that all your doctors dismiss'' for '''decades''' because the diseases that cause them are so rare that most doctors never even know they exist. Even worse, many of the diseases are autoimmune diseases -- a kind of illness where the immune system, which protects the body from disease, [[MinorInjuryOverreaction gets its programming scrambled and mistakes body parts and organ tissue for foreign pathogens]], causing it to attack those parts and tissues to horrifying effect. The thought that the system that protects you from disease could suddenly go haywire and start destroying your body in so many ways ought to keep you up for many nights.
** Oh, and sometimes the problem has no cure and you're stuck with painful lumps/disfigured body parts (unless they're amputated)/[[NightmareFuel your muscles turning into bone and slowly becoming paralyzed]] until you die.
* A flavor of medical paranoia: Go watch ''Monsters Inside Me'' to meet amoebas that eat your brains and worms that live in your eyes. OrificeInvasion is horrific.

* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' managed to pull this off with TheFairFolk in "Small Worlds." They exist outside of time, so they can never truly be tracked down. They can kill invisibly. They control the weather, and can possibly drown the world if they're ever angry enough. Every so often, they get attached to a human, and will do anything to get her to "play" with them. By the way, shouldn't your kid be back from school by now? How would you feel if you found out that your elected government is perfectly willing to let 10% of its children be forcibly taken from their parents and handed over to aliens to be kept in an AndIMustScream state, so their bodies can be pumped for substances that get said aliens high? Also, how do you know that any person around you isn't affiliated with [[spoiler:the Families]]?

* Any show along the lines of ''Mystery Diagnosis'' or ''Diagnosis: Unknown'', which feature true stories of bizarre (and often fatal) diseases people get, often living for years without knowing they're inflicted. Imagine sitting for a nice, relaxing evening of watching television, only to hear something along the lines of "John Doe collapsed a month after developing a mild cough, which turned out to be an incurable disease which horribly kills the sufferer over the course of five years."
** This also happens when you get sick and try to research your own symptoms on medical websites. Oh sure, the mild headache you're having could just be caused by eyestrain, or it could be some ''hideous tumor trying to explode its way out of your skull!'' These sites are doubly traumatic if you happen to be a natural hypochondriac. Perhaps fittingly, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberchondria it's now a medical condition.]]
* ''Series/TheXFiles''. A good 80% of all '' The X-Files'' episodes involved Paranoia Fuel of some sort.
** Watching the episode "Wetwired" at two o'clock in the morning may cause general paranoia.
** "F. Emasculata" and "Brand X" for your corporate conspiracies, for example.
** The man who starts turning into a Chupacabra in the El Mundo Gira episode. Everything you touch starts turning to mold, ''including people'', and you don't know what's happening or why your sweat is suddenly turning yellow.
** One of the show's taglines was "Trust No One." ''There was a reason for that.''
** In-Universe Example: For Scully, big-time. Scully had spent a good part of the series denying the existence of paranormal phenomenon and a goverment conspiracy, for that matter. She knew she was rendered infertile from her abduction in season two. Season eight rolls around, only to find her pregnant. The question then becomes: how? And why? And what is she carrying? Is it a human child, or an experiment to create an alien/human hybrid? Cases like "Per Manum" and "Essence" don't help, and she becomes almost Mulder-like at times with her paranoia.
** "Pusher": Not a grotesque monster but a totally ordinary looking man who can ''talk'' people into killing themselves, or their loved ones, or do just about anything he wants them to do. Not helped because it's only a few steps up from what some illusionists (like Creator/DerrenBrown for example) can really do to suggestible or vulnerable people.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** There was an episode called "Killed by Death," featuring a demon that a.) could only be seen by sick little kids and b.) ''kills them by sucking out their life through its eyes''.
** The episode "Normal Again" from season Six. Buffy couldn't tell whether the world where she was in a mental institution or the world where she's the Slayer was the real one. The episode ends it ambiguously.
** Hansel and Gretel's power is ParanoiaFuel itself.
** That person you've met online may be a demon that will kill you by offering love...
* ''Series/UnsolvedMysteries'', which most certainly could make you suspicious of EVERYONE in your neighborhood.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. The [[ShapeShifter Changelings]] of the Dominion infiltrating TheFederation. The fact that they were able to push a galaxy-spanning, peaceful society to the brink of collapse with something like ''four'' moles sowing suspicion and mistrust is ''deeply'' unsettling. Plus the [[WhamLine classic line]] from Odo:
-->"He said, 'it's too late; [[WeAreEverywhere we're everywhere]]'."
* Original flavor ''Series/LawAndOrder'' usually deals with murders, which while horrible are usually over quickly. Now, watch ''[[Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Law & Order: SVU]]'' while you're a woman alone in the house and you'll be sleeping with a knife under your pillow just in case someone breaks into your house to torture and rape you.
** The ''SVU'' episode "Confrontation" ensures that you will never sleep soundly again. It opens with a rapist leaving the apartment of his most recent victim. When she calls one of the SVU detectives, we find out that this is not the first time this woman was raped by that man. She follows the guy down an alley where he looms suddenly out of the shadows and they fight. Then Detective Stabler shows up to a crime scene and finds her dead body. ...Did I mention this is only the pre-credits teaser?
** It's also bad if you have, or take care of, any kind of child.
** You think that's bad? In another ''SVU'' episode, "Perverted", Olivia Benson is framed for murder. How? By replacing the DNA in a blood sample with hers using a standard laboratory centrifuge! The only way the culprit is discovered is because of his poorly-timed [[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter speech]]. But, to quote the lab technician responsible, "Any biology undergrad can do it. It's a whole new world. Guess your free ride is over." Or so you would think. The very next episode Olivia Benson proceeds to threaten a suspect (unsuccessfully) with ... [[FridgeHorror DNA evidence]].
*** Here's the worst part. That's ''absolutely'' TruthInTelevision. And it's [[http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/08/dna-samples-used-by-crime-labs-faked-in-research-lab.ars been done before]]. Have a nice day.

* From ''Series/CriminalMinds'' - aside from the "anyone can be a serial killer" thing, there's also the [=CDC's=] ''virus vault''. Imagine the warehouse from ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', only instead of mysterious artifacts it's filled with bio-engineered viruses that can kill you quickly and/or horribly.
** Also, if you leave your door open at night for only as long as it takes to check the water valve, an arsonist can get into your house. Oh! And you know your webcam? If you've ever called customer service, someone could be watching you through it ''right now''.
*** Are you currently connected to the internet? Do you use social networking sites? Yeah, not only are you being stalked and filmed right now, the killer's using your wireless signal to do it. You're also going to be murdered.
*** A lot of webcams have a handy little light that tells you the camera is on, specifically because of stuff like this. In fact, it's how the team realizes what's going on. Riddle me this; if they know who you are, where you live, and what type of computer you have, what's to stop them from sneaking into your house and physically disabling that little light? Oh, and remember that the computer's microphone ''doesn't'' tell you when its operating.
** You would be extra careful in letting in a suspicious person into your house, whether they look nice, or offer special service; you'll never know that they turn out to be psycho who wants to kill you, or is installing hidden cameras around your house to spy on you and kill you in your sleep.
** If you have kids you would never take your eyes off them, because you never know that in a split second, someone would snatch them in a flash, the moment you look away.
** You see that quiet guy siting over the other side of the room you're in. You'll never know he turns out to be a [[AxCrazy paranoid psychopath]] waiting to attack in order to fulfill his delusions.
** Whatever you do, don't lick any envelopes, the [[AxCrazy paranoid psychopath]] might have put poison in the seal.
** This example has been spoilered for {{Squick}} and horrific reasons: [[spoiler:Remember kids, when at a volunteer event where food is served, don't eat any chili because it might have been made from a murder victim!]]
** Remember that nondescript stranger you briefly talked to once and then never saw again? No? Well, he remembers you and he's absolutely convinced that you are the love of his life. The fact that you have no recollection of ever meeting him and that you are terrified and moved across the country to get away from him, (and that you also already have a significant other) is irrelevant. This guy is not going to stop stalking you until you realize that the two of you are made for each other.
** The UNSUB from the episode "Normal" is made for this: Remember that guy you nearly got in a fender bender with on the freeway? He ''might'' be planning to gun you down later in order to compensate for his own lack of self-esteem. Pleasant dreams.
* ''Series/TalesFromTheDarkside'', especially the opening: "Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality. But, there is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit... ''a darkside''."
** More specifically, how about the Grither? It will hunt you down and kill you for "taking its name in vain", as it hates to be talked about. The only way to stop it is for someone to tell its story and finish before it arrives... and it already killed seemingly the only people who know the story -- although they thought they had made it up -- before they could finish. Just never, ever say "Grither" and you should be safe.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' used Harvey the neural clone to generate a deep chilling sense of paranoia in the second season: long story short, Crichton has a copy of the main villain inside his brain, and it can take control of his body at any moment- even switch off his vital functions if it feels like it. And it doesn't get any better when Crichton actually finds out, because Harvey simply erases all memory of the encounter and vanishes into the shadows.
-->'''Harvey:''' I won't trouble you again... until I need to. There's an exit to your left which will no doubt take you back to the surface of this commerce planet. I leave you to your shipmates, John. But rest assured, '''I'll be with you always. Keeping you safe.'''
** In season two, it's revealed that the Nebari infect their rebels and dissidents with an extremely communicable sexually transmitted disease before sending them out into the galaxy. It has no effects on its victims... until the Nebari Establishment are ready to invade en mass. Chiana claims to have been purged of it, but that doesn't stop anyone from shitting bricks when she showed up on Earth in the eighties and, [[AnythingThatMoves well...]] It's implied that the Nebari don't ''need'' the STD to soften up its targets. They're a HigherTechSpecies with the power to rival the Peacekeeprs and the Scarrans. It's demonstrated when one of the most powerful ships in the Peacekeeper navy is destroyed by a run-of-the-mill Nebari transport. They don't have dedicated warships because they don't ''need'' them. But don't worry, you won't mind them in control of you, as they have perfected MoreThanMindControl techniques that will make you serve them in blissful ignorance.
* ''{{Series/Chuck}}''. No joke. Not only does the government have a massive database of ''everything'', but it can be stored in a human brain. That guy on the subway who just looked at you funny? Better hope your parking tickets have all been paid. And this database can be put in ''your'' head through the simple act of opening an email from an old friend.
** This database will most likely kill a muggle like you.
* ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'': Your entire life - everything you've done, everything you've experienced, everyone you know, have spoken to, or loved, cared about, or hated, all of your lifetime experiences and ambitions and beliefs and goals - in short, everything that makes you who you are - could be a complete fabrication, ''and you would not be able to tell.''
** And then we get to the other capabilities of the Dollhouse technology. For example, the very next phone call you receive could be [[spoiler: a weaponized signal that reprograms everyone who hears it into a psychotic killing machine.]] Or [[spoiler: the next burst of sound from a speaker could erase your personality and replace it with someone else's, or simply erase it period and leave you a barely functional doll.]] Or even worse, [[spoiler: you could suddenly end up in ''anyone's'' body without warning.]]
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': You or someone you love could become possessed by a demon, who will use your body and let your mind be unconscious (if they're feeling generous), or alternatively, ''keep you awake to watch the horrible things they do while you're unable to move your body''. And don't hope for help from the CouncilOfAngels and/or the CelestialBureaucracy--they couldn't care less about you.
** Try looking in a mirror and ''not'' expecting to see Bloody Mary standing behind you.
* On ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'', anyone you know could be a Cylon android infiltrator. You could even be a Cylon and not know it. Unless you can confirm the existence of human parents (memories, photos, and data files are not enough), because they don't copy people. Just themselves. [[MesACrowd A lot]]. While you're snuggling up to your hubby, thousands of his duplicates could be working to destroy you.
** For that matter, the existence of the Head Six and Head Baltar entities. They could be watching you right now, and making snide comments.

* Played for laughs on a recent episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in a fake insurance company commercial called "Thomas Peepers Insurance".
* The season 2 ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode "Stalker". If you are nice [[spoiler:to the guy fixing your cable TV, he might decide that you're his best friend, move into your attic, watch you and videotape you through the ceiling,]] and ultimately try to kill you.
* ''Series/CSICyber'' '''runs''' on this fuel, the premise being the world of technology is out to get you. Use a baby cam? Your child will be kidnapped and sold online, said criminals will hack online gaming (which, by the way, is a hot bed for pedophiles) and threaten to kill a little boy or girl if the FBI continues investigating. This is the ''first'' episode. To the show's credit most of the show's characters are themselves internet users and avid gamers with the exception of [[BigGood Simon]] and even if he's not he wants to learn not just for the job but himself.
* ''Series/KamenRiderKabuto'' has this. The Worm can become an almost perfect copy of anyone, are stronger than you, can spit goo on you to kill you, can slow down time and can only be detected by smell or by Tendou being Tendou. So, if you know Tendou, stay close to him as much as possible; he might turn you into a rider as a bonus.
** ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'' is actually ''worse''. The Phantoms are born when someone nears the DespairEventHorizon and proceeds to tear them apart from the inside out, bursting out of them and killing them. That's ''not'' the paranoia inducing part. That part is Phantoms can ''perfectly'' imitate the person they killed. Your trusted partner who you'd trust with your life? Your family member who you love and trust? Your best friend? Your boss? They could've been killed and replaced by a monster now seeking to drive you over the DespairEventHorizon and kill you to make another one.
** ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' also has this way before the above two. Their version are monsters who exist in a parallel universe which can interact with ANY REFLECTIVE SURFACE, and will hunt you down until your're dead. No escape unless you have a advent deck, but [[BlessedWithSuck even that has its side effects, ]] or be the sister of the main big bad.
** ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' manages to pull off the trope as well, but in a different manner than it's predecessors; people are being infected with a mutating disease unlike any currently known, going comatose while slowly being wrapped in vines emerging from previously contracted wounds. There is very little information on the nature of this condition, making it nearly impossible to create a cure without first gaining some insight into its origins, which you've personally discovered. Too bad the local MegaCorp solely responsible for the economic boom of the city doesn't want the knowledge to go public, has already used you as a scapegoat to turn the the citizens against you, and is completely willing to either kill you or endanger your family to keep you subservient.

* ''Series/SapphireAndSteel'' will change the way you look at:
** Assignment 1 - nursery rhymes
** Assignment 3 - pillows
** Assignment 4 - photographs
* ''Series/LegendsOfTheHiddenTemple'': Those nightmarish Temple Guards could be hiding virtually anywhere in the temple. More than one kid screamed in terror during the show's run.
* The third episode of ''Series/UnnaturalHistory'' gave us the idea of Soviet/Russian sleeper agents in America. It doesn't seem like ParanoiaFuel at first, ''until news of actual Russian spies in the US came shortly after.''
* ''The Doctors'' (essentially a talk show focusing on medical topics) will sometimes have topics like [[http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/home_page?init_type=Feature&init_id=3726 "Surprising Health Dangers You Never Knew"]]. The promo is ''loaded'' with high-octane Paranoia Fuel ("No one is safe... ESPECIALLY YOUR CHILDREN") that is either [[{{Narm}} laughably over-the-top]] or just really creepy.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': Not only could Your dull as Dishwater Friend be a monstrous Serial killer, but almost everyone around You is a Killer in one form or another. And the Police are so inept that the aforementioned friend is probably the only thing standing between You and a Hideous Death.
** I'd correct the capitalization of this entry, but I'm too busy trying to figure out the hidden message. And who put it there. ''And what they want to do to me.''
* Creator/StevenMoffat strikes again with the BBC series ''Series/{{Sherlock}}''.
** Anybody want to watch "A Study in Pink" while waiting for a cab? Cab driving is the perfect job for a serial killer; people will jump into your arms without a thought of caution, you can drive them to a quiet and isolated place without them noticing, and no one will ever connect your face to the crime because no one ever bothers to look at a Cabbie's face. Jeff even wonders why "more of us don't branch out." Feel like taking a cab now? And that's just the beginning. And to top it all, this is actually TruthInTelevision in several countries. Yeah, when you're visiting a friend in another country and he tells you to not take a cab, ''don't''.
** "The Reichenbach Fall"... What if everything you read in newspapers and watch on television and accept as accurate is as ''far from the truth as you can get?'' [[spoiler:How many people watching the episode were horrified at themselves for starting to doubt who Sherlock really was?]]
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' is teaming with this. "O.B.I.T" features machines that can track down and monitor anyone, and has this chilling line:
-->'''Lomax''': The machines are everywhere! Oh you'll find them all, you're a zealous people. And you'll make a great show of smashing a few of them. But for every one you destroy, ''hundreds'' of others will be built. And they will demoralize you, break your spirits, create such rifts and tensions in your society that no one will be able to repair them! Oh, you're a savage, despairing planet, and when we come here to live, you friendless, demoralized flotsam will fall without even a single shot being fired. Senator, enjoy the few years left you. There is no answer. You're all of the same dark persuasion! You demand, ''insist'', on knowing every private thought and hunger of everyone: Your families, your neighbors, ''everyone'', but yourselves.
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "Free Spirit" is a prime example of this, as a [[TheDisembodied disembodied person]] with a grudge goes after the scientists responsible for his state by [[BodySurf possessing all sorts of people]] to off them one by one, his victims never being able to know where the danger might come from. In the end he reveals [[spoiler:that he framed the protagonist for several murders by taking control of her body, then visits her in prison to assure her that he'll be tormenting her for some time to come.]]
* Elaine's (and by extension Kramer and Uncle Leo's) subplot in the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Package" can count, especially the ending. Think of it this way: you get a rash that goes from mildly irritating to incredibly painful, and the doctors refuse to help you, [[WeAreEverywhere no matter which office you go to]]. The phone call Elaine got in the middle of the night didn't help either. Plus the doctors' motivation for refusing them treatment seems to be nothing more than [[ItAmusedMe petty revenge]]. [[FictionIsntFair Doesn't that go against the Hippocratic Oath]]?
* The ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' episode "The Red Team", where a group of civilians figured out a way for terrorists to strike the US so hard that it would be a disaster for the whole nation (''way'' worse than 9/11). Oh, and someone is possibly trying to get them to sell that knowledge. And it takes Sherlock mere seconds to figure out what it is, and he's not exactly the most stable individual. What about someone who's as smart as Sherlock but without any moral qualms? Say, [[spoiler:Moriarty]]? The scariest part is they never mention exactly what sort of damage the country would sustain.
* ''Series/AirCrashInvestigation'': Rationally we know that air travel is the safest form of mass transportation. And yet there are just so many things that can go wrong. And it doesn't help that these things happen even despite some of the strictest safety regulations and training in any industry.
* ''Series/TwentyFour'':
** Outside of the main characters that survive for more than one season, nearly anybody can turn out to be TheMole, or be aiding the terrorist plot, even people in CTU or politicians in the White House.
** Given how regular the terrorist attacks on the country here, imagine being one of the people in the show living their mundane everyday lives. Only to be infected with a lethal virus outbreak that will kill you in hours in the most agonizing way possible. Or the plane you're on to have its route hijacked and crashed into another plane. Or for a nuke to go off and reduce you to ashes.
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''
** You are being watched. There is a government surveillance system that sees everything. Every security camera, cell phone, webcam, and everything you do on the internet are all being monitored. If you ever find out anything about they try and kill you. Just try and walk anywhere around security cameras without thinking about this.
** Season 4 kicks it UpToEleven with Samaritan. Samaritan has all the capabilities of the Machine, but unlike the Machine which [[BenevolentAI is protecting the world for humanity]], Samaritan is determined to remake the world in its image. And it's winning.
* ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'', If your best friend is randomly called down to the principal's office, they are not coming back. They are getting kidnapped by all the teachers in the school, her existence erased, because she is the Chosen One.
** Does your Grandmother have a headache? An evil ghost is cursing her, and will kill her if you fail to fulfill your mission given by the ghost.
* ''Series/{{Alphas}}'': Is your cell-phone ringing in your pocket right now? The guy on the other end is waiting to brainwash you. See that autistic guy gesturing with his hands? He's secretly reading your texts, e-mails, and social media postings. The beautiful woman chatting you up on the bus? She's hypnotizing you right now and you don't even know it.
* ''{{Series/Pretty Little Liars}}'': Imagine being stalked by someone who knows all of your dirty little secrets, someone who is apparently watching your every move. Most likely someone you know, someone you trust. If that's not scary enough, imagine identifying the perpetrator and having them locked away ... only for the stalking to continue. Yep, there's more of them out there. Oh, and this new one makes a point of letting you know that they're more dangerous and depraved than the first. Sleep tight.

* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'' thoroughly explores the idea of how terrifying it would be to have a StalkerWithACrush who also had mind control (or MindRape) powers after you. ''Anyone'' could be a hidden sleeper agent and you'll never know.
* ''Series/OnceUponATime''' now has the MemeticMutation of "EVERYONE IS CORA"... because, at some point, she ''has actually posed as everyone''. The paranoia fuel is working out if it's ''actually'' the character... or her in disguise.
** Occasionally, Rumple gets in on the act, but that's much less common.
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'':
** The Season 3 Inhumans arc contains a healthy dose of it: It's basically the ''Series/{{Alphas}}'' example above, but worse because not only could anyone around you turn out to have some terrifying superpower, YOU could turn to have some terrifying superpower and you wouldn't know until it manifested. This power may or may not be something you can control and it can be unlocked by something as mundane as taking the wrong fish oil supplement.

* ''AirCrashInvestigation'': Rationally we know that air travel is the safest form of mass transportation. And yet there are just so many things that can go wrong. And it doesn't help that these things happen even despite some of the strictest safety regulations and training in any industry.

** "Pusher": Not a grotesque monster but a totally ordinary looking man who can ''talk'' people into killing themselves, or their loved ones, or do just about anything he wants them to do. Not helped because it's only a few steps up from what some illusionists (like DerrenBrown for example) can really do to suggestible or vulnerable people.

** "Justice" has the planet of the Edo, whose [[DystopianEdict seemingly-utopian]] peace is maintained by selecting a random portion of the planet every day to be a "punishment zone", wherein ''any'' kind of law-breaking, [[AllCrimesAreEqual no matter how small]], [[DisproportionateRetribution will result in being executed on sight]] by "Mediators", who are the only ones allowed to know where the punishment zone of the day is. Did you accidentally break their "don't step on newly-growing flowers" law? Chances are, you're safe. But ''also'' chances are this happens in a punishment zone and now two guys have surrounded you and are administering a lethal injection to you. And no, exceptions are not made if you don't know about this (e.g. due to being a visitor from another planet and not being informed of this specific custom until you ask). Wesley learns all of this the hard way.

* ''UnsolvedMysteries'', which most certainly could make you suspicious of EVERYONE in your neighborhood.

** "Justice" has the planet of the Edo, whose [[DystopianEdict seemingly-utopian]] peace is maintained by selecting a random portion of the planet every day to be a "punishment zone", wherein ''any'' kind of law-breaking, [[AllCrimesAreEqual no matter how small]], [[DisproportionateRetribution will result in being executed on sight]] by "Mediators", who are the only ones allowed to know where the punishment zone of the day is. Did you accidentally break their "don't step on newly-growing flowers" law? Chances are, you're safe. But ''also'' chances are this happens in a punishment zone and now two guys have surrounded you and are administering a lethal injection to you. And no, exceptions are not made if you don't know about this (e.g. due to being a visitor from another planet and not being informed of this specific custom until you ask). Wesley learns all of this the hard way. The entire point of this system is that if no one knows where the punishment zone is, then they won't dare take the risk, even if the zone is a room-sized area of grass on the other size of the planet.

** "Justice" has the planet of the Edo, whose [[DystopianEdict seemingly-utopian]] peace is maintained by selecting a random portion of the planet every day to be a "punishment zone", wherein ''any'' kind of law-breaking, [[AllCrimesAreEqual no matter how small]], [[DisproportionateRetribution will result in being executed on sight]] by "Mediators", who are the only ones allowed to know where the punishment zone of the day is. Did you accidentally break their "don't step on newly-growing flowers" law? Chances are, you're safe. But ''also'' chances are this happens in a punishment zone and now two guys have surrounded you and are administering a lethal injection to you. And no, exceptions are not made if you don't know about this (e.g. due to being a visitor from another planet and not being informed of this specific custom until you ask). Wesley learns all of this the hard way.

** The Season 3 Inhumans arc contains a healthy dose of it: It's basically the ''Series/{{Alphas}} example above, but worse because not only could anyone around you turn out to have some terrifying superpower, YOU could turn to have some terrifying superpower and you wouldn't know until it manifested. This power may or may not be something you can control and it can be unlocked by something as mundane as taking the wrong fish oil supplement.

** "Justice" has the planet of the Edo, whose [[DystopianEdict seemingly-utopian]] peace is maintained by selecting a random portion of the planet every day to be a "punishment zone", wherein ''any'' kind of law-breaking, [[AllCrimesAreEqual no matter how small]], [[DisproportionateRetribution will result in being executed on sight]] by "Mediators", who are the only ones allowed to know where the punishment zone of the day is. Did you accidentally break their "don't step on newly-growing flowers" law? Chances are, you're safe. But ''also'' chances are this happens in a punishment zone and now two guys have surrounded you and are administering a lethal injection to you. And no, exceptions are not made if you don't know about this. Wesley learns all of this the hard way.

** "Justice" has the planet of the Edo, whose peace is maintained by selecting a random portion of the planet every day to be a "punishment zone", wherein ''any'' kind of law-breaking, [[AllCrimesAreEqual no matter how small]], [[DisproportionateRetribution will result in being executed on sight]] by "Mediators", who are the only ones allowed to know where the punishment zone of the day is. Did you accidentally break their "don't step on newly-growing flowers" law? Chances are, you're safe. But ''also'' chances are this happens in a punishment zone and now two guys have surrounded you and administering a lethal injection to you. And no, exceptions are not made if you don't know about this. Wesley learns all of this the hard way.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' gives us the episode "Schisms", in which crew members are abducted by aliens from another universe in their sleep and subjected to bizarre experiments. This is even more terrifying than it sounds because a) episodes are usually shown late at night right before bedtime, and b) [[spoiler: some unknown thing manages to escape into our universe before the rift is closed. This cliffhanger was never resolved, so that thing could still be out there!]]

* ''TwentyFour'':

* The final scene from ''Series/TheSopranos''. Including the suspicious guys we can see during the restaurant scene (an italian-american looking man walks into the bathroom, [[Film/TheGodfather does not he remind you of something?]]). The scariest part is that we are not even sure what will happen after the SmashToBlack.

* The final scene from ''Series/TheSopranos''. Including the suspicious guys we can see during the restaurant scene (an italian-american looking man walks into the bathroom, [[Film/TheGodfather does not he remind you of something?]]). The scariest part is that we are not even sure what will happen after the SmashToBlack.

** Anybody want to watch "A Study in Pink" while waiting for a cab? Cab driving is the perfect job for a serial killer; people will jump into your arms without a thought of caution, you can drive them to a quiet and isolated place without them noticing, and no one will ever connect your face to the crime because no one ever bothers to look at a Cabbie's face. Jeff even wonders why "more of us don't branch out." Feel like taking a cab now? And that's just the beginning.

** The Shoals of Winter Harmony, parasitic alien brains that can take over any lifeform. While they do need to cut the skull of the victim open and remove the original brain and eyes belonging to their victim, they can do that really fast, as seen at the end of ''[[Recap/DoctorWho2016CSTheReturnOfDoctorMysterio The Return of Doctor Mysterio]]'', where the leader of the operation takes over a UNIT soldier in a matter of seconds. They're also quite apt at hiding their scars. Creator/StevenMoffat loves seeding the minds of the viewers with paranoia fuel.

** The Shoals of Winter Harmony, parasitic alien brains that can take over any lifeform. While they do need to cut the skull of the victim open and remove the original brain and eyes belonging to their victim, they can do that really fast, as seen at the end of ''[[Recap/DoctorWho2016CSTheReturnOfDoctorMysterio The Return of Doctor Mysterio]]'', where the leader of the operation takes over a UNIT soldier in a matter of seconds. They're also quite apt at hiding their scars.

* ''LegendsOfTheHiddenTemple'': Those nightmarish Temple Guards could be hiding virtually anywhere in the temple. More than one kid screamed in terror during the show's run.