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| 16 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/medusa_and_the_optometrist_by_rye_bread.png]] |
| 17 | [[caption-width-right:350: Her optometrist turned a [[{{Pun}} blind eye]] to the real problem at hand.[[note]] [[http://rye-bread.deviantart.com/art/Medusa-and-the-Optometrist-145352897 Image]] by [[http://rye-bread.deviantart.com/ RYE-BREAD]] [[/note]] ]] |
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| 19 | %% No quotes, please. |
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| 21 | |
| 22 | A Brown Note is a sensory input that is inherently harmful. Exactly how it works is left up to the imagination of the writer. In older works, especially the classic myths that codified the trope, this was almost always supernatural, typically a curse or strange spell. More modern or "grounded" works will try to pass it off as [[YourMindMakesItReal psychological]]. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Named for the urban legend about an audio tone that, when played, causes the listener to [[BringMyBrownPants lose control of their bowels and spontaneously defecate]]. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Usually, [[TakeOurWordForIt we don't get to see or hear it ourselves]], for obvious reasons. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | See also BlackSpeech for inherently evil languages, which may overlap with this for people who aren't evil enough, and TriggerPhrase for brown notes created through psychological conditioning. A BrownNoteBeing is an entity that causes this by something of its very nature, and is a common trait of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, due to how mind-breakingly alien they are. The nastiest forms of this also force their victims to propagate them, overlapping with MindVirus. Not to be confused with the real-life [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownian_noise "Brown noise,"]] which is completely harmless and sounds a bit like a poorly maintained air conditioner. Compare SuckinessIsPainful, for when the "Note" is an awful work of art, and SonicStunner for sounds that cause physical harm due to their extreme volume. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | ---- |
| 31 | !!Example subpages: |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[index]] |
| 34 | * BrownNote/AnimeAndManga |
| 35 | * BrownNote/ComicBooks |
| 36 | * BrownNote/{{Literature}} |
| 37 | * BrownNote/LiveActionTV |
| 38 | * BrownNote/TabletopGames |
| 39 | * BrownNote/VideoGames |
| 40 | * BrownNote/{{Webcomics}} |
| 41 | * BrownNote/WebOriginal |
| 42 | ** BrownNote/SCPFoundation |
| 43 | * BrownNote/WesternAnimation |
| 44 | * BrownNote/RealLife |
| 45 | [[/index]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | !!Other examples: |
| 48 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 49 | |
| 50 | [[folder:Asian Animation]] |
| 51 | * In the first episode of ''Animation/KuaiLeXinXin'', whistling causes a PottyEmergency; and, if they're asleep, [[EmbarrassingDampSheets bedwetting]]. It's {{Justified}}, [[TruthInTelevision because many Chinese parents potty-train their kids by whistling.]] |
| 52 | [[/folder]] |
| 53 | |
| 54 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 55 | * In ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'', Pierce's drum solos have been known to cause spontaneous nosebleeds. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 59 | * ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': Ghidorah's decapitated head retains a psychic influence on humans among Alan Jonah's organization even after San's mind has [[BrainUploading Brain Uploaded]] out of it. Gradually, it induces {{Sanity Slippage}}s in the affected, and those who don't experience MoreThanMindControl are DrivenToSuicide. |
| 60 | * In ''[[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/against-the-deep.97635/page-15#post-22451728 Against the Deep,]]'' [[VideoGame/KanColle Shipgirls and Abyssals]] have this effect on [[Literature/{{Worm}} Thinkers]]. [[spoiler:Coil winds up bumping into Taylor Hebert, the natural-born USS Lord's Port, and passed out when he couldn't model her at all.]] |
| 61 | * In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', Phil has the ability to produce a "Lunatic Laugh", an EvilLaugh that instantly paralyzes others with fear. Phil uses this to completely disarm Daniel, giving him the opportunity to free himself and stab him with his own sword. |
| 62 | * ''Fanfic/AuroraFalls'': Apparently, the TRIDENT array can be set to the resonant frequency of the gastrointestinal system. Exactly what that does isn't directly elaborated upon, [[spoiler:but it was evidently enough to push Tomar over the edge]]. |
| 63 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14211082/13/Back-in-Time-to-Live-a-Life Back in Time to Live a Life]]'' Ginny casts an Egyptian spell which produces a very low-pitched sound that causes everyone in the Great Hall to shit their pants. |
| 64 | * ''Fanfic/BesidesTheWillOfEvil'': The screams of the [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings fell beasts]] cause anyone who hears them to be overwhelmed by visceral terror. |
| 65 | * ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': In "The Spaceship," Rhino blows on a dog whistle that proves intensely painful to both Bolt's ears and those of the dog-like aliens who try to abduct the hamster. |
| 66 | * In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Sean Cassidy's powers are upgraded from simply 'screaming at people' and 'improbably flying', to a number of other sound related applications. One of these is being able to hit the resonant frequency of various kinds of woods, the point at which they shatter. Wand woods, to be specific. If that didn't make him dangerous enough, chapter 70 reveals that he can also hit the resonant frequency of ''[[BodyHorror bone]]''. He's also figured out how to use his powers to create a CompellingVoice, which he used to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge avenge the death of his wife]]: [[NoodleIncident All we know about how that went down]] is that even ''Nick Fury'' can never unsee the mess he made. |
| 67 | * ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'': In episode 9, "[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos The King In Yellow]]" play makes an appearance. When it's performed, a lot of people goes mad and dies, and [[EldritchAbomination Hastur]] shows up at the end. However, [[spoiler:it's defeated and destroyed.]] |
| 68 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8806745/3/At-The-End-Of-All-Things The End of All Things]]'' a magical reaction destroys the [[SoulJar Horcrux]] in Harry's scar during second year. It's stated that if Madame Pomfrey had been unlucky enough to hear its dying scream it would've shattered her mind. |
| 69 | * ''Fanfic/{{Equestrylvania}}'': Just looking at [[TheGrimReaper Death]]'s face {{Mind Rape}}s the viewer, causing them to relive every terrible memory they have. |
| 70 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfic [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6509106/1/Danny_Phantom_Stolen_Years Stolen Years]] of the ''FanFic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', Jack invented a device that emitted a painful sound that only ghosts could hear. [[spoiler:He got the effect [[ReversePolarity backwards]]. It is later used to disable the Guys in White, to rescue Danielle]]. |
| 71 | * In ''FanFic/FalloutEquestria'', contact with the [[DeadlyGas Pink Cloud]] transforms anything capable of emitting sound (radios, loudspeakers, etc.) into 'corrupted broadcasters' that emit literal ear-piercing noises. Prolonged exposure to their signal can cause [[YourHeadASplode heads to explode.]] |
| 72 | * In ''Fanfic/ForTheGloryOfIrk'', the [[StarfishAliens Parasite]] known as Q usually speaks in a telepathic simulation of human voices. When he speaks in his own language, it's enough to cause Dib pain and nearly overwhelm him. |
| 73 | * Apparently, an age-regressed [[Fanfic/Gensokyo20XX Reimu]] and trying to understand her (or rather understand her personality and antics) is this for some, as Ran noted that trying to do so would cause mental distress, making the effect rather psychological. The fact that Reimu, by this point, is a youkai doesn't help matters either. |
| 74 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3347843/5/Harry-Potter-and-the-Edge-of-the-Light Harry Potter and the Edge of the Light]]'' a howling from the Veil which only Hermione can hear causes physical damage which results in her eardrums needing to be regrown. |
| 75 | * ''Fanfic/InFlight'' has Jinki act like this for Shirou, as they completely confound his Structural Grasp. |
| 76 | * Ringo's mindsight turns out to function this way in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World''. Any genuine telepath (John is not one) who taps into Ringo while he's using mindsight will instantly become addicted to it, and unless he's heavily shielded, he'll also get the mental equivalent of a bad sunburn. And don't think the mindsight isn't having a comparable addictive effect on Ringo—hence his extreme BlessedWithSuck. |
| 77 | * ''Fanfic/ItsAlwaysTheQuietOnes'': Merely being exposed to the eldritch dimension housing the Wrackspurts and Deep Ones for a few minutes is enough to traumatize everyone in Hogwarts' Great Hall. Numerous patients end up checking into St. Mungo's, developing incurable phobias of tentacles and fishy smells. |
| 78 | * ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': |
| 79 | ** In Chapter 16 of the original, right before Shamumaza reveals himself in the courtyard, a BlackSpeech is present that gives Sanakan, Hugh, and Lily visible anxiety and discomfort. |
| 80 | ** Kyril advises Sanakan and Hugh not to look too hard at the AlienGeometries of the Malys Estate, noting how lesser men and women would be driven mad by the place. |
| 81 | ** Anyone who catches a glimpse of [[spoiler:[[EldritchAbomination what's]] behind Kyril's [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith mortal mask]] gets [[MindRape mind-raped]] to a FateWorseThanDeath]]. [[spoiler:He even says to his first two apprentices that]] this would do "very bad things" to their heads. The [[spoiler:[[InsectoidAliens insect]] [[ClippedWingAngel beast]] who [[WasOnceAMan was once]] Shamuhaza]] learns this in the worst way possible. |
| 82 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11053233/1/Number-48 Number 48]]'' Harry's Grim Reaper says that Leviathan's true form is so impossibly beautiful that looking at him causes mortals to feel pain unless he decides otherwise. |
| 83 | * In ''[[FanFic/PokemonBlackandWhiteTaleofaLegend Pokemon Black & White: Tale of a Legend]]'', Volan, Thrin, and their dragons are filled with intense pain and anger when they hear [[spoiler:Kyurem's cry]]. |
| 84 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8831374/2/The-Power-of-the-Press The Power of the Press]]'' the screaming of a [[SoulJar Horcrux]] being destroyed gives Sirius nightmares and makes an American observer physically ill. |
| 85 | * In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', there's Havoc, AnthropomorphicPersonification of Mass Hysteria. Looking at his true form will terrify ponies so badly they'll likely never sleep again. His ''voice'' will reduce them to horrified wrecks. |
| 86 | * In [[http://thepunishment.tumblr.com/post/7430283171/prequel-daisy the prequel]] to a ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' fanfiction called [[http://thepunishment.tumblr.com The Punishment,]] Wheatley falls victim to a glitch programmed into all personality cores which makes them [[CuteMachines "fall]] [[SleepCute asleep"]] at the sound of human singing. |
| 87 | * In a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, Twilight Sparkle in ''Fanfic/PagesOfHarmony'' uses infrasound on Fluttershy as part of the procedures to break Kindness from her. The process causes Fluttershy to feel disoriented, a nearly tangible fear that completely overwhelms her as she experiences horrifying visions. |
| 88 | * ''Fanfic/ReMyHostageNotYours'': The [[OrganicTechnology living computer core]] of the [[BeePeople Valkians']] ship is so obscenely bizarre in appearance that, combined with the concussion she's suffering from, Gaz gets sick just looking at it. |
| 89 | * ''Fanfic/RobbReturns'': The [[EldritchAbomination entity behind the Hightower Gate]] emits an aura of fear to everyone in its proximity, and the effect is stronger the closer you get. At a certain distance (marked on the floor), the aura causes people to lose control of their bowels. Get closer, and you'll collapse from fear. [[spoiler:And if you get too close, you die of sheer terror, then the entity possesses your corpse and tries to break out from behind the gate. However, wielding [[AncestralWeapon Otherbane]] renders you immune to the aura.]] |
| 90 | * In ''FanFic/TheShapeOfTheNightmareToCome'', saying the full name of [[EldritchAbomination "the Nex]][[spoiler:us of ever fated rising madness hope of all turned black doom to all the belligerents and their gods all hail doom nightmares]]" causes severe nausea and vomiting, and wreaks havoc on recording equipment. |
| 91 | * ''FanFic/TheStarsWillAidTheirEscape'': |
| 92 | ** During the attack on Canterlot, [[BigBad Herald]] has [[UnwittingPawn Trixie]] conjure the Red Sigil, which causes intense pain if you just glimpse it, and insanity if viewed directly. |
| 93 | ** If Herald removes his mask and shows his [[EldritchAbomination true face]], the viewer's mind is filled with [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow knowledge of the Outer Gods]], which drives them insane. [[spoiler:This is what he does to Twilight Sparkle.]] |
| 94 | * ''FanFic/ThisBites'': |
| 95 | ** Soundbite learns to produce a sound that causes extreme nausea and disorientation in everyone who hears it, enabling Cross to take them down easier. [[CallingYourAttacks He and Cross christen it "Gastro-Phony" (going off of cacophony) in Chapter 25.]] |
| 96 | ** When [[spoiler:DJ Gappa of Baron Omatsuri's crew, possessed by Lily, broadcasts on the SBS to invite them to come to their island]], the sheer fakeness being broadcasted sends chills up everyone's spine. To say nothing of what happens when anyone tries calling Soundbite while on the island. All they get is a completely unholy sound, with a hint of ''something'' underneath. [[labelnote: What?]][[AC:[[spoiler:My fun. My toys. My food. Go away!]]]][[/labelnote]] |
| 97 | * The [[FanFic/TriptychContinuum Triptych Continuum]] ascribes this to [[spoiler:''[[NeverGivenAName her]]'' cutie mark]], stating that ponies looking at it are quite disturbed, with Twilight nearly experiencing it as a breaking event. [[spoiler:The mark is ''animated'', and up until ''she'' came along, no mark had ever moved: the disruption of that level of constant doesn't go over well.]] Notably, however, some individuals aren't affected and claim it's beautiful, while Spike seems to be aware that ''something'' is off, but isn't sure what. |
| 98 | * In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13814352/10/Unprecedented-Competition Unprecedented Competition]]'' a mosaic of Merlin states that the Welsh Red dragon had a cry which could stun or kill animals and Muggles. This eventually resulted in its deliberate extinction. |
| 99 | * ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'': When Paul makes an alliance of convenience with Hell [[EnemyMine to protect him from an attack by angels gone rogue]], he discovers that the imprisoned angel Gabriel has been [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil tortured and twisted]] into a weapon against holy power. |
| 100 | --> Some.. sort of arcane device is being winched into place, another Scabbie… With a hole in his chest where his heart used to be. Chains are pulled taut, and some sort of arcane device lights up-.\ |
| 101 | Gabriel [[gray:screams, and black mists rise from the ground throughout the battlefield.]]\ |
| 102 | "What-?"\ |
| 103 | [[gray:Angel songs falter and fail, angel wings shake and shed their feathers…]]\ |
| 104 | "That's-. Nono-."\ |
| 105 | "The Song of Creation's Antithesis." Rosacarnis smiles as I shudder inside my armour. |
| 106 | [[/folder]] |
| 107 | |
| 108 | [[folder:Film -- Live-Action]] |
| 109 | * In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkle'' movie, the villains use a television program that causes the viewers to become zombies and attempt to broadcast it across the United States so Fearless Leader can become president. |
| 110 | * In ''Film/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'', the eponymous tomatoes are pacified by a song called "Puberty Love". The last tomato, wearing earmuffs, was defeated by [[spoiler:showing it a copy of the sheet music.]] |
| 111 | * ''Film/BansheeChapter'' features something mysterious that affects people in various nasty ways. When this something comes somewhere close to its victims they either begin to bleed or go mad from terror or move out of sight and disappear. |
| 112 | * ''Film/BirdBox'': The mere sight of the creatures causes this. It drives most people to suicide. With those who were already mentally unhinged, they became obsessed with it, and force others to look. |
| 113 | * PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/TheChase1994'', when Jackson Hammond (Creator/CharlieSheen) tells his kidnapping victim to stop screaming at him because her voice is so high and whiny he can almost feel it boring into his skull. ("It's like a drill!") |
| 114 | * The last segment of the horror anthology ''Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear'' features video recordings of experiments with a lethal Brown Note musical piece that makes listeners tear themselves apart. The researchers had to destroy the eardrums of their pianist just to let him play the whole thing, and it ''still'' killed him when he finished. |
| 115 | * In the Thai horror film ''Film/ComingSoon'', watching the scene of the [[ShowWithinAShow film within a film]] "Evil Spirit" where the BigBad Shomba is hung to death after being discovered kidnapping children will cause whoever watches it to die. |
| 116 | * ''Film/Constantine2005'': When John is trying to exorcise a demon from a little girl, he tells the men helping him not to look. One of them does and his [[LockedIntoStrangeness hair instantly turns white]]. |
| 117 | * In ''Film/{{Deathgasm}}'', the protagonist stumbles upon some sheet music that when played, turns anyone within earshot into demons. |
| 118 | * In ''Film/DeliverUsFromEvil'', the (apparent) head villain repeatedly leaves graffiti in the form of Latin/Persian incantations written in strange places. It turns out that [[spoiler:simply reading these incantations, not necessarily even out loud, allows the reader to be possessed by a demon]]. |
| 119 | * In ''Film/DisturbingBehavior'', the E-Rat-icator device used by [[AlmightyJanitor Mr. Newburry]] is designed to have this effect on rats to drive them away, but it doesn't work so well. [[spoiler:[[ChekhovsGun It is, however]], '' damn '' effective against [[MindControlDevice mind-control chips]].]] |
| 120 | * According to the Metatron in ''Film/{{Dogma}}'': |
| 121 | -->''"... human beings have neither the aural nor the psychological capacity to withstand the awesome power of God's true voice. Were you to hear it, your mind would cave in, and your heart would explode within your chest. We went through five Adams before we figured that out."'' |
| 122 | ** At the end of the film, [[spoiler:God kills a now-mortal Bartleby by speaking a single word. His head blows up. The viewer hears only a deep, loud thrumming noise]]. |
| 123 | * ''Film/Dune1984'' shows Atreides advanced weaponry that is sonic in nature, using ultra and/or infrasound to shatter structures, inflict pain in enemy soldiers, etc. [[spoiler:When Paul becomes TheChosenOne he acquires the ability to imitate the effects of this sonic weaponry with just his voice]] |
| 124 | -->'''Atreides:''' [[WordsCanBreakMyBones I can kill with a word]].\ |
| 125 | '''Soldier:''' And his word shall bring death eternal for all those who stand against the righteous! |
| 126 | * In Steve Sullivan's ''[[http://www.stevesullivan.co.uk/heap.html A Heap of Trouble]]'', any man who hears the naked men singing about walking down the road has an irresistible urge to join them. |
| 127 | * In ''Film/HighAnxiety'', Dr. Wentworth gets [[spoiler:trapped in his car and killed from an ear hemorrhage caused by the loud rock music blaring from the car radio]]. |
| 128 | * In ''Film/IronMan1'', one of the weapons Stark Industries has developed is an auditory paralysis device. It causes anyone who hears the noise to be temporarily paralyzed unless they are wearing special electronic earplugs to counter the noise. |
| 129 | * ''Film/KickAss2'' has the Sick Stick, a stun baton of sorts that induces instantaneous nausea and diarrhea on it's victims. Hit-Girl uses it on the AlphaBitch and her GirlPosse for humiliating her. |
| 130 | * In ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', the villain develops a signal (transmittable by cell phone) which causes anyone nearby to become violently homicidal. The first live test is done in a crowded church, while a highly competent secret agent happens to be present. The resulting four minutes of deadly free-for-all is epic. |
| 131 | * ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'': The concussion from the tank's main gun firing in the opening sequence puts the pursuing constables on the ground, groaning and helpless. {{Justified|Trope}} considering that they just had several artillery shells powerful enough to blow the vault door off its hinges go off in a confined space; the bigger surprise is that the overpressure didn't outright kill them and that the Fantom and his men can still hear each other (apparently, the tank cabin has ''very'' good sound insulation). |
| 132 | * The ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' opens with the assassination of the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United Nations, carried out through sound piped through his translation earpiece. |
| 133 | * In ''Film/TheLordsOfSalem'', the song on the strange record has this effect on Heidi. |
| 134 | * In ''Film/MarsAttacks'', it is discovered that the Martians' main weakness is the singing voice of Slim Whitman; a recording of "Indian Love Call" causes [[YourHeadAsplode their heads to explode]]. Seriously. |
| 135 | * The Sick Sticks in ''Film/MinorityReport'' cause the victim to projectile vomit. |
| 136 | * ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' has the Knights who say Ni!. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Like their name makes clear]], they utter the word "Ni!" in a very screechy high pitched voice to hurt passing travelers and scare them into doing their bidding. "Ni!" works whether it's the Knights saying it or someone else, as when King Arthur is [[ItMakesSenseInContext harassing that old woman to find a shrubbery]]. [[spoiler:It's later revealed the word "it" serves as a Brown Note against the Knights themselves.]] |
| 137 | * In ''Film/MysteryMen'', Casanova Frankenstein built a machine that could warp [[RealityWarper reality itself]]. Apparently the equations underlying it were so complex that anybody who studied them would go insane. Fortunately for Frankenstein, he was [[ObfuscatingInsanity already insane]] and had spent a decade in [[BedlamHouse the asylum]] with several of those scientists. |
| 138 | * ''The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz'' features the Tuning Fork of Annihilation. When played back over the emergency broadcast system, it causes the destruction of all TV sets and kills all children who hear it. |
| 139 | * ''Film/{{Pi}}'' is about a number sequence that helps define the universe. However, the process of determining this number is fatally destructive to a computer, be it machine or human. |
| 140 | * The film ''Film/{{Pontypool}}'' is about a memetic virus that is spread through human speech, leading to confusion and murder. |
| 141 | -->''"For your safety, please avoid contact with close family members, and refrain from the following: all terms of endearment, such as 'honey' or 'sweetheart'; babytalk with young children; and rhetorical discourse. For greater safety, please avoid the English language. Do not... [[OhCrap translate... this message]]."'' |
| 142 | * ''Film/AQuietPlacePartII'': The invulnerable armor-plated alien monsters are blind but have extremely sensitive hearing. This turns out to be their Achilles heel when humans discover that a certain sonic frequency inflicts pain on them. [[spoiler:The monsters' heads open involuntarily as if to scream, exposing their vulnerable insides, which allows them to be killed]]. |
| 143 | * In ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', whatever's inside TheArkOfTheCovenant will melt your face off if you look at it when the cover comes off. |
| 144 | * ''Film/{{RIPD}}'': A dead-o weapon releases a sound that's harmless to their own kind but cause RIPD officers to move at a snail's pace. |
| 145 | * In ''Film/ShredderOrpheus'', watching Hades' broadcasts first brainwashes people, then sucks the souls out of their bodies. The programming is accompanied by a sustained droning sound to accentuate its effects. |
| 146 | * In ''Film/ShockingDark'', the deranged, partially mutated [[MegaCorp Tubular Corporation]] scientist Drake lets out an ear-piercing scream that knocks out the [[BadassArmy Megaforce]] personnel long enough to snatch one of them and run away with him. |
| 147 | * ''Film/TheSignal2007'' features an audio/video signal that has a psychological effect on anyone who hears/sees it, causing people to go insane, or become obsessed with the signal, and trying to make others experience the signal. |
| 148 | * ''Film/{{Videodrome}}'' is about a TV signal that causes brain tumors and hallucinations. The discoverers of the signal attach it to a violent SnuffFilm show [[spoiler:in order to clean up society by killing everyone who watches violent television]]. |
| 149 | [[/folder]] |
| 150 | |
| 151 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 152 | * The music video for the Music/{{Radiohead}} song [[Music/TheBends "Just"]] begins with a man lying down in the middle of the street and refusing to budge. As people gather, they ask him (all the dialogue being in subtitles) why he's lying there, and after refusing over and over again, he finally caves in. The camera zooms in on his mouth as he's speaking, but with the subtitles suddenly removed, [[TheUnReveal the audience has no idea what he's saying]]. The final scene of the video is of all the people around him lying on the ground in the same posture, his words presumably having had the exact same effect on them as on him. The closeup has him repeating "God help me, I'll tell you." and it's implied that he's actually saying it during the shot of Radiohead looking out the window. |
| 153 | * The Music/KateBush song "Experiment IV": "But they told us All they wanted Was a sound that Could kill someone from a distance." |
| 154 | ** And in the video, the scientists deliver; although the sound does not manifest anything like what might have been expected. (The video is also notable these days for featuring the then-virtually-unknown Creator/HughLaurie and Creator/DawnFrench in cameo roles!) |
| 155 | * "The Sermon II", the opening, spoken-word track on The Creepshow's album "Run For Your Life", is about a radio signal that causes a ZombieApocalypse. |
| 156 | * Music/{{Hawkwind}}'s song "Sonic Attack" (actually more spoken-word with a few musical undertones) features a public service announcer giving advice on what to do "In case of Sonic Attack on your region," and describing symptoms of "imminent sonic destruction," which include dizziness, vomiting, an ache in the pelvic region, and fits of hysterical shouting or laughter (at which the announcer starts laughing hysterically, revealing that the Sonic Attack has hit ''his'' region). |
| 157 | * DYE's "Fantasy" music video ends with [[spoiler:the protagonist seeing an EldritchAbomination so horrible that the mere sight of it made her eyes explode into flame.]] |
| 158 | * Music/TheyMightBeGiants: |
| 159 | ** In [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/expfilm.html "Experimental Film"]] the ending of the titular film supposedly "makes your face implode". |
| 160 | ** In "Spiralling Shape", the eponymous "hypnotic and strange" shape "will make you go insane", despite which "everyone wants to see that groovy thing". |
| 161 | * Music/{{Devo}} performed a live cover of "In Heaven" from ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' in 1979, with Mark Mothersbaugh as Booji Boy on vocals. In the middle of the song Booji would give a speech about future "holographic" Devo concerts, which would include the following feature: "And we'll pass out diapers at the door for everyone, so that when you all get in here, we'll turn on the sub-sonic frequencies, and we'll all sh*t our pants together!" |
| 162 | * The Lonely Island's "WHEN WILL THE BASS DROP?" (featuring Music/LilJon), a parody of dubstep DJ's, is this in the music video. When the bass finally drops, Lil Jon says "Get turned up to death!" and people immediately start exploding and/or killing themselves. |
| 163 | * According to Chromeo's video for "When The Night Falls", their music apparently has the ability to [[ExpressDelivery instantly make women nine months pregnant]]. |
| 164 | * Classical composer Music/ErikSatie wrote a piece called "Vexations", which consists of two faintly unsettling bars of music that would otherwise be unremarkable save for the instructions to repeat it 840 times, which takes at least 24 uninterrupted hours to perform. When Australian pianist Peter Evans tried to perform it as instructed in 1970, he reported that he started panicking and hallucinating before he had to stop. He was at repetition number 595. |
| 165 | -->"I would not play this piece again. I felt each repetition slowly wearing my mind away. I had to stop. If I hadn't stopped I'd be a very different person today... People who play it do so at their own great peril. ... [I] had to stop because [my] mind became full of evil thoughts, animals and 'things' started peering out at [me] from the score." |
| 166 | * Japanese [[GirlGroup all-girl]] metal band Nemophila in their announcement for their January 9 2022, Line Cube Shibuya concert tell their future concert goers to schedule an appointment with a doctor as they boast of different kinds of damage that their instruments will do, including bassist Haraguchi saying that "the heavy sound of my bass will make all your bodily fluids come out of your ass". |
| 167 | * The [[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/octobass?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page&fbclid=IwAR1RrhPqwR5jBR_7itnyQHZz3GlVtarVVAwEUX4mdsttR-kA_G9q7d0j5zo Octobass]] is a musical instrument designed for classical performance which is effectively an eleven-foot tall double bass. It only requires three strings, and its size is such that for fret work, the fingerboard is operated remotely via a system of switches and capos, as the performer would otherwise be physically incapable of reaching. It plays bass notes which are inaudible to the human ear as they are pitched so low, and the effect can only be felt. It was designed, in fact, to be felt as a whole-body experience and not perceived via the ears. Only seven examples were ever built, and one is occasionally used in performance by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. |
| 168 | * The audio play ''Space Station Z-43'' tells the tale of the titular Earth-orbiting station through the recollections of its commander and senior medical officer as the crew inexorably go insane and die in horrible agony. At the end, a hissing voice informs the listener that the alien presence responsible travels on sound waves, and that by listening to the log of the events, they too have been infected. |
| 169 | --> "I saw you bite your tongue to stop the pain until your mouth filled with blood!" |
| 170 | [[/folder]] |
| 171 | |
| 172 | [[folder:Mythology and Religion]] |
| 173 | * Some plants are said to have this power: |
| 174 | ** The root of the mandrake plant looks a bit like a tiny person. Naturally, people were afraid it would scream if cut, then that it would scream if ever dug up, and finally that if anyone heard it scream, they would die. In some cases, [[YourHeadAsplode violently]]. |
| 175 | ** They say that Bluebell flowers will make a sound when there is wind. They say that the bells toll your death, after you hear it, you die on the spot. |
| 176 | * There's the Irish legend of the harp of Daghda, which could cause pain, laughter, or peace through music. |
| 177 | * The [[BasiliskAndCockatrice Basilisk and/or Cockatrice]] take this trope to a new level:[[note]]Depending on who you ask, they are either the same monster or two entirely different monsters that always get confused with one-another. If they are different, then they also look different: the Basilisk is either a lowly lizardy thing or a snakelike thing and the Cockatrice is essentially half rooster, half demonic monster.[[/note]] |
| 178 | ** They are small and can easily hide and sneak about and pop up anywhere, they are [[MadeOfEvil pure evil]], they must come into this world by unnatural means (often by a '''rooster''' laying an egg), and to meet their gaze is to drop dead on the spot. Or to turn into stone. Or they kill/petrify you just by ''looking at them''. Or by touching you or breathing on you. [[WalkingWasteland Or they leave a path of desolation ("creating a desert") wherever they walk]]. Or... it may be easier at this point to say that the ReptilesAreAbhorrent trope is very old, and has much to do with the wildly exaggerated dangerousness of poisonous snakes. |
| 179 | ** They're so deadly that ''even trying to stab them transmits their Brown Note to you''. As Lucan wrote, "What though the Moor the Basilisk hath slain, and pinned him lifeless to the sandy plain, up through the spear the subtle venom flies; the hand imbibes it, and the victor dies." |
| 180 | ** There is one definite Brown Note connected to the basilisk legends: the crow of a rooster will kill it. |
| 181 | * [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]]: |
| 182 | ** The sight of Medusa and her Gorgon sisters [[TakenForGranite turns you into stone.]] In most versions, this power remains with her hideous visage even after she's been beheaded, and it ends up mounted on Athena's shield or breastplate for exactly that reason. Medusa was killed by the hero Perseus who had ([[SupernaturalAid along with various god-given tools]]) a mirrored shield -- not to reflect her gaze back ''VideoGame/NetHack'' style, but to look into, so he could aim his sword to kill her without looking directly at her. |
| 183 | ** The Sirens are like an auditory version of the Gorgons, as they lure sailors to their death with their song. |
| 184 | ** Seeing the true form of the Greek Gods was said to have this effect on mortals. One of the more famous cases being when Semele, a human princess, was tricked by Hera into convincing Zeus to reveal his true form to her since he had been coming to her in the night in disguise. When he finally relented and threw off his disguise, she was incinerated instantly. Since the gods by and large did not want to wipe out humanity, the desire not to kill humans [[MasqueradeEnforcer forces the gods to enact a masquerade]] Thankfully, her demigod fetus was immortal so Zeus was able to take it and [[MisterSeahorse bring it to term]] in his thigh and eventually gave birth to Dionysus. |
| 185 | * The cobra was long believed to be able to hypnotize its prey with its gaze and movements. |
| 186 | * The Pied Piper could lure victims anywhere with his music, including to their own certain deaths. Yeah, using it on rats was hailed as a public service, but: he used it on ''children'' when their parents wouldn't pay him as agreed. |
| 187 | * There are oodles of urban legends about a house of horrors exhibit which pays you back part of the admission price for every floor of the building's unimaginable contents you clear. The typical version of the legend has it that no one so far has ever fully managed the task, though some people have been found dead of fright on the fifth and final floor. [[http://www.snopes.com/holidays/halloween/haunted.asp According to Snopes,]] there is no known evidence for any real life basis for this legend. |
| 188 | ** The eyes of cemetery statue "Black Aggie" are said to glow bright red in the middle of the night, either blinding or killing anyone who looks into them. ([[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/agnes.asp source]]) |
| 189 | * Seeing the full glory of [[Literature/TheBible God]] is harmful for mortals; none can see God's face and live. Moses asked to see God's face, and after explaining the aforementioned, God placed him in a crevice and passed over while showing His back to Moses. That was enough to make Moses' face shine when he went down. Saul saw God's light while on his way, and closing his eyes during the encounter still rendered him blind. On the other hand, the Beatitudes mentioned how the pure of heart are blessed, for they will see God. |
| 190 | ** David's harp playing drove out evil spirits, particularly from Saul |
| 191 | * The [[TheUndead draugr]] of Icelandic mythology are an interesting example, because though the sight of them is a Brown Note, not everyone responds the same way. Some are "merely" driven mad by them while others scream uncontrollably until they eventually die of exhaustion. Some people aren't affected at all, although the only way to guarantee that is to have HeroicResolve. |
| 192 | [[/folder]] |
| 193 | |
| 194 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 195 | * The podcast ''2020: Worst Year Ever'' has a PlayedForLaughs example with co-host Cody Johnston's attempt at making a time machine noise, which despite only showing up once so traumatized the hosts [[RunningGag they keep bringing it up episodes later]]. |
| 196 | -->'''Robert Evans:''' I can just... I can hear our listener numbers plummeting... Listening in their cars with their stereos all the way up, just started vomiting at the side of the road. |
| 197 | * ''Podcast/FriendsAtTheTable'': A plot point in the ''Road to PALISADE'' series involves one character trying to get her hands on an issue of a fashion magazine that was recalled and destroyed because it contains a centerfold that kills you if you look at it. (The clothes were made, very deliberately, by avant-grade MechanicalLifeforms who were immune to the effect and ''thought'' it couldn't propagate through photographs.) She wants it for the articles. |
| 198 | * ''Podcast/KakosIndustries'': |
| 199 | ** Episode 6, "Echoes", has Corin tell the story of the Echo Tree Forest, which is now off-limits after a man stubbed his toe and went insane from the Echo Trees repeating his own scream back at him. When the company sends their body-collectors-who-happen-to-be-deaf, they complete their job but, despite being unable to hear the screaming, also complained about a cold vibration inside of their bones. |
| 200 | ** Any exposure to the contraption is capable of driving people into obsessive fits simply by its ambiguity. It somehow inspires two scientists to try and kill one another, the one that lost having their blood poured into the device only to get the same baffling results as before. Corin in particular spends over a month set on learning what secret it's holding and points out how terrifying he finds it. |
| 201 | * Creating these is the goal of [[MadArtist Zoey Evans]] in ''Podcast/OnTheThreshold'' through VR environments. Specifically she's tried to induce "the inversion of religious ecstasy" through her [[CreepyCathedral Cathedral of Bar Shacath]] and [[EternalRecurrence "mnemonokyklosia"]] through her newest project. |
| 202 | |
| 203 | [[/folder]] |
| 204 | |
| 205 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 206 | * A very weird example PlayedForLaughs as a RunningGag [[OnceAnEpisode twice per episode]] is from ''Radio/CarTalk''. At the end of every episode or when going to a commercial break half way though, one of the hosts of the show would say "And even though (random person has a humorous negative reaction) every time they hear us say it, this is NPR, National Public Radio." |
| 207 | [[/folder]] |
| 208 | |
| 209 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 210 | * ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' has several: |
| 211 | ** Tren Krom and [[spoiler:Anonna]], {{Eldritch Abomination}}s that can potentially drive people who see them insane. |
| 212 | ** The Klakk's scream, which can cure Shadow Matoran of their corruption. |
| 213 | [[/folder]] |
| 214 | |
| 215 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 216 | * ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has Ea acting as this for Shirou. On seeing it he instinctively attempts to use [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Structural Grasp]] on it, but due to its [[ForgedByTheGods divine origins and composition]] his mind overloads and he temporarily loses all senses. However, Shirou can apply Structural Grasp to plenty of other objects that were "merely" made by gods; Ea, however, was forged from the unlivable hell that was the earliest days of the earth and predates the very concept of "Sword" -- it can only be called a sword because the world has no term for what Ea is other than "Ea". And in a setting where age=power... |
| 217 | ** In ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', Elisabeth Bathory's singing is physically painful to hear, and her cooking can induce near-death experiences. In the former case, she's a GiftedlyBad pop idol wannabe with [[CuteButCacophonic no sense of volume]] and a ''breath weapon'' in her voice. In the latter case, she's [[LethalChef just that bad at cooking]]. |
| 218 | ** In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', Wolfgant Amadeus Mozart is summoned as a Caster with MagicMusic powers. In his interlude quests, Mozart creates deliberately bad tunes with Brown Note effects to prank people with, such as "a fugue to inspire [[ToiletHumor sudden bowel movements]]". His EvilCounterpart Antonio Salieri's Noble Phantasm is to concentrate his hatred into a symphony that assaults both mind and body. |
| 219 | * The titular Saya in ''VisualNovel/SayaNoUta'' has this effect on most people who see her. Fuminori, who perceives her as a [[EtherealWhiteDress Girl in White]] because of his extreme (and possibly supernaturally influenced) agnosia is the only exception. |
| 220 | * In ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'', the Screaming Author's screaming is so harsh and piercing that even just hearing it a little can induce unconsciousness, and prolonged exposure leads to insanity and death. |
| 221 | [[/folder]] |
| 222 | |
| 223 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 224 | * In the world of ''WebAnimation/TheDementedCartoonMovie'', saying the word "Blah" sometimes causes your head to pop off of your neck, although the exact rules regarding this are inconsistent. Saying or producing a recording of the word "Zeekyboogydoog" causes a nuclear explosion at the location the sound originated from. Saying the word "Gleegsnagzip" causes [[EarthShatteringKaboom the entire planet to explode]]. And saying "Kamikaze Watermelon" cues a visit from Fooby, the Kamikaze Watermelon. |
| 225 | ** "(Fanfare plays) Wheeee! (splat)" |
| 226 | * In ''WebAnimation/DickFigures'' Red finds an adorable kitten he dubs "Kitty Amazing" (because that's what he is). The kitten is so adorable it ''melts'' the hearts of all who look at it... Blue recently had eye surgery so he is spared, but no explanation is given for why Red is immune. |
| 227 | * In the ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'': |
| 228 | ** In the video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqSbreR8a0I "Scout's Amazing Adventures (Part 3/6),"]] [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 Heavy]] starts playing "Music/{{Friday}}", which is so awful that it sends Soldier into a series of contortions until he eventually explodes. |
| 229 | ** Downloadable [=GMod=] weapon "Erectin' a Boom" is a radio that ignites anyone who hears it, and then their head explodes shortly after. |
| 230 | * A mod for ''VideoGame/DoomII'' replaces the chainsaw with a radio that, when played, JustForFun/{{rickroll}}s enemies. The enemies' sprites have even been altered so that they cover their ears. |
| 231 | * ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': |
| 232 | ** According to the cartoon "Fall Float Parade", Strong Sad goes into an unexplained trance whenever he hears the phrase "covered bridges". At least until Strong Bad starts hitting him with nunchucks. |
| 233 | ** There's also the creepy painting Strong Mad keeps in his closet, which depicts a gargoyle-like creature named Rocoulm who says "Come on in here!" and causes anyone who sees the painting to get "the jibblies." |
| 234 | ** And apparently, a drawing of a one-legged puppy nicknamed "Li'l Brudder" can make Homestar break down in tears. |
| 235 | --->'''Homestar:''' Li'l Brudder! I... I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING WITH MY LIFE! I'm thinking of getting into male modeling... or maybe high finance... I JUST DON'T KNOW!! |
| 236 | * In YouTubePoop, an OffModel picture of [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi]], nicknamed "Weegee", has gradually developed this power. Anyone who looks at him for too long [[CloneByConversion will become him]]. It's been used as a metaphor for how {{meme|ticMutation}}s spread. |
| 237 | * ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'': There's a conversation that goes about like this: |
| 238 | --> "Can we check how they are doing now?" |
| 239 | --> "It won't hurt to take a look." |
| 240 | --> "Actually, since we'll be looking into [[EldritchLocation Comorragh]], it kind of will." |
| 241 | [[/folder]] |
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