Line #38 Main/SickeningCrunch


1	[[quoteright:200:[[ComicBook/WeirdWarTales https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sickening_crunch.png]]]]
2
3	->''"The worst part was hitting the ground\
4	Not the feeling so much as the sound."''
5	-->-- '''Music/BarenakedLadies''', "Tonight Is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel"
6
7	If someone breaks a bone in fiction, usually they'll inform the other characters, and people will act accordingly. But sometimes, a writer may want to make the viewer or reader realize the character has been injured immediately, perhaps convey that it's serious or incredibly painful.
8
9	In TV, this means making the sound of a broken bone (''crack!'') a bit louder, frequently with the foley noise of a breaking stick or a stalk of celery. In literature, this means taking the time to describe the sound ("...with a sickening crunch"). It doesn't have to be a broken bone, either. Maybe a character's heart is struggling, and [[HeartbeatSoundtrack the viewer will hear that character's heartbeat from time to time]].
10
11	This is a good way to make a GoryDiscretionShot still ''[[NightmareFuel really unsettling]]''.
12
13	Compare with KungFoley and HellIsThatNoise. Contrast ThatSatisfyingCrunch. May be a StockSoundEffect.
14
15	----
16	!!Examples:
17
18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
21	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''
22	** In the anime of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'', [[spoiler:Yoshikage Kira gets his head crushed by an ambulance, accompanied by this sound. Of course, the guy deserved it, but did David Productions have to show his head ''twisting back'' before cutting away?]]
23	** In a similar vein, in the adaptation of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'', this is the sound we hear when [[spoiler: Diavolo uses King Crimson to punch a hole in Bruno's chest.]]
24	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
25	** During the Chuunin exams, Neji damages Hinata's heart during their fight. A heartbeat sound and a picture of a heart appear from time to time, and she reacts as though she's in pain. (This example is from the Anime; it may have been depicted differently in the Manga.)
26	** From the same arc, a crunching sound is heard when Sasuke, under the influence of his then-recent curse mark, dislocates Zaku's shoulder.
27	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
28	** During Sanji's fight with Gin, he takes several repeated blows to the ribs from Gin's weighted tonfas. It becomes clear just how much damage he's taken when launching an attack causes him to nearly collapse while a loud series of cracks can be heard from him aggravating his injuries.
29	** When Usopp is hit in the face by a 4-tonne baseball bat. Complete with the picture of his bones shattering. Good thing he had the HeroicResolve on that time...
30	* ''Anime/MagicalWitchPuniechan'' reigns over this trope. Punie's submission holds are really painful to behold and ''hear''.
31	* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' makes liberal usage of this trope, mostly the horrible noises made when victims are crushed by Titans or falling rubble. But perhaps the best usage is the quiet but distinct crack heard when [[spoiler: Levi breaks his ankle]] during the battle with the Female Titan -- he winces and keeps going, but afterward is forced onto the sidelines for several weeks.
32	* In the ''Anime/RedoOfHealer'', Keyaru, who has Princess Flare at his mercy, snaps her fingers one-by-one, complemented with an audible crack sound per finger broken.
33	* The titular zombies in ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' produce quiet little pops and crunches whenever they violate human motion. Or whenever it's funny. The third episode has a smattering of crunches liberally used in any scene where typical {{Wacky Sound Effect}}s might be expected.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37	* ''ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark'': At the end of the ''Jaka's Story'' arc, Jaka's husband Rick punches her out when he learns that she aborted their child behind his back. The Cirinists agree to honor his wish to never see her again, but as punishment for striking a woman, they break his left thumb. It's not shown, but the loud CRACK of the break and his shriek of pain are depicted.
38	* ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'': This one will come as no surprise to anybody, but Lobo is so fond to this, so much as none any other character in print nor in fiction ever. His stories are so full graphic sound effects as ''splooooch!'', ''guuurglle!'', ''squirrt'' or ''KRRACK!'' that they're practically part of the argument.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Fan Works]]
42	* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': There are quite a few of these when characters are being mutilated or ripped apart. It's prominently used by the author in found footage transcription scenes such as Krupin's death. It also occurs when Monster X is fighting [=MaNi=]/Elder Brother and a few bones (it's ambiguous at times which Titan's) are being broken.
43	* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': In "The Wind," the dog fight between Bolt and Ike ends when the latter charges at Bolt trying to end the struggle. The shepherd executes a spin move while on his back, and Ike (not realizing Bolt has eluded his path) crashes headfirst into a brick wall, breaking his neck with a loud snap.
44	-->Luckily, the shepherd cleared his head at the last minute. Vaguely remembering what he had done when begging for food scraps with Mittens on their cross-country trip, he spun quickly onto his back just out of the way of the attacking retriever. Ike never looked up to realize Bolt had rolled out of reach and crashed headfirst into the brick wall. A sickening crack reverberated through the alley as Ike dropped on his stomach like a sack of cannonballs, landing face-first into a pothole filled with murky water. He didn't move after that.
45	* In the ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheGreatRedPandaRescue'', Mei is kidnapped and audibly gets her arm and a rib broken during the ordeal.
46	* In ''Fanfic/TheNightmareHouse'', [[WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse Leni Loud]] has a nightmare about her legs being crushed and she hears gross cracking and gurgling sounds.
47	* During the epilogue of ''Fanfic/TheVow'', the recently crippled warrior [[spoiler:Lord Shen]] attempts to train with his still broken body due to the horrific nightmare he had about losing his loved ones. Driving himself into a frenzy, he only manages to injure himself further. When he's being carried back to bed, he still tries to fight, passing out with a horrid crunch. He survives but loses more percents in regaining his former physical prowess than he already had.
48	* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': During her [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown merciless beating]] of [[spoiler: Sci-Twi]], Aria kicks her several times in the chest. A crunch reveals that Aria ends up breaking one of her ribs.
49	* Subverted in ''[[Fanfic/FullCircleOddSquad Full Circle]]''. Oprah presents a small wood plank to Oscar for him to punch, and he does so successfully with a loud ''snap'' sound. He begins shaking out his hand under the belief that he broke it, but the noise was just the sound of the plank splitting in two, although his hand is still in considerable pain.
50	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13170637/8/Fate Fate]]'', during a vision of a possible bad future of the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone troll attack]], Ron hears this when the troll eats Harry's head.
51	* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' when Vegeta gets [[GroinAttack kicked in the dick]] by Cooler, you can hear this along with a couple bars of "Ave Maria" just to really sell the utter agony he's in.
52	** Much later, when Dende is made the new kami of Earth, he's asked what name he'd like to be known by. Mr. Popo's comment that he'll be calling Dende "little green" earns him [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu a half-veiled threat]]. How does Popo respond? By smiling for the first time in half a season, accompanied by the sound of ''snapping facial bones.''
53	-->'''Popo:''' [[VillainRespect I like you.]]
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
57	* ''WesternAnimation/HelpImAFish'': Used to [[NightmareFuel quite chilling effect]] in [[spoiler:Fly's DisneyDeath, when for a moment it seems Aunt Anna accidentally ''steps'' on Fly and crushes him]].
58	* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': Heard when Dynaguy suffers his CapeSnag, heavily implied to be a NeckSnap.
59	* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'': Po tricks Tai Lung into biting his own tail, which is complemented with an audible crack sound.
60	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': A softer, but nonetheless sickening crunch is heard when [[spoiler:Dr. Facilier steps on Ray.]]
61	* Invoked in ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' with the ratcheting noise that occurs whenever the Mayor's head [[AbnormalLimbRotationRange spins]].
62	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'' uses this to signify [[spoiler:Clayton's neck snapping as he accidentally hangs himself with vines]].
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
66	* ''Film/{{The Jungle Book\|1994}}'' (1994): One of the main antagonist's henchmen suffers an off-screen but very graphic DisneyVillainDeath -- while trying to crush Mowgli, he gets [[GroinAttack kicked in the groin]] and falls off a precipice that's just behind him. We see him plummeting headlong towards rocks, then the camera cuts away and his hideous scream is silenced by a chilling thud...
67	* ''Film/OneHundredAndTwentySevenHours'': It's a movie about a man who gets his arm crushed under a rock. Three guesses where you hear this sound.
68	* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': Batman holds Maroni off the edge of a building, threatening him for information. When Maroni informs him that it's not high enough to kill him, Batman agrees, then promptly drops him. The crunch when he lands on his ''feet'' (either breaking his legs or his knees) is sickening, to say the least. Maroni spends the rest of the movie barely walking with a cane.
69	* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
70	** ''Film/ManOfSteel'': The NeckSnap Superman performs on Zod to stop his rampage once and for all.
71	** ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': At least two of such sounds are heard when Batman fights mooks in the warehouse to rescue Martha Kent - one when he breaks a mook's arm, the other when he punches another straight in the face.
72	** ''Film/{{Birds of Prey\|2020}}'': At Roman Sionis' nightclub, Harley Quinn jumps on the legs of Sionis' driver while he had his feet on a table. It sounds as painful as it looks.
73	* ''Film/{{The Batman\|2022}}'': It's heard a fair number of times during Batman's savage beatdown on a foolhardy mook who tried attacking him.
74	* ''Film/{{Insidious}}'': The sound that heralds the appearance of the demon is supposed to be the sounds of bones breaking, adding an extra shiver factor.
75	* ''Film/LegendOfTheWolf'': The final battle between the Wolf and the main villain ends when the Wolf managed to land [[GroinAttack a fist through his opponent's nuts]]. The excessively loud '''CRUNCH!!!''' that follows caused many a male audience to wince and cross their legs tight.
76	* The ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' and ''Film/JurassicWorld'' films are full of these whenever someone or something gets snapped up by one of the dinosaurs. Some that stand out include:
77	** ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark''
78	*** When Dieter Stark is being devoured offscreen by compies, you can hear audible ripping sounds, not unlike popcorn being munched, and reasonably assume it's not just his clothing that is being torn away. The growing pool of blood confirms that assumption.
79	*** A sound like a watermelon being smashed open is heard when Burke gets dragged out of a cave and eaten (offscreen) by a ''T. rex'', followed by the waterfall everyone else is hiding behind turning red with his spilled blood.
80	*** When the male ''T. rex'' chomps down on Peter Ludlow's leg to make him easier for its baby to hunt and kill, a dry crack can be heard.
81	** ' ''Film/JurassicParkIII'':
82	*** After the ''Spinosaurus'' drags Nash from the plane and stomps on him, it bends down and closes its jaws over his head. The scene then cuts back to Grant and the others' horrified reactions, along with a wet splurching sound, followed by a close-up of the Spino's open, bloody jaws from their point of view.
83	*** Both of the NeckSnap deaths ( a T. rex by the Spinosaurus and Udesky by a Velociraptor) are shown onscreen and accompanied by a loudly audible snap.
84	** ''Film/JurassicWorld'':
85	*** Nick, the keeper, gets snapped up by the ''Indominus rex'' with a "smashed melon" sound effect.
86	*** A crunching sound is heard when the ''Indominus'' chomps down on an ''Ankylosaurus's'' head.
87	** ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'': When Wheatley gets his arm chomped off by the ''Indoraptor'' after stupidly trying to collect a tooth from it, you can hear the cracking of his bones as the dinosaur decisively bites through his arm, followed by a loud snap when the arm breaks off.
88	* ''Film/TheRuins'':
89	** Two girls decide it is a good idea to ''pick up and move'' a man who has just fallen 20+ feet and says he can't feel his legs. SickeningCrunch [[HilarityEnsues Ensues]].
90	** Even worse is later when a character breaks the injured friend's leg with a big rock... So he can amputate it with a tiny pocket knife.
91	* We hear one in ''Film/SupermanII'' as [[spoiler:Superman, of all people, crushes the bones in Zod's hand.]]
92	* ''Film/SocietyOfTheSnow''. During the plane crash, there's a montage of what happens in the passenger compartment as it hits the mountain as the seats break free and slam into the front of the plane, accompanied by passengers breaking necks, ribs and ankles under the impact. Shortly afterwards a medical student has to snap someone's leg back into place; the SickeningCrunch this causes him to flee right after doing so.
93	* ''Film/TheThreeStooges'' used this effect to an absurd extent, which [[AmusingInjuries added to the hilarity]]. For example, even Moe twisting Curly's nose or ears would be accompanied by a loud crackling noise.
94	* ''Film/UndercoverBrother'': [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. The title character is about to stomp a {{Mook}} who's lying on the ground. We see him stomp and hear a horrible crunching sound as he twists his foot but we don't actually see the stomp connect. Just when you think he's smashed the {{Mook}}'s head in, the camera looks down and we see that UB actually smashed a bag of potato chips. The mook moans that he [[FelonyMisdemeanor just bought those chips]] before losing consciousness.
95	* A typical feature of a Creator/StevenSeagal action flick, notably used in the jewelry store fight in ''Film/MarkedForDeath''.
96	* ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'':
97	** The movie gives us one of these when [[spoiler:Khan crushes Admiral Marcus's skull with his bare hands]]. If the sound makes you want to throw up, then that's perfectly understandable.
98	** Immediately before that, [[spoiler:Khan stomps down on Carol's leg]] with the same effect.
99	** During their fight, [[spoiler:Spock breaks Khan's arm over his shoulder]].
100	* ''Film/TomYumGoong'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiANsBkgqjU three-and-a-half solid minutes]] of Tony Jaa destroying the bones of everything wearing a suit out of rage[[spoiler: and grief for his killed elephant]].
101	* When the Kraken attacks the ''Black Pearl'' in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'', it pulls one man out through a gun port, and he gets stuck. We see his twitching legs, hear the crunching noises, and see Pintel and Ragetti pressing themselves to the wall on either side of the port, scared out of what few wits they possess, trying desperately not to vomit.
102	* ''Film/LesMiserables2012'': In case you had any idea that Javert may have [[spoiler: survived his suicidal jump into the Seine]], the almost cartoonish crunching sound accompanying the swelling music confirms that he did not.
103	* In ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'', [[spoiler: Gaston [[DisneyVillainDeath plummets to his death again]].]] It's actually scarier than the animated version. [[spoiler: As he plummets into the abyss, we hear an audible, meaty, death-confirming thud.]]
104	* ''Film/DjangoUnchained'': At the end of the [[InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath "mandingo" fight]] which two slaves were forced into on [[BigBad Calvin Candie's]] estate, we hear one of these which implies that the victor had just broken several bones (or maybe the back) of his opponent. After this, Candie gives the victor a clawhammer and orders him to finish his opponent off.
105	* In ''Film/DeathBecomesHer'', as Madeline is pushed down the stairs, the first thing that happens is her neck hitting a step, leading to a loud crack. And given she had just been given immortality potion, her supposedly dead self rises with the HeadTurnedBackwards. Once Madeline puts it the right way, there is a similar crunch.
106	* ''Film/ANewHope'': When Darth Vader finally grows tired of [[NeckLift interrogating]] Captain Antilles, he finishes him off with a grisly crunch. [[YouHaveFailedMe The incompetent Admiral Ozzel]] meets a similar end in [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack the sequel]] - Vader is generally a pretty rich furrow of these thanks to his [[PsychicStrangle signature move]].
107	* When [[spoiler:Gwen Stacy]] fell to [[spoiler:her]] death during the climactic scene of ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', an audible thud could be heard.
108	* ''Film/TheTerminator'': As the T-800 enters Tech Noir nightclub, the KillerRobot crushes the bouncer's hand with ease (and a crunch sound) to gain access without paying. It's another sign that muscular guy isn't human.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Literature]]
112	%%* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Used from time to time. [[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed How could it not be?]]
113	* Pops up in ''[[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire A Storm of Swords]]'' when [[spoiler:Ser Gregor Clegane kills Prince Oberyn Martell.]] This is used as the narrative equivalent of a GoryDiscretionShot.
114	* Turns up in ''Literature/TheStand'' - Stu hears it when he falls down a ravine and lands hard on one leg, snapping it.
115	* In John R. Powers' ''Literature/DoBlackPatentLeatherShoesReallyReflectUp'', one of the characters, Timmy Heidi, is a member of the tumbling team performing at a high-school basketball game's halftime show. He misjudges his last landing, and the whole audience hears the ''crunch!''
116	* The backbone breaking is described when Wulfgar finally manages to kill [[spoiler: Yerrininae]] in ''Literature/CompanionsCodex''. By the end of their prolonged fight in the burning forge, he latches on to him and bends his back backward for so long that [[spoiler: Yerrininae's]] spine snaps.
117	* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book ''Thunder Rising'', when some dogs find the camp, Gray Wing sees one of them chewing old rabbit bones and flinches when he hears the bones crunching in its jaws, the implication being that that could easily be a cat's bones if one of them is caught. This is later proven true in ''Path of Stars'': Thunder hears a crunch when a dog bites down on a cat, breaking his spine.
118	* ''Literature/PilgrennonsChildren'': When the supercomputer Cerberus forces Alpha to attack Dana with a knife, Jananin kicks it out of her hand with a sickening crump.
119	* ''Literature/TheVirus'': SuperSoldier Olivia Cromwell, upon finding an abandoned puppy on the battlefield, immediately steps on and crushes it beneath her boot. The crunch of bones makes her break out in a sadistic SlasherSmile.
120	* ''Literature/UniversalMonsters'': In book 6, during Nina, Joe and Captain Bob's first confrontation with a returned Ardeth Bey, Nina hits him on the side of the head with a two-by-four, causing his neck to snap with "a bone-snapping, sickening crack". Despite his neck bone actually sticking out as a result though, it's not enough to end him.
121
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
125	* ''Series/The100'': When Clarke stomps Mcreary to death.
126	* In ''Series/{{Andor}}'', [[spoiler:Nemik]]'s fate is sealed when an unsecured piece of cargo onboard their ship slides into him during takeoff, crushing his torso with a horrific sound and leaving no doubt as to the severity of his injury.
127	* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
128	** In season 2's "Peek-a-boo", we get one as [[spoiler:a guy's head is crushed by an ATM.]] Jesse even [[InvokedTrope mentions]] the noise, and is nauseated when he remembers it.
129	** In "Felina", [[spoiler:Jesse breaks Todd's neck.]] It's as unsettling as it is [[AssholeVictim disturbingly satisfying.]]
130	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Let's face it, Buffy Summers is strong. [[SuperStrength Really, really strong]]. She eats vampires with super strength for breakfast and asks for seconds. So when her on again off again vampire boyfriend seemingly tries to kill her friends, we get a sickening bone-crunching boot to the head that somehow didn't cave Spike's head in.
131	* ''Series/{{Community}}'': in an attempt to sabotage a science project as a prank, Britta (in a very un-Britta move) steps on and crushes a frog under her boot heel eliciting a loud crunch of frog bones.
132	* In the Wrestling/OwenHart episode of ''Series/DarkSideOfTheRing'', Wrestling/JimRoss describes the sound of Owen hitting the ring during his fatal fall as this: "Sick, sick."
133	* ''Series/{{Forever\|2014}}'': When Henry and the killer tumble down a flight of stairs together in "The Frustrating Thing About Psychopaths" we can hear a loud crunch when Henry's back is broken.
134	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' has [[spoiler:the Oberyn Martell's head being crushed by the Mountain]], made even more horrifying than in [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire the source material]], since it's shown on-screen, in graphic detail.
135	* On ''Series/GoodEats'', this happens several times, as Alton shows the viewers how to spatchcock a chicken, turkey, or duck. (Basically, you crush the keel bone and open the bird up like a book. This is to help it cook faster: a turkey that would take all afternoon to roast whole can be done in less than an hour.) Explicitly invoked in [=S4EP4=], "Crustacean Nation II: Claws."
136	-->'''Alton Brown''': This is how I do it. Just put the fat side of the knuckle right there in between that joint and squeeze until you hear a sickening crunch. ''[snap]'' That's a sickening crunch.
137	* Oddly subverted on ''Series/{{Haven}}.'' It's not used in an episode that involves folding people like pieces of paper, but is used to nauseuting effect in a different episode to underscore a DramaticDislocation when Ian Haskell steals Nathan's FeelNoPain Trouble so he can shimmy down a narrow chimney to rob a local museum.
138	* The ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' episode "Mountain Men" features an unusual example. Duncan falls into a deep ravine, and of course the impact kills him. When he revives thanks to his Immortal HealingFactor, ugly crunching sounds are heard as his broken bones are healed and restored to normal function.
139	* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'':
140	** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E2AfterThePhantomsOfYourFormerSelf ...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self]]": Viewers hear the sounds of bones cracking when Lestat de Lioncourt [[CrammingTheCoffin crams a dead priest into a sarcophagus]] that's too short for the corpse.
141	** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E5AVileHungerForYourHammeringHeart A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart]]": Although we don't see Bruce's foot hit Claudia's leg, the snap of broken bone is unmistakable, so it's understood that Claudia is now crippled and cannot run away from her assailant.
142	* Happens in ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' where [[spoiler: Basco shows how powerful his 'true form' is by catching Gai's spear and then breaking his arm, complete with crunch.]]
143	* Happens in ''Series/KamenRiderBlack'' every time the protagonist transforms. He clinches his hands with accompanying audible cracking sounds before uttering the transformation phrase.
144	* ''Series/MostExtremeEliminationChallenge'', itself a GagDub, would use and overuse this to a hilarious extent.
145	* This trope is the whole purpose behind the defunct MTV show ''Scarred''.
146	* It wasn't enough for us to see ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' [[spoiler:hit the pavement at the end of "[[Recap/SherlockS02E03TheReichenbachFall The Reichenbach Fall]]"]], we had to hear it.
147	* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "[[Recap/StargateSG1S5E19Menace Menace]]", just after Daniel has managed to talk the super-strong but child-like android [[spoiler:who can create and control ''replicators'']] out of trying to kill everyone in the base, he inadvisedly tries to get a hand on her neck to remove her battery and shut her down. Said teenage-looking robot with the mind of a child proceeds to casually grab hold of his arm and snap it. Cue. ''That. Noise.''
148	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
149	** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS02E21AllHellBreaksLoosePartOne All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One]]", there is a bone-crunching noise when Jake snaps Ava's neck and later when he punches Sam in the shoulder.
150	** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS08E17GoodbyeStranger Goodbye Stranger]]", this occurs when Castiel grabs and twists Dean's arm in the simulation and later in Lucifer's crypt.
151	** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS08E19TaxiDriver Taxi Driver]]", this is audible during Kevin's hallucination of losing his limbs.
152	* ''Series/UltramanLeo'' uses this in the first episode when Ultraseven had his leg twisted by the Gillas Brothers.
153	* When Negan kills [[spoiler:Abraham]] and [[spoiler:Glenn]] by bashing their heads with a baseball bat in the Season 7 premiere of ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'', the audience is not spared from the audible destruction of their respective skulls.
154	* ''Series/TheXFiles'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS05E18ThePineBluffVariant The Pine Bluff Variant]]", Mulder is infiltrating a domestic terrorism group undercover. When higher-ups start getting suspicious, he is interrogated and punished by having his fingers bent back. When Mulder goes too far and suggests a mole in the organization, there is a loud snapping sound--Mulder's pinky finger is broken. And even though you know it's fake, the sound they use is enough to make anyone queasy.
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder:Multiple Media]]
158	* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
159	** ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' has a gruesome example in Season 3 when [[spoiler:Coulson crushes Ward's chest cavity in with his cybernetic hand.]]
160	** In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', there is a very unsettling cracking sound when [[spoiler:Thanos breaks Loki's neck, killing him.]] And when Black Widow [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabs]] Corvus Glaive with Proxima Midnight's spear, a distinct crunching sound can be heard.
161	** ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'': Heard in "[[Recap/WhatIfS1E1WhatIfCaptainCarterWereTheFirstAvenger What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?]]"; when Captain Carter does the HYDRA Giant Mook's left knee in, and when Red Skull is crushed by the Kraken.
162	[[/folder]]
163
164	[[folder:Music]]
165	* In the ''Music/SpikeJones'' version of "You Always Hurt the One You Love", a huge CA-RUNCH! is added to the line "You always break (CA-RUNCH!!) the kindest heart..."
166	* ''Plenty'' to be heard in Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "Weasel Stomping Day".
167	[[/folder]]
168
169	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
170	* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu''
171	** Supplement ''Fearful Passages'', adventure "Sleigh Ride". The {{PC}}s and an {{NPC}} named Chance are lying in ambush to try to bag some monsters when one of them sneaks up behind Chance.
172	--->Chance, terrified, drops the rifle into the snow. He stands frozen just long enough for the creature to reach out gigantic hands and [[NeckSnap wrench Chance's head with a sickening crack]].
173	** Campaign setting ''The Fungi from Yuggoth'', adventure "Castle Black". When the star vampire attacks Vetch it will inexorably bend him backward until his spine snaps with a sickening crunching sound.
174	[[/folder]]
175
176	[[folder:Video Games]]
177	* In ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark1992'', this is heard when the PlayerCharacter gets their spine snapped by the evil spirit in the ''[[TomeOfEldritchLore De Vermis Mysteriis]]'' book.
178	* ''VideoGame/AnarchyReigns'' has cracking sounds made whenever the Rin sisters snap people's necks.
179	* In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kmmggc6jH8 intro movie]] for ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', [[BigBad Sarevok]] strangles an unnamed character so hard it makes scrunching noises. The dead body falling to the ground from a height after that also makes a crunch.
180	* ''Franchise/BatmanArkhamSeries'': Some of the more brutal finishing moves have audible ''crack''s of bones breaking.
181	* ''VideoGame/BodyHarvest'': You'll hear this sound if the alien harvesters manage (or if you allow it) to capture a human NPC and bloodily [[EatenAlive devour them alive]].
182	* ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuDarkCornersOfTheEarth'': If you walk around with a broken leg, a sickening ''crack'' is heard with every step.
183	* In the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' quest "Alone", Fenris gives his former master Danarius a loud bone-crunching neck snap when he and Hawke's party defeat him.
184	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' games have this when you take fall damage starting with ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''.
185	* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'': Fall damage is accompanied by a ''crunch''.
186	* A less horrifying, more comedic example, comes from players jumping from a high distance in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': they land with one of these. It's [[HPTo1 rarely lethal]], surprisingly cathartic at times, and one can expect to hear the noise a lot when players are attempting to spawn an S-rank target in Coerthas Central Highlands -- which requires that characters in the vicinity drop to 1 HP.
187	* ''VideoGame/FrostyNights'': If the killer {{Snowlem}}s manage to catch you, you hear what sounds like a bone snapping.
188	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'': If you take fall damage, the ''crack'' of a broken bone is heard, accompanied by the [[PoweredArmor HEV suit's]] computer informing you of the injuries.
189	** The same thing happens in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', minus the computer voice. You can hear it happen to your partners as well if you're close enough for it not to be drowned out.
190	** In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' it's more of a goofy "spletch" sound. Appropriate for a game with a DenserAndWackier tone where DeathIsCheap.
191	* In ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'', a crunching splat noise plays whenever Aloy gets body-slammed by one of the monstrous animal robots that roam the setting. Almost all machine types use this as one of their primary attacks, and it's devastatingly effective. Yet, Aloy is never debilitated by such impacts unless they actually kill her, which, given she's a relative GlassCannon, they easily can, especially on higher difficulties.
192	* In ''VideoGame/LeadenSky'', the loud sound of breaking bones always plays when you smash enemies with your sledgehammer, or [[FinishingStomp stomp]] their limbs with your legs.
193	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' has one after the final battle. As Ganondorf starts dying, he sees an apparition of Zant. Cue Zant ''snapping his own neck,'' followed by Ganondorf's eyes glossing over before he dies.
194	* ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'':
195	** ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'':
196	*** A crunching sound accompanies the scene where Kuze is forced to commit {{Yubitsume}}.
197	*** There's also a crunch when Majima uses his NeckSnap heat action on enemies, although it's somehow not lethal and the opponents are always able to get back up and run away afterwards.
198	** Tanimura from ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'' has a good half dozen Heat Actions that involve him dislocating or breaking his opponent's bones, each one accompanied with an emphasized snap and a [[XRayOfPain negative filter]] on the point of injury. Most of them are armbars where he dislocates his opponent's shoulder, but a few unlucky souls may be victim instead to a NeckSnap from a guillotine choke or MurderousThighs.
199	%%* ''VideoGame/MadWorld'': Happens a lot here.
200	* ''VideoGame/{{Loopmancer}}'' has an awesome one as you twist and breaks the arm of the villain who crippled your wife and killed your daughter. And then you rip out his ''medulla oblongata'' with your bare hands.
201	* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' replaced the long-standing "OOGH" damage sound with an absolutely spine-chilling set of crunching, cracking, and gibbing sounds. Some of these are even given titles such as "Hurt Flesh.wav".
202	* ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'': Try jumping off a roof. You'll hear it.
203	* ''Videogame/{{MORDHAU}}:'' While sharp armament will do their usual noisy slices and stabs, blunt weapons are notorious for the loud crunches that come from them making contact with an enemy's body. In particular, the sound of a maul delivering [[ChunkySalsaRule an instant head crush through helmet and all]] is quite distinctive and audible over everything else even on a busy battlefield.
204	* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'': The absolutely sadistic [[LimitBreak X-Ray move]]. What makes it worse is its namesake feature, ''showing'' you the type of damage your character's doing.
205	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia'' has one such sound if the Prince [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou falls to his death]], and another, more gruesome, crunching sound if he or a guard is [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisected by a]] [[SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom guillotine trap]].
206	* Hitting people with your hammer in ''VideoGame/RedFaction: Guerilla'' produces a satisfying "crunch!" sound.
207	* ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'': Hanzō's fatality consist in him swiftly breaking the arm, leg, ribs, and then ''[[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath skull]]'' of his victim, all with audible cracks and shots of the broken bones inside.
208	* ''Videogame/SCPContainmentBreach'', the sound of your neck cracked by SCP-173.
209	* Some moves in ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur]]'' are accompanied by sickening crunches. Ivy's "wrap the whip sword around their neck and pull it '''through'''" move is especially nasty.
210	* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': When Mimi reveals her monster form, her neck ''snap''s as her head starts spinning around. Unexpectedly disturbing for a Mario game.
211	* You get a couple of these in ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'', but none more than Lars' rear throw, wherein he grabs his opponent by their hair and bends their neck over backward with the obligatory "crunch".
212	* ''Franchise/TombRaider'': The first five games all feature the iconic and cringe-inducing crack and splat noise whenever Lara takes a lethal drop. Later games do away with it, but the Crystal Dynamics era games still have some painful-sounding smacks and crunches for Lara's wipeouts.
213	* ''VideoGame/WWEAllStars'' which has over-the-top versions of wrestling moves makes the submissions more extreme looking by stretching the victim more than normal and adding a loud bone cracking/crunching sound.
214	* A student that gets hurled off of the school roof in ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'' will emit a loud crack as they meet the ground (and their death).
215	-->"Ugh! Wha--?! [=AAAAAaaaaaahhhhhh=]...! CRUNCH
216	[[/folder]]
217
218	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
219	* ''VisualNovel/AmnesiaMemories'': The Bad Ending called ''It's a beautiful night, isn't it?'' in Clover World. Ukyo carries the heroine up to the roof of the hospital she is in and drops her off of it. She narrates a few lines about falling before a very wet ''crunch'' is heard, then the screen goes red and transitions to the Bad Ending screen.
220	* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'': You can get a special scene if you compose poems that appeal to Natsuki for the first two days of Act Two. When she shows you her poem, it's all in garbled code (which someone actually found out was in base64 and managed to translate) [[labelnote:Translation]] Open Your Third Eye. I can feel the tenderness of their skin through the knife as if it were an extension of my sense of touch. My body nearly convulses. [[ReluctantPsycho There's something incredibly faint, deep down, that screams to resist this uncontrollable pleasure]], but I can already tell that I'm pushed to the edge. I can't... I can't stop myself.[[/labelnote]] She then proceeds to ask you why you flaked on her, and that it was the only thing she had left to look forward to. The screen turns a dim red as she tells you Yuri is a "sick freak" and you shouldn't associate with her. As she continues to ramble, [[GhostlyGape her eyes and mouth become blacked out]], [[TearsOfBlood blood begins pouring down her face]], and the [[HellIsThatNoise music]] grows distorted. Eventually, she dons a huge SlasherSmile, screaming "PLAY WITH ME!!!" as her neck snaps like VideoGame/TheCrookedMan. Her sprite then [[JumpScare lunges toward the screen]] and you get the "END" card backward. The game then goes back to normal as if nothing happened.
221	[[/folder]]
222
223	[[folder:Web Animation]]
224	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
225	** Volume Six opens with a TraintopBattle, which is suddenly interrupted by an oncoming tunnel. The protagonists all duck inside, but second-rate Huntsman Dudley is a split second too late and [[LowClearance doesn't get his arm clear in time]]. Cue SmashCut followed immediately by the crunch of bone and Dudley's agonized scream.
226	** Later on, in the episode "Seeing Red", [[spoiler:Adam Taurus]] gets one as his body hits the rocks while falling into a raging torrent.
227	** Volume 8 episode "Midnight" has a flashback moment where there's a faint but noticeable snap when [[spoiler: Cinder squeezes down on the Madame's neck, clearing indicating that she crushed her windpipe.]]
228	* Played for BlackComedy in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaV6StS7oSk this fanmade video]] of ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner'', which compares the cartoon with the real life. In the falling-off-a-cliff gag, the first time Wile E. does a "THUMP!" sound and survives, while in the second he does a "CRUNCH!" (even punctuated visually by a skull) and dies.
229	[[/folder]]
230
231	[[folder:Webcomics]]
232	* ''Webcomic/TheGoodWitch'': The previous good witch jumps out a window, and a ''crunch'' is heard. When we're shown where she landed, all that's left is her clothes.
233	* ''Webcomic/LeavingTheCradle'': One of Gharr's arms was broken in the crash, as he finds out the hard way after he wakes up.
234	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' gives us a cleric who's about to get revenge on someone for betraying him. We see the following sound effects come from off-panel: Thunk. Thunk. SQUILCH!
235	* In ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'', this sound means that the local Epic-level SorcerousOverlord is angry enough to fire up the ''Implosion'' spell and [[http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0613.html start handing out]] {{One Hit Kill}}s.
236	* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': Glover gets crushed to death with a spell to a loud KRUNCH.
237	* In ''Webcomic/WeakHero'', the cliffhanger of Episode 149 has Dongha threatening to break Alex's arm, followed by Alex screaming and a CRACK! sound effect. It's revealed later that Alex did manage to escape, but with a dislocated shoulder that prevents him from using his arm.
238	[[/folder]]
239
240	[[folder:Web Original]]
241	* Dr. Zubin "[=ZDoggMD=]" Damania invokes this trope in one of his "Incident Report" videos explaining ''why'' it's important to have an advance directive and someone who can relay that information to the doctors and nurses in the event that you can't speak for yourself. (Or, what "Do Everything" ''actually'' means.) He walks the viewers through a "code blue" scenario: the patient is brought into the hospital by EMS, and [[FlatlinePlotline loses his/her pulse in the emergency room]]. The nurse calls a code blue, and an intern is ordered to begin [[CleanPrettyReliable compressions]]. A more seasoned doctor or nurse tells that intern to push harder, and faster. The patient's ribs and sternum crack, and worse, the patient gets ''just enough'' circulation from the chest compressions that s/he is [[NightmareFuel peripherally aware of what's going on]], and can ''hear'' his/her own ribs cracking. And that's ''before'' [[OhCrap the intubation, the use of a vein in the groin, the epinephrine push, and then waking up in the ICU]]. (Part of the point of this video was that as hard as it is on the patient, it's harder on the doctors and nurses, because ''they don't want to torture people'', yet that's exactly what they're forced to do if the patient does not have an advance directive.) The takeaway was that if you don't want this to happen to you (whether that's "Do Not Resuscitate" or just "Allow natural death if the prognosis is poor"), that you need to tell someone who cares about you, but who won't be too blinded by emotion to act in your best interests, what your [[LivingIsMoreThanSurviving end-of-life wishes are]].
242	[[/folder]]
243
244	[[folder:Western Animation]]
245	* On one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', [[TheHero Finn's]] legs get crushed by a stag, which causes a very cringe-worthy sound.
246	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "The Sock", Mr. Small attempts to break himself out of a filing cabinet, but all that comes of it is a crunch from... [[NothingIsScarier something]]. Thus, Gumball and Darwin have to break him out.
247	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'', Soren is [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom sent flying]] by [[spoiler:an enraged dragon]] and hits a large boulder with an awful "crunch". [[spoiler:That noise is, in fact, his spine breaking, and he's [[ICantFeelMyLegs paralyzed from the neck down]]]].
248	* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'':
249	** In "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E5And6OnlyADream Only a Dream]]", when Superman gives Jimmy Olsen a DeadlyHug, the soundtrack features a rather nasty crack.
250	** In "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS3E11AncientHistory Ancient History]]", there is a nasty crack when Shadow Thief breaks Green Lantern's arm.
251	* This is often used in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', as Creator/MattGroening is of the opinion that the more 'painful' the sound effect, the funnier it will be.
252	* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', when [[spoiler: Lars gets slammed into a cliff face and falls a good distance to the ground]], you can hear bones crack when they hit the rock. Downplayed, as the sound isn't turned up in any way, and you can barely hear it unless you're listening for it.
253	* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', where an unpleasant cracking noise is played over Robin donning TheUnSmile in order to look "happy" for a date with a supervillain's daughter that he clearly considers only ''marginally'' preferable to death.
254	[[/folder]]
255
256	[[folder:Real Life]]
257	* [[TruthInTelevision Yes, bones make sounds when they break]], and these sounds come under the category of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepitus Crepitus]], the same category that includes sounds such as cracking your knuckles and [[BodyHorror Gas Gangrene]]. However, particularly if you break a bone by falling from a height on to it, the sound is not loud enough to be heard over that of the impact with the ground. Also, for most bones, there are a few layers of muscle, fat, and skin that can do a lot to muffle the sound, making it sound more like a cross between a crack and a pop (crack your knuckles, you'll get the idea.)
258	* A tearing [[AchillesHeel Achilles tendon]] makes a distinctive "THOCK" sound. Some have likened it to a gunshot and sufferers even initially thought that they were being shot at.
259	* According to urban legend, [[PintsizedPowerhouse badgers]] run on this trope. When attacking a human, a wild badger will supposedly lock its jaws around the shin and [[{{Determinator}} not let go until it hears bones snap]]. As a safety measure, before going out in the forest you should stuff your boots with dry twigs, coal, or anything else that could produce the necessary sickening crunch to trick the badger into letting go.
260	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SickeningCrunch