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1[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blackhawk191-2-7_2175.jpg]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi It's a trap!]]]]
3
4The trap door is an easily activated door in the floor of the SupervillainLair, activated by a convenient switch or lever. Though a favorite of the DiabolicalMastermind, it might also be installed in the office of a CorruptCorporateExecutive. Somehow the hero (or minion who [[YouHaveFailedMe has disappointed the]] BigBad) will ''always'' be sitting or standing exactly where the trap door opens, where it will usually lead to the DeathTrap. If generous, the trap door will include a slide, otherwise it's just a drop.
5
6And somehow, the seams around the trap are always invisible before it opens and after it closes. This is easier to do in animation, of course, unless it's given away by a ConspicuouslyLightPatch.
7
8Mostly spoofed these days, often with a pun so old it creaks; [[ObligatoryJoke "Nice of you to drop in!"]] Also often subverted by TrapDoorFail -- having the would-be victim end up standing ''next'' to the trapdoor when it opens.
9
10For its intentional use on some [[GameShow game shows]], see some of the examples of EjectTheLoser.
11
12Compare PitTrap, which can be triggered by touch as an actual ''trap'' and occasionally lead to a {{Bottomless Pit|s}}, SpikesOfDoom, or something the victim will not like.
13
14[[WesternAnimation/TheTrapDoor Not to be confused with the series about one of these working in reverse]].
15
16----
17!!Examples:
18
19[[foldercontrol]]
20
21[[folder:Advertising]]
22* One of Pepsi's Superbowl ads featured Music/EltonJohn as a bored king who dropped various performers through a trap door in his throne room into the dungeon if they fail to entertain him. Naturally, the commercial ends with [[HoistByHisOwnPetard the king getting dropped through it himself]] by the ad’s hero, a singer played by ''Series/TheXFactor'' winner Melanie Amaro.
23* A Skittles commercial has three people sitting on a rainbow. The moment one of them starts questioning if the rainbow they're sitting on even exists, the rainbow folds over beneath him, trap door style, causing him to fall.
24[[/folder]]
25
26[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': In Episode 64, Yelena leads Porco and Pieck into one, claiming that Magath wants to see them. Pieck only realizes too late that it's a trap when Yelena cuts a rope with her knife and they fall into it.
28* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' anime #159. Trap doors open up under Renji Abarai and Dondochakka Bilstin, sending them into an arena where they confront the Espada Szayel Aporro Granz.
29* Used in the Chunin Exams in ''Manga/{{Boruto}}''. [[spoiler:ALL of the examinees fall through it. To pass the test, an examinee has to avoid coming in contact with any of the ink pooled at the bottom.]]
30* Spoofed and used as a RunningGag in ''Manga/ExcelSaga''. Excel is "trapdoor'ed" almost constantly by [[MeanBoss her employer]], Lord Il Palazzo, as punishment for being, well, herself. In one episode, the trap door is implemented as a form of transcontinental transportation.
31* ''Manga/HanaukyoMaidTeam La Verite''. In episode 5, Ikyo Suzuki uses a trap door to send Ryuuka down the garbage chute.
32* A variation in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', when attempting to strike [[VillainOfTheWeek Telence T. D'Arby]] at [[BigBad DIO]]'s mansion, a vortex hole suddenly appears below and pulls [[TheHero Jotaro]] in along with Joseph and Kakyoin when they tried to get him out.
33* In ''Anime/KillLaKill'', Ryuko is dropped through one by her StealthMentor into a hidden CreepyBasement under her house, where she encounters a ClingyMacGuffin.
34* In ''Anime/LastPeriod'', the haunted mansion in episode 3 features one, which takes out all the heroes except Liza.
35* Used straight by [[BigBad Dessler]]([[DubNameChange Desslok]]) in ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato''. One of the few comedic points of both the original and the [[Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato2199 remake]] is a Gamilas general who gets a trap door opened under his feet after annoying Dessler with inappropriate laughter.
36* ''Manga/TimeStopHero'': In the royal palace of Mount Cape's basement, Lovisa tends to drop people down a trap door that leads to the sewers.
37* ''Anime/YesPrettyCure5'' uses this whenever the Nightmare Group wants to get rid of someone. They come back, though.
38* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', when Bandit Keith confronts Pegasus at gunpoint (in the dub, he [[{{Bowdlerise}} merely points at Pegasus]]) in a last-ditch effort to get revenge. Pegasus nonchalantly opens a Trapdoor that dumps Keith into the ocean. In the manga, he uses his MacGuffin to ''weld the gun'' to Keith's hand, and have Keith [[PsychicAssistedSuicide shoot himself]]. (Keith in the anime, even in the original Japanese, survives the fall.)
39[[/folder]]
40
41[[folder:Comic Books]]
42* During ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', ComicBook/TheQuestion and Renee Montoya are investigating an abandoned warehouse and Renee suggests looking for a hidden lever or trap door. Question jokes about whether they're in TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons, but then Renee actually finds a trap door and they fall with Renee landing on top of him.
43--> '''Question (dazed):''' "...elf needs food badly..."
44* [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]], of Disney ducks fame, has one of these in his office. He uses it quite often, be it to get rid of inconvenient salesmen or even of his own relatives.
45** Exactly where people end up changes between stories, or even within the story. On one occasion, the first person dropped landed outside on a mattress with a sign "And stay out!" next to it. The second landed in a bramble-bush. "I warned you!"
46** According to Don Rosa, Scrooge's trapdoor drops people in a tank filled with ''skunk oil''.
47** In one of the stories of ''[[ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion]]'', Scrooge [[spoiler: uses a stage trapdoor to drop Donald out of his dream so he can have some private dream time with Glittering Goldie]].
48* In ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #765, set shortly after Brainiac 13 has turned Metropolis into a 64th century city, Lex Luthor is informed that his control panel in the new Lexcorp building's conference room activates trapdoors beneath all the other chairs, leading to an AcidPool. He decides he loves the future.
49* ''ComicBook/MrBeaver'': In issue #2, trap doors are shown to be used in the first leg of the Alpha Academy entrance exam. Richard fell into one in the previous exam, and would have skewered himself on the spikes below if Mr. Beaver hadn't caught his wrist in time.
50* ''ComicBook/{{Thorgal}}'', "The Fall of Brek Zarith": In the villain's treasure room, the entire floor is one giant (and ''very'' deep) lever-activated trapdoor, as a particularly greedy and careless Viking finds out the hard way.
51* ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'':
52** In ''Tintin in America'', gangster Bobby Smiles presses a button with his foot to make Tintin fall through the floor and into a room with some KnockoutGas.
53** Later, when Tintin is being given a tour of a meatpacking plant, Smiles arranges for him to lean against a trick guardrail, in the hopes of turning him into HumanResources.
54** In ''King Ottokar's Sceptre'', Tintin is involuntarily ejected from a private plane by the pilot opening a trap door underneath his seat.
55* In ''{{ComicBook/Violine}}'', one appears at the front door of the mansion, leading to a RubeGoldbergDevice for cleaning visitors. There is also one in the President's room, leading to a moat filled with crocodiles. A third one appears in Muller's TortureCellar as part of his DeathTrap.
56* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'': in the one-shot special "The Jungle Adventure" (written by Walt Simonson, pencilled by Mike Mignola), Wolverine falls through a trap-door while investigating a high-tech lab in the Savage Land, run by Apocalypse who provides the lampshade: "Greetings, Wolverine. You'll forgive me, but I'm required by law to say this, how nice of you to drop in so unexpectedly."
57* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Tigra Tropica places an incapacitated ComicBook/SteveTrevor on a trap door above a cage full of tigers and sets things up so that if Wonder Woman attacks her Steve will be dropped as tiger food. Diana manages to lasso her and save Steve from the tiger pit, though as the fall woke him he was unsettled by the experience.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Fan Works]]
61* Examples from ''Fanfic/TheCalvinverse'':
62** Calvin and Hobbes end up falling through one in Chapter 5 of ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheMovie''.
63** Andy and Sherman [[{{Pun}} fall for this]] in one episode ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries''.
64* In ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', Marcus Vickers has a trap door in his office. Once he even ejected himself.
65* Gringotts Bank has one in ''Fanfic/TheParselmouthOfGryffindor'' that leads down a chute directly from the Gringotts hall to a special meeting room with the Goblin King. It is sprung on an unsuspecting Hermione in Chapter 71.
66[[/folder]]
67
68[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
69* Used straight/spoofed in ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro''; the title castle is rife with secret passages, {{Portrait Painting Peephole}}s and of ''course'' trap doors.
70** When Lupin pays Clarisse a visit, the Count's men subtly herd him to the room's trap door and drop him like a bad habit.
71** More laughable is one that's an actual ''trap'' in the main entrance hall: It's even hooked up to a fake bust that spits out pictures, Polaroid style, of whomever it drops into the dungeon -- Poor Zenigata gets to be the film's demonstration. Lupin, thus informed, manages to turn it on Jodo and one of his guards. The Count is merely amused when he sees the picture of them nearly falling in and commends Jodo for confirming that the trap works.
72** On top of those, when Lupin and Zenigata team up to escape from the castle dungeon, they start a large fire as a distraction; this works out beautifully when smoke starts pouring out of all ''kinds'' of danged places, many of which all but scream the presence of even ''more'' chutes and trap doors.
73* There are two of them in ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', both used to comedic effect. One apparently leads to a crocodile pit. The other leads to a random hole on the side of the palace.
74* ''WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie'', Bobby sends [[DeanBitterman Principal Mazur]] down on the stage so Max can do his stunt.
75* ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'' segment "Captain Sternn". After the title character pays Hannover Fiste the 35,000 zulaks, he pulls a lever that drops Fiste out of the space station and out of orbit, causing him to burn up on re-entry.
76* ''WesternAnimation/TheManCalledFlintstone'', the Green Goose uses one on Barney Rubble. Moments later, Fred Flintstone, unaware that it's there, falls into it as well.
77* In ''WesternAnimation/MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers'', Pete drops a few of his [[MinionWithAnFInEvil minions]] down "The Pit", followed by the required scream fading out... only to subvert it when the short one stands up on the floor to reveal that it's roughly two feet deep. They are later seen playing poker inside and hop out when Pete needs them again.
78* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'': Right before the finals of the BattleOfTheBands, Trixie and her two bandmates trap the Rainbooms under the stage by pulling a lever and opening a trap door right under their feet.
79* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Ratchet]] tells his employees he doesn't wanna hear another word about former head of the company [[HonestCorporateExecutive Bigweld]]:
80-->'''Bigweld:''' ''[on TV]'' So remember: whether a bot is made up of old parts, new parts or spare parts, you can shine no matter what yo--\
81'''Ratchet:''' My goodness. What a remarkable legacy. Concern for the common robot. You don't come across old-fashioned values like that anymore, friends. And for good reason. '''''[[SuddenlyShouting THERE'S NO MONEY IN IT!]]''''' Hello? Memo to Bigweld! We're not a charity! ''That's'' why old Fat-Face no longer sits in the Big Chair. He's a ''relic!'' So, I don't wanna hear another ''"Where's Bigweld?"'' ''[imitates baby whining]''\
82'''Loud-mouthed Chairman:''' We'll see him next month at the Bigweld Ball! He always goes to that!\
83''[Ratchet presses a button on a remote; a trapdoor appears below the chairman, and he falls into the hole]''
84* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons'': In one early short, Superman can't fly yet and winds up dropped down a trapdoor. Of course, he's ''still'' stronger than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...
85* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': Fix-It Felix Jr. is captured by King Candy via a handy hole under the doormat.
86* ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine''. After they pass through the Sea of Science a creature drops into the sub. Ringo pushes a button and a door opens under the creature, dropping it out into the Sea of Monsters.
87[[/folder]]
88
89[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
90* Played with in ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery''. During his introduction, Doctor Evil [[YouHaveFailedMe sends numerous minions into fiery pits]] with the push of a button, but when he reoccupies the [[SupervillainLair Evil Lair]] thirty years later, the mechanisms are a bit rusty and the goon he incinerates is NotQuiteDead. Although, same said henchman survived a fall off a cliff with two broken legs and a bear mauling him at the end credits, so you can't blame it on the mechanisms themselves.
91-->'''Mook:''' I'm still alive, but I'm very badly burned.
92* The vampire superhero film ''Film/Blade1998'' had a character named Dr. Karen Jensen fall down into a trap chute near the end of the film, where she found and killed her former research partner (who had been turned into a vampire slave), but climbed back out of the chute using an old bone for leverage.
93* ''Film/Cadaver2020'': In one scene, [[TheProtagonist Leonora]] falls into the catacombs below the hotel rooms when she presses a button on a painting, opening up a trap door right below her feet.
94* ''Film/CarnivalNight'': Ogurtsov the humorless killjoy tries to stop the New Year's show, striding onto the stage during a big musical number and attempting to call a halt to the proceedings. He conveniently steps right onto the stage trap door, which Grisha activates, sending Ogurtsov to the basement while the audience howls with laughter.
95* ''Film/TheGrayMan2022''. Sierra Six goes to buy a counterfeit passport, not knowing there's a huge price on his head. While taking his photograph, the forger opens a trapdoor beneath him. Fortunately, he's able to break out just when the BigBad and his mooks have turned up to kill him.
96* ''Film/{{Havenhurst}}'': There are plenty of trapdoors throughout the building, for dropping "[[DeadlyEuphemism evicted]]" tenants into the TortureCellar.
97* Ringo Starr falls through at least two trapdoors in ''Film/{{Help}}'' One of them is in a pub and uses a beer glass (glued to its coaster) as a switch; fortunately for those trying to rescue Ringo, its seams are just visible. Another one is inside the area covered by an electrified cage somewhere in the Bahamas...
98* ''Franchise/JamesBond'':
99** ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice''. Bond goes chasing after Aki, only to find her waiting for him in a subway corridor. He takes a cautious step forward and the floor tilts beneath him, sending Bond down a slide that dumps him into a couch in front of [[KidnappedByAnAlly Japanese Secret Service chief Tiger Tanaka]]. A more lethal version is used by the BigBad, who has a bridge that drops you into a pool of piranhas.
100** In ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', Carl Stromberg has a trapdoor in his elevator that he uses to drop his treacherous secretary into a SharkPool. He sends the elevator for Bond later in the movie, only to find Bond straddling the walls when the elevator doors open.
101** In an earlier film ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', Bond suspects the same trick and straddles the elevator walls, only to be felled by KnockoutGas instead.
102** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie''. Bond takes a seat in a booth at a restaurant owned by Mr. Big and tries to bribe the waiter for information only for his booth to rotate into the wall, placing him in Mr. Big's secret lair. [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight The waiter silently pockets the money, sips on Bond's drink and goes back to work.]] Bond visits a similar restaurant later in the movie and is offered a booth against the wall which he pointedly refuses, taking a seat close to the stage. This time Bond finds himself descending through the floor to end up in front of Mr. Big again, who makes the "Thanks for dropping in" joke.
103* ''Film/StarWarsReturnOfTheJedi'': Jabba the Hutt uses one to have Luke Skywalker drop in on his pet rancor. Unique in that you DO see that he's standing on some kind of grille, and earlier Jabba's minions made sure Luke was standing on the middle of it. C-3PO desperately tries to warn Luke about it, to no avail.
104* Kim Jong-Il had one in ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice''. It's not outside the realms of possibility that this is TruthInTelevision. UsefulNotes/NorthKorea is that kind of country.
105* In one segment of the ''Series/WaltDisneyPresents'' episode "Mars and Beyond", the Martian leader pulls a rope and a trap door opens under the kidnapped heroine.
106* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' does this [[RuleOfThree three times]]. First is when she gets past the guards with the riddle and says that the Labyrinth is "a piece of cake", the second is when Ludo is whisked right to the Bog of Eternal Stench, and then when Sarah gives Hoggle a kiss.
107* ''Film/{{DEBS}}'' Lucy installs one inside a bank vault to bring Amy to her.
108* JustifiedTrope in the climax of ''Film/{{Charade}}'' which takes place in an empty theatre. As the villain is about to shoot the heroine, Creator/CaryGrant's character activates a stage trap and he falls through to his death.
109* ''Film/WildWildWest''. Dr. Loveless has one installed on the command deck of his giant mechanical spider. He uses it to drop Jim West down to the engine deck for a "whuppin'".
110* In ''Film/SinbadOfTheSevenSeas'', Sinbad is dropped into a pit with snakes in it by Jaffar, the wizard of all that is evil. You know him, don't you?
111* Played with a couple of times in early Creator/HaroldLloyd short ''Film/AskFather''. Harold is trying to get into his girlfriend's father's office to ask for her hand, but the father has some radical security measures. The first is a variation on this trope, a hidden conveyor belt that sends Harold zooming out of the office. Then when Harold gets back in a played-straight Trap Door sends him falling down a chute and out of the building into the alley.
112* ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'': At the tail end of her IWantSong, Veruca is standing on a chute which opens up and sends her down a chute. Wonka tells her father that it goes to the incinerator.
113* ''Film/TheatreOfDeath'': The stage in the theatre has a trap door that is use to take a spear thrust during the voodoo sketch to make it look as if the actress has been stabbed. Discussed during rehearsal, it becomes a ChekhovsGun during the climax.
114* In ''Film/ShootOutAtMedicineBend'', there is a trapdoor in Sanders' office concealing an old well. Sanders uses it as a trap in an attempt to dispose of Devlin, but it ends up being his henchman Walters who falls to his death instead.
115* In ''Film/OnceUponASpy'', Marcus Valorium has one installed in the centre of the floor of his observatory headquarters. After first telling Chenault to take a step to the right, he activates it to drop Tannehill into his elaborate underground maze for the game of 'cat and canary'. Later, Chenault activates it to all himself and Dr. Webster to escape by dropping into the maze.
116* ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy2005''. Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent stand in the Vogon airlock while klaxons sound, facing the standard giant, ominous-looking space door, waiting for it to open and [[ThrownOutTheAirlock send them to their doom]]. Nothing happens. Then a tiny and inconspicuous Trapdoor opens under them instead.
117* Michael from ''Film/MyScienceProject'' is exploring a government aircraft boneyard when he falls through a trapdoor into an abandoned fallout shelter. He finds the time warp device there.
118* In ''Film/DeathRidesAHorse'', Walcott has one in front of his desk for when deals go wrong. Ryan falls victim to it.
119* ''Film/{{Winterskin}}'': There's a door on the floor of Agnes' cabin that leads to the basement. [[spoiler:John Carver had one in his house too.]]
120* ''Film/ReturnToOz'': This effect is invoked when Dorothy assertively tells the Nome King that she is there with her army, to conquer him, and force him to restore the Emerald City. The Nome King chuckles, and the ground opens up, causing Dorothy (and later her friends) to fall into the King's vast underground dominion.
121[[/folder]]
122
123[[folder:Literature]]
124* Creator/LFrankBaum used this trope a few times in his ''Literature/LandOfOz''.
125** For instance, ''Tik-Tok in Oz'' features a trapdoor used by the BigBad over a hole so deep it ''goes to the other side of the world''.
126** ''Rinkitink in Oz'' contains a subversion, where the villain opens a trap door under one of the heroes, but, unknown to the villain, the hero has an artifact that protects him from harm, so he floats over the gap instead of falling through.
127** Ruth Plumly Thompson used trapdoors frequently in her continuation of the Oz series. One notable example is in ''The Silver Princess in Oz''.
128** ''The Muppet Wizard of Oz'' has the Wizard use a trapdoor to send the heroes out of his throneroom. The Muppet characters all fall through, but Dorothy is standing in the wrong place, and has to be asked to jump.
129** Also used in the stage version of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''; saying more would spoil.
130* Used by [[Creator/CharlesDickens Dickens]] in ''Literature/OliverTwist''. Mr and Mrs Bumble go to meet Monks in a derelict warehouse overhanging a river. After their conversation Monks reveals that they'd been sitting on a trapdoor over the millrace. "I could have let you down quietly enough when you were seated over it, if that had been my game." He didn't, but he'd clearly planned for the possibility.
131* In Creator/RobertEHoward's "Literature/TheSlitheringShadow," Literature/ConanTheBarbarian runs from soldiers into a woman's room. She uses this on him.
132* In ''Literature/LiveAndLetDie'', one of Mr. Big's men has a trap door in his fish warehouse over a shark enclosure that he gets Felix Leiter to fall through - later on, he [[HoistByHisOwnPetard does so himself]] in a fight with Bond. The basic elements of this scene are used in the movie ''Film/LicenceToKill''.
133* ''Literature/MaxAndTheMidknights'': In chapter 13, when the Midknights, Sir Budrick, and Sedgewick confront [[spoiler:Knothead]] in the castle, he offers to let them join him. Max says she'd rather die, to which [[spoiler:Knothead]] replies by saying "Have it your way!", and pulls a lever, opening up a trap door beneath them.
134* In the K.J. Parker short story [[http://subterraneanpress.com/magazine/winter_2014/i_met_a_man_who_wasnt_there_by_k_j_parker "I Met a Man Who Wasn't There"]], the narrating VillainProtagonist is a BoxedCrook [[PetRat police spy]], and has a carpenter build a trap door built under the place in which a suspect sits, as a safety measure should a suspect try to attack him. Unfortunately, the first person he tries it on has magical powers including [[NotQuiteFlight levitation]].
135* The levitation version is also used in ''Literature/{{Swellhead}}''. In that case the hero deliberately [[LevitatingLotusPosition sits on the trapdoor]] in order to shake the confidence of the villain.
136* When Fandorin sits down to confront the BigBad at the end of ''Literature/SheLoverOfDeath'', he notes that the heavy chair on a heavy rug that he sits down on won't move. That's because it's sitting on top of a Trap Door that the villain later triggers, sending Fandorin plunging into a death trap.
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
140* A variant of this appeared on ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' :''Exile Island''. It was an immunity challenge where each competitor knelt on a platform above the ocean. If they were unable to hold onto the ropes that held the weights, the trapdoor would open and drop them into the drink.
141* Spoofed in [[https://youtu.be/tDedpreZH-0 a segment]] from ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' where the architect working for the EvilGenius has built the trap door compliant to safety requirements. That is, with a red light, an announcement warning to clear the area, and yellow signs. The guy in the chair escapes.
142-->"Trap door? Is there a trap door?"
143* Spoofed in ''Recap/DoctorWhoTheCurseOfFatalDeath'', when the Master accidentally falls down the same trap door three times. The journey back up takes three hundred and twelve years apiece, though he re-appears mere moments later due to TimeTravel.
144* ''Series/GetSmart''
145** Affectionately parodied in a scene where Maxwell Smart and 99 are breaking into the villain's lair.
146--->'''Smart:''' (''picking the lock'') We'll be alright as long as this door isn't connected to a... to a...\
147'''99:''' To a what, Max?\
148(''they fall through a trapdoor, which drops them into two chairs directly in front of the villain'')\
149'''Smart:''' Trapdoor.\
150'''Villain:''' Mr Smart, nice of you to...\
151'''Smart & Villain:''' (''simultaneously)'' [[ObligatoryJoke Drop in, yes...]]
152** In "The Groovy Guru", Max and 99 go in undercover only to find the eponymous Guru is expecting them due to a listening device he had planted.
153--->'''Max:''' The old "bug in a rug" trick, and we fell for it!
154--->'''Guru:''' You are about to fall for it again. ''(trapdoor opens under their feet)''
155* ''Series/MacGyver1985'': In "Halloween Knights", Murdoc uses a trap door to drop Mac into a cage.
156* Played straight in the second season ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' episode "The Bat Cave Affair".
157* The Grand Master in ''Series/MIHigh'' has one in his office for disposing of annoying underlings. It's not clear exactly what happens to those who fall through it, but the offscreen voice of one victim was heard complaining that it was uncomfortably warm in the cellar.
158* The Merchant Banker in ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' gets rid of a charity collector this way (but keeps his collecting tin).
159* The "Sock It To Me" bits on ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'' frequently showed a character (usually Judy Carne) falling through a trap door.
160* Used as the gimmick for the game show ''Series/RussianRoulette'', where contestants are eliminated by dropping through the door they're required to stand on (although, as the show's name suggests, whether or not a contestant is eliminated is a random process). To make the gimmick's usage even more {{Anvilicious}}, there's a lever to activate the Trapdoor in front of each player, essentially forcing them to eliminate themselves in this manner. Another {{Anvilicious}} aspect was the fact that the platform was designed to look like the chamber of a revolver, with the six contestants as the "bullets".
161* One ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' parody commercial was for a trap-door company. It began with scenes of malfunctioning trap-doors, complete with the voiceover, "Don't you hate it when this happens to you?"
162* The Creator/{{Syfy}} game show ''Series/TotalBlackout'' uses trap doors in a slightly different way. After each round, the remaining contestants stand in front of trap doors and, on Jaleel White's command, are told to jump onto them. The contestant with the least amount of points in the round [[EjectTheLoser drops out of the game]], while the other contestants' doors stay shut.
163* In the ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'' episode "Move and you're dead", Virgil paints a surrealist picture of Alan, who is less than amused. By way of retaliation, Alan presses a button which causes Virgil and Scott to descend rapidly through the floor.
164* On NBC's short-lived game show, ''Series/WhosStillStanding'', one contestant (the "Hero") stands on a trap door on the center of the stage and faces off against a circle of 10 competitors also standing on trap doors (the "Strangers") in a series of trivia duels. Eliminated contestants drop 10 feet into a padded room below the stage. If the Hero decides to walk away at one point and keep their winnings, they have the option of either walking out of the studio or by dropping through the floor. And at the end of each episode, Ben Bailey (of ''Series/CashCab'' fame), also drops through the Hero's trap door.
165[[/folder]]
166
167[[folder:Music]]
168* ''Radioactive'' by Music/ImagineDragons. The BigBad pulls a lever that sends fighters who have lost in his BeastlyBloodsports into a prison cell below the fighting ring. He suffers LaserGuidedKarma and ends up going through the trapdoor himself.
169[[/folder]]
170
171[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
172* In ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'', Dogbert recommends trap doors as a method of disposing of disgruntled employees who take advantage of "open door" policies. One strip shows him activating one from a desk, and another has him presenting one that drops the employee into rush-hour traffic to the PointyHairedBoss, who's dumb enough to fall into it himself.
173* One ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' strip had a family visiting a store that sells trap-doors, and their son has just fallen through one of them, with the salesman assuring them the kid's safe in the maintenance department and ushering them onto the next model.
174[[/folder]]
175
176[[folder:Pinballs]]
177* Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''Pinball/HauntedHouse'' has one beneath the ramp; it can send pinballs into the Cellar.
178[[/folder]]
179
180[[folder:Radio]]
181* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "Sneeky Peepers", Walter Denton installs a trap door next to a copy of Creator/AugusteRodin's "The Kiss", mistakenly ordered for Madison High and covered with a tarp until it can be returned. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sneaking to take a peep]], Mr. Conklin, Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Stone and Walter Denton himself fall thought the trapdoor into a vacant (and locked) storage room in the basement
182[[/folder]]
183
184[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
185* Pit traps, with or without accompanying trap doors, are among the more popular traps in role playing games, such as ''TabletopGame/HeroQuest''.
186[[/folder]]
187
188[[folder:Theatre]]
189* Many theaters are equipped with one or more trapdoors in the stage to aid getting a character onto or off the stage without it being clear where they came from, and occasionally as a way to bring in set pieces. (Unsurprisingly, as these are designed to reliably function as floor when not in use, they tend to be neither remotely nor quickly openable.)
190* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' has a trap door built into the barber chair that often becomes a memorable part of every production. Allegedly the real Sweeney Todd used this as a method of killing rather than body disposal, as the victim would break their neck in the fall, which made less mess than a SlashedThroat.
191* ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' uses a fair number of trap doors - for the candle holders to rise up during the trip to the Phantom's lair, or for Raoul to fall through when he jumps from the bridge into the lake. Naturally, there have been accidents: Sierra Boggess and Sarah Brightman both had all of the trap doors opening onstage. Brightman stood very still and waited for rescue, Boggess fell down a door and was only held back thanks to her puffy dress (although the show had to be stopped so she could be taken to hospital because she hit the edge of the door and broke some teeth). Davis Gaines missed the trapdoor and broke his ankle, so Raoul was on his knees for the rest of the show.
192[[/folder]]
193
194[[folder:Video Games]]
195* The use of a trap door goes all the way back to InteractiveFiction text adventures of the late 1970s and early 1980s, including VideoGame/{{Zork}}[=/=]Dungeon that slams behind the player if the step down through it.
196* Several of these send Lan and the other net-battlers from the Netopia Castle meeting room into the dungeon in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork2'. And then another one on the roof for [[spoiler:Princess Pride]] after [[spoiler:[=KnightMan=]]] is beaten.
197* ''VideoGame/BearWithMeTheLostRobots'': In the scene at Jungle Jazz Bar, Flint activates the lever that is connected to a trap door within Lily, in order to distract Barry and Harold.
198* Both played straight and inverted in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''. First, Crono and team are dropped down at least one trap door. Later in the game, Crono and team are the ones who force a villain down a trapdoor (in his own lair, no less). This becomes a running gag, as the protagonists use this against the same villain again, and can use this against mooks at several points in the game.
199* The Mill levels in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble'' feature trapdoors which buckle open when jumped upon. Sometimes these are locked and the monkeys have to unlock them first before proceeding trough them.
200* ''VideoGame/DoubleSwitch''. A number of the traps are essentially this, but some of them are a little more complex than that.
201* In certain spaces of the Pachisi tracks in the versions of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' that feature them, ending your run then and there.
202* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': one remote Dwemer ruin high in the mountains is just a single room with a pedestal in the middle. When you touch it, a security system fires up, scans you for a few moments, and then the floor below you flips over and dumps you down the longest single drop in the entire game. You land in some SoftWater, though, and have to fight your way through some caves to get back to the outside world.
203* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
204** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', when Cecil and the party try to reclaim the seven crystals after defeating Rubicante, they fall into a trap door, and their attempt has become moot, forcing them to escape. Edge later uses it to his advantage in The After Years when he and the Elban Four were out matched against the Mysterious Girl. He leads then into the exact same spot... and as it activates, the Eblan Four took time to register the trap door. Edge drops calmly, while they flail momentarily before falling.
205** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', after the crossdressing incident, Don Corneo uses a trapdoor to dump Cloud and friends into the Midgar sewers.
206** There's a Trapdoor in Castle Oztroja that you'll find when playing ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI''. It's right in front of a locked door that has a two switches in front of it. One opens the door, the other springs the trap. It changes randomly each game day. It's possible to hit the switch and run away before you fall down, but if you don't know that, this can be annoying(Or deadly, if you're low enough in level).
207* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrails'':
208** ''VideoGame/TrailsOfColdSteel'' has Class VII's first day of class all fall off a trap door and they must find their way out while working together.
209** ''VideoGame/TrailsIntoReverie'': During Rean's journey inside the Castle of Mirrors in his fourth chapter, his party ends up falling into one. Unlike the [[RunningGag last two times]] however where ThanksForTheMammary was involved, nothing like that happens.
210* In ''VideoGame/LesManley in: Search for the King'', the boss will drop you down a Trapdoor if you try to steal the keys while he's watching, and you can HaveANiceDeath.
211* Used by you in ''VideoGame/MastermindWorldConquerer'' to dispose of your henchmen whose services [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness are no longer needed]].
212* ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'': In Clown Man's stage, the skull blocks have ones that send you straight down through them when triggered by the bell-ringers in the background.
213* There's a number of these in a storage area in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. They're pressure-activated, and you can hear them buckle just before they open. If Snake's too slow to get off them, he dies.
214* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' lets the player construct trapdoors out of either wood or iron; normally the wood versions are just doors that can be placed on floors or ceilings, but when hooked up to a Redstone signal they can function in the more traditional capacity.
215* ''VideoGame/Mother3'': After [[spoiler:Porky]] finishes his monologue, Lucas and the others are dropped from the 100th floor of the building all the way to the FinalDungeon.
216* ''VideoGame/NetHack''. "A trap door opens up under you." Usually preceding [[EverythingTryingToKillYou some kind of death]].
217* ''VideoGame/NightTrap'' has this, and many other traps, and manipulating them is an essential part of the gameplay.
218* Ryu Hayabusa is constantly punked by such pitfalls in the ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' games for the NES.
219* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': At Freeway 42, Ann is dropped through one by the opposing UndergroundCity tribe to fight their red beasts. Later on at The Consortium's research facility, she falls into another one when she's pitted against [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile The Varanus]].
220* A variation of this is present in ''VideoGame/OverlordII'', in which the VillainProtagonist proceeds to magically activate a hole underneath the TooDumbToLive civilians who add unreasonable demands to their notifications of rebellions in his village (borrowing the Minions, becoming Mayor of a town of his, borrowing his mistress, taking his EvilChancellor in as a pet) and dumps them into the sea of Lava at the bottom of his Netherworld. It's ineffective when used on [[spoiler:Rose]] however due to the character's [[PowerFloats magical hovering]].
221* ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'': The Ruins of Alph have these, triggered by completing each one of its puzzles and sending you inside the ruins proper.
222* The ''VideoGame/PowerBomberman'' stage High Life has trap doors that open when a switch on the wall is activated (which is done by exploding a bomb next to it). Falling into these leads to a OneHitKill. One of the variants is even designed like a dining room, with the trap doors located in front of the chairs.
223* In the SNES adaptation of ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'', Jaffar drops you down a trap door after the BossRush in the penultimate level.
224* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'':
225** A variation: Ashley panics and runs down a narrow hallway, avoiding spike traps along the way, before finally stopping to catch her breath, leaning against a dead end. Steel bindings promptly pop out of the wall to catch her, then the wall flips around, taking Ashley with it. This trap would be absolutely useless unless someone of Ashley's build was standing [[https://youtu.be/vlOBqzbI6dc#t=6m00s at that exact spot]].
226** Salazar attempts to kill Leon with one of these by dropping him into a spike pit. Leon responds by using a grappling hook attached to his utility belt to latch onto a tiny ledge on the wall.
227* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
228** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'': You have 8 Power Stars, so that you can open the first door with the big Star on it. Upon opening it, you run towards the painting with Princess Peach's face on it. Suddenly, it morphs into Bowser's face, and as you jump towards it, you run into an invisible wall... and just as you land, you start falling again. Bowser had installed a trapdoor to the Dark World in that very room anticipating you'd go for the painting in there!
229-->'''Bowser''': Bwa ha ha ha! You've stepped right into my trap, just as I knew you would! I warn you, "Friend", watch your step!
230** In ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'', this happens a couple of times. The first time is in the Koopa Bros. Fortress. When you enter one room, you (the player, not Mario) see the trap door being installed under a question block. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Yes, you have to hit it.]] It drops you into a dungeon where Mario meets his next party member. The second time, as a Bowser-face shaped door in Bowser's castle drops you into a jail the first time you try to go through.
231** ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'': Most rooms that aren't on the main path are accessed through trap doors. Bonus rooms tend to have either weak, wooden x-marked doors that Wario can ground pound through, or tougher metal doors that he needs to Piledrive something onto to open. Level bosses are accessed through octagonal trap doors that are blocked by the Stone Barrier.
232* Becomes a RunningGag in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': If there is a trap door, you can be sure that Sheena will fall into it.
233* In ''VideoGame/Tekken5'', Panda's ending involves her dropping Kuma down a trap door when he comes into her office, followed by falling through herself when Xiaoyu gets curious about the BigRedButton on Panda's desk.
234** Similarly in Kuma's ending, Kuma does this to Heihachi, who has come to try and reclaim control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, only for Heihachi to somehow climb back up and press another button that opens a trapdoor underneath Kuma.
235* ''Franchise/TombRaider'' is full of these, whether sprung by Lara's doing or her stumbling into them. The latter usually has instant death traps such as spikes. A few others have to be opened or stumbled upon in order to proceed.
236* In ''VideoGame/UltimaV'', the Sceptre of Lord British is being guarded by all three of the Shadowlords and a demon in their earthly fortress of Shadowkeep. Getting around ''that'' in bad enough. However, in addition, there are trap doors in the floor all around the sceptre itself; which leads to a lava pit and an instant TotalPartyKill. If you're paying attention, you ''might'' notice the small dot in the floor that is usually only present for secret doors in the walls.
237[[/folder]]
238
239[[folder:Web Animation]]
240* In ''WebAnimation/MysterySkullsAnimated'' after Arthur grabs Mystery and jumps into Vivi's arms in reaction to the [[SpookyPainting paintings]] around them coming to life one of the paintings smirks and tugs on a pull-string, dropping the trio through the hidden trap door they were standing on.
241[[/folder]]
242
243[[folder:Webcomics]]
244* Subverted in ''Webcomic/TheBMovieComic,'' where the trapdoor mentioned by Dutchman Fu is a [[http://www.bmoviecomic.com/?cid=935 complete fabrication]] meant to distract Snuka.
245* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Nanase [[https://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/nanasecraft-42 falls]] down one while exploring a dungeon.
246* Used and parodied very often in ''Webcomic/EvilInc'', a corporation of old-style super villains. [[http://www.evil-comic.com/archive/20050602.html Here]] [[http://www.evil-comic.com/archive/20050609.html are]] [[http://www.evil-comic.com/archive/20050610.html a]] [[http://www.evil-comic.com/archive/20050614.html few]] [[http://www.evil-comic.com/archive/20050615.html examples]] from just the first 3 weeks of this comic.
247* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius:'' Unsurprisingly, Castle Heterodyne comes [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110304 eqiupped]] with these, for disposing (or is that testing?) of any visiting heroes.
248* ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'' mocks the trapdoors found in the armory section of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' [[http://gigaville.com/comic.php?id=403 by having Sniper Wolf fall into one]] -- and barely hanging on, and the {{Mooks}} remarked that the only way they knew where the trapdoors were was because... "There used to be a lot more of us". It also mocks the other, stupidly impractical designs of the base.
249-->'''Liquid:''' Why... Why, why, '''''why''''' do we have trapdoors in our base? Is ''Doctor Doom'' our fucking architectural consultant?
250* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': Deus has [[https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-1055-lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-eccentric/ one of these installed]] in his office in Galtyn, that he triggers accidentally.
251* ''Webcomic/MinionsAtWork'': [[http://www.minionsatwork.com/2007/04/minions-55-one-up.html One way for your annual review to end]]
252* ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'':
253** [[http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-6-29/ A hipster vampire uses one on Madeline.]]
254** [[http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-6-36/ Rusty falls through another,]] leading to a SuddenVideoGameMoment.
255* ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'': Why are there [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=71#comic trap doors under our desks?]]
256* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': The trapdoor in Brie Meighsaton House is [[BookcasePassage activated by a nearby lever that's also a candlestick]]. That aside, it's not much of a trap: it's only because the aged wooden platform it opens onto collapses that Torg takes all night to clear away equally decrepit masonry and exit through the cellar to the backyard.
257[[/folder]]
258
259[[folder:Web Original]]
260* [[Creator/RoosterTeeth Burnie Burns]] had a Henckman Bros. model 607 trap door installed in his office in [[https://youtu.be/j54r37hyzNk Downstairs]] that he'd use to drop employees into the restaurant on the floor below. He also has one in the ceiling in the same spot that drops a 16 ton anvil.
261* ''Series/FlandersCompany'': Hippolyte Kurtzmann has one in front of his desk in the "Super Pouvoir" music video, to get rid quickly of pesky supervillain candidates. Not seen in the series proper, though.
262* ''Podcast/RandomAssault'': Sometimes, a host will fall down a trap door and won't be able to get out until [[BreakingTheFourthWall their internet or Skype works aga-]]I MEAN until they climb out.
263[[/folder]]
264
265[[folder:Western Animation]]
266* ''The Adventures of Young Gulliver'' episode "The Dark Sleep". One is used on Gulliver while he's in the witch's castle.
267* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', Robotnik has used a few of these. Coconuts is a regular victim of one, sometimes multiple times in the same episode. The episode, "Boogey-Mania" had a mobile trap door with {{Hammerspace}} inside it.
268* Used twice in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' when George W. Bush comes to their house for dinner. When Haley tries to confront him about his policies, Stan causes her to fall through a trapdoor. The second time, she puts her feet on the sides of the trapdoor, but then he widens the trapdoor with another button, causing her to fall in again.
269** In another episode, Haley and Jeff are playing an {{MMORPG}} when they come across a place called "Castle Roodpart". Jeff starts to puzzle over its meaning within the game's lore when Haley interrupts with "[[OhCrap Crap]], it's [[SdrawkcabName 'Trapdoor' spelled backwards]]." No points for guessing what happens next.
270* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has an improvised version in the finale. When Sokka, Toph and Suki hijack one of the Fire Nation's airships, they trick the crew into doing to the bomb bay on the excuse of holding a birthday party (even funnier because [[AccidentalTruth it]] ''[[AccidentalTruth was]]'' [[AccidentalTruth someone's birthday that day after all]]). Then they open the hatches and dump everyone in the ocean.
271* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Poison Ivy keeps one in her debut episode [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE5PrettyPoison "Pretty Poison."]] Batman infiltrates Pamela Isley's privately owned greenhouse, aiming to secure an antidote for her [[DruggedLipstick lipstick]] to save Harvey Dent. While running along the stoney pathway he accidentally steps on a trapdoor, nearly dropping into a pit of huge, razor sharp cacti.
272* ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth'' includes an inversion of this trope. Monitor's security system includes a trap door which opens to reveal an energy mesh which instantly incinerates anything which touches it. This trap is first deployed onscreen when Ming takes control of Dynak-X and turns her against the Defenders. Mandrake nearly falls to his death when the rope he and three of his fellow Defenders are using to cross the pit over the energy mesh breaks, but Lothar pulls him up just in time.
273* In the first opening sequence to ''WesternAnimation/DennisTheMenace'', Dennis and Joey fall through a trap door in a fun house which sends them onto a mine cart ride.
274* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'':
275** In the first episode Scrooge uses one to cheer himself up:
276--->'''Solicitor:''' Mr. [=McDuck=], would you like to tip to the Retired Hand Hawkers of America?\
277'''Scrooge:''' [[LittleNo No!]] (''pushes button'')\
278'''Solicitor:''' Ugh! (''falls down while Scrooge laughs'')
279** The first time Scrooge met Fenton Crackshell, he dropped him down a trapdoor. Fenton's persistent, though.
280* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': In "Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake", Doofus has trap doors all over the place, sending those who displease him into his "honey bin" (which is also [[ScaryStingingSwarm full of bees]]).
281* Spoofed in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', when Mayor Adam West tries to drop a protesting Peter through a trap door, except he's wider than the door and gets stuck. (The mayor apologises, "My malcontents are usually a lot skinnier.")
282* ''Creator/{{Filmation}}'':
283** In the ''New Adventures of Franchise/{{Batman}}'', Batman and Robin are in a house owned by the Joker that has many trapdoors. They enter one room so equipped and Batman realizes that, although unaware of the exact danger, they have to exit the room now. As they race for a door, Joker starts opening trapdoors throughout the floor, but the Dynamic Duo manages to dodge them all. Unfortunately, the Joker is ready for that too, and suddenly the entire floor surface reveals itself to be a massive trapdoor itself and the Duo are captured.
284** ''Justice League'' episode "Bad Day on Black Mountain". After Mastermind teleports Superman to his lair, he activates a trap door under him and drops him into a cell lined with kryptonite.
285* In ''WesternAnimation/FrostyReturns'' Mr.Twitchell's latest product is an aerosol spray called Summer Wheeze that when sprayed at snow causes it to instantly melt. When he is showing it off to the town council one of the trustee objects to it on the grounds of environmental concerns. Twitchell then responds by having his pet cat Bones press a button on the table which sends said trustee down a trapdoor before turning to the clearly scared remaining council members and asking them, "Any other objections?"
286* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Zapp Brannigan shows you don't need a DropShip to invade a planet.
287-->'''Captain Zapp Brannigan:''' As you know, the key to victory is the element of surprise. ''[presses BigRedButton]'' Surprise!\
288''[bay doors open under soldiers, dumping them onto the planet below.]''
289* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoe'':
290** "The Gamesmaster": Cobra Commander gets abducted this way.
291** In one episode of the 1990 series, [[https://youtu.be/cNcy9YaYxkc The Baroness orders Destro to prove his loyalty by dumping Zarana. He immediately pushes a button, and Zarana's bed turns out to be a trap door.]]
292--->'''Destro:''' Baroness, consider her dumped.
293* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'' when the Joker is supervising the construction of his SupervillainLair and SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome occurs.
294-->'''Joker:''' I need a permit for a trapdoor? The whole point is no-one is supposed to know about it! Especially the City!
295* ''WesternAnimation/TheHerculoids'':
296** "Sarko the Arkman". Used by the title character to capture Dorno, Tundro and Gleep.
297** "The Antidote". The Spider Men ruler pushes a button to open one under Dorno.
298* Naturally, [[MeanBoss Lucius]] uses one of these on ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes''. He uses it to get rid of [[YesMan Samy's]] stuff, but it only takes one glare for Samy to drop himself down.
299* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'' episode "Dragons of Ashida". The title character has a servant pull a rope, which drops the floor out from under the Quest party.
300* Common in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'':
301** The ''first thing'' Shego does "in person" (after having appeared only in security footage) is walk into Drakken's lair, drop through a trapdoor into a waiting chair, and ask Drakken, "Ever considered a ''normal'' door?"
302** Another episode features a gag where the bad guy used said devices on mooks that [[YouHaveFailedMe failed him]]. As the mooks begin to wise up and not sit in the rigged chair, he opens another door that the mooks were standing on. One instance even has said bad guy directing his mooks to the point before pressing the button.
303* On the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "WesternAnimation/TheGreatPiggyBankRobbery", Daffy (as detective Duck Twacy) finds the Gangster's Hideout and spots a welcome mat on the front door conveniently labeled "Trap Door". Daff catches on immediately, steps to one side of the door and rings the bell, when a trap door opens up ''underneath him'' and sends him to the basement.
304** In "WesternAnimation/TheJetCage," this is how Tweety uses the hatch on his flying birdcage to dispose of Sylvester when it returns to flight.
305** A trap door is how Duck Dodgers gets rid of his rampaging robot copies in "WesternAnimation/AttackOfTheDrones" after giving them fake awards. When several drones later get stuck, he has to shove them down the trap door himself.
306* In the always unintentionally awesome ''WesternAnimation/MisterT'' cartoon, there was an episode where a big New York Chinese restaurant has one of these near the door, with a big lever by the cash register. Naturally, it's there so that at one point it can swallow up our heroes as they try to flee, but you really have to wonder why it's there. To echo the Agony Booth recap, do they have that big a problem with customers who dine and dash? (Check it out [[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Mister_T/Fortune_Cookie_Caper.aspx?Page=7 here]].) Also, it opens on a hundred-foot drop into a warehouse full of stolen merchandise, which ... makes you wonder about the thinking behind this particular criminal syndicate. Not to mention the architecture of New York's Chinatown restaurants.
307* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Castle Mane-ia", the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters has trap doors which are activated by pressing a pipe organ's keys.
308* An old ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'' cartoon "The Dance Contest" has judge Wimpy dropping couples through trap doors if they're not good enough - or if they don't have any mustard handy.
309* ''WesternAnimation/RazzberryJazzberryJam'': In “Phantom Of The Jam”, the Jazzberries discover one (activated by pushing on an innocuous-looking brick in the basement wall) which leads to a secret subbasement.
310* Used plenty of times in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo''. Daphne had a talent for finding them and getting stuck at the bottom...
311* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': In "System Failure", Entrapta has one equipped at the front entrance to her castle. It just leads to a cage and not any dangerous situation.
312* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'':
313** Hordak had one to drop his [[SurroundedByIdiots hordsmen]] into. On the rare occasion one of them would avoid it, another trap would get them, some of which were far less pleasant. The mooks couldn't see it, since the whole throne room was paved in squares, and the danger spot was also the most respectful place to stand.
314** At one point, Mantenna jumped off the trapdoor to the side. The neighboring tile tipped up and slid him down into the hole anyway.
315* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Mr. Burns has a trapdoor in his office, which he uses to get rid of anyone who bugs him. It's been spoofed a number of ways over the years, including Homer getting stuck due to his weight, or standing in the wrong position (and jumping down the hole when Burns asks him to), or the trap having been removed for [[NoOSHACompliance safety violations]]. In one memorable instance when the kids of Springfield Elementary came asking for donations, Burns dumped them out...only for them to fall back ''[[UnnaturallyLoopingLocation into]]'' the room through the ceiling.
316-->'''Mr. Burns:''' Oh, it's doing that thing again!
317** Then there's the Buzz Cola Trap Door: Fall into the flavor hole!
318* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsResistance'':
319** Short [[Recap/StarWarsResistanceS0E4WhenThievesDropBy "When Thieves Drop By"]] reveals that [[ThoseTwoGuys Flix and Orka]] have a trapdoor installed at the front of their shop, the Office of Acquisitions, for the purposes of dropping would-be thieves down it. Brothers and criminals Narb and Nod both separately fall victim to it.
320** [[Recap/StarWarsResistanceS1E18Descent "Descent"]]: When Kaz, Yeager, Neeku and CB-23 are [[spoiler:cornered by stormtroopers in the maintenance tunnels]], they get rescued when the Chelidae, alerted to their predicament, open up a trapdoor they're standing on.
321* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E10LairOfGrievous , "Lair of Grievous"]]: Once Grievous gets to his control center he opens a trap door underneath the heroes that sends one of the clone troopers to a fiery death and nearly results in Commander Fil's death, though he and the Jedi react quickly enough to save him from the lava pit the door leads to.
322* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In "Friend Ship", lures them to an old gem space ship whose internal defenses she turns against them. She then pulls a smaller scale trap by putting a {{Hologram}} of herself on top of a Trap Door, which Pearl keeps attacking even after realizing is fake just before she and Garnet are dropped into a pit.
323* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'':
324** One episode used a version of the above ''New Adventures of Batman'' trick, with the Riddler setting the trap. The Dynamic Duo find themselves in a room with a plainly-visible trap-door built into the floor, and just as Batman comments [[TemptingFate how obvious]] the trap is, the entire floor ''except'' the "door" falls away.
325** In "The Fairy Tale of Doom", several members of the Legion of Doom trap Black Vulcan, Green Lantern, Batman, and Robin in a trap door even though 1)[[ForgotAboutHisPowers two of them can fly and the other two carry grapple ropes]] as standard equipment and 2)they're ''in the Hall of Justice'' and ought to know where the trap doors are.
326* The Technodrome in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'' has a circular, pizza-like one in the main control room. In one episode, Leonardo activates it with a control panel when Bebop and Rocksteady are standing on it.
327* Special mention goes to ''WesternAnimation/TheTrapDoor'', which is basically this in reverse. Instead of the heroes falling in, the bad things come out.
328* In ''Westernanimation/{{Visionaries}}'', Darkstorm has several lever-operated trap doors in his throne room. However, the episode "Honor Among Thieves" sees him (courtesy of Ectar) [[HoistByHisOwnPetard fall into one of these traps]].
329* ''WesternAnimation/YoungSamsonAndGoliath'' episode "Operation Peril". After Samson and Goliath reach the ship's control room, the BigBad pushes a button and the floor slides open underneath them and they fall into a containment area.
330[[/folder]]
331
332[[folder:Real Life]]
333* In the 19th century practice of "Shanghaiing" (kidnapping people to serve as sailors), one method of doing this was to trick people into standing on a trapdoor in a bar, sometimes lured there by a pretty woman; the trapdoor would then open, so they would fall into the basement below. This happened in Portland, Oregon.
334* Some unused buttons on church organ consoles are jokingly labelled "pulpit trapdoor".
335[[/folder]]
336

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