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Stairs can be dangerous if you misstep and fall down, even worse depending on how long it is. Still, it can be funny, especially in cartoons.

This is one of the common ways a Fright Deathtrap is used to kill someone.

There's a list of movies where people get killed by falling down the stairs here.

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Examples:

Film

• In the movie Surf Ninjas, during the final epic battle, an enemy mook gets knocked down a flight of stairs that runs up the entire mountainside. He manages to climb back up before the battle ends but gets knocked down a second time. By the time he gets back up again the battle's ended and when told "It's over. Your side lost." He shrugs and willingly throws himself down the stairs again.
• I'm Gonna Git You Sucka: as a Running Gag, each time Mr. Big's two mooks Leonard and Willie get captured by the good guys or screw up a mission they're given the option of going out the window or down the stairs. They almost always choose the stairs, after which the camera cuts to a scene of them tumbling painfully down the stairs.
• Used as a recurring joke in Kung Fu Panda, in reference to actual stairs on ancient shrines, and how out of shape Po is.
• A non-malicious example: in Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, Sam pushes Flint down the bouncy stairs in the Jell-O Castle.

Literature

• The Book Of Margery Kempe has the husband of the titular character fall down the stairs and getting heavily wounded by it, and potentially mentally challenged. He dies.

Live Action TV

• A Running Gag in My Wife And Kids is Claire falling down the steps.

Music

• Played For Laughs in Key Of Awesome's parody of Kesha's "Tic-Toc" music video. The actress who played Kesha commented several times that the staircase scene was the hardest one she has ever done for the KOA.

Nursery Rhymes

• "Goosey Goosey Gander":
  There I met an old man
  Who wouldn't say his prayers,
  So I took him by his left leg
  And threw him down the stairs.

Web Comics

• Van Von Hunter: a technoleech shows Asimov, a humanoid robot that can climb stairs, to the evil prince. The prince, offended, climbs the stair after yelling "I can do that!" but trips near the top and tumbles down the stairs, disproving himself once again.
• Sweet Bro And Hella Jeff: Link

Web Comics

• Used in Dr Mc Ninja; he gets scared by some cobwebs and then trips and falls down the strairs

Western Animation

• In The Simpsons episode "My Sister, My Sitter," a major plot point is that Lisa accidentally causes Bart to tumble down the stairs in his house. The rest of the episode is about her trying to find medical help for Bart while everyone gets the wrong impression that she had beaten Bart.
• In the ''Dexters Laboratory" episode "SDRAWKCAB", Dexter gets manipulated into running up and down a flight of stairs, causing his father standing next to him to get dizzy and come tumbling down.
• The episode "Girlfriendklok" in Metalocalypse has Nathan's girlfriend falling down several flights of stairs, placing her in a coma.
• Ed Edd N Eddy: in episode "Dead Ed"
  Johnny: Wow, Ed, you go down the stairs just like Plank!

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