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[[quoteright:262:[[Film/{{Candyman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/11291822_ori.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:262: [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory The Candyman caaaan]]... '''[[Film/{{Candyman}} KILL YOU.]]]]'''

A very common trope used mostly by children's novels, and sometimes by young adult novels. In an attempt to appeal to kids, many authors [[ExecutiveMeddling or often publishers]] will give books silly titles that have nothing to do with the actual content of the book, which is often a realistic drama. Executives apparently assume that kids (or parents) will only buy something that they think is funny, but actually genuinely enjoy it if the story turns out to be a TearJerker.

As a result, what is essentially a bait and switch is pulled. Lure the kid in with the humorous title and possibly cover art, but once the kid is reading, the book gradually turns into more and more of a drama. Sometimes a very depressing one, at that.

Often deliberately invoked with horror films, as well, in which case, it's not so much a case of CoversAlwaysLie as it is a comparable trope to the IronicNurseryTune.

In the examples, please list what the book is actually about in addition to the title and what it might refer to. Books that actually are silly obviously do not fit this trope. For this reason, it tends to be used in works running on DisguisedHorrorStory.

Sister trope of TrivialTitle and SarcasticTitle. See also CoversAlwaysLie, NeverTrustATitle, FluffyTheTerrible. In gaming, this can lead to SurpriseDifficulty.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/BananaFish'' sounds like pure WordSaladHumor, but it's actually a ConspiracyThriller infamous for its dark subject matter and its numerous TearJerker moments. "Banana Fish" is the name of a FantasticDrug within the story, as well as a reference to Creator/JDSalinger's short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" (which is brought up early on in the story itself).
* ''Manga/HappySugarLife'' is a psychological horror series starring a VillainProtagonist who kidnaps a child out of "[[LoveMakesYouEvil love]]". InUniverse, Satou calls her life with Shio a "Happy Sugar Life", because she feels like her body is filled with sweetness when she is with Shio.
* ''Anime/MagicalWitchPunieChan'' has a similar title to other cutesy MagicalGirl works aimed at young girls, but it's really a BlackComedy that [[ArtStyleDissonance contrasts a cute art style with brutal violence]]. This isn't so much the case with its original Japanese title, ''Dai Mahou Touge'', which is a reference to ''Film/TheSwordOfDoom'' (known in Japanese as ''Dai-bosatsu Touge'').
* Creator/TatsukiFujimoto's first published oneshot is about the last surviving humans hiding in plain sight after an alien invasion. The title is a Japanese tongue-twister ''Niwa ni wa Niwa Niwatori ga Ita'', officially translated ''A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin' in the Schoolyard'', because the protagonists disguise themselves as chickens.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/FunHome'' by Creator/AlisonBechdel. Fun is short for "Funeral", and the subtitle, "A Family Tragicomic", is in small print. It's actually an autobiographical comic about the troubled relationship between Alison and her father Bruce, a high school teacher and funeral home director, and the events leading up to Bruce's death.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/FloweyIsNotAGoodLifeCoach'' doesn't just have [[{{Understatement}} the title itself]], but the chapters are named in incredibly silly ways, such as ''it looks more like a garamond to me but no one asked me'', ''apology spaghetti to express the regretti'', and ''you will be [[spoiler:KILLED BY DEMON]]''.
* ''Fanfic/HowToSexVol4To58'' is a ''Dream SMP'' fanfiction, written from the perspective of Tommy, taking place in an AlternateUniverse where [[BigDamnHeroes Punz and about half the server]] never came to save him and Tubbo from Dream. Tommy is writing them while locked up in [[HellholePrison Pandora's Vault]] after watching Tubbo die, and [[{{Bathos}} the comedy is interspersed with heartrending indications of Tommy's trauma and suffering]]. As seen most prominently in the comments section:
-->'''totallynotbaku:''' [[LampshadeHanging HOW THE FUCK DID YOU MANAGE TO MAKE "HOW TO SEX" ANGSTY]]
* The prequel to ''Blossoming Trail'', ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainKnightOfTheOrangeLily'' has the 400 Rabbits Car (the fourth car in the story) in which the first ''part'' ends with a child in a rabbit mask arriving on a chair with spider legs and delves into mind control and AlternateIdentityAmnesia, and changes the direction of the story.
* In ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'', the more innocent the titular car, the darker the subject matter. Case in point:
** The Plush Penguin Car: an adorable car where penguins hold penguin potlucks and lots and lots of ice cream. It also reveals that the Apex had attacked poor Nico, Nico himself has been bullied by his peers and his best friend may have been wheeled by the cultists.
** The Crayon Car: Most of the car is drawn to look like it was made of crayons. It's also the car that reveals why Chloe is forced to go to the Cerise Lab every day.
** The Elephant Teapot Car: While, Chloe, Atticus and Lexi get to have tea made by large elephant teapots, it also cuts to scenes of The Fog Car where Hop is somehow mentally regressing into a child and [[spoiler:Paul is being tortured for letting an Apex child drown.]]
** The Car after that, "The Cyan Desert Car" is about Chloe heading off to an Arabian village on a ship across a blue sea of sand. Meanwhile, her brother has just unleashed the Unown and the second-to-last chapter of the arc ends ''with a child contemplating suicide''.
* ''Fanfic/LittleMissHeropants'': The title of the fic is based off a line from the first ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' game where Carol says to Lilac "Can't you be 'Little Miss Heropants' some other time?" The premise of this fic is that Lilac has [=PTSD=] due to [[spoiler:Lord Brevon torturing her]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** ''Fanfic/CupcakesSergeantSprinkles'' is about an insane Pinkie Pie slowly and violently torturing Rainbow Dash to death in her basement, then [[ImAHumanitarian using Dash's remains as an ingredient in the titular cupcakes]].
** Likewise, ''Fanfic/RainbowFactory'' is about an [[AlternateUniversefic alternate universe]] where Cloudsdale's rainbows are made from [[spoiler:[[PoweredByAForsakenChild young Pegasus fillies and colts who fail their final flight test.]]]]
** With its {{Portmantitle}}, ''Fanfic/{{Vampiolence}}'' sounds like a balls-off-the-walls action story. While there are action-packed moments, that's mostly saved for the climax. The story's actually more of a romantic tragedy.
* Invoked by the author of the fic ''Fanfic/OfSheepAndBattleChicken'', who wanted the title to be memorable. Keep in mind that this is a DarkFic that verges on CosmicHorror and examines stuff like politics, war crimes, rape, etc.
* You would expect a Website/ChannelAwesome-related fic called ''Fanfic/ThatGuyWithTheGlassesInSpace'' would show a very silly story to go along with the title, right? [[DarkerAndEdgier Well...]] You'd be sorely mistaken.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* One would normally expect an animated film named ''Film/{{Princess}}'' to be something cute and whimsical, probably akin to the Franchise/DisneyPrincess films, instead of the bleak revenge tale it actually is. "Princess" is in fact, the "artistic name" of a porn actress whose brother goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge after her death, assisted by her five-year-old daughter.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
* The "Mr. Babadook" book from ''Film/TheBabadook'' (a NightmareFuelColouringBook about [[spoiler: [[OffingTheOffspring infanticide]]]]). And arguably the film itself, a ''very'' effective horror movie with a rather goofy name.
* ''Film/TheBrownBunny'' is a long and rambling road movie, infamous for an unsimulated blowjob scene.
* ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' sounds like it could be a Creator/JudyBlume novel, and it ''is'' a comedy -- but [[BlackComedy much of the humor is mined from very grim subjects]]: death, Purgatory, exorcism, spiritualism, suicide, and all-around angst.
* The TorturePorn film ''Film/TheBunnyGame''.
* ''Film/TheByeByeMan'' is about three college students haunted by a spirit who curses people with madness if they say his name.
* ''Film/{{Candyman}}'' is a horror movie about a murderous ghost who operates a lot like Bloody Mary.
* ''Film/TheCandyTangerineMan'' sounds like a children's story about a magical being. It's actually a crime thriller about a pimp.
* ''Film/ChildsPlay'' is about a murderous toy. However, this isn't likely to fool anyone who isn't looking at a list of only names, though, since the posters, trailers, DVD covers, etc., make it quite clear what genre the movie is in. It's definitely ''not'' a case of CoversAlwaysLie.
* ''Film/DonnieDarko'', sounds silly at worst, ambiguous at best. Lampshaded by Gretchen, who says it sounds like a superhero name.
* Creator/ChristopherNolan's first film was a black and white three-minute short about a skinny, insane guy obsessively hunting his apartment for some small scurrying creature so he can kill it with a shoe. Said creature turns out to be [[spoiler:a miniature version of himself (who is in turn searching for something to squish). He finally manages to kill it with the shoe, only to be [[CruelTwistEnding squashed himself]] by a [[RecursiveReality giant version of himself]] with a giant shoe]]. The film's title? ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WhKt_CkXD0 Doodlebug]]''.
* ''Film/DrGiggles'', a horror movie.
* ''Film/FunnyGames'', a film about two guys who decide to murder a family just because they can in 4th wall breaking fashion, is not that funny.
* ''Film/TheGame1997'' is about a ''mind''-game -- and not a fun one, either.
* Another TorturePorn film series is called ''Film/GuineaPig'', although its subtitles are usually full of GoryDeadlyOverkillTitleOfFatalDeath.
* As above, woe betide you if you mistake ''Film/HardCandy'' for a film about confectionery. It's about [[EvilVersusEvil a sociopathic teenage girl torturing a pedophile]].
* ''Film/HomeSweetHome2005'' is actually a horror film revolving around a family whose only son gets abducted by a monster from a local urban legend.
* A more adult example with 'Film/MumsyNannySonnyAndGirly''. The title is ironic and reflects the whimsical and childlike state of the characters, but does nothing to convey that they are actually sadistic, AxCrazy kidnappers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/AlCaponeDoesMyShirts'' is a deceptively childish title for a book which explores issues such as family and living with an autistic sibling.
* ''Literature/{{Blubber}}'' by Creator/JudyBlume sounds silly, but it's actually the mean-spirited nickname given to an overweight girl by her bullying peers. The book is a harshly realistic look at bullying.
* ''Literature/ABoyAndHisDog'' by Harlan Ellison. While it is a story about a Boy and his Dog, it takes place AfterTheEnd and is NOT for children.
* Robert Cormier's ''Literature/TheChocolateWar'' -- Yes, there is a war about selling chocolates, in a sense. But it's actually about a high-school student's attempt to assert his individuality and the harassment he receives from a clique of students that practically runs the school.
* ''Literature/DaddysLittleGirl'' sounds like it could be a fairly innocent story about a girl who has a close relationship with her father. It's actually a serious crime thriller in which a DaddysGirl is brutally murdered, with her surviving sister having a strained relationship with their father rooted in the tragedy (including feeling like TheUnfavourite).
* ''Literature/TheEarthMyButtAndOtherBigRoundThings'' by Carolyn Mackler. Despite the silly title, it's about an overweight girl who feels like she doesn't belong in her own family, and whose brother later gets suspended from his college for date rape.
* Another Cormier book, ''Literature/IAmTheCheese'', could fit here too; one might conclude from the title that the story inside is rather lighthearted, except when one finds out that the story is about how the protagonist's family has to go into the Witness Protection Program to avoid being murdered by the mob. The title is a reference to the nursery song "The Farmer in the Dell", and the ending reveals he is "the cheese" which "stands alone" at the end of the song because [[spoiler: his parents were killed and he's been spending the last few years in a mental hospital while agents of some kind of GovernmentConspiracy tries to unearth his memories.]]
* There's also ''An Ice-Cream War'' by William Boyd. It is set against the background of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI in German East Africa.
* ''It Seems My Son Has Been Reincarnated Into Another World'' sounds like your standard ''Shousetsuka ni Narou''-styled {{Isekai}} fantasy title, albeit from the perspective of a third party. What it obfuscates is that it's a drama set on vanilla Earth as a mother processes her grief over [[OutlivingOnesOffspring her teenage son's untimely demise]] and her belief that he'd gone into a world similar to his favorite fantasy titles after death.
* The ''Rabbit'' novels by Creator/JohnUpdike fall into this, since their titles - like ''Literature/RabbitRun'' - make them sound like they're for kids. They're actually about a man whose nickname is Rabbit, and he has some very child-unfriendly experiences.
* Creator/HansChristianAndersen's ''The Rose Elf'' (''The Rosebush Elf'' in some translations), the title of which suggests some sweet fairy story, is one of his most depressing and goriest tales, with the villain, in particular, chopping off the hero's head, which the heroine later takes as a keepsake. The ending features the villain torturously killed by flower spirits.
* ''Literature/TheresABoyInTheGirlsBathroom'' by Louis Sachar -- This book is sad! The title comes from one scene in which a boy actually does go into the girls' bathroom and ends up discovered when he tries to sneak back out. The story itself is about a friendless kid with learning disabilities who is also a bit of a bully, and the help he receives from a counselor who turns his life around. It doesn't help that the book cover frequently shows a comical image of the titular boy being [[ChasedByAngryNatives chased by some furious females]].
* ''Literature/DiaryOfAnAwesomeFriendlyKid'', the ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' SpinOff about Rowley. While he's [[GoodIsDumb still the same as usual]], much of the story is [[VignetteEpisode vignettes]] about how [[{{Jerkass}} Greg]] abuses his kindness and ExtremeDoormat nature and repeatedly harasses him. While most of it is PlayedForLaughs, it [[DownerEnding ends]] on the note that while Rowley's parents acknowledge Greg is a [[ToxicFriendInfluence bad influence]], Rowley just thinks friends are ''meant'' to act this way to each other and still declares them best friends.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/PeakyBlinders'' sounds like the name of the tomboyish girl next door in a Nickelodeon cartoon, but it's actually a pretty intense crime drama. The name comes from the way the central gang use their signature weapon, a peaky cap with razorblades sewn into the brim, to [[EyeScream blind people who stand in their way by cutting out their eyes]].
* ''Series/SquidGame'' is a ''very'' intense semi-dystopian suspense thriller about desperately-poor people getting baited into signing up for a DeadlyGame.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* "Party Cannon", written in a colorful childish font, is actually a DeathMetal band, with releases names like "Volumes Of Vomit" or "Partied In Half".
* "Scherzo", the Italian word for joke, became a generic term in classical music for fast movements in 3/4 time. While many classical scherzi are indeed boisterous and light-hearted pieces, others, such as Frederic Chopin's Scherzo in B minor (Op. 20), can be stormy and even terrifying.
* ''Music/{{Vocaloid}}'': Hatsune Miku's "This is the Happiness and Peace of Mind Committee" by [=UtataP=] makes people think this song is about a committee that makes everyone happy. Wrong, this song is actually about a HappinessIsMandatory society, where unhappy people are offered a choice of "how do you want to die? Hanged alive? Cooked alive? Decapitation?, etc."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* There is a Brazilian play named ''Theatre/ChocolateFactory'' (which actors made sure to note was not ''Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''), deriving its name from a confectionery worker who killed himself after being released from months enduring ColdBloodedTorture by the military dictatorship.
* "Funny" from ''Theatre/CityOfAngels'' is a BSODSong.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Annventure}}'' sounds like a comedic and lighthearted experience from the PunBasedTitle, but is a horror game series centered around TheLegionsOfHell invading Earth, with plenty of blood and dark themes.
* ''VideoGame/ChickenPolice'' sounds comedic [[InherentlyFunnyWords due to the "chicken" in the title]], and does have its fair share of jokes and absurdist humor, but it is also a gritty, FilmNoir MatureAnimalStory.
* ''VideoGame/PlanetLaika'' is written in [[TheBackwardsR faux-Cyrillic font]] and has a toy rocket on the cover. Something about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika first dog to orbit the Earth]]? Not exactly; it's a PsychologicalHorror about exploration of Mars, with "Laika" being the nickname of the protagonist.
* ''VideoGame/PonyIsland'' is, as Website/HardcoreGaming101 describes it: "A super creepy game about a piece of software that seems to be possessed by the devil. Not actually (technically) about ponies."
* ''VideoGame/PuzzleParty'' sounds like a lighthearted puzzle game but is actually a horror game revolving around a relationship gone wrong.
* The infamous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvQrt71gnws Team Happy Rainbow Panda Bears]] logo from ''VideoGame/ReworkTheDeadEvil'' sounds like it could be sickly sweet from the title, but in reality, it depicts a panda that seems to have died a CruelAndUnusualDeath. '''(Warning: NSFL)'''
* ''VideoGame/SoftAndCuddly'', which contains some of the most disturbing imagery seen on the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum.
* ''VideoGame/SquirrelStapler'' sounds like a quirky game with a WordSaladTitle. It's actually about killing squirrels and stapling them to a corpse. ...[[FromBadToWorse and that's just the start]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'''s title is deliberately meant to invoke feelings of a shovelware {{Anime}} DatingSim, until you read the warnings and "PsychologicalHorror" tag on the Steam page. It turns out to be a metafictional, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou fourth-wall breaking]] horror experience.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''[[Literature/TheFamilyOfFangAndClaw The Pancake Family]]'' tells the story, from the point of view of a retired and traumatized detective, of the finding the remains of a family that was kidnapped and tortured for 20 years by crushing parts of their bodies to the point of being turned into pieces of flesh similar to pancakes while being kept alive via IV drips and breathing machines.
* ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'', which, despite its name, isn't very happy.
* Some of Creator/DavidLynch's online projects have names like this.
** ''Rabbits''' title, while not outright deceptive (it ''is'' about rabbits) belies the series' unsettling tone and general air of dread.
** ''WebAnimation/{{Dumbland}}'' is a grotesque piece of DerangedAnimation about a foul-mouthed psychopath's life in a nightmarish version of suburbia. It's very funny, but more than a little disturbing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'':
** The first half of the episode "The Ball Pit Car" lives up to the silly name. The second half? It involves [[spoiler: [[GreaterScopeVillain The Conductor]] showing up, appearing to kill Atticus, Kate Mulgrowl the Cat, and One-One, turning Atticus (who's a talking corgi) into an EldritchAbomination after appearing to kill him, and giving Tulip a BreakingSpeech saying it's her fault her friends were put in danger]].
** Book 3's "The Color Clock Car" is about the group of Grace, Simon, Hazel and Tuba navigating a color changing labyrinth. It ends with [[spoiler:Simon letting Tuba fall to her death to be ground by the wheels of the train and Hazel transforming into a turtle creature.]]
* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Any Given Sundance", where Marge goes to see the independent films ''Regularsville'' and ''Candyland'', which are about poor people and druggies respectively. She eventually gets the gimmick that the title means the opposite of what it is, which makes her think she'll like ''Chernobyl Graveyard'' (she doesn't).
* Downplayed with ''WesternAnimation/SmilingFriends'', it's a comedy, [[BlackComedy but the humor is a lot darker than what the title would have you believe]].
* The title of the ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' episode "Bon Bon the Birthday Clown" refers to a clown whose spirit Star and Janna try to contact with a seance a century after he died in a tragic accident. This isn't even the real focus of the plot, which is Star's growing feelings of jealousy about her best friend dating another girl. [[spoiler:[[DownerEnding It ends with Star breaking down in tears]] after losing a vital heirloom and an important ally to her enemy.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* The 1980s ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Cream_war "Ice Cream Wars"]]'' in Glasgow, Scotland sound almost silly, reminiscent of a lighthearted comedy drama involving the sale of that well-loved dessert. In fact, the ice cream vans in question were being used as a front for drug sales and other criminal activity, and the violent criminal rivalry underpinning this resulted in the deaths of six members of one family in an arson attack.
* The term [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_wars "Banana Wars"]] sounds like a bunch of wars that were ''literally'' [[ThisBananaIsArmed being fought with bananas]]. It was actually a series of military interventions and occupations by the United States in several Central American countries done primarily to protect the monopoly of its fruit companies in the region, which included unrestricted access to the cultivation of bananas (this is where the term "BananaRepublic" also comes from).
* The "Flower Wars", or "Wars of the Blossom", of the Aztec Empire did ''not'' feature Mesoamericans hitting each other with bouquets of flowers. Rather, they were ritualized battles staged for the purpose of acquiring prisoners so they could be taken back to the victors' capital and sacrificed to the gods. (Of course, the sacrificial victims got to [[GreatWayToGo attend a feast held in their honor before their deaths]], so it wasn't ''all'' bad.)
* The similarly named "War of the Roses" was a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne, so named because the two factions, the Yorks and the Lancasters, had a white rose and a red rose, respectively, as their family symbol.
* The 1739-1748 ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Jenkins%27_Ear "War of Jenkins' Ear"]]'' between Great Britain and Spain (part of the UsefulNotes/WarOfTheAustrianSuccession) might have a silly name and a [[SillyReasonForWar questionable]] [[PretextForWar official reason]] behind the declaration of war. But for the 20,000 dead, wounded, missing, or captured on the British side alone, it was most likely far less amusing.
* Swedish history gives us episodes like ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Håtuna_games "the Håtuna games,"]]'' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyköping_Banquet "the Nyköping banquet,"]]'' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalecarlian_Rebellion_(1743) "the great Dalecarlian dance,"]]'' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cudgel_War "the Cudgel War"]]'' and ''the churchbell-rebellion''. These were all nasty episodes of rebellions and coup d'etats.
* "[[DestinationDefenestration Defenestration]]" is an InherentlyFunnyWord, and arguably counts as AmusingInjuries, but really it isn't very funny if it happens to you.
* General Butt Naked, the nickname for Joshua Milton Blahyi, who would lead his Butt Naked Brigade clad exactly as the name suggests, for the benefit of Liberian Warlord Roosevelt Johnson. Said actions including the willful sacrifice and cannibalism of child soldiers, genocides of entire tribes, and at least two confirmed cases of forced female circumcision (and probably many more).
[[/folder]]
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