->''"What prophecy doesn't have vague, apocryphal signs? Let's see, the usual ones cited are the appearance of [[{{Dhampir}} Thin Bloods]], [[BiblicalBadGuy Caine sightings]], [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom doom, gloom,]] that route."''
-->-- '''Beckett''', ''VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines''

So the plot of your standard fantasy or adventure story needs to keep referencing the story arc or continuing plot, and the heroes need to know there's some sort of threat and it's big, and dangerous, and evil. Not a problem, unless you can't let the heroes, or the audience, know what that threat actually is.

Hence we get [[MadOracle visions]] and [[InfallibleBabble prophecies]] and bits of [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness vagueness]] like "[[MadeOfEvil Evil]] is coming", "[[YouKnowTheOne The darkness]] will arrive" or possibly "TheEndIsNigh", or some such. The audience is reminded of a coming villain or threat but is never really given a clue what it might be. It could occur once or in [[OnceAnEpisode every episode]]. Omens, like strange animals, strange behavior or peculiar weather can also work.

When the threat is never made explicit and only the effects are shown, see TakeOurWordForIt. If the actual threat fails to impress our frightened heroes, see FeetOfClay.

Goes beyond {{Foreshadowing}}. See also CrypticConversation and OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness. Often YouWillKnowWhatToDo. Even if the audience doesn't.

Subtrope of PortentOfDoom. AStormIsComing is a specific subtrope. Related to ArcWords. Not to be confused with HarbingerOfImpendingDoom.
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Animated Films ]]

* ''WatershipDown:'' "I know now... a terrible thing is coming." ... "something ''very bad is about to'' happen...! ''It's all around us!"''
** (later) "There's a ''bad'' danger coming--" "--It's not good!" (it indeed proves to be [[SugarApocalypse very bad]])
* This is how the main conflict of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'' is set up. Abe Simpson has a "religious experience" in church, culminating in a [[MadOracle strange prophecy]] that everyone initially dismisses as just a foolish old man's eccentricities. His ravings during the episode are all in the form of riddles, so they sound incomprehensible and aren't taken seriously.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* Some of Tiffa's predictions in ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'' fall under this.
* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': The Skull Knight makes his first appearance [[spoiler: after Guts defeats Griffith and leaves the Band of the Hawk]] and tells Guts that from that moment up until [[spoiler: the Eclipse]] in one year, he and his friends have begun walking toward their doom. Though he does not give any more detail about what [[spoiler: the Eclipse]] actually does or signifies, he doesn't hesitate to tell Guts that when it does go down, horrible things will happen, saying that [[AStormIsComing a storm of death will come and consume the Band of the Hawk]] [[spoiler: which is quite literal when the Eclipse actually does happen -- and the chapter where it all starts going down is even called "Storm of Death."]] A year later, [[spoiler: when Griffith reaches his DespairEventHorizon and activates his [[ChekhovsGun Crimson Behelit]] and the Eclipse finally happens]], all Guts could think was that he and his comrades were in terrible danger.
** All of the times that Nosferatu Zodd popped in to remind Guts and the Band of the Hawk about his prophecy was doom on a layaway plan.
* ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'' gives this as an ability to the Saint Church's knight, Knight Carim, allowing her to write vague poems that apparently predict the future. She can only write them once a year, as well. Lampshaded within the show, with the TSAB's higher-ups [[CassandraTruth refusing to believe her prophecies due to vagueness.]] The most major instance of this is when she prophesies the "Ship of Law guarding the land" being destroyed. When [[spoiler:Section Six and the Ground Forces]] are subsequently destroyed, they thought that this was what the prophecy meant (and what the heroes were trying to prevent). [[spoiler:Until the ancient warship of the Belkans, a Lost Logia, is reconstructed by Jail Scaglietti. The prophecy was pointing to Section Six successfully destroying it.]]
* Third Impact from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.
* Since the start of the Grand Magic Games in ''Manga/FairyTail'', the story has constantly tried to foreshadow some terrible, apocalyptic event that will happen the day after the Games end. A few clues have been given to what might happen ([[spoiler:Lucy will in some way be taken out from the plot and Levy will take over her narrator role, several people will die, the knight Arcadios is thinking out the so-called Eclipse Plan which will involve a Stellar Spirit Mage that will be either Yukino or Lucy, and there has been a mention of the Dragon King Feast where humans, dragons and demons will meet]]), but most of it is still shaded in mystery.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comics ]]

* MarvelComics' {{Onslaught}} was introduced without anybody knowing who Onslaught was, [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants including]] its creator. [[TheWorfEffect Just Juggernaut]]... falling from the sky, and when asked who/what happened [[HisNameIs all he could say]] was [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2007/08/16/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-116/ "Onslaught."]]
* In the ''FinalDestination'' (comics, as well as some of the films) the words "it's coming", and "it's here" can be seen at various points.
* In the issues before ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' started, there would be a page of a mysterious fist pounding at a wall, proclaiming "Doomsday is Coming" until it busted through, in which it went "Doomsday is Here!"
* This trope is invoked by Destiny in one issue of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', describing his encounter with the Three Fates: "Their comments were, unsurprisingly, oracular and ambiguous."
* Parodied in ''[[ComicBook/{{Asterix}} Asterix and the Soothsayer]]''. It is about a soothsayer who predicts the vague things that each one wants to hear. That the storm will end and then there will be a good weather, that Obelix would find a girl, that Cacofonix's voice would become a music trend, that the Roman centurion will be promoted... stop. The Roman centurion tolds him that all Gaul soothsayers must be taken to prison, so he cowardly admits he is a fraud who cheats people. But the centurion is so arrogant that he is so damn sure that he would be promoted, and so keeps treating him as a real soothsayer. He even warned the Gaul village (under Roman orders) that the air would be polluted, and that they had to escape; Getafix played a joke on him by actually polluting the air on purpose.
* In Grant Morrison's ''{{JLA}}'' run, the various New Gods the JLA run into say something along the lines of "IT'S COMING!" to foreshadow the arrival of ancient god-weapon Mageddon.
* In ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', Veronica Cale spends a panel foreshadowing ''FinalCrisis'' with a vague, oracular monologue.
* ''InfiniteCrisis'' was set up for years by DC, and during the course of this long game, various characters would make mysterious speeches about "a time of great darkness" and other such variations on that theme.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fanfiction ]]

* The ''Series/{{Firefly}} / Series/DoctorWho'' crossover "Fanfic/TheManWithNoName" has this, with the way River often talks . In this case, she predicts the Doctor at the end of the first chapter. By one of his ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast scary]]'' names.
-->'''Mal:''' She said, and I quote, 'AStormIsComing.'\\
'''Inara:''' [[LampshadeHanging That's...vague]].
* Azael in ''The Foreteller'' seems to only make prophecies using these
--> '''Azael:''' I see three adventures, coming in due time, they are the subject of this rhyme. Before you think “Can he read my mind?” you, large one, are not the last of your kind. Though they are few and scattered away, you will meet them, soon, someday. However, this discovery comes at a price, as you must fight demons, born from ice. Listen to this second vision, in this you will all be found. Fighting the White Death in the forest underground. In the final vision that I see, the Earth will crack asunder, sending you out at sea. You will meet many things that, in the oceans prowl, in particular a cutthroat crew of pirates, foul. However you will be saved, as you should, by one of their number, like you, a villain turned good. That is all that I see, these visions are what they are, do not blame me.
* President P. Resident in Fanfic/TwilightSparklesAwesomeAdventure is bad at describing what Enemy Boss Leader's weapon will do.
--> '''P. Resident:''' And he has an evil weapon that will do bad things to people if you don’t stop him.
* ''[[Fanfic/AFutureOfFriendshipAHistoryOfHate A Future of Friendship, A History of Hate]]'': The [[CoDragons heralds]] each seek out their counterpart among the Mane Six just before [[BigBad Ruinate]]'s escape from his [[SealedEvilInACan prison]] to creepily give a warning/prophecy about it. The girls react with various degrees of fear and confusion.
* In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', the [[BadFuture Dark World]] Series has this happen starting with the StormingTheCastle Arc: [[spoiler: It starts with [[TheStarscream the Valeyard]]'s FinalSpeech implying that Discord isn't the only BigBad they need to worry about. Then Aquamarine, a Sea Pony they meet, warns of an Alicorn Witch coming to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy the world]], and after helping defeat [[OneWingedAngel Odyne]]![[TheDragon Cruelty]], Fluttershy's ghost warns them that they're "Apple Pie's hamster" (Apple Pie's pet hamster is named [[GroundhogDayLoop Groundhog]]). These are all warnings about the true BigBad, [[KnightTemplar Nightmare Eclipse/Paradox]].]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Occurs at various points throughout ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' films.
** "Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumors grew of a shadow in the east... whispers of a nameless fear." "Smoke [[RollYourRs rrises]] from the mountain of Doom. The hour grows late..." "The stars are veiled. Something stirs in the east... a sleepless malice. The eye of the Enemy is ''moving!"'' Granted it can be excused, as due to the current times ''everyone'' knows what's being talked about.
* Renfield in ''Film/BramStokersDracula'': "The Maaaster is coming!" (of course the audience know who the Master is, but the unwitting inhabitants of London don't, yet).
* ''The Living Wake'' centers around the protagonist's "vague and grave disease".
* The omnipresent thread of the looming [[NothingIsScarier Nothing]] in the first half of ''Film/TheNeverendingStory''.
* The Jedi council deals with this in the three ''StarWars'' prequels. "Dark, his future is..." as Yoda describes it - but evidently not so dark as to interfere.
** In every ''Franchise/StarWars'' film there's a least one person who has "...a bad feeling about this."
** Even the subtitle of ''Episode I'', ''The Phantom Menace'', suggests VaguenessIsComing (it's clear to someone familiar with the original trilogy but otherwise it's played straight).
* ''Film/EventHorizon'' - when [[spoiler::Justin temporarily regains consciousness after spending time in vacuum]], his contribution to the conversation is "It's coming... the ''dark''..."
* ''Film/TwoThousandTenTheYearWeMakeContact''. Dave Bowman arrives and tells everyone they've got to get their butts in gear and leave within 2 days. ''Everyone'' asks what's going to happen, and all Dave bothers saying is "Something wonderful". I guess "[[spoiler:the monolith is going to transform Jupiter into a sun]]" would be too hard for folks to understand.
* Bert in ''Film/MaryPoppins''. "Wind's in the east. Mist coming in. Like something is brewing, about to begin. Can't put my finger on what lies in store. But I feel what's to happen, has all happened before."

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Creator/AlanDeanFoster's ''HumanxCommonwealth'' series. Over the course of several books Flinx learned of a horrible undefined UltimateEvil that was sweeping toward Humanx space and would annihilate everything (and everyone) in its path. In ''Flinx Transcendent'' he destroyed it.
* "AStormIsComing" in NeilGaiman's ''Literature/AmericanGods'' - the storm is mostly [[{{Foreshadowing}} metaphorical]].
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce'': Luke felt the coming of the man who doesn't exist. Not kidding.
* ZigZagged in ''WatershipDown'' -- the [[WaifProphet prophetic rabbit]] Fiver foresees disaster for the warren but is unable to [[YouHaveToBelieveMe coherently explain it]]. The canny Chief Rabbit does not entirely dismiss the possibility, but he decides that whatever the disaster might be, it will be safer to wait it out. It turns out to be a calamity beyond the ability of rabbits to describe.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ConanTheBarbarian story "Literature/BlackColossus", a terrible storm is combined with other omens.
-->''"Whence came Natohk?" rose the Shemite's vibrant whisper. "Out of the desert on a night when the world was blind and wild with mad clouds driven in frenzied flight across the shuddering stars, and the howling of the wind was mingled with the shrieking of the spirits of the wastes. Vampires were abroad that night, witches rode naked on the wind, and werewolves howled across the wilderness. On a black camel he came, riding like the wind, and an unholy fire played about him; the cloven tracks of the camel glowed in the darkness. When Natohk dismounted before Set's shrine by the oasis of Aphaka, the beast swept into the night and vanished. And I have talked with tribesmen who swore that it suddenly spread gigantic wings and rushed upwards into the clouds, leaving a trail of fire behind it. No man has seen that camel since that night, but a black brutish manlike shape shambles to Natohk's tent and gibbers to him in the blackness before dawn."''
* Parodied in ''BoredOfTheRings'', where Goodgulf tries to warn Dildo with a series of portentous statements, going from "Evil Ones are afoot in the lands" to "There is a dog in the manger."
* Justified in ''TheDresdenFiles''- vague statements and misdirection are a way of preventing time paradoxes. For example, the Gatekeeper's extremely vague message about dark magic in ''Proven Guilty'' is actually the start of a convoluted GambitRoulette to get around the fact that if he told the rest of the White Council about [[spoiler:the impending vampire attack]], they'd evacuate and [[spoiler:the attack]] wouldn't happen, so he couldn't have foreseen it. It also serves to set up events so that [[spoiler:Molly isn't executed as a warlock]].
** In Harry's internal monologues, he's noting a decreasingly-vague threat in the form of the Black Council. FridgeLogic has that because in the Dresdenverse names have so much power, it's possible that by thinking about and searching for the Black Council, he's defining its essence. It's also possible that they didn't really have their act in gear before. We'll see.
* ''ASongOfIceAndFire'': The motto of House Stark: "Winter is coming".
** Which in itself is perfectly straightforward and not vague at all. Only Winter [[spoiler: includes an invasion of Others and the reanimated zombies of their victims coming down from the North to invade Westeros]]. The prophecies about the 'The Prince that was Promised' and the 'Song of Ice and Fire' fit the trope as well.
* Used many times in the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' series. For example, in ''Midnight'', we actually see [=StarClan=] recieve the vision, but they are ''incredibly'' vague about it. A conversation from the first two pages:
-->'''Bluestar:''' A new prophecy has come! A great doom that will change everything has been foretold in the stars.\\
'''Oakheart''': I have seen this too. There will be doubt, and a great challenge.\\
'''Bluestar:''' Darkness, air, sky, and water will come together and shake the forest to its roots. Nothing will be as it is now, nor as it has been before.\\
'''Random cat:''' A great storm is coming.\\
'''Nightstar:''' Can nothing change what is about to happen? Not even the courage and spirit of the greatest warrior?\\
'''Bluestar:''' The doom will come. But if the Clans meet it like warriors, they may survive.
** And what did all that vagueness refer to? Humans building a housing development in the forest.
* Pretty much the story of HarryPotter's life. He's given nibbles that there's something terrifying on the horizon - and as a matter of fact a very clear prophecy was given about him... that he isn't told about for five books.
* Mocked by Angela the herbalist in ''Eldest'', the second book of ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' in making a DoomyDoomsOfDoom prediction. "Mmm....she's doomed! You're doomed!! They're all doomed! Notice I didn't specify what kind of doom, so no matter what happens, I predicted it. How very WISE of me."
* Explained in the SwordOfTruth as a limitation of prophecy and a language barrier of sorts: first of all, there are a lot of variables that the prophet isn't let in on. Secondly, prophets have a very hard time describing the phenomenon to anyone without the gift of prophecy - it would be at least as hard as explaining colors to a person born blind.
** Adding to the excitement, some prophecies are false, a prophet rarely has a sense of time or place regarding when or where their prophecy will occur, and a prophet rarely has context for a prophecy - he might witness cheering at an execution, and get the wrong impression because he doesn't know that the person being executed was a mass-murderer.
* Justified in GoodOmens, which features ''The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch''. The Author managed to foresee centuries worth of events, including [[BurntheWitch her own death]] ([[TakingYouWithMe for which she planned accordingly]]), the apocalypse [[spoiler: [[AntiAntiChrist or lack therof]], and the world that came after.]] The problem is that she saw things well beyond her time, and described them in ways that could rarely be deciphered until after they came to pass. How could one describe the Kennedy assassination in a time when Dallas didn't exist?
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In the [[MadeForTVMovie miniseries]] version of ''TheStand'', Mother [[MagicalNegro Abagail]] helpfully informs the heroes: ''"The Beast is loose in the fields of Bethlehem. The rats are in the corn!"'' She also says "AStormIsComing. ''[[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed His]]'' storm!" And "the rats are his."
** Both quote Creator/{{Yeats}}: "What rough Beast, its hour come round at last, ''[[SlouchOfVillainy slouches toward]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Bethlehem]]'' to be born?"
* ''Series/DoctorWho:''
** In 'The Beast Below', an episode of ''Series/DoctorWho'', there is a creature that everyone refers to only as...[[TitleDrop The Beast Below]].
** Practically all of the ArcWords of the revival of ''Doctor Who'' count as a vague threat - "Bad Wolf" (though that turned out to be a good thing), "The girl will die in battle", "You have something on your back", "He will knock four times", "The song is ending", "Darkness is coming", "The Pandorica Will Open", "Silence Will Fall", "Tick-Tock, goes the clock".
** "The Fires of Pompeii" is chock-full of this in [[IceCreamKoan even more bizarre form]] than usual, because the characters are ancient Romans being influenced by an alternative timeline to develop psychic powers which they naturally attribute to the gods and accordingly couch in all kinds of MeaninglessMeaningfulWords. Which is why it's nice when the Doctor eventually gets sick of it.
--->'''Pyrovile:''' We... are... awakening!\\
'''The Doctor:''' Name yourself! Planet of origin, galactic coordinates, species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation!\\
'''Pyrovile:''' WE... ARE... RISING!!\\
'''The Doctor:''' ''[imitating it]'' TELL... ME... YOUR NAME!
** "''Silence will fall''" is especially terrifying, given the circumstances under which it's revealed. And then we find out it's a bit of a mistranslation; "[[spoiler:Silence ''must'' fall, when the question is asked]]".
* Much of the fanfare around the First Evil in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' - ''"From beneath you, it devours."''
** On ''Buffy,'' Dawn was anticipated three times in a DreamSequence: Faith talking about "Little Miss Muffet," and with Faith saying "Little sis is coming" and Buffy responding [[YouWillKnowWhatToDo "I know."]] And once with Tara saying "be back before Dawn."
*** Note, the first of these was at the end of Season 3. Dawn came around in Season 5. Joss plans way too far ahead.
* The Beast's arrival in season 4 of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' is foreseen in vague implications of fire and blood.
* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'':
** The Abaddon gets a few of these in the first series.
** ''"The twenty-first century is when everything changes."'' Repeated every few episodes, and in the opening narration.
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' adored this trope. Just about every season finale/season premiere (and quite a few regular episodes) would end with someone saying something along these lines.
** At least once, it was actually lampshaded--the psychic who advised Claire about her baby warned her that blurriness is a very bad sign in a premonition.
* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' Jor-El tries to get Clark to stop Darkseid's hold on the world, but is so vague about it that Clark thinks he's talking about something else entirely, and stops that instead. Jor-El responds by yelling at him. Well ''sorry'' Jor-El, but maybe if you communicated better you wouldn't have this problem.
** Considering [[IgnoredExpert his prior track record]]...yeah.
* Played dead straight in the 2011-12 season finale of ''Series/{{Fringe}}.'' After the main action of the episode is wrapped up, one of the Observers appears to say to the hero "They are coming." and the season ends.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Music ]]

* The entirety of BobDylan's famous song [[AStormIsComing "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"]] (about [[NukeEm nuclear]] [[TheEndIsNigh armageddon]], [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible if you listen closely enough]]) is made of this trope. Here's an excerpt:
-->I saw a [[WildChild newborn baby with wild wolves all around it]].\\
I saw a [[GhostCity highway of diamonds with nobody on it]].\\
I saw a [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank black branch with blood that kept drippin']].\\
I saw a [[{{Gorn}} room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin']].\\
I saw a [[BladeofGrassCut white ladder all covered with water]].\\
I saw [[TheSpeechless ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken]].\\
I saw [[ChildSoldier guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children]] ...\\
\\
I heard [[ThunderboltsAndLightning the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin']].\\
I heard [[GiantWallOfWateryDoom the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world]] ...\\
Heard the [[SadClown sound of a clown who cried in the alley]] ...\\
\\
I met a [[MoodDissonance young child beside a dead pony]].\\
I met a [[BlackAndWhiteMorality white man who walked a black dog]].\\
I met a [[IncendiaryExponent young woman whose body was burning]].\\
I met a [[HallmarkSentiment young girl, she gave me a rainbow]]...\\
\\
Where the [[DyingLikeAnimals people are many and their hands are all empty]]\\
Where the [[GaiasLament pellets of poison are flooding their waters]] ...\\
Where the [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen executioner's face is always well hidden]] ...\\
Where [[DarkIsEvil black is the color]], where [[NumerologicalMotif none is the number]]...\\
\\
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard\\
And [[AStormIsComing it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall]].
* Still more ominous is Tom Waits' "Starving in the Belly of the Whale", delivered in his usual cross between MetalGrowl and drunken hobo singing:
-->Don't take my word\\
Just look skyward\\
They that dance must pay the fiddler\\
Sky is dark'ning\\
Dogs are barking\\
The caravan moves on
* "Bad Moon Rising": "Hope you have got your things together / Hope you are quite prepared to die. / Looks like we're in for nasty weather / One eye is taken for an eye"
** While the original is pretty upbeat, Rasputina did a pretty ominous-sounding cover version.
* In the lyrics of both "7 Days to the Wolves" by Music/{{Nightwish}} and "The Howling" by WithinTemptation, time is running out and some wolves/howling things are coming, and... that's about it. Similarly, in "End of All Hope" by Nightwish, this is the end of all hope, because... [[WordSaladLyrics well]], it's the end of all hope. And in Within Temptation's "Stand My Ground", "it" is totally coming and she's going to stand her ground against it; and in "Forsaken", the day has come and there's no time any more, and they are forsaken.
* Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "Your Horoscope For Today" is surprisingly clear for all its predictions, but tells Taurus "...The stars predict tomorrow you'll wake up, do a bunch of stuff, and then go back to sleep."

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Professional Wrestling ]]

* [[ImpactWrestling TNA]] was VERY bad with this during the THEY storyline. For most of the arc, Sting, Kevin Nash, and the Pope were being so vague that if they had just told Dixie Carter who THEY were, the whole mess that they have on their hands right now could have been dealt with!

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* The {{Ravenloft}} metaplot features a prophecy that alludes to a [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Time of Unparalleled Darkness"]]. Very few details are given as to the specifics, other than [[CaptainObvious it sounds bad]]. Events like the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Grand Conjunction]], the Grim Harvest, the disappearance of Ruldolph van Richten, and the outright disappearance of several island domains have all been hinted as leading up to this time of [[BuffySpeak climactic badness]]. Considering the [[WorldHalfEmpty themes]] already present in the {{Ravenloft}} setting as a default, that's saying something.
** The Grand Conjunction itself was one at the time. A prophecy by the Hyskosa, the setting's Nostradamus analogue, laid out six incredibly vague events that, when brought to pass, would lead to the destruction of the entire demiplane. Only interference by Azalin, who had been [[ChessMaster manipulating events]] to bring the prophecies about ahead of time and inadvertently [[NiceJobFixingItVillain juxtaposing the last two verses]] prevented the Grand Conjunction from taking hold in full. Even so, the turmoil was tremendous, leading to a modified [[ApocalypseHow Class 1]], with several domains shuffled, lost, destroyed, and even discovered, along with a massive BottomlessPit covering hundreds of square miles in the center of the Core's landmass.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

* [[ZerothLaw The three witches]] of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' only mention [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "something wicked"]] once, [[GreekChorus to introduce]] the title character now that he's become an evil tyrant, but their "Double, double toil and trouble" speech arguably counts.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Toys ]]

* In ''{{Bionicle}}'', Gaaki's Mask of Clairvoyance gives her visions of the future, and for some reason causes her to speak in extremely vague terms. However, her teammates are occasionally able to decipher her ramblings, eg "Seekers of Shadows" means the Dark Hunters.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In Chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/AnotherCode'', one of the puzzles you solve reveals the message "Bill will come". You don't get any more info about Bill until Chapter 4, but it's a nice, vague warning about the game's antagonist.
* In the Witch Hunt DLC for ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', Morrigan alludes to some great change that is coming to the world of Thedas and suggests that the child created from the [[DeusSexMachina Dark Ritual]] was "a herald for what is to come."
-->'''Morrigan:''' Change is coming to the world. Many fear change and will fight it with every fiber of their being. But sometimes … change is what they need most.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Flemeth herself suggests that Hawke will be a prominent figure in world-changing events.
-->'''Flemeth:''' We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment ...and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap.
* The original ''BaldursGate'' is full of references by miscellaneous oracles and people in the know to something dark being about to happen in general and looming in the PlayerCharacter's destiny in particular. When you're playing a second time and know what it is all about, it's amazing you didn't guess the answer the first time from all the hints.
* The tutorial level of ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' has quite a lot of this. But don't be afraid - the door's not yet open.
* CityOfHeroes has/had "The Coming Storm", which was introduced in Issue 9 as the background plot justification for Ouroboros (Which lets you travel through time). The plot line was dropped until Issue 19 (that's right, 10 whole issues), where "The Coming Storm" seems to be happening now, with the incursion of the Praetorians.
** The Praetorian invasion may not even have been it. Issue 21 (12 issues later) brings a meteor storm / Shivan invasion that would seem to be the beginning of the "storm", as it ties in with a mission in the Ouroboros introductory arc. As of issue 22 (February 2012), the Dark Astoria arcs somewhat clarify what "the Coming Storm" may be: [[spoiler:An alien invasion force known as the "Battalion", of which the Shivans are only part of their force.]] Naturally, the contact who tells you this admits that they aren't certain of it, however.
** In addition to Ouroboros, the NPC [[ClassicalMythology Prometheus]] who offers semi-tutorial information for the [[ExtendedGameplay end-game]] [[PrestigeClass Incarnate system]] also can be coaxed into revealing non-specific hints as to future events (or confirm your own suspicions about the events occuring in the world). However, to unlock [[DialogueTree these discussions]], you'll have to show completion of certain tasks and trials.
* One of the side missions in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' ends with Batman receiving one of these, ostensibly as setup for the next game.
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer: Tiberium Wars'': In the few missions before he [[FakingTheDead supposedly dies]], Kane is very nearly giddy about the arrival of... something. It's only once it shows up that anybody else, player included, learns that it's ''aliens''. '''[[AlienInvasion Hostile]]''' aliens. He's equally cryptic about what "ascension" is ([[spoiler:he's an alien who was exiled onto Earth in prehistoric times and after [[GeneralFailure Vega]] crashed the ship Kane built to escape the planet in GDI territory, [[MagnificentBastard Kane intentionally lured the Scrin onto Earth in order to hijack their]] [[PortalNetwork wormhole technology]] [[XanatosSpeedChess instead]]]]), and [[TheChessmaster basically everything else]].
* TheWildHunt in ''TheWitcher'' games is played for this trope, a mysterious force that Geralt is either chasing or fleeing even though he doesn't even know why. It seems that it's being set up as a major plot element of the inevitable third game.
* The Keepers in ''{{Thief}}'' are an entire organization dedicated to interpreting such prophecies, devoting years of study to each of them and maintaining a gigantic library full of materials on them. Garrett (on those rare occasions that he works with them) is notably irritated by how vague the prophecies always are.
* In ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2 Final Fantasy XIII-2]]'', both Cocoon and Gran Pulse are prophesied to be doomed, but the exact nature of the calamity remains unclear because time has been twisted and warped so many times that any of a number of things could cause it.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod''
--> '''[[TheChessmaster Yu Han-Sung]]''': Soon a wave strong enough to shake the entire Tower will form.
** And that wave is 25th Baam.
* Lampshaded by [[http://adventurers.keenspot.com/d/0134.html this]] Adventurers! strip.
* In ''ImpureBlood'' [[http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Issue4PAGES/ib078.html Dark forces are rising]].
* In ''{{Doodze}}'', [[http://seguemediagroup.com/doodze/?p=749 there's trouble coming, I just know it.]]
* In [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/11/23 this]] Webcomic/PennyArcade, an impending hell[[note]][[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/03/20 Scarytown, probably.]][[/note]] of a DungeonsAndDragons session incites deathly chills.
* What may be the final years-long mega StoryArc in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' started with hints that the Web of Fate has an enormous tangle of some sort and is due to break soon, indicating some kind of cataclysmic events in the world, which it reflects. It's since been revealed that this apparently refers to [[spoiler: events, seen to be taking place in the future in several parallel dimensions, where almost everything on the surface of the Earth is sent to other random dimensions, also potentially leading to a collapse of the whole dimension from such abuse of portal technology.]] However, the exact form of the events taking place in the here and now is still unknown.
* Generally averted in Webcomic/DominicDeegan. All seers are as specific and detailed about their visions as possible. Dominic himself is somewhat dismissive of this trope, quipping that a seer who resorts to this is "disguising his ignorance with cliche mysticism". That said, the comic doesn't completely avoid this trope, using once in a while for some tension.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* From the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', for weeks prior to Dagon beginning his ritual to release the [[EldritchAbomination Great Old Ones]] onto the Earth, every mystic hero (and villain, for that matter) whose name wasn't "Dagon" started receiving the same warning, "They are coming!" The warning showed up in the dialog of TV shows, it would appear in casual conversations with friends, in crossword puzzles, in dreams, and so on. As Dagon's ritual neared completion, the warnings became more and more blatant and obvious until, at one point, a random stranger walked up to Warlock and screamed "THEY ARE COMING!" into his face.
* In the WhateleyUniverse, Chaka received a rhyming prediction (or series of predictions) from a prognosticator. The entire team has sat down and gone over the poem, and not even TeenGenius Phase can make any sense out of it.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* In the ''HotWheelsBattleForce5'' episode ''Better Off Red'', Sage states something even worse than the Red Sentients is coming and she's building a weapon to try and stop it. A lot of her strange behavior that episode seems to simply be because she's terrified of whatever this evil is to the point she didn't want to tell the group about it and hoped never to face it. The season finale reveals that this new enemy is the Ancient Ones, but nothing more is explained except rather frightening shadowy images of them and the fact they predate the Sentients (who created the multiverse). These facts, along with the fact their name seems to be a ShoutOut to the Old Ones, heavily implies they're in EldritchAbomination territory.
* ''{{Squidbillies}}'' mocks this trope on a number of occasions with Granny's GhostStories... which invariably [[WeirdnessMagnet come true]] and the actual menace turns out to be every bit as [[FeetOfClay vague and nonsensical]].
* [[VillainOfTheWeek Protoclown's]] arrival on ''TheTick'' was simply described as "It's coming!"
* In the season 3 premiere of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Princess Celestia is signing papers in her throne room when a guard rushes in to inform her "''It'' has returned", causing her to drop everything. "It" turns out to refer to [[VanishingVillage the Crystal Empire]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Nostradamus wasn't exactly clear with his predictions.
* The Literature/TheBible's Book of Revelations can apply to many ages.
* "Prophets" who have predicted the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt tend to keep things vague so they can update them when their 'prophecy' doesn't pan out.
* In general, clairvoyants, astrologers, tea leaf readers, fortune tellers, cold readers -- anyone who claims to be able to talk to the dead, predict the future or glean specific details about a person -- will make statements so vague they're meaningless and let the listener fill in the details. This is done because a statement like "You will face hard times, but things will get better" apply to absolutely ''everyone'', so they can always claim to be correct. Which is why, if you ever do actually get a ''specific'' prediction, ''THAT'' would be the time to start worrying...
** That, or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_end_times_prediction just ignore it like every other insane predication]].
** Our brains are wired to make order out of chaos and find patterns in things which have none. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia Pareidolia]] is what this is called. So no matter what random line of words you are given, given enough time you can figure out some meaning in it. No matter how vague a psychic's prophecy is, if you put your mind to it you'll figure something out. Psychics argue that if it's helping people handle things in the end, then there's no harm done. Those who have had their money taken and finally realized that they've been fed a load of bull may beg to differ.
** An experiment demonstrating the vagueness of horoscopes has a lot of people given a piece of paper with "their" horoscope written on it. When asked if it applies to them (and invariably it will, being so vague), they're asked to switch it with their neighbour and see if it still applies. When they switch them, they find out that all the horoscopes are identical, and just written so vaguely they apply to everyone in the room.
[[/folder]]
-------