History Main / MirthlessLaughter

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Starlight Glimmer is prone to these after [[HeelFaceTurn she becomes a good guy]]. Because she's so socially awkward, any situation that Starlight finds upsetting or stressful makes her nervously chuckle, especially if the implications of something terrible that's about to happen are pointed out to her.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "Eclipse Lake", Amity finds Hunter digging in the ground at Eclipse Lake and wonders what he's doing. He tells her that there's no Titan blood left and starts laughing as he explains that since he's failed his one shot at redeeming himself for Belos, he's digging his own grave.

** Pearl has laughed out of nervousness at least once.
** Peridot also did this once she realized she [[spoiler:wouldn't be able to escape from the Cluster]].
** This seems to be a favorite way of showing distress amongst the characters. Lapis does this after Steven answers her question of "What if something bad happens?" with the ArmorPiercingResponse "What if something good happens?" Lapis chuckles mirthlessly at her own trauma-induced paranoia before breaking out into song.

* ''Film/WhenTrumpetsFade'': Manning's last act on this Earth before he dies is to let out a disheartened laugh as Sanderson promises that he'll take him home.

* The final episode of ''Series/BreakingBad'' has [[spoiler: Jesse Pinkman]] laughing brokenly, but relieved, while driving off towards freedom.
** And an even more chilling example happens in the earlier episode [[spoiler: "Crawl Space" when Walt, realizing that he now has no way of escaping his situation, completely snaps and starts laughing until he goes catatonic.]]

* In ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', Craig bursts into inappropriate laughter at his abusive father's funeral.
* This is often a reaction of chefs at times who are in ''Series/HellsKitchen''. Unfortunately, Chef Ramsay doesn't quite seem to understand the concept and will chew them out for not taking things seriously. Either that or he understands perfectly well and is being [[ObfuscatingStupidity purposely obtuse]] as a means of upping the show's drama.
-->'''Van''': I'm not laughing at Chef Ramsay. I laugh when I'm nervous. I laugh when I'm happy.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In the episode "42", after having been [[spoiler: rescued at the last second from the living sun that was possessing him]], the Tenth Doctor reacts by laughing hysterically in relief.

* ''Series/OurMissBrooks'': Happens to Miss Brooks out of stress in "Hobby Show".

* In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', in the backstory, mere days after he graduated from Starfleet Academy, a young Ensign Picard is in a bar fight with a pair of aliens twice his size and ends up stabbed in the back ''through the heart''. His response is to look down at the blade sticking out of his chest and laugh as he collapses to the ground. It's unclear whether this was out of shock or if he found some humor in it, but, observing the event again from the future, the stoic Captain Picard is only embarrassed by the recklessness of his youth. It gets revisited in "Tapestry" and [[spoiler: this time Present-Picard in Young-Picard's body is laughing from relief because he knows history is back on course.]]

* Kitty on ''Series/That70sShow'' does this a great deal.
* On ''Series/TheWire'', George Glekas, (the fence and smuggling specialist for the [[TheSyndicate a worldwide]] drug and [[HumanTrafficking sex trafficking]] organization) can only shake his head and give an angry chuckle when he learns that Ziggy, who he hired for a job smuggling some stolen cars, has decided to take one of the missing cars for a joyride and ''[[StupidCrooks currently has it parked right outside Glekas's store]]''. He does it again shortly afterwards, when Ziggy starts arguing with him over payment for the job, when Glekas only gives him half of the price that was agreed. A Website/TelevisionWithoutPity recap of the episode summarized it thusly:

* On one episode of ''Series/WouldILieToYou'', after a particularly bad showing from his team without a single correct guess all evening, Creator/DavidMitchell declares in frustration that if his team's final guess also turns out to be wrong (and, to add further insult, is when he's siding with a teammate who had previously guessed correctly only to be overruled each time), he's simply going to "laugh at death". Sure enough, the answer turns out to be wrong, provoking a burst of loud, humourless laughter from David:

Compare TechnicallyASmile, where smiling is not for happiness or friendliness but is the animalistic and predatory act of baring one's teeth. Mirthless Laughter may also be the result of a LaughWithMe moment. If the laughter is dispassionate or sarcastic, compare FlatJoy,

Compare TechnicallyASmile, where smiling is not for happiness or friendliness but is the animalistic and predatory act of baring one's teeth. Mirthless Laughter may also be the result of a LaughWithMe moment.

* Rage: Accompanied by the GrinOfRage, some people may begin ominously laughing after someone else has just made them pass their RageBreakingPoint. If they don't stay in a state of TranquilFury, this laughter will gradually grow louder and louder until they’re on the verge of going full-on LaughingMad (if they're not there already), all while now completely berserk. This is a time to run away from the laugher as fast as you can... [[CurbstompBattle not that it will make that much of a difference anyway]].

--->'''Auron:''' Once Lady Yuna can fixes her hair, we leave! ''(everyone laughs)''\\

--->'''Tidus''': "Heh heh heh..." You're givin' me the creeps!