Basic Trope: A monster, usually a vampire or The Soulless, doesn't have a reflection.
- Straight: Vorlak the Vampire doesn't have a reflection.
- Exaggerated:
- Someone paints Vorlak the Vampire's portrait and it vanishes as soon as they are finished with it.
- Someone finishes carving a bust of Vorlak the Vampire and when they turn around it is suddenly an untouched, featureless block of marble.
- Downplayed:
- Justified:
- Vorlak doesn't show up on a thermal imaging camera because his body temperature matches the surrounding air.
- Wilma the Witch cast a non-reflection spell on Vorlak to punish him for his excessive time checking himself on the mirror.
- Vorlak is a hologram/illusion, and making shadows is too advanced.
- The mirrors Vorlak always looks in are made from silver, which vampires in this setting have a weakness to.
- Inverted:
- Vorlak turns invisible but mirrors still show his reflection.
- People can see Vorlak... but only through mirrors, camera footage, and similar means.
- Subverted:
- Vorlak fakes having no reflection as part of a "Scooby-Doo" Hoax, having a mirror in his room that is actually a window to an identical room.
- Vorlak doesn't appear in mirrors and photography film containing silver, but he can be recorded in digital formats or alternative chemistries.
- Vorlak actually covers the reflection with an illusion - it is still there physically.
- Double Subverted: ...as a blur.
- Parodied:
- Vorlak checks himself on the mirror every morning, despite being invisible.
- Vorlak's house is full of portraits of him and his family. They show nothing but increasingly bizarre floating clothes and items.
- Vorlak sends nudes to Alice. The photos show nothing.
- People think the reason vampires don't have intact mirrors in their house is because they shatter them all upon seeing themselves as nothing. The actual reason is because they lose the ability to pass the 'mirror test' and soon wind up arguing and fighting their own reflection. Vampires are majorly embarrassed by this secret.
- Zig Zagged:
- Vorlak's reflection fades or disappears, either at random or under certain conditions.
- Some vampires have reflections, others don't.
- Vorlak has no reflection in mirrors, but can be seen in photographs. He can be seen in video recordings, too, but his voice can't be heard for some reason.
- Averted:
- Light bounces off Vorlak and mirrors exactly the way mundane physics dictates.
- Alternatively, The Mirror Shows Your True Self, causing Vorlak to suffer Glamour Failure.
- Enforced:
- The work creator has researched vampire lore and Shown Their Work.
- The work creator's boss thinks that the audience won't realize that Vorlak is a vampire without some blatant and repeated indicators.
- Lampshaded:
- Alice wonders out loud how Vorlak can use a toothbrush to get the bloodstains off his fangs without the aid of mirrors to see if he missed a spot.
- Alice asks Vorlak why he even owns a mirror if he cannot use one.
- Alice wonders why Vorlak's clothes don't reflect.
- Invoked: Bob creates a vampiric spell that causes him to be invisible to both reflective telescopes and photography to help preserve The Masquerade.
- Exploited:
- Bob fetches a mirror and uses it for an Impostor-Exposing Test to see who is the vampire hiding among the humans. Alternatively, Vorlak uses a mirror in the same way but to see who is the human hiding among the vampires.
- During a Chase Scene through a Hall of Mirrors that reveal everyone's position to everyone else, Vorlak has the advantage of stealth.
- Vorlak is an avid shoplifter, confident that the CCTV won't record him.
- Defied: Bob makes his lifelong goal to design and manufacture a mirror that can reflect Vorlak's image.
- Discussed: Alice and Bob are trying to determine if Vorlak is a vampire, and Alice suggests confronting him with a mirror and seeing if he has a reflection.
- Conversed: Alice and Bob are watching a movie, and Bob asks why Vorlak would fill his castle with mirrors if he has no reflection.
- Implied:
- Vorlak's house is suspiciously devoid of mirrors and other reflective surfaces.note
- After a heist, police releases wanted posters of every other member of the gang based on security footage, but not Vorlak.
- Played For Laughs:
- Peeping Tammy wants to spy on Vorlak undressing and gets a periscope
(which uses mirrors) to do so. She Didn't Think This Through and is thwarted when the periscope doesn't reflect his image. - Alice is fixing her makeup in a large mirror. Behind her, Vorlak approaches and gives a friendly greeting. Startled, Alice reflexively hits Vorlak, who is either comedically injured or supernaturally tough. Alice scolds, "Don't Sneak Up on Me Like That!!"
- Peeping Tammy wants to spy on Vorlak undressing and gets a periscope
- Played For Drama: Vorlak is a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire about to undergo an Impostor-Exposing Test in a room full of humans ready to commit Van Helsing Hate Crimes.
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