Basic Trope: Photographs that are/show the supernatural.
- Straight:
- Bob looks at a picture, and it shows a ghostly orb behind Alice.
- Bob looks at a picture, and it reveals an alien monster standing off to the side of his friends.
- Bob looks at a picture, and it shows Alice horrifically injured. A few days later, Alice dies in an accident.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob looks at a picture, and it shows an army of ghosts, hostile aliens, and spooks all around everyone.
- Bob looks at a picture, and it shows Alice horrifically injured, Charlie without an arm and a leg, a pile of ash in Dracone's place, Eva staring at the camera with crazed eyes, and Tropey the Wonder Dog frothing at the mouth. Hours later, Alice dies in an accident (which cuts off two of Charlie's limbs), Dracone gets burned to death, Tropey shows signs of rabies, and Eva is Mind Raped and driven to insanity.
- Downplayed:
- Bob looks at a picture, and sees something vaguely wrong off in the distance.
- Bob looks at a picture and sees Alice wearing a bandage on her thumb that she wasn't wearing when he took the picture. A few days later, she cuts her thumb while fixing something.
- Justified:
- Aliens and ghosts have ways of fooling humans, but machines give them away.
- The camera is specifically enchanted to show the future.
- Or worse, the camera adjusts the future to its liking
- Inverted:
- Bob looks at a picture, and it shows a friendly alien off to the side.
- Bob looks at a picture, and it shows Alice excitedly showing off a swath of dollar bills.
- Subverted:
- Bob looks at a picture and sees an alien monster...but it turns out it's friendly.
- Bob looks at a picture and sees Alice horrifically injured...but then Alice gets the break she's wanted in show business and becoming a horror star.
- Double Subverted:
- ...At least, that's what the alien wanted them to think.
- Then Alice dies horrifically in an accident on set, ending up looking just like the photo.
- Zigzagged: ???
- Parodied:
- The picture shows a ghost doing something mundane, like drinking a glass of milk.
- The picture shows Alice stubbing her toe.
- Averted: The photos don't show anything more or less scary than what they are meant to show.
- Enforced:
- The author wants a way for the heroes to spot the aliens, but also explain why no one has noticed them.
- The author wants a way to build up suspense as the heroes try to break the curse.
- Lampshaded:Bob: When most people get pictures back, the worst thing they have to worry about is bad hair days.
- Invoked: Dr. Science, a friend of Bob's, invents a special camera that can show unusual phenomena.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: ???
- Discussed:
- "If you're having trouble finding the ghost haunting this house, try using the camera. No ghost can resist having their picture taken."
- Conversed: ???
Before you go back to Spooky Photographs, would you like me to take your picture? [click]
