History Main / CarouselKidnapping

* In the Lifetime movie ''Taken Back: Finding Haley'', the main character's daughter is abducted from one.

In the era of the PedoHunt, [[MissingChild losing sight of one's child]] in a crowd of strangers is a major cause of AdultFear in any parent. In parks, shopping centers, or at public gatherings of any sort, responsible caregivers feel obliged to keep a wary eye on their young charges at all times.

* In the Lifetime movie ''Taken Back: Finding Haley'', the main character's daughter is abducted from one.

* Not a child exactly, but in ''Film/JackTheReaper'', Maya is watching Sommer and Tina go round and round on the carousel, and then then carousel comes round again and Tina is gone; with just the blanket she had wrapped round her lying on the animal she had been riding.
* In the Korean drama film Intruder (2020), the protagonist's younger sister Yoo-Jin is shown and assumed to be lost/kidnapped at an amusement park nearby the carousel. It happened when he was a child and grows up feeling responsible and guilt-ridden. [[ParentalNeglect Even though it was his parents fault.]] Which breeds anxiety and psychological issues as an adult. But in the start of the film, [[LongLostRelative she is back in his life...]]

* Inverted in the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Uncanny Valley". When the Unsub realized [[LivingDollCollector the women she kidnapped to be living dolls were no longer living]], she'd leave them in places of child-like happiness, including one on a carousel.
* Flashbacks reveal this is how Holden was abducted by the Countess in ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryHotel''.

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!!Examples

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!Examples

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Common in PoliceProcedural series, or in tales using a CircusOfFear setting ... so much so, any crime show or thriller that includes a carousel scene but ''doesn't'' use this trope practically rates as a subversion.

In the era of the PedoHunt, losing sight of one's child in a crowd of strangers is a major cause of AdultFear in any parent. In parks, shopping centers, or at public gatherings of any sort, responsible caregivers feel obliged to keep a wary eye on their young charges at all times.

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* Comical [[MookHorrorShow villainous variant]] in ''TheDreamstone''. In the episode "The Dream Beam Invasion", the heroes chase the villains around in a fairground themed dream, getting the upper hand on them on a carousel.
* Parodied in ''FamilyGuy'' episode "Stewie Loves Lois". When Peter [[SelfServingMemory recites]] the day he was "molested" by his doctor during a prostate exam, he imagines a Film Noir parody scenario with Dr Hartman laughing evilly on a carousel as he apprehends Peter.

* Inverted in the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Uncanny Valley". When the Unsub realized the women she kidnapped to be living dolls were no longer living, she'd leave them in places of child-like happiness, including one on a carousel.

* In the Lifetime movie,Taken Back: Finding Haley the main character's daughter is abducted from one.

* In the Lifetime movie,Taken Back:Finding Haley the main character's daughter is abducted from one.

For obvious reasons, major theme parks do '''not''' like this trope and are reluctant to allow film crews to stage it on their premises, so it's nearly always played out at a (nameless) Crappy Carnival or public attraction. Ferris wheels can be used as a substitute if combined with VerticalKidnapping, or if it's the loved one waiting at ground level who vanishes.

For obvious reasons, real theme parks do '''not''' like this trope or allow film crews to stage it on their premises, so it's nearly always played out at a (nameless) Crappy Carnival or public attraction. Ferris wheels can be used as a substitute if combined with VerticalKidnapping, or if it's the loved one waiting at ground level who vanishes.

But there's one form of children's entertainment that breaks that line-of-sight contact by its very nature: the carousel. And writers haven't let the blinking lights and bright colors distract them from noticing this; if anything, the forced cheerfulness of the environment only makes the shock of a Carousel Kidnapping all the sharper. The child goes round and round, their laughing face catching the parent's eye once, twice... and on the next pass, they're ''gone''.

In the era of the PedoHunt, losing sight of one's child in a crowd of strangers is a major cause of AdultFear in any parent. In parks, shopping centers, or at public gatherings of any sort, responsible caregivers keep a wary eye on their young charges at all times.

In the era of the PedoHunt, losing sight of one's child in a crowd of strangers is a major cause of AdultFear in any parent. In parks, shopping centers, or at public gatherings of all sorts, responsible caregivers keep a wary eye on their young charges at all times.

* Comical villainous variant in ''TheDreamstone''. In the episode "The Dream Beam Invasion", the heroes chase the villains around in a fairground themed dream, getting the upper hand on them on a carousel.

* In ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'', Ethan has a blackout while his son Shaun is riding a carousel. When he snaps out of it, Shaun is missing.