History Main / CreepyMonotone

* Paul von Oberstein from ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' has a trademark monotone and is one of the grey characters of the series. While he has thrown his lot in with Reinhard, he also has his own goals and apparently has little need for the fellowship of the other admirals. [[spoiler:His actions lead to the death of Siegfried Kircheis, Reinhard's closest friend in an assassination targeting Reinhard.]] He is also a participant in the events that lead to [[spoiler:Oscar von Reuental's rebellion]], although he later exhibits something, not unlike sympathy.

** The Cybermen from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E6TheMoonbase "The Moonbase"]] onwards, and current. (In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E2TheTenthPlanet "The Tenth Planet"]], they spoke in a creepy emotionless [[AccentUponTheWrongSyllable sing-song]] modelled on early 'singing computers' like IBM 7094.)
** The sociopathic and terrifying Himmler-{{Expy}} Nyder in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks "Genesis of the Daleks"]] has this as his affect. He's remembered as one of the scariest supporting characters in the story because of this, even next to [[EvilIsHammy Davros]] and the Daleks.

* Some musicians, like David Byrne and Peter Murphy, are known for frequently employing an affectionless creepy monotone singing voice.

* Music/{{Radiohead}}'s "Fitter Happier" uses this trope ([[SyntheticVoiceActor perfectly monotone]] [[MachineMonotone as only a computer can be]]) in addition to ''insanely'' creepy lyrics.
** Thom Yorke, the singer, sometimes actually slips into this, especially on the albums ''Kid A'' and ''Amnesiac''.

* [[Music/{{OFWGKTA}} Tyler the Creator]] does this in his song "Fish," which details the thoughts of a man who is either a cannibalistic, necrophiliac serial killer and rapist or who has an incredibly unhealthy obsession with fish.

* ''Series/RedDwarf:'' In the episode "Quarantine", Rimmer maintains an entirely level monotone while asking the others if they think there might perhaps be something... amiss with his behaviour. After he's mentioned he's been watching them argue, entirely silent, for two (maybe three) hours.

* [[HeroKiller Death Gun/Sterben]] from ''{{LightNovel/SwordArtOnline}}''. Due to his mask filtering out his voice, it appears almost completely drained of emotion. His icy tone gives a haunting quality to all his lines promising to kill someone.

* ''FanFic/{{Bird}}'' features Charnel, who talks very calmly and evenly, and whom Taylor tends to find soothing. Then there is [[PowerIncontinence Mimi]] who can default to thus when under the influence of her power, described by Taylor as 'robotic'.

* [[CreepyChild Fiona]] from ''FanFic/KiraIsJustice''.

* The titular protagonist in ''Film/{{Lucy}}'', after gaining superhuman mental abilities, speaks in a matter-of-fact monotone, whether discussing human biology with [[Creator/MorganFreeman Morgan Freeman]] or torturing a drug kingpin.

* [[BigBad Dr. Phillip Decker]] from ''Film/{{Nightbreed}}''. Decker speaks in a calm, low, monotone register. He makes it seem like he does it because he wants to [[SoftSpokenSadist soothe]] his [[PsychoPsychologist patients]]. He's in fact an [[LackofEmpathy unempathetic]], [[SerialKiller murderous]] [[TheSociopath psychopath]].

* In ''RolePlay/YuGiOhEastAcademy'', Marcus uses this during his BreakingSpeech to Gretel.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', HP and Sanderson speak in such boring monotones that their voices are very low and deep. Even their {{Evil Laugh}} is dull and without affect.

* While everyone [[FanonDiscontinuity might want to forget]] ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'''s "Curse of the Lion Men", it does fit here. After Tar flash-reprograms Wily's robots and Roll, Protoman ''very flatly'' tells him that he's now their leader. Made even more unsettling since no one else being mind-controlled during that episode invoked this trope (except perhaps Roll).

* [[CreepyChild The Delightful Children from Down the Lane]] from ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' play with this trope - while sometimes, they speak in monotone, they also can have emotional responses, such as anger and frustration, etc. However, they all speak at the same time.

** The Interesting Twins From Beneath The Lane also speak in monotones, but they behave much more individually although they are FinishingEachOthersSentences (like Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb).

* Played for laughs in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' with TheHypnotoad. Anyone it hypnotizes immediately speaks in a creepy monotone and [[MemeticMutation ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD.]]
** Also parodied in "Raging Bender", when Hermes comes back from vacation with a green slug on his head and explains in a creepy monotone that they had to make an emergency stop on the Brain Slug Planet. Throughout the episode, he tries to trick the others into wearing brain slugs.
* Mandy, Nergal Jr., and many others from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''.

** Jeffrey Combs as both Scarecrow in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and The Question in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. The difference being that Scarecrow's was creepy and Question's was hilarious.
--->'''Question''' (singing): Fell in love again. What am I gonna tell my friends?
** Question's speech to Luthor in 'Question Authority' falls right into this trope, however, being disturbingly calm.

--->'''Marge:''' There's just something about flying a kite at night that's so... unwholesome!
--->'''Bart:''' ''*Looks up to his parent's window over his shoulder*'' Hello, mother dear...
* Raven from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'':
** This trope has Laverne written all over it.
** Frighteningly enough, Ed talks with one when he's calm. And even when he's obviously furious, his vocal range doesn't change much at all.
[[/folder]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s [[spoiler:Gamzee]] ''possibly'' speaks in monotone; it's hard to be certain exactly how his text quirk would be vocalised. At any rate, [[spoiler:he later [[AxCrazy goes off the deep end]], and upscales his wHiMsIcAl [=CaSe AlTeRnAtIoN=] to whole lines of text, meaning that he alternates between barely audible and screaming in rage]].
** [[{{Fanon}} Many people]] believe that [[SatanicArchetype Doc Scratch]] speaks like this. Well, when he's not [[ComicalOverreacting flipping his shit.]]
*** 0f all the pe0ple in h0mestuck t0 menti0n here gh0st [[EmotionlessGirl aradia]] sh0uld be at the t0p 0f the list. She's 0kay with n0t being menti0ned first, th0ugh. [[{{Catchphrase}} She's 0kay with a l0t 0f things]].

!!Examples:

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'':
** The G-Man from the series is a variant of this, particularly in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''. He speaks in semi-monotone but stresses the wrong words and pauses (and fails to pause) in all the wrong places. (ex. "Not that I wish to-imply that you have been... ''sleep''-ing on the-job")
** A version of this appears in the first ''VideoGame/HalfLife1''. Black Mesa's PA system is created via a sort of voice synthesizer that [[MadLibsDialogue assembles pre-existing voice files into phrases]]. This is initially used as a generic announcer, but it is later taken under control of the enemy soldiers and used to threaten the protagonist himself.
** The Combine announcer combines this with medical terminology: She/it sounds like she's/it's describing a medical procedure, not an urban counterinsurgency crackdown.
* TheEvilArmy in the videogame ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' speaks like this, a side effect of the BigBad's MindControl, probably.
* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', in both games. It's particularly striking in the first game, since the actor providing his likeness, Sam Lake, looks quite humorous and has a flamboyant outfit (leopard prints).
* This is how the protagonists know that something is wrong in the titular star system in the game ''Nova 9''. They get a brief DistressCall that is cut off, then, shortly after, receive a message delivered in creepy monotone saying that everything is fine and to disregard the previous message.
* Gordon Holloway from ''VideoGame/TheLongestJourney''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warzone 2100}}'': "Your attacks upon us will not go unpunished. You are in contravention of the New Paradigm. You will be eradicated. Message ends."
* [[ColdSniper Vindicare Assassins]] from ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar''. No aggression. No fear. Just a flat monotone that sounds scarier than a Khorne Berserker bellowing "[[AxCrazy WHY AREN'T WE KILLING YET?]]"
* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' gives us the Ghost unit.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVOBLTS0lJc#t=18s Abathur.]] (Though this trope gets flipped on its head in one scene when Abathur's BerserkButton is hit.)
* The animated Statues in ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}: Deadly Shadows''. They have one purpose only and, as a result, come across as rather single-minded. "A noise and find and crush and kill and crush and kill..."
* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' proudly sports [=GLaDOS=], who has a sort of musically random inflection, but in a very mechanical way. This is emphasized when she uses a word or phrase more than once in a short period of time. Also, "Wheeee..."
** The turrets also have the same type of voice (and the same voice actress), but with a more cute than creepy inflection (which doesn't say much).
** You spend so much of the game listening to that voice, right from the very start, that when you [[spoiler:destroy [=GLaDOS=]' Morality Core]] and she switches from robotic monotone to an emotive, fluent female voice, it's actually far creepier than the monotone, because [=GLaDOS=] talking like a normal person is simply [[UncannyValley not right.]]
* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', the "final boss" in Arcade Mode is ν-13 (pronounced "nu-thirteen"), who is introduced with a creepy monotone and, yes, is an EmotionlessGirl with an [[AIIsACrapshoot Evil AI]] who becomes AxCrazy around certain people. [[spoiler:Like [=GLaDOS=], ν-13 shares a voice actor with another character.]]
** Nu does drop the creepy monotone whenever Ragna the Bloodedge is around and uses a bright and cheery, almost babylike, voice with him. [[{{Yandere}} This is not an improvement.]]
** Lambda-11 of the sequel shares the same voice actress as Nu and speaks in a creepy monotone as well, albeit in a slightly different tone.
* The Many speak this way in ''VideoGame/SystemShock2''. They have multiple voices (an electronically-pitched rumble, a whispering masculine voice, and a nearly singsong feminine voice) and one or two of them sometimes have inflection, but the majority of it is in a serene monotone. "How can you choose cold steel over the splendor of flesh?" The contrast between the Many's monotone and SHODAN's stuttering and wildly varying inflection and pitch makes for one of the creepiest aural dichotomies the gaming world has to offer.
** Also, the Many-controlled AI, Xerxes (who resembles HAL 9000 much more than SHODAN): "[[ExplosiveDecompression Decompression]] in five seconds. We regret any inconvenience." He is also quite [[DissonantSerenity dissonantly serene]]; he announces workplace accidents, the number of shopping days until Christmas, meal times, and security breaches in the same tone as the freaky messages programmed into him by the Many.
** The original ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' also had a generic voice announcer on Citadel Station that spoke in this manner, alongside SHODAN herself.
* AM in ''VideoGame/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'' averts this greatly, but [[spoiler: near the end of the game when you enter his inner workings, the Ego component of his brain plays it straight. The other two computers he merged with, making up his Superego and, Id also avert this.]]
* In the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series, nearly ''every'' single Organization XIII member talks like this at least once, with Saix being the most notable example.
** And then most of it is dropped, while the rest is put into dissonance for [[TheBerserker the rage he unleashes during the fight with him]].
** But the [[NightmareFuel/KingdomHearts best example]] comes from ''358/2 Days'', towards the end of the game, right before the fight against [[spoiler:Xion. It then turns into a VoiceOfTheLegion act-alike]].
-->[[spoiler:"You're next, Roxas. I have to make you a part of me too."]]
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', Ansem[[spoiler:/Xehanort's Heartless]] speaks this way in his introductory scene on Destiny Islands and, later, in Hollow Bastion. He ditches it later to make way for [[LargeHam ridiculously over-the-top semantics]].
** Xemnas' voice never has much emotion behind his droning voice, thanks to Paul St. Peter's acting. It's almost more disturbing than Saïx.
--> "There's no such thing as light." (He says this while surrounding Sora and Riku in an UpToEleven BeamSpam.)
** [[spoiler:Young Xehanort]] in ''Dream Drop Distance'' is a particularly jarring case, as all other versions of the character are infamous for being {{Large Ham}}s. Even Xemnas somehow manages to ham it up ''while monotone'', but not this guy.
* The promo material for ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' features a geth named Legion speaking in this manner. It is absolutely ''terrifying'' when you hear him speaking on how the geth use fear in such a cold mechanical voice. [[spoiler:Then you play the game and find out the promos lied to you, and Legion's voice just makes it adorable.]]
-->'''Legion''': We do not experience fear, though we understand its effect on you.
** The Reapers speak this way as well, particularly Sovereign. Harbinger carries slightly more inflection but is still consistent in tone whether he is [[MemeticMutation ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL]] or remarking on how irritating the protagonist is.
-->"Shepard. You have become... an annoyance."
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', the Leviathan DLC has an entire mining facility speaking like this. This, along with the fact that they are unnaturally calm as Reapers attack their front door, are major hints that something is '''very''' wrong. It's also hinted that they've been speaking this way for '''ten years.'''
** Downplayed with the Elcor and the Hanar, who speak this way due to their StarfishLanguage. Elcor naturally do not express emotion with their voices, but with subtle facial and scent cues that other races can't pick up on. Hanar actually "speak" with bioluminescence, so what you're hearing is their TranslatorMicrobes turning that into something non-Hanar can understand.
* The Tranquil in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' - Mages who have undergone a sort of magical lobotomy and are now incapable of emotion. The Sloth Demon also has one.
** One word: Hespith.
** First Enchanter Irving has a bit of this, though it makes him sound more like a tired old man rather than crazy.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', while most of the Shadows of the Investigation Team speak in a similar (albeit taunting) tone as their counterparts, [[spoiler:Teddie]]'s shadow speaks in a very creepy, almost ''dead''-sounding monotone. [[spoiler:This was changed in the UpdatedRerelease when Teddie's VA was changed, and his Shadow developed [[EvilIsDeep a thundering bass voice]].]]
* Algalon of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', up until he loses his cool and admits his convictions may have been in error. He'll [[DissonantSerenity unleash hell]] on you before that happens, though.
** The Old God C'thun also speaks like this whenever his voice is heard in his raid, treating players to creepy whispers such as 'You are already dead.' and 'You will betray your friends.'
* ''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat]]'': You don't want to hang around The Monolith Fighters, but there are moments where their Creepy Monotone can be quite memorable.
* The "Milkman Conspiracy" level from ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' is the mind of a paranoiac, where Government agents with the [[PaperThinDisguise flimsiest of disguises]] spout hilarious monotone oneliners to maintain their cover.
--> '''Road Worker''': [[CaptainObvious I am a Road Worker. This is my stop sign.]]
--> '''Plumber''': Faeces.
--> '''Housewife''': As I grow older, my husband will desire me less sexually, but will still enjoy my pies.
--> '''Grieving widow''': Why. God. Why.
--> '''Gardener''': Plants need water poured on them because they have no hands to hold glasses of water.
--> '''Assassin''': They got Freddy. Poor Freddy. He was such a good secret agent. I mean assassin.
--> '''Phone Repairer''': I can listen to any phone conversation that I want, but do not because of my sense of professional responsibility.
--> '''Helicopter Pilot''': "Helicopters can go up and down. Helicopters move sideways too, but not as fast as planes.
* The entire village of genomes from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' are said to be emotionless.
* The Martians of ''VideoGame/JeffWaynesWarOfTheWorlds'' speak like this. A notable exception is their trademark "ULLAAA!" from the musical, which can sound triumphant or sad depending on the situation.
* A minor example, being slightly unsettling instead of a major warning sign, but in ''Videogame/IMissTheSunrise'', Mr. Right and Mr. Left seem to speak in a robotic monotone, indicated by the fact that their sentences appear instantly instead of letter by letter.
* Sophie in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' normally speaks in something of a monotone anyway, but goes to creepy when Pascal brings up the idea of Richard eating royal crablettes. "Royal crablettes... royal crablettes..."
* The Chandelier from ''VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation''.
* Paul in ''VideoGame/DarkSeedII''.
* Cortana from the eponymous level in Halo 3. Although most of her lines are anything but monotone she says, "This is UNSC AI Serial Number CTN 0452-9. I am a monument to all your sins." in a monotone with bonus points for also using Voice of the Legion vocalization.
* Conrad Marburg from ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' meets this trope halfway from GutturalGrowler and adds in a healthy dose of EvilSoundsDeep. Add in the PsychoStrings [[{{Leitmotif}} that seem to follow him around everywhere]] and the end result is rather sinister.
* ''VideoGame/{{Hellsinker}}'' has a distinct, monotone "[[AC:[[PrepareToDie You will die here!]]]]" clip that is used in several instances:
** Against Scarlet Queen in Segment 2 LEAD, if you unlock her Spirit Kernel form.
** At the end of the Shrine of Farewell, if you've killed all four bosses within the time limit.
** Against Rex Cavalier in Segment 7, as the final phase of his assault begins.
* "VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2": During the mini-games, you'll hear a crude monotone voice that sounds robotic. This voice is spelling out a different sentence depending on what mini-game you're playing (Save Them, Help Them, and Save Him). [[spoiler:"Them" and "Him" refer to the children that are about to be killed by a human.]]
* J.C. Denton and Adam Jensen, the protagonists of ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' and ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'', respectively, sound very stoic. This was done intentionally so that the players can decide on how they feel. In the original game, secondary antagonist Walton Simons is a more straightforward example as he sounds almost completely devoid of any emotion at all save for the occasional hint of mild frustration. [[ObviouslyEvil He's also not a very nice person.]]
* [[{{Cyborg}} Aki Zeta-5]] and [[InscrutableOriental Chairman Yang]] in ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri''.
* The [[spoiler: Fallen Child]] in ''{{VideoGame/Undertale}}'' uses this for [[DissonantSerenity creepy effects]] since every other character at least has a form of VoiceGrunting.
* In Fallout 4, this applies to the elite Coursers of the [[BigBad Institute]], [[spoiler:including [[TokenEvilTeammate possible companion]] X6-88]]. Although they look perfectly human, it becomes clear how ''in''human they are after even a brief conversation. Such conversations usually involve them insulting the surface dwellers or threatening people in a tone that is at most only slightly flavored by mild annoyance, weary boredom, distant condescension, or vague curiosity. [[spoiler:"Sincere respect" can be added to the list by X6-88 if the player proves [[VillainProtagonist a loyal and capable director for the Institute]], at least.]]
* A minor character in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', an Iridorian, has one. Since the Iridorian is a BloodKnight who is motivated solely by the slaughter of his enemies, it makes him extremely unnerving for a character who appears only briefly and does nothing except stand in a bar and answer a couple of questions.
* In the Japanese dub of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Gray Fox aka the Cyborg Ninja speaks like this. In fact, [[Creator/KanetoShiozawa his voice actor]] was notorious for using this trope to great effect.
* NominalHero [[ColdSniper Zer0]] in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' speaks with very little emotion. He's probably the least "human" of the six Vault Hunters - even [[AxCrazy Krieg]] has desires beyond simply killing stuff (even if he's [[TalkativeLoon really bad]] at ''expressing'' them), but [=Zer0=] is motivated solely by murdering people, and getting money to buy more effective tools for murdering people.
-->''tee hee hee''
* [[ProfessionalKiller Agent 47]] from the ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series is a great example of this trope. A conversation with him would be like making friends with a Boa Constrictor; quiet and unnerving. When 47 is around death isn't far behind, his robotic personality is expected from a hitman of his legend.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** Throughout the series, this is a trait of Molag Bal, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of [[TheCorrupter Domination and Corruption]]. For much of the time, his tone doesn't change much while talking. However, he drops this trait and goes full-on LargeHam when he becomes entertained or enraged. ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline Online]]'' provide great examples.
** Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of [[MadGod Madness]] in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''[='s=] ''Shivering Isles'' expansion. Normally, he's [[AffablyEvil rather charming and downright giggle-worthy]] with his fake-Scottish accent and habit of cheerily threatening life and limb (and mental integrity). However, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness when he suddenly becomes very quiet, his eyes narrow, and he speaks very, very softly]], you're reminded that you ''[[AxeCrazy really]]'' ought to be terrified of this guy.
* In ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Puyo Puyo Tetris]]'', Jay and Elle, who are typically energetic TricksterTwins, have an alternate voice that has them speaking in a dull monotone to invoke CreepyTwins.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Paul in ''VideoGame/DarkSeed II''.

** Subverted. Half the fun of most dialogues the title character takes part in resides in the way Michael C. Hall delivers his lines, in an emotionless creepy monotone that should trigger the "serial killer alarm" in the minds of even the most oblivious of the other characters. Except, of course, it never does. "Why, in a building full of cops - all supposedly with a keen insight into the human soul - is [[NotSoDifferent Doakes the only one that gets the creeps from me?"]]

* A bit of TruthInTelevision: behold [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_affect flat affect]], a common symptom of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the psychotic disorders (which includes schizophrenia). Some people with autism and aphasia also don't display emotion "appropriately"—that is, in ways similar to the majority—despite feeling it deeply, because they simply don't know how or it doesn't feel natural to them.

* From ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Judai does this when he is [[spoiler:taken over by the [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Supreme King/Haou]].]] Well, in the Japanese version at least. The English Dub made literally no difference with his voice.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' gave us Yuya's "Awakening". Half of the time he's screaming in rage. The other half is a monotone that basically says "die".

* Mandy, Nergal Jr., and many others from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresofBillyandMandy''.

[[folder:Film — Animated]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* A bit of TruthInTelevision: behold [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_affect flat affect]], a common symptom of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the psychotic disorders (which includes schizophrenia). Some people with autism and aphasia also fail to display "appropriate" emotion, simply because they don't know how.