History Main / DaylightHorror

* ''[[http://i45.tinypic.com/16iscbb.jpg Heat Stroke]]''
** People who die of heat stroke.
-->The '''"Georgia Toddler Hot Car"''' death involving Justin Ross Harris and his two-year-old son Cooper. Justin left Cooper to bake to death in the car, and was arrested because it may have been ''intentional.''
-->'''"Number of Children Dying in Hot Cars Remains a Problem''' (Pediatrician warns of dangers and what can happen to kids)" by Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun.
-->'''"Army Tries to Temper Heat Risks Facing Troops"''' by Joe Gould, Staff writer. "Then on July 29 at Fort Bragg, Sgt. Joshua Mann was running with his unit, Company C, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, when he collapsed, apparently from a heat-related illness. The 22-year-old airborne infantry team leader from Winside, Neb. died the next day at a post hospital."
--> The news media will always warn people about the harmful effects of the sun during any heatwave, giving air conditioning tips, telling people to wear sunscreen and otherwise guard from the sun, and telling people not to leave children, animals, and the elderly anywhere, but especially a hot car.

* The infamous "nuke the fridge" sequence actually starts off very creepy before becoming ridiculous. Franchise/IndianaJones stumbles upon a fairly normal suburban town in the middle of a sunlit desert populated by many UncannyValley mannequins posed to act as if they're engaged in various mundane activities as saccharine music plays. It turns out to be a Nevada Test Site, and a count down starts before a nuclear bomb gets dropped to see what happens to a normal, American town.

EvilIsNotWellLit. We all know this. It's human nature to believe that DarknessEqualsDeath. Therefore, it's been a commonly held trope for centuries that scary things have to happen in the dark. This is why there are so many horror movies where TheLostWoods never see daylight, or why whoever owns the HauntedHouse never pays the electricity bill. Conversely, well lit, sunny areas with 100% visibility must be safe. We know that no monsters will harm us once [[CueTheSun the sun comes up.]] Hey, the [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight Things That Go Bump]] only do it [[ThingsthatGoBumpInTheNight In The Night]], after all. If spooky things always lurk in the darkness, then LightIsGood.

* The beginning of the 2010 version of ''Film/TheCrazies'' - People gather at the local baseball field to watch the game, and everything is sunny and normal. Then a guy with a shotgun walks into the middle of the game...

** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'' The final few moments of the game take place at the crack of dawn.

* Most of the ''VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDead'' series takes place during the day, with only a few levels during nighttime.
** While the game takes place during the night, you fight the FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill'', Mother, in broad daylight.

[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_kozilek_3928.gif]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:It's such a beautiful day, nothing could possibly-- [[OhCrap Oh crap.]]]]

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/shaggydredlocks-proposal SCP-001 (S. D. Locke's Proposal)]]. In short, the Sun suddenly started turning all living things it touched into [[TheAssimilator assimilative]] flesh blobs, resulting in ''6.8 billion casualties'' within the first 24 hours. The horror is not just in the daylight, the ''daylight itself'' is the cause of the horror.

* ''U-Turn'' [[spoiler: - Bobby barely escapes from the town, only to fry in the desert heat]].

'''Chet:''' What? No, he's not a fucking vampire, Kennedy. He can still kill us in the daytime.co

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': The episode "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobinE5HouseAndGarden House & Garden]]" shows one of the few times where Batman's in action in broad daylight. The reality behind Poison Ivy's new domestic life is no picture-perfect fairy tale, either... dear God, the "cabbage plant kids"...

** Amonkhet is a sunny, tidy and ordered, [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Egypt-inspired]] world, where the horror comes from looking at what having Nicol Bolas as self-appointed GodEmperor has done to the place. For example, [[http://media.wizards.com/2017/dw466ytu5_akh/en_mqrKtwlFS3.png Oashra Cultivator]] is a gardener picking healthy-looking fruit in a bright, sunny area with flowers... whle talking remarkably casually about ''her own coming death'' in a series of mandatory deadly trials.

* Most climatic battles in ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' occur in a dark, frightening location, the darkness not always the natural type. However, the FinalBattle with Saiou in ''Franchise/YuGiOhGX'' zigzags it. While Judai duels Saiou indoors, the secondary plot occurs outside, on a brightly lit, pleasant spring day on the Duel Academy grounds.

'''Chet:''' What? No, he's not a fucking vampire, Kennedy. He can still kill us in the daytime.

* {{Invoked|Trope}} by Dhaunayne Aundae (the Ancient of the Aundae clan of vampires) in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', who (if you become a vampire of the Aundae clan) sends you to kill a vampire hunter in the city of Ald'ruhn... in broad daylight, as a message that not even the light of the sun will protect enemies of the vampires.

* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' has [[spoiler:Blasted Tokyo, which is an AlternateTimeline version of Tokyo in which the forces of Law seize the metropolis.]] There is a desert [[spoiler:where Tokyo once stood]], there are massive craters [[spoiler:that mark where major Tokyo districts used to be]], the poisonous atmosphere infects and eventually kills humans exposed to it, and demons roam the land killing off humans who dare to wander outside the sole human shelter. Yes, the sun shines [[spoiler:on this Tokyo thanks to the lack of a Firmament]], but that's the reason [[spoiler:the nuclear missiles were able to blow Tokyo to pieces]], leaving only a massive DeathWorld.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', most of the game is perfectly lit - all the better to see the [[DeathWorld devastated]], [[BleakLevel ruined]] [[NightmareFuel wreck]] that once was Tokyo.

Not to be confused with LightIsNotGood, although it can invoke this. See also, WeakenedByTheLight

* Most of the scenes in ''Film/TheWickerMan'' take place in broad daylight, including the terrifying climax. This lets the audience take in the [[SceneryPorn beautiful Celtic landscape,]] but also helps sink in the deranged surreality of Summer Isle. The things the villagers do in full view of one another wouldn't be nearly as off-putting if it happened at night.

* Justified in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' with the [[OurGiantsAreDifferent Titans]], which appear to harness most of their energy from solar radiation. So it is on clear, sunny days that we are able to see hordes of Titans devour humans alive. [[spoiler:This makes the attack on Castle Utgard at ''night'' all the more shocking. Titans are pretty damn scary no matter what time of the day they happen to be eating you.]]