History Main / IKnowWhatYouFear

** ''Warriors of Heaven'' has a nonlethal version of the first, ''phantasmal terror''. 'A Guide to the Ethereal Plane' introduces the unfortunate result of ''phantasmal killer'' turning real, as illusions sometimes do there -- Fær, the monster who polymorphs into the victim's nightmare and kills by touch, but isn't resisted as easily as the original spell (it ''is'' for real this time).
** The Dream Larva is the [[EldritchAbomination manifestation of a god's nightmare]], with the ability to shape itself into anyone's greatest fear.

* Phoenix Ikki in ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' was initially introduced as a bad guy with the ability to Invoke Fear. What makes his case pretty interesting is that he eventually undergoes a HeelFaceTurn, yet keeps his "Phoenix Illusion Demon Fist", as a form of CoolAndUnusualPunishment, making it sort of a Subversion of BadPowersBadPeople. The technique digs up what will inflict the most damage to your mind, and if you lack willpower, it WILL OneHitKill you. And even if you DO have the willpower to not die from the mental blow, odds are you will end up extremely weakened from the shock and be easy prey. Well, there is ONE instance of an opponent that was able to NOT ONLY shake it off like nothing, but actually inflict it back on him, but we're talking about the one Gold Saint specializing in meditation, peace of mind and [[BadassBoast closest to the Gods]]. Interestingly, this technique even gets EpiphanyTherapy uses in the Asgard arc on two enemies.

* Dani Moonstar in ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' creates illusions based on the target's worst fears.

* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' villain Phobia can control the fear of the human mind and create life-like illusions of the fears in that person's mind, including their greatest fear. And she can teleport, so she doesn't have to stick around for the pants change.
* A variation of Fear Inducement appears in ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}''. In Volume Four, Jessica comes face-to-face with occasional ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' villain (and Jessica's archenemy) the Purple Man, whose body secretes chemical {{pheromones}} which, when inhaled or absorbed through the skin, allow him to [[CompellingVoice control their actions by verbal suggestions]]. He orders Jessica to imagine the most horrifying thing she can envision, which turns out to be the corpse of her boyfriend (Antman II) covered in ants lying in her bed. The Purple Man comments that he can't see what she's seeing: "it doesn't work that way."
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'':
** The Scarecrow uses a hallucination-inducing gas to discover and induce a person's greatest fear. (Ironically, poetic justice proves his ''own'' greatest fear to be... a fear of BATS!)
** Cornelius Stirk wanders into this territory as well. He's a telepath who can make other people see what he wants, which he uses to both make himself appear as someone they trust and to prey on their fears.
* Trauma of ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative'' actually transforms into what his target fears, giving him whatever physical attributes and/or powers that go along with the new form. This combination of psychic powers and shapeshifting was considered a "holy grail" of mutant powers by [[{{Jerkass}} Gyrich]]. [[spoiler: Also, he's not really a mutant at all, but the [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human]] son of the dream demon Nightmare.]] It should be noted that this is imperfect -- he went through four forms trying to find a weakness in the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] (who, as it turns out, isn't afraid of anything), and got tossed into a parked car for his troubles.

* The Sinestro Corps of the ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' comics is based entirely on this concept. With their power rings they can create constructs of both their own fears and their victims'. Later, in the ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' arc, the Scarecrow himself (see above) is recruited as a temporary Yellow Lantern.
* The Nightmare spirits from ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' inflict this upon our heroes when they try to rescue Rarity from their clutches. With ThePowerOfFriendship, Twilight Sparkle faces her fear of disappointing Princess Celestia and being dismissed as her student, Rainbow Dash her fear of losing the power of flight, Pinkie Pie her fear of being unable to make others happy, Fluttershy her fear of losing her way with animals, and Applejack her fear of letting down her family.
* ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures''
** [[SuperSoldier Trauma]] was a Fear Inducer, creating fear in his enemy and then [[EmotionEater eating it]] to transform the victims in the mindless [[SlaveMook Coolflames]].
** In the sequel, [=PK2=], we have Korinna, a Fear Invoker who uses her power to create a small army convinced she is the only one capable of stopping the things they are afraid of.
* A comic based on ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' depicted the old toyline villain Scare-Glow as having Fear Invocation powers. He psychically discerns a person's greatest fear before trapping them in an illusion based on it. Apparently, it's harder to figure out what certain people are afraid of, but he thinks that if he waits long enough he'll discover what even ''Skeletor'' fears, knowledge he can then use to free himself from Skeletor's service.

* ''ComicBook/{{Checkmate}}'' features a character named Adam Sharp who was injured in Iraq and rebuilt as a SuperSoldier named Chimera. In this form, he has the ability to read minds and take the form of whatever his victim is scared of.
* ''WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'': In "Spy in the Sky", (Fun-In #3, August 1970, Gold Key), Dick Dastardly sends Muttley on a secret mission to learn Yankee Doodle Pigeon's greatest fear. Sensing a spy in his midst, Yankee Doodle makes Muttley think he's scared of lightning. Armed with this information, the Vulture Squadron takes off corralling thunderclouds to push in the pigeon's direction, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption but it backfires]] -- Yankee Doodle's flight helmet is equipped with lightning rods.
-->'''Dastardly:''' ''[removing Muttley's medals]'' "Afraid of lightning," you said...'''Give me those medals!!'''

* Naruto in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11729865/5/Desperation-Attracts-Vultures Desperation Attracts Vultures]]'' utilizes this against Sasuke at Mei's suggestion (though he takes it much further than she expected). During their match, he first gives Zabuza's "eight targets" speech then disguises himself as Haku and claiming to have never really died. This drives Sasuke into such a panic that he uses both his Cursed Seal and Chidori.
* In ''[[https://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/s/legend-of-zelda-fan-fiction/the-legend-of-link-lucky-number-13/19769 The Legend of Link: Lucky Number 13]]'', [[spoiler:Link]] after becoming the God of Fear instinctively knows what everyone is afraid of (and is fully capable of subjecting them to it).
* In ''Fanfic/TheParselmouthOfGryffindor'', Maximilian, owing to his Boggart nature, can see even an Occlumens's worst fear. Because he's a nice guy all around, he usually keeps it a secret.
* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'': The Dark Forest incorporates things that living cats fear as part of its environment, i.e there are horses because a lot of cats are scared of horses, and prey includes the rabbit that blinded Longtail and the pheasant that lead to Shrewpaw's death. Though of course, one cat's fear isn't everyone's, so some cats in the Dark Forest find a way to [[HellOfATime enjoy the scenery]].

* ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians''' BigBad Pitch Black is the original [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight Boogeyman]] and a NightmareWeaver; knowing what others fear is one of his powers. It comes in handy when he wants to BreakThemByTalking.

* Among Shang Tsung's powers in ''Film/MortalKombatTheMovie'' is the ability to see into a person's soul and find out what that person fears most so he can use that fear against them.
* Freddy Krueger from the ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' franchise attacks people in their nightmares with their fears.
* In the 2003 ''Film/PeterPan'', Hook taunts Peter with his fear of Wendy growing up and forgetting him to throw him off-balance in a battle.
* In the earlier iteration of the Peter Pan mythos, ''Film/{{Hook}}'', Peter, and the Lost Boys capitalize on Hook's fear of ticking clocks (and the Croc who made such noises) to encircle him with clocks, driving him briefly into a panic during the final duel.
-->'''Peter:''' Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Hook's afraid of an old dead croc...
* Pennywise in ''Film/It2017'' seems to be able to detect his victim's major phobias and fears and represent them to feed on them.
* In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch is able to induce in her victims visions that reveal their greatest fears and read those visions.
* This is the central concept of ''Film/GalaxyOfTerror'' where a group of space travelers sent on a rescue mission are trapped on a planet with a mysterious pyramid that's revealed to be able to bring the characters' worst fears to life. These manifestations are usually monsters that kill them. For example, one character is terrified of maggots, which leads to her [[FanDisservice squicky]] death.
* The game in ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'' seems to summon challenges that aren't completely random. Alan's first challenge after emerging from the game is Van Pelt, who is played by the same actor of Alan's father and is a representation of Alan's fear of his father.

* The Feasters from the fantasy book series ''Literature/LadyOfGems'' can bring a person's fears to life so they can [[EmotionEater feed off that or those persons fears]]
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Boggarts take the form of a person's greatest fear, [[RequiredSecondaryPowers which means they have this power]].

* In the ''Literature/{{Belgariad}}''[='s=] prequels, Polgara's MindRape persuasion method is revealed to be this. It only failed once, because the target had made sure to drug himself sufficiently that he was lucid but nevertheless high as a kite (note that if she put much effort into it, she probably could have un-drugged him like Belgarath did in the prequel).

* The ''Literature/BooksOfBayern'' include several characters, mostly antagonists, who are capable of knowing exactly what one fears (mainly things like public humiliation or loss of control, which are the things behind fears like acrophobia or arachnophobia) and also what a person wants, desires, or intends. Their power also gives them the ability to know precisely what to say in order to get what they want. Yeah. It's really no wonder they're mostly Bad Guys.
* The third book of ''Literature/{{Midnighters}}'' has a peculiar scene where [[spoiler:Rex]], the group's HalfHumanHybrid, attempts to intimidate a minor character. He somehow knows (without knowing how he knows) that said character is afraid of snakes, and his appearance and posture ''shift'' in just such a manner as to bring up thoughts of snakes, without changing blatantly enough to be obvious ShapeShifting.
* Amanda Reese of the ''Literature/{{Fingerprints}}'' series was capable of perceiving others' fears.
* Elva from the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' is a heroic ([[AntiHero kind of]]) example. She has the ability to sense a person's negative emotions, including fear.
* The Furies in the Franchise/StarTrek quadrilogy of the same name have this as their main weapon: a directed-energy beam that forces anyone who is hit by it to experience sheer terror.
* The titular Machine of ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: The Nightmare Machine'' is capable of invoking fears in other characters, though some characters note with alarm that machines shouldn't be able to know what those specific fears are. [[spoiler: It's not a machine.]] The fears are amazingly powerful hallucinations, though not always internally consistent, and subject to YearInsideHourOutside. [[spoiler: Eppon]] in ''Army of Terror'' also has this ability.
* The ''{{Literature/Doom}}'' spidermind can retrieve a human's fears from their mind and project horrible images to them.
* The ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series offers an unusual example of the ''good guys'' having and using this capability. In all cases it's used against people who have led straight-out revolting, disgusting, criminal and evil lives, in essence letting them be judged by their own consciences, and in all cases but one it is ''lethal''. Justified in-universe in that [[spoiler: the lethal uses are in the context of an ignored warning not to re-enter Arisian space and against a murderer who would have been executed in any case. The third is as an exercise in the true nature of mercy - or otherwise.]]
* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Dengel protected his final lair with a "Fear Field", an array of magic runes that encompass anyone who approaches with an illusion of their worst fear. During ''Literature/LoomingShadow'', all the members of Team Four are subjected to it as they climb Mt. Daci. Basilard sees [[spoiler: his students dying and joining his previous students in blaming him for their death while his EvilUncle kills him with his own sword.]] Nolien sees [[spoiler: his younger brother become an EvilOverlord as First Duke of Heleti, abandon their parents, and abuse Tiza]]. Tiza sees [[spoiler: herself back in the place that caused her amnesia, her friends and mentors dead, and Nolien brainwashed into hating her.]] Guest star party member Zettai sees [[spoiler: her abusive parents come back from the dead and kill her new friends]]. Eric sees [[spoiler: Nulso take over Ataidar and turn Annala into a SexSlave.]]
* In ''Literature/TheTaking'', the invaders besieging the town inherently know what people's fears and insecurities are and use them to drive people to despair [[spoiler:so that they will be of no help to the world's children and thus have their souls taken]]. For Molly, this takes the form of poems she likes being mockingly quoted at her out of nowhere and encounters with her AxCrazy father, whom she fears most.
* In ''Literature/{{Renegades}}'', the villain Phobia can sense what a person is afraid of - both their greatest and current fears - and shapeshift himself into embodiment of that, ranging from plumes of fire to swarms of spiders. He is limited, though - when he learns that Sentinel's greatest fear is being powerless, he notes that it's a difficult one to exploit.
* In ''Literature/TheMysteriousBenedictSociety'', the Whisperer, a machine invented by the BigBad Ledroptha Curtain, is able to detect an individual's worst fear when they're seated in it. It then sends out powerful contentment to deny that fear so that the individual will be docile and do what Mr. Curtain wants.[[/folder]]

* An episode of ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' entitled "The Tale of the Dangerous Soup" features a restaurant owner making soup out of the fear that is extracted by a magical statue.
* Barbas, the Demon of Fear in ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', is a Fear Perceiver. Played by Creator/BillyDrago (John Bly from ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'').
** He [[RecurringCharacter made several appearances throughout the duration of the show]], becoming important enough to have a GoodCounterpart shown in the MirrorUniverse episode. The sheer contrast between the personalities and actions of the two is rather hilarious.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E4AndTheChildrenShallLead And the Children Shall Lead]]". Gorgon the Friendly Angel taught the children the power of learning another person's fears and using the fears to disable and control them. The kids caused Sulu to see swords surrounding the Enterprise so he wouldn't change course and used Uhura's fear of dying to prevent her from calling Starfleet Command.

* This is the Jabberwocky's power in ''Series/OnceUponATimeInWonderland''.
* In an episode of ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'', a drug lord has just learned that his girlfriend is actually an undercover FBI agent. Knowing that she was afraid of water and couldn't swim, he ordered his henchmen to drown her. Luckily, Walker and company showed up in time to save her.
* ''Series/{{Taken}}'':
** The aliens' PsychicPowers allow them to use a person's fears against them. This is exhibited in their ability to show people [[MindRape all of their memories and all of their fears]] and their tendency to create images of something that scared a person immediately before abducting them. For instance, the carny that frightened Jesse as a child.
** In "Dropping the Dishes", Captain Walker is terrified when a cockroach falls on him, explaining to his amused fellow soldiers that they have frightened him ever since he was a child. In "John", Walker is swarmed by cockroaches that only he can see after entering the alien ship [[spoiler: created by Allie from people's thoughts]].
* One ''Series/CriminalMinds'' killer of the week was a PsychoPsychologist who did this mundanely--he interviewed people new to the area about their greatest fears (which were [[RuleOfDrama of course]] all situations he could replicate to harm them--nobody said they feared public speaking, or even [[SpidersAreScary spiders]]), then killed them in what he claimed was an "experiment" to reduce their fear.

* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', the reworked version of [[ScaryScarecrows Fiddlesticks]] has this as a power, as most of unique interactions with other champions have it echoing the final words of there deceased loved ones or reminding them of their biggest regrets.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}'', the Terror draft allows the user to become whatever the target fears the most. It's also a genuine transformation rather than just an illusion; if you use it on the dragon (who is, ironically, a pyrophobe), you briefly become a blazing fire that can ignite nearby things.
* In ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', [[FortuneTeller Madame Clairvoya]] [[TokenGoodTeammate tells Luigi]] that Bowser may be behind the ghost army while the leader is clearly [[TheGhostKing King Boo]]: however, the Koopa King appears in the final battle as a mecha-suit for the BigBad. One possible interpretation is that King Boo knows what [[LovableCoward Luigi]] fears and that he has less experience in fighting Bowser that Mario does, which is why the BoisterousBruiser antagonist is represented as a bloodthirsty beast.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' features Magica [=DeSpell=] casting a fear cloud over the [=McDuck=] mansion which causes the inhabitants to experience what they fear most.
* The Fear creature from ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters''.
* In ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'', Experiment 300 (Spooky) has the ability to determine and mimic a person's greatest fear. In the episode in which it appears, it mimics a whole roomful of water and nearly drowns Stitch (Stitch is afraid of water because he can't float in it), and then mimics Nani's fear of having Lilo taken away by mimicking the social worker Cobra Bubbles. Jumba claims that Experiment 300's impression of his ex-wife is ''very'' scary.
* The Shadow of Fear from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' uses a combination of Perception and Inducement. In order to know what a person fears, one has to first use its power to literally enter someone else's mind; the person using the Shadow of Fear also has some serious reality warping abilities in this state. Once a person has delved into a victim's mind long enough to know what they fear, they can then use that knowledge to bring the victim's fear to life in the real world.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': TheMovie had Horror's Hand, which was able to bring one's worst fears to life. For Billy, it was a spider-clown-mailman; Irwin had to peform stand-up comedy in front of bears; and Mandy saw a future in which she's lost her edge and is now the fat and cheerful wife of Irwin. As for Grim, it had no effect on him because he was already experiencing his worst fear: being enslaved and bossed around by children.
* The Gremloblin from the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "[[Recap/GravityFallsS1E13BossMabel Boss Mabel]]" is a Fear Inducer; anyone who looks into its eyes will be confronted by a vision of their worst fear. Unfortunately for the Gremloblin, Dipper manages to use a mirror to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard subject it to its own fear-gaze]].[[note]]"You've [[TurningIntoYourParent become your own father]]!"[[/note]]
* The Bloodwolf from ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfPussInBoots'' describes himself as the source of all fear, and inflicts visions of the heroes' deepest fears to feed on their terror and increase his power.

** Arcane spells [[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/phantasmalkiller.htm Phantasmal Killer]] and [[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/weird.htm Weird]] are Fear Inducers, as they do not require knowledge of their victim's worst fear in order for them to work.
** ''Warriors of Heaven'' has a nonlethal version of the first, 'Phantasmal Terror'. 'A Guide to the Ethereal Plane' introduces the unfortunate result of 'Phantasmal Killer' turning real, as illusions sometimes do there -- Fær, the monster who polymorphs into the victim's nightmare and kills by touch, but isn't resisted as easily as the original spell (it ''is'' for real this time).

* The Gremloblin from the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "[[Recap/GravityFallsS1E13BossMabel Boss Mabel]]" is a Fear Inducer; anyone who looks into its eyes will be confronted by a vision of their worst fear. Unfortunately for the Gremloblin, Dipper manages to use a mirror to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard subject it to its own fear-gaze]].[[note]]"You've [[TurnOutLikeHisFather become your own father]]!"[[/note]]

* The Gremloblin from the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Boss Mabel" is a Fear Inducer; anyone who looks into its eyes will be confronted by a vision of their worst fear. Unfortunately for the Gremloblin, Dipper manages to use a mirror to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard subject it to its own fear-gaze]] [[note]]"You've [[TurnOutLikeHisFather become your own father]]!"[[/note]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "Enchanting Grom Fright", Luz learns that part of the upcoming school dance is the "Grom Royalty" having to face Grometheus the Fear Bringer and defeat him in combat. As the name implies, Grometheus has the power to read people's minds and turn into their worst fear. Luz and Amity must work together and face their worst fears, Luz her fear of having to confront her mother and confess she's been hiding out on the Boiling Isles instead of going to reform camp, and Amity her fear of being rejected by her crush, [[spoiler:who just happens to be [[ShipTease Luz]].]]

* Dani Moonstar in ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' created illusions based on the target's worst fears
* ''ComicBook/CaptainBritain'' antagonist Lump had the power to confront targets with illusions of their fears.

* A variation of Fear Inducement appeared in ''Creator/BrianMichaelBendis'' 's ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}''. In Volume Four, Jessica comes face-to-face with occasional ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' villain (and Jessica's archenemy) The Purple Man, whose body secretes chemical pheromones which, when inhaled or absorbed through the skin, allow him to control their actions by verbal suggestions. (The Purple Man, like ''ComicBook/TheJoker'', is aware that he exists in a comic book). He orders Jessica to imagine the most horrifying thing she can envision, which turns out to be the corpse of her boyfriend (Antman II) covered in ants lying in her bed. The Purple Man comments that he wonders what she is seeing, guesses "it doesn't work that way."
* In ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'', ComicBook/TheScarecrow uses a hallucination-inducing gas to discover and induce a person's greatest fear. (Ironically, poetic justice proves his ''own'' greatest fear turns out to be-- a fear of BATS!)
** This seems to be a major theme in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'', especially in the first part, ''Film/BatmanBegins''.
** Another Batman villain, Cornelius Stirk, wanders into this territory as well. He's a telepath who can make other people see what he wants, which he uses to both make himself appear as someone they trust, and to prey on their fears.
* Trauma of ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative'' actually transforms into what his target fears, giving him whatever physical attributes and/or powers that go along with the new form. This combination of psychic powers and shapeshifting was considered a "holy grail" of mutant powers by [[{{Jerkass}} Gyrich]]. [[spoiler: Also, he's not really a mutant at all, but the [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human]] son of the dream demon Nightmare.]]
** It should be noted that this is imperfect--he went through four forms trying to find a weakness in the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] (who, as it turns out, isn't afraid of anything), and got tossed into a parked car for his troubles.
* ''ComicBook/{{Gen 13}}'' villain Phobia was a creepy little girl with Fear Invocation powers.
* The Sinestro Corps of the Franchise/GreenLantern comics is based entirely on this concept. With their power rings they can create constructs of both their own fears and their victims'.
** Later in the ComicBook/BlackestNight arc The Scarecrow himself is recruited as a temporary Yellow Lantern.
* The Nightmare spirits from IDW's ''[[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]]'' comic inflict this upon our heroes when they try to rescue Rarity from their clutches. With ThePowerOfFriendship, Twilight Sparkle faces her fear of disappointing Princess Celestia and being dismissed as her student, Rainbow Dash her fear of losing the power of flight, Pinkie Pie her fear of being unable to make others happy, Fluttershy her fear of losing her way with animals, and Applejack her fear of letting down her family.

* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Judge Fear, the cape-wearing and helmeted [[EvilCounterpart Dark Judge]], has the ability to discern any person's deepest fear so he can literally scare them to death by opening his visor and forcing his victims to gaze into his NightmareFace.
** [[http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bobmitchell/media/blog%20pics/FNF-Fist03Big.jpg.html Doesn't work too well]] on Dredd himself though...
-->'''Judge Fear''': [[AC: Gaze into the face of Fear!]]\\
'''Judge Dredd''': [[TalkToTheFist Gaze into the fist of Dredd!]]
* ComicBook/{{Checkmate}} featured a character named Adam Sharp who was injured in Iraq and rebuilt as a SuperSoldier named Chimera. In this form he had the ability to read minds and take the form of whatever his victim was scared of.
* ''WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'': In "Spy in the Sky," (Fun-In #3, August 1970 Gold Key) Dick Dastardly sends Muttley on a secret mission to learn Yankee Doodle Pigeon's greatest fear. Sensing a spy in his midst, Yankee Doodle makes Muttley think he's scared of lightning. Armed with this information, the Vulture Squadron takes off corralling thunderclouds to push in the pigeon's direction [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption but it backfires]]--Yankee Doodle's flight helmet is equipped with lightning rods.
-->'''Dastardly:''' (''removing Muttley's medals'') "Afraid of lightning," you said...'''Give me those medals!!'''

* ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'': Darth Phobos can use the Force to probe someone's mind to find their fears and create illusions of it. In her boss battle, she puts on a ShapeShifterGuiltTrip, as Starkiller's greatest fear is Juno Eclipse's death.

* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': Parodied in the final level. You're asked what your worst fears are, and then have to go through rooms that contain these, but savvy players can select healing items as answers, causing them to appear. You can also say that Francis (a nerdy chameleon you fought earlier in the game) is your worst fear, causing him to be brought to you and angering him about being interrupted.
* ''VideoGame/Injustice2'': Scarecrow. It's a rare intro dialogue when he doesn't tell his opponent what they fear, and is always fighting in a cloud of fear gas.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': During the quest "Here Lies the Abyss", the Inquisitor and their party are [[spoiler:transported to the Fade (a place most people can only visit in their dreams)]] and must confront a character who can manifest their greatest fears in front of them. Each companion may comment about what it is they see; Cassandra sees maggots, for example, while for the Inquisitor it's spiders.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}'', the Terror draft allows the user to become whatever the target fears the most. It's also a genuine transformation rather than just an illusion; if you use it on the dragon (who is, ironically, a pyrophobe), you briefly become a blazing fire that can ignite nearby things.
* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', the reworked version of [[ScaryScarecrows Fiddlesticks]] has this as a power, as most of unique interactions with other champions have it echoing the final words of there deceased loved ones or reminding them of their biggest regrets.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "Enchanting Grom Fright", Luz learns that part of the upcoming school dance is the "Grom Royalty" having to face Grometheus the Fear Bringer and defeat him in combat. As the name implies, Grometheus has the power to read people's minds and turn into their worst fear. Luz and Amity must work together and face their worst fears, Luz her fear of having to confront her mother and confess she's been hiding out on the Boiling Isles instead of going to reform camp, and Amity her fear of being rejected by her crush, [[spoiler: who just happens to be [[ShipTease Luz]].]]
[[/folder]]

->'''Jack Frost''': Afraid? I'm not afraid of you.
->'''Pitch Black''': Maybe not. But you ''are'' afraid of something.
->'''Jack''': You think so?
->'''Pitch''': I ''know'' so! It's the one thing I always know. People's greatest fears.

* ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}''. According to their psychic medium consultant, the ghost causing the Freelings all the trouble has this ability.
-->'''Tangina''': Now clear your minds. It knows what scares you. It has from the very beginning. Don't give it any help. It knows too much already.

* In the 2003 ''Film/PeterPan'' Hook taunts Peter with his fear of Wendy growing up and forgetting him to throw him off-balance in a battle.

---> '''Peter''': Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Hook's afraid of an old dead croc...

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Wiki/SCPFoundation:

* One ''Series/CriminalMinds'' killer of the week was a PsychoPsychologist who did this mundanely--he interviewed people new to the area about their greatest fears (which were [[RuleOfDrama of course]] all situations he could replicate--nobody said they feared public speaking, or even [[SpidersAreScary spiders]]), then killed them in what he claimed was an "experiment" to reduce their fear.

* Trauma of ''[[ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative Avengers: Initiative]]'' actually transforms into what his target fears, giving him whatever physical attributes and/or powers that go along with the new form. This combination of psychic powers and shapeshifting was considered a "holy grail" of mutant powers by [[{{Jerkass}} Gyrich]]. [[spoiler: Also, he's not really a mutant at all, but the [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human]] son of the dream demon Nightmare.]]
** It should be noted that this is imperfect--he went through four forms trying to find a weakness in The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk (who, as it turns out, isn't afraid of anything), and got tossed into a parked car for his troubles.

* Dani Moonstar in ''Comicbook/NewMutants'' created illusions based on the target's worst fears

* ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' villain Phobia can control the fear of the human mind and create life-like illusions of the fears in that person's mind, including their greatest fear. And she can teleport, so she doesn't have to stick around for the pants change.
* A variation of Fear Inducement appeared in ''Creator/BrianMichaelBendis'' 's ''Comicbook/{{Alias}}''. In Volume Four, Jessica comes face-to-face with occasional ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' villain (and Jessica's archenemy) The Purple Man, whose body secretes chemical pheromones which, when inhaled or absorbed through the skin, allow him to control their actions by verbal suggestions. (The Purple Man, like ''ComicBook/TheJoker'', is aware that he exists in a comic book). He orders Jessica to imagine the most horrifying thing she can envision, which turns out to be the corpse of her boyfriend (Antman II) covered in ants lying in her bed. The Purple Man comments that he wonders what she is seeing, guesses "it doesn't work that way."

* Trauma of ''[[Comicbook/AvengersTheInitiative Avengers: Initiative]]'' actually transforms into what his target fears, giving him whatever physical attributes and/or powers that go along with the new form. This combination of psychic powers and shapeshifting was considered a "holy grail" of mutant powers by [[{{Jerkass}} Gyrich]]. [[spoiler: Also, he's not really a mutant at all, but the [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human]] son of the dream demon Nightmare.]]

* ''Comicbook/{{Gen 13}}'' villain Phobia was a creepy little girl with Fear Invocation powers.

* ''FanFic/RhymeAndReason'': [[BigBad Ivana M. Killjoy]] has done quite some in-depth research on the Rangers as part of her BatmanGambit, including their individual fears which she uses against them — somewhat less in Chip's case because she keeps him busy otherwise.

* In [[https://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/s/legend-of-zelda-fan-fiction/the-legend-of-link-lucky-number-13/19769 The Legend of Link: Lucky Number 13]], [[spoiler:Link]] after becoming the God of Fear instinctively knows what everyone is afraid of (and is fully capable of subjecting them to it).

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': In ''Subterranean Animism'', the mind reader Satori Komeiji uses this as her main combat tactic. Her first spellcard is a form of hypnosis that draws past traumas to the surface, which Satori then reads and copies with her subsequent spellcards.

* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' arcane spells [[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/phantasmalkiller.htm Phantasmal Killer]] and [[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/weird.htm Weird]] are Fear Inducers, as they do not require knowledge of their victim's worst fear in order for them to work.

* In ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'' the first "clause" (read: skill) of the fleeting autumn contract allows a changeling to do this.
* In TabletopGame/InNomine, Calabim that serve the Demon Princess of Nightmares can see a person's worst fear.
* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' the black mist that exudes from the empty space where the top half of the planeswalker Ashiok's head used to be enhances Ashiok's ability to see the worst nightmare's of anyone it touches, and bring them to life.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroTheEternalNight'': The final test to meet the Chronicler is to face the thing you fear the most. In Spyro's case, [[spoiler: Cynder's evil adult form, as he was afraid of her being turned back into it.]]
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroDawnOfTheDragon'': Cynder's Fear element allows her to paralyze opponents with fear, either by letting out a [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic scream]] or blasting them with red energy spheres. Either way, the fear infecting is a secondary effect alongside damage.

* '''Fear Inducement:''' The power to [[YourWorstNightmare bring a person's fears to life]] without actually having any knowledge about what those fears are. This power does not deliberately cause a person to believe they are, for example, vomiting worms, it's just the effect of the power on that particular person. It is sort of like infecting people with dread.

* The Feasters from the fantasy book series ''Literature/LadyOfGems'' can [[YourWorstNightmare bring a person's fears to life]] so they can [[EmotionEater feed off that or those persons fears]]

* Among Shang Tsung's powers in ''Film/MortalKombat'' is the ability to see into a person's soul and find out what that person fears most so he can use that fear against them.

** Similarly, the hotel in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E11TheGodComplex The God Complex]]", with the added twist that [[spoiler: the ''fear'' is a trap to draw out their ''faith'']]
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E3FrontierInSpace Frontier in Space]]" has the Master using a "hypnosound" to induce the worst fear. Humans see the alien Draconians, while the Draconians see humans. Jo Grant sees a monster from one of her past adventures.

** "[[Recap/TheXFilesS03E22Wetwired Wetwired]]": Government controlled people through SubliminalSeduction transferred through TV broadcasting and caused them very vivid {{Hallucinations}} of their worst fears which compelled them to murder even their loved ones. Scully thought that Mulder is collaborating with TheConspiracy and he helped them to abduct her.
** In "[[Recap/TheXFilesS07E22XCops X-Cops]]", the monster of the week could sense people's worst fear and made them real. Some were literal monsters (a wasp man or a generic villainous killer). A man panicked because he thought his partner is going to leave him. One woman died of exotic disease simply because Scully happened to mention its name.

* Some of the ghosts from ''VideoGame/GhostMaster'' have the power to discover peoples unconscious or conscious fears. Often it's up to other ghosts to exploit those fears.
* The BigBad of ''VideoGame/HeavyMetalFAKK2'' to the heroine:
--> I've seen into the depths of your mind, God-Killer, and I know the fear that lives there. Would you like to ''meet him''? [[EvilLaugh MhuhaHAHAHAHAHA!!]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro: Eternal Night'', the final test to meet the Chronicler is to face the thing you fear the most. In Spyro's case, [[spoiler: Cynder's evil adult form, as he was afraid of her being turned back into it.]]
** Cynder's Fear element in ''Dawn of the Dragon'' allows her to paralyze opponents with fear, either by letting out a [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic scream]] or blasting them with red energy spheres. Either way, the fear infecting is a secondary effect alongside damage.
* Darth Phobos from ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' can use The Force to probe someone's mind to find their fears and create illusions of it. In her boss battle, she puts on a ShapeShifterGuiltTrip, as Starkiller's greatest fear is Juno Eclipse's death.
* Tatari from ''VideoGame/MeltyBlood'' is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire that is repeatedly created from rumors]], and has the ability to [[RealityWarper manifest people's subconscious fears as reality]].
* Wizeman from ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', being the god and creator of nightmares, is implied to have this power. He can also alter the dreams of visitors or create nightmares in order to take advantage of these fears. He even uses it in the second game to steal Helen's red idea by removing all light from her dream (Helen is deathly afraid of the dark).
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' game ''Subterranean Animism'', the mind reader Satori Komeiji uses this as her main combat tactic. Her first spellcard is a form of hypnosis that draws past traumas to the surface, which Satori then reads and copies with her subsequent spellcards.
* Parodied in the final level of ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario''. You are asked what are your worst fears, and then have to go through rooms that contain these, but savvy players can select healing items as answers, causing them to appear. You can also say that Francis (a nerdy chameleon you fought earlier in the game) is your worst fear, causing him to be brought to you and angering him about being interrupted.
* True to form, Scarecrow in ''VideoGame/Injustice2.'' It's a rare intro dialogue when he doesn't tell his opponent what they fear, to say nothing of how he's always fighting in a cloud of fear gas.
* During the quest "Here Lies the Abyss" in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', the Inquisitor and their party are [[spoiler:transported to the Fade (a place most people can only visit in their dreams)]] and must confront a character who can manifest their greatest fears in front of them. Each companion may comment about what it is they see; Cassandra sees maggots, for example, while for the Inquisitor it's spiders.

[[folder:VisualNovels]]
* The King in ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend Holiday Star'' [[spoiler:is capable of this and uses it to try and drive visitors over the DespairEventHorizon. If he can take away their desire to leave and face the real world and the real problems in their lives [[AssimilationPlot they can stay with him]] and [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul be happy]]. Mostly he talks to them and gives them picture books with simple stories about allegories of themselves inevitably failing and dying, but he also tries to guilt trip Yuuya by talking about what he did and conjuring broken eggs.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* [[Webcomic/WalkyVerse The Head Alien]] has a list of his enemies' fears and tries using it on Joe. However, since he mostly focuses on Joyce and Walky, his list isn't really up to date.
* In ''Webcomic/CaptainSNES'', [[VideoGame/{{Lufia}} Daos]], as Sinistral of Fear, has this ability. Alex successfully bluffs Daos by challenging Daos to name his worst fear, and after trying to do just that, Daos believes Alex has a powerful mental shield, since all Daos saw was a blinking smiley face. (Actually [[VideoGame/{{Berzerk}} Evil Otto]], an entity that genuinely terrifies Alex.)

** In the earlier iteration of the Peter Pan mythos, ''Film/{{Hook}}'', Peter, and the Lost Boys capitalize on Hook's fear of ticking clocks (and the Croc who made such noises) to encircle him with clocks, driving him briefly into a panic during the final duel.
---> '''Peter'':' Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Hook's afraid of an old dead croc...

* In ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures [[SuperSoldier Trauma]] was a Fear Inducer, creating fear in his enemy and then [[EmotionEater eating it]] to transform the victims in the mindless [[SlaveMook Coolflames]]. In the sequel, [=PK2=], we have Korinna, a Fear Invoker who uses her power to create a small army convinced she is the only one capable of stopping the things they are afraid of.

* Dani Moonstar in ''Comicbook/NewMutants'' created illusions based on the target's worst fears, as did ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' villain Phobia.