History Main / NightSwimEqualsDeath

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Frequent in the ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' movies. The opening scene in the first movie is the most remarkable one.
* Happens to anyone who skinnydips at night in Crystal Lake in the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' movies.

* Subverted in ''Film/CatPeople''. Although it doesn't end with a death, the suspension being built up pretty much forces you to expect it
* Averted in classical Finnish films ("Suomi-filmi"); skinny dips, nighttime or not, bring no greater harm than perhaps an unwanted admirer.

* Despite the warnings, two lovers in ''Film/TheMonsterThatChallengedTheWorld'' go swimming in the moonlight, and they soon disappear beneath the surface.
* In ''Film/DeathScreams'', Sandy at the bonfire party decides to go swimming [[SkinnyDipping in nude]]. She's interrupted by the floating corpses of the two lovers from the opening, followed by the killer [[SlashedThroat slashing her throat]].
* In ''Film/TheBurning'', Eddie and Karen go SkinnyDipping on the overnight canoe trip. After Eddie comes on too strong, Karen returns to shore to discover [[GoneSwimmingClothesStolen her clothes have been stolen]]. As she is searching for them, she becomes Cropsy's next victim.
* In ''Film/MistressOfTheApes'', one of the Bantu maidens decides to take a moonlight dip in the river and is killed by the Near Men in retaliation for Thurston killing one of their women.

* In the {{Backstory}} to ''The Reincarnation of Peter Proud'', the title character goes for a swim at night. His wife rows out to him in a small boat and knocks him unconscious with a paddle, causing him to drown. The same thing happens in TheFilmOfTheBook. The reincarnated man recreates the swim as part of his plan to rid himself of the bad dreams of his former life. Unfortunately, the wife of the previous man follows him out as before. [[spoiler:He tries to stop her from killing with an oar as before, but this time she has a gun, [[DownerEnding and he dies all over again]].]]

* In the book ''Siren'', the older sister drowns when she decides to go and dive off a cliff for fun in the middle of the night

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Brimstone}}'', a young woman (who is one of the 113 escapees from Hell who makes for the show's McGuffin, and who went to Hell after she murdered the families of the men who raped her) goes swimming at night with her new boyfriend. When he gets a little too frisky and triggers her, her demonic powers kick in and she boils him alive in the water.
* Happens in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E20GoFish Go Fish]]", where the swim team are turning into fish monsters.

* A ''Series/{{Castle}}'' episode starts with the champion of a college swim team training in the pool after dark. Of course, he ends up being the {{body of the week}} not even two minutes into the episode.
* Played with in the finale of ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'': Nucky strips off all his clothes and swims far out into the ocean at first light, ducking under the water in the final shot. It's left ambiguous whether this is a flash-forward to his death or simply a recreational swim. Later on, he tells Eli he'd been for a swim out of nostalgia, as he used to do it as a kid. He had considered swimming out too far but decided to return instead.
* DDA Emma Rios of ''Series/MajorCrimes'' is drowned in her own pool while taking an evening swim to kick off the series finale.

* In the Flash game ''It Came From The Deep End!'', a kid at summer camp gets dared to swim at night in a lake where a child-eating monster is rumored to live. The player has to steer him from one end of the lake to the other, but if he gets steered directly over the monster's lair, the monster eats him.

[[quoteright:350:[[Series/ScreamTVSeries https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scream.png]]]]

'''As a DeathTrope, spoilers ahoy.'''

This can be TruthInTelevision to some degree, as swimmers are less likely to see aquatic predators such as [[EverythingsEvenWorseWithSharks sharks]] and [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]] at night, and such predators are often more active at night too. This is why many beaches close at night or at least warn people that night swimming is dangerous. In a similar vein, a human killer can take advantage of the [[HazardousWater water]], [[DarknessEqualsDeath darkness]] and often [[IneffectualLoner solitude]] of a night swimmer. Drownings also tend to take place at night, though this may be generally because it gives people plenty of time to have got drunk first.

* In book ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'', this is why main character Pteppic has a MissingMom. She took an evening swim in what turned out to be a crocodile.

[[quoteright:350:[[Series/{{Scream}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scream.png]]]]

* In the BackStory to ''The Reincarnation of Peter Proud'', the title character goes for a swim at night. His wife rows out to him in a small boat and knocks him unconscious with a paddle, causing him to drown. The same thing happens in TheFilmOfTheBook.
** And, the reincarnated man recreates the swim as part of his plan to rid himself of the bad dreams of his former life. Unfortunately, the wife of the previous man follows him out as before. [[spoiler: He tries to stop her from killing with an oar as before, but this time she has a gun and he dies all over again. Bummer ending.]]
* One of the murder victims in ''[[Creator/AgathaChristie A Caribbean Mystery]]'' falls foul of the killer while swimming at night.
* In the book ''Siren'' the older sister drowns when she decides to go and dive off a cliff for fun in the middle of the night
* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'', this is why main character Pteppic has a MissingMom. She took an evening swim in what turned out to be a crocodile.

* Too many ''{{Series/CSI}}'', ''Series/CSIMiami'' and ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' episodes to list. When this happens the usual is finding the body floating in the swimming pool.
** Parodied in one episode of ''{{Series/CSI}}''. A body is found floating face down in a swimming pool during a nighttime party. Everyone panics. Our heroes are called to the scene. The "body" turns out to be a mannequin.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' Lana Lang once went for a night swim, at the high school pool if memory serves. Naturally she was attacked, and Clark saved her.
** It was not Clark who saved her but some guy hunting meteor freaks that shot her attacker dead before he could drown her. Clark would have been too late.

* Played with in the finale of ''Series/{{Boardwalk Empire}}'': Nucky strips off all his clothes and swims far out into the ocean at first light, ducking under the water in the final shot. It's left ambiguous whether this is a flash-forward to his death or simply a recreational swim. Later on, he tells Eli he'd been for a swim out of nostalgia, as he used to do it as a kid. He had considered swimming out too far, but decided to return instead.

* In ''Series/StrangerThings'' Barb doesn't actually go swimming, but she is sitting alone by a pool at an illicit party when the Demogorgon takes her.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* The plot of ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary's'' Mahuitalotu arc [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2005-10-02 kicks off this way]].

* Parodied in ''[[Film/NineteenFortyOne 1941]]'' - girl goes swimming at night, gets caught on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v93NKIFBBw a Japanese submarine.]] It's even the same girl who did the ''Jaws'' scene.

-->-- '''Creator/WilliamShakespeare''', ''Theatre/KingLear''

* A Halloween episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has Lenny recreating the opening scene from ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', except with dolphins in place of a shark.

* Happens in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' in the episode where the swim team are turning into fish monsters.

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Discworld/{{Pyramids}}'', this is why main character Pteppic has a MissingMom. She took an evening swim in what turned out to be a crocodile.

* Too many ''{{Series/CSI}}'', ''Series/CSIMiami'' and ''Series/CSINewYork'' episodes to list. When this happens the usual is finding the body floating in the swimming pool.

* In ''Film/theBurning'', Eddie and Karen go SkinnyDipping on the overnight canoe trip. After Eddie comes on too strong, Karen returns to shore to discover [[GoneSwimmingClothesStolen her clothes have been stolen]]. As she is searching for them, she becomes Cropsy's next victim.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scream.png]]

!!Examples of this trope:

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

-->'''Lenny:''' Alcohol and night-swimming! It's a winning combination! (dolphins appear) [[OhCrap Oh no]], sharks! The assassins of the sea!...Wait, you're dolphins, the clowns of the sea.
-->[[WhosLaughingNow *The dolphins proceeded to beat and bite him to death*]].
[[/folder]]

->'' 'Tis a naughty night to swim in.''

* While the minor 1957 hit "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbMJWa6FXTM Moonlight Swim]]" is actually just a standard [[SillyLoveSongs Silly Love Song]] of the era, once you know it's sung by the future [[Film/{{Psycho}} Norman Bates]] himself (Anthony Perkins) it's hard not to think of the trope anyway.

* Played with in the finale of ''Series/{{BoardwalkEmpire}}'': Nucky strips off all his clothes and swims far out into the ocean at first light, ducking under the water in the final shot. It's left ambiguous whether this is a flash-forward to his death or simply a recreational swim. Later on, he tells Eli he'd been for a swim out of nostalgia, as he used to do it as a kid. He had considered swimming out too far, but decided to return instead.

* In ''{{Primeval}}'', a couple is swimming in a public pool at night, when a [[SeaMonster mosasaur]] joins them...

* In ''{{Smallville}}'' Lana Lang once went for a night swim, at the high school pool if memory serves. Naturally she was attacked, and Clark saved her.