History Main / NosyNeighbor

* ''Film/TheBurbs'' portrays these characters as the protagonist: Ray Peterson, Art Weingartner, and Mark Rumsfield spend the film snooping on the Klopeks, who just moved into the neighborhood, after a number of passing observations makes the three of them suspect that the Klopeks are actually a family of murderers. [[spoiler:They end up being right at the end, and Ray eventually gets the Klopeks arrested for their crimes.]]

* ''Series/WandaVision'': Wanda's neighbor Agnes fits the first type, as she's always poking around in Wanda's life and showing up at her house at suspiciously convenient times. [[spoiler:It's because she's actually a witch named Agatha Harkness who wants to know how Wanda created the sitcom Hex in the first place and then steal that power for herself. After Wanda drains Agatha of her power, she [[AndIMustScream traps Agatha inside her own mind and overrides her personality]] with her sitcom persona of [[LampshadedTrope "Agnes the Nosy Neighbor".]] Keep in mind that this is the same fate that a Westview resident just told Wanda she'd rather die than experience again.]]

-->'''Bea:''' ''(sarcastically)'' Please say it louder, they didn't hear you in apartment 1-A! \\
'''Marisa:''' ''(from two floors below)'' Yes, we did! Thank you!

* ''WebAnimation/MetaRunner'': In Season 2, Masa has one in the form of a man in an ExpressiveMask who keeps barging into his low-tier apartment asking for money. [[spoiler: However, the very end of Season 2 reveals this neighbor to be [[GreaterScopeVillain Dr. Sheridan]] in disguise.]]

-->-- ''[[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables Anne of Avalonlea]]''

-->--''[[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables Anne of Avalonlea]]''

* ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'': Inverted with NiceGirl Elizabeth who’s dragged away from her home by Hyacinth.

* In ''Film/TheMadMagician'', Gallico rents the upper floor of the Prentiss' house under guise of Ormond. Unfortunately for him, Alice Prentiss writes murder mysteries and fancies herself as a MysteryWriterDetective. Her snooping brings Ormond's wife Claire on to the scene, causing Gallico to murder her and abandon his refuge at the Prentiss house.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': A variation on the trope appears in the episode "The Party Line". Here, Miss Brooks (and landlady Mrs. Davis) are plagued by "Grace". Grace is a woman on their party line who ties up the line constantly talking to her best friend Bertha. However, she doesn't stop there. Grace and her husband consistently listen in on Miss Brooks' conversation. At the end of episode, Miss Brooks succeeds in having the party line changed, only to end up sharing a phone with ''Bertha'' who is always talking to Grace. The episode ends with Bertha interrupting Miss Brooks' conversation with Mr. Boynton, and trying to get his phone number! Of interest, Bertha was played by Sandra Gould. Gould would go on to be the second Mrs. Kravitz on ''Series/Bewitched''.

* Madeline "Matty" Crimmins from ''[[Film/TheStepfather Stepfather II]]'', a gossip and mail courier who digs through her neighbor's mail as a hobby. She winds up strangled to death by the killer.
* Mrs. [=MacDougall=] in ''Film/ThatDarnCat''. She uses a hearing aid to eavesdrop on her neighbours, watches them through her window, gossips about what she sees, and goes out late at night to spy on them when something unusual is happening.
* Claire becomes this in ''Film/WhatLiesBeneath'', due to her genuine concern that the husband across the street has murdered his wife -- she heard the woman crying and her vague explanations alluded to an abusive relationship, including outright saying, "I'm afraid that one day I'll just disappear", not seeing the wife for several days, as well as the husband's own vagueness about her absence. It turns out to be a RedHerring.

* Petunia Dursley of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' is noted several times to be far too interested in her neighbours' doings.
* Lance from the ''Literature/JaineAustenMysteries'' started out being Jaine's annoying neighbor who didn't like loud noises coming from her apartment. His nosiness ends up saving her life when he calls the police on a murderer forcing his way into her apartment to try killing her.

* Much of Brian Aldiss's novel ''Report on Probability A'' is taken up with exhaustive descriptions of three men spying on a house from three of its outbuildings, attempting to catch a glimpse of the elusive Mr Mary's Wife through the windows.
* Sir John and Mrs Jennings in ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'' are good-natured gossips who take an eager interest in the romantic prospects of any young person who enters their field of vision (Mrs Jennings, it's noted, has two married daughters and is now seeking to marry off the rest of the world). Marianne Dashwood finds this extremely annoying and would give offense if Sir John and Mrs Jennings were capable of being offended. Elinor finds it tiresome, too, but she thinks that the pair's meddling is offset by their genuine kindness and generosity.
* As far as Stephanie Crawford from ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' is concerned, she absolutely must know everything. She is a {{Gossipy Hen|s}} too.
* Mrs. Cormaci from ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'' is a well-intentioned and not especially annoying version, but any questions are awkward when you don't know have a good explanation.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''Manga/SallyTheWitch'', Sally's next-door neighbors qualify as a more innocent version of this. They're rather pleasant elders most of the time, it's just that their little neighbor ''happens'' to be a MagicalGirl and at times they get caught in the middle of her magical mishaps by proxy, or at others they can't help being curious about it.

* ''Film/FromBeyondTheGrave'': In "The Gatecrasher", Charlton's downstairs neighbour Mr, Jeffries knocks on his door to complain about [[RainOfBlood the red liquid dripping down through his ceiling]]. He goes on to complain about the large number of young ladies Charlton has been bringing home, and the noise they have be making, and the hammering that has been going on at all hours of the night. Unfortunately for poor Mr. Jeffries the penny does not drop before Charlton [[MurderIsTheBestSolution uses a knife to rid himself of the problems a nosy neighbour can bring]].

* In ''Film/{{Stag}}'', one of the main threats of exposure the men face is Victor's neighbour Ben who keeps coming over to investigate the noises coming from Victor's house. Every time, one of the party-goers has to be sent out to divert him. Given the noises include gunshots and an imprisoned stripper kicking out the glass in in upstairs window in an attempt to escape, he is right to be suspicious.

* The Lookout role from ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' is a ProperlyParanoid version of this. The Lookout can camp a house each night and see whom visits said player, which, given that there '''are''' actual killers running amok in the town, is one of the way to get information on said killers.

* Hi in ''Film/CanyonPassage'' is a relatively sympathetic example. He regards himself as "an observer of his fellow humans" rather than a snoop, and there is really not much else for an intellectual to do in Jacksonville expect people watch. He is peeking through George's shutters when he sees George stealing Mac's gold dust.

* ''Series/WandaVision'': Wanda's neighbor Agnes fits the first type, as she's always poking around in Wanda's life and showing up at her house at suspiciously convenient times. [[spoiler:It's because she's actually a witch named Agatha Harkness who wants to know how Wanda created the sitcom Hex in the first place and then steal that power for herself. After Wanda drains Agatha of her power, she [[AndIMustScream traps Agatha inside her own mind and overrides her personality]] with her sitcom persona of "Agnes the Nosy Neighbor". Keep in mind that this is the same fate that a Westview resident just told Wanda she'd rather die than experience again.]]

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

They usually come in two types. The female type (though not always female) is the epitome of niceness, which serves as an excuse for her chronic curiosity - she will [[DropInCharacter show up on the characters' doorstep]] with a fresh-baked pie while peering inside over their shoulder. Sometimes the only problem with her is that she always shows up at the wrong time - Nosy Neighbors have a tendency to appear and initiate a long chat when there is something in the other room needing the character's attention that they would rather not let others know about.

Occasionally a horror trope, when this starts to border serious stalking.

* Amusingly [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] was actually Bruce's neighbor and figured out Bruce was ComicBook/{{Batman}} without Bruce having a clue until Tim got worried for Bruce's safety.

* Mrs. [=MacDougall=] in ''Film/ThatDarnCat''. She uses a hearing aid to eavesdrop on her neighbours, watches them through her window, gossips about what she sees, and goes out late at night to spy on them when something unusual is happening.
* ''Film/MyFavoriteMartian'': Tim's landlady, Mrs. Lorelei Brown.
* ''Film/HardCandy'': Judy Tokuda is the only character other than Jeff and Hayley to have any impact - she pops in at one point to ask about Jeff, nearly [[DidntSeeThatComing driving Hayley's carefully calculated plan off the rails]].
* Hitchcock's ''Film/RearWindow'': L. B. "Jeff" Jeffries spies on his neighbors out of boredom. The plot kicks off when he becomes convinced, correctly, that one neighbor had killed his wife.
* Madeline "Matty" Crimmins from ''[[Film/TheStepfather Stepfather II]]'', a gossip and mail courier who digs through her neighbor's mail as a hobby. She winds up strangled to death by the killer.
* Minnie and Roman in ''Film/RosemarysBaby'' inserted themselves into the lives of their much younger neighbors, Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse, much to Rosemary's annoyance. As it turns out there's [[FauxAffablyEvil much more to it than that]].

* Claire becomes this in ''Film/WhatLiesBeneath'', due to her genuine concern that the husband across the street has murdered his wife -- she heard the woman crying and her vague explanations alluded to an abusive relationship, including outright saying, "I'm afraid that one day I'll just disappear", not seeing the wife for several days, as well as the husband's own vagueness about her absence. It turns out to be a RedHerring.
* The Nearys in ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind'' have a nosy neighbor living next door to their house, always watching them from her window.
* Hi in ''Film/CanyonPassage'' is a relatively sympathetic example. He regards himself as "an observer of his fellow humans" rather than a snoop, and there is really not much else for an intellectual to do in Jacksonville expect people watch. He is peeking through George's shutters when he sees George stealing Mac's gold dust.
* In ''Film/MysteryRoad'', Mary's neighbour is a nosy old man who knows everything that goes on in the street. When Mary's house gets broken into, he refuses to tell Jay anything for fear of reprisals. However, he does nod almost imperceptibly when Jay asks him if the perpetrators were driving a gold Statesman. This is enough for Jay to go on.
* In ''Film/FearInc'', Joe's neighbour Bill is the captain of the local neighborhood watch and keeps a close eye on all the comings and goings.
* In ''Film/TheMadMagician'', Gallico rents the upper floor of the Prentiss' house under guise of Ormond. Unfortunately for him, Alice Prentiss writes murder mysteries and fancies herself as a MysteryWriterDetective. Her snooping brings Ormond's wife Claire on to the scene, causing Gallico to murder her and abandon his refuge at the Prentiss house.

* ''Film/FromBeyondTheGrave'': In "The Gatecrasher", Charlton's downstairs neighbour Mr, Jeffries knocks on his door to complain about [[RainOfBlood the red liquid dripping down through his ceiling]]. He goes on to complain about the large number of young ladies Charlton has been bringing home, and the noise they have be making, and the hammering that has been going on at all hours of the night. Unfortunately for poor Mr. Jeffries the penny does not drop before Charlton [[MurderIsTheBestSolution uses a knife to rid himself of the problems a nosy neighbour can bring]].

* 1962 ''Film/BoysNightOut'' featured a snoopy religious neighbor who listened to and was shocked by the sexual escapades that were going on next door (well, that she thought were going on).[[/folder]]

* Much of Brian Aldiss's novel ''Report on Probability A'' is taken up with exhaustive descriptions of three men spying on a house from three of its outbuildings, attempting to catch a glimpse of the elusive Mr Mary's Wife through the windows.

* As far as Stephanie Crawford from ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' is concerned, she absolutely must know everything. She is a [[GossipyHens Gossipy Hen]] too.
* Mrs. Cormaci from ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'' is a well-intentioned and not especially annoying version, but any questions are awkward when you don't know have a good explanation.

* ''Literature/GangstaGranny'' has the granny's neighbor who's always looking through her window.
* Lance from the Jaine Austen mysteries started out being Jaine’s annoying neighbor who didn’t like loud noises coming from her apartment. His nosiness ends up saving her life when he calls the police on a murderer forcing his way into her apartment to try killing her.

* ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'': Inverted with NiceGirl Elizabeth who’s dragged away from her home by Hyacinth.
* Alfred Hitchcock parodied his own film ''Film/RearWindow'' with the episode of ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'' called "Mr Blanchard's Secret", involving a NosyNeighbor who is convinced her neighbor killed his never-seen wife.

* The next-door neighbors in ''Series/SmallWonder'' were highly obnoxious versions of this trope, their casual antics often more memorable than any of the main plots, even ones where they were involved. The Dad/Inventor finally up and decided to [[spoiler: use the android girl VICI as part of a plot to force these neighbors to move away, once and for all]]. It didn't work, but it made so much sense to try.
%%* ''Series/FamilyMatters'': Urkel had his moments from time to time.

* ''Series/ThreesCompany'' had Mr. Roeper and, later, Mr. Furley. The former fit the CrankyNeighbor trope much more, however, than the latter, who was actually more laid back.
%%* ''Series/NannyAndTheProfessor'': Mrs. Fowler.

* ''Series/AquiNoHayQuienViva'': Pretty much the entire building would fit, but the most prominent ones are Marisa, Concha and Vicenta, the three elderly women from apartment 1-A.[[note]]Sisters Marisa and Vicenta live together for the show's entire run, Concha joins them from season 2 after her son Armando sells apartment 2-B.[[/note]] They are the anchors of "Radio Patio", where they tell the neighbors about what's going on in the building, have three spyholes on their door, and Marisa at least is known for having quite the sharp ear:
-->'''Bea:''' ''(sarcastically)'' Please say it louder, they didn't hear you in apartment 1-A! \\
'''Marisa:''' ''(from two floors below)'' Yes, we did! Thank you!
* Justified in ''Series/TheBarrier''. Emilia's neighbor Begoña is part of the government's surveillance network, so being far too curious and "just checking on people" when things best kept hidden are going on is her job.
* ''Series/WandaVision'': Wanda's neighbor Agnes fits the first type, as she's always poking around in Wanda's life and showing up at her house at suspiciously convenient times. [[spoiler:It's because she's actually a witch named Agatha Harkness who wants to know how Wanda created the sitcom Hex in the first place and then steal that power for herself. After Wanda drains Agatha of her power, she [[AndIMustScream traps Agatha inside her own mind and overrides her personality]] with her sitcom persona of "Agnes the Nosy Neighbor." Keep in mind that this is the same fate that a Westview resident just told Wanda she'd rather die than experience again.]]

* This is a character type in ''VideoGame/WeHappyFew''. They're designed to make life more difficult for any [[DefectorFromDecadence Downers]] who like to employ stealth.

* Heywood J. Lookathat in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is the thick-headed head of the town council who periodically takes it upon himself to ''do'' something about all the insanity Bob inadvertently brings to Generictown. Thankfully, he's usually too inept to be a real danger, but he did organize a small [[TorchesAndPitchforks angry mob once.]] [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20080311.html Did it quickly, too.]][[note]]Note that this was years before [[RealLife Charlottesville.]] [[HarsherInHindsight Back in 2008, the prospect of an angry mob using silly tiki torches just seemed ridiculous.]][[/note]]

* [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' are the first type. They're nice, generous, friendly fellows and all they want to do is include Squidward in their friendship and fun -- but Sponge and Pat are obnoxious and foolish, lack tact, and don't adhere to boundaries. At best, [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick are nice guys and Squidward likes them -- at worse, they're extremely annoying, and Squidward is frustrated by them.
** Squidward is Type II, though he would never admit it. The plots of several episodes (Bubblestand, Snowball Effect, Club Spongebob, The Camping Episode, Idiot Box, etc) begin when Squidward is so overcome with frustrated curiosity that he ''cannot'' bring himself to keep his nose out of their antics.
* Helen Lovejoy on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is rather nosy about the lives of other Springfield families.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': Gumball AND Darwin have a disturbing idol worship of the Robinsons to the point that they'd creep ''Dennis'' out.
* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': Mitchell, being a Kid Detective, likes to spy on the Propulsions, Jet especially, so he can gather proof that they are aliens. Sometimes, he even infiltrates Jet's house, like in "Solar System Bake-Off", "Kid-Kart Derby", and "Jet Shrinks the Kids". However, unlike most examples of the trope, he's not a busybody gossip.

[[/folder]]

* ''Series/WandaVision'': Wanda's neighbor Agnes fits the first type, as she's always poking around in Wanda's life and showing up at her house at suspiciously convenient times. [[spoiler:It's because she's actually a witch named Agatha Harkness who wants to know how Wanda created the sitcom Hex in the first place and then steal that power for herself. After Wanda drains Agatha of her power, she [[AndIMustScream traps Agatha inside her own mind and overrides her personality]] with her sitcom persona of "Agnes the Nosy Neighbor," with no way out unless Wanda decides she wants Agatha's advice at some future date.]]

* ''Series/WandaVision'': Wanda's neighbor Agnes fits the first type, always poking around in Wanda's life and showing up at her house at suspiciously convenient times. [[spoiler:It's because she's actually a witch named Agatha Harkness who wants to know how Wanda created the sitcom Hex in the first place and then steal that power for herself. After Wanda drains Agatha of her power, she [[AndIMustScream traps Agatha inside her own mind and overrides her personality]] with the character of "Agnes the Nosy Neighbor," with no way out unless Wanda decides she wants Agatha's advice at some future date.]]

* ''Series/WandaVision'': Wanda's neighbor Agnes fits the first type, always poking around in Wanda's life and showing up at her house at suspiciously convenient times. [[spoilers:It's because she's actually a witch named Agatha Harkness who wants to know how Wanda created the sitcom Hex in the first place and then steal that power for herself. After Wanda drains Agatha of her power, she [[AndIMustScream traps Agatha inside her own mind and overrides her personality]] with the character of "Agnes the Nosy Neighbor," with no way out unless Wanda decides she wants Agatha's advice at some future date.]]

A neighbor (usually female) who just cannot keep to herself. Usually a grotesquely stereotyped shrewish gossip -- always on the lookout for delicious secrets and rumors about the characters, which is emphasized by showing her peering suspiciously around her curtains at least once an episode.

The second type is closer to the CrankyNeighbor, and generally just wants to be left alone - until the main characters start acting suspiciously and he feels that he needs to protect his interests and verify that they are not doing anything that may disturb their peace. This usually ends with them going further and getting more involved than intended.

[[quoteright:251:[[Series/{{Bewitched}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gladyskravitz_1336.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:251:Abner! Come quick!]]

They usually come in two types. The female type (though not always female) is the epitome of niceness, which serves as an excuse for her chronic curiosity - she will [[DropInCharacter show up on the characters' doorstep]] with a fresh baked pie while peering inside over their shoulder. Sometimes the only problem with her is that she always shows up at the wrong time - Nosy Neighbors have a tendency to appear and initiate a long chat when there is something in the other room needing the character's attention that they would rather not let others know about.

See also SecretChaser for when there ''is'' some huge secret to be kept hidden from this neighbor. If it's not an impromptu pie delivery she's using as her tactic, it she may pop over to ask "MayIBorrowACupOfSugar".

* In ''Manga/SallyTheWitch'', Sally's next door neighbors qualify as a more innocent version of this. They're rather pleasant elders most of the time, it's just that their little neighbor ''happens'' to be a MagicalGirl and at times they get caught in the middle of her magical mishaps by proxy, or at others they can't help being curious about it.