History Main / OrphanageOfFear

* ''Manga/SPYxFAMILY'': At the start of the story, Anya is living in a clandestine orphanage run by a sleazy FatBastard eager to get rid of as many kids as possible (and her in particular). Loid didn't even need to fill out ''any'' paperwork to adopt Anya, which is [[ExploitedTrope why he actively sought out the most run down place he could find]]. Loid is a foreign spy who needed a child he can pass as his by birth for a {{Deep Cover|Agent}} operation, so he wanted to adopted one with as little documentation as possible.

* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Seto and Mokuba Kaiba lived in one of these after their parents' deaths, complete with facing bullying from other kids.

* In Alison Croggon's ''Literature/BooksOfPellinor'' series, the main character's younger brother (and the main character of book three) Hem grew up in a terrible orphanage in a corrupt and rotting town. It came complete with dismal living spaces, horribly abusive adults, murderously petty and emotionally scared children, all capped off with the disturbingly common instances of death by starvation or murder -- because of the fierceness of the other children.
* ''Brotherhood of the Rose'' by Creator/DavidMorrell. Although the protagonists aren't mistreated in their government-run orphanage, all the children are indoctrinated to become patriotic CannonFodder for the US military.

* Anaïs Nin describes one of these in her novella ''Children of the Albatross'', part of ''Literature/CitiesOfTheInterior''. Djuna, a beautiful young woman with "enormous fairytale eyes", tells the story of how she grew up in one of these grim places. "The Watchman" was supposed to keep the girls within walls at night but would let them out for a few hours in return for sexual favors.
* In Jean Webster's ''Literature/DaddyLongLegs'', Jerusha "Judy" Abbot grows up in a borderline example of the trope, John Grier House. The employers aren't directly abusive and the kids have what they basically need thanks to the sponsors, but it's ''still'' far from an OrphanageOfLove and there is a lot of emotional/intellectual neglect of them. She's still smart and lucky enough to have one of the well-meaning sponsors, the titular DDL ([[spoiler:aka Jervis Pendleton, local BunnyEarsLawyer and TheCasanova]]), send her to a local college. [[spoiler:They meet in person, fall in love, and get married.]] The sequel, ''Dear Enemy'', has Judy's school friend [[FieryRedhead Sallie McBride]] struggling to turn John Grier House into a proper OrphanageOfLove, under Judy's explicit request. She manages to do it with the help of the orphanage's doctor, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Dr. Robin TragicHero McRae]]. [[SlapSlapKiss Whom Sallie falls in love with.]]
* In ''Literature/TheDeclaration'' by Gemma Malley, Surpluses, or children born to people taking the immortality drug, are put in these. They are often told they do not deserve to exist and have futures as servants. The main character, Anna, escapes with the help of a boy named Peter. They are allowed to stay out of the group home because [[spoiler:both Anna's parents died, and Peter's father died, and the only way to get out of the homes is if one person in your family dies. That way, you're not adding more people to the world.]]

%%* ''Literature/EscapeToWitchMountain'' by Creator/AlexanderKey: The place Tony and Tia were sent to after Grandma Malone died is more reformatory than the Disney orphanage in [[Film/EscapeToWitchMountain the movie]]. They are sent there because of the various minor offenses they had committed out of innocence. Tia has the power to break locks and frequently does this to free trapped animals. She also breaks into the library at the orphanage because she is a {{Bookworm}}. Tony cannot make her understand why adults see it as a crime, and since she is mute the adults assume she's (at best) rebellious. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; in what way does the orphanage mistreat the children?)
* In ''Literature/FarawayDream'', by Jane Flory, Seafarers Safe Harbor for Orphans is run by Mrs. Dempey, who is physically abusive and lazy.
* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/{{Freckles}}'', Freckles grew up in one of the not actively cruel ones. Still --

* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/MichaelOHalloran'', Mickey's mother had raised him to be able to look after himself because otherwise he would be taken to the home. When he meets Peaches after her granny died, other boarders are talking of how the girl will be taken to the home, and she's terrified.

* ''Literature/{{Momo|1973}}'': Momo is an orphan who lives in a ruined amphitheater on the outskirts of the city. The neighboring families keep her supplied with food and other essentials, but she refuses to have anything to do with official social services because she previously lived in an orphanage that had bars on the windows and daily beatings, and doesn't want to end up in another.

* While the children of Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/ChroniclesOfChaos Orphans of Chaos]]'' are not actively maltreated, they are certainly kept in the dark about their origins, and apparently kept captive past the age of majority. [[spoiler:They also learn that their keepers have used LaserGuidedAmnesia and {{Restraining Bolt}}s on them.]]

* Richard Sharpe, from Creator/BernardCornwell's ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'' series, grew up in the workhouse as a child. In one of the later books, it is shown that despite ''twenty years and numerous battles'', Sharpe still has PTSD when he returns and faces the orphanage master. If that weren't enough, the children are served gruel. [[spoiler:Of course, he savagely murders said orphanage master... right in front of a little orphaned girl before proceeding to the main plot, so you could say the book brutally explores this trope front, back, and sideways.]]

* ''Literature/ThursdaysChild'', by Creator/NoelStreatfeild. St. Luke's Orphanage is run by "Matron", who steals from the children to enrich herself and is physically abusive. After she leaves, it becomes an OrphanageOfLove, due to the influence of Lady Corkberry.

* In ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', after her parents died in an accident, [[spoiler:Miyoko Tanishi]] aka the BigBad [[spoiler:Miyo Takano]] spent some time in a horrific orphanage in the middle of the woods as part of her StartOfDarkness. The orphanage is run by bitter ex-military staff, who take joy in torturing and sexually abusing the children, including subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishments or deaths, like making Tanishi lick a toilet after a soldier just defecated in it or feeding a kid to hungry chickens. Fortunately, Tanishi was able to call for help and was adopted by [[spoiler:a man named Takano]], but we never find out what happened to the orphanage or the other kids.
* ''Franchise/{{Hitman}}'': The novel ''[[Literature/{{Hitman}} Enemy Within]]'' depicts Agent 47 on a quest to hunt down a mole in the ICA, which takes him to Morocco in pursuit of a drug lord that runs an orphanage as part of his legitimate businessman appearance. The orphanage turns out to be a child brothel that also doubles as a slave trafficking ring.

* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': "Seeing Stars" portrays {{hellhound}} adoption centers like these in a flashback, mixed with PoundsAreAnimalPrisons. The pups are malnourished and deformed, the cells are filled with grime, and the social worker's dialog implies the pups are mostly sold as slaves or family pets, and she doesn't acknowledge pups being violent towards each other, even when one is threating his cellmate with a [[SavageSpikedWeapons bloody nail bat]] in front of her, implying it's a regular occurrence. [[spoiler:This is where Blitzo found and adopted Loona, [[AdultAdoptee a month before she turned 18]].]]

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[[folder:Web Original]]
* Monobear's Home for Orphaned Bastards in ''Roleplay/DanganRoleplayNickelodeonVSCartoonNetwork'' has a sadist take over [[WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends Foster's Home]] and turn it into a [[DeadlyGame murderschool]].
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* The orphanage in ''Manga/ThePromisedNeverland'' looks like an OrphanageOfLove on the surface. The orphans receive excellent care, good food, and education. [[spoiler:All to make them more appetizing to the demons who rule the world.]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' fanfiction tended to paint Mamoru's childhood home as one of these, at least in the early days. At least [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1155391/1/As_God_Is_My_Witness_I_Thought_Turkeys_Could_Fly one fanfiction]] {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this assumption by stating that Mamoru actually had it pretty good in the orphanage what with charity and donations, so he doesn't get why all the girls think he had a terrible childhood there.

* In the ''Franchise/MyHeroAcademia'' series ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2332319 The Aizawa-Yamada Family]]'' Hitoshi is from one. They are decent to most kids but cruel to quirkless kids and kids like Hitoshi with “villainous” quirks. They scrub his record so his quirk isnt listed and pass him off to foster parents who keep abusing him, label him a villain, muzzle him and call the orphanage to take him back. They also give him a muzzle to give to fosters if he talks. PapaWolf Aizawa and Yamada won’t stand for it when they learn what Hitoshi endured and get it shut down.

* Dr. Bumby's Home For Wayward Children in ''Videogame/AliceMadnessReturns'' has to be the worst "orphanage" in videogame history. In a normal OrphanageOfFear the kids get neglected, emotionally abused, beaten, and probably half-starved. Here, their caretaker and therapist [[spoiler:brainwashes them and then pimps them as child prostitutes]]. And not even very secretly. The little plaque says it all: "Earn Your Keep."
* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad II'' gives us the White House: unlike most examples of this trope, the kids are not openly mistreated by uncaring or sadistic by the people in charge (in fact, [[spoiler:one of its former managers, Vilmer, is shown to be a descent, loving grandfather]]), but when the employees are pretty much on [[EldritchAbomination Cthulhu's]] payroll, you know that the facility hides very dark, horrific secrets, and oh boy does it not disappoint: the orphans (which were forcibly taken from their family at best, [[spoiler:witnesses of their family's slaughter and people's genocide at worst]]) are kept compliant by [[spoiler:being forced to take "control medicines" suspiciously similar to rape drugs which pretty much end up wiping their memories -- the protagonist had amnesia for the better part of a decade thanks to them --]] until they are dissected (chairs equipped with huge rotating saws are found in the basement)... if they are lucky. If they are unlucky, the paid-by-the-local-Cthulhu scientists overseeing the orphanage will use [[spoiler:a mix of [[{{Magitek}} genetic engineering and dark magics]] which will turn the kids into sentient monsters whose free-will will then be overridden by powerful mind-control devices]].

* In ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' there is the Little Sister Orphanage, which is really a front for little girls to be used in science experiments.

* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', Honorhall Orphanage in Riften is run by a terrible old woman called Grelod [[IronicNickname the Kind]]. She constantly gives speeches to the kids about how worthless they are and that they won't be adopted, ever. The kids themselves tell you that beatings are frequent and snooping around the building reveals that there is a cell with shackles on the wall. The kind normally seen in prisons. Grelod also starves the children by giving them only ''one'' meal a day in the afternoon. ''She even keeps them from being adopted'' -- she's that much of a power-hungry ControlFreak. It's so bad that one of the kids, Aventus Aretino, escaped and tried to recruit [[MurderInc the Dark Brotherhood]] to kill Grelod.\\\
[[spoiler:You can pretend to be from the Brotherhood and kill Grelod yourself (though nothing's stopping you from slicing the evil old bat into hamburger before even meeting Aretino, [[DevelopersForesight which the latter will even comment on]]). The children will ''cheer'' and praise the Dark Brotherhood. Needless to say, the Dark Brotherhood is not happy about this, but it does mark the beginning of the Dark Brotherhood questline. It is the only character in the game that you can murder in plain sight and not be bothered by guards afterwards, as your Riften bounty will not increase for it. She is [[AssholeVictim disliked]] that much by everyone.]] Once you install the ''Hearthfire'' DLC and [[spoiler:kill Grelod]], management of the orphanage will be taken by her assistant, Constance Michel. Michel is a much nicer person then Grelod was and is willing to make the orphanage better, allowing you to adopt children from it.

* In ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', after her parents died in an accident, [[spoiler:Miyoko Tanishi]] aka the BigBad [[spoiler:Miyo Takano]] spent some time in a horrific orphanage in the middle of the woods as part of her StartOfDarkness. The orphanage is run by bitter ex-military staff, who take joy in torturing and sexually abusing the children, including subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishments or deaths, like making Tanishi lick a toilet after a soldier just defecated in it or feeding a kid to hungry chickens. Fortunately, Tanishi was able to call for help and was adopted by [[spoiler:a man named Takano]], but we never find out what happened to the orphanage or the other kids...
* ''Literature/{{Hitman}}'': The novel ''Enemy Within'' depicts Agent 47 on a quest to hunt down a mole in the ICA, which takes him to Morocco in pursuit of a drug lord that runs an orphanage as part of his legitimate businessman appearance. The orphanage turns out to be a child brothel that also doubles as a slave trafficking ring.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Morpheus}}'': The Goodman Home for Boys was really an OrphanageOfLove, just that the caretaker, Grace Thermon, was [[EvilOrphanageLady cruel to all involved]], so much that she was repeatedly disciplined, and eventually fired. Although one particular orphan, Jan Pharris, still suffered in more ways than one throughout his life, [[ReunionRevenge leading to his inviting Grace and Jan's family]] to his father's ship, ''Herculania''.

* In the ''Franchise/MyHeroAcademia'' series ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2332319 The Aizawa-Yamada Family]]'' Hitoshi is from one. They scrub his record so his quirk isnt listed and pass him off to foster parents who keep abusing him, label him a villain, muzzle him and call the orphanage to take him back. They also give him a muzzle to give to fosters if he talks. PapaWolf Aizawa and Yamada won’t stand for it when they learn what Hitoshi endured and get it shut down.

* ''Manga/SPYxFAMILY'': At the start of the story, Anya is living in a clandestine orphanage run by a sleazy FatBastard eager to get rid of as many kids as possible (and her in particular). Loid didn't even need to fill out ''any'' paperwork to adopt Anya, which is [[ExploitedTrope why he actively sought out the most run down place he could find]]. Loid is a foreign spy who needed a child for a {{Deep Cover|Agent}} operation, so he wanted a minimally-documented one he could forge the records for and pass as his biological claim.

* ''Manga/SpyXFamily'': At the start of the story, Anya is living in a clandestine orphanage run by a sleazy FatBastard guy who seems pretty eager to get rid of as many kids as possible, before she gets adopted by Loid. Loid didn't even need to fill out ''any'' paperwork to adopt Anya, which is [[ExploitedTrope the most convenient]] for Loid--he's a foreign spy and adopts Anya as part of a {{Deep Cover|Agent}}, who certainly ''doesn't'' want any inconsistencies regarding Anya be found.

* In ''Manga/ChainsawMan'', [[LoserProtagonist Asa]] ended up in a orphanage after her parents were killed by devils. The other children treated her fine, but the caretaker [[spoiler:[[KickTheDog murdered her cat]] out of jealousy.]]

* In the ''Franchise/MyHeroAcademia'' series ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2332319 The Aizawa-Yamada Family]]'' Hitoshi is from one. They scrub his record so his quirk isnt listed and pass him off to foster parents who keep abusing him, label him a villain, muzzle him and call the orphanage to take him back. They also give him a muzzle to give to fosters if he talks. PapaWolf Aizawa and Yamada won’t stand for it and get it shut down.