History Main / SupernaturalProofFather

* Daniel in ''Film/DarkSkies''[[note]]No relation to [[Series/DarkSkies the '90s TV series]][[/note]] is a textbook example. Website/SomethingAwful refers to him, and this character type in general, as "Horror Dad" in [[http://www.somethingawful.com/d/current-movie-reviews/dark-skies.php its review]]. Although to be fair Daniel is more so a case of extreme denial, plus he's obviously terrified and confused. In the third act he does come to terms with whats happening to him and his family.

* In ''Film/{{Poltergeist}}'', everyone else in the family finds out about the haunting before the father (especially the "symmetrical chair stacking"). He comes home and the mother demonstrates the power of a "sliding area" using a chair and Carol Anne. He's also very skeptical about the psychic Tangina's powers later on.

* Nobody in ''Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate'' shows much common sense, but dad Mike is probably the worst, insisting that the family stay at the obviously suspicious hotel even as his wife pleads with him to leave.

You see, the father, as the head of the family and the most "sensible and grounded" member, is the last person to encounter (or admit encountering) these bizarre events. The children see them, the [[HauntedHeroine wife/mother]] sees them, Hell, even the [[AnimalReactionShot family dog]] [[EvilDetectingDog sees them.]] But the dad is always the last person to see and believe. Although it's debatable whether or not they're the least susceptible, [[ObsessivelyNormal too obsessed with "normal" life]] for the weirdness to affect him, or just plain [[FlatEarthAtheist in denial]]. This is a common trope in "Haunted House" style stories, and may also be used by elder brothers/best (male) friends, etc. Could also be a very cynical way for writers to keep the male out of the way of the story. Seeing as some writers see women as more believably "vulnerable".

* In ''Series/RoundTheTwist'', Tony Twist, father of the three kid protagonists, is the last to believe the ghost in the first episode is real. Despite continuing strange goings on in Port Niranda, he's also most prone to ArbitraryScepticism.

You see, the father, as the head of the family and the most "sensible and grounded" member, is the last person to encounter (or admit encountering) these bizarre events. The children see them, the [[HauntedHeroine wife/mother]] sees them, Hell, even the [[AnimalReactionShot family dog]] [[EvilDetectingDog sees them.]] But the dad is always the last person to see and believe. Although it's debatable whether or not they're the least susceptible, [[ObsessivelyNormal too obsessed with "normal" life]] for the weirdness to affect him, or just plain [[FlatEarthAtheist in denial]]. This is a common trope in "Haunted House" style stories, and may also be used by elder brothers/best (male) friends, etc. Could also be a way for writers to keep the male out of the way of the story.

* Inverted in ''Film/{{Brightburn}}''. The mother Tori, who had been infertile before [[CreepyChild Brandon]] arrived, still treats her son (an [[EvilCounterpart evil version]] of a young [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]]) as a miracle sent from God until it is well past too late, while the father Kyle is the first one who realizes that Brandon is evil. [[spoiler:He even tries to kill Brandon to stop his rampage, though [[NoSell it does no good]] except to get him [[YourHeadASplode brutally killed]] in response.]]

* Inverted in "Kid Stuff" by Creator/IsaacAsimov. An {{Ultraterrestrial|s}} "elf" uses the dad, because he, as a fantasy writer, can accept elves as real, but a comic book raised son proves problematic

* Inverted in ''Film/{{Brightburn}}''. The mother Tori, who had been infertile before [[CreepyChild Brandon]] arrived, still treats her son (an [[EvilCounterpart evil version]] of a young [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]]) as a miracle sent from God until it is well past too late, while the father Brandon is the first one who realizes that Brandon is evil. [[spoiler:He even tries to kill Brandon to stop his rampage, though [[NoSell it does no good]] except to get him [[YourHeadASplode brutally killed]] in response.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong''. The reason for this is threefold: the dragon "gene" was passed down through the mother (it skipped a generation, apparently), the father is a bit of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, and the rest of the family goes to huge lengths to [[LockedOutOfTheLoop deliberately keep the knowledge that he married into a family of dragons]] away from him. She's been trying to find a way to break the news to him... since sometime in the early nineties. [[spoiler:He eventually finds out in the GrandFinale.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee''. [[DuelingShows Similarly]] to the ''Jake Long'' example, Juniper Lee's dad is not aware of TheMasquerade because the "chosen one" gene skipped a generation after her grandmother. In fact, it also skipped her older brother, and would've skipped her younger brother if the latter didn't suffer an accidental hit from a monster in the past, causing him to see things that are InvisibleToNormals despite not being a chosen one. [[spoiler:The older brother actually finds out many times, they just used a memory spell to wipe his memory each time, but eventually he gets resistant to it, so they clue him into TheMasquerade.]]

* GenderFlipped in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''--the dad, Lawrence, sees the boys' adventures sometimes, but their mom, Linda, never does[[note]]Unless it's something apparently mundane, or time immediately reverses itself after, or it's AllJustADream, or...[[/note]], [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption no matter how much Candace tries to show her]].

You see, the father, as the head of the family and the most "sensible and grounded" member, is the last person to encounter (or admit encountering) these bizarre events. The children see them, the [[HauntedHeroine wife/mother]] sees them, Hell, even the [[AnimalReactionShot family dog]] [[EvilDetectingDog sees them.]] But the dad is always the last person to see and believe. Although it's debatable whether or not they're the least susceptible, [[ObsessivelyNormal too obsessed with "normal" life]] for the weirdness to affect him, or just plain [[FlatEarthAtheist in denial]]. This is a common trope in "Haunted House" style stories, and may also be used by elder brothers/best (male) friends, etc. Could also be a way for writers to keep the male out of the way of the story. Presumably because it's more believable when a woman is a scared victim, because people see women as weak.

* Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}'s father was absent from nearly the entire show, but somehow fits this, since he ''never'' gets to find out. An episode even revealed that Buffy told her parents but both didn't believe it, of course, Joyce found out the truth later.

* Ted Wheeler from ''Series/StrangerThings'' takes this to such absurd levels it borders on parody; he's so laid-back and disconnected from his family he remains totally oblivious to the supernatural events happening around him (even when they directly affect his children) and when things ''are'' brought to his attention he he automatically dismisses them and believes everything the government cover-up team tells him.

* Wonderfully subverted in Creator/CliveBarker's short story "The Yattering and Jack". The premise is that a demon has been assigned to drive the owner of a house mad or corrupt him by haunting him, but the demon cannot leave the house or reveal himself nor harm him or even affect him directly. The only problem is that man is completely boring, has no vices to be corrupted by, and ignores everything the demon does, which drives the demon to suicidal frustration. When the man's daughters comes over for Christmas dinner, the demon pulls out all the stops and animates the Christmas tree. His youngest daughter is freaked out, while the man still just shrugs and says he's going to go for a walk. The demon finally comes out and grabs his arm. The man turns and says "Ah ha! Got you!" Turns out the man knew about the demon all along and was only faking disbelief, and knew if the demon ever affected him directly then the demon would become enslaved to him.

You see, the father, as the head of the family and the most "sensible and grounded" member, is the last person to encounter (or admit encountering) these bizarre events. The children see them, the [[HauntedHeroine wife/mother]] sees them, Hell, even the [[AnimalReactionShot family dog]] [[EvilDetectingDog sees them.]] But the dad is always the last person to see and believe. Although it's debatable whether or not they're the least susceptible, [[ObsessivelyNormal too obsessed with "normal" life]] for the weirdness to affect him, or just plain [[FlatEarthAtheist in denial]]. This is a common trope in "Haunted House" style stories, and may also be used by elder brothers/best (male) friends, etc. Could also be a way for writers to keep the male out of the way of the story. Presumably because it's more believable when a woman is a scared victim.

* Ted Wheeler from ''Series/StrangerThings'' takes this to such absurd levels it borders on parody; he's so laid-back and disconnected from his family he remains totally oblivious to the supernatural events happening around him (even when they directly affect his children) and he automatically believes everything the government cover-up team tells him.

* ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'': Inverts this. The wife / mother of the family is in denial about the supernatural nature of the House; the dog and the cat are explicitly stated to not be affected by the supernatural stuff at all; the two children pick up on it but don't seem to grasp the full severity of it. But the husband / father of the family gets totally sucked into it - to the point that he makes his long-lost brother arrive, plus a team of explorers, and decides (he's a filmographer by living) to go make a movie about the weird stuff happening - against his wife's whishes.

You see, the father, as the head of the family and the most "sensible and grounded" member, is the last person to encounter (or admit encountering) these bizarre events. The children see them, the [[HauntedHeroine wife/mother]] sees them, Hell, even the [[AnimalReactionShot family dog]] [[EvilDetectingDog sees them.]] But the dad is always the last person to see and believe. Although it's debatable whether or not they're the least susceptible, or just plain [[FlatEarthAtheist in denial]]. This is a common trope in "Haunted House" style stories, and may also be used by elder brothers/best (male) friends, etc. Could also be a way for writers to keep the male out of the way of the story. Presumably because it's more believable when a woman is a scared victim.

* Subverted in ''Film/RosemarysBaby''. Rosemary's husband tries to convince her that nothing strange is going on with their neighbors next door and that all of the other disturbing things that happen to her during her pregnancy are in her mind. However, [[spoiler: he knows that they are really part of a [[HollywoodSatanism devil-worshiping]] cult, and he's promised the baby to them]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong''. The reason for this is threefold: the dragon "gene" was passed down through the mother (it skipped a generation, apparently), the father is a bit of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, and the rest of the family goes to huge lengths to [[LockedOutOfTheLoop deliberately keep the knowledge that he married into a family of dragons]] away from him. She's been trying to find a way to break the news to him... since sometime in the early nineties. [[spoiler:He eventually finds out though.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E54TheHauntingOfMrBananaBrain The Haunting Of Mr. Banana Brain]]": An unusual case in that (given that Darkwing is a single parent) there is no mother to whom to compare him. However, both Launchpad and Gosalyn recognize that the bizarre events surrounding [[MonsterClown Paddywhack's]] box are supernatural before Darkwing admits that it isn't just Gosalyn [[ThePrankster playing pranks]] and Launchpad [[Cloudcuckoolander freaking out]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong''. The reason for this is threefold: the dragon "gene" was passed down through the mother (it skipped a generation, apparently), the father is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, and the rest of the family is deliberately keeping the fact that his father-in-law, daughter, son, and many other relatives are dragons from him. She's been trying to find a way to break the news to him... since sometime in the early nineties. [[spoiler:He eventually finds out though.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E54TheHauntingOfMrBananaBrain The Haunting Of Mr. Banana Brain]]": An unusual case in that (given that Darkwing is a single parent) there is no mother to whom to compare him. However, both Launchpad and Gosalyn recognize that the bizarre events surrounding [[MonsterClown Paddywhack's]] box are supernatural before Darkwing admits that it isn't just Gosalyn playing pranks and Launchpad freaking out.

* He's not literally a father, but Grunkle Stan of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' nevertheless plays the role of a father-like figure. He outright denies the existence of the supernatural, and always seems to miss when supernatural beings appear. [[spoiler:He actually knew they were real the whole time, and was just faking it trying to stop Dipper and Mabel from getting involved with dangerous creatures.]]