History Main / TheShadowKnows

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[[quoteright:300:[[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jon_talbain_human.png]]]]

* Downplayed in the finale of the first season of ''Anime/{{Bakugan}}'', given that it happens after TheReveal. When [[spoiler: Alice says goodbye to Hydranoid, a combination of camera angles and the wind blowing causes her shadow to heavily resemble Masquerade.]]
* In the ''Anime/BlackRockShooter'' anime, [[spoiler: Yuu]] has no shadow, which helps set up TheReveal about her in episode 5.

* In the anime adaptation of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'', for a split second as [[spoiler: Kosaku-Kira is sneaking up on Hayato in the bath, his shadow shows his Stand Killer Queen, with its thumb on the trigger for one of its bombs.]]

* ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'': During the "[[spoiler:Happy Family Planning]]" episode, after a certain point [[spoiler:none of the three main characters have shadows]]. TheReveal at the ending [[spoiler:reveals they've been DeadAllAlong.]]

* ''Fanfic/ALoudAmongDemons'': [[spoiler:Lincoln's magical abilities start becoming affected by the corruption of his soul brought on by his mere presence in Hell, and when pushed over the edge, Lincoln loses control and unleashes a demonic version of himself. Physically, he looks the same barring gaining BlackEyesOfCrazy, but his shadow morphs into a humanoid monster resembling a jackalope]].

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm''. Moments before TheReveal [[spoiler:that Andrea Beaumont's father is dead, she walks up the stairs of her home carrying a [[ISOStandardUrbanGroceries bag of groceries]] and her shadow is that of the Phantasm, the persona she has adopted to avenge him.]]

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'' uses this at one point. [[spoiler: For just the [[FreezeFrameBonus briefest moment]] in the opening credits, Homura's shadow morphs into a winged figure, hinting at her eventual transformation into a GodOfEvil.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'' Wolf's shadow looks normal in shape, but the way it ''crawls under a closed door'' certainly doesn't.

* In ''Film/TheFaculty'' around the end of the film, the Hive Queen [[spoiler:tries to appeal to Casey, using the Marybeth disguise she's been using for the whole film. The shadow in the room, however, is a tentacled mass that keeps moving and nearly covers it, all coming from a average-sized teenager.]]

%%* [[http://ifanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/X-Men-First-Class_Xavier_Poster.jpg These]] [[http://ifanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/X-Men-First-Class_Magneto_Poster.jpg posters]] for ''Film/XMenFirstClass''
* Wadatuzin from ''Film/UltraQTheMovieLegendOfTheStars'', an alien disguised as a human, have her shadow revealing her alien silhouette every now and then.

* According to Creator/JorgeLuisBorges' ''Book of Imaginary Beings'', the peryton (which also ended up in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'') is a mythological monster said to come from {{Atlantis}} that resembles a [[MixAndMatchCritters stag with the wings and hindparts of an eagle]], but casts the shadow of a man.

* In Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Middle Earth'' books, The One Ring makes its wearer invisible, but in bright light their shadow can still be seen. That's how the goblins almost recapture Bilbo in ''Literature/TheHobbit''.

* The famous 1893 ''Puck'' cartoon [[https://library.osu.edu/site/cartoons/2017/10/04/new-exhibits-looking-backward-looking-forward-and-cartoon-couture/looking-backward-joseph-keppler/ “Looking Backward”]] shows five well-dressed gentlemen from TheGildedAge trying to stop [[AnImmigrantsTale a poor immigrant]] from disembarking his ship, while their shadows show that [[YouAreWhatYouHate they were once poor immigrants themselves]].

* Not present in the official ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' series of games, where all manner of monstrous creatures are always depicted as [[CuteMonsterGirl cute little girls,]] but present in the official ''Manga/ForbiddenScrollery'' manga: [[{{Kappa}} Nitori]] has her shadow shift to that of a mythological, monstrous kappa when she's reassuring Reimu that the surrounding kappa mean no harm to humans [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial "that mean no harm to us."]]

* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'':
** Along with apparently being [[LivingShadow capable of moving]], Alastor's shadow looks like a far more twisted and demonic shadowy silhouette of himself with noticeable larger antlers.
** When Angel Dust catapults one of the Egg Bois into the air in the pilot, the shadow he casts on the street shows all six of his arms.

* ''Webcomic/CharbyTheVampirate'': When Zeno calms down way too quickly after a freak out and tries to slip past Charby he knocks him out after seeing how little Zeno's shadow currently matches his body, a good thing since that shadow is evidence that [[spoiler: Zeno has been possessed by the cruel "Bear Witch"]]. It's not the last time his shadow gives this away.
* ''Webcomic/TheFoxSister'': In a few scenes where the [[AsianFoxSpirit Kumiho]] is shown in human form her shadow reveals her true shape.

* The titular ''Webcomic/{{Erma}}'''s grandfather looks like a hunchbacked, frail, even kindly old man. His shadow, though, is that of a jagged {{Tengu}} warrior, and can stretch for ''miles''. There is a reason he is both TheDreaded and ruler to the {{yokai}}, and it is not because he is weak.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfVoxMachina'': After Vox Machina arrives in Whitestone, Percy explains that he is on a quest for vengeance against the people who murdered his family, and shows his friends that the pepperbox pistol he invented during his exile has his [[GottaKillEmAll kill list]] inscribed on the barrel. Scanlan points out that there are only five names while the barrel is six-sided, and asks who the final bullet is for. Percy doesn't answer, [[DrivenToSuicide but the shadow behind him shows him pointing the pepperbox at his own head]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyPonyLife'' has the true form of Hawthorne the Third appear as its shadow on the title card of "Terrorarium".

* Many superheroes, while in their civilian identities, will have a shadow shaped like their alter ego when in a situation that their heroic identity is needed for, especially if the costume has a distinctive silhouette. [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] will have a shadow with webs in it (or in some older ones, the "armpit webs") and often his mask's eyes as well, [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]]'s shadow will have horns, [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]]'s shadow will lose his glasses and gain a cape, etc.
* Franchise/{{Batman}}'s cape and cowl are frequently visible in Bruce Wayne's shadow--the idea being that, unlike, say, {{Franchise/Superman}} and Franchise/SpiderMan, the true identity is the superhero, not the civilian.

* There used to be an Israeli campaign encouraging men over 50 to take regular colonoscopies to avoid colon cancer showed a man walking normally towards a bus stop and waiting while reading a newspaper, while his shadow collapsed in the street and had to be driven away in an ambulance.

* Many superheroes, while in their civilian identities, will have a shadow shaped like their alter ego when in a situation that their heroic identity is needed for, especially if the costume has a distinctive silhouette. [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] will have a shadow with webs in it (or in some older ones, the "armpit webs"), [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]]'s shadow will have horns, [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]]'s shadow will lose his glasses and gain a cape, etc.

* Website/NobodyHere: In "[[https://nobodyhere.com/justme/dodo.here Dodo]]", Jogchem thinks about reincarnating as the titular animal, which is reinforced by the visuals showing a dodo with Jogchem's shadow.

* Website/NobodyHere: In "[[https://nobodyhere.com/justme/dodo.here Dodo]]", Jogchem think about reincarnating as the titular animal; which is reinforced by the visuals showing a dodo with Jogchem's shadow.

* Many superheroes, while in their civilian identities, will have a shadow shaped like their alter ego when in a situation that their heroic identity is needed for, especially if the costume has a distinctive silhouette. [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] will have a shadow with webs in it (or in some older ones, the "armpit webs"), [[Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]]'s shadow will have horns, [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]]'s shadow will lose his glasses and gain a cape, etc.

* Naruto, from ''FanFic/ANewWorldANewWay'' sidestory ''Swarm'' suffers this. His Illusions cannot hide his shadow. Justified, in that they are Illusions so he's not physically changing. Lampshaded by Naruto later in the story:

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', the title character's shadow is that of the butterfly demon she is in contract with for the double jump ability. This is also present in her appearance in the Wii U version of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''.

* In one of the artworks for ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Garou: Mark of the Wolves]]'', the protagonist Rock Howard casts a shadow of Geese, his [[IHateYouVampireDad father and the antagonist of the first game]].

* Not present in the official ''Videogame/{{Touhou}}'' series of games, where all manner of monstrous creatures are always depicted as [[CuteMonsterGirl cute little girls,]] but present in the official ''Manga/ForbiddenScrollery'' manga: [[{{Kappa}} Nitori]] has her shadow shift to that of a mythological, monstrous kappa when she's reassuring Reimu that the surrounding kappa mean no harm to humans [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial "that mean no harm to us."]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In the episode "Identity Crisis", a shadow in a video recording from a mission reveals that there was a camouflaged character in the shot.

* In ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "All Souls", Scully is tipped off as to the [[{{Satan}} true nature]] and intentions of a child protection agent by the fact that his shadow has horns.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', [[HeadlessHorseman Celty's]] CoolBike is really her horse; it still has a horse's shadow. And a more subtle example in Celty's own shadow being much darker than anyone else's, hinting at her supernatural origins.

* A non-evil example; the [[http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/saving-mr-banks-2013/large_aBuYDaK3PpY1nlt6rTvIcTAOHS8.jpg poster]] for ''Film/SavingMrBanks'' features Creator/WaltDisney and P.L. Travers, with their shadows being MickeyMouse and Film/MaryPoppins respectively.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Dr. Mosely from ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' is a self-proclaimed “expert” in surveillance techniques and equipment, which is... kind of unusual for a psychologist, to say the least.
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' has a scene where Cuphead and Mugman are pleading with the Devil, whose taunting them with the throat slash gesture. His shadow, however, is shown to have already decapitated them.

** A dual example occurs early in the Batman/[[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] crossover story, in which the reader sees [[NamesTheSame both Bruce's]] shadows from outside a window while the two are conversing. Take a guess what they look like.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1058 SCP-1058 ("The Semivisible Man")]]. Although SCP-1058 is completely invisible, his shadow can still be seen when there's light in the area.

* ''Fanfic/TheUltimateEvil'': One of the tests the [[ThresholdGuardian Guardian]] of the [[RewritingReality Book of Ages]] puts Valerie through has him turning his staff into an inland taipan. Valerie passes the test by noticing that the Guardian's shadow holds only a staff, making the snake merely an illusion.

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', you can unlock an alternate costume of Dante which makes him resemble his dad Sparda. While he looks like an ordinary (if, very, very pretty) human, the shadow he casts is of his [[SuperMode demon form]].

* Manga/{{Bleach}}: Ukitake meets with Shunsui in the ruins of what was once the Seireitei as Shunsui notes the extensive damage done to the Wandenreich City. As Ukitake states that they can rebuild the Seireitei, he can be seen casting an unusual shadow with a large eye in the center. It sets up TheReveal of his connection to the Soul King and how he was able to survive his illness up to this point in the story.

* ''Webcomic/TheFoxSister'': In a few scenes where the [[FantasticFoxes Kumiho]] is shown in human form her shadow reveals her true shape.

* This is used in the artwork for the [[FantasticFoxes Kitsune]] in ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu: Secrets of Japan''. Its visible form is a humanoid fox, the shadow... [[EldritchAbomination not so much]].