History Main / TheShadowKnows

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', Dr. Facilier's shadow during the "Friends On the Other Side" song transforms in ways that make it clear that he does not have the best interests of his clients at heart, including kicking the shadow of one of them and briefly turning into a rattlesnake.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfKells'', when Pangur Ban is in spirit-form [[spoiler:as she's being sent by Aisling to free Brendan]] you can see her casting the shadow of a cat. In another scene, where Abbot Cellach and Brother Aiden are ostensibly having a civil discussion about the Book of Iona, the shadows show Cellach looming over Aiden, trying to take the book away.
* Cartoon Saloon seems to like this one. In ''WesternAnimation/SongOfTheSea'', as Saoirse ascends the lighthouse stairs with the seashell, her shadow is that of her selkie form.

* From ''Manga/OnePiece'', Gecko Moria's [[CastingAShadow Shadow-Shadow Fruit]] has this as one of the fundamental laws of nature: the shadow always conforms to the physical body. Using this principle, Moria can ''invert'' it with his ''Shadow Revolution'' technique, where he warps the shadow so that it's ''the physical body'' that must now conform with the shadow. It is theorized that this is also the reason why people who had their shadow stolen disintegrates in sunlight - as they cast no shadow when shone by a natural light, [[PuffOfLogic then they can't exist.]]
* 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.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jon_talbain_human.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/BlazBlue https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/werewolf_02.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Valkenhayn keeps himself on a short leash.]]

** An example of this can be seen in the [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__lLsnHCxV_A/S83o8NDOR-I/AAAAAAAACJo/GgSqnPyc1TM/s640/Star+Wars+Episode+1+The+Phantom+Menace+%281999%29.jpg poster]] for ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', which can be seen as the picture on the {{Foreshadowing}} page.

* An [[NightmareFuel especially creepy]] case appears in ''[[Creator/DeanKoontz Tick Tock]]''. There is one scene where Tommy is running from the monster, and when they pass under a street light, he sees that the creature is casting three distinctly different human shadows. This is creepy enough until you realize that those are the shadows of the three men it ''just ate''.

* ''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/RustyAndCo'': the Viscount, the new villain for Level 8, has a shadow that is slightly off with his silhouette, looking like he's carrying something horned with a pointy tail on his shoulders. Most likely, an invisible imp or some similar {{familiar}} creature. He's even making cryptic asides about it.

* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': A variation on this occurs on [[https://www.sleeplessdomain.com/comic/chapter-10-page-04 the cover of Chapter 10]], whose meaning is more symbolic than literal. The page prominently features the {{magical girl}} Heartful Punch in the foreground, while the shadow of a different girl holding a spear can be seen against the background. This girl turns out to be the former magical girl Moonlight Spear, whom this chapter reveals [[spoiler:is Heartful Punch's mother, who was killed in a monster attack years ago and [[BequeathedPower transferred her power as a magical girl to her daughter]]]].
* ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'': the AnimatedArmor detects unchanged werewolves by their shadows.

* In ''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.

* The [[http://ahs-comic.com/archive/page-54/ title page for Chapter 2]] of ''Webcomic/AlienHandSyndrome'' shows the shy Mina and assertive Erin strolling down a path with their shadows ahead of them. Erin's shadow is normal, but Mina's is in the shape of a demon. [[http://ahs-comic.com/archive/page-56/ A couple of strips later]] Mina turns evil and pushes a total stranger under a train. [[spoiler:Turns out it's just a disturbing DaydreamSurprise.]] This may have something to do with the [[AncientArtifact mysterious stone]] [[http://ahs-comic.com/archive/page-27/ that Mina had earlier touched]] [[spoiler:and broken]].
* In ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'', the Viscount, the new villain for Level 8, has a shadow that is slightly off with his silhouette, looking like he's carrying something horned with a pointy tail on his shoulders. Most likely, an invisible imp or some similar {{familiar}} creature. He's even making cryptic asides about it.

* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'', the AnimatedArmor detects unchanged werewolves by their shadows.

* ''Webcomic/UnknownLands'': Inara's black wings are not visible to the human eye, but they can occasionally be seen as part of her shadow. Elves on the other hand have no trouble seeing her wings and consider them and the type of magic she's tied to by birth a visual indicator that she's a monster.

* In ''Lucius'', whenever you get visited by Lucifer, he appears like a cruelly smiling man in a throne-like easy chair. Point your flashlight at him, and his shadow has horns.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' episode [[Recap/Ben10S2E11GhostfreakedOut "Ghostfreaked Out"]], [[spoiler:Ben's shadow appears as Ghostfreak for a second, which alarms him. This is one of the final clues that Ghostfreak is a separate entity from Ben and has been trapped in the Omnitrix this whole time.]]

* Supervillainess Sweet Synn, from the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', has the power to appear as whatever it is you want in a woman. Her shadow, on the other hand, reveals the batlike wings and tail of the demon she actually is.

* HazbinHotel enjoys this trope. The pilot features a FreezeFrameBonus with Alastor's shadow briefly appearing as a demonic deer-like creature with hollow eyes and jagged teeth, rather than his more humanoid face, during Charlie's song on the news in the pilot.

* In ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', Dr. Facilier's shadow during the "Friends On the Other Side" song transforms in ways that make it clear that he does not have the best interests of his clients at heart, including kicking the shadow of one of them and briefly turning into a rattlesnake.

** In ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', in a scene between Anakin and Padme on Tatooine, Anakin's shadow on the wall of a hut looks remarkably like the helmeted Darth Vader. The commentary states that the shadow wasn't faked with CGI, although presumably it ''was'' deliberate.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary "Silence in the Library"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead "Forest of the Dead"]], the Vashta Nerada are flesh-eating nano-swarms that resemble [[LivingShadow shadows]], and use this fact for camouflage. As such, anyone they're stalking appears to have an extra shadow that lacks a light source.

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* The ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoon "The Invisible Mouse" had Tom able to spot an invisible Jerry this way.

* In ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', Dr. Facilier's shadow occasionally turns into a rattlesnake.

* Creator/SergioAragones used to regularly produce cartoons on this theme for ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'', using the trope's name, where people in various situations cast shadows showing IndulgentFantasySegue what they really thought or wanted]].

* Creator/SergioAragones used to regularly produce cartoons on this theme for ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'', using the trope's name, where people in various situations cast shadows showing what they really thought or wanted.