History Main / ThroughTheCeilingStealthily

* ''Film/InspectorGadget'': Gadget ''tries'' to do this by grappling up to the roof of the Scolex building and going through the giant air vent up there, but [[SoMuchForStealth overshoots and makes a clumsy, noisy hash of it]]. Luckily he ''is'' able to get it right once he's inside.
* ''Film/{{Mission Impossible|1996}}'': The iconic, MissionImpossibleCableDrop scene of Ethan being lowered from the ceiling into a computer room filled with motion sensors on the floor. One of his teammates holds the line from above in the ventilation shaft that goes through the ceiling, while Ethan works to hack and download a important file.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Film/GoldenEye'' has Franchise/JamesBond sneak into a Soviet factory via an AirVentPassageway. He emerges into the facility's men's room through the "stink vent" in the ceiling. Somehow the Soviet officer perched on the porcelain throne doesn't detect Bond's entry until the British superspy can deliver a PreMortemOneLiner.

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Fanfic]]

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

* ''Film/TheGreatMuppetCaper'' has some intrepid muppets try to sneak into a museum to protect a rare jewel that the villains plan to abscond with. These muppets plan to enter the main concourse through a skylight, but Beaker discovers (ouch!) that it's electrified. Just then, the villains disable the alarm system, which cuts the power to the skylight, allowing the muppets to safely open the skylight from the outside. The muppets then descend into the museum without tripping an alarm.
* ''Film/MissionImpossible1996'': The iconic, MissionImpossibleCableDrop scene of Ethan being lowered from the ceiling into a computer room filled with motion sensors on the floor. One of his teammates holds the line from above in the ventilation shaft that goes through the ceiling, while Ethan works to hack and download a important file.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheWrongTrousers'' has Feathers [=McGraw=] operate the techno-trousers by remote control while Wallace is asleep and wearing them. The trousers take Wallace to the top of a museum, and walk him into a spacious AirVentPassageway that leads to the room where a huge diamond is on display. The ceiling grate swings open, and Wallace emerges. The suction-soled techno-trousers allow him to walk around on the ceiling, which avoids the waist-high light beams protecting the prize. All the while, Wallace is snoring away in perfect obliviousness.

[[folder:Fanfic]]
* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': Occurs in multiple chapters:
** [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/dungeon-keeper-ami-sailor-moon-dungeon-keeper-story-only-thread.30066/page-3#post-6355736 "Convoluted Rescue Plan, Go!"]]: Tserk entering a church through the shaft allowing the bellrope into the church:
---> the huge instrument suspended from a thick wooden bar. More interesting was the shaft directly underneath it, barely wide enough for a man to move along the handholds set into the wall. Of course it was blocked, but the cover was a simple grate, so that the rope used to ring the bell could dangle down through the gaps into the building below.
** In [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/dungeon-keeper-ami-sailor-moon-dungeon-keeper-story-only-thread.30066/post-9241614 "Trapped (second half)"]], Tiger stealthily enters the underground sections of the city of Salthalls by taking advantage of a CrashInThroughTheCeiling hole from a few chapters before.
* ''Fanfic/{{Quizzical}}'': In the first story, ''Quizzical'', [[spoiler:Sweetie Belle]] teleports into a rock chamber from right above it, bypassing the ceiling. Then [[spoiler:Princess Luna]] follows yelling at her when she reappears.
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* ''Literature/TheMysteriousBenedictSociety'': This is [[CircusBrat Kate]]'s preferred way of entering the boys' room at the [[SchoolForScheming Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened]] for the Society's nighttime meetings. It frequently terrifies them.

[[folder:Podcast]]
* ''Podcast/RedPandaAdventures'': In "The Field Trip", the Red Panda and Flying Squirrel sneak into a museum in New York to locate an item the Nazis are after. They do this by using their static shoes to come in through the roof and walk on the ceiling. The Red Panda notes this mode of entry was picked specifically ''because'' there usually aren't alarms on the ceiling, though the Squirrel notes that, New York being a major hotspot of caped crimefighters and supervillains, one would think they would have considered it.

Usually, when someone enters a room thorough the ceiling, it's a CrashInThroughTheCeiling, all noisy from breaking through the ceiling.

* ''Film/TheFearlessVampireKillers'': Count von Krolock slips in through through a skylight on the roof of the inn using some implied power, right into the bathroom where Sarah is bathing. Catching her off guard, only learning of his appearance due to the snow that falls down through the now-windowless hole, and powerless to stop him from biting her.
* ''Film/GoldenEye'' has Franchise/JamesBond sneak into a Soviet factory via an AirVentPassageway. He emerges into the facility's men's room through the "stink vent" on the ceiling. Somehow the Soviet officer perched on the porcelain throne doesn't detect Bond's entry until the British superspy can deliver a PreMortemOneLiner.
* ''Film/TheGreatMuppetCaper'' has some intrepid muppets try to sneak into a museum to protect a rare jewel that the villains plan to abscond. These muppets plan to enter the main concourse through a skylight, but Beaker discovers (ouch!) that it's electrified. Just then, the villains disable the alarm system, which cuts the power to the skylight, allowing the muppets to safely open the skylight from the outside. The muppets then descend into the museum without tripping an alarm.
* ''Film/MissionImpossible1996'': The iconic, MissionImpossibleCableDrop scene of Ethan being lowered down into a computer room from the ceiling that filled with motion sensors on the floor. One of his teammates holding the line from above in the ventilation shaft that goes through the ceiling, while Ethan works to hack and download a important file.
* In ''Film/{{Rififi}}'', an important step of the heist the whole film revolves around is to saw a hole through the ceiling of the jewelry's office (after determining that every other part of the room is full of sensors), and although sawing through something usually isn't stealthy, the lack of listeners inside the shop makes it stealthy enough for a robbery.

It might be done mundanely, by sneaking in through an open skylight, or AirVentPassageway. On the supernatural side, there's based around special movement, like {{Intangibility}}, {{Invisibility}}, {{Shapeshifting}} or {{Teleportation}}.

A ChimneyEntry is usually this, because it's a guaranteed shaft that goes through a roof, and at least its intent is to be stealthy about it. If it works, it counts, such as basically most versions of SantaClaus, so there's a lot of overlap there.

The scenario of "entered with stealth, but there's a surprise witness", still counting for this trope, as a Subversion, since there was at least a somewhat successful attempt at stealth, only to be foiled at the end, unlike CrashInThroughTheCeiling, whete the attention-grabbing nature of the entrance is known from the start. But they can overlap if there's a transition between them, while the entrance is underway.

{{Flight}} would also help accomplish this, allowing people to get above the ceiling in the first place, if its an exterior ceiling.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', the Phantom Thieves infiltrate Madarame's Palace by opening a skylight and lowering themselves down via a rope with a grappling hook to bypass the security in front.

* ''Film/{{Goldeneye}}'' has agent Franchise/JamesBond sneak into a Soviet factory via an AirVentPassageway. He emerges into the facility's men's room through the "stink vent" on the ceiling. Somehow the Soviet officer perched on the porcelain throne doesn't detect Bond's entry until the British superspy can deliver a PreMortemOneLiner.

* ''Film/MissionImpossible'': The iconic, Main/MissionImpossibleCableDrop scene of Ethan being lowered down into a computer room from the ceiling that filled with motion sensors on the floor. One of his teammates holding the line from above in the ventilation shaft that goes through the ceiling, while Ethan works to hack and download a important file.

* ''WesternAnimation/JosieAndThePussycats'': Sneaky escape due to a lack of watchers, not from any attempt at stealth. The titular group get captured by the Secret Six, and are tied to stone pillars in an old temple. They're told by the villains that death by neglect will be their fate. Alexandra sneers. "These chintzy ropes won't us. I happen to be an expert at untying knots." This results in Alexandra, Josie and Alan being imprisoned in a secret compartment in one wall. The three prisoners discover water leaking from the compartment's ceiling, and chisel an exit using a nail file.