History Main / UnseenEvil

* The Minotaur in ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves''. In reality, the Minotaur isn't so much a character as it is a concept invented by characters journeying through the house to explain the uneasy feeling that they're being watched, followed, and hunted down by some horrific creature. Tom Navidson even calls it "Mr. Monster" at one point. It is only called the Minotaur by Zampanó, who later struck through every passage containing that title. The strike-throughs are actually provided by Truant, who reconstructed the passages after Zampanó ''attempted to destroy them.'' On at several occasions, he succeeds, most notably on pages 372-373, the former of which contains the phrase [2 pages missing] and the latter of which is a series of XXXXXXXX interrupted only by one word and one partial word, though the footnotes survived.\\

However, it's not simply that there is no such as independent thing as the Minotaur. People even seem to get killed by it.

* The eponymous ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}''. You hear its cry -- something like a distorted, unearthly air raid siren, in a play on the dual meaning of the word -- but you never actually get to see it. The SortingAlgorithmOfEvil skips right over it, taking you straight from the shibito to Datatsushi, The God That Fell, the creator of the siren, the shibito, and the red water.

* Galactus in ''Film/FantasticFourRiseOfTheSilverSurfer'' is only shown as a massive cloud of smoke. This is likely because his common depiction in the comics is, frankly, rather silly looking. This helps because Galactus ''doesn't'' actually have a set form in the comics; different species perceive him differently, because [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm his true form is incomprehensible to lesser beings]].
** This is also similar to his depiction in the ''ComicBook/UltimateGalactusTrilogy''. There, he is a gigantic hive mind of city-sized robotic drones.

* Similar to Darth Vader, [[BigBad Slade's]] mask is generally used as a symbol of absolute evil on ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''. Unlike Vader, the viewer ''never'' gets to see what's beneath it- whenever it's torn off, what's revealed is either one of Slade's robot body-doubles, a quickly-concealed silhouette, or an undead skull. Of course, in the original comics Slade's a fairly ordinary looking middle-aged man, so the animated version probably shares that appearance.

* In ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' Eddy's brother is kept from being seen, his presence only indicated by the stories Eddy tells, and his legacy only shown by the terrified reactions of Rolf, Kevin, and Eddy (when they thought he had come back). [[spoiler:When we do finally see him, we see that he does mostly just look like Eddy, but coupled with his behaviors and the wildly frightening evil smiles and rather evil expressions he gives everyone, it's clear he is by far the greatest villain above the rest the show has to offer.]]

* Based off ''Manga/ToLoveRu'', "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10223400/1/To-Love-DEATH To-Love-DEATH]]" has a main antagonist that's a galaxy destroying zombie alien. Earth is next and nothing can be done to defeat him.[[spoiler:''[[DownerEnding He cannot be stopped]]'']]

* "Doctor Who" Fanfic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9827920/1/The-Door-of-the-Demon The Door of the Demon]] has the titular monster [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned in another Universe]] that can be accessed through a sealed door hidden on a deserted moon. Only its claw is seen before the door closes. It is stated at the beginning of the story that "The Demon was said to have a face so hideous that anybody who saw it would [[EyeScream tear their eyes out]] rather than see it again."

* The crossover fic ''[[Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters Guardians, Wizards, and Kung-Fu Fighters]]'' has the entity living at the bottom of the Shadow Realm. Whatever the hell it is, it's described as being like a god, being so powerful that it can control the [[EldritchAbomination Cavalcade of Horrors]] and [[EvilerThanThou terrify Tarakudo]] (who, it should be noted, has no problem standing up to said Horrors).

* Giygas, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', is an Unseen Evil in similar ways to Cthulhu. And he's a rare case where he's finally revealed, and [[NightmareFuel he's not only still terrifying, but probably]] ''[[NightmareFuel even more so]]'' than he was before, due to how [[SurprisinglyCreepyMoment bright and kid-friendly the game was beforehand]]. This was probably more creepy for those who played the original ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' where he was just a [[spoiler:kind of creepy thin alien in a fancy fishbowl.]] According to Giygas' right-hand, [[spoiler:Porky Minch,]] when Giygas was just an alien, he exerted a gigantic amount of energy and literally ''embraced'' the "Evil Power," becoming the Embodiment of Evil itself. Now Giygas manifests as a blood-red, swirling, spectral vortex emitting his screaming face; an incomprehensible being composed of raw Psionic power and pure evil. He's so evil now that he's devolved into a literal storm of negative power that can encompass the Universe and sentence it to eternal darkness. [[spoiler:In this state, he's incapable of rational thought and can no longer perceive the world around him, so Porky constructed a fleshy apparatus called the Devil's Machine as a way to re-allow Giygas to think straight. In the final battle, Porky decides to shut it off so he can present Ness and his friends his master, believing they are hopeless now as his master is nigh-invincible.]] In battle, [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm Giygas spews out random, unintelligible attacks so unknowingly strong that the Chosen Four are simply unable to decipher what's coming at them.]] Ironically, if you're wearing the Franklin Badge, you actually ''can'' grasp the true form of one of his attacks, as the Badge, which repels electricity-based attacks like PSI Thunder, will reflect the attack back, revealing it to be electrical in nature.

** And now we have E.N.D., Zeref's most powerful demon and the Guild Master of Tartarus. Compared to Zeref, he's far more confusing: though most have claimed him to be a perfect example of this trope, [[spoiler:Igneel and Zeref himself have claimed that there is more to him than that, such that the former he refused to kill him even when he had the opportunity and the latter claimed to Natsu that, upon encountering him, it would be his choice on whether to kill him or not]]. [[spoiler: His true name is '''E'''therious '''N'''atsu '''D'''ragneel and he is in fact the undead demonic brother of Zeref Dragneel.]]

* Diavolo, [[TheDon leader of Passione]] in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'', tries to invoke this on himself by erasing all traces of his existence, including killing anyone and everyone who's so much as even seen his face [[spoiler: including trying to kill his own daughter.]] His own Stand makes a full on-screen appearance long before he does, and anyone who even sees ''that'' is targeted for death. Ultimately this comes back to bite him in the ass, as not only does this obsession with not revealing his identity prove to be a FatalFlaw that makes it much harder for him to defeat the heroes, not only is he forced to reveal his face to the heroes anyway in time for the final battle, but [[spoiler: after Giorno subjected him to an [[FateWorseThanDeath infinite death loop with Gold Experience Requiem]], [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary materials]] reveal that he then stepped up and proclaimed that ''he'' was the leader of Passione all along, and nobody can say anything to the contrary because nobody alive outside of Giorno and his allies knew the boss' true identity anyway.]]

* Based off ''Manga/ToLoveRu'', "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10223400/1/To-Love-DEATH To-Love-DEATH]]" has a main antagonist that's a galaxy destroying zombie alien. Earth is next and nothing can be done to defeat him.[[spoiler: ''[[DownerEnding He cannot be stopped]]'']]

* Unseen Evil is the entire premise of ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject''. This is because the makers couldn't afford a really scary monster effect or suit. [[NothingIsScarier It ended up working better than if they had.]] There were, unfortunately, a few toy releases of the witch which [[spoiler: portrayed it as a [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19261_7-action-figures-that-managed-to-ruin-great-characters.html stereotypical movie monster]]]]. To be fair, these toy releases are not official.

* SKYNET, the BigBad from the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' franchise, has never been depicted on-screen (except for in various non-canonical video games and ''Ride/Terminator23DBattleAcrossTime'' ride). Justified in ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' when it turns out that SKYNET is, in fact, the Internet. An avatar of SKYNET appears as a character in ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'', played by [[spoiler: Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter]]. Another avatar played by [[spoiler:Creator/MattSmith]] appears in ''Film/TerminatorGenisys''.

* Similarily, the alien from ''Film/{{Super 8}}'' (made by the same creator as ''Cloverfield'') is never directly seen until the end, when it is very clearly shown. Although, you can look closely to see its reflection sneaking up on someone the second night. Somewhat subverted in that [[spoiler: it isn't really evil, it just eats humans, and wants to go back to its home planet. And when we do see it, it appears as an oddly noble, sympathetic, and frightened creature.]]

* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'' both subverts this trope and plays it straight: we get to see almost all of the monsters in their full glory, under bright lights and for extended amounts of time- but the most we ever see of [[BigBad The Ancient Ones]] is [[spoiler: a giant fist rising out of the ground]] at the very end of the film.

* The title character of ''Literature/{{It}}''. The forms that ARE seen, such as the infamous MonsterClown Pennywise, are based on childhood fears. [[spoiler: The giant spider form]] at the end was meant to be the most terrifying of the forms that humanity can "safely" comprehend. Beyond that, madness ensues.

* Just after the [[TheStoic stoic]] Literature/DocSavage escapes through the entrance of [[ToHellAndBack a strange underground cavern]] he looks back [[spoiler: to see something [[LukeIAmYourFather or SOMEONE]] reaching out to him and [[HeroicBSOD screams for the first time in his life]]]].
* In ''Beyond the Deepwoods'', the first book of ''Literature/TheEdgeChronicles'', the Gloamglozer is handled this way... but according to its descriptions, seems to be a fairly underwhelming bogeyman not much worse than some of the threats you actually do see. [[spoiler: In an inversion of how this usually works, when it actually shows up toward the end of the book, it turns out to be something far, far worse: a grotesque and malevolent [[TheTrickster trickster]] with more than a little in common with {{Satan}}.]]

* Played with by both main villains in ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}''. [[EvilOverlord The Lord Ruler]] is kept off page for most of the first novel, building up an air of mystery and fear about him; as a result, even though other main characters have met him before, [[ActionGirl Vin]] is stunned the first time she sees him and realizes he's a pretty ordinary-looking man. Later on, the ''real'' BigBad, [[OmnicidalManiac Ruin]] is portrayed for the first part of the third book as a completely inhuman force of nature. Later, it starts interacting with mortals in suprisingly humanlike fashion, using images of people they've known as its avatars. Vin speculates that this is just a mask, though [[spoiler: and she's proven right when she becomes a god herself and sees Ruin in his true form. What little description the reader gets could easily be summed up as "EldritchAbomination", proving that while the heroine can now face the villain on his own terms, he's still brain-breakingly horrible to mortals]].
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', the Dark One fits this trope perfectly. It's a nigh omnipotent evil god that has existed since the beginning of time and is the [[GreaterScopeVillain ultimate cause of all the conflict in the series]]. So far it's still mostly sealed away from reality, and even if it does break free, it's been implied that it probably doesn't have an actual physical form. The only time anyone has encountered it directly is when it communicated mentally with one of the Forsaken. Even then, we only hear its voice, and that alone was enough to make the person hearing it weep from a combination of agony and ecstasy. [[spoiler: Even when partially freed it takes the form of a vast void rather than anything humanlike]].

* In ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'', the presence of the Hound is implied in various ways -- legend, footprint, howling, rumoured sightings, the fact that people seem to have been chased by something -- but it's not seen by Dr. Watson (the point of view character) or other protagonists until the climax. Of course, a major part of the mystery is just what it is in the first place. Ultimately, [[spoiler: it turns out to be simply a large dog that is being used for a ScoobyDooHoax]].

* The Wolf, Ram, and the Hart, aka the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart from ''Series/{{Angel}}''. A powerful and ancient cabal of demons that are the true power behind the series' main antagonists, they are ''never'' seen or even heard once. [[spoiler: The demon that appears for the Review was just possessed by one of them]]. Yet the series makes their influence an undeniable and terrible thing. By the end of the series, they ultimately prove to be an unstoppable force of Evil that Angel and company can only fight, but never defeat. In contrast to the First Evil, the Wolf, Ram, and Hart were once ordinary (and quite lowly) demons in primordial times. But when most of the more powerful demons died off (first by warring with each other, then being defeated by early humans and the original Slayer), and they managed to survive in the shadows, scheming and building up their power to the point that they're even more threatening than the First Evil.

* Gwydion, a powerful SealedEvilInACan from the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' setting, is never seen or described in the published products, [[spoiler: except for a few [[EldritchAbomination giant clawed tentacles]] reaching through the Obsidian Gate]].

* Inverted in ''Riddle of the Sphinx'': when you finally look inside [[spoiler: TheArkOfTheCovenant]], all you see of the [[spoiler: Unseen Good]] is blinding white light.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen 4'', Keen is shown what his new enemies the Shikadi look like. All we're shown is his face going through horrified expressions. This game is shareware and its full version is free; naturally the player is promised that they'll get to see what the Shikadi look like if they buy the next game. [[spoiler: Apparently they don't look all that special.]]

* [[BigBad The Other]] from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has never been seen on screen and it's true form is unknown to everybody. The closest we get is [[spoiler: Lucrezia but that is likely a product of BrainUploading.]]

* Dr. Claw, the villain from ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' was [[TheFaceless never shown]] on the original animated series. For the first [[TheFilmOfTheSeries movie]], he was played by Rupert Everett, but was clearly meant to be a [[InNameOnly completely different]] villain. An action figure of Dr. Claw was made, when it was revealed that he [[spoiler: disappointingly looked like your [[http://doctorclaw.ytmnd.com/ stereotypical "Mad Scientist".]]]] There was also a video game that showed half his face that used the same design.

* Mentioned by name in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' by Agent Fowler to describe Unicron, who in this version is [[spoiler: the Earth's core. That is, the Earth accreted around the dormant body of Unicron.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' Eddy's brother is kept from being seen, his presence only indicated by the stories Eddy tells, and his legacy only shown by the terrified reactions of Rolf, Kevin, and Eddy (when they thought he had come back). [[spoiler: When we do finally see him, we see that he does mostly just look like Eddy, but coupled with his behaviors and the wildly frightening evil smiles and rather evil expressions he gives everyone, it's clear he is by far the greatest villain above the rest the show has to offer.]]

* [[BigBad Fire Lord Ozai]] from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' was kept from being seen for most of the series, and all we usually saw of him is a shadowy figure in his throne room. When he finally shows himself, he didn't look so intimidating. In subsequent episodes after this, however, his actions very much affirm how horrifically and terrifyingly evil he is out of every villain Aang has faced.

* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'' both subverts this trope and plays it straight: we get to see almost all of the monsters in their full glory, under bright lights and for extended amounts of time- but the most we ever see of [[BigBad The Ancient Ones]] is [[spoiler: a giant fist raising out of the ground]] a the very end of the film.

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''. While [[spoiler:Ronnie]] isn't technically a "demon", much less pure evil, supposedly his true form is such that humans can't even grasp it. Apparently, the only thing that registers in people upon seeing his true form is an utterly overwhelming feeling of fear. In series, this form is portrayed as just a fluttering shadow on a wall accompanied by a creepy, echoing voice.

* Unseen Evil is the subject of Creator/ArthurMachen's short story ''[[http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/whtpeopl.htm The White People]]'', with elements of TheFairFolk. As written by Lovecraft: