History Main / ViciousVac

[[folder:Real Life]]
* As noted, cats and dogs being terrified of them is TruthInTelevision.
* Children on the autistic spectrum have a tendency to be afraid of them (as well as other loud appliances such as lawn mowers and weed-whackers), since being sensitive to loud noises is a common aspect of the condition.
** For autistic people, it's more than just fear, it's pain. Their pain centers in the brain light up when they're distressed by loud noises. The perception that sensitivity to sound (and other sensory stimuli) is fear (which can be overcome) rather than pain (an uncontrollable body reaction) has led to many people's distress being dismissed and invalidated.
* Many a parent has played into this trope by [[LiesToChildren telling their children]] that they will vacuum up their [[Franchise/{{LEGO}} LEGOs]] up if they don't pick them up.
[[/folder]]

* Zenna Henderson's short story "Hush!" is about a small boy who, after being told to keep quiet, imagines a sentient vacuum cleaner designed to suck up sound--only to see his imagined invention actually become real, and start sucking up every sound possible--including ''[[NightmareFuel heartbeats]]''.

* ''WebVideo/Sweeping Changes'': A man's 4 vacuum cleaners start to attack him when they hear he intends to replace him with a robot vacuum.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film]]
* This was part of a scene in ''Film/MrMom''. The Butler family's old-style vacuum cleaner, "Jaws", has a mind of its own; when Jack leaves it unattended, it goes out of control and rolls forward, almost devouring poor Kenny's SecurityBlanket. For good measure, Kenny's brother Alex is "attacked" by the washing machine lurching forward on its legs at the same time. Later in the film, Jack and Jaws have reached an understanding, and he entertains himself by making the vacuum cleaner behave like a trained animal instead of a wild one.

* The Martians have one in ''[[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry Tom And Jerry: Blast Off to Mars]]''.
* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}''. Spaceball One transforms into a giant Megamaid to [[PlanetLooters suck all the air off the planet Druidia]].
* Used for a VisualPun in ''Film/AirplaneIITheSequel''. Our hero opens a hatch on the spacecraft marked DANGER: VACUUM and is attacked by a vacuum cleaner.

-->'''Franny''': Mom made me promise never to do that again.

* In ''Series/TheNoddyShop'' episode "The Big Mess", the toys and Johnny freak out when a vacuum cleaner malfunctions.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* There was an arc of ''ComicStrip/MotherGooseAndGrimm'' strips from the early-to-mid 1990s where Grimm and Attila find themselves being pursued by Mother Goose's vacuum cleaner. They tried to stop it by sticking it in the toilet and flushing it, but unfortunately, that only caused the vacuum bag to inflate before the chase resumes once again.
** A 1999 arc had Grimm and Attila find a broom vacuum cleaner in the closet before it also goes on a rampage throughout the house.
* In one strip of ''ComicStrip/GetFuzzy'', Rob, Bucky, and Satchel are going to a Halloween party. Satchel goes to change into his costume, and comes out dressed as a vacuum, with a sign reading "Dirt devil! Run away!" Bucky congratulates him for making a really scary costume.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Marmaduke}}'', despite being a huge dog, is known to be [[http://mail.29-95.com/time-suck/comic/marmaduke-explained-10-25-11 terrified of]] [[http://mail.29-95.com/time-suck/story/marmaduke-explained-07-12-09 vacuum cleaners.]]
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' had this caption for a woman walking down a wooded path with a vacuum cleaner, for the VisualPun:
-->"The woods were dark and foreboding, and Alice sensed that sinister eyes were watching her every step. Worst of all, she knew that Nature abhorred a vacuum."

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* The Roombas on ''WebComic/QuestionableContent'' can get pretty vicious sometimes.

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation: PlayedForLaughs with [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-5972-j SCP-5972-J]], a sentient, predatory vacuum cleaner that specializes in the GroinAttack.

--> '''Peter:''' ...and then he became a carnivorous vacuum cleaner. I've still got the scars; anybody want to see?\\

* ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit: Cracking Contraptions'' has the Cracker-Vac short, which starts with the eponymous invention trying to eat a packet of perfectly good crackers (as opposed to bits of cracker left on the floor) and ends with a MexicanStandOff, complete with Music/EnnioMorricone -esque soundtrack.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': The [[SpacePolice Golden Women]] use a giant vacuum-like weapon called an Inhilerator which is incredibly intimidating and helps along the misunderstanding that they are the aggressors in the confrontation betwixt them and the Green Geni.

* The vacuum in ''LightNovel/HaiyoreNyarkoSan'', which seems like a normal vacuum, but can shout "CYCLONE!!" for some reason.

* In [[VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall Super Monkey Ball 2]], Dr. Bad-Boon uses a blimp-mounted vacuum to suck up every banana from Monkey Island.

Related to WeaponsThatSuck. Can be a part of AIIsACrapshoot if the vacuum is robotic, or HumansAreCthulhu if it's an animal encountering the vacuum. Not to be confused with VacuumMouth.

* Many a parent has played into this trope by [[LiesToChildren telling their children]] that they will vacuum up their LEGOs up if they don't pick them up.

* Many a parent has played into this trope by [[LiesToChildren telling their children]] that they will vacuum up their LEGOs up if they dont pick them up.

* An advertisement for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4Sn91t1V4g Friskies cat food]] featured an older cat telling a kitten about the dangers of "the monster known as Va-Koom".

* In one commercial for Friskies cat food, an older cat warns a kitten of the dangers of "Va-koom", the monster that "can eat and yell at the same time."

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Invoked in ''Get Your Rotom Running!'', where Ash, Dawn and Brock explore the Old Chateau and get pursued by kitchen appliances being controlled by a Pokemon named Rotom, one of them being a vacuum cleaner.

* In "Dough Ray Me", an episode of ''Westernanimation/DuckTales'', Huey, Dewey and Louie vacuum up a hall carpet and suck in a good many other objects.

In fiction, vacuum cleaners are often used as monsters, especially in works focusing on children or animals, because of their ability to suck up items that are a lot bigger than just ordinary dirt and dust. In animated works especially, Vicious Vacs often display a much greater suction range and strength than real life vacuum cleaners could ever hope to achieve as well as the uncanny ability to suck up items far larger than could fit down their nozzles, [[BlackHoleBelly rarely changing size no matter how much they consume.]]

Related to WeaponsThatSuck. Can be a part of AIIsACrapshoot. Not to be confused with VacuumMouth.

* ''The Ambitious Vacuum Cleaner'' by George Carlson (1915) depicts a Edwardian style vacuum cleaner going on a rampage when left unattended, sucking up the entire contents of the owner's home in seconds, including the cat! Fortunately a strong gentleman friend of the owner manages to open the cleaner up, restoring the items. (It's unclear whether the vacuum is alive or not, but 'ambition' is not usually something associated with inanimate objects.)

* Children on the autistic spectrum too, being sensitive to loud noises, and kids whose [[LiesToChildren parents told them]] the vacuum will suck their LEGOs up if they dont pick them up.

* ''Franchise/WallaceAndGromit: Cracking Contraptions'' has the Cracker-Vac short, which starts with the eponymous invention trying to eat a packet of perfectly good crackers (as opposed to bits of cracker left on the floor) and ends with a MexicanStandOff, complete with Music/EnnioMorricone -esque soundtrack.