History Main / ViolenceDetector

Finally, there is one kind of Violence Detector which has the benefit of being absolutely real (though of course its use in media tends to be simplified), and that's Luminol, a chemical powder which has the quite neat effect of making blood glow in the dark. The applications of this are obvious, and Luminol is a favorite trick-of-the-trade in forensics shows such as ''Series/{{CSI}}'' and ''Series/{{Bones}}'', as well as crime and courtroom dramas such as the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games. Real Luminol works just about the same as shown, but it not quite as useful, mainly because there are other things that can cause the same glowing and so further testing is required on any bloodstains found.

* [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Sgt. Angua]] has used her hypersensitive werewolf nose to point out suspicious figures and find corpses on many occasions. The price is that the smell of blood is overpowering, hampering her around messy murders.

* The Kirin in ''TheTwelveKingdoms'' are so sensitive to blood (prolonged exposure to it can kill them) that merely being in the presence of someone who regularly commits violence (most usually a soldier) can make them feel ill.

* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', committing diablerie (draining another vampire of its life force) left a stain on a vampire's soul that could be read by other vampires.

* ''TheWheelOfTime'' gives us a kind of person called a Sniffer, who can supernaturally smell that violence has been done in a place, and how long ago. They are found only in the Borderlands, for reasons unknown. Although Sniffers are said to be about as rare/common as [[MagicByAnyOtherName One Power]] users, Hurin is the only Sniffer encountered in the whole book series.
* AnitaBlake accidentally touches a neurotic psychic, who starts flipping out about all the blood on her aura.

Finally, there is one kind of ViolenceDetector which has the benefit of being absolutely real (though of course its use in media tends to be simplified), and that's Luminol, a chemical powder which has the quite neat effect of making blood glow in the dark. The applications of this are obvious, and Luminol is a favorite trick-of-the-trade in forensics shows such as ''Series/{{CSI}}'' and ''Series/{{Bones}}'', as well as crime and courtroom dramas such as the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games. Real Luminol works just about the same as shown, but it not quite as useful, mainly because there are other things that can cause the same glowing and so further testing is required on any bloodstains found.

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!Examples:

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* In ''ZettaiKarenChildren'', this is one of the more frequently-seen uses for Shiho's {{Psychometry}} ability. She is shown, on at least on occasion, to help the police with unsolved crimes (her dad is the Chief of Police) simply by touching various objects related to murders, and then giving them a whole list of details - premeditated or not, identity of the killer, his mindset at the time, ect. She can also immediately identify a dangerous person at a touch. Unfortunately, this has left her constantly exposed to the darkest corners of the human mind since an early age, and as a result, she's frighteningly cynical and downright cold at times.

--> '''Psychic''': The walls scream with the blood of the innocent.
--> '''Realtor''': I'll be in the car.

* [[FanNickName BB]] from WebComic/TheBullysBully has this ability. Whenever a bully is picking on or torturing someone, she can feel their pain and often runs in to help the victum.

* In ''YuYuHakusho'', Yuu Kaito can set up a psychic territory where no violence is permitted - his power detects violence in the sense that it recognizes violent acts and shields the target.

* ''{{Traveller}}''. The K'kree were vegetarian aliens with an acute sense of smell. Any humans who wanted to meet with them had to stop eating meat for several days ahead of time to avoid offending them.
* ''VillainsAndVigilantes'' adventure ''Devil's Domain''. The Xareon are a race of PlantAliens. They refuse to accompany the party because they can sense that the {{PC}}s eat vegetable matter, which disgusts them (sort of how humans feel about ImAHumanitarian creatures).

* The Protoss High Templar unit in ''{{Starcraft}}'' has these StopPokingMe lines: "Your thoughts betray you." and "I see you have an appetite for destruction."

An ability (usually a power for a specific person) to recognise that violence or bloodshed has been done at a certain place, or by a certain person. This is one of the standard PsychicPowers- see "postcognition" and "psychometry" on that page. Being able to sense the history of an area or object is useful, and violent events in said history just stand out. The psychic in question may or may not be able to discern who perpetrated the violence, and against whom. They can usually determine the severity of it, especially when it was murder, and especially when the body was buried or hidden nearby. Note, however, that solving a murder by [[DeadPersonConversation communicating with]] [[OurGhostsAreDifferent the ghost of the victim]] isn't the same thing.

* In ''ZettaiKarenChildren'', this is one of the more frequently-seen uses for Shiho's Psychometry ability. She is shown, on at least on occasion, to help the police with unsolved crimes (her dad is the Chief of Police) simply by touching various objects related to murders, and then giving them a whole list of details - premeditated or not, identity of the killer, his mindset at the time, ect. She can also immediately identify a dangerous person at a touch. Unfortunately, this has left her constantly exposed to the darkest corners of the human mind since an early age, and as a result, she's frighteningly cynical and downright cold at times.

* The titualar character in ''InuYasha'' has used his ability to smell blood many times, sometimes from miles away.

* As mentioned above, ''{{CSI}}'' and ''{{Bones}}'' both use Luminol as a simple way to check for blood at the scene of a crime, which can then be matched to a victim/perp via DNA testing (which, by the way, takes more than a few hours in RealLife). On the above shows, a black light is used to enhance visibility, making the use of Luminol even cooler-looking.

Finally, there is one kind of ViolenceDetector which has the benefit of being absolutely real (though of course its use in media tends to be simplified), and that's Luminol, a chemical powder which has the quite neat effect of making blood glow in the dark. The applications of this are obvious, and Luminol is a favorite trick-of-the-trade in forensics shows such as {{CSI}} and {{Bones}}, as well as crime and courtroom dramas such as the PhoenixWright games. Real Luminol works just about the same as shown, but it not quite as useful, mainly because there are other things that can cause the same glowing and so further testing is required on any bloodstains found.

->--''You. I've seen your kind before. You've got blood on your hands. Keep your blade sheathed, you murdering bastard, or I'll put you down myself.''
It's clear this isn't literal blood but the physic stain of murder that gives you Infamy, even if your killings were not witnessed.
* The Protoss High Templar unit in ''{{Starcraft}}'' has these StopPokingMe lines: "Your thoughts betray you." and "I see you have an appetite for destruction."

Note that detecting violence isn't the same as detecting a ''killing intent''. Often said intent is indicated by a simple DeathGlare, or a change in a character's BattleAura. But when a character is psychically or by other supernatural means able to detect harmful intentions, it counts.

A less fantastical way of detecting violence works by the smell of blood, and thus is a common ability for beings with powerful noses (dogs, [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent (were)wolves)]] or an affinity for finding blood ([[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]]). This makes sense as blood has very distinctive and pervasive odour, has the tendency to seep into materials, and is extremely hard to clean up completely. However, the blood here may well be metaphorical, especially if the bloodshed happened many centuries ago or a concerted effort has been made to clean it up using the right equipment. As such, this ability often goes beyond what natural senses can explain.

* ''TheWheelOfTime'' gives us a kind of person called a Sniffer, who can supernaturally smell that violence has been done in a place, and how long ago. They are found only in the Borderlands, for reasons unknown. Although Sniffers are said to be about as rare/common as magic-users, only one Sniffer is encountered in the whole book series.

* In ''{{Oblivion}}'', if you have committed murders, guards may greet you with:

* In the fifth season of ''{{Angel}}'' [[OccultLawFirm Wolfram and Hart]] had psychics with this capability, and Angel used them to examine a house where a relevant atrocity had taken place years ealier, on the pretext of being potential buyers.

* The titualar character in ''InuYasha'' has used his ability to smell blood many times, sometimes from miles away.

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* [[DiscWorld Sgt. Angua]] has used her hypersensitive werewolf nose to point out suspicious figures and find corpses on many occasions. The price is that the smell of blood is overpowering, hampering her around messy murders.

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* Mai of ''GhostHunt'' has periodic psychic dreams pertaining to the case her team is on at the time, usually intimating details about the spirits who have suffered in those locations.

* In ''VampireTheMasquerade'', committing diablerie (draining another vampire of its life force) left a stain on a vampire's soul that could be read by other vampires.

* Forensic magicians in the LordDarcy stories can do this.

* [[DiscWorld Sgt. Angua]] has used her hypersensitive werewolf nose to point out suspicious figures and find corpses on many occasions. The price is that the smell of blood pushes her toward berserkery.