History Main / YouGotMurder

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick:'' ''[[RunningGag I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.]]''

* One episode of ''Series/TheAvengers'' had letters containing an ''enhanced cold''.

* ''Film/JingleAllTheWay'' has fun with this. Myron, a disgruntled postman, threatens a radio DJ with a package that he claims is a bomb which he discovered in the mail and kept for use in an emergency. It accidentally falls out of his hand and is revealed to be...a music box. Later, when the police show up, he threatens them with a different package. When the police let him go a retired bomb squad officer claims it's just a "harmless Christmas package", which blows up in his face, [[NonFatalExplosions only turning his face black.]] When Myron hears the explosion he is surprised and disgusted that somebody really had sent a bomb through the postal system.

* The hitman Trabucco (Walter Matthau) disposes of one of his victims this way, early in the film ''BuddyBuddy''.
* ''The Inspectors'', a film about US Postal Inspectors, follows the investigation of a mail bomb murder (interestingly enough, the Postal Inspectors are a RealLife law enforcement agency... in fact, they are the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States.)
* Subverted and spoofed in ''Film/AdeleHasntHadHerDinnerYet''. Detective Nick Carter receives a perfume-scented letter. He's savvy and immediately suspects it might contain a bomb, and uses "a gift from his friend Roentgen" to check it. It's just an invitation/free ticket to a night club.
* Package bombs delivered by a motorcycle courier are the weapon of choice for the MadBomber in ''Film/{{Quick}}''.
* In ''Film/TheFrontPage'', Earl Williams once sent a mail bomb to a famous industrialist as part of his anti-capitalist activities, but it was returned due to insufficient postage and blew the roof off his boarding house and led to his arrest for illegal possession of explosives.
* In ''Film/HolmesAndWatson'', Holmes is sent a box containing [[AnimalAssassin a mosquito infected with a deadly plague]] in an attempt to kill him before he can testify at Moriarty's trial.

* The Creator/StephenKing short story "Everything's Eventual" centers around a young slacker hired by a mysterious firm because he has the ability to compose "[[BrownNote glyphs]]" that can drive the viewer to suicide. They sends him a list of names and addresses, and he puts the glyphs on letters.
* In the book ''A Death in Vienna'' by Daniel Silva, the death is caused by a letter bomb sent to an ex-Mossad agent turned Nazi hunter.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has Explosive Runes (as mentioned in the [=OotS=] example), The Sepia Snake Sigil (which paralyzes readers), the various Symbol of... spells, and cursed scrolls that have nasty effects when read.

* The anger mages of ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies'' have a spell that lets them enchant a letter, note or e-mail with another one of their spells (which can include damaging spells).

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick:'' ''[[RunningGag I prepared Explosive Runes this morning.]]''

* In one ''[[WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory Justice Friends]]'' short, [[GoingPostal Disgruntled Postman]] attempted to mail a bomb to the US President, only to be stopped by Major Glory. What made it ridiculous was that it was a very big and obvious bomb.
* Happened to KBBL in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' when [[DumbassDJ Bill and Marty]] didn't give Bart the elephant he asked for. Their boss tells them that the station is being bombarded by angry calls and letter bombs. A pile of envelopes is shown on a nearby desk and several of them explode at once.

* In the WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck cartoon "Donald's Lucky Day", Donald is a delivery boy who unwittingly is delivering a time bomb set to explode at midnight. He only finds out just moments before it goes off.

* Literature/SherlockHolmes is sent a little ivory box containing a sharp spring infected with a deadly disease in "The Adventure of the Dying Detective". [[spoiler:He sees through it immediately, but plays along and uses self-starvation and make-up in order to pretend he's dying from the disease, and trick the killer into confessing.]]

* The ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner'' cartoon "Sugar And Spies" has the Coyote delivering a bomb in a package to the Road Runner, but it gets sent back to him for insufficient postage. It explodes before he can retrieve another stamp for it.

* The ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndRoadRunner'' cartoon "Sugar And Spies" has the Coyote delivering a bomb in a package to the Road Runner, but it gets sent back to him for insufficient postage. It explodes before he can retrieve another stamp for it.

* The ''LooneyTunes/RoadRunner'' cartoon "Sugar And Spies" has the Coyote delivering a bomb in a package to the Road Runner, but it gets sent back to him for insufficient postage. It explodes before he can retrieve another stamp for it.

* In at least one of the ''Franchise/{{Worms}}'' games, one weapon consists in a bomber dropping explosive envelopes (heavily affected by the wind).

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt was twice targeted by letter bombs during his time as a police commissioner of New York City, first as a package delivered to his office in August 1895, and the second time as an actual letter in April 1896 while he was away attending the funeral of a cousin. Lacking stamps when it was delivered to the post office, the envelope was partly opened and identified as a bomb by a postal worker, then taken to police headquarters and defused by a police detective before Roosevelt ever came in that day. Roosevelt, for his part, refused to be intimidated either time.

* In ''Film/MagnumForce'', Harry and his assistant both have their mailboxes wired with explosives when the mailbox key is turned.

* In ''Film/ThirteenWomen'', Ursula mails Bobby a pox of [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink poisoned chocolates]] for his birthday.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has the episode "Kerblam!", where it turns out that one of the titular company's employees plans to kill thousands of innocent customers by including explosives in their deliveries, in an attempt to get the company into trouble. [[spoiler: The customer's deaths are prevented, but some of the other employees had already been killed]].
* Used in an episode of ''Series/EarlyEdition''.

* The ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Won't Get Fooled Again". Also played with in "Poison", where [[spoiler: the unsub tries to kill his former bosses by poisoning the glue strips of envelopes they are using.]]

* Icelandic pop singer Music/{{Bjork}} found herself just barely missing one of these in 1996 thanks to LoonyFan [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_López_(stalker) Ricardo López.]] López was obsessed with the singer and resented her interracial relationship with the Jamaican-Scottish DJ Goldie, leading him to prepare and mail a letter bomb rigged to fire sulfuric acid in Björk's face before committing suicide on-video. Thankfully, police were able to intercept his acid bomb before it could even reach Björk, though the very fact that López even sent the bomb in the first place traumatized her in the years following.

** In another episode, a disguised Vembrian named Wally hires Higher For Hire to deliver a package to the High Marshal which is actually a bomb as part of an elaborate plan for the High Marshal to [[ThisMeansWar declare war on Cape Suzette]] [[WarForFunAndProfit and put Wally's bomb factory back in business]]. His plan hits a snafu when the Sea Duck gets through the boarder search before the bomb is discovered, [[GoneHorriblyRight meaning it would]] [[SpringtimeForHitler blow the High Marshall up for real]].

* ''Webcomig/{{Homestuck}}'': Jane manages to get past her OverprotectiveDad and out of the house to get her copy of Sburb from the mailbox. It turns out to be another assassination attempt [[ProperlyParanoid that her Dad is trying to protect her from]], and just as she's about to look in the mailbox, it explodes. She gets saved by the God Cat.

* "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECnF3J8isL4 Special Delivery]]'' by TheOffspring

'''Lest anyone think this would be "unprosecutable," in real life you're not supposed to send dangerous goods by mail in the first place. The cops could get you on that one alone.'''

* In ''{{Warehouse 13}}'', a teenaged StalkerWithACrush uses this as his method of revenge once he gets his hands on [[ArtifactOfDoom Poe's quill pen.]]

* In the ''LawAndOrder'' episode "Big Bang", a physics professor's wife is killed by a letter bomb. While the bomb itself was not meant to be lethal, the letter opener the victim used was blown into the woman's throat, killing her.

* Literature/ErastFandorin receives a bomb package on the day of his marriage. [[spoiler:He survives, his wife doesn't.]]