History ParanoiaFuel / Literature

** Book 3 of ''Literature/TheDarkTower'' series, ''Literature/TheWasteLands'', features an example of Paranoia Fuel combined with nightmares in the story, in the form of Charlie the Choo-Choo. Despite being a children's book, this story gives Jake, Susannah and Eddie the creeps when they first read it. Jake imagines that beneath the sugary sweetness of the story, the titular character is evil to the core, which foreshadows the Ka-Tet's encounter with Blaine the Mono at the end of the book and the beginning of the next one. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_the_Choo-Choo_(book) defictionalized version of the book]] makes it hard to disagree with Jake's instincts, what with the evil grin on Charlie's face and the children on the train apparently screaming in terror.

** That's like saying that the Franchise/CareBears can see you when you're sad and come down from that fluffy place in the clouds that is Care-A-Lot to cheer you up tho... On the other hand, don't.

* In ''Literature/{{Pure}}'', by Creator/JuliannaBaggott, not adhering to social conventions by, say, not going to church, can get you put in the loony bin. The government can and will alter your behavior, plant a bomb in your head and bug your eyes and ears, and you won't even know until it's far too late.

* In Pure, by Julianna Baggott, not adhering to social conventions by, say, not going to church, can get you put in the loony bin. The government can and will alter your behavior, plant a bomb in your head and bug your eyes and ears, and you won't even know until it's far too late.

* One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the situation in ''Literature/TheProphetOfYonwood'' (the U.S. battling a terrorist nation that threatens total war) is a natural progression from what the world is going through today.

* ''Literature/HyperionCantos''. MerlinSickness causes you to age backward in time, meaning that every day you wake a day younger, having lost a days worth of memories. So, immediately after you contract it, you'll wake up not remembering what had be to befallen you; someone will have to explain it. And then the next morning, they'll have to explain it again. And again. And Again. ''And Again.'' '''''And Again.''''' Over and over, every day until you either die or age back to before you were born. Initially, this task will be handled by doctors, but as time passes this grim chore will pass to your friends and family. But with every passing year, more and more of your friends will have to explain to you who they are, because you will no longer remember meeting them. Eventually, you will forget all of them, and be forced to rely solely on family for the daily explanation of what's happened. But then your family members will start to die, and the survivors will have to inform you of this every day. This daily task will wear upon them, until finally they give up, and stop telling you. And then you will have to face the world each morning scared and alone, confused as to why the world has suddenly changed so drastically while you were sleeping. And each night shall erase the memory of this, forcing you to face it anew each day. Have fun getting out of bed tomorrow morning.

---> The author: I always believe myself to be healthy ''physically'', but mentally, I'm a hopeless, blathering, soggy wreck. [...] The fact, alone, that I subjected myself to several months of research into mental disorders that ''I felt on the cusp of acquiring'' (emphasis not the author's) bespeaks some sort of unhealthy masochistic tendencies.

** Think He Who Walks Behind is scary? The later books introduce He Who Walks Beside, aka, Nemesis. It can possess anyone - just anyone, no matter what their powerlevel or morality. Anyone, including the Faerie queen who can plunge the world into another Ice Age, wizards who can call down DeathFromAbove via satellite strikes, can be a puppet for Nemesis. Your best friend, your brother, your mentor,the sweet little girl you just rescued, anyone may be its tool. Not even the guy whose job it is to guard the world from Nemesis can be sure whether or not someone is possessed, unless Nemesis chooses to reveal itself - and then of course, it's mostly too late. It is InUniverse Paranoia Fuel too. All the powerful characters know that some of the other powerful ones are possessed - but not who exactly is possessed, or how many, leading to widespread distrust and overly complicated {{Batman Gambit}}s. And by the way, Nemesis is just a tool for [[EldritchAbomination the Outsiders]] who want to break into our world and bring about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt total Reality Shutdown.]]

* Various stories in David Lubar's ''[[Literature/{{Weenies}} In The Land of the Lawn Weenies]]'', but in particular, The Slide. You know those tube slides on playgrounds? Well, what if one of the support tubes holding it up actually leads down to a giant, insect-queen-like ''thing'' that spews out [[CreepyChild quasi-children]] thrown straight out of the UncannyValley, and if you go down that slide, you'll fall into the tube and become the food source for the 'mother'? And said children are going to actively try to force you to go down said slide? Lubar seems to enjoy taking normal childhood games and experiences and turning them into pure unadulterated versions of this trope. Did you ever try to walk around with your eyes closed for fun as a kid? Hope you didn't get sucked into a horrible alternate dimension and transformed into a [[EldritchAbomination screeching monstrosity]] unable to reverse the process and get back to your own world because ''you have no eyelids!''

* ''The Plant People'', a short story by Dale Carson in ''[[Literature/BruceCovillesBookOf Bruce Coville's Book of Aliens]]'', detailed a mysterious fog filled with dancing lights that slowly turned people into cacti. It seems silly until you read about them first changed into brainless, green-veined shells of their former selves, wandering listlessly around trying to photosynthesize, and see the illustration of one confused victim clutching a cactus, not seeming to mind the pain. Worse still is the end: [[spoiler: A news report says they finally found a cure, but just as they're about to reveal it, the fog descends...]]

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' has a whole slew of mundane situations that could kill you. Is your teacher treating you like dirt? She's a monster from [[{{Hell}} Tartarus]] tormenting you out of blasphemous rage against [[DivineParentage your unknown parent]]. Do those [[WaxMuseumMorgue "garden statues"]] look [[UncannyValley eerily lifelike]]? They're victims of Medusa who were TakenForGranite. Did you... oh no, is that a CHAIN RESTAURANT you're going into? (Cue hydra heads breaking through the windows.) OhCrap.