Line #13 Main/PortentOfDoom


1	->'''Oberyn:''' You were small, but far-famed. We were in Oldtown at your birth, and all the city talked of was the monster that had been born to the King’s Hand, and what such an omen might foretell for the realm.\
2	'''Tyrion:''' Famine, plague, and war, no doubt. It’s always famine, plague, and war. Oh, and winter, and the long night that never ends.
3	-->-- ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''
4
5	The writing on the wall. A mystical phenomenon that tells of a dire future for those who witness it.
6
7	Specific types of portents include:
8
9	[[index]]
10	* AceOfSpades: A specific playing card that signifies danger ahead.
11	* BadMoonRising: A celestial event foretells doom.
12	* CometOfDoom: The arrival of a comet as a bad omen.
13	* DeadHatShot: An abandon hat lying around signifies the death of its owner.
14	* DeadMansHand: A poker hand with two black Aces and two black Eights means death.
15	* DreamingOfThingsToCome: When nightmares are soon to come true.
16	* TheEndIsNigh: Those doomsayers and signholders know what they're talking about.
17	* FlyingDutchman: Just seeing the TropeNamer was a portent to an unlucky crew. Even worse if the GhostShip tried to hail them.
18	* ForDoomTheBellTolls: A church bell foretells death.
19	* ForebodingFleeingFlock: Animals in large numbers are fleeing something ominous.
20	* {{Hellhound}}: The Portent variety spelled death or grave misfortune for whoever saw them.
21	* TheMothman: The appearance of one of these [[OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious cryptids]] is generally taken as an ill omen.
22	* OminousFog: Something is coming, but no one will be able to see it.
23	* OurBansheesAreLouder: The anguished wail of a banshee is a portent of death.
24	* RedSkyTakeWarning: Evil clouds foretell doom.
25	* AStormIsComing: ...so does the rain.
26	* TheStarsAreGoingOut: The stars blinking out foretells the end of the world.
27	* SignsOfTheEndTimes: The portents point to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
28	* TarotTroubles: The Tower, Hanged Man, and Death cards are used for this purpose in fiction. In reality, physical death is not indicated by any individual card but rather an interaction between the combination of cards pulled and the question asked.
29	* TwinsAreSpecial: Some cultures interpret a multiple birth as a bad omen.
30	* VaguenessIsComing: The MadOracle is speaking in riddles, again, and these [[{{seers}} visions]] and [[DreamingOfThingsToCome dreams]] won't make sense until its too late.
31	[[/index]]
32
33	Compare with {{Foreshadowing}}, the out-of-universe equivalent. Compare with MagpiesAsPortents, which can involve both negative and positive outcomes. For other signs of impending doom see StockOminousSigns.
34
35	Only place examples here that do not belong on one of the [[SubTrope Sub-Tropes]].
36	----
37	!!Examples:
38
39	[[foldercontrol]]
40
41	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
42	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
43	** Near the end of ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'', there's a flashback arc that introduces a character named Scolippi and his [[FightingSpirit Stand]], "Rolling Stones". This Stand is this trope incarnate; it acts independently of Scolippi's control and rolls around, looking for the closest person whose death (particularly horrible ones) is near; it's able to turn its form into the statue of the would-be-dead person, indicating who the stone is after. It'll then offer the doomed person a painless death by touching the stone. In the story, it predicted the death of [[spoiler:Bucciarati]], and his friend, Mista, tried to get rid of it; but after Mista and his friend left the building they're in, the stone morphed into the statue of [[spoiler:not just Bucciarati, but also Abbacchio and Narancia (Mista's other friends)]].
44	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun Steel Ball Run]]'': While hiding from Funny Valentine, Lucy Steel sees a brief light emerge from a chimney before getting engulfed by it. Once Valentine finds her shaken in the corner, she claims that 'someone' told her she'll be the bearer, moments before Valentine sees that Lucy has been [[MysticalPregnancy endowed]] with the head of the holy corpse, signifying that it will be made whole soon.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Art]]
48	* ''Art/CartaMarina'':
49	** According to the commentary, the appearance of the Great Norwegian Serpent ("200 feet long and over 20 feet thick") is a bad omen that betokens a sudden change of rule in Norway, or else an imminent war.
50	** Mermen coming near ships is a sign of imminent danger, and may presage the sinking of the ship.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Comic Books]]
54	* ''ComicBook/TheCavalier'': Rance knows danger is afoot when a portrait of his ancestor scowls.
55	* At the end of the ''Judge Anderson'' storyline "Postcards from the Edge", Anderson has a vision of the eagle of ComicBook/{{ju\|dge Dredd}}stice being attacked by the pterodactl of death, and being saved by a Franchise/{{Bat\|man}}. This foretold the {{crossover}} story ''ComicBook/DieLaughing'', which ultimately came out three years later, and involved Batman helping save Mega-City One from the Dark Judges.
56	* When a Creator/{{Marvel}} writer wants to show that something ''really'' wrong is about to happen, ComicBook/SpiderMan's [[DangerSense Spider-Sense]] will go off like crazy without any apparent danger. One of these was when ComicBook/{{Thanos}} snapped his fingers to destroy half the life in the universe, in ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet. Furthermore, if Uatu TheWatcher shows up, then something ''major'' is happening.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Fan Works]]
60	* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in Saulderon's ''So We're A Couple''. During the History of Remnant class, [[OriginalCharacter OC]] Ty is giving an oratory report on his family's history and Professor Oobleck asks if the Faunus revolutionaries ever attacked Ty's homeland during the Revolution. [[BlatantLies Ty answers no, it was very likely the war ended before the Faunus could orchestrate an invasion.]] In truth, Ty did find a single entry of a war that is, according to canon, supposedly the most brutal in over eighty years: ''"The Faunus set foot on the Coast in search of retribution for the sins of Humanity's past; they were met by the fangs of theirs."'' It's an incredibly brief message in a book that's filled with ''thousands of years'' worth of recorded family history, but [[NothingIsScarier it shook Ty up]] to the point where he went around Beacon avoiding the shadows for a week.
61	%%* ''Fanfic/FarceOfTheThreeKingdoms'': The transgender chickens.
62	* ''Fanfic/TheWritingOnTheWall'': Daring Do believes the writing she sees on the wall of the tomb she's exploring, warning that entering the tomb will result in dire consequences, is one of these meant to scare off grave robbers. What she finds out the hard way is the warning is ''NotHyperbole''. [[spoiler:The warning comes complete with a simplified description of what is inside-nuclear waste-and what radiation sickness can do to someone.]]
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
66	* ''WesternAnimation/{{MutaFukaz}}'': One of the guardian wrestlers has a vision of a fiery skull on his sandwich, and finds a stain that resembles a cockroach. The audience knows that these omens do relate to the main characters, but the other wrestlers are a bit more cynical.
67	* In ''Anime/TalesFromEarthsea'', the sightings of dragons fighting is taken to be a sign that the balance of the world is greatly upset, perhaps irreparably.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
71	* In ''Film/TheLoveParade'', Count Alfred says that seeing a cross-eyed person is bad luck for him. On the morning of his wedding, everyone he sees (including the portrait on one of his medals) is cross-eyed.
72	* In ''Film/PracticalMagic'', the chirping of the [[MeaningfulName deathwatch beetle]] foretells the death of a loved one.
73	* ''Film/TheGauntlet'': Detective Shockley initially believes that witness Gus Mally is just being difficult about being taken to Phoenix for a trial. However, while waiting in a bar, Shockley sees a betting board for a horse race with only one entrant: Mally No-Show. This clues Shockley that Mally wasn't bluffing about being a KillOnSight target of the mob.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Literature]]
77	* ''Literature/CradleSeries'':
78	** Whenever the Dreadgods appear, the world shakes, and the [[BackgroundMagicField aura]] of their affinity starts going wild. Once they get close enough, the entire sky turns their color, at which point generally accepted wisdom is that everyone close enough to see it is already dead.
79	** Then there are those who have ascended their world entirely. Entities at the level of a Judge affect the entire [[TheMultiverse Iteration]] just by unveiling their power. When the Mad King appears in the sky, the entire universe quakes. In one especially large Iteration, it's noted that everyone in the universe can look up and see him in the sky--''every'' sky, of ''every'' world, because he has so much significance that the entire universe bends to let the people see their doom. Most seers die the second he arrives. In book 10, [[spoiler:When he arrives on Cradle every seer on the planet starts screaming "a destroyer has come."]]
80	** Inverted with the Judges, who ''calm'' the universe with their mere presence. Also in book 10, [[spoiler:The presence of all seven in Fathom prevents hundreds of Vroshir, including the Mad King, from destroying the Iteration just by existing. When the Mad King flees to Cradle, Ozriel unveiling his power immediately stops the shaking. And every seer in the world declares "The Destroyer has come."]]
81	* ''I Heard The Owl Call My Name'', in which the protagonist is subjected to the named portent of death.
82	* In the first few chapters of ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', the end of the Han dynasty is seen in some very bad portents (a horrible plague among one of those things), kicking of the chain of events that leads to decades of war.
83	* ''Literature/TheSecretLivesOfPrincesses'': Black Butterfly forcasts doom. Once your see it, there is little hope. Princess Primandproper raises them.
84	* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' some believe it to be a sign of an unworthy king for them to be cut by the Iron Throne, with one particularly disliked king, Maegor the Cruel, believed to have been outright killed by the throne itself rather than any assassin. There's little apparent validity to this idea, because the throne is designed to be dangerous to sit on and anyone who uses it regularly has probably done it at least once.
85	* Any time Stormwings start to flock in the ''Literature/TortallUniverse'', at least after ''Literature/TheImmortals''. Since they feed on fear and live to desecrate war dead, you can bet that trouble's a-comin'.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
89	* A particularly cliched example used in Filipino soaps: when a character is about to die in a scene, there is a quick cut to his (or a close friend's) house showing a [[DramaticShattering glass falling and breaking]][[note]] whether by someone accidentally dropping it, or just plain inexplicably[[/note]], and all his friends or relatives present reacting in shock to it. It then either cuts back to show whether he died, or was just badly hurt, or, an authority calls up to bring the bad news.
90	* Spoofed in ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'', as you'd expect.
91	-->'''Prince George:''' Ah Blackadder. It has been a wild afternoon full of strange omens. I dreamt that a large eagle circled the room three times and then got into bed with me and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking took all the blankets]]. And then I saw that it wasn't an eagle at all but a large black snake. And also Duncan's horses did turn up and eat each other. As usual.
92	* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', we find that certain ghosts can be death omens and groups of Reapers appear before disasters. In addition, demonic signs (crop failures, storms, and cattle mutilations) are often apparent before the forces of Hell act and there are many signs associated with the Apocalypse including the rising of the 4 Horsemen.
93	* Parodied in ''Series/TheITCrowd'' when Richmond warns the others not to go to their boss's funeral because:
94	-->'''Richmond:''' This morning I saw a crow perched upon my windowsill. It looked at me and crowed three times. Caw! Caw! Well, you know what a crow sounds like. And then [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking I stood on a piece of Lego.]] Ooh, it really hurt, it did! So anyway that's why- (he turns around to see they've all gone while he was talking.)
95	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': A one-shot character from the 9th Doctor's debut episode is convinced that the TARDIS and the Doctor himself are one of these, judging by the number of times they've been seen in the vicinity of terrible disasters. [[RightForTheWrongReasons He's not exactly wrong, even if he's got cause and effect backwards]].
96	* ''Series/{{Rome}}''. On the eve of his assassination, Julius Caesar's wife has a dream of a flock of birds [[WeAllDieSomeday taking the shape of a skull]] as they fly over a field.
97	-->'''Caesar:''' I was about to wake you. Wherever you were, you were not enjoying yourself.\
98	'''Calpurnia:''' It was another dream of omens.
99	-->'''Caesar:''' You're becoming quite the oracle. Shall I send for some willow water? You'll sleep better.
100	-->'''Calpurnia:''' I was in the country, and...
101	-->'''Caesar:''' Please, I have had such dreams for ''years''. [[RainOfBlood Bloody rain]], [[HellHound black dogs]], [[TheFerryman hooded ferrymen]]--for years. Here I am, [[TemptingFate still alive and well.]]
102	* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS4E8YearOfHell Year of Hell]]", Janeway's ready room gets trashed after a series of attacks, but she's glad to find her [[TemptingFate lucky coffee cup has survived intact]]. Just then Voyager is attacked again and she rushes to the bridge, not seeing her cup get knocked off the table by the vibrations and smash on the floor.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Myth & Religion]]
106	* In the Literature/BookOfDaniel, supernatural writing foretells the demise of the Babylonian Empire. It is the origin of the phrase "the writing on the wall."
107	** The phrase written, ''Mene, mene, tekel, u-Pharsin'' and its translations "numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided" (figuratively) and "You have been judged and found wanting [by God/the Persians (unwittingly acting for God)]" are also used.
108	* ''Literature/HalfsSaga'': Sailing homeward after marrying Hringja, daughter of King Hreidar of Zealand, Hjorleif observes a giant rising out of the sea who chants a prophecy that predicts the death of Hringja, Hreidar, and Hjorleif's own imprisonment.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Music]]
112	* Music/IronMaiden's ''The Writing on the Wall'' sets this trope to music.
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Roleplay]]
116	* In ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'', Mirielle's superpower allows her to visualise people's relationships as strings. This also includes their relationship with the thing that will kill them, represented by a black string. When two students start dying in the school, Mirielle is able to tell by the way that it affects their strings.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
120	* In ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'', the build-up event to 2nd Edition was referred to as "Malign Portents", with various portents of doom were witnessed all over the Mortal Realms, most pertaining to Nagash's designs in the realm of Shyish.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Theatre]]
124	* In ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar'' Calphurnia urges Caesar not to go to the Senate because of the various omens she's either witnessed or heard about from reliable sources. Caesar pooh-poohs it and goes anyway.
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Video Games]]
128	* By ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'', Richard the Rooster has gone from being another hallucination to this, and perhaps the GrimReaper, too. If he appears to a character who didn't appear in the previous game, it's as good as a spoiler: they're not going to survive.
129	* Discussed in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. In one of Link's memories, Zelda theorizes that increasing numbers of monsters appearing around Hyrule are a sign that Ganon's prophesied return is imminent. The final entry in her diary ends with Zelda stating that she's [[SpiderSense certain something terrible is coming]], though [[CassandraTruth no one would believe a failure like her anyway]]. Soon after, Ganon emerges and utterly devastates Hyrule.
130	-->'''Zelda's Diary:''' Right now, for no particular reason, I am filled with a strange and terrible certainty that something awful is about to happen.
131	* ''VideoGame/{{XenoGears}}'': During the prologue, just as Citan is about to leave his workshop, the music box he showed to Fei earlier suddenly breaks into pieces, signaling Citan that something foreboding is about to occur in [[DoomedHometown Lahan]].
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Western Animation]]
135	* ''WesternAnimation/{{TrollHunters}}'': The illustration on the wall beyond Merlin's workshop illustrates the future, display an illustration of Jim, Toby and Claire, as well as Angor Rot.
136	[[/folder]]

Context Main / PortentOfDoom