The Titling

Titles of the definite-article + gerund format, i.e. "The [verb]ing". And since it's about something happening, it's an Event Title sub-trope as well.

The use of this format for titling Horror Films is sometimes parodied, and is usually a good indicator that the film is very definitely a B-Grade one (despite the Trope Namer, The Shining, being anything but low-quality). It's also a very easy way to give your sequel a memorable subtitle.

Compare Verbing Nouny.

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The Listing

Anime & Manga

• The Dreaming

Film

• The Awakening
• The Bleeding
• The Burning
• The Conjuring
• The Crossing
• The Happening
• The Haunting (1963)
  • The Haunting (1999)
• Highlander II: The Quickening
• The Howling
• The Killing
• The Missing
• The Outing
• Piranha Part Two: The Spawning
• The Reaping
• The Reckoning (multiple movies with this title)
• The Shining
• The Shooting
• The Unearthling
• The Vanishing
• The Wailing

Fan Works

• Between the Lines (MrQuestionMark): "The Turning".
• Evershade: In "Reforming", when picking what movie to watch, one call "The Shaping" is mentioned, and as this trope implies, it's a horror movie:
  "Horror one. A story about an evil, possessed house?" I raised an eyebrow. "Sounds a bit cliche."
• Fanmade Chronicles of Darkness and Old World of Darkness lines:
  • Atlantean: The Longing
  • Hunchback: The Lurching
  • Senshi: The Merchandising
  • Siren: The Drowning
  • Wraith: The Arising

Literature

• Bentley Little's novels The Summoning, The Walking, The Burning, The Vanishing
• The Gathering
• The Shunning

Live-Action TV

• An in-universe example occurs on iCarly: Carly, Sam and Freddy help some friends make a trailer for a movie called... The Blowing.
• The Killing

Music

• Kate Bush: The Dreaming album and its Title Track.
• Tears for Fears: The Hurting album and its Title Track.

Tabletop Games

• Old World of Darkness
  • Changeling: The Dreaming
  • Hunter: The Reckoning
• Chronicles of Darkness
  • Mage: The Awakening
• Magic: The Gathering

Video Games

• The Baconing, the third part of the DeathSpank saga.
• A cancelled title in the Castlevania series for the 32X would've gone by the name of Castlevania: The Bloodletting.
• Hunter: The Reckoning
  • Hunter: The Reckoning: Wayward
  • Hunter: The Reckoning: Redeemer
• Privateer 2: The Darkening
• The Reckoning

Webcomics

• The Becoming
• Final Fantasy VII: The Sevening
• El Goonish Shive has the storyline "Q&A 7 - The Requestioning"
• Parodied in the Irregular Webcomic! "Shakespeare" theme, when Will proposes a fantasy game called Noun: The Gerunding.
• The Croaking

Web Video

• The Haunting
• UFP The Movie: The Moviening

Western Animation

• Ruthlessly parodied in season 3 of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, with such episode titles as "The Shaving", "The Cubing", and of course, "The The".
• Dexter's Laboratory: "The Laughing" involves Dexter turning into a "were-clown".
• The Simpsons
  • Parodied when Lenny gets a bit part in a movie called "The Redeadening".
  • The episode "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" involves the kids wanting to see a movie called "The Bloodening" (a parody of Village of the Damned).
  • A Treehouse of Horror segment is labeled "The Shinning," to parody The Shining.
• Invader Zim: "The Wettening" involves Dib tormenting Zim with water balloons when he discovers Earth's water is toxic to Irkens.
• Futurama: "The Honking" has Bender getting attacked by a "were-car".
• My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: The season 6 premiere consists of "The Crystalling, Part 1", and "The Crystalling, Part 2". The eponymous Crystalling is a form of christening ceremony for Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's new baby.
• The Amazing World of Gumball: Its Idiosyncratic Episode Naming makes all of its titles with "The", it's almost surprising that this doesn't happen more often. There are a handful examples, however:
  • The Painting
  • The Parking
  • The Singing
  • The Vegging
  • The Schooling
  • The Understanding

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