[Prothero is showering, while watching his own television rant about the terrorist V]
Lewis Prothero: [on television] I'll tell you what I wish. I wish I had been there! I wish I had the chance for a face-to-face. Just one chance, that's all I'd need!
[V breaks into Prothero's home]
Lewis Prothero: [on television] I'll tell you what I wish. I wish I had been there! I wish I had the chance for a face-to-face. Just one chance, that's all I'd need!
[V breaks into Prothero's home]
"Speak of Cao Cao, and he appears."
Nale: My patience is wearing thin. That's 40 candidates you've showed me, and they've all sucked.
Wizard Teacher: I think you'll really like this next one. We call him...HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED.
Nale: Another one? Good gods, man, that's eleven so far who Must Not Be Named. Not to mention the four who Must Not Be Looked At, the two who Must Not Be Spoken To, and the one that Must Not Be Toilet-Trained.
"Let's just call She Who Will Not Be Named another name."
— Tara, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Crush"
Wood: Lord Emperor, hear me out, if you would save the East! I tell you I have faced Ardneh and I know! We must arouse the One whose name should not be said, to fight for us. Or else we perish.
—The Empire of the East
Rose Thorburn: The legal documents give a phone number for the lawyers. The little black book says we just need to say the firm’s name three times. Same idea, I think.
Blake Thorburn: Which isn’t ominous at all.
Rose Thorburn: Not in the slightest.
— Pact
Various Characters: I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!
Cardinal Ximénez: NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Marquis de Carabas: We had a bargain, Vandemar. Will people say your word is worthless?
Vandemar: No. They won't. People don't say anything about me. In case I come crawling out of my name by magic and eat their faces.
Vandemar: No. They won't. People don't say anything about me. In case I come crawling out of my name by magic and eat their faces.
—Neverwhere: The Graphic Novel
"Chara." The demon that comes when people call its name. It doesn't matter when. It doesn't matter where. Time after time, I will appear.
DON'T SAY IT
DON'T WRITE IT
DON'T HEAR IT!
DON'T SPEAK THE WORDS OUT LOUD
THEY OPEN THE DOOR TO HIM
DON'T WRITE IT
DON'T HEAR IT!
DON'T SPEAK THE WORDS OUT LOUD
THEY OPEN THE DOOR TO HIM
— Annotations in the Naturom Demonto, Evil Dead (2013)
I see you, but you can't see me
You stand alone, and I wait for thee
I see the beads of sweat on your head
And count the seconds until you're dead
There won't be time to shed a tear
Just say the words I long to hear
Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary.
You stand alone, and I wait for thee
I see the beads of sweat on your head
And count the seconds until you're dead
There won't be time to shed a tear
Just say the words I long to hear
Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary.
—Commercial for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights
Jeff: You're not the only one to enjoy a good murder. There's others out there just like you, except you're just a man... and they're so much more than that.
Sherlock: What d'you mean, more than a man? An organisation? What?
Jeff: There's a name no-one says, an' I'm not gonna say it either.
— Sherlock
Did I hear someone call for me? I think I diiiid! If I so much as hear my name on the wind, I will run to the ends of the earth to meet my summoner!
— The Observer, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
Buzz: The guy you want to look out for is Candle Jack
Other Kid: Candle Jack? Who's that?
Buzz: He's the Boogeyman. Y'know, the for-real one! He snatches kids from their bed and takes them away... and they never come back.
Other Kid: Why does he do that?
Buzz: Because he's a nut.
Other Kid: Well, how does he get you?
Buzz: That's the good part. He can't, not unless you say his name out loud. So don't say his name, okay?
Other Kid: Okay... ... Hey, Buzz, we did say his name out loud!
Both: Uh-oh!
Buzz: M-maybe he didn't hear it?
Candle Jack: (pops up) Hello, boys.
Other Kid: Candle Jack? Who's that?
Buzz: He's the Boogeyman. Y'know, the for-real one! He snatches kids from their bed and takes them away... and they never come back.
Other Kid: Why does he do that?
Buzz: Because he's a nut.
Other Kid: Well, how does he get you?
Buzz: That's the good part. He can't, not unless you say his name out loud. So don't say his name, okay?
Other Kid: Okay... ... Hey, Buzz, we did say his name out loud!
Both: Uh-oh!
Buzz: M-maybe he didn't hear it?
Candle Jack: (pops up) Hello, boys.
Creatures like these once had a name, but sailors so feared possibly conjuring one by speaking its name that referring to them as simply the Deep became widespread. Whatever their true name is, it has since been lost to the deep, dark sea.
—Description of the Unspeakable Deep, Salt and Sanctuary
"You’re calling the Ineffable! Never say that, never do that. Every time you say that name, the Ineffable can hear you. Of all the things I was taught in the Fane of Flesh, that one I believe with all my strength. We'll never be safe until you burn that name from your memory."
—Xantcha warns Urza not to speak the name of Yawgmoth, Planeswalker
Green Arrow: Well, speak of the devil.
The Joker: Speak, and he shall appear.
Green Arrow: ...and get shot in the face.
The Joker: Speak, and he shall appear.
Green Arrow: ...and get shot in the face.
