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Nightmare Fuel cleanup and maintenance

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It appears that many Nightmare Fuel pages have problems, including:

1. Listing non-scary things that made the viewer feel slightly uncomfortable at worst.

2. Having spoiler tags on them (which is against the page's guidelines).

3. Listing Fridge Horror and fan theories.

And much more!

On a few occasions, people from outside the site's community have pointed out our overly lax usage of Nightmare Fuel to make fun of us, meaning that it can legitimately harm our reputation to let this go unchecked.

The TRS thread meant for redefining Nightmare Fuel started to become a place for cleaning up Nightmare Fuel pages in general, so we may as well move these discussions to Long Term Projects where they belong.

Here are the guidelines to determine whether something is Nightmare Fuel or not.

    Nightmare Fuel rules 
  • This is a page whose name is intended to be taken more literally than most. It's not enough for material to be scary; to truly qualify, it has to be frightening enough to legitimately unnerve/disturb the viewer, with actually being nightmare-inducing as the ultimate endpoint.
    • Good signs that something IS Nightmare Fuel include if:
      • It left you feeling shaken even after the credits had rolled, you turned the last page, or are otherwise done with the work.
      • You have a hard time falling asleep if you think about it at night, or have a literal nightmare about it.
      • You dread that episode, scene, level, chapter, or song during re-watches, and consider skipping it.
    • With that said, don't add something just because it happens to be your personal phobia. For example, spiders can be scary and many people have arachnophobia, but just because a spider happens to be in the work, it does not make a Nightmare Fuel entry. It needs to reasonably be scary to someone without the phobia.
    • Don't confuse tension with fear. If the hero is in trouble, but you know he'll make it out okay at the end, it's probably not Nightmare Fuel unless the threat is especially disturbing.
  • Explain WHY the entry scared you. Try to convey your sense of fear to your readers. Avoid putting up Zero-Context Examples.
    • Remember that Weblinks Are Not Examples, and neither are quotes on their own. You should explain the horror in your own words, rather than rely on others to do so.
  • Don't add things that might have scared someone. If it didn't scare you, and you don't personally know anyone else who was scared, you shouldn't be adding it to Nightmare Fuel.
  • Nightmare Fuel should stick to you even after you're done with the work.
    • If something is initially presented as scary but turns out to be harmless, it's most likely not Nightmare Fuel since The Reveal makes the scariness vanish.
    • Jump Scares are a good source of Nightmare Fuel, but not all of them automatically qualify: being startled is not the same as being scared.
  • Hypotheticals are not Nightmare Fuel:
    • Remember that Trailers Always Lie: a scene that is presented as scary in the trailer could very well turn out to be inoffensive in the finished work. Only add examples from unreleased works if they were especially terrifying in the previews.
    • Fan theories do not belong on the Nightmare Fuel page under any circumstance. No matter how much evidence they have to support them, don't add them until they've been officially confirmed. In the meanwhile, take them to Wild Mass Guessing.
    • Fridge Horror goes on the Fridge page, not Nightmare Fuel. Don't add it unless it's Ascended Fridge Horror.
  • Keep in mind the work's intended audience when considering whether or not something is Nightmare Fuel.
    • If something is normal or expected in the genre, it does not automatically qualify. Violence in a Fighting Series or gore in a horror movie must be especially disturbing or gruesome by the work's standards to be Nightmare Fuel.
    • Remember that Kids Shouldn't Watch Horror Films. If a work is rated PG-13 or higher but would only be scary to young children, it's not Nightmare Fuel.
    • The standards on what qualifies as Nightmare Fuel are especially stringent on works aimed at children and pre-teens: kids have hyperactive imaginations, so even something benign can give them nightmares.
  • Spoiler tags do not belong on Nightmare Fuel pages. Much of what scares us comes from inherently spoilery stuff such as death and the unknown, so finding spoilers on these pages should be expected.
  • Nightmare Fuel is an Audience Reaction, so it needs to be scary for the audience. Describing how the characters react to something scary isn't needed. Just because something scares them, that doesn't mean it scares us as well.
  • Nightmare Fuel is a No Real Life Examples, Please! page. Meta-examples involving the actors, production, or behind-the-scenes incidents are not allowed.

Guidelines when proposing cleanup of a page:

  • Some rules are pretty objective. If you see a Zero-Context Example, Fridge Horror, Real Life example, speculation, In-Universe reaction that isn't scary to the viewers, examples that explicitly describe themselves as not being very scary (including "mildly creepy", "somewhat unnerving", and other synonymous phrases), or examples that are just scene summaries without going into detail about why it's so scary, you can (and should) remove them immediately without coming here to ask.
  • You should also strip all spoiler tags from the page. Itty Bitty Wiki Tools has a tool for that, but it can cause problems, so if you use it be sure to preview the page and thoroughly look it over.
  • Once you've fixed the objective issues with the page, bring it here so we can look at the more subjective problems, such as examples that may not be scary enough to qualify. If a consensus is reached that a certain entry does not qualify, it can be removed.

Edited by Zuxtron on Aug 1st 2020 at 9:40:30 AM

GastonRabbit C'est la vie. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
C'est la vie. (he/him)
#3551: Dec 22nd 2020 at 1:11:11 PM

Er... that Sonic Fridge Horror example was already on a Fridge subpage (Fridge.Sonic The Hedgehog), not a Nightmare Fuel subpage (NightmareFuel.Sonic The Hedgehog). Why was it removed when it was already where it belongs?

Edited by GastonRabbit on Dec 22nd 2020 at 3:16:46 AM

I got a rock for Halloween.
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3552: Dec 22nd 2020 at 1:24:57 PM

Yeah, it belongs fine on Fridge Horror. This thread is for cleaning up Nightmare Fuel.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Zuxtron Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel from Node 03 (On A Trope Odyssey)
#3553: Dec 22nd 2020 at 1:26:34 PM

But it's not really Fridge Horror either, except maybe for certain types of hardcore vegan.

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3554: Dec 22nd 2020 at 1:41:34 PM

This brand of Furry Confusion is a pretty valid source of Fridge Horror, is it not? "Animal eats meat made from an animal that exists as an anthropomorphic creature?"

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Zuxtron Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel from Node 03 (On A Trope Odyssey)
#3555: Dec 22nd 2020 at 2:04:28 PM

Well, I'm not sure whether the hot dogs Sonic eats are actually made from Picky (the name of Sonic's porcine animal friends), and if regular pigs also exist in the Sonic universe.

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#3556: Dec 22nd 2020 at 2:30:13 PM

We really need a thread on Fridge/ stuff. There's been too many issues about it lately.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
GastonRabbit C'est la vie. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
C'est la vie. (he/him)
#3557: Dec 22nd 2020 at 2:40:52 PM

I was under the impression that jandn didn't check the namespace of the page that example was on (which makes sense, since Fridge cleanup is outside this thread's scope) and thought the linked page was a Nightmare Fuel subpage, and that was why they said the example should be removed.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Dec 22nd 2020 at 4:41:33 AM

I got a rock for Halloween.
KingOfStickers Since: Jul, 2014
#3558: Dec 22nd 2020 at 2:57:43 PM

[up][up][up][up][up][up][up] You seem to be forgetting "rule 3" (not an actual rule, just an example ofc but idk what else to call it) on the first page of this thread.:

"3. Listing Fridge Horror and fan theories."

So this thread isn't just for Nightmare Fuel cleanup only.

Edited by KingOfStickers on Dec 22nd 2020 at 11:00:33 AM

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3559: Dec 22nd 2020 at 3:00:22 PM

[up] This was only listed on the Fridge Horror subpage.

Edited by mightymewtron on Dec 22nd 2020 at 6:00:31 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#3560: Dec 22nd 2020 at 3:01:08 PM

Er, yes it is for Nightmare Fuel cleanup only. That bullet is referring to misplaced Fridge entries on Nightmare Fuel.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
KingOfStickers Since: Jul, 2014
#3561: Dec 22nd 2020 at 3:01:21 PM

I don't get what you're confused about, honestly. I don't think it belonged there so I proposed that it should be removed, then I removed it. I didn't think it was scary enough; only a little bit disturbing.

[up]OH. ok then, sorry.

Edited by KingOfStickers on Dec 22nd 2020 at 11:01:46 AM

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3562: Dec 22nd 2020 at 3:03:16 PM

Fridge Horror does not have the same restrictions as Nightmare Fuel. It's misused, but not as egregiously.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#3563: Dec 22nd 2020 at 3:03:58 PM

In general, Fridge Horror and Nightmare Fuel are two different beasts. Nightmare Fuel is for things in the work that the general, intended audience finds/found scary, and is slightly more objective (as all we need to do is make sure someone somewhere did indeed find it scary). Fridge is...well, I'm not entirely sure what Fridge is, but it's a lot more subjective and might allow for personal "realizations".

Hence why I very much want a Fridge cleanup thread, it's such a recurring subject lately...

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
jandn2014 SMILE! from somewhere in Connecticut Since: Aug, 2017 Relationship Status: Hiding
SMILE!
#3564: Dec 22nd 2020 at 3:19:34 PM

Didn’t even realize that was already in the Fridge/ namespace; I just saw “Sonic the Hedgehog” and automatically assumed that it was a link to NightmareFuel.Sonic The Hedgehog.

On the topic of Fridge, I personally see it as something similar to the Hindsight tropes, except it’s less “that aspect of the work comes off differently looking back” and more so “that aspect of the work comes off differently the more you think about it”. There is nevertheless some overlap between the two, though.

Edited by jandn2014 on Dec 22nd 2020 at 6:23:02 AM

fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#3565: Dec 23rd 2020 at 4:32:17 PM

This was added to Public Service Announcement:

  • A Christmas PSA about Global Warming starts out with "Jingle Bells" playing in the background as Santa rides his sleigh across a town, landing on the roof of a house where three girls await his arrival inside. However, due to rising temperatures caused by Global Warming, Santa strips to come his underwear right before going down the chimney. Santa drops down the chimney and we get a POV shot of him landing on the fireplace in front of the girls, who start screaming at the sight of the near naked Santa, before it cuts to a message saying "We can't do this to our children, stop global warming", as the girls begin to sob. May count as funny to some people, though.

(I didn't actually watch the video, so I'm not sure if it is scary or not...)

Edited by fragglelover on Dec 23rd 2020 at 6:33:07 AM

PurpleEyedGuma Since: Apr, 2020
jandn2014 SMILE! from somewhere in Connecticut Since: Aug, 2017 Relationship Status: Hiding
SMILE!
#3567: Dec 23rd 2020 at 4:59:01 PM

That’s absolutely not scary. Cut that.

Edited by jandn2014 on Dec 23rd 2020 at 7:59:19 AM

Zuxtron Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel from Node 03 (On A Trope Odyssey)
#3568: Dec 23rd 2020 at 5:05:21 PM

Yeah, that video is funny, not scary.

EDIT: I got rid of it.

Edited by Zuxtron on Dec 23rd 2020 at 10:17:26 AM

SebastianGray (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#3569: Dec 24th 2020 at 2:12:16 AM

The following was added to NightmareFuel.Warhammer 40000 and I am wondering if it is appropriate

  • The Fall tore a gaping wound in reality twenty-thousand light years across and instantly sundered their interstellar civilisation, ripped billions of their souls screaming into the howling vortex to be tortured for eternity by a deity of immense evil straight from one of Lovecraft's worst nightmares, and left the survivors a scattered and nomadic people likely doomed to be hunted into extinction by the vengeful inheritors of the galaxy... and the majority of them promptly decided that no, this isn't a good enough reason to maybe stop murderfucking people. Aliens Are Bastards, indeed.

Edited by SebastianGray on Dec 24th 2020 at 10:12:37 AM

Piterpicher Veteran Editor IV from Poland, for real (Series 2) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Veteran Editor IV
#3570: Dec 24th 2020 at 7:18:36 AM

It does sound very disturbing. I think it counts.

Currently mostly inactive. An incremental game I tested: https://galaxy.click/play/176 (Gods of Incremental)
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#3571: Dec 26th 2020 at 5:02:24 AM

[up][up] It absolutely sounds like it counts. I think the problem with the entry is that it feels like it's written more like a 'scene summary'. It doesn't really give us an audience reaction, it forces us to infer the audience reaction through a combination of descriptive writing and a re-direct to the Aliens Are Bastards trope — which makes it one of the longest borderline 'ZCE' entries I've ever seen (because skirting around the audience reaction instead of making it the core of the entry makes it more of an Aliens Are Bastards entry than a NF one).

I think a lot of NF entries suffer from this problem — skirting around the audience reaction so the person reading the entry can infer one from the description instead of seeing the audience reaction take pride of place as the heart of the entry.

To put it another way, it's like these entries are telling us why the audience reacts instead of telling us what the reaction is. NF is supposed to focus more on the what than the why. It's the focus on the why that leads to scene summaries rather than the actual reaction. Most examples that end up here just need a better balance of why and what or just need to have the what added in.

In this entry's case, I think it does a fantastic job of telling us why, it just needs to better clarify the what.

Edited by Wyldchyld on Dec 26th 2020 at 1:15:30 PM

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
GastonRabbit C'est la vie. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
C'est la vie. (he/him)
#3572: Dec 27th 2020 at 7:13:47 PM

I randomly decided to replay Sonic the Hedgehog CD recently, and I checked the music-related examples on NightmareFuel.Sonic The Hedgehog CD and it's... actually pretty good (most of the examples are about the level music for the post-apocalyptic Bad Futures, so sounding more imposing than other time periods' music is kind of the point), though the reference to Sonic.exe is unnecessary when discussing the game itself. (I have a cold, so I'm too worn out to comment on the examples that aren't related to music; maybe someone else could.)

That said, this example is a huge stretch:

For anyone who has probably had the unfortunate experience of ever going over "the wrong side of the tracks of town" in a big city, Stardust Speedway's Bad Future just might bring these memories back- And then some. Extremely high paced like a cop chase, the sample chorus dropping "GET DOWN!" as if there was a drive by hit coming your way, the "hues" sounding like a sad old man either suffering from mental illness or grief that his proud city has turned into an urban hellscape, and the dissonant piano bringing imagery of the tiny platform of sanity you had while listening to this beat's dysfunction made this version of the song feel like Stardust Speedway was time warped back to 1993 during the LA Riots, dragged through not just East LA but the South Bronx, 8 Mile, East Cleveland, and South Philadelphia while having its New Jack vibes jacked by NWA, Public Enemy, and Tupac before they slammed lyrics to the track faster than Super Sonic flies and into Detroit for Robocop's reckoning. For as hot as this song gets, this version is absolutely aggressive and threatening, especially for the bad future it signifies.

I personally think that track is more Awesome Music than Nightmare Fuel (as opposed to the other Bad Future tracks combining both), and I'm pretty sure that's not an uncommon opinion, but that's not the point. The problem I have is that it's a wall of text due to overthinking things by bringing up real life stuff for reasons I don't get. (In particular, the "Get down!" line is taken from the "Hit it! Turn it up! Get down!" lyric in the Present time period's version of the track, which is about dancing.)

I got a rock for Halloween.
themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#3573: Dec 27th 2020 at 7:21:02 PM

Cow and Chicken may need a look. This is literally the first example:

  • The fact that Mom and Dad are literally just two pairs of disembodied legs. Funny? Absolutely. Still really disturbing? Oh yeah! While it's only explicitly shown in the the pilot and one I Am Weasel episode, there are occasional hints to it.

[up] Yeah that example needs to be chopped down. Maybe one could make an argument for it resembling a run-down part of a city, but at the very least the ridiculous real-life references at the end need to be removed. I doubt Sonic the Hedgehog could remind anyone of the 1992 L.A. riots.

Edited by themayorofsimpleton on Dec 27th 2020 at 10:27:40 AM

Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
Zuxtron Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel from Node 03 (On A Trope Odyssey)
#3574: Dec 27th 2020 at 7:44:34 PM

[up][up] I find it impossible to imagine anyone having nightmares about such an upbeat song. It's probably another one of those attempts at shoehorning in stuff to make the game sound dark and edgy.

[up] This is Nightmare Fuel? And similar examples are repeated several times on the pages... do you know if many watchers of the show really found that disturbing?

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#3575: Dec 27th 2020 at 11:15:01 PM

[up] While this is a kids' show and I can understand the disembodied legs creeping out a child, the show is a copy of Ren and Stimpy so I highly doubt that the disembodied legs are terrifying in the context of the show.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

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