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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

ChloeJessica Since: Jun, 2020 Relationship Status: Awaiting my mail-order bride
#4401: Oct 18th 2021 at 7:43:44 PM

[up][up]your post being completely spoilered out makes it useless as a spoiler. leave enough unspoilered so people can see whether they should click the spoiler or not.

e: pagetopper addressed to Klavice regarding their last post about Metroid Dread.

Edited by ChloeJessica on Oct 18th 2021 at 9:44:26 AM

Klavice (Elder Troper)
#4402: Oct 19th 2021 at 1:35:09 PM

Thanks for the tip. I just didn't want people getting spoiled for the game as some have to literally avoid the internet to avoid spoilers. Edited it so it explains it's Metroid Dread.

FernandoLemon Since: Aug, 2015
#4403: Oct 21st 2021 at 6:20:31 AM

NightmareFuel.The Good Dinosaur has this as its intro:

The Good Dinosaur is Pixar's darkest film to date, so expect some Nightmare Fuel.

...is it though? I think that's quite a reach. Might also break the Examples Are Not Recent rule with the "to date" part.

Edited by FernandoLemon on Oct 21st 2021 at 10:59:45 AM

Willbyr Hi (Y2K) Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Hi
#4404: Oct 21st 2021 at 6:56:12 AM

I'm good to zap that...was tempted to when I removed the pic.

AlmightyKingPrawn I can chase the wind, I can race the rain from Down at Fraggle Rock *clap clap* Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: I love you for psychological reasons
I can chase the wind, I can race the rain
#4405: Oct 21st 2021 at 8:56:37 AM

[up][up] Zap it. It's subjective. I'd argue Wall-E and Toy Story 3 are darker.

She/her. Profile pic is by Richard Michael Gomez @StarmansArt. Please watch Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. https://youtu.be/Vm92JNgPbqk
Unicorndance Logic Girl from Thames, N.Z. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Logic Girl
#4407: Oct 23rd 2021 at 12:05:49 AM

On NightmareFuel.Futurama, it says that the suicide booths can qualify to people who are, or have acquaintances who are, suicidally depressed. Does that break the "no personal phobias" rule?

For every low there is a high.
Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#4408: Oct 23rd 2021 at 12:06:49 AM

I'd say it would, yeah. probably breaks the ROCEJ rule, too

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#4409: Oct 23rd 2021 at 12:14:28 AM

The suicide booths are mostly Fridge Horror. I can only think of one case that comes close to creepy and that's when it actually kills Bender in one episode... though it has funny undertones cuz the booth is his ex girlfriend. The other cases are a bit too exaggerated and comical, IIRC.

Edited by mightymewtron on Oct 23rd 2021 at 3:14:57 PM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
SumDumNerd LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES ENGAGED from [REDACTED] Since: May, 2017 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES ENGAGED
#4410: Oct 24th 2021 at 11:47:08 AM

Hey, I was just following the link to ask about a modification to Nightmare Fuel.RWBY, and that's just a image quality upgrade to crop out those white lines on the top and left of the image:

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ezgifcom_gif_maker2_5.png

Read Slender Man vs Siren Head 2: The Foundation here
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#4411: Oct 24th 2021 at 11:47:38 AM

I'm good with that. [lol]

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#4412: Oct 25th 2021 at 2:14:07 PM

[up][up] Go for it. But could you remove the Adult Fear link from the image quote while you're at it? It's trope misuse (the trope doesn't apply when there are supernatural threats involved).

There are a couple of Adult Fear references on that RWBY page that could do with being removed, so may as well do it:

From Volume 2's "Burning the Candle":

Original entry:

  • The story Yang tells Blake is full of Adult Fear. When she and Ruby were only small children, they ventured out into the woods in search of Yang's biological mother, only to find themselves surrounded by ferocious Grimm. The two children came very close to dying that day, with only a fortuitous intervention by Qrow saving Taiyang from having to mourn his two daughters shortly after having lost his second wife.

Suggested replacement:

  • The story Yang tells Blake is a nightmare scenario for any parent listening to it. When she and Ruby were only small children, they ventured out into the woods in search of Yang's biological mother, only to find themselves surrounded by ferocious Grimm. The two children came very close to dying that day, with only a fortuitous intervention by Qrow saving Taiyang from having to mourn his two daughters shortly after having lost his second wife.

From Volume 5's "Alone Together":

Original entry:

  • Remember Yang's story back in volume 2? Some more context is given in this episode, not only revealing that Yang was left alone with Ruby regularly (which would be disturbing enough) to pick up the pieces after Summer's death, but at the time, Ruby hadn't even learned how to talk yet. As that part of early development happens at around the age of 1-2 years old, this means that Yang couldn't have been more than four years old at the time. Adult Fear doesn't even begin to cover that.

Suggested replacement:

  • Remember Yang's story back in volume 2? Some more context is given in this episode, not only revealing that Yang was left alone with Ruby regularly (which would be disturbing enough) to pick up the pieces after Summer's death, but at the time, Ruby hadn't even learned how to talk yet. As that part of early development happens at around the age of 1-2 years old, this means that Yang couldn't have been more than four years old at the time.

Edited by Wyldchyld on Oct 25th 2021 at 10:20:20 AM

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.
SumDumNerd LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES ENGAGED from [REDACTED] Since: May, 2017 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES ENGAGED
#4413: Oct 25th 2021 at 4:16:33 PM

[up] I can do those while I'm fixing the image. How do we go about unlocking it? Do we just put in a request to a mod?

[down] On it.

Edited by SumDumNerd on Oct 25th 2021 at 5:46:10 AM

Read Slender Man vs Siren Head 2: The Foundation here
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#4414: Oct 25th 2021 at 4:26:35 PM

You just ask for the changes to be made on the Edit Locked Pages Request thread, and link back to this thread to show that it's gone through here first.

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.
Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#4415: Oct 25th 2021 at 5:18:25 PM

SumDumNerd is requesting the RWBY NF page be unlocked entirely, which was not discussed at all.

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
STARCRUSHER99 The Moron from one of my unhealthy obsessions (Captain) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Moron
#4416: Oct 25th 2021 at 5:26:20 PM

This was clearly a miscommunication, but I've written out the requests on the LP thread

Zuxtron Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel from Node 03 (On A Trope Odyssey)
#4417: Oct 25th 2021 at 5:57:05 PM

This was added to NightmareFuel.Death Battle:

  • As you would expect from a battle between two powerful vampires, DIO Vs Alucard is riff with nightmarish bloody and gore.
    • Remember how bloody the previous Halloween Death Battle between Sabrewulf and Jon Talbain was? This one tops that, courtesy of Alucard summoning an entire wave of blood to cover the whole town.
    "Bloody" does not equal "scary", especially when the blood is summoned by magic rather than the result of nasty injuries.
    • In the midst of the battle, Alucard starts summoning his zombies to fight Dio. He is actually unnerved to see this, even asking What the Hell Are You? to Alucard. The latter replies that he's a Real Fucking Vampire.
    The "real fucking vampire" quote is funny, not scary. This also focuses entirely on Dio's fear, rather than the viewer's.
    • Curtis Arnott, A.K.A. Takahata101, impressively imitates Crispin Freeman's take on Alucard to a bone-chilling degree.
    I mean, this at least has some mention of the audience's reaction, but I have a hard time imagining Death Battle fans having nightmares about his voice.
    • Dio's classic "WRYYYYY" after he kills Alucard.
    A pure ZCE.

PlasmaPower Piece of Cake. Since: Jan, 2015
Piece of Cake.
#4418: Oct 25th 2021 at 10:45:42 PM

NightmareFuel.Sonic The Hedgehog 2006

This is unintentional creepiness, it's misusing Nightmare Fuel just to complain.

Edited by PlasmaPower on Oct 25th 2021 at 2:45:50 PM

Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!
magnumtropus Since: Aug, 2020
#4419: Oct 25th 2021 at 11:19:24 PM

Unintentional creepiness = Uncanny Valley, and I think it is mentioned there

Edited by magnumtropus on Oct 25th 2021 at 10:19:45 PM

Zarina Since: Aug, 2014
#4420: Oct 26th 2021 at 11:19:40 AM

Eternal Darkness is a bit bloated and contains several minimal-context entries. Here are some highlights that I propose could be removed or improved:

  • Frantic knocking on the other side of a door, which you open...to find that no one is there.
  • Blood running down in streams from an idyllic landscape painting.
  • The idyllic landscape painting that turns into a desolate hellscape.
  • Walking along, when splat - a splash of blood on the floor a few feet behind you. Seconds later, splat, another gallon of gore falls from the ceiling, this time a bit closer. Splat. Splat. Splat...
  • "I can't get the blood out!"
  • During the opening movie of the game, one of the first things you see is an animated skeleton staring directly at the screen. Nice opening for "kid-friendly" Nintendo, eh?
  • A case of Talking To Herself with Alex takes a turn for the worse when you realize who else Jennifer Hale is voicing. Yes, Alex and one of Xel'lotath's voices are done by the same person.

These entries either don't have any context to explain what's scary about the moment, or just don't feel like they would be Nightmare Fuel to anyone but children who shouldn't be playing the game, especially in comparison to some of the other things listed on the page.

Libraryseraph uu~ from Canada (Handed A Sword) Relationship Status: Raising My Lily Rank With You
uu~
#4421: Oct 26th 2021 at 11:22:23 AM

[up] Cut all those (I don't even know what's supposed to be scary in the last one)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FOR MARIA
Zarina Since: Aug, 2014
NervousShark Since: Mar, 2015
#4423: Oct 26th 2021 at 1:31:32 PM

[up]x6 I think you can go ahead and cut all of those. The Alucard impression entry is a ZCE imo. Just throwing in the word "bone-chilling" doesn't give it context.

(Also, Dio beat Alucard??? I call BS!)

Kiston656 Since: Aug, 2021
#4424: Oct 26th 2021 at 1:52:32 PM

Hi, does anyone know if it is a good idea or a bad idea to create a Nightmare Fuel moments subpage of Wolfwalkers?

Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#4425: Oct 26th 2021 at 2:01:11 PM

[up] The YMMV page currently has two examples (the page creation minimum is three), and neither are very good:

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢

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