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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

Kiston656 Since: Aug, 2021
#4426: Oct 26th 2021 at 2:07:47 PM

Is bad idea to create a Nightmare Fuel moments subpage of Wolfwalkers?

ATricksterArtist Back from the grave. from CH 57 (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Back from the grave.
#4427: Oct 26th 2021 at 2:09:22 PM

Well, if there's enough examples to qualify according to the NF standards, go for it. If there's still moments (but not enough for its own page), you can add it as NF examples on YMMV.

How's your day been?
Kiston656 Since: Aug, 2021
#4428: Oct 26th 2021 at 2:15:36 PM

A third example for Nightmare Fuel from Wolfwalkers, would be Lord Protector and his horrible actions in annihilating all the wolves in the forest. It's not my fault that there are no more Nightmare Fuel examples for Wolfwalkers, as I didn't know if the YMMV examples had to be short or long.

ATricksterArtist Back from the grave. from CH 57 (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Back from the grave.
#4429: Oct 26th 2021 at 2:17:55 PM

I think if NF examples belong on YMMV or on their own page depend on how many there are. 1~3 individual examples isn't really enough for a full page, but more than those are deserving of one.

How's your day been?
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#4430: Oct 26th 2021 at 2:19:22 PM

A third example for Nightmare Fuel from Wolfwalkers, would be Lord Protector and his horrible actions in annihilating all the wolves in the forest.

Is this something that's scary to the audience, or just scary to the characters? Nightmare Fuel only covers the former. Narrative tension can be Nightmare Fuel but it needs to be really creepy to count, and an entry should describe how it is creepy.

Edited by mightymewtron on Oct 26th 2021 at 5:19:35 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Kiston656 Since: Aug, 2021
#4431: Oct 26th 2021 at 2:39:11 PM

Another example of Nightmare Fuel from Wolfwalkers would be Mebh, of course she can be funny and cheerful when she is with Robyn, but if someone threatens or hurts Mebh's mother, the wolf pack or the forest itself, then Mebh will show her fury and threats, if someone threatens her mother and the forest.

Happyfrybreath Pls stop calling everything Harsher in Hindsight Since: Jul, 2018 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
Pls stop calling everything Harsher in Hindsight
#4432: Oct 26th 2021 at 2:53:31 PM

Oh I was just coming over to mention the Death Battle stuff lol, looks like I was beaten to it. I think they felt like they had to bolster the entry somehow because it was a halloween ep (note the references to the last one, which actually was pretty scary). Snipping all of it now.

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#4433: Oct 26th 2021 at 3:02:16 PM

[up][up] Okay. Could you explain how Mebh's threats are frightening to the audience?

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Kiston656 Since: Aug, 2021
#4434: Oct 26th 2021 at 3:20:04 PM

Then it is not worth making a subpage of Nightmare Fuel from Wolfwalkers.

ATricksterArtist Back from the grave. from CH 57 (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Back from the grave.
#4435: Oct 26th 2021 at 3:21:37 PM

Why not try to explain them the best you can anyway?

How's your day been?
Kiston656 Since: Aug, 2021
#4436: Oct 26th 2021 at 3:29:24 PM

Surely it's not worth creating a Nightmare Fuel subpage as maybe there isn't any scary or disturbing time for the subpage to be created, maybe it's just my foolishness to think about creating a subpage of Nightmare Fuel from Wolfwalkers. If I can't explain what moment of fear must be considered terrifying and unsettling to create that subpage of Nightmare Fuel in Wolfwalkers.

Edited by Kiston656 on Oct 26th 2021 at 3:35:01 AM

Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#4437: Oct 26th 2021 at 3:51:02 PM

Frankly it's just kinda hard to describe emotion, but uh... what are you trying to say?

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Kiston656 Since: Aug, 2021
#4438: Oct 26th 2021 at 3:57:34 PM

I no longer want to create the Wolfwalkers Nightmare Fuel subpage, as I can't find any terrifying moments that could be considered to create the subpage.

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#4439: Oct 26th 2021 at 4:01:26 PM

That's pretty much what people were saying before. The moments seem not scary enough to be Nightmare Fuel. Glad you get it.

I also may recommend posting sentences in the grammar help thread because some of your sentences are a bit difficult to parse, and that hopefully shouldn't bleed into your edits.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Feyspeaker Since: Sep, 2021
#4440: Oct 27th 2021 at 1:05:21 PM

How do I create a Nightmare Fuel page? I want to make one for Darkest Dungeon 2 because it just hit Early Access yesterday and their already a truckload of nightmare fuel present in the game.

Happyfrybreath Pls stop calling everything Harsher in Hindsight Since: Jul, 2018 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
Pls stop calling everything Harsher in Hindsight
#4441: Oct 27th 2021 at 1:12:16 PM

Doing some pruning of the Wings of Fire Nightmarefuel page. I actually contributed to this being fairly bad when I was unaware of how that worked so my bad!

EDIT: Uh to create a page you basically make the link (Nightmare Fuel / Franchise name), then edit it.

Darkest Dungeon 2 here's an example

Edited by Happyfrybreath on Oct 27th 2021 at 1:15:01 AM

Zuxtron Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel from Node 03 (On A Trope Odyssey)
#4442: Oct 27th 2021 at 1:14:24 PM

Perhaps it would be better to run some examples through this thread first to make sure they're well-written and fit the requirements.

Feyspeaker Since: Sep, 2021
#4443: Oct 27th 2021 at 1:34:49 PM

I was going to put this as the text on the top. I am sure it can be tweaked some

Much like the first Darkest Dungeon, Darkest Dungeon 2 is inspired by Lovecraftian horror that in some places even exceeds the first game in the Nightmare Fuel department. The returning heroes from the first game face many new horrors with a return of some of the old.

Edited by Feyspeaker on Oct 27th 2021 at 1:35:42 AM

Rocksmasher Since: Jun, 2015
#4444: Oct 30th 2021 at 8:15:57 PM

Hi. I'm new here. I was told that I need to improve my Nightmare Fuel section in the webcomic where I put tropes. It's called Furry Fight Chronicles. Here is the link.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/NightmareFuel/FurryFightChronicles

What can I do to improve it? Need to change and erase something? It's kind of hard knowing what to edit because I am the only one working on the page.

Edited by Rocksmasher on Oct 30th 2021 at 8:17:14 AM

Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#4445: Oct 31st 2021 at 9:04:41 PM

So, yesterday Adult Swim released a trailer for a show called Pibby. The trailer is absolutely batshit and genuinely terrifying at points, but the Nightmare Fuel page...

  • Let's face it, the short is absolutely terrifying. note  Imagine having a normal day doing what you love only for your life to go down the drain once a mysterious entity shows up and consumes everyone and everything around you. If that wasn't enough, imagine learning your world is actually just a TV show, causing you to question your existence. I know we probably have a term for whatever this is, but it ain't Nightmare Fuel (the concept of course, but not for a page).
  • The glitch zombies are incredibly freaky. Not just because they're people whose physical appearances and minds have been warped by the aforementioned entity, but also because they're corrupted characters from preexisting media. In other words, you're watching your favorite characters that you've likely known and loved since you were a kid being turned into horrifying monstrosities against their will with the main characters having no choice but to kill them. This would be a keep if it didn't focus so much on talking about the characters. I could probably rewrite this, actually...
  • Two Freeze Frame Bonuses from the trailer show Pibby in some familiar locations. While Cartoon Network is already doomed, it looks like Nickelodeon isn't safe, either. This and the (incorrect) subbullet are Fridge Horror.
    • Not just Nickelodeon either; given how Pibby and co. find themselves in a commercial during the trailer, it's likely that nowhere on television is safe!

Yeah. I'll probably rewrite the second example and punt it to the YMMV page, just getting approval here first.

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
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
#4446: Oct 31st 2021 at 9:24:08 PM

[up] having seen the short, [tup]

She/her. Profile pic is by Richard Michael Gomez @StarmansArt. Please watch Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. https://youtu.be/Vm92JNgPbqk
magnumtropus Since: Aug, 2020
#4447: Oct 31st 2021 at 11:00:05 PM

Please don't use pink highlight. It feels too harsh on the eyes. Use bold font instead

(',','Insert Text here, remove commas',',')

Edited by magnumtropus on Oct 31st 2021 at 10:00:46 PM

Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#4448: Oct 31st 2021 at 11:02:26 PM

I know how to use bold, I just thought pink stood out more- now that I'm thinking about it, probably too much. I'll use bold next time.

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
Zuxtron Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel from Node 03 (On A Trope Odyssey)
#4449: Nov 1st 2021 at 6:56:49 AM

I use red for bad examples, yellow for unsure/needs a rewrite, and green for keep.

Edited by Zuxtron on Nov 1st 2021 at 9:58:48 AM

Willbyr Hi (Y2K) Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Hi
#4450: Nov 1st 2021 at 8:21:11 AM

Can Rocksmasher's request be addressed? There's an Image Pickin' thread for that page whose outcome will depend on whether the examples for the pics cited there are legit or not.


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