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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.
- 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.
- Good signs that something IS Nightmare Fuel include if:
- 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
Hey so I just "found" the Nightmare Fuel examples on YMMV.Jet Set Radio, I think only one example is valid:
- Nightmare Fuel:
- Future's final boss fight. Unlike the rest of the game, it's set in the dark, psychedelic interior of the Tower of Beauty, which uses living people as its fuel source (you can even see them helpless during the fight). Shadow figures relentlessly pursue the player unless they can make it to the top. All of this is punctuated by Gouji's unnerving, unhinged speech, glitching into itself a la SHODAN. While his eccentric personality was Played for Laughs earlier, this boss fight shows how dangerous he really is. Might be valid, but I haven't played JSRF so I'm not sure
- The final boss song, "Grace and Glory." (shudders) ZCE, with "D'awww"-type language too to boot. Plus, Grace and Glory isn't even scary. It is, however, a banger.
- The Noise Tanks' voice clips in Classic's Japanese release
. They're composed of technical sounds, indecipherable speech and a bizarrely low pitch, as if the Noise Tanks are malfunctioning. Their lack of visible mouths makes it even more unnerving. I can't hear the voice clips too well but based on this example alone I can tell it's not really valid
I keep mentioning it, but it never seems to get any attention. Supermarioglitchy4's Super Mario 64 Bloopers needs a go-over. The fact that it has 5 separate subpages makes me skeptical, especially as this is a comedy series. Here's a sample of a bad entry:
- "If Mario was in... Deltarune" has the heroes encounter Jevil, who is just as insane as he was in the game. Unlike the source material, his claims of "I CAN DO ANYTHING!" seem to be true here. He turns the battlefield 3D (and Ralsei and Susie into GMod models), teleports and spams projectiles, all while doing Fortnite dances the entire time. He can even summon objects from other realities. It's scary to think what would have happened if Mario hadn't tricked him.
This scene is played completely for laughs, and if my little brother isn't scared of this scene, then how am I supposed to believe most adults would be scared of it? (I bring this up because my time at Villains Fanon Wiki has the users constantly remind us that the series is for adults)
I can't make an analysis myself because I haven't seen a majority of the episodes, but for now, I'd say burn this entry.
"It was the best of times, it was the BLURST of times?"
I have removed it.
Now, two more dubious examples
- In "If Mario Was In... Nickelodeon", Mario ends up traveling to various Nickelodeon shows, including Nick Jr. "The Backyardagans" segment reveals that Mario ended up interrupting an episode that was airing by playing grown up's music, causing Goombario to get sent to the orphanage. Just how many kids saw that?
- If the ending of "What If Mario Had $10,000,000?" is anything to go by, Mario's about to be entered into Squid Game for the Halloween Special. And we all know that in Squid Game, Anyone Can Die. Though it becomes considerably less so when the actual episode reveals that the "only" penalty for failing a game is to become a fighter in Playstation All Stars.
The first one says "Just how many kids saw that?" which is Fridge Horror, and the second is already pretty weak and then it just admits it is Nightmare Retardant thanks to what came after.
And also, this one:
- In the same episode, Mario attempts to catch one with a bear trap and spaghetti. When it inevitably backfires, he does live, but which Pokemon was close to falling victim to the trap? Sylveon. If you're familiar with the Fairy type pokemon's universal weakness to steel (Which is the material often used to create bear traps), Mario very well could have KILLED it.
I haven't actually seen the episode, but based on this entry, "a random Pokemon might have been killed had things turned out differently" doesn't sound like something that would give the average adult nightmares
"It was the best of times, it was the BLURST of times?"
I have removed them.
The point is, I feel like a mass cleanup of the page may be necessary
Edited by KingofNightmares on Jan 28th 2022 at 11:07:00 AM
"It was the best of times, it was the BLURST of times?"
Definitely. Actually, just get rid of all the "If Mario was in..." examples.
I think those are the titles of the videos.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
...Exactly. Almost nothing in those videos are scary.
Edited by Spidey on Jan 28th 2022 at 6:33:38 AM
"Unite GUN/BAZOOKA/LAUNCHER/TANK!"Going back to Glee, here's my breakdown of the entire page. Fair warning, I don't have any experience with a lot of the hot-button issues Glee touched on, like LGBT+ stuff and eating disorders; if anyone of these minorities has strong opinions on whether the examples should stay or go I'd really like to hear them.
- Vocal Adrenaline egging Rachel is a Tear Jerker since she finds out Jesse lured her to the parking lot for this reason and they mock her for being vegan. What is Nightmare Fuel is that when she recounts it to the Glee Club, she said she could hear baby chicks giving little "cheeps" while it was happening. Everyone over the age of ten knows that no commercially available eggs actually have baby chicks in them; I think Rachel's line was a joke.
- The episode "Furt", where we already know that Karofsky is gay and has feelings for Kurt, but the way he stands really close and does a glary/smile thing, along with winking. It looks a little perverse and Kurt is left feeling a little violated. Seems more like Fridge Horror (especially with the pothole to Memetic Molester).
- Brittany's throwaway lines sound an awful lot like she was raped, including being visited by aliens. ZCE, also Fridge Horror.
- Santana mentions having been roofied in "Previously Unreleased Christmas". Also Fridge Horror.
- Brittany lifting Artie onto the bed, camera fade without consent. I haven't seen this episode, but wasn't this a consensual encounter? I thought Artie was Must Not Die a Virgin and Brittany had pity sex with him.
- Santana being outed after some girl overheard her argument with Finn in the hallway—where he tells her to come out the closet—and the girl told her uncle, who is running against Sue for the Congress seat and targeted Santana's lesbianism in a smear ad against Sue. For many a closeted teenager, being outed is bad enough, but for it to happen on TELEVISION in front of millions makes it nightmare fuel. There's a lot of pearl-clutching writing in this example, especially "on TELEVISION", but the example as a whole might be fine? IDK I can't speak from experience.
- Not just that, but look at and listen to Finn in that scene. You can tell he really enjoyed making her squirm. Regardless of how you feel about the whole sequence, there's something genuinely disturbing about the way Finn put the screws to Santana. Seems like Speculative Troping.
- He was actually trying to be mean, because anyone hearing Santana call him fat won't care, won't believe it, and think she's a bitch - it doesn't in any way reflect badly on him. And if he didn't know that it was a terrible thing to do in the circumstances then he's really stupid. To think that one of your glee club friends would want to hurt you in such a fashion (and then come up with some shit about wanting her to be herself) is also terrifying. Santana actually liked the club, thought it was the best part of her day and where her only real friends were, so it was probably a little harmful to her mental state to consider that maybe they don't like her at all. This paragraph seems unnecessary; if we keep this example I don't think we really need this section.
- That last sentence only replace Santana with Rachel and consider that Santana did that exact same thing to Rachel. Even then outing her was over and above unreasonable of Finn. Ditto. Are we even allowed to have three asterisk level bullet points?
- EVERYTHING about Karofsky's storyline in On My Way. Hey, being outed not bad enough for you? How about your homophobic classmates spamming the Internet with hate-speech about you until you hang yourself? And even that wasn't good enough for them- they wrote on his Facebook wall- "Better luck next time"!!! And just in case you could sleep, have Karofsky's dad finding his near-dead body and screaming in anguish. And even while in recovery, his mom thinks that he's mentally ill for being gay and his best friend Azimio cuts contact. Has a hyperbolic tone, but I think the idea at least would work.
- The car crash scene at the very end of the same episode. Of course, she turned out to be fine in the next episode. But still, a lot of fans thought Quinn was dead Oh sweet Sue Sylvester, the potholes! Again, I think this scene would count as NF, but the potholes and probably that last sentence entirely (as Quinn did not die) should go.
- The effects of Bulimia on Marley. She spends her first five episodes looking warm and bright and cheerful, but once Kitty gets in her head and makes her start vomiting all her meals up she gets less energetic, more pale, and more frail. It all comes to a climax during the Gangnam Style performance: the music starts to cut out near the end, the camera is at weird angles, parts of the song speed up or slow down, and at the end Marley is so malnourished that she collapses onstage. The worst part is the insight to the skewed priorities she's developed, and how such a simple line can become really disturbing.
Marley: I'm so hungry. But at least I fit into my dress. Maybe?
- For added points, when they lose Sectionals due to Marley fainting, Tina promptly blames her for them losing. This bullet isn't necessary.
- "Feud": It's supposed to be played for laughs, and is never mentioned again, but Sue putting 30 credit cards and a house loan in Blaine's name, singlehandedly ruining his parents' credit, simply because he wouldn't join the Cheerios is quite disturbing. IDK, it seems a little underwhelming compared to some of the other examples, but maybe?
- "Shooting Star". A gun goes off at the school. Most of the club is holed up in the choir room, but Brittany is stuck alone in a washroom and Tina is outside the school and can't contact anyone. Marley tries to text her mom, but Millie can't answer because her phone is too far away and she can't risk grabbing it - and Marley starts assuming the worst. Sure. Probably the best written example so far.
- The eerie silence during that scene just makes the whole thing worse. If you weren't spending that entire scene on the edge of your seat, wondering when the shooter would burst through the choir room door, gun in hand, then congratulations, you have Nerves of Steel. Hyperbolic language.
- The metronome going the whole time gave the atmosphere a whole new level of scary. Really? A metronome?
- Kurt getting gay bashed in "Bash". ZCE.
- Sue has a Room Full of Crazy dedicated to all the people she hates. A large portion of it is dedicated to the New Directions and Will personally. This would be funny, but we see the words "Missing" in a couple of places. We knew Sue hated the Glee Club, but she also might be more than a little unhinged.
- This also includes a life size doll of Al Roker, which seems plain ol' crazy and weird until you remember that back in "I Do", not only do Quinn and Santana know about him, but Quinn starts the conversation by outright naming him as maybe the only nice guy in the world. It's disturbing to think what that doll may have been used for before or since. This section seems like it's about a joke - maybe a Black Comedy joke, but still.
- It might be considered irrelevant now due to Cory Monteith's death, but really try to look at Kurt's season 1 actions towards Finn through Finn's eyes. Way back in Preggers, Finn thought that Kurt was asking him out and politely declined. (quote "Thanks, but I already have a date to the prom. I'm flattered you asked, though, I know dances are important to gay teens.") To which Kurt said he wasn't gay. (remember, this is the fourth episode ever.) Subsequently, Kurt sings a love song while looking intently at Finn the whole time, plots to break up his relationship with the girl they both think is pregnant with his child, and works to ruin his opinion of Rachel, who Finn genuinely does have a connection with. It rapidly becomes an open secret in the whole Glee club not only that Kurt's crushing on Finn, but that it's so one-sided Clingy Jealous Girl Quinn doesn't even bother giving Kurt a single verbal warning. Finn finds out that his Mom is dating Kurt's dad when she tells him they're all moving in together (he knew she was dating someone, but not Kurt's dad), but not until after Kurt asks his opinion on interior decorating, for what Finn doesn't yet know will be their shared bedroom. Go back and watch that 'breaking the news' scene again objectively; Kurt really looks like he's just waiting for Finn to carry him over the threshold. Kurt has been known to go to some fairly extreme lengths, especially back in season 1. (Remember Rachel's 'Sandy in the final scene of Grease makeover'?) Finn's 'faggy' reaction to Kurt's full-on interior design mockup is a very bad word choice, and Kurt's right to be angry at Finn. But no one ever seems to consider that not only does Finn has a genuine right to be upset at the situation in general - everyone (even Rachel, the Official Love Interest who's already run afoul of Kurt's schemes to turn Finn his way,) acts like Finn's honest concern for his personal space (maybe even safety) from the guy who's rampantly crushing on him (and long ago stopped bothering to hide it) is simply Homophobia and loudly condemns him for it. It takes Kurt's dad to give his son a lecture about boundaries, kindly telling him that his hitting on Finn was extremely creepy, for Kurt to get the message. Absurdly long winded, but maybe? If it's not already on Unintentionally Sympathetic perhaps it would belong better there?
- In "Child Star", Sue goes into one of the trademark rampages that ends with her slapping a random student for no reason. Seems like a joke the troper didn't find funny.
- Throughout the show, there are a disturbing number of implications that Santana is bulimic. Made worse by the show passing them off as jokes and the episode dealing with Sue making the Cheerios basically live off of super unhealthy shakes that seem to actively encourage eating disorders. Seems like Fridge Horror.
- In season 4, where Marley Rose is bullied into developing an eating disorder (no thanks to Kitty). "I'm so hungry, but at least I fit into my dress." And yes, it's every bit as disturbing as it sounds. Repeat of earlier bullet point with more And That's Terrible language.
- The in-universe explanation for the entirety of the seasons 4-5 new kids (aside from Kitty) being Put on a Bus? That Sue basically tortured them all until they were forced to transfer schools, only sparing Kitty because she was needed for the Cheerios. Keep in mind that several of those kids were known to be poor, which would undoubtedly make it difficult to just make a transfer, and Marley's mother even worked at the school. Maybe?
- In "Mattress", When Will finds out that Terri is not pregnant is very scary. From his constant glaring, quiet voice, to even throwing the pregnancy pad you wonder if Will is actually going to hurt Terri. If we keep this one, it'll need a real glow-up cause as it is this doesn't sound scary.
- Finn's death. Nothing Is Scarier since we don't know how he died. This seems in really poor taste as The Character Died with Him - the Glee squad deliberately kept Finn's cause of death ambiguous as to not try to sensationalize Monteith's actual death. It's a ZCE anyway.
The only example on NightmareFuel.Cupcakes so far is a borderline ZCE.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper WallCutlisting it. Page was created by Amour Le Fou.
The NF entry on the YMMV page is also a ZCE.
Edited by PurpleEyedGuma on Jan 28th 2022 at 10:27:46 AM
From Young Sheldon. I've given my thoughts, but I want more examples. Also, I removed the folders, which probably removed the context:
- The only reason why these examples are "scary" is because of Extreme Close-Up, which is meant to showcase Sheldon as an timid little boy. Hence, cut
- Although Played for Laughs, the Extreme Close-Up of the spinning blade of a lawn mower, a pickup truck turning too fast, and a barking dog, all of which are also shown in slow motion, does make the viewer (and Sheldon) sweat a little in fear.
- The Extreme Close-Up of Billy's pet chicken's face looks demonic.
- The Extreme Close-Up of the high school's taxidermy wolf has wolf snarling noises played in the background.
- Sheldon walks in on his father being treated. Seeing the doctors frantically trying to revive him, George unconscious and covered in wires and tubes, and Mary in tears praying, it's easy to understand why adult Sheldon is afraid of hospitals. Possibly valid
- Mary, George, and Missy's sheer terror of seeing Sheldon nearly choke to death. Adult Fear
- Because of a the above mentioned incident, Sheldon has developed a phobia of eating solid food. Can be merged with the above
- When Sheldon goes missing, Mary is terrified and panicking while George hides his terror underneath dark humor and a calm demeanor. Eventually they call the police. More Adult Fear
- The tornado during the last few minutes of the episode has the entire family terrified and huddling together in the bathroom, not knowing if they're going to survive the night. Sheldon has it the worst of all because he spent most of the episode angry at his mother, but when it comes down to it he's just a little kid who very much needs her. Luckily they get out of it without any real damage, but the entire scene is portrayed as deadly serious (complete with a sudden cut to black). Valid
- After Sturgis explains the remote possibility of a black hole powerful enough to devour the Earth forming at the Waxahachie super collider, George imagines that the black hole is forming outside the house, with everyone scared and huddled together to pray against all hope of surviving. The scene is played almost entirely for horror, and the fact that it's presented as a Daydream Surprise makes it all the more unsettling. Valid
Edited by magnumtropus on Feb 1st 2022 at 12:58:55 AM
I think it it ok, but these examples focus more on the character reactions than anything nightmarish. At the very least, the first Adult Fear entry can stay
Edited by magnumtropus on Jan 31st 2022 at 5:26:10 PM
The reason they're Adult Fear is because they're written according to the Adult Fear requirements and not the Nightmare Fuel requirements (they're character reactions). Neither of them can be kept on a NF page as written because they're not audience reactions.
It's also worth adding that we should generally be cautious with Adult Fear entries for now since that's going through TRS.
Edited by Wyldchyld on Jan 31st 2022 at 10:46:13 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.
What does "germane" even mean?
Edited by Spidey on Feb 1st 2022 at 11:03:51 AM
"Unite GUN/BAZOOKA/LAUNCHER/TANK!"It means whatever was thumped wasn't relevant to the thread, basically.
Guys how cool would it be if Super Megaforce had a green ranger...
And what Master N said was?
Wonder if I'll get suspended for saying this.
Edited by Spidey on Feb 1st 2022 at 11:06:53 AM
"Unite GUN/BAZOOKA/LAUNCHER/TANK!"I think the Young Sheldon Nightmare Fuel page can be cut, and the relevant examples can be moved to YMMV
- In "Poker, Faith and Eggs", Sheldon walks in on his father being treated. Seeing the doctors frantically trying to revive him, George unconscious and covered in wires and tubes, and Mary in tears praying, it's easy to understand why adult Sheldon is afraid of hospitals in The Big Bang Theory
- In "A Therapist, a Comic Book, and a Breakfast Sausage", Sheldon nearly chokes to death on a breakfast sausage. Mary, George, and Missy are appropriately terrified and Sheldon develops a phobia of eating solid food for the rest of the episode.
- In "A Mother, A Child, and a Blue Man's Backside", The tornado during the last few minutes of the episode has the entire family terrified and huddling together in the bathroom, not knowing if they're going to survive the night. Sheldon has it the worst of all because he spent most of the episode angry at his mother, but when it comes down to it he's just a little kid who very much needs her. Luckily they get out of it without any real damage, but the entire scene is portrayed as deadly serious (complete with a sudden cut to black).
- In the Season 4 finale "A Black Hole", Sturgis explains the remote possibility of a black hole powerful enough to devour the Earth forming at the Waxahachie super collider. George imagines that the black hole is forming outside the house, with everyone scared and huddled together to pray against all hope of surviving. The scene is played almost entirely for horror, and the fact that it's presented as a Daydream Surprise makes it all the more unsettling.
Edited by magnumtropus on Feb 1st 2022 at 8:13:22 PM

Yeah, cut the Peter and the Wolf example. It's already on YMMV.Make Mine Music, so there's no need to move anything. (and there probably aren't enough examples to warrant a separate page)
Join the Object Show Cleanup Thread! (they/them)