Now with a sandbox!
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
Short-Term Projects herald
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Yes.
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
Choppity chop chop.
Berserk Button: misusing Berserk Button
Just made the request.
One of these days, all of you will accept me as your supreme overlord.
NightmareFuel.Malcolm In The Middle is entirely non-scary entries, mild tension, scene summaries and some Fridge Horror.
I don't think there's anything worth salvaging.
Edited by maxwellsilver on Nov 27th 2019 at 12:01:42 PM
Zapped this example on NightmareFuel.The Ren And Stimpy Show.
ran an article in which two women accused John Kricfalusi of sexual harassment, sexual abuse and possession of child pornography. For many people who loved The Ren & Stimpy Show as children, the allegations were horrifying. To make matters worse, the amount of evidence stacked against Kricfalusi was staggering.
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
The NRLEP violation is definitely the least of that example's problems.
Short-Term Projects herald
Thanks for that. ![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
Is there anything on NightmareFuel.Lucky Star that isn't a Zero-Context Example? It's a subpage for a Slice of Life anime from 2007, mind you, so of course this would be grounds for shoehorning.
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I was hoping to add some examples to the Web Animation/RWBY Nightmare Fuel page, considering the episodes containing the examples have been released to the public by this point
(Sorry if posted this in the wrong spot, I'm new to this)
Edited by CartoonQueen99 on Nov 29th 2019 at 10:09:54 AM
Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel
This is the right spot to suggest examples.
Now we're so young, but we're probably gonna die
Lucky Star looks terrible. Snip snip snippity snip.
The things in my dreams wish they could chase me!
An update for the RWBY Nightmare Fuel page.
A New Approach
- Watts and Tyrian are already in Mantle, with Watts casually dismantling the various security systems around the city, and Tyrian already beginning to murder people.
- The chillingly casual way Tyrian walks away from his crime, with a startlingly large pool of blood forming behind him.
Ace Operatives
- When Blake enters the dark mine alone, the Geist the teams were tracking suddenly swoops down from the roof, shrieking at her.
- Forest's death is as terrifying as it is sudden. He's dropped off in Mantle by the Atlas Military, and as he walks into the alley, something starts skittering around in the shadows. Visibly unnerved, Forest turns around to suddenly come face to face with Tyrian, who's sporting a very disturbing Slasher Smile. Forest is appropriately terrified.
Forest: Who are you?!Tyrian: Me? Oh, well, I'm someone just like you! Someone....who wants to mix things up around here! (Reaches up with his tail and slashes)
- As Tyrian slashes downward at Forest, the camera angle makes it look like Tyrian is attacking the viewer.
Pomp and Circumstance
- Ironwood reveals to Ruby and Jaune what viewers already suspected: someone (read: Tyrian) is going around Mantle murdering individuals who speak out against the general and his policies, trying to make it look like Ironwood's "regeime" is trying to silence those who defy him. And it's working.
- Watts offering to make a deal with Jacques so the latter can get a seat on the council. The idea of a man like Jacques being given any semblance of political power is a terrifying concept in and of itself.
Edited by CartoonQueen99 on Nov 29th 2019 at 5:14:34 AM
Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel
The Lucky Star page does indeed look awful.
- A New Approach: This one has bad Example Indentation. The first bullet point is pretty weak and vague. Nightmare Fuel is for stuff that terrifies you, and I don't think that "Watts casually dismantling the various security systems around the city" is the kind of thing that will instill that kind of terror into RWBY's target audience. Tyrian's murders may count, but you should try to convey the fear it made you feel rather than just describing the scene.
- Ace Operatives:
- That first point actually made me jump a little bit when it happened, and since I'm not easily shaken, that means there's a good chance that the more faint-hearted parts of the audience were significantly more affected. It's a decent example, if a little short.
- The second point is well-written aside from the bad indentation. That second-level bullet point should be integrated into the first, if not removed entirely.
- Pomp and Circumstance:
- Although being framed as a brutal dictator is an unpleasant thought, is it really nightmarish for the audience? I don't think anyone is going to have bad dreams about Ironwood getting his reputation tarnished.
- The second point is pure speculation. Yes, Jacques would certainly be able to do very bad things if he had more political power. But so far, he hasn't actually done any of these possible things. We could come back to this if and when Jacques actually gets on the council and starts abusing his post.
Edited by Zuxtron on Nov 29th 2019 at 7:58:30 AM
Regarding the RWBY suggestions.
You've got a lot of Example Indentation issues you need to work on. As to the entries themselves:
A New Approach
- This is not Nightmare Fuel. It's just a scene summary.
- This second bullet point is very weak. As Zuxtron says, Nightmare Fuel are those moments that stay with you long after you've stopped watching the episode. A chilling scene is just atmosphere. Does it linger with you long after you stopped watching the episode? If it does, write that and tell people why it lingers with you. Then, it's an example.
Ace Operatives
- This is just a scene summary. Although you haven't given either a character or audience reaction here, the trope is about audience reactions, not character reactions. Just remember, a scene that conveys suspense or a scare is not automatically this trope. Jump Scare does not automatically equal Nightmare Fuel.
- This is a better write up than the one I commented on over the page (I can't remember who suggested that one). As I said in a previous post, I can see this one being a legitimate example if it's written in accordance with the trope requirements. At the moment, this write-up is just a character reaction. Tell us your reaction. Nightmare Fuel is all about how the scene lingers with the audience after they've stopped watching the episode. If you do that, I'll have no problem with this scene being an example of Nightmare Fuel.
- This is example indentation misuse and should have been rolled into the original entry.
Pomp And Circumstance
It's worth mentioning that episodes that have only been released to FIRST members are not available to the general public until a week later. Episodes should only be brought to this thread after they're available to the general public. This episode is only going live to the general public as I write this post. As to the suggested examples:
- This is just a scene summary, which is not the trope.
- This is a mixture of scene summary and zero context. Why is the concept of Jacques having political power Nightmare Fuel? As Zuxtron mentions, we're not allowed to engage in Speculative Troping.
Edited by Wyldchyld on Nov 30th 2019 at 4:15:10 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.
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
Agree.
Short-Term Projects herald
Looks like NightmareFuel.Lucky Star has been cut... and this is the second time.
Where do we draw the line for what's Permanent Red Link Club-worthy here? The only Nightmare Fuel pages that I know are PRLC'd are NightmareFuel.Real Life (maybe a relic of the old cut-and-lock everything system, but unwanted regardless) and NightmareFuel.Barney And Friends, which was recreated after it was cut. Given the inherently non-scary nature of a show containing cute, colorful anime girls talking about random stuff with all the Seinfeldian Conversations and Shout Outs that entails, can the show have an entire page's worth of Nightmare Fuel?
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Showtime!
Did we ever clean NightmareFuel.The Dark Crystal Age Of Resistance? There are a lot of bad examples on there
Absolute destiny... apeachalypse?
Short-Term Projects herald
Not sure about the Labyrinth page; the Malcolm in the Middle page looks bad. I took out some of the more obvious crap.
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he/him | Image Pickin' regular
NightmareFuel.Steven Universe Season 1 A (the page is split for real now) has two images, one of Frybo and one of Steven in "Cat Fingers". Which should we keep?
Keet cleanup
Short-Term Projects herald
Frybo is the scarier one IMO.
Anyone feel NightmareFuel.Cerebus The Aardvark could be cut and moved to NightmareFuel.Comic Books and YMMV.Cerebus The Aardvark as seen fit? I already cut a few ZCEs and a meta Fridge Horror example.
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Hi
Honestly, I think the only one of those examples that really counts is the Eye Scream example. All the others are varying levels of disturbing and horrifying, but none are truly frightening.
Short-Term Projects herald
Yeah, that's the only one that doesn't read like a ZCE. Any more thoughts?
Also, I think these pages can be cut and merged as needed, assuming the examples count:
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Hi
I think your idea of cutting the page and putting that lone example on those two pages is good.
Short-Term Projects herald
Doing that...
...and two medium-based subpages could use help.
- Should NightmareFuel.Comic Books have Newspaper Comics/Comic Strips split off to their own page (NightmareFuel.Newspaper Comics, NightmareFuel.Comic Strips)?
- NightmareFuel.Theme Parks needs a thorough scrubbing of Real Life examples.
Hi
If there's enough examples in each of those mediums to justify creating a subpage, go for it.
Found this Zero Context Example on YMMV.Escape From Eden Park:
This is currently the only entry on the YMMV page, as I cut the other two for not being YMMV (Drama Queen and Moral Dilemma). Should I just take the entire page to the Cut List?
One of these days, all of you will accept me as your supreme overlord.