Daylight Horror is a very broad concept. "Scary things happen during the day or under bright lights" is teetering dangerously close to People Sit in Chairs. I'm sure there's a valid trope in there somewhere, but it's certainly not being used for it most of the time.

I also see it being misused in a way that Adult Fear used to be misused, as a very subjective Nightmare Fuel bullet on the objective Main. I've seen examples that are better fit for subtropes like Axes at School or They Look Just Like Everyone Else!, because these tropes often happen during the day, the fact that they're under Daylight Horror and not their main tropes makes me think that they're trying to subtly sneak an "And That's Terrifying" into the example, if they aren't just straight up using sensationalized language like "horrifying" in the example.

Wick Check says...

• 9/50: The terror in the daylight is used for Mood Dissonance, or is juxtaposed with things that happen in the dark, or is a plot point, like some monsters can only attack during the day (by the current really loose definition I think all of these are technically valid examples, but these have the most meat on their bones).
• 20/50: Scary stuff just so happens to happen during the daytime. Examples like these lead me to think the trope either isn't tropeworthy or is being used for Nightmare Fuel on Main, there's a lot of "The monster attacks during the day".
• 20/50: Straight up ZCE's. A lot of these don't even mention what's supposed to be scary, they just say "this game takes place during the daytime", as if, without context, we know that it's scary.
• 1/50: Miscellaneous misuse (it was on SpecialEffectFailure.Doctor Who and it implied the garish lighting of '80's era Who made it less scary.)

My suggestions would be either...

• Redefine as a genre for works that build their whole identity around bright horror like Midsommar. Compare Sunshine Noir, which is a genre page used for a similar juxtaposition (Sunshine Noir is the brighter counterpart to Film Noir, the new Daylight Horror would be the brighter counterpart to Horror.)
• Redefine as a trope where it's now about sunny terrors being contrasted with either safety in darkness (like the Buffy example from the Wick Check) or different terrors in the dark.
• Turn it into an index like we did for Adult Fear ^note Tropes we could put there could include, but not be limited to, Crapsaccharine World, Light Is Not Good, Pure Is Not Good, Sinister Sentient Sun, Sunshine Noir, and some tropes I see misused as Daylight Horror like the aforementioned Axes at School and They Look Just Like Everyone Else!.

• Recap.Buffy The Vampire Slayer S 6 E 19 Seeing Red: Spike's rape attempt [of Buffy] occurs in a brightly-lit bathroom, in deliberate contrast to their rough but mutually-agreed sex in crypts, catwalks and dark alleys. The scene is being deliberately compared and contrasted with positive things happening in the dark.

• ContrastingSequelAntagonist.Live Action Films: The Spinosaurus from Jurassic Park III, in contrast to the Tyrannosaurs that were antagonizing the heroes based on territorial reasons and end up being Accidental Heroes, Spinosaurus hunts the main cast out of revenge after being wounded. The Tyrannosaurs in both Jurassic Park and The Lost World are first encountered in the rain, while the first appearance of the Spinosaurus is Daylight Horror and its final confrontation is in the rain.
• Doom (2016): Unlike in Doom³ where you faced demons and zombies in darkened rooms this installment is back to facing them in brightly lit areas so that you can see your opponents in all their horrific glory.

• JusticeLeague.Tropes A To L: Director's commentary of the episode "A Better World" said that, for them, it was far creepier when we see Alternative Universe Gotham entirely by daylight, which added to the dystopian feel that the universe's Justice League had created. In addition, the episode in question sets all events in the Justice Lord universe in the daylight and all in the Justice League at night. Trope was Invoked.

• The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories: The Old Holy Town chapter is the only one in the game set during full daytime (the rest of the game takes place either vaguely at night or with a heavily overcast sky), and is the setting of the second Hairshrieker chase.

• Otter Island: Darkness Equals Death: The creepy stuff actually starts happening during the day, although it's more subtle at first and not overtly threatening. It's not until night falls that the horror kicks into high gear and the characters really start to grasp that they're in danger; it's also only at this point the player character runs into situations where they can be killed.

• Snarled: In "The Noonwraith", Ola and Sophie go out into a field on a sweltering day. Sophie ends up dead at the hands of the titular spirit, and Ola only escapes thanks to her little brother's intervention. It makes sense given that the Noonwraith (also known as "Lady Afternoon") is the personification of heatstroke. The horror is meant to be allegorical for something that can only kill during daylight.

• Train to Busan: The zombie apocalypse begins to run wild early in the morning, and the rest of the movie happens in broad daylight, save for when the train passes through tunnels. In fact, the zombies actually have to hunt in daytime; while they can still follow sounds, they're severely hamstrung if they can't see their prey. However, this is moot if said prey are screaming for their lives in a dark tunnel. The broad daylight is a plot point.

• Wings of Fire: Turtle notes that a bright, sunny day on a beach doesn't really seem like a fitting time for (spoiler: confronting Anemone). Lampshaded in the book.

• Abraxas (Hrodvitnon) - Titans and Other Creatures Section: MaNi/Elder Brother: Briefly. He first attacks Monster X in daylight, and unlike the Many, there's no prominent storm covering the sky.

• Dead State: The best time to explore is during the day. Unfortunately, zombies don't sleep.

• TheElderScrolls.Tropes D: Several vampire bloodlines and lycanthropes with voluntary transformations are just as capable of hunting during the day as they are at night. In some cases, they'll even invoke this trope directly.

• Game of Thrones S7E4: "The Spoils of War": The battle takes place in broad daylight and bright sunshine and glowing green fields and it's still pretty horrifying. One shot of Drogon flying low over a beautiful lake only highlights how incongruous the scenery is, when it then flies over a burnt out battlefield.

• Headless: A good number of the murders are committed while the sun's still out, and in the open field, no less.

• Insidious:
  • The demon first appears to Lorraine (spoiler: in the front room of the Lamberts' second house) in the middle of a sunny afternoon.
  • Same for Chapter 2 with the Woman in White. She appears to Renai, nearly steals the baby, and knocks her out in the full bright of day.

• Characters.Jumanji 1995: Section: Van Pelt: Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Only Carl takes notice of him, and it is because he is shooting an elephant gun in a residential area and in broad daylight. Nobody comments on the fact that he is dressed like a 19th century African Great White Hunter in 1995 New England.

• NightmareFuel.Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: The surreal first encounter with the Spinosaurus. It causally approaches barely visible in the heat, in broad daylight before attacking.

• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit S11 E22 "Ace": Munch and Fin catches the Serial Rapist while he's targeting another woman at noon.

• Left POOR Dead: Most of the outdoor scenes happen during the daytime.

• Recap.Mahabharata S 01 E 12: Babies start dying in broad daylight in Gokul while Puthana walks around.

• Mayday: The 9/11 attacks, as well as a number of other disasters (such as the mid-air collision in "Deadly Detour"), are shown to take place on beautiful sunny days in perfect flying weather. Plane crashes can happen during the day.

• Missing Since Monday: Courtenay is kidnapped in the morning, as she is dropped off at school. The kid napping is discovered that afternoon, as a storm is breaking.

• The Mist: The mist's monsters attack and kill whether it is day or night.

• Recap.Mr Robot S 02 E 05: The massacre of the FBI in China.

• Palus Somni: The Gol are only active at night, except when they're not. The Dream Eater Gol is seen to be active during the daytime as it gnaws its way through the outer wall.

• PaperThinDisguise.Web Videos: The Slender Man Mythos: The Slender Man is obviously not human, but it usually works. To the point where he can pull off the usual Child Eater shtick in broad daylight, in direct view of their parents, who usually refuse to believe he exists. Also fails to explain how this is an example of Paper-Thin Disguise.

• Phenomena: The first murder is the only one that happens during the day but because of the cold, isolated landscape and the offbeat music it is one of the eeriest scenes.

• Serial Experiments Lain (commented out example): The anime liberally uses highly contrasting light and shadows in its animation, creating eerily bright days.

• Waxworks (1992): The only waxworks that take place during the day are the Mine and Witch scenarios. Both the Graveyard and London ones are set at night, and the Ancient Egypt one takes place during a single night. The sun sets just as you enter the pyramid, and rises as you leave.

• ABCs of Death 2: Three for the price of one!
  • Section: B is for Badger: This segment takes place during the daytime.
  • Section: M is for Masticate: The director would like to call it, "An act of cannibalism in a broad daylight."
  • Section: V is for Vacation: Justified in that the man calls his girlfriend early in the morning after they arrive. (spoiler:The horror part kicks in when both of the men die, with her Forced to Watch.)

• Channel Zero: Nearly all of the most disturbing and dramatic scenes unfold outdoors in broad daylight.

• Death on Demand: A recovered Sean impales Darla with a grappling hook, and reels her back into the house as she's leaving.

• Digimon Ghost Game E30 "Bad Friend": Just like the Asuramon and Toropiamon incidents, the whole Kayono incident takes place in broad daylight.

• Recap.Doctor Who S 30 E 8 Silence In The Library: It's a lovely day in the completely and utterly abandoned Library.

• Eden Green: While some of the monsters prefer the shadows, plenty of the worst action occurs in the daylight. While it does compare and contrast with something darker, it's still a ZCE.

• Fluttershy Is Free: Adolescent Fluttershy encounters the (spoiler:Changelings) by broad daylight.

• NightmareFuel.Grand Theft Auto III: The very atmosphere of the game. Similarly to Grand Theft Auto IV, the game has a bleak, eerie atmosphere, even in the daytime.

• Halloween Horror Nights: The event starts at least an hour before nightfall, giving plenty of time for the sun to shine over the scarezones. This trope is something of a Necessary Weasel for a horror show at a theme park.

• Hitman 3 - Surprise Creepy: Don't be fooled by the level's bright weather and golden color scheme - it features some of the creepiest elimination methods in the entire World of Assassination trilogy. From the very bloody usage of wine-making equipment, to (spoiler: one target's sudden execution on the orders of the other, to Don clinging onto life after being stabbed in the gut by Diana), the level almost borders on Daylight Horror at times. Note: This bulletpoint of Surprise Creepy, despite that trope having been disambiguated, was still on the page as of May 19 2023. Despite the depreciation of that trope, this bullet still stands as misuse of Daylight Horror.

• It Steals: The three bonus variants of Classic, Shutter Mode, and Hide and Seek take place in broad daylight. The Sun will slowly set in the Shudder Mode, however.

• Kamikakushi: Most of Tobirama's encounters with Youkai have occurred during the day.

• Lake Placid vs. Anaconda: Much of the monster mayhem takes place during the light of day.

• YMMV.Night At The Museum - Nightmare Fuel: The Daylight Horror of the museum exhibits frozen mid-battle with Kahmunrah and his henchmen.

• Pumpkin Eater: The majority of the story takes place during the day.

• Ruby Quest: Well, not daylight, as Ruby is indoors for the whole quest, but things like the Bear Zombie, the Plant Zombie, and Ace are usually seen in good light.

• Shibito no Koe wo Kiku ga Yoi: A lot of the horrific situations that occur in the manga take place in broad daylight. Many supernatural beings are also not shy about showing up in daylight.

• Steve Niles' Remains: Likely due to the small budget, but the grand majority of the movie happens during the day.

• Ultraman: Towards the Future: Lots of fights take place in broad daylight, giving us a good view of Ultraman and his foes.

• Recap.Zekkyou Gakkyuu Period 9 Kasakosan Is Coming: [Simply potholes to "Daylight Horror"]

• SpecialEffectFailure.Doctor Who: Each era's failings are in a way that summarises the worst production aspects of that time period. The early 60s saw the show's lowest budgets, minimally edited episodes, cardboard planets and box sound-stage sets; the late 60s had People in Rubber Suits and monsters made of bath foam. The early 70s was dominated by hideous CSO; the late 70s was all austerity sets, community closets and malfunctioning props. The mid-80s has garish lights, brief setpieces that consume the budget of the rest of the season, and BBC apathy that progresses to purposeful production sabotage by the end of the 80s. The rest of the paragraph implies that the bright lights make everything LESS scary.