History CosmicHorrorStory / WesternAnimation

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' packs one of these into a single episode in "Everything's Jake". [[spoiler:Magic Man[[labelnote:note]] the Nyarlathothep[[/labelnote]] hijacks Jake's shapeshifting powers, turning his body into its own (historied) world (despite having not existed for more than a few seconds in the real world) [[labelnote: note]] making Jake an unwitting Azathoth or Demiurge[[/labelnote]]. Jake wakes up trapped inside himself and thinks it's awesome... until he discovers that he's hungry and he can't eat the food there because its made of his own flesh. Jake's hunger begins to cause earthquakes, but one one of the city's scientists correctly realizes that if Jake "leaves", their world will end. Said scientist tries to TakeAThirdOption by leaving Jake's world to find him some food, but upon emerging into the "glob world" (the Treehouse), he learns that the resident "glob" is a hideous Cthulhu expy [[labelnote:note]]Finn with a mouthful of spaghetti[[/labelnote]]. The scientist melts at the horror of the sight, bemoaning the AwfulTruth of their doomed world and the nightmarish beings they've worshiped. Sadly, Jake learns when he leaves that the scientist was right -- leaving the city causes its citizens to revert back to being non-sentient parts of his own body, erasing them from existence. No one but Jake and Magic Man knows they ever existed and no one but Jake cares]].

* Interestingly, ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' features an example with "Rabbit Ears". After securing an old television, Stan encounters ''Nighthawks Hideaway'', a black-and-white talk show hosted by the charismatic Alistair Covax. There's only one episode, which airs when Stan is all alone, and no records of its existence, outside notes made by loners like Tuttle concerning the subtle changes in the background casting. Stan finds Tuttle among the extras, and that the static from Tuttle's old TV creates a portal into the show. [[spoiler:Covax is revealed to be a FauxAffablyEvil HumanoidAbomination that entraps his viewers to serve as extras in an endless loop that gradually erases their memories. Anyone who strays or upsets him risks getting EatenAlive when the world darkens for a "commercial". Stan and Tuttle's initial escape only leads them right back to the set. Stan resorts to smashing the walls to expose the static and barely escapes with Tuttle out of the TV. However, much to Stan's horror, his family drones about the jazz and stereo system Covax repeatedly promoted. Covax then trascends the fourth wall to wish the viewer a good evening, having taken over Stan's reality and leaving him to despair]].

** "[[Recap/LoveDeathAndRobotsBeyondTheAquilaRift Beyond the Aquila Rift]]" is a glorious example. It follows a space traveler who ends up stranded in a space station at the very far reaches of known space with his OldFlame Greta. [[spoiler:Which is only half true: He is trapped at the far reaches of space, but in the hive of a terrifying spider-like alien creature, and everything he has seen is a psychic illusion the spider projects into his mind. Then again, the alien is a NonMaliciousMonster doing it as an act of mercy so he doesn't realize the real horror of his situation; when he finds out what she really is, she just wipes his memory and puts him through the illusion again.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' seems to set this up in ''The Beast With a Billion Backs'', in which a horrifying, tentacled, borderline incomprehensible GeniusLoci attacks our universe from ''its own'' after successfully making a way through it, [[spoiler:but then subverts it in a sympathetic, if not incredibly disgusting way]].

* WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague has a modified version of the Twilight Zone episode listed above. The seemingly idyllic town and quaint superhero team [[spoiler: are all creations of their sidekick, who keeps the illusion and the very few ''real'' people under ironclad control with powers gained from a nuclear explosion. Becomes LovecraftLite when the superhero illusions fight back against their creator to help the protagonists, knowing if they win, they'll be wiped from existence because their real counterparts are already dead.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots'' short "Beyond the Aquila Rift" is a glorious example. It follows a space traveler who ends up stranded in a space station at the very far reaches of known space with his OldFlame Greta. [[spoiler:Which is only half true: He is trapped at the far reaches of space, but in the hive of a terrifying spider-like alien creature, and everything he has seen is a psychic illusion the spider projects into his mind. Then again, the alien is a NonMaliciousMonster doing it as an act of mercy so he doesn't realise the real horror of his situation; when he finds out what she really is, she just wipes his memory and puts him through the illusion again.]]
** The short "In Vaulted Halls Entombed" is even moreso an example. A group of American soldiers pursuing Taliban hostage-takers end up in a cave containing swarms of horrible flesh-eating spider-like monsters that gruesomely pick off both groups one by one [[spoiler: only for them to discover that the cave leads to a colossal temple-like underground prison containing a gigantic EldritchAbomination whose very presence gradually whittles down the sanity of/enthralls human onlookers, and that will destroy the world if it's unleashed; the ending is ambiguous, but not reassuring at all.]]

* The premise of ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders'' is that the 4 elemental worlds must band together using ancient technology to fight a great [[PlanetEater giant planet that wants to eat their homes]]. It is [[ImplacableMan unstoppable]], [[{{Determinator}} unrelenting]], and [[NighInvulnerable unbeatable]]. The only hope is to run away, or face certain destruction. And they can't run forever. [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids For a child's show this is somewhat jarring]].

* Interestingly, ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' features an example with "Rabbit Ears". After securing an old television, Stan encounters ''Nighthawks Hideaway'', a black-and-white talk show hosted by the charismatic Alistair Covax. There's only one episode, which airs when Stan is all alone, and no records of its existence, outside notes made by loners like Tuttle concerning the subtle changes in the background casting. Stan finds Tuttle among the extras, and that the static from Tuttle's old TV creates a portal into the show. [[spoiler:Covax is revealed to be a FauxAffablyEvil HumanoidAbomination that entraps his viewers to serve as extras in an endless loop that gradually erases their memories. Anyone who strays or upsets him risks getting EatenAlive when the world darkens for a "commercial". Stan and Tuttle's initial escape only leads them right back to the set. Stan resorts to smashing the walls to expose the static and barely escapes with Tuttle out of the TV with Covax on their heels. However, much to Stan's horror, his family drones about the jazz and stereo system Covax repeatedly promoted. Covax then trascends the fourth wall to wish the viewer a good evening, having taken over Stan's reality leaving him to despair]].

* Interestingly, ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' features an example in "Rabbit Ears". After securing an old television, Stan encounters a black and white talk show called ''Nighthawks Hideaway'', hosted by the charismatic Alistair Covax. Said show features only one episode, only airs when he's all alone, and doesn't show up in any records save for those made by other loners, like Tuttle, who are drawn into watching the reruns for subtle changes in the background casting. Stan discovers Tuttle has joined the extras, and that the static from the back of Tuttle's old TV creates a portal into the show. [[spoiler:Covax is revealed as a FauxAffablyEvil HumanoidAbomination that entraps his viewers to become extras in an endless loop that gradually erases their memories. Anyone who strays or upsets him risks getting EatenAlive when the world darkens for a "commercial". Stan and Tuttle's initial escape only leads them right back to the set. Stan resorts to smashing the walls to expose the static and barely escapes with Tuttle out of the TV with Covax on their heels. However, much to Stan's horror, his family drones about the jazz and stereo system Covax repeatedly promoted. Covax himself appears to wish the viewer a good evening while leaving Stan to despair]].
** "Echoes" follows Steve as he takes a work study under local weatherman Memphis Stormfront, who is oddly obsessed with and warns Steve against using The Doppler on top of the station. After checking out The Doppler for himself, Steve is granted visions of the future, which become increasingly apocalyptic scenes of the world ravaged by a reptilian abomination called The Nameless One. [[spoiler: Ultimately, he teams up with Memphis to destroy The Doppler, under the belief that it's waking The Nameless One. However, The Doppler was only thing suppressing the beast, something Memphis knew all along. The Nameless One emerges from the ground, devastates Langley Falls, and traps the Smiths as they try to escape. Just to hammer it home, the hopeless scene transitions to the vast depths of space, showing Earth as just a speck soon to be obliterated. Unlike "Rabbit Ears" above, though, the dire ending is only a vision of a possible future, cut off by Steve choosing to shadow Buckle's urology clinic instead]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "Echoes" gradually shapes itself into such a narrative. Steve takes a work study under local weatherman Memphis Stormfront, who is oddly obsessed with and warns Steve against using The Doppler on top of the station. After checking out The Doppler for himself, Steve is granted visions of the future, which become increasingly apocalyptic scenes of the world ravaged by a reptilian abomination called The Nameless One. [[spoiler: Ultimately, he teams up with Memphis to destroy The Doppler, under the belief that it's waking The Nameless One. However, The Doppler was only thing suppressing the beast, something Memphis knew all along. The Nameless One emerges from the ground, devastates Langley Falls, and traps the Smiths as they try to escape. Just to hammer it home, the hopeless scene transitions to the vast depths of space, showing Earth as just a speck soon to be obliterated. Of course, in true ''American Dad!'' fashion, it's revealed to have only been a possible look into the future, cut off by Steve choosing to shadow Buckle's urology clinic instead]].

** There's also an episode which shows that if Aku gets sick and so much as ''sneezes'' on you, you'll be infected with his evil and ''[[NightmareFuel literally transform into a copy of him]]'', something that nearly happens to Jack himself.