History Main / ABloodyMess

* In ''DoctorWho: The Chimes of Midnight'', it opens up with Charley and the Doctor in the dark, when there's a crash and sudden wet feeling. It turns out to be raspberry jam, but it's a unique example because this is a) ''on the radio'' so we can't see it, and ''in the dark'' so the ''characters'' couldn't see that it was red either.

* Done with a combination of ketchup and actual blood in ''{{Cornered}}!''

* Inverted in {{BloodyBirthday}} during a scene where one of the evil children Debbie murders her older sister she and her friends hide the body, her mother comes in and asks what the red stain is and she lies saying it's her sister's nail polish.
* Played with a little in EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind. Jim Carrey uses a ketchup packet to "slit" his throat; the motion is so sudden and Carrey's face so grotesque (and the movie itself [[MindScrew so weird]]) that the audience often jumps, thinking he's committed some act of real violence against himself. Kate Winslet walks in, however, and is not fooled (or even amused) for even a moment.

* In an episode of {{Friends}} Ross and Rachel are making out in the museum where Ross works at one point they roll over a hard object and they notice a red liquid leaking from Ross' coat and Rachel is worried she punctured one of his kidneys, it turns out it was a juice box he had.

* Spike tried to invoke this trope with ketchup and [[ItMakesSenseInContext a toy mouse]] in ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic]].

* Parodied on ''SouthPark'', where "vampires" (kids which are pretending to be vampires because of ''{{Twilight}}'') use "Clamato" (clam-flavored tomato juice) for their initiation ceremony. Butters believes it is blood and that he has really become a vampire. Believing he is unable to eat real food, he "suddenly" becomes insatiably hungry...

* In RobertAHeinlein's ''To Sail Beyond the Sunset'', Maureen Johnson wakes up in a bed with a dead man with no memory of how she got there. After two doctors arrive, [[FingertipDrugAnalysis one of them puts his finger into the "blood" and licks it]]. She's a bit upset until the two doctors start discussing [[TheKetchupTest what brand of ketchup it must be]].

* Played with a little in EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind. Jim Carrey uses a ketchup packet to "slit" his throat; the motion is so sudden and Carrey's face so grotesque (and the movie itself [[MindScrew so weird]]) that the audience often jumps, thinking he's committed some act of real violence against himself. Kate Winslet walks, however, and is not fooled (or even amused) for even a moment.

* In ''{{Trigun}}'', bottles of tomato juice were used to fake injuries on several occasions, usually to [[FakingTheDead play dead]]], but sometimes even to [[WoundedGazelleGambit attract women]].

This is when an innocent substance -- [[strike: almost always red]] -- is mistaken for blood. This substance is, more often than not, ketchup, and, less often than not, HilarityEnsues. Usually played for comedy and occasionally used seriously when someone is trying to fake an injury.

This is when an innocent substance -- almost always red -- is mistaken for blood. This substance is, more often than not, ketchup, and, less often than not, HilarityEnsues. Usually played for comedy and occasionally used seriously when someone is trying to fake an injury.

** In AceAttorneyInvestigations Turnabout Airlines Rhoda Teniero mistakes [[stirke: red wine]] grape juice for blood on a wallet Edgeworth was holding. This led to him being the prime suspect for much of the case.

* In RobertAHeinlein's ''To Sail Beyond the Sunset'', Maureen Johnson wakes up in a bed with a dead man with no memory of how she got there. After two doctors arrive, [[FingertipDrugAnalysis one of them puts his finger into the "blood" and licks it]]. She's a bit upset until the two doctors start discussing what brand of ketchup it must be.

* Happens in episode 13 of ''{{Wakfu}}'', which parodies plenty horror tropes. Sadlygrove is found amongst plenty red stains over the walls and floor, and the heroes think he's wounded or dead... except that he comments later, "It's a bad idea to eat red berries while seasick."

-->-- ''Discworld/{{Maskerade}}''

[[folder:{{Comics}}]]

** Bugs Bunny loves this. He's done it to Elmer Fudd loads of times, and has done it Yosemite Sam at least once.
* This occurs in DespicableMe, when one of the orphans gets trapped in an iron maiden, and a red liquid is seen flowing out the bottom. [[spoiler: Turns out one of the spikes punctured her juice box]]

* Also inverted in {{Ginger Snaps}}, when Ginger tells her dad that the large pool of blood on the kitchen floor is in fact syrup. To make it more convincing, she tastes it and offers him some.

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]
* ''{{Discworld}}'', ''Discworld/{{Maskerade}}'', as shown by the page quote.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* In the pilot of {{Eureka}}, while looking for a 'lost' kid, Carter and Allison are searching the crime scene and find a hand print. [[spoiler: Carter tastes it and declares [[{{The Ketchup Test}} 'Chocolate']]. He then identifies what brand, and finds the missing kid.]]

[[folder:{{Radio}}]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:WebComics]]

[[folder:WebOriginal]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* Done in a DonaldDuck short, where he and the nephews go camping. Donald puts ketchup on himself to get his nephews thinking he's severely injured, but gets bandaged up from head to toe, as is typical of those shorts.

* Parodied on ''SouthPark'' where "vampires" (kids are pretending to be vampires because of {{Twilight}}) use "Clamato" (clam-flavored tomato juice) for their initiation ceremony. Butters believes it is blood and that he has really become a vampire. Believing he is unable to eat real food he "suddenly" becomes insatiably hungry...

* An episode of ''TheMagicSchoolBus'' had Ms. Frizzle, in a vampire phase, present the kids' parents with glasses of "blood". [[AgentScully Keesha]] pointed out that it was ''obviously'' really tomato juice, but no one listened to her.

* A few Warner Brothers cartoons, such as The Heckling Hare and The Wise Quacking Duck, all demonstrate this trope.

[[folder:RealLife]]

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* Done in a [[WaltDisney Donald Duck]] short, where he and the nephews go camping. Donald puts ketchup on himself to get his nephews thinking he's severely injured, but gets bandaged up from head to toe, as is typical of those shorts.