History Main / ByTheEyesOfTheBlind

* The classic short story ''Eight O'Clock in the Morning'' by Ray Nelson has monsters who can only be seen after awakening from hypnosis. Under normal circumstances, the aliens are visible, but appear to be average human beings. It was adapted into the SoBadItsGood movie ''They Live'', where the monsters can only be seen by wearing special sunglasses.

* On ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', only magical beings, such as witches, demons and Whitelighters, are able to see ghosts.

* Then there's ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'''s Koishi Komeji, a mindreading girl who closed her [[ExtraEyes third eye]] (located on her [[{{Squick}} external]] [[EyesDoNotBelongThere heart]]) in order to escape all [[BreakTheCutie the hatred]] [[BlessedWithSuck that comes]] [[ForgotAboutTheMindReader from reading people's]] [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead darkest thoughts]]. However, closing off her eye also [[EmptyShell closed off her heart and mind]] on top of giving her the ability to [[PsychicPowers manipulate peoples' subconscious]]. Consequently, [[PerceptionFilter no-one is able to establish an emotional connection with her or feel her presence]] ''even when looking straight at her'', and as soon as she leaves a person's field of vision they [[LaserGuidedAmnesia immediately forget all about having ever even seen or met her]]. However, her powers don't work as well on children and sometimes she [[NotSoImaginaryFriend plays with them]]. However, most of them forget about her as they grow up.

* And then there's ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'''s Koishi Komeji, a mindreading girl who closed her [[ExtraEyes third eye]] (located on her [[{{Squick}} external]] [[EyesDoNotBelongThere heart]]) in order to escape all [[BreakTheCutie the hatred]] [[BlessedWithSuck that comes]] [[ForgotAboutTheMindReader from reading people's]] [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead darkest thoughts]]. However, closing off her eye also [[EmptyShell closed off her heart and mind]] on top of giving her the ability to [[PsychicPowers manipulate peoples' subconscious]]. Consequently, [[PerceptionFilter no-one is able to establish an emotional connection with her or feel her presence]] ''even when looking straight at her'', and as soon as she leaves a person's field of vision they [[LaserGuidedAmnesia immediately forget all about having ever even seen or met her]]. However, her powers don't work as well on children and sometimes she [[NotSoImaginaryFriend plays with them]]. However, most of them forget about her as they grow up.

* In the Creator/EoinColfer novel ''Literature/TheSupernaturalist'', the Parasites can only be seen by those who have experienced a near-death experience, and the ability to keep seeing them is sustained by the excess of chemicals in the air. However, Ditto [[spoiler:can see the Parasites because he is a Bartoli baby and also notes at the end of the book that there are other things out there many people can't see.]]

* ''Literature/TheEmperorsNewClothes'' plays with this trope. The cloth for the titular garb allegedly can only be seen by the wise, or those well suited to their jobs. [[ItWasHisSled Of course, there is no cloth, so the emperor is nude.]] The FridgeLogic is, of course, why anyone would want stupid people to see them naked. It's based on a swindle, which in turn is based on the natural human fear of looking stupid. Hence, everyone who looks at the "magic cloth" pretends to see it, based on the "rules" that the con-men have given to the Emperor, for fear of losing their jobs. The "innocent" child who sees through the scam does so because he (or she) has not been trained to tell the Emperor and those around him what they want to hear (i.e., to lie in order to preserve the feelings of the powerful, and the life of the speaker). The story itself is a metaphor for how a powerful idiot can only be challenged by someone who has nothing to lose.
** One WholePlotReference makes it ambiguous whether it's a con... or whether the cloth really does work and the reason the viewpoint character could never see it is that he's indeed foolish and unfit for his position.
* ''Literature/FateStrangeFake'' has Watcher, an Irregular Servant that manifests only as shadows only visible to its Master. No one else can see or hear them, and Sigma, the Master in question, cannot touch them - but he can feel it when one shadow puts its hand on his shoulder.

* In ''Manga/ChargerGirl'', Charger Girls use a cloaking system to hide themselves from the populace of Earth (normally, they're transparent, but can still be seen), and while cloaked, can only be seen or touched by other people from Life Core. And Sento, for some reason. Sento's ability to see and touch them is never explained in the anime, but [[spoiler: he does briefly lose the ability to do so while depressed.]]

** Death can be seen by animals, witches and wizards, and small children. And people about to die or who are having a near-death experience--in brief, anybody whose WeirdnessCensor is off… and Carrot, who used him as a witness for a murder in the short story 'Theatre of Cruelty'. The book ''Literature/WyrdSisters'' states that Death can also be seen if people truly expect to see him (which may explain Carrot's ability to use him as a witness). In ''Wyrd Sisters'', Death walks on stage during a play at a time when the audience expects an actor playing Death to show up -- and is seen by everyone in the audience. And gets stage fright.

* ''Literature/TheEmperorsNewClothes'' plays with this trope. The cloth for the titular garb allegedly can only be seen by the wise, or those well suited to their jobs. [[ItWasHisSled Of course, there is no cloth, so the emperor is nude.]] The FridgeLogic is, of course, why anyone would want stupid people to see them naked.
** It's based on a swindle, which in turn is based on the natural human fear of looking stupid. Hence, everyone who looks at the "magic cloth" pretends to see it, based on the "rules" that the con-men have given to the Emperor, for fear of losing their jobs. The "innocent" child who sees through the scam does so because he (or she) has not been trained to tell the Emperor and those around him what they want to hear (i.e., to lie in order to preserve the feelings of the powerful, and the life of the speaker). And the story itself is a metaphor for how a powerful idiot can only be challenged by someone who has nothing to lose.

* In the tabletop role-playing game ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'', a Changeling's mien (that is, their true, Fae-inspired appearance) is virtually impossible to detect against a Changeling's will, even to other magical folk; though there may be enough bleedover to make their mundane appearance unique or unusual enough to make others suspect there could be something wrong, the illusion of a normal visage, called the Mask, is complete and almost impenetrable. However, one book lists optional conditions for people who are naturally capable of seeing through it-- such as the [[MagicalSeventhSon seventh son of a seventh son]], a person with heterochromia, or someone born on Leap Day.
** The same book has a sample character who can see through the Mask - when he was a kid, he took a bullet to the head, and it hit him in ''just'' the right way that his perceptions were opened for good. And it ''scares the shit out of him''.

* One of the reasons the Ice King from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' went insane [[WasOnceAMan from his original transformation via the crown]] was because he has been seeing spirits ever since he donned the artifact.

* Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' with Osmodiar, a similar-looking alien that can only be seen by Homer. And indeed, the audience can't see it either.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SkunkFu'' the invisible ninja monkeys could only be seen by stupid people so Ox the dumbest cast member was the only one able to see and fight them. Skunk and the others think of stupid thoughts and are then able to see them.

* In ''Manga/FightIppatsuJuudenChan'', Charger Girls use a cloaking system to hide themselves from the populace of Earth (normally, they're transparent, but can still be seen), and while cloaked, can only be seen or touched by other people from Life Core. And Sento, for some reason. Sento's ability to see and touch them is never explained in the anime, but [[spoiler: he does briefly lose the ability to do so while depressed.]]

* Alan Dean Foster's ''Into The Out Of'' features three characters who are the only ones who can see the supernatural creatures infiltrating the world in order to destroy it. For two of them, it's a ''literal'' case of ByTheEyesOfTheBlind, as both of them have lost an eye and can see the creatures with their ''glass'' eye. The third has a ThirdEye.

* In Gustave Le Rouge's ''La Guerre des Vampires'', Martians can only be seen by blind people (or by someone who's wearing a special Martian helmet).

* ''Literature/FateStrangeFake'' has Watcher, an Irregular Servant that manifests only as shadows only visible to its Master. No one else can see or hear them, and Sigma, the Master in question, cannot touch them - but he can feel it when one shadow puts its hand on his shoulder.

* In ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "Music of the Spheres", the alien audio signal is only recognizable as music to teenagers, but not to adults or younger children.

** Death can be seen by animals, witches and wizards, and small children. And people about to die or who are having a near-death experience--in brief, anybody whose WeirdnessCensor is off… and Carrot, who used him as a witness for a murder in the short story 'Theatre of Cruelty'. The book ''Discworld/WyrdSisters'' states that Death can also be seen if people truly expect to see him (which may explain Carrot's ability to use him as a witness). In ''Wyrd Sisters'', Death walks on stage during a play at a time when the audience expects an actor playing Death to show up -- and is seen by everyone in the audience. And gets stage fright.

** The Bogles (weird humanoid demon-animals that inhabit the Underworld) from ''Discworld/{{Wintersmith}}'' can only be seen by people who have their eyes shut at the time. This might be a deliberate parody of the BlindSeer trope.

See also WeirdnessCensor, MagneticMedium, and YouCanSeeMe. Compare TrueSight, when one only needs to have an enhanced sight to see something normally unseen.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* On ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', only magical beings, such as witches, demons and Whitelighters are able to see ghosts.

* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfShanShan'': [[http://shanshan.upperrealms.com/view.php?pageid=004&chapterid=1 Shan Shan is special and can see and hear things others can't.]]

See also WeirdnessCensor, MagneticMedium, and YouCanSeeMe.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' has an unusual, ''literal'' example: In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E01TheHolocronsOfFate "The Holocrons of Fate"]], [[spoiler:only Kanan -- who was blinded by Maul in the Season 2 finale -- can see in the light unleashed by the holocron fusion. Everyone else is blinded by it.]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E8MummyOnTheOrientExpress "Mummy on the Orient Express"]], the Foretold, the titular mummy, can only be seen by its intended victims, who then have roughly one minute before the Foretold kills them. The Doctor ultimately manages to take the place of one potential victim to see the Foretold and figure out how to stop it.

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]

[[folder:Web Comic]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SushiPack'' episode "The Thing That Wasn't There," only Maguro can see the electrical monster that's wreaking havoc in Wharf City. Whether or not this is due to her mental powers is never explained, and she herself says she doesn't know why she can see it while the others can't.

* On ''Series/{{Charmed}}'', only magical beings, such as witches, demons and Whitelighters are able to see ghosts.

* ''Film/DropDeadFred'', whom only the protagonist can see.

%% See TipsWorksheet section 16.

* Implied in many works from ''Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos''. Typically, only Slender Man's intended victims can actually see him unassisted. However, he always shows up in pictures and videos, which is why the more GenreSavvy characters (i.e. [[WebVideo/MarbleHornets Alex Kralie]], [[WebVideo/TribeTwelve Milo]],) start keeping a camera with them at all times. Then, when other characters review said pictures and videos, they end up going "Hey wait, why didn't I ever notice that rather obvious tall, faceless guy in the business suit when I was actually there?" Unfortunately, realizing that Slender Man exists is an easy way to get on his list...

* In the EoinColfer novel ''Literature/TheSupernaturalist'', the Parasites can only be seen by those who have experienced a near-death experience, and the ability to keep seeing them is sustained by the excess of chemicals in the air. However, Ditto [[spoiler:can see the Parasites because he is a Bartoli baby and also notes at the end of the book that there are other things out there many people can't see.]]

* In the ''Otherworld'' series the main character can't see the supernatural unless she's wearing Fiona's locket.