History Main / EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette

* ElviraMistressOfTheDark fits this trope to a tee, though she [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this quite a few times.
-->'''Vincent Talbot:''' I must apologize for my behavior in the office, it's just that your appearance was a bit of a shock to me.
-->'''Elvira:''' It's OK. My appearance is kind of a shock to everybody.

[[folder:Literature]]
* The [[TheChroniclesOfNarnia White Witch]] is this trope taken UpToEleven. She has jet-black hair and pure white -- yes, LITERALLY white -- skin.
** In the Disney version, she's blond, making her an EvilAlbino.
* ''{{Dragaera}}'''s Sethra Lavode. Sure, she's a vampire, but considering that no one noticed for a few thousand years after she died, she must have been pretty pale to start with.
* In Garth Nix's OldKingdom series (''Sabriel'' and sequels), the Abhorsen clan of necromancers are recognizable by their jet black hair and unhealthy pallor, but they're the good guys.
* Lady Myria [=LeJean=] in TerryPratchett's ''[[{{Discworld}} Thief of Time]]'' looks like this, though the "unhealthy" aspect is less significant than the "monochromatic".
* While [[HarryPotter Bellatrix Lestrange's]] skin tone is never mentioned, she fits the "brunette" and "unhealthy" (thanks to her stay in Azkaban) parts of the trope. In the film she's played by HelenaBonhamCarter (see above). Actually, this trope is played with quite a bit in ''Harry Potter'', with four inter-related characters having The Look. Tom Riddle (AKA Lord Voldemort) starts off having black hair and pale skin, before being [[HellishPupils changed by evil]]. Sirius Black has the same dark hair and prison-enhanced paleness as Bellatrix, his cousin. This superficial resemblance points out the initial similarities between Harry and Voldemort, Sirius and Bellatrix, while at the same emphasizing their essential differences and democratizing the EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette look by giving it to the hero's father figure, the bad guy, and the bad guy's best deputy.
** Arguably, Severus Snape fits this trope, too, though he's described as 'sallow' rather than pale. The difference between these two skin tones is negligible in candlelight, which is what wizards go by.
* Most of EdgarAllanPoe's female characters, probably because most of them have TB.
* RealPersonFic versions of [[TheBeatles Paul McCartney]] often fall under this trope.
* Tom Flood from ''BloodsuckingFiends''. Incidentally, the freckled [[HeroesWantRedheads redhead]] is an actual vampire [[spoiler:at least for the first book.]]
* ''{{The Wheel of Time}}'''s Lanfear, disguised as the breathtakingly hot Selene (though her genuine appearance is not very different), is one of these. No one (except the entire readership) realized she was evil at first, though.
* Alice Cullen and many other dark-haired ''{{Twilight}}'' vampires fall under this trope as well, having skin so pale, it's completely white and ice cold. [[AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame They also sparkle in sunlight.]]
* ''Shattered Mirror'' featured vampiric twins, Kristopher and Nikolaus, who were both deathly pale with dark hair (and black eyes to boot). One of the twins used this black-and-white theme for all the decor in his house and his clothing.
* Louis de Pointe du Lac from the ''VampireChronicles''.
* The original EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette vampire, however, is {{Dracula}}, with permission from Lord Ruthven.
* [[HeroicBastard Jon Snow]] from ''{{A Song of Ice and Fire}}''. Ironically, he's one of the most noble and heroic characters in the series.
* ''ArtemisFowl'' is described as dark haired and pale, from the hours spent in front of a computer screen. In the most recent novels he's been getting a ''little'' better about going outside, but not by much.
* Claggart in ''Billy Budd'' is described having pallid skin and "silken jet curls". He's also tall, thin, and has violet eyes. Violet. Wonder why he's evil.
* Johnny Coughlan from ''The Johnny Coffin Diaries''. He lies that his nickname is because he sleeps in a coffin.
* Used in ''Rebecca'', in which the titular character is often described as being incredibly beautiful with pale skin and dark hair. [[spoiler:Then she turns out to be extraordinarily slutty, spiteful, cruel, and manipulative (far from the angelic image she's remembered as), so she also fits into the evil dark hair pale skin group.]]
* Gregor Vorbarra from the VorkosiganSaga is described as being like this - as well as being tall and thin and dressing in dark clothing - so it shouldn't be surprising that he's TheEmperor of a multi-planetary, extremely militaristic empire. Except that he's also one of the good guys.
** Most of Miles Vorkosigan's love interests fit this trope too, especially Elena and Elli.
* House Raith of the White Court in the DresdenFiles - a clan of psychic vampires that feed on lust, and they all look like this.
* Juliet Salazar from Mike Carey's FelixCastor series, who has black hair, "black-on-black" eyes, and pure white skin: "the undiluted white of snow or bone rather than the muddy pink-beige mix that passes for white according to normal labelling conventions." {{Justified|Trope}} in her case, as she's a demon from Hell whose body isn't, technically speaking, an actual body. And in something of a subversion, she's not necessarily an ''evil'' demon from Hell. When she chooses not to be.
* [[{{Tsundere}} Heleth]] from Douglas Hill's ''[=ColSec=] Trilogy'' is an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette with [[FacialMarkings facial tattoos]]. Justified in that she was raised underground (the tattoos help camouflage her in shadows). And she sunburns ''badly''.
* Definitely on the DarkIsNotEvil side of this trope: Stephen Maturin, co-protagonist of the {{Aubrey-Maturin}} series. His hair is black, of course, and his skin tone is almost invariably described as "pale" or "sallow".
* Xanatos, ManipulativeBastard and BigBad of the JediApprentice novels in the StarWars EU, is more or less described as looking like a vampire.
* Magiere from ''TheSagaOfTheNobleDead'' straddles the line between this and UndeathlyPallor. At her most normal she has a chalk-white complexion (impossible given the amount of time she spends outdoors) and [[RedRightHand blood red highlights]] in her [[ShinyMidnightBlack otherwise black hair]] (when her SuperpoweredEvilSide comes out, so do the fangs). [[SarcasmMode Oddly enough]], [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer she had a rough childhood]] and developed a thing about superstitious peasantry.
* ''EmilyOfNewMoon'' has very pale skin (to the point that, especially when she's a child, most people who meet her assume she's delicate and will likely die of tuberculosis) and black hair. It contributes to most people seeing her as a borderline CreepyChild.
* While SnowWhite in the original fairy tale is far too nice to be this, her colouring has inspired several writers to [[{{Grimmification}} depict her as a vampire]], for example TanithLee in ''Red as Blood'' and NeilGaiman in ''Snow, Glass, Apples''.
[[/folder]]

* The Crown of Thorns from ''[[http://thelonelywinds.com/library.php The Lonely Winds]]'' is a pretty formulaic example of this trope.

-->-- ''[[AuthorAppeal A trope by]] TimBurton, [[ProductionPosse starring]] HelenaBonhamCarter.''

Counterpart to the DarkSkinnedRedhead and the DarkSkinnedBlonde. Very common among [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]]. Often, these people [[LooksLikeCesare Look Like Cesare]]. Compare TallDarkAndBishoujo, BlackAndWhiteBeauty, and StringyHairedGhostGirl. Also see ButNotTooWhite. Not to be confused with UndeathlyPallor.

** Vanessa, [[spoiler:Ursula's human form]] in TheLittleMermaid, certainly qualifies.

* Sunako from ''TheWallflower'', as pictured above. The boys in charge of making her into a lady initially mistake her for [[TheRing Sadako]] thanks to the general aura of creepy she constantly emanates.

** Actually, it is said several times in the books that Bellatrix has dark skin, even after her imprisonment. In the films however, she's quite pale.
*** That's not what "dark" means in Britain--"dark" just means dark hair, not necessarily skin-tone.

** Nearly all the Homunculi are like this also, except Gluttony, who hardly looks human at all, but at least has some color, and [[AdaptationDecay Wrath/Pride]], who is also rather well-tanned, but his body was created to age like a human being, and reacting to natural light might be a side effect. Actually makes sense, as the other homonculi would "heal" the tan away.

[[caption-width-right:300:She's creepy, gothic, ''and'' [[VillainProtagonist a villain]].]]

-->"''Hair black like night, skin [[SnowWhite white as snow]]...''"\\
-- ''[[AuthorAppeal A trope by]] TimBurton, [[ProductionPosse starring Helena Bonham Carter.]]''

Sometimes [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by VictorianNovelDisease, which practically codified the trope, hence its popularity in {{Goth}}ic fiction.

[[folder:{{Anime}} and Manga]]

[[folder:{{Comic Books}}]]

[[folder:{{Fairy Tales}} and {{Folklore}}]]

-->Mirror, mirror, on the wall,\\

[[folder:{{Film}}]]
* Any film by [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000318/ Tim Burton.]] It's practically guaranteed to have at least one, and it'll probably be Johnny Depp.

** [[{{Batman}} Batman Returns]]: Penguin counts as this played straight. He's as pale as it gets.

* Esther Coleman from ''Film/Orphan}}''.

** Heck, ''every character'' in the film could fit this trope. Possibly intentional? The four main girls were particularly creepy whenever they stood in a row and just stared someone down. This troper thought they were creepier than the ghost!

--> '''Vincent Talbot:''' I must apologize for my behavior in the office, it's just that your appearance was a bit of a shock to me.
--> '''Elvira:''' It's OK. My appearance is kind of a shock to everybody.

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]
* The [[TheChroniclesOfNarnia White Witch]] is this trope taken UpToEleven. She has jet-black hair and pure white--yes, LITERALLY white--skin.

* While [[HarryPotter Bellatrix Lestrange's]] skin tone is never mentioned, she fits the "brunette" and "unhealthy" (thanks to her stay in Azkaban) parts of the trope. In the film she's played by Helena Bonham Carter (see above). Actually, this trope is played with quite a bit in ''Harry Potter'', with four inter-related characters having The Look. Tom Riddle (AKA Lord Voldemort) starts off having black hair and pale skin, before being [[HellishPupils changed by evil]]. Sirius Black has the same dark hair and prison-enhanced paleness as Bellatrix, his cousin. This superficial resemblance points out the initial similarities between Harry and Voldemort, Sirius and Bellatrix, while at the same emphasizing their essential differences and democratizing the EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette look by giving it to the hero's father figure, the bad guy, and the bad guy's best deputy.

* RealPersonFic versions of [[TheBeatles Paul [=McCartney=]]] often fall under this trope.
* Tom Flood from ''BloodsuckingFiends''. Incidentally, the freckled [[HeroesWantRedheads redhead]] is an actual vampire [[spoiler: at least for the first book.]]
* ''TheWheelOfTime'''s Lanfear, disguised as the breathtakingly hot Selene (though her genuine appearance is not very different), is one of these. No one (except the entire readership) realized she was evil at first, though.

* [[HeroicBastard Jon Snow]] from ''ASongOfIceAndFire''. Ironically, he's one of the most noble and heroic characters in the series.

* Used in ''Rebecca'', in which the titular character is often described as being incredibly beautiful with pale skin and dark hair. [[spoiler: Then she turns out to be extraordinarily slutty, spiteful, cruel, and manipulative (far from the angelic image she's remembered as), so she also fits into the evil dark hair pale skin group.]]

* Juliet Salazar from Mike Carey's FelixCastor series, who has black hair, "black-on-black" eyes, and pure white skin: "the undiluted white of snow or bone rather than the muddy pink-beige mix that passes for white according to normal labelling conventions." [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in her case, as she's a demon from Hell whose body isn't, technically speaking, an actual body. And in something of a subversion, she's not necessarily an ''evil'' demon from Hell. When she chooses not to be.

[[folder:{{Live Action TV}}]]

* Star Trek:
** Lt. Cmdr. Data in ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' was [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot designed to be this]] on purpose to keep him on the left side of the UncannyValley. Amusingly, some aliens think he's just a weird-looking human. [[ShoutOut In homage]] to Kirk's "rice-picker" in The Original Series and [[BlatantLies Blatant Lie]] regarding Spock in ''StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'', they tell some past humans in "Time's Arrow" that he's "South American".

** Also, Deanna Troi

* Willow in'' BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' at the end of season 6. Justified in that [[spoiler: by that point she's become completely taken over by grief, revenge lust, and her magic addiction. She gets better.]]

* ''PowerRangersRPM'' does this to the season's mentor figure Dr. K. It's justified as she was kidnapped at a young age by government agents and raised in a think tank, being told that she had been allergic to sunlight. It shows.

[[folder:{{Tabletop Games}}]]

[[folder:{{Theatre}}]]

[[folder:{{Video Games}}]]
* Bastila from ''Star Wars: KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. [[spoiler: Her physical appearance definitely works when she joins the DarkSide.]]
** Likewise, Miranda Lawson from ''MassEffect2'', another Bioware game.
** As well as Morrigan from ''DragonAge''. Bioware seems to have a thing for this trope.

** Noticeably, Karla of ''FireEmblem'' 7 is the only (female) ally with black hair in the entire game. Mind, this is a series with a ''tradition'' of having at least ''thirty-odd characters'' on the allies' side alone, and they are all very pale. Upon supporting, her personality is revealed to be an equal mix of CloudCuckooLander and LadyOfWar. Strangely for female characters in this trope, she is an undefeated fighter known as the Princess of Swords as wel as TheRival to [[BoisterousBruiser Bartre]] [[HotBlooded the Fighter]], and there are absolutely no allusions to her being sickly or weak [[spoiler: though she ''does'' die of an illness years after the game ends]]. In the previous game, her daughter Fir continues the trait of having dark hair along with a few others--though, for some strange reason Fir's hair is ''purple''.
** [=FE7=]'s Morphs, artificial humans made by the [[BigBad Big Bad]] also fall under this.

* ''FinalFantasyVII's'' Vincent Valentine fits this trope quite well, although more in the AntiHero sense. This doesn't stop people from thinking of him as TheVamp, though....

* Vanitas from ''KingdomHearts'', once you finally see his face. [[spoiler: He looks like a pale Sora with darker hair and EyesOfGold, due to their mutual connection with Ventus.]]

[[folder:WebComics]]
* This is part of the basic vampire template in ''HannaIsNotABoysName'', along with RedEyesTakeWarning. (Except for [[AmbiguouslyBrown Casimiro]].) None of the ''specific'' vampires we've met are actually all that eerie, though. Well, maybe [[TheQuietOne Finas]].

[[folder:WebOriginal]]

[[folder:{{Western Animation}}]]

** Vanessa, [[spoiler: Ursula's human form]] in TheLittleMermaid, certainly qualifies.

* Shego from ''KimPossible'' was designed with this in mind. Her green highlights make her seem poisonous. Oddly, (given the suggestion above) she's often seen on a beach, or a tanning bed, with no apparent effects; maybe she wants to differentiate herself from her heroic brothers who follow a similar scheme.

[[folder:RealLife]]

* Lelouch from CodeGeass.
* Death the Kid from SoulEater. He's a nice enough, if eccentric chap, but he ''does'' have [[SkunkStripe black-and-white]] hair, slightly creepy yellow eyes, and comes across as more eerie than is the norm even for this series when he fights 'properly' or talks about gods, life and death. And that's before you factor in his [[BrainwashedAndCrazy temporary]] insanity.

* Lt. Cmdr. Data in ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' was [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot designed to be this]] on purpose to keep him on the left side of the UncannyValley. Amusingly, some aliens think he's just a weird-looking human. [[ShoutOut In homage]] to Kirk's "rice-picker" in The Original Series and [[BlatantLies Blatant Lie]] regarding Spock in ''StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'', they tell some past humans in "Time's Arrow" that he's "South American".
** In at least one holodeck episode, he passes himself off as an albino human.

** Also, Deanna Troi.

* Death the Kid from [[Soul Eater]]. He's a nice enough, if eccentric chap, but he ''does'' have [[SkunkStripe black-and-white]] hair, slightly creepy yellow eyes, and comes across as more eerie than is the norm even for this series when he fights 'properly' or talks about gods, life and death. And that's before you factor in his [[BrainwashedAndCrazy temporary]] insanity.

This is somewhat ironic, as OnceUponATime pale skin symbolized wealth and education, as the privileged could afford to work indoors rather than in the fields. (Also it's very easy to tell if a pale person is sick; with a 'healthy tan', one can hide it more easily.) Nowadays this is not uncommon in RealLife.

Counterpart to the DarkSkinnedRedhead and the DarkSkinnedBlonde. Very common among [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]]. Often, these people [[LooksLikeCesare Look Like Cesare]]. Compare TallDarkAndBishoujo and StringyHairedGhostGirl. Also see ButNotTooWhite. Not to be confused with UndeathlyPallor.

[[TheAddamsFamily Morticia Addams]] fits the physical description, but is a very nice person. She just has some unusual hobbies and a slightly odd outlook on life. Same thing with her husband and daughter.

* Goth lab rat Abby from {{NCIS}}. Although Pauley Perrette's hair is naturally blonde, so one could assume that Abby probably dyes her hair too.

* ''{{Bayonetta}}''. That is all.

* ''PowerRangersRPM'' does this to the season's mentor figure Dr. K. It's justified as she was kidnapped at a young age by government agents and raised in a think tank, being told that she had been allergic to sunlight. It shows.
* ElviraMistressOfTheDark fits this trope to a tee, though she [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this quite a few times.
--> '''Vincent Talbot:''' I must apologize for my behavior in the office, it's just that your appearance was a bit of a shock to me.
'''Elvira:''' It's OK. My appearance is kind of a shock to everybody.

* ElviraMistressOfTheDark fits this trope to a tee.

->"''Hair black like night, skin [[SnowWhite white as snow]]...''"\\
-- ''[[AuthorAppeal A trope by]] TimBurton, [[ProductionPosse starring Helena Bonham Carter.]]''

* Precia Testarossa of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', an EvilMatriarch of a BigBad with an IncurableCoughOfDeath.

* Re-l Mayer from ''ErgoProxy'', whose pure white skin, pitch black hair and liberal amounts of blue eyeshadow make her rather... striking.
* Fiore from ''ChronoCrusade'', an [[spoiler:[[CameBackWrong undead]]]] {{meido}} who works for the villains.

* ''SnowWhite'': back in the day, unnatural paleness was the epitome of feminine beauty, since tanned skin was associated with commoners who worked outside all day. Hell, dying of tuberculosis was considered to add to women's attractiveness by causing paleness and [[DistressedDamsel fainting spells]]. The paleness=corpse=unnatural association isn't any older [[NewerThanTheyThink than the twentieth century]].

* Sadako/Samara from ''{{The Ring}}''.

* Esther Coleman from ''[[{{Film/Orphan}} Orphan.]]''

* [[HeroicBastard Jon Snow]] from ''ASongOfIceAndFire''. Ironically, he's one of the most noble and heroic characters in the series.

* Used in ''Rebecca'', in which the titular character is often described as being incredibly beautiful with pale skin and dark hair. [[spoiler:Then she turns out to be extraordinarily slutty, spiteful, cruel, and manipulative (far from the angelic image she's remembered as), so she also fits into the evil dark hair pale skin group.]]

* Emily Prentiss from ''{{Criminal Minds}}''.

** Noticeably, Karla of ''FireEmblem'' 7 is the only (female) ally with black hair in the entire game. Mind, this is a series with a ''tradition'' of having at least ''thirty-odd characters'' on the allies' side alone, and they are all very pale. Upon supporting, her personality is revealed to be an equal mix of CloudCuckooLander and LadyOfWar. Strangely for female characters in this trope, she is an undefeated fighter known as the Princess of Swords as wel as TheRival to [[BoisterousBruiser Bartre]] [[HotBlooded the Fighter]], and there are absolutely no allusions to her being sickly or weak [[spoiler:though she ''does'' die of an illness years after the game ends.]] In the previous game, her daughter Fir continues the trait of having dark hair along with a few others--though, for some strange reason Fir's hair is ''purple.''

* The ''{{Suikoden}}'' series has a rather memorable example in [[SuikodenV the fifth numbered sequel]]. Zerase is altogether too happy to [[DeadpanSnarker deride the hero]] for his quote-unquote "idiocy" while [[SinkOrSwimMentor deliberately withholding useful information]]. For extra tropaliciousness, her pale skin is even [[LampshadeHanging commented on]] in a hidden FuroScene, which implies that she [[spoiler: may or may not be undead, per the page heading]].

* The evil, [[{{Split Personality}} schizophrenic]] and [[{{The Scrappy}} annoying]] Tira in ''[[{{Soul Series}} Soul Calibur IV]]''.