History Main / FakeKillScare

* Happens in the opener to an episode of ''Series/{{CSINY}}''. A girl is standing in the street, begging her bitter ex-boyfriend not to drop her little dog over the balcony with the rest of her stuff. He drops the dog, the girl screams, her companion's pants are splattered with blood... and then it's revealed she caught the dog safely and the blood is actually being sprayed by a passing salt truck.

* Another ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' DarkFic, ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/3707815/chapters/8206571 Crescendo]]'', involves [[spoiler:EnfantTerrible BigBad Masaki]] taunting [[TheHeroine Korra]] by telling her that [[spoiler:she's doomed [[TeamNormal Asami]] by stopping to save an innocent,]] and going into considerable gory detail with his description of slowly killing her. [[spoiler:This later proves to be a ThanatosGambit: Asami was still alive, if badly injured; and Masaki was trying to manipulate Korra into killing him, knowing that she'd be [[HeroicBSOD horribly traumatized by it]]. Which [[{{Irony}} would have failed]]...if he hadn't ''previously'' [[HoistByHisOwnPetard manipulated Korra]] into [[ImpaledPalm damaging her own hand]] badly enough that [[DeathByIrony it locked up while she was throttling him, preventing her from letting go in time]]]].

* In ''VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast'', [[BigBad Desann]] pretends to kill Jan Ors to trick Kyle Katarn into leading him to the Valley of the Jedi. In retrospect, this was a very, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge VERY]] [[OneManArmy bad idea]].
* [[BigBad Celia Fortner]] attempts one in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'', with the target being [[TheHero Soma Cruz.]] [[spoiler: Should our hero believe it's real, things [[GoneHorriblyWrong go wrong for her.]] [[RogueProtagonist Very,]] [[{{Dracula}} very]] [[EvilIsNotAToy wrong.]]]]

* In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3'', during the third chapter after finding two bodies already, the group stumbles across a blood-spattered Kokichi laying face-down on the ground, apparently dead, only for him to abruptly pop his head up and cheerily tell them that his death was a lie.

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[[folder:Visual Novels]

* PlayedForLaughs in episode 6 of ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}''. Kyousuke goes to Manami's house to help her family with some Halloween party preparations. However, when they go into the living room, they find her grandfather laying on top of the table cold and lifeless. In an understandably panicked state, they think he's really dead, since his body is cold and he has no pulse. [[spoiler: However, her grandmother goes into the room, then tells Kyousuke that he stayed in the store's refrigerator to get cold, and that his pulse has always been weak. She then tells him that if he doesn't stop his act, she's going to pull out his hairs one by one. The grandpa instantly revives.]]

* ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'' does this to [[TheHero Makoto]] early in the future arc by faking the death of [[spoiler: Aoi Asahina]]. As this has been billed as the end of a saga, and since this IS ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'', everyone actually believed it when it first happened. It turns out that the "victim" was actually just splattered with tomato sauce and stabbed with a toy knife by a third party, none other than [[spoiler:Monaca Towa.]]

* ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'' does this to [[TheHero Makoto]] early in the future arc by faking the death of [[spoiler: Aoi Asahina]]. As this has been billed as the end of a saga, and since this IS ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'', everyone actually believed it when it first happened. It turns out that the "victim" was actually just splattered with tomato sauce and stabbed with a toy knife by a third party, none other than [[spoiler:Monaca Towa.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Stoked}}'': When Reef and Lo catch on that their secret make-out spot is being filmed to the entire hotel, they recruit [[LoserMascotCostume Wipeout]] to fake an affair with Lo. Lo and Wipeout get "caught" by Reef, who "fights" Wipeout and tackles him off a cliff. Lo responds to the "death" of her boyfriend and "affair partner" by throwing herself off the cliff as well. When the others rush to the cliff to see the damage, they find all three of them smugly sitting on a scissor lift right off the edge of the cliff, and get called out for a massive invasion of privacy.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf "Bad Wolf"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice "The Magician's Apprentice"]] both have the Doctor ForcedToWatch as their companion (as well as Missy and the TARDIS in the latter example) are hit by what appears to be a DisintegratorRay, only to later learn that they were in fact merely teleported someplace else (respectively "a space station full of Daleks" and "hanging upside-down in front of Missy", so not exactly ''safe'', but ''alive'' at least).

* [[BigBad Celia Fortner]] attempts one in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]'', with the target being [[TheHero Soma Cruz.]] [[spoiler: Should our hero believe it's real, things [[GoneHorriblyWrong go wrong for her.]] [[RogueProtagonist Very,]] [[{{Dracula}} very]] [[EvilIsNotAToy wrong.]]]]

* In the ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'' episode "D'Preciation Day", King Dedede ends a particularly nasty {{Jerkass}} spree by tricking Kirby into eating several watermelon-shaped time bombs as a sick joke. The appalled Cappy Town citizens respond by tricking Dedede into thinking the prank actually killed Kirby, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone causing Dedede to recognize]] [[EveryoneHasStandards that he's gone too far]]. When Dedede finds out about the trick, he's genuinely overjoyed to see that Kirby is still alive.

* ''Manga/MobPsycho'': After Shou gets the rest of the Kageyama family to safety, he burns down their house and leaves behind fake bodies for Mob to discover. It sends his psychological trauma rating [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale off the scale]], as Shou wanted Mob as strong as possible when Claw attack. Mob only calms down when Dimple claims they're fake (which is true, but he was far from certain of).

* ''Manga/MobPsycho'': After Shou burns down the Kageyama house, Mob finds burning corpse he believes are his family, sending his psychological trauma rating [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale off the scale]]. Dimple points out the bodies are fake, and meant to draw Mob's powers out.