History Main / GhostlyGlide

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonAndDragons'': Edition 3.5 has the Elocator [[PsychicPowers psionic]] PrestigeClass. The first power gained is "scorn earth", the ability to float and move a foot above the ground. Used for practical purposes rather than creepiness, though.

[[caption-width-right:328:[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Example to run away from really fast]]]]

GhostlyGlide is when a character gets around by less than ambulatory means. The trope is usually invoked in one of two ways. Sometimes, fluid movement gives a character the appearance of floating, meant to highlight the character's grace and beauty. More often, however, it creates an unsettling effect. In most cases, the floating is clearly a sign of supernatural influence.

Compare PowerFloats, which is when the floating is done as a show of power, rather than to disquiet, though the two can overlap. A good rule of thumb is if it looks like the director put the character on a skateboard and then pulled the character across the screen, that's a GhostlyGlide. If a menacing character hangs in midair, that's PowerFloats. Can be paired with MarionetteMotion if the character in question is under the control of others.

!!Examples

[[AC:{{Anime}}]]
* TheSlayers: Copy Rezo begins exhibiting eerie symptoms, including this trope. Later melds with PowerFloats when its revealed he merged himself with Zanaffar's spirit.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* ''Film/DeathBecomesHer'': [[NunsAreSpooky Creepy nuns]] float down the hallway past Bruce Willis leading to the morgue.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': The Gentlemen in the episode "Hush" hovered inches off the ground rather than walking, adding to their creepiness.
* ''Series/{{Wilfred}}'': Parodied in the episode 'Respect', wherein Wilfred glides around the room as a dark messianic character, choosing which old people to die. ItMakesSenseInContext
* ''{{Babylon 5}}'': [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens Kosh (and other Vorlons]] in contact with younger races) wore an "encounter suit" to conceal his true form, and moved in a silent, gliding motion. He ''could'' have moved pretty much any way he wanted to in his true form (even through bulkheads), but chose to present himself in this way. He could seem to suddenly appear to a character due to this silent movement--not necessarily to scare but to make a dramatic impression.

[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling]]

* DustinRhoades floated to the ring via invisible wires in his one and only appearance as "Seven" in {{WCW}}, after which he cut a WorkedShoot promo berating the gimmick. A rare "visible feet" occurrence of the trope in a live action setting.

[[AC:TabletopGames}]]
* ''Warhammer 40k'': Necron Monoliths, like most other Necron vehicles, hover as a means of movement. Unlike most other vehicles, however, the Monolith's slow, ponderous approach is infinitely more eerie and menacing.

[[AC:VideoGames]]

* The Happy Mask Salesman from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' never walks anywhere. He usually "cuts" from frame-to-frame to different locations, though at one point he turns around to face the camera by slowly rotating on the spot.....

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* Done during a ImagineSpot in ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' when the librarian tells the kids that the "Scare Your Pants Off" books (a expy of the then popular ''{{Goosebumps}}'' series) has been taken off the shelves. The kids understandably freak out and we cut to the librarian shushing them then the camera pulls back to reveal she has no legs and guilds back into the library.
* Marceline on occasion in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' though she usually [[PowerFloats floating a majority of the time.]]

[[AC:RealLife]]

Compare PowerFloats, which is when the floating is done as a show of power, rather than to disquiet, though the two can overlap. A good rule of thumb is if it looks like the director put the character on a skateboard and then pulled the character across the screen, that's a GhostlyGlide. If a menacing character hangs in midair, that's PowerFloats. Can be paired with MarionetteMotion if the character in questionis under the control of others.

* Happened to [[OurBansheesAreLouder Lydia]] in the ''TeenWolf'' episode "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" during one of her psychic fugue states.

* ''DeathBecomesHer'': [[NunsAreSpooky Creepy nuns]] float down the hallway past Bruce Willis leading to the morgue.
* ''{{Nosferatu}}'': Count Orlock rises slowly and mystically from his coffin without any visible means of doing so.
* In ''{{Dracula Dead and Loving It}}'', Dracula's wives do this. Both lampshaded and subverted when he tells them to knock it off, and the women stomp off instead.

* ''{{Carnivale}}'': During one of Brother Justin's visions, the ghosts of children float into, then out of, view.

[[quoteright:328:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/apparition-creepy-dead-death-dress-eerie-female-figure-floating-forest-fright_6619.jpg]]

* ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'': A very subtle example. The Maitlands actually do glide while wearing sheets and "pretending" to be ghosts. However, when Lydia begins taking pictures of them, they begin to show more normal signs of movement.
** A more direct example comes at the climax when Lydia, suddenly garbed in her red wedding dress, slieds effortlessly to Bettlejuice's side. Though this is not of her own accord.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* The page quote from NunsAreSpooky:
-->"They have the skirts too of course, so many skirts and veils that you could never hear or see their feet. "Hover Nuns" we used to call them. [...] They're damn spooky."

* ''TwilightPrincess'': The Death Sword hovers in the air until it crashes down on you. Then floats back up and heads slowly for you. Only when you use the wolf's senses [[spoiler:do you see the robed ghost holding it up]].

* {{Carnivale}}: During one of Brother Justin's visions, the ghosts of children float into, then out of, view.

* ''Series/{{Wilfred}}: Parodied in the episode 'Respect', wherein Wilfred glides around the room as a dark messianic character, choosing which old people to die. ItMakesSenseInContext

* DeathBecomesHer: [[NunsAreSpooky Creepy nuns]] float down the hallway past Bruce Willis leading to the morgue.
* Nosferatu: Count Orlock rises slowly and mystically from his coffin without any visible means of doing so.
* In {{Dracula Dead and Loving It}}, Dracula's wives do this. Both lampshaded and subverted when he tells them to knock it off, and the women stomp off instead.
* Film/{{Beetlejuice}}: A very subtle example. The Maitlands actually do glide while wearing sheets and "pretending" to be ghosts. However, when Lydia begins taking pictures of them, they begin to show more normal signs of movement.

* The page quote from NunsAreSpooky

* Warhammer 40k: Necron Monoliths, like most other Necron vehicles, hover as a means of movement. Unlike most other vehicles, however, the Monolith's slow, ponderous approach is infinitely more eerie and menacing.

* TwilightPrincess: The Death Sword hovers in the air until it crashes down on you. Then floats back up and heads slowly for you. Only when you use the wolf's senses [[spoiler:do you see the robed ghost holding it up]].

* WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers: The sinister cadre known as The Silent Partners are shown not only gliding smoothly from place to place, but also have the habit of entering or leaving a room by levitating out of/ in to the floor.

* {{Beetlejuice}}: A very subtle example. The Maitlands actually do glide while wearing sheets and "pretending" to be ghosts. However, when Lydia begins taking pictures of them, they begin to show more normal signs of movement.

* BuffyTheVampireSlayer: The Gentlemen in the episode "Hush" hovered inches off the ground rather than walking, adding to their creepiness.

[[AC:{{Live-Action TV}}]]

[[AC: {{Professional Wrestling}}]]

[[AC:{{Real Life}}]]

[[AC:{{Tabletop Games}}]]

[[AC:{{Video Games}}]]

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]
* TheVentureBrothers: The sinister cadre known as The Silent Partners are shown not only gliding smoothly from place to place, but also have the habit of entering or leaving a room by levitating out of/ in to the floor.

* TheVentureBrothers: The sinister cadre known as The Silent Partners are shown not only gliding smoothly from place to place, but also have the habit of entering or leaving a room by levitating out of/ in to the floor.

* ''{{Babylon 5}}'', [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens Kosh (and other Vorlons]] in contact with younger races) wore an "encounter suit" to conceal his true form, and moved in a silent, gliding motion. He ''could'' have moved pretty much any way he wanted to in his true form (even through bulkheads), but chose to present himself in this way. He could seem to suddenly appear to a character due to this silent movement--not necessarily to scare but to make a dramatic impression.

Compare PowerFloats, which is when the floating is done as a show of power, rather than to disquiet, though the two can overlap. A good rule of thumb is if it looks like the director put the character on a skateboard and then pulled the character across the screen, that's a GhostlyGlide. If a menacing character hangs in midair, that's PowerFloats.

[[caption-width-right:328:[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Esamples to run away from really fast]]

[[quoteright:350:http://bethtrissel.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/apparition-creepy-dead-death-dress-eerie-female-figure-floating-forest-fright.jpg]]