History Main / HorrorStruck

This ends when he actually SEES the monster -- and finds that it is just as advertized, and worse. He sees the eerie, glowing intelligence in its eyes, smells the rotten meat on its breath, gets smacked around a bit, but survives, running back to safety to hide under the bed and refusing to come out because it's real ''it's real'' OH MY GOD ''IT'S REAL''... even though that's what everyone's been telling him up till now.

* Interestingly played with in ''Discworld/Pyramids''; the people of Djellibeybi believe deeply that the sun is pushed by a scarab beetle, the stars are painted on the body of the Goddess of the Night and so on. But you're not supposed to be able to actually ''see'' them, and when they do, the idea that all the things they've sincerely believed are actually ''true'' freaks them out.

* ''Film/SleepyHollow'', natch. Not so much in the original legend, since in that version a) Ichabod believes the story, and b) it was a hoax.

* ''ScoobyDoo'' has seesawed on this point in more recent adaptations, showing Freddy pulling on a mask to no effect, and everyone then running away in fear.
** Also, see [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCGGlQ_vKms the Scooby-Doo Project]], which is a parody of ''TheBlairWitchProject''

->''"On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless!..."''

* In ''Film/TheWolfman2010'', Lawrence is initially skeptical to being a werewolf and towards werewolves in general, until, you know, he actually '''become''' one. Played a little more straight with [[spoiler:Aberline]].

->''"On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless!..."''
-->-- ''TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' by '''Washington Irving'''

* In ''TheMothmanProphecies'', John Klein, a journalist, investigates a mothlike creature roaming in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The usual glowing eyes, mauled livestock, scratched tree bark reported from townsfolk and cops...[[spoiler:So those phone calls and dreamlike predictions coming from this so called Mothman? They're real. I know what's in that drawer. Chapstick.]]

* ''GraveEncounters'' features the crew of a ''GhostHunters''-style reality show, who are filming overnight in a mental hospital but express skepticism that any of the ghost stories about it are true. Of course, once they are in lockdown, shit gets real...

This ends when he actually SEES the monster -- and finds that it is just as advertised, and worse. He sees the eerie, glowing intelligence in its eyes, smells the rotten meat on its breath, gets smacked around a bit, but survives, running back to safety to hide under the bed and refusing to come out because it's real ''it's real'' OH MY GOD ''IT'S REAL''... even though that's what everyone's been telling him up till now.

->''"On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless!..."''

A character has been called to a small town to investigate some supernatural phenomenon. Our intrepid hero subscribes more to logic than superstition, though, and he is confident that the disturbance will prove to have mundane origins. The locals tell him tales of this horrible monster, and he laughs them off as the products of an overactive imagination. With this knowledge under his belt, he bravely sets out to catch the miscreant.

This ends when he actually SEES the monster -- and finds that it is just as advertised, and worse. He sees the eerie, glowing intelligence in its eyes, smells the rotten meat on its breath, gets smacked around a bit, but survives, running back to safety to hide under the bed and refusing to come out because it's real ''it's real'' OH MY GOD ''IT'S REAL''... even though that's what everyone's been telling him up till now.

Inspired by the protagonist of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and in particular Ichabod Crane's portrayal in Tim Burton's ''Film/SleepyHollow'', this state is what results when mundane presuppositions come crashing against the supernatural reality, and the character in question just can't handle it.

Differs from HeroicBSOD in that this is not necessarily a result of emotional trauma.

Related: GoingNative, ApocalypticLog, SupernaturalProofFather

[[AC: {{Film}}]]
* ''Film/SleepyHollow'', natch. Not so much in the original legend, since in that version a) Ichabod believes the story, and b) it was a hoax.

* In ''TheMothmanProphecies'', John Klein, a journalist, investigates a mothlike creature roaming in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The usual glowing eyes, mauled livestock, scratched tree bark reported from townsfolk and cops...[[spoiler:So those phone calls and dreamlike predictions coming from this so called Mothman? They're real. I know what's in that drawer. Chapstick.]]

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* The Creator/StephenKing short story and subsequent movie ''Literature/FourteenOhEight'' has several of these - moreso the movie, because there the protagonist has just about given up on the idea of genuine hauntings.
* Just about every Creator/HPLovecraft story.

[[AC: {{Theater}}]]
* Horatio, faced with the ghost of old ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''.

[[AC: {{Video Games}}]]
* While it's up to the player to decide precisely how to react, this is conveyed pretty well in ''VideoGame/{{Nethergate}}'' when you find out just what's living in the caves you're investigating. It's subverted later on, though--facing an assault by hordes of ghosts, you shrug it off through sheer force of {{Badass}}.

[[AC: WebOriginal]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* ''ScoobyDoo'' has seesawed on this point in more recent adaptations, showing Freddy pulling on a mask to no effect, and everyone then running away in fear.

----

* The Creator/StephenKing short story and subsequent movie ''[[FourteenOhEight 1408]]'' has several of these - moreso the movie, because there the protagonist has just about given up on the idea of genuine hauntings.

* In ''MyNameIsBruce'', Bruce Campbell follows this trope to the letter. His frenzied flight includes shooting at the men who came to help him slay the beast, stealing a bike from a little kid,and carjacking an old lady before he finally makes his cowardly escape from the town.

** There's a Scooby-Doo parody of this called [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCGGlQ_vKms the Scooby-Doo Project]], which has a similar premise

* While it's up to the player to decide precisely how to react, this is conveyed pretty well in ''{{Nethergate}}'' when you find out just what's living in the caves you're investigating. It's subverted later on, though--facing an assault by hordes of ghosts, you shrug it off through sheer {{Badass}}ness.

* ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm''.

* ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject''.

-->--''TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' by '''Washington Irving'''

Inspired by the protagonist of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and in particular Ichabod Crane's portrayal in Tim Burton's ''SleepyHollow'', this state is what results when mundane presuppositions come crashing against the supernatural reality, and the character in question just can't handle it.

* ''SleepyHollow'', natch. Not so much in the original legend, since in that version a) Ichabod believes the story, and b) it was a hoax.
* ''TheBlairWitchProject''.

->--''TheLegendOfSleepyHollow, '''Washington Irving'''''

* Present in quite a few works in TheSlenderManMythos: especially in later blogs, where people [[WrongGenreSavvy start assuming that Slendy's just an urban legend]], and his appearance in their lives is problematic. For particular examples, see SeekingTruth and EverymanHYBRID.

* The StephenKing short story and subsequent movie ''[[FourteenOhEight 1408]]'' has several of these - moreso the movie, because there the protagonist has just about given up on the idea of genuine hauntings.
* Just about every [[HPLovecraft Lovecraft]] story.

* Horatio, faced with the ghost of old ''{{Hamlet}}''.

----
<<|HorrorTropes|>>
<<|MadnessTropes|>>

* ''SleepyHollow'', natch. Not so much in the original legend, since in that version a) Ichabod believes the story, and it was a hoax.

* ''SleepyHollow'', natch. Not so much in the original legend, since in that version a) Ichabod believes the story, and [[AllJustADream b) it was a hoax.]] ([[OrIsIt Or Was It]]?) [[spoiler: It was.]]

* Present in quite a few works in TheSlenderManMythos: especially in later blogs, where people [[WrongGenreSavvy start assuming that Slendy's just an urban legend]], and his appearance in their lives is... [[{{Understatement}} problematic.]] For particular examples, see SeekingTruth and EverymanHYBRID.

-> ''"TheLegendOfSleepyHollow", '''Washington Irving'''''

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Monster sightings are tourist attractions and journalist scoops for a majority of small and not very well known towns. Do the journalists and tourists get attacked? You betcha. The HorrorStruck reaction usually comes right after the remark, "Oh, this is stupid, everyone knows there's no such thing as HOLY GOD SOMETHING JUST GRABBED MY LEG!"

* Monster sightings are tourist attractions and journalist scoops for a majority of small and not very well known towns. Do they get attacked? You betcha. The HorrorStruck reaction usually comes right after the remark, "Oh, this is stupid, everyone knows there's no such thing as HOLY GOD SOMETHING JUST GRABBED MY LEG!"

A character has been called to a small town to investigate some supernatural phenomenon. Our intrepid hero subscribes more to logic than superstition, though, and he is confident that the disturbance will prove to have mundane origins. The locals tell him tales of this horrible monster, and he laughs them off as the products of an overactive imagination. With this knowledge under his belt, he bravely set out to catch the miscreant.