History Main / ItsQuietTooQuiet

->''How could it be too quiet? It's your house, man. It doesn't get quieter before a missile shoots your house. I haven't had a missile shoot my house but I can't think of any reason why if a missile did shoot my house, why it would get quiet first. Do missiles kill all the birds or something? I don't get it.''
-->-- '''[[http://outlawvern.com Vern]]''', reviewing ''Film/TheTransporter''

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', [[WrenchWench Tali-Zorah nar Rayya]] points out that this trope is usually in effect InSpace: if the engines and/or life support aren't making noise, that means they ''aren't working''. The Normandy creeps her out - since it's a brand new stealth ship, there are almost no noises at all, and her instincts are insisting that she's in danger. In later games Tali notes that she actually missed the quiet and the Normandy in general, indicating she got over this fear.

* Volunteer medics like St John Ambulance personnel can testify to the injunction to "never use the Q-word" as it will ALWAYS guarantee a lot of work in casualties coming in. Especially if you've just made coffee. (Trust me - I know)

* In ''Left4Dead,'' an area is usually only clear of zombies after something has happened... or is ''about'' to happen.
** In ''Videogame/{{Left 4 Dead 2}}'s'' single player mode called "Last Man On Earth", you're the only survivor in the game. Not only does your survivor continually [[GoMadFromTheIsolation talk as if the other survivors are still there,]] they occasionally shout out something along the lines of "Hello?" or "Is anyone out there?".

* Most parents will tell you that if you hear no noise at all coming from a child's bedroom, they are usually up to no good.

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', [[WrenchWench Tali-Zorah nar Rayya]] points out that this trope is usually in effect InSpace: if the engines and/or life support aren't making noise, that means they ''aren't working''. The Normandy creeps her out - since it's a brand new ship, there are almost no noises at all, and her instincts are insisting that she's in danger.

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect'', [[WrenchWench Tali-Zorah nar Rayya]] points out that this trope is usually in effect InSpace: if the engines and/or life support aren't making noise, that means they ''aren't working''. The Normandy creeps her out - since it's a brand new ship, there are almost no noises at all, and her instincts are insisting that she's in danger.

* ''{{Supernatural}}''. Sam is going cold turkey after being hooked on demon blood. Then he suddenly stops screaming.
-->'''Dean:''' "You hear that?"

* In ''h.i.v.e.: the overlord protocol'', Nigel specifically tells Franz not to say this. After Nigel leaves, Franz says it anyway.
* In TamoraPierce's ''Trickster's Choice'', Aly notes that the jungle animals are all quiet...however, her sneakiness and the experience of the guards thwart the subsequent ambush.

* Used in the movie ''Zombie Nightmare'', featured on ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'', where it was parodied by Mike and the Bots:

** To elaborate, his clients at the time were [[BoisterousBruiser Klingons]]. When ''Klingons'' are quiet, you know something's up.

*** There is also a lack of "normal" Common Infected, making the game overall much quieter, but also giving the eerie feeling that something else is going on around here...

* In the remake of ''AssaultOnPrecinct132005'', one character remarks that it's "awful quiet out there", and Lawrence Fishburne replies that that's what worries him.

* Inverted in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: FireWarrior''; occasionally an Imperial Guardsman will say this phrase. You can [[HilarityEnsues take the cue to make things noisy.]]

* In MassEffect, [[WrenchWench Tali-Zorah nar Rayya]] points out that this trope is usually in effect InSpace: if the engines and/or life support aren't making noise, that means they ''aren't working''. The Normandy creeps her out - since it's a brand new ship, there are almost no noises at all, and her instincts are insisting that she's in danger.

* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Augie mentions this was what tipped him and Lars off to the fact that [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050727 something wasn't right in the area near Passholdt.]] [[NothingIsScarier There were no animals or birds''anywhere'', or nests, or droppings, or bones.]] When they reached Passholdt, they found it overrun by [[OurZombiesAreDifferent a savage form of revenants.]]

** In his stand up special ''Lock 'n Load'', Denis Leary mentioned how much he missed quiet in his house with 7 and 5 year old kids, and one day when he was reading the paper enjoying a rare dose of quiet, it suddenly hit him that he hadn't seen the kids in a while. Turns out one of them was defacing his truck, and the other was giving the dog a bath. In the toilet.

The StockPhrase itself is long since [[DiscreditedTrope discredited]] and made fun of so often it can now be considered a DeadHorseTrope. Exception is made if it is lampshaded by adding in a sign on WHAT is quiet. "Why have all the forest noises stopped?" Compare We're BeingWatched.

* Used as a device in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' and, to the lesser extent, in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''. When you travel cross-country, there is usually soft music in the background. When you enter dangerous area with enemies lurking about, thw music fades and there is a brief moment of silence before enemies engage you and the combat music starts playing. When player reacts quickly and plays a stealthy character this can nicely increase the suspense value of stalking the enemies.