History Main / LieToTheBeholder

* The apparently shapeshifting Geltmenschen in ''ComicBook/{{Uber}}'' actually create illusions in their observers' minds that cause them to be seen as a different person - they can be detected by photography, which can't be fooled.

* ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'': In the segment "Time Out", the extremely bigoted Bill Connor appears as a Jew in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Nazi-occupied France]], a black man to the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan in the [[TheFifties 1950s]] DeepSouth and as a member of the Viet Cong Army to American soldiers during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. He protests that he's not Jewish, white and an American respectively but to no avail.

** Done by Thomas to allow Harry to avoid TheFairFolk for awhile.

* ''The Talismans of Literature/{{Shannara}}'' features the Mirrorshroud, a cloak which makes the wearer appear to be someone the beholder trusts when worn.

* In ''Series/DeadLikeMe'', the reapers look different to their true form to living people. We see "[=UnGeorge=]" in scenes through a living person's perspective.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Zorua and Zoroark have the "Illusion" ability, which makes them appear as another pokemon (to the opponent) when sent out. Successfully hitting them dispels it.

* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': This type of disguise is prohibitively complicated with the FunctionalMagic of Pymary, because every contour and colour needs to be painstakingly mapped out; most spellwrights use "perceptive glamours" instead for a quick-and-dirty AppearanceIsInTheEyeOfTheBeholder effect. However, the AgentPeacock Bastion has a MagicalAccessory that generates illusory clothes, because his teleportation spell doesn't work on his wardrobe.

* Happened a few times during the ''Webcomic/CrossoverWars'': during the Forum Wars the Evil Overlord forces attacked the Wotch forum disguised as members of the [[Webcomic/ElGoonishShive EGS]] & [[Webcomic/CollegeRoomiesFromHell CRFH]] forums; during the Adult Wars Terry Dix cast a spell to make her and Miss Violence appear to be EOU droids and later convince the droids that M.Organ was Deception of the EOU.

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', where Lelouch geasses [[spoiler: Guilford]] into seeing and hearing Lelouch as [[spoiler: Cornelia.]]

* King Arthur of ''Anime/NobunagaTheFool'' appears in different forms to best brainwash whoever sees his "true" face: a mighty conqueror to Alexander, a beautiful woman to Caesar, and so on. Nobunaga and da Vinci are stated to be the only people to perceive his true form, [[spoiler: a decrepit old man]].

* In the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse novel ''Literature/TheCrystalStar'', Luke Skywalker uses the Force to make everyone other than Han Solo see him as a generic stranger. When he realizes that the titular Star interferes with his Force powers, he comes to wish he'd followed Han's example and used a regular disguise.

* This is played with in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' where a spell is cast worldwide that makes everyone look and sound different, but only four people are immune (and notice the difference)[[spoiler:This turns out to only be 3, as the "Russian Mage" turns out to be an angel who caused the whole thing to happen when she descended, body swapping in the process.]] This is really confusing for the audience, as [[spoiler: Touma has lost his memories,]] and this is also the first time we meet his parents, leaving us to be unsure whether it's a dream sequence or a massive hoax played on Touma by the rest of the characters.

* ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'':
** When Yukari Hirai suffers a RetGone, Shana steals her identity. Everybody except for those in on TheMasquerade perceive Shana as Yukari Hirai, though they get confused because Yukari was a ShrinkingViolet, while Shana is a {{Tsundere}}.

* The very special glamor spell used by The Charmed Ones in the early part of season 8 of ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' allowed everyone who knows them well enough to see them as they are (most notably the child who couldn't recognize his own mother anymore otherwise) but everyone else will see the glamor.

* Shows up a couple of times in ''Series/DoctorWho'', City of Death, End of Time, and most notably Vampires of Venice, where the "vampires" are actually fish aliens; they're disguised with a PerceptionFilter, which makes you ignore what you're seeing, instead of actual disguises. Your brain's doing the heavy lifting in making them appear human, hence the usual vampire GlamourFailure: they bare their teeth and your brain puts it in above the human face that it's also generating, hence fangs; your brain doesn't know what to add for the sides of them you're not seeing, so they appear to have no reflections.

** In the episode "Spectre of the Gun", aliens put Kirk and company into a simulation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. They, and the audience, still see each other normally in their Starfleet uniforms, but the other people in the simulated town react to them as though they were Ike Clanton and company.
** In "The Man Trap", the salt vampire could make itself appear to be a specific person to everyone looking at it. Because of his long experience with it, Professor Crater could always recognize it no matter what form it took.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "Tapestry", when Q brings Picard back to the time when he got into the fight that left him with an artificial heart, he sees himself normally, but everyone else sees him as the young man he was.

* An episode of ''Series/TheXFiles'' follows this trope when Mulder accidentally switches minds with an employee of Area 51. Mulder, due to his career in weirdness, is able to BS his way through the other man's life fairly well.

* The film ''Film/HereComesMisterJordan'' (and its remake ''Film/HeavenCanWait'' as well as the 2001 remake of the remake ''Film/DownToEarth2001'') is about a man who dies before his time and is sent back down to earth in the body of a recently deceased millionaire. To the audience, he looks like himself but to the characters, he looks like the aforementioned millionaire.

* The film ''Here Comes Mister Jordan'' (and its remake ''Film/HeavenCanWait'' as well as the 2001 remake of the remake ''Film/DownToEarth'') is about a man who dies before his time and is sent back down to earth in the body of a recently deceased millionaire. To the audience, he looks like himself but to the characters, he looks like the aforementioned millionaire.

* The disguise spells in the ''Literature/MythAdventures'' series appear to everyone but the caster. This can be inconvenient, as the caster can't know if the spell succeeded or not, and can forget to deactivate the spell afterward.

* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, the PlanetEater ComicBook/{{Galactus}} appears to any observer to be a gigantic member of the observer's own race. What his true appearance is like is unknown.

* In ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', Nightcrawler uses a kind of hologram field device to appear as a normal human being. It was pointed out in an episode where he had to wear gloves to the prom to prevent his date from catching on to the fact that he had two fuzzy fingers. He originally used one in the comics as well, but he mostly toyed with it to transform into famous movie stars or as a disguise. He stopped using it after a trip through space - mostly because FreakyIsCool. And because he felt it was contrary to the mutants-are-okay message.
* On ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice,'' [[spoiler:[[TheArcher Artemis]]]] infiltrates the villains with a new persona, courtesy of a magic necklace ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} supplied. The spell works on everyone but herself and the three others ([[spoiler:[[MissionControl Dick]], [[FragileSpeedster Wally]] and [[MakingASplash Kaldur]]]]) who are in on the plan. This possibly extends to [[spoiler:[[SuperpowerLottery M'gann]]]] later on when she accidentally discovers the truth.

* ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'': In the segment "Time Out", the extremely bigoted Bill Connor appears as a jew in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Nazi-occupied France]], a black man to the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan in the [[TheFifties 1950s]] DeepSouth and as a member of the Viet Cong Army to American soldiers during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. He protests that he's not Jewish, white and an American respectively but to no avail.

* In the canon ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' comics, it is revealed Dracula uses his hypnotic abilities to make people see him as his younger self, rather than his true form, which is that of a very old man.
* The apparently shapeshifting Geltmenschen in ''ComicBook/{{Uber}}'' actually create illusions in their observers' minds that cause them to be seen as a different person - they can be detected by photography, which can't be fooled.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
** Done by Thomas to allow Harry to avoid TheFairFolk for awhile.
** In the ''[[ADayInTheLimelight Backup]]'' novella, the villain hits Thomas with one of these, changing his appearance to match that of the man she'd told Harry had kidnapped her child.

* In ''Literature/RogueSorcerer'', Ankoku is constantly masking her appearance, to the point where we are told that nobody knows her true form.
* In ''[[Literature/SwordOfTruth Wizard's First Rule]]'', Richard is at one point subject to a spell that makes everyone see him as an enemy. To his enemies and himself, he looks and sounds normal, but to his friends, he appears as someone they hate.
* The disguise spells in the ''Literature/MythAdventures'' series appear to everyone but the caster. This can be inconvenient, as the caster can't know if the spell succeeded or not, and can forget to deactivate the spell afterward.

* ''The Talismans of Literature/{{Shannara}}'' features the Mirrorshroud, a cloak which makes the wearer appear to be someone the beholder trusts when worn
* In Fred Saberhagen's ''Literature/BooksOfSwords'', this is the main power of the sword Sightblinder. Its wielder appears as someone the viewer either loves or fears. The downside is that this makes it very hard for the wielder to be inconspicuous.

* In the ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series, when Dairine is taking a trio of extraterrestrial exchange students on a tour of the local mall, the [[PlantAliens walking Christmas tree]] and the [[InsectoidAliens giant centipede]] have to use a disguise spell (the third alien, a HumanAlien, needs no disguise). The tree's disguise spell temporarily fails when he's trying out a baseball cap in a changing room, leading to a very startled store clerk.

* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', this FunctionalMagic ability is known as the Mirror of Mists, and can also be modified for {{invisibility}}. It's not perfect: fast or abrupt movement exposes flashes of the person's actual appearance.
* A Slaaneshi sorceress tries to pull this on Literature/CiaphasCain ('''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM'''), along with the squad of Guardsmen he's with, appearing as Amberley to him. When the spell wears off, he shoots her with the PreMortemOneLiner "Impersonating an Inquisitor is a capital offense". Strangely, no one, [[FootnoteFever including Amberley,]] comments on this.

* In ''Literature/PathsOfDarkness'' drow wizard Rai-guy magically dons the guise of Cadderly Bonaduce to dupe Drizzt and his friends into not visiting the real one. Luckily, Rai-guy is a wizard-cleric hybrid so his disguise doesn't fall apart when the companions ask him to heal the injured Regis.

* In ''Series/QuantumLeap'', Sam Beckett takes on the "Aura" of the person he has leaped into. Several episodes, such as the one where Sam leaped into a monkey, confirmed Sam is actually leaping with his own body, and merely appearing as the host to those around him. Of course, just as many episodes demonstrate the opposite to be true.
** In one episode, Sam leaps into the body of a war vet who has lost both his legs. Al warns him not to try to get up. When Sam does get up at the end of the episode, the other person sees a guy with no legs floating in mid-air.
** Kids, animals, crazies, and psychics can see his true self.
* In ''Series/DeadLikeMe'', the reapers look different to their true form to living people. We see "[=UnGeorge=]" in scenes through a living person's perspective.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''
** In the episode "Spectre of the Gun", aliens put Kirk and company into a simulation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. They, and the audience, still see each other normally in their Starfleet uniforms, but the other people in the simulated town react to them as though they were Ike Clanton and company.
** In "The Man Trap", the salt vampire could make itself appear to be a specific person to everyone looking at it. Because of his long experience with it, Professor Crater could always recognize it no matter what form it took.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "Tapestry", when Q brings Picard back to the time when he got into the fight that left him with an artificial heart, he sees himself normally, but everyone else sees him as the young man he was.

* An episode of ''Series/TheXFiles'' follows this trope when Mulder accidentally switches minds with an employee of Area 51. Mulder, due to his career in weirdness, is able to BS his way through the other man's life fairly well.
* In one episode of ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'', a witch casts a spell to make another man appear to be Richard, and vice versa. He doesn't realize it until they start treating him weird.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** Reoul venom can do this. Daniel Jackson uses it to infiltrate a Goa'uld summit meeting at one point, masquerading as a System Lord's personal trusted slave. At one point he questions what happens if you use the venom on yourself. Selmak replies "I don't actually know, and that alone should scare you." However, he has to inject every person he wants to see him as someone else. This becomes a problem when Osiris shows up in the host body of his ex-girlfriend Sarah, immediately recognizing him. Osiris then confronts Daniel, allowing Daniel to inject the Goa'uld. Osiris then forgets why she arrived.
** This is reused a few seasons later by Mitchell when infiltrating the Lucian Alliance as Netan's trusted advisor. It works because no one but Netan really knows what the guy looks like, so Cam only has to inject him. Then Tenat shows up, who has met Cam before but thinks that Cam is a bounty hunter who's running a con on Netan. Cam injects Tenat and convinces him that he's Netan.
* In ''Series/{{Shadowhunters}}'', the Shadowhunters have a rune allowing them to take on the appearance of another person. It is first demonstrated in "Bad Blood," when Lydia Branwell arrives [[spoiler:in disguise as Valentine to test the Institute's reaction]]. Later, it plays a more significant role when [[spoiler:Jace's father "Michael Wayland" turns out to be Valentine in disguise]]. Clary used the same or a similar rune to disguise [[spoiler:an ordinary coffee mug as the Mortal Cup]].

* ''Series/TheFortyFourHundred'':
** In "Being Tom Baldwin", Boyd Gelder, a 17-year-old member of the Nova Group who disappeared in 2000, possesses the ability to fool people into thinking that he is another person using optical camouflage. He pretends to be Tom and [[FrameUp frames him for the murder]] of T.J. Kim, the only member of the Nova Group in NTAC custody.
** In "Terrible Swift Sword", Boyd infiltrates the US Army base where the promicin procured from Isabelle is stored by posing as Dennis Ryland. As such, he is able to steal all 17,432 units of Isabelle's pure promicin in the possession of the government.
** In "Fifty-Fifty", Boyd's ability is powerful enough to work on Isabelle as he fools her into thinking that he is Jordan Collier.

* In ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'', all changelings have been twisted and become inhuman, but normal humans instead see their ''mask'', a slightly altered human guise. The changeling, and other changelings (as well as the Fey), however, are all capable of seeing the changeling's true form. The "Rites of Spring" sourcebook has a segment that explains that the Mask actually covers all aspects of the Mien (true form), but it is weakest in disguising scent and taste.
* The "Familiar Stranger" power of ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'''s Obfuscate Discipline makes the target view the vampire as a person he knows or expects to see. What the target perceives is not communicated to the player. The example given has a Nosferatu use the power when entering someone's house; the owner's child sees his father, and the child's babysitter sees a man she assumes is the boy's father based on the available evidence.

* A spell that disguises Owyn as a moredhel in ''VideoGame/BetrayalAtKrondor'' works like this.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Zorua and Zoroark have the "Illusion" ability, which makes them appear as another pokemon (to the opponent) when sent out. Successfully hitting them dispels it.

* ''Webcomic/TrueVillains'': {{Exploited|Trope}} when the {{Alchem|yIsMagic}}ist Sebastian faces a deadly MasterOfIllusion and doses himself with a hallucinogen -- everything he's seeing looks comically distorted, but anything that looks normal is an illusion broadcast directly into his brain.

* An aspect of the Swap in ''FanFic/DividedRainbow''.

* In ''Series/QuantumLeap'', Sam Beckett takes on the "Aura" of the person he has leaped into. Several episodes, such as the one where Sam [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys leaped into a monkey]], confirmed Sam is actually leaping with his own body, and merely appearing as the host to those around him. Of course, just as many episodes demonstrate the opposite to be true.

A spell or other mysterious effect is placed on a character to make them look and sound like a completely different person, to select people. The user is usually unaffected, meaning that the character hears and sees his or her true form at the same time as he or she is deceiving others.

* The film ''Here Comes Mister Jordan'' (and its remake ''Film/HeavenCanWait'' as well as the 2001 remake of the remake ''Film/DownToEarth'') is about a man who dies before his time and is sent back down to earth in the body of a recently deceased millionaire. To the audience he looks like himself, but to the characters he looks like the aforementioned millionaire.

* Taraka from ''Webcomic/{{Kubera}}''. To Yuta she looks like his mother Kali. To everyone else she looks like a huge, vaguely humanoid EldritchAbomination.

* Used by [[LoveableRogue Jered]], [[StealthExpert Umbra]] and [[LizardFolk Mareki]] in ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'' to ambush a vampire by pretending to be orcs.

* ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'': In the segment "Time Out", the extremely bigoted Bill Connor appears as a jew in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Nazi-occupied France]], a black man to the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan in the [[TheFifties 1950s]] DeepSouth and as a member of the Viet Cong to American soldiers during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. He protests that he's not Jewish, white and an American respectively but to no avail.

* The film ''Film/HereComesMisterJordan'' (and its remake ''Film/HeavenCanWait'' as well as the 2001 remake of the remake ''Film/DownToEarth'') is about a man who dies before his time and is sent back down to earth in the body of a recently deceased millionaire. To the audience he looks like himself, but to the characters he looks like the aforementioned millionaire.

* ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'': In "Time Out", Bill Connor appears as a black man to the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan in the DeepSouth in the 1950s and as a member of the Viet Cong to American soldiers during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. He protests that he is white and an American respectively but to no avail.

* The film ''Here Comes Mister Jordan'' (and its remake ''Heaven Can Wait'' and the 2001 remake of the remake ''Down to Earth'') is about a man who dies before his time and is sent back down to earth in the body of a recently deceased millionaire. To the audience he looks like himself, but to the characters he looks like the aforementioned millionaire.

[[quoteright:200:[[VideoGame/HarryPotter https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laverne_de_montmorency_1.jpg]]]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* fortWhen a woman walked in on ComicBook/{{Morbius}} as he was [[InvoluntaryShapeshifter shifting from human to vampire form]], he used his hypnotic abilities to make her perceive him as perfectly normal.

* When a woman walked in on ComicBook/{{Morbius}} as he was [[InvoluntaryShapeshifter shifting from human to vampire form]], he used his hypnotic abilities to make her perceive him as perfectly normal.

* The very special glamor spell used by The Charmed Ones in the early part of season 8 of ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' allowed everyone who knows them well enough to see them as they are (most notably the child who couldn't recognize his own mother anymore otherwise) but everyone else will see the glamor.