History Main / ParanormalMundaneItem

* Creator/RobertSheckley's "Fishing Season" centers around food items that look very similar to usual grocery products, but have some strange minor differences. They actually serve as a "bait" for humans, and those who eat them are sucked into another world.
* The portkeys in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' are seemingly meaningless pieces of trash, like an old boot. Deliberately averted with horcruxes, however: Harry asks if they could be anything, citing the portkeys, and Dumbledore replies that they ''could'' be, but any wizard vain or evil enough to make one, like Voldemort, would never lower themselves to put a piece of their soul in something easily mistaken for garbage. Petty criminals are known to engage in "Muggle-baiting", or deliberately enchanting mundane items to screw with Muggles.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/Warehouse13'' involves many items that may have been run-of-the-mill when they were first made, but because they were owned by historically important people they ended up obtaining paranormal powers (or maybe the historically important people became such ''because'' they have paranormal powers; the series is glad to leave either option in the air).
* The Objects in ''Series/TheLostRoom'' are perfectly ordinary-seeming items with bizarre and unintuitive powers, like a comb that can stop time, a canteen that causes everyone nearby except its holder to asphyxiate, and a pair of scissors that forcibly turns whatever they point at around any axis. They were originally entirely mundane items that were part of a man's luggage within the titular room when a mysterious Event transformed them, and they have since been disseminated around the world as people fought over them. The Objects are also indestructible, except when inside the Room itself.
* ''Series/FridayThe13thTheSeries'' revolves around the objects of a certain store that held paranormal properties (and some of them were quite modern-looking, like a radio), but all of them were a pretty vile PowerAtAPrice (as an example: a crucifix that allowed even people who knew nothing of spiritism to perform exorcisms, but had to be fed human blood (and that meant stabbing people dead with it)), a scalpel that would insta-heal whoever it was used on in an operation (but required it to be charged up by killing someone), a wheelchair that gave the capacity for AstralProjection to whoever used it, and the like.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': Ms. Grimes's reliquary (storage device for magical energy) is a bowling ball bag.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation:'' A decent number of artifacts contained by the Foundation bear some resemblance to some form of product intended to be sold to the public, to the detriment of anyone unfortunate enough to find one. In addition, there are a number of organizations of interest that specialize in the production and or sale of such artifacts.

* ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'': With the FBC being essentially Creator/{{Remedy|Entertainment}}'s version of the Wiki/SCPFoundation, this is to be expected. Altered Items are objects with strange effects and properties, such as duplicating mannequins and letters that teleport around a room. Objects of Power are similar, but can be bound to someone in order to grant them a paranormal power. Examples include the Floppy Disc (grants [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]]), the Safe (grants [[BarrierWarrior a powerful shield]]), and the Ashtray (creates [[MobileMaze a constantly shifting maze]] around itself which only the binder and those they grant permission can pass through). Background details mention that anything of cultural or personal significance can become an Altered Item or Object of Power; the Bureau uses only generic non-branded products for everything because anything with a recognizable brand is more likely to gain supernatural properties, especially in the EldritchLocation where they work. Also, it seems objects have to be at least a few decades old before they're considered significant enough in humanity's collective consciousness to be eligible for getting supernatural powers. The FBC has to make do with computers from the [=80s=], a pneumatic tube system for communication, and guns from World War I, because anything more modern than that tends to ''explode'' when it enters the Oldest House.

Such items can often be found in UrbanFantasy. They may be used by a BlueCollarWarlock, and are frequently sold in a LittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday. Often overlaps with MayContainEvil, in which case they may be a CursedItem; also compare SupernaturalPhone, HauntedTechnology and WhatDoYouMeanItsPhlebotinum.

-> ''"The exact process of how an Altered Item is born eludes us. We find them in the aftermath of Altered World Events. They take the form of everyday objects - ever-present in our lives, constantly evoked in the thoughts of millions of people. Now infused with unpredictable energies, they're altered. The supersititous would call them cursed."''
-->-- '''Dr. Casper Darling''', ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'', "Multimedia: Altered Items"

Such items can often be found in UrbanFantasy. They may be used by a BlueCollarWarlock, and are frequently sold in a LittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday. Often overlaps with MayContainEvil, in which case they may be a CursedItem; also compare HauntedTechnology and WhatDoYouMeanItsPhlebotinum.

* The portkeys in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' are seemingly meaningless pieces of trash, like an old boot. Deliberately averted with horcruxes, however: Harry asks if they could be anything, citing the portkeys, and Dumbledore replies that they ''could'' be, but any wizard vain or evil enough to make one, like Voldemort, would never lower themselves to put a piece of their soul in something easily mistaken for garbage.

* ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'': With the FBC being essentially Creator/{{Remedy|Entertainment}}'s version of the Wiki/SCPFoundation, this is to be expected. Altered Items are objects with strange effects and properties, such as duplicating mannequins and letters that teleport around a room. Objects of Power are similar, but can be bound to someone in order to grant them a paranormal power. Examples include the Floppy Disc (grants [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]]), the Safe (grants [[BarrierWarrior a powerful shield]]), and the Ashtray (creates [[MobileMaze a constantly shifting maze]] around itself which only the binder and those they grant permission can pass through). Background details mention that anything of cultural or personal significance can become an Altered Item or Object of Power; the Bureau uses only generic non-branded products for everything because anything with a recognizable brand is more likely to gain supernatural properties, especially in the EldritchLocation where they work.

* ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'': Being essentially a licensed version of ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', this is to be expected. "Awakened Items" are objects with strange effects and properties, such as duplicating mannequins and letters that teleport around a room. Related are Objects of Power, which can be bound by someone and grant them a paranormal power. Examples include the Floppy Disc (grants [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]]), the Safe (grants [[BarrierWarrior a powerful shield]]), and the Ash Tray (grants control over [[MobileMaze an infinite shifting maze]]). Background details mention that anything of cultural or personal significance can become an Awakened Item or Object of Power; the Bureau uses only {{Bland Name Product}}s for everything because anything with a recognizable brand is more likely to gain supernatural properties, especially in the EldritchLocation where they work.

* ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'': Being essentially a licensed version of ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', this is to be expected. "Awakened Items" are objects with strange effects and properties, such as duplicating mannequins and letters that teleport around a room. Related are Objects of Power, which can be bound by someone and grant them a paranormal power. Examples include the Floppy Disc (grants [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]]), the Safe (grants [[BarrierWarrior a powerful shield]]), and the Ash Tray (grants control over [[MobileMaze an infinite shifting maze]]). Background details mention that anything of cultural or personal significance can become an Awakened Item or Object of Power; the Bureau uses only {{Bland Name Product}}s for everything because anthing with a recognizable brand is more likely to gain supernatural properties, especially in the EldritchLocation where they work.

Such items can often be found in UrbanFantasy. They may be used by a BlueCollarWarlock, and are frequently sold in a LittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday. Often overlaps with MayContainEvil, in which case they may be a CursedItem; also compare HauntedTechnology.

** Marshal, Carter, and Dark is a black market club that seeks out such items to sell to its clientele. They take great care that their products do not harm their owners, but the same can't be said for [[PoweredByAForsakenChild what the artifacts may require in order to function.]]

Such items can often be found in UrbanFantasy. They may be used by a BlueCollarWarlock, and are frequently sold in a LittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday. Often overlaps with MayContainEvil; also compare HauntedTechnology.

Items with mystical properties are commonly assumed to look antiquated, bearing associations with ancient civilizations, the Middle Ages or some other time period no later than late [[TheEdwardianEra19th-early 20th century]]. Common examples are magical staffs, manuscripts, mirrors, potions, etc. This trope instead is about paranormal items that look like they were bought in a shop nearby. They are usually labeled with either an unfamiliar trademark or a familiar trademark with a strangely altered label. For example, it may be a chocolate bar which would transform you into a monster if you eat it or a video game cartridge that would teleport you into the game's realm as soon as you put it into your console.

When one speaks of items with mystical properties, it is commonly assumed that they look antiquated enough, bearing associations with either ancient civilizations, the Middle Ages or some other time period no later than late 19-early 20 century (like magical staffs, manuscripts, mirrors, potions, etc.). This trope, instead, is about paranormal items that look like they were bought in a shop nearby. They would usually be labeled with either an unfamiliar trademark or a familiar trademark with a strangely altered label. For example, it may be a chocolate bar which would transform you into a monster if you eat it or a video game cartridge that would teleport you into the game's realm as soon as you put it into your console.

Such items can often be found in UrbanFantasy, may be used by a BlueCollarWarlock, and are frequently sold in a LittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday. Often overlaps with MayContainEvil; also compare HauntedTechnology.

* In ''Series/TwinPeaks The Return'', Freddy Sykes buys a gardening glove at a hardware store at the behest of The Fireman, a mystical being from AnotherDimension. The glove becomes fused to his hand and gives him the power to deliver [[MegatonPunch MegatonPunches]] with it.

* ''Series/FridayThe13thTheSeries'' revolves around the objects of a certain store that held paranormal properties (and some of them were quite modern-looking, like a radio), but all of them were a pretty vile PowerAtAPrice (as an example: a crucifix that allowed even people who knew nothing of spiritism to perform exorcisms, but had to be fed human blood (and that meant stabbing people dead with it)).

** "The Console" is about a [[ShoddyKnockoff knockoff]] portal gaming system that [[TheMostDangerousVideoGame turns Elmore into]] [[RPGEpisode an RPG]]. In the same episode, the store also sold a bag of fertilizer that turned [[PlantPerson Leslie]] into a giant ManEatingPlant, and a cellphone that [[UnwillingRoboticisation forcibly turned Penny into a violent cyborg]].

When one speaks of items with mystical properties, it is commonly assumed that they look antiquated enough, bearing associations with either ancient civilizations, the Middle Ages or some other time period no later than late XIX-early XX century (like magical staffs, manuscripts, mirrors, potions, etc.). This trope, instead, is about paranormal items that look like they were bought in a shop nearby. They would usually be labeled with either an unfamiliar trademark or a familiar trademark with a strangely altered label. For example, it may be a chocolate bar which would transform you into a monster if you eat it or a video game cartridge that would teleport you into the game's realm as soon as you put it into your console.