History Main / ScaryJackInTheBox

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ComicBook/TheJoker freaks out [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Guy Gardner]] during a forced death-race using a jack-in-the-box (with his own face, naturally), causing Gardner to lose his concentration and de-materialize his [[GreenLanternRing energy-car]].

* [[MonsterClown Shaco]] in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' can put these on the map as traps. They even cause the Fear StatusEffect when sprung!

* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Maximillion Pegasus summons his Bickuribox, a [[TheHyena cackling]], [[MonsterClown vaguely clownlike]]/GrimReaper-ish monster jack-in-the-box, to deliver the deathblow to Seto Kaiba's Saggi the Dark Clown. Oh, did I mention that Bickuribox stores a big scythe in his [[HammerSpace mouth]]?

* ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'': Harry Potter's first encounter with a Boggart. Subverted in the fact that it wasn't supposed to be creepy. It was ''supposed'' to be the humorous thought to keep the boggart at bay. ''Why'' Pavarti found it ''funny'' is beyond most of the audience-- that thing was creepy!

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[[caption-width-right:300:"Free hugs!"]]

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* Done in ''Manga/{{Uzumaki}}'' as a part of its spiral motif. A StalkerWithACrush for the protagonist is likened to one because he keeps jumping out at her. He is later taunted by a sinister hallucination of his jack-in-the-box and attempts to prove his love by trying to stop a car with his body. When they check his grave his corpse comes to life and jumps after before its rotted legs break off and he starts bouncing with a suspension spring that had wedged into his midsection.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' had [[MeaningfulName Hand-In-The-Box]], a Frankenstein-looking hand attached to the spring of a jack-in-the-box, yet actually turned out to be [[DarkIsNotEvil good and helpful, along with the other mutant toys]].
** Averted with [[CreatorCameo the jack-in-the-box]] who shows up in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' (the one who constantly yells "New toys!").

* Averted with Zebedee from ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicRoundabout'', who's a jack-in-the-box figure without a box. Played straight with his EvilCounterpart, Zeebad.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'': Harry Potter's first encounter with a Boggart. Subverted in the fact that it wasn't supposed to be creepy. It was ''supposed'' to be the humorous thought to keep the boggart at bay. ''Why'' Pavarti found it ''funny'' is beyond most of the audience-- that thing was creepy!
* In ''Film/{{Elf}}'', Buddy is the jack-in-the-box tester and every time one "pops", it freaks him out. Later in the film, he has a nightmare about the cackling jack-in-a-box.
* A scary jack-in-the-box appeared in ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}''.

* ''Film/{{Clue}}'': When the house is plunged into darkness, Mrs White is searching the nursery. As she is fumbling around in the dark, she triggers a giant jack-in-the-box which springs out; making her scream.
* Played with in ''S.O.B'', which has both a giant "toy" jack in the box and a man as a "jack" (or is it "jock"?) Both play major roles in the featured scene in the ShowWithinAShow, appearing in both G- and R-rated versions.

* In Jack Yeovil's ''Literature/{{Drachenfels}}'', one character is murdered and set like this -- his bones are removed and the rest of the body is folded in a box with a spring, then sent to a famous spoiled actress.

* A relatively benign example served as a plot point in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "Kinda."

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} 8'' "Jack in the Box" is a buildable gadget that acts like a weak fear spell. Or you can put in the same box a demon doll instead and make insanity-inducing variant.
[[/folder]]

* The short game ''Videogame/JackInTheDark'' (a promotional game for ''Videogame/AloneInTheDark2'') is set in a toy shop and has an evil jack-in-the-box (who has the appearance of the main game's BigBad) for a villain. The jack-in-the-box turns the toys evil, using them to kidnap Santa.
* Mad Jack of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' is an enormous jack-in-the-box that tries to squash Tiny Kong flat.

* In ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVII'', this is one of the ways Rosella can die. In the tree house in Ooga Booga land, there's a jack-in-the-box that will kill you if you open it.

* There's a Spider-In-The-Box version in ''[[VideoGame/NancyDrew Legend of the Crystal Skull]]'', although it's not all that frightening.
* A creepy eel-like face pops out of a wind-up box in one of the ''VideoGame/LastHalfOfDarkness'' games.
* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' has them, and it's made worse by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps7sspaU0ww this theme/laugh]] that plays when you activate them.

* Played for laughs in ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3]]'' (as well as ''Trilogy''), where some of the ninjas' Friendships consist of cranking up jacks-in-the-box for their opponent, which gets scared and runs off. Each jack-in-the-box is appropriate to whichever ninja you use; as such, Reptile's is a snake, and Scorpion's is a skull.

* ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper 2'': The Jack-in-the-Box is a BoobyTrap that scares enemy {{Worker Unit}}s to [[FrightDeathtrap death]] when activated, then scurries over to the enemy Dungeon Heart and [[ActionBomb explodes]].
* In ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', in the Claptastic Voyage DLC, there's a side quest involving Claptrap's fears as represented by a Jack-in-the-box with it's head being a scarred Handsome Jack.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Averted with Charlie-In-The-Box from ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer''.
* Averted in the special ''WesternAnimation/SantaClausIsCominToTown'' with the song "First Toymaker to the King."
--> ''"The jack-in-boxes will always pop at every regal command."

* Played with in ''Film/S.O.B'', which has both a giant "toy" jack in the box and a man as a "jack" (or is it "jock"?) Both play major roles in the featured scene in the ShowWithinAShow, appearing in both G- and R-rated versions.

* Played with in ''Film/{{S.O.B}}'', which has both a giant jack in the box and a man as a "jack" (or is it "jock"?) The same scene in the ShowWithinAShow appears in both G- and R-rated versions.

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' had [[MeaningfulName Hand-In-The-Box]], a Frankenstein-looking hand attached to the spring of a jack-in-the-box, yet actually turned out to be [[DarkIsNotEvil good and helpful, along with the other mutant toys]].

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_jitb.jpg]]

* In VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel, in the Claptastic Voyage DLC, there's a side quest involving Claptrap's fears as represented by a Jack-in-the-box with it's head being a scarred Handsome Jack.

* [[MonsterClown Shaco]] in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' can put these on the map as traps. They even cause the StandardStatusEffect Fear when sprung!

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Killer Queen", Stewie is terrified of the cover to the ''Music/{{Queen}}'' album "News of the World", a fact that Brian exploits for his own amusement. At one point, Stewie finds a jack-in-the-box in his room, and very cautiously turns the crank,expecting the worst-only to have a regular little jester pop out. Stevie is relieved- until he turns around, and sees the ''entire wall'' has been painted to look like the album.

* A scary jack-in-the-box appeared in ''Film/{{Poltergeist}}''.

* Downplayed in ''Disney/TheGreatMouseDetective''; though the jack-in-the-box in the toy shop is not really doing anything, it does loom over the characters.
* The "Heffalumps and Woozles" number from ''Disney/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'' featured "Woozles-in-a-Boxes."

** In the ''[[Disney/{{Fantasia 2000}} Disney Fantasia 2000]]'' animated adaptation, he becomes an outright villain, and [[spoiler:in the end falls in the fireplace instead of the soldier and the ballerina]].

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ComicBook/TheJoker freaks out [[GreenLantern Guy Gardner]] during a forced death-race using a jack-in-the-box (with his own face, naturally), causing Gardner to lose his concentration and de-materialize his [[GreenLanternRing energy-car]].

* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Maximilian Pegasus summons his Bikuri Box, a [[TheHyena cackling]], [[MonsterClown vaguely clownlike]]/GrimReaper-ish monster jack-in-the-box, to deliver the deathblow to Seto Kaiba's Saagi the Dark Clown. Oh, did I mention that Bikuri Box stores a big scythe in his [[HammerSpace mouth]]?

* Used frequently by SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker in all of his incarnations, particularly during the Silver Age of Comic Books.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker freaks out [[GreenLantern Guy Gardner]] during a forced death-race using a jack-in-the-box (with his own face, naturally), causing Gardner to lose his concentration and de-materialize his [[GreenLanternRing energy-car]].

* Sometimes while crafting toys, a Sim from ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' will build a black version of a Jack-in-a-box which, unlike the normal ones, is rather sinister looking. It will scare most of the Sims that play with it, leaving them with a bad memory,

* VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon has them, and it's made worse by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps7sspaU0ww this theme/laugh]] that plays when you activate them.

* A relatively benign example served as a plot point in the ''DoctorWho'' story "Kinda."