History Main / SpikesOfDoom

** The latter group seems to be shrinking (as of April 14, 2024) as economic safety nets have disappeared for most English-speaking people.
** England is using ''[[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homelessness-spikes-outside-london-flats-spark-outrage-on-twitter-9506390.html Spikes of Doom]]'' to keep the homeless away from underpasses. China is getting in on this as well, by putting them outside stores and buildings in cities. One can't help but wonder if we live in a world with the worst traits of ''[[{{Literature/1984}}]]'' '''and''' ''BraveNewWorld'' when Spikes of Doom are used to oppress the disenfranchised.
** ''[[http://vimeo.com/1665301 Pay & Sit: the private bench]]'' is a conceptual bench by Fabian Brunsing, that comes equipped with spikes jutting out of the seat. In order to take a comfortable seat, you have to insert coins. A warning beep goes off when the spikes are about to pop back up, to give you time to gather your belongings and leave before your backside gets impaled. [[{{CrapsackWorld}} The purpose of this contraption is to deter anyone with no money and place to live/go from simply sleeping on the bench]].

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radio-frequency-anechoic-chamber-HDR-0a.jpg Anechoic RF Chambers]] certainly ''look'' that way. Good thing the spikes are actually foam rubber.

* ''[[http://vimeo.com/1665301 Pay & Sit: the private bench]]'' is a conceptual bench by Fabian Brunsing, that comes equipped with spikes jutting out of the seat. In order to take a comfortable seat, you have to insert coins. A warning beep goes off when the spikes are about to pop back up, to give you time to gather your belongings and leave before your backside gets impaled. The purpose of this contraption is to deter vagrants from simply sleeping on the bench all day.

* Some walls have long and sharp metal bars (or spikes made from shattered glass) to deter thieves from climbing them. Nowadays, they are complemented by electric fences due to concerns of some sly thieves outsmarting those spiky structures.
* England is using ''[[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homelessness-spikes-outside-london-flats-spark-outrage-on-twitter-9506390.html Spikes of Doom]]'' to keep the homeless away from underpasses. China is getting in on this as well, by putting them outside stores and buildings in cities.

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'': The DescendingCeiling trap. And the spikes that impale people if they move into the light in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

* ''VideoGame/LocoRoco'' has them in quite a few places. Togeh, togeh!

* ''Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'': In "Treasure of the Ten Avatars", the Duck family encounter this sort of trap ''twice'' when they're investigating an ancient Indian city for treasure, one of them a DescendingCeiling and the other a FakePlatform.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: The fourth of the "Four Dooms" Inventa and Torcha force Wonder Woman to face is a "field of dragon teeth", which looks like a grassy field strewn with many sharp spikes about 6" long, and which turn out to each be an explosive device that is triggered by touch.

** Subverted in [=DF2010=], where one of the best ways to train your dwarfs for combat is to turn the barracks into a [[Franchise/XMen danger room]] filled with spike traps loaded with blunt training spears.

* [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Part Two]] ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' sees Joseph Joestar battling Esidisi on a large field of spikes. Joseph can walk on them through use of Hamon energy, while Esidisi has an immense HealingFactor and doesn't much care about his feet getting impaled.

* Damaging spikes are rather common hazard in ''VideoGame/{{Glover}}''

* In ''VideoGame/GravityCircuit'', spikes act as a common level hazard.

* Spikes appear as a common hazard in''VideoGame/JackieChansActionKungFu'' in the first stage.
* In ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'', damaging spikes start to make their appearance from Medivo levels onward.

* The Dripstone Caves of ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' are filled with fields of stalactites and stalagmites. The stalagmites act like sharpened spikes, doubling FallingDamage for anybody who lands on them, although when approached from the side they're harmless beyond getting in the way of movement. Stalactites, if struck by something, will dislodge and fall down, impaling whatever ends up in their way.

* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'' features plenty of spikes on floors, walls and ceilings, often covering nearly all visible surfaces. Their appearance varies a good bit -- the Abandoned Crossroads uses simple spikes, the Greenpath and Queen's Gardens have tangles of thorny vines, the Crystal Peak has fields of jagged crystals... -- but all varieties are equally harmful (although they do also kill enemies, which is useful when dealing with the less spatially aware kinds or ones with unstoppable charging attacks). However, you are also allowed to bounce off "metal" spikes (but not thorns) by attacking while jumping.[[note]]One area has a thorn-covered floor with retracting spikes as the only "safe" spot.[[/note]] One type of TemporaryPlatform flips over to expose the spikes on the underside after you jump on its safe surface. There is even one enemy, the Crystal Hunter, whose projectile attack covers whatever surface it hits in a temporary growth of crystal spikes.

* In the world of ''Webcomic/StarImpact'' where [[EveryoneHasASpecialMove every boxer's gloves have a special power]], Urchin's gloves sport lots of retractible spines. [[EnhancedPunch They increase both the damage and range of his punches]] while letting them stagger an opponent with even a glancing blow, but they're nonlethal, as Puck notes that they can't break skin.