History Main / TheLegendOfChekhov

This is largely a result of TheLawOfConservationOfDetail, which demands that taking time out from the main story to tell some other story must only be done when that side story is important to the main plot.[[note]]This applies even when such a tale actually ''isn't'' true, because then it's usually a metaphor for the heroes' current situation, or to teach them some lesson that they'll need to use later.[[/note]] The purpose in labeling something important as a myth rather than just explaining it outright is to build excitement, so that when the legend is later shown to be true, it brings a sense of wonder or discovery. It can also serve to foreshadow future events, while giving the author an excuse for giving only [[HalfTruth partial or deceptive information]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'', Papa Mousekewitz entertains Feivel and his sisters with the story of the Giant Mouse of Minsk, a giant mouse who scared away the cats. Later, when the mice of New York are planning to do something about the cats oppressing them, it's Feivel who suggests building their own Mouse of Minsk to attack them.

-->-- The opening narration of ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}''

* ''Film/{{The Mummy|1999}}'':

* In ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'' the myth of human-dragon hybrids trapped in human form, mentioned at the beginning of ''Literature/{{Tehanu}}'', is proven true at the book's end and forms the basis for the plot of the next novel, ''Literature/TheOtherWind''.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''WebComic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', if ''anyone'' mentions ''anything'' unusual or absurd-sounding -- like giant lumberjacks, dinosaur-riding bandito paleontologists, zombie ninjas, or the ghosts of dead NASA astronauts -- you can bet it'll not only exist but have a direct impact on the plot of the current arc.

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' [[PlayedForLaughs plays this trope for laughs]]. Typically, something spooky is going on, but is [[DoingInTheWizard actually engineered]] by someone wanting to scare people away. Half the time, it's an InvokedTrope, as the fake monster is based on an old local legend (or, occasionally, the villain makes up a story and ''claims'' it's an old legend). Once in a while, there's [[RealAfterAll some evidence]] of ''actual'' spookiness, which the heroes may or [[GaveUpTooSoon may not]] see.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''. Mystical Monkey Power is all about this trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': the in-universe legends of mutants living under the city and El Chupanibre turn out to be completely true -- as does the more common myth of alligators in the sewers.
** [[InsistentTerminology Except they're actually crocodiles.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'', the {{Catfolk}}-populated magical kingdom of Thundera, stuck in MedievalStasis, considers [[LostTechnology technology]] to be mythical. Stories of "ships that could fly" are [[OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions fairy tales told to cubs]]. The populace has become similarly skeptical of the existence of the Book of Omens and Mumm-Ra. In the space of one night, protagonist Lion-O and the Thunderians see their kingdom ruined when old enemies the [[LizardFolk Lizards]] invade, bringing with them ''futuristic'' technological [[SuperweaponSurprise superweapons]], given them by SorcerousOverlord Mumm-Ra. Lion-O and his Thundercats are then sent on a race to find the very real Book of Omens before Mumm-Ra can get his hands on it.
* The first episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has a StorybookOpening of the tale of "The Mare in the Moon". Despite being referred to as an "old ponytale" by others, Twilight Sparkle believes the legend has a basis in reality and is concerned by prediction of [[BigBad Nightmare Moon's]] escape from her [[SealedEvilInACan imprisonment on the moon]], which is scheduled to happen within days. Of course it's all absolutely, literally true, and [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight the return happens exactly as predicted]]. Later episodes feature novels starring Indiana Jones {{Expy}} Daring Do, initially thought to be a ShowWithinAShow but later also revealed to be RealAfterAll.
** Throughout the series, Twilight Sparkle and other ponies mention [[TheArchmage Starswirl the Bearded]], a legendary unicorn from ancient times who acted as a mentor figure for Princesses Celestia and Luna prior to their ascension to the throne, only to disappear without a trace. And then throughout Season 7, there have been passing mentions of other legendary ponies in Equestria's history that form the [[PrecursorHeroes Pillars of Equestria]]. All of this culminates in the Season 7 finale "Shadow Play", where the Mane Six have managed to discover what had happened to those historical ponies and found a way to bring them back to Equestria, although they would realize too late that the Pillars have [[SealedEvilInADuel a very good reason for trapping themselves in Limbo for over a thousand years...]]

* The second episode of ''Anime/{{Baccano}}'' gives us the UrbanLegend of the Rail Tracer: a monster that slowly snatches up and devours the passengers of the train [[SpeakOfTheDevil on which its tale is told on]]. Then a [[GambitPileup 3-way war]] breaks out over [[TrainJob train-hijacking rights]] and...''something'' decides to start picking off instigators and leaving their twisted and mutilated corpses. [[spoiler:Turns out that the Rail Tracer is the [[BadassNormal entirely human]] and [[RedHerringShirt supposedly dead]] train conductor that first told the story, and doesn't particularly like people messing up his train. Did we mention that he's also a not-entirely-sane assassin that likes a good RoaringRampageOfRevenge?]]

* The second episode of ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' gives us the UrbanLegend of the Rail Tracer: a monster that slowly snatches up and devours the passengers of the train [[SpeakOfTheDevil on which its tale is told on]]. Then a [[GambitPileup 3-way war]] breaks out over [[TrainJob train-hijacking rights]] and...''something'' decides to start picking off instigators and leaving their twisted and mutilated corpses. [[spoiler:Turns out that the Rail Tracer is the [[BadassNormal entirely human]] and [[RedHerringShirt supposedly dead]] train conductor that first told the story, and doesn't particularly like people messing up his train. Did we mention that he's also a not-entirely-sane assassin that likes a good RoaringRampageOfRevenge?]]

* ''LightNovel/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku'' begins with Shuurei telling her students the story of their country's founding, ending it by saying that according to legend, the eight immortal sages who helped the first emperor found Saiunkoku are still alive in secret among the people. This is absolutely true, and Shuurei goes on to become personally acquainted with several of them. A little later in the first arc, Shuurei begins to tell Ryuuki the story of the Rose Princess and how she married a mortal man. This story is not only true, it's [[spoiler:the story of her parents' marriage]].

* One of the tropes called out in ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'', which asserts that any legend recounted to an adventurer is guaranteed to be both true ("Legends are an important source of true information. They always turn out to be far more accurate than History.") and something that will be relevant later in the Tour ("The Management will never allow anyone to tell you a legend unless it is going to be important for you to know.").

[[folder:Fan Work]]

* In ''[[Franchise/DisneyFairies Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure]]'', the song "Fairy Tale Theater" just happens to be a prophecy of her journey later in the movie that was being performed the one night that she went to the theater.

* In Erika Griffin's novel, ''[[http://www.amazon.com/One-Who-Waited-Erika-Griffin/dp/1411627164 The One Who Waited]]'', Alice ponders this during the course of the story, as she comes to realize that there are such things as Boogeymen and wonders if other monsters might exist as well.
* In Anthony C. Gilbert's ''[[http://www.lulu.com/content/553426 Farther Up and Farther In]]'' AllMythsAreTrue about life after death. Except, apparently, the belief that there isn't any, because the narrator is an atheist but gets sent to Hell, the Christian afterlife being the default for Westerners without other positive beliefs. Escaping from Hell (!) leads to a CrossoverCosmology where he meets Freja, Pan, Monkey and others: the final message (logically, given the opening premise) is that [[spoiler: All Gods Are One and we are One with them.]]

* The entire story/legend of the Zeekeeper in VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam. You see a ton of exhibits and signs talking about an ancient guardian of the kingdom that saved it from harm, and well, you should probably have figured out pretty quickly that said figure turns out to be a very important character in the storyline and that he helps you take down the BigBad.

Compare to PropheciesAreAlwaysRight, where it's a prediction that's virtually guaranteed to be right rather than a story from the past. These two tropes often live side by side, with the ancient legend packaged with an included prophecy.

* In ''Alternate Routes'' by Creator/TimPowers, there's a story several of the characters have heard about a man who was driving on the Los Angeles freeways in the 1960s when he drove off an exit that hadn't been there the day before and wasn't the day after, found himself in the afterlife, and eventually made it back to the world of the living with a mysterious artifact. The story is true; the protagonist eventually meets the man, who helps him figure out what's going on.

* ''LightNovel/SaiunkokuMonogatari'' begins with Shuurei telling her students the story of their country's founding, ending it by saying that according to legend, the eight immortal sages who helped the first emperor found Saiunkoku are still alive in secret among the people. This is absolutely true, and Shuurei goes on to become personally acquainted with several of them. A little later in the first arc, Shuurei begins to tell Ryuuki the story of the Rose Princess and how she married a mortal man. This story is not only true, it's [[spoiler:the story of her parents' marriage]].

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''. [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Mystical Monkey Power]] is all about this trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': the in-universe legends of mutants living under the city and El Chupinebra turn out to be completely true -- as does the more common myth of crocodiles in the sewers.

[[spoiler:Its raven wings ablaze in majestic light]]'' [[note]] With Wardog now absent from the scene, the war between Osea and Yuktobania has reached a stalemate. Except the pilots of Wardog did not perish, for Snow, Pops, and the captain of the ''Kestrel'' have arranged for them to [[FakingTheDead fake their deaths]]. Now operating under the name of Razgriz Squadron, the "Ghosts of Razgriz" and the ''Kestrel'' set out to end this meaningless war and establish peace between the two superpowers once and for all, working to foil the conspirators who orchestrated the entire conflict and sought to escalate it further.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'': A MaybeMagicMaybeMundane variation occurs with Wardog Squadron and the legend of the mythical demon of Razgriz; a malevolent being said to rain destruction upon the land whenever history "witnesses a great change", until eventually dying and resurrecting after a period of time... [[HeelFaceTurn as a great hero]]. As the plot progresses, it becomes clear that each stanza of the poem narrating said legend -- shown in loading screens -- thematically corresponds to Wardog Squadron and its role in the Circum-Pacific War.

When the heroes of a story are told a myth, legend, or fairy tale, you can almost guarantee that the story is true (although not necessarily literally--sometimes the truth is [[LegendFadesToMyth filtered through generations of retelling]] and/or a primitive culture's viewpoint) and the heroes will have to deal with it at some point. This is used so often, in fact, that it's actually ''more'' notable when the heroes are told a story and it ''doesn't'' turn out to be some flavor of true--except for those cases where it comments thematically on the character's CharacterDevelopment.

* The myths and stories of TheCosmere usually correspond to some facet of the magical or historical landscape, so to speak. The local [[PhysicalGod Shards]], for instance, are usually major players in the local mythology, and their stated aims and behavior are recognizably in-character. This is clearest when comparing the religious doctrine on Nalthis (of both major factions, no less, as disparate as they are in almost every other respect) to a character's memories of being returned from the dead, but the examples are too numerous to list here.

* In the Human Noble Origin of ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins Dragon Age: Origins]]'', your old nanny, if prompted, will tell you the bedtime story of Hohaku, the Dog That Bit--a famous warhound that grows up arrogant and prideful, treating others like dirt and stealing their food, while striving to be chosen by its owner's son. When the owner's son chooses another hound instead, a furious Hohaku lunges for an attack and gets killed for his trouble. The correct moral Nan wants you to take away from the story is "Respect all equally". [[spoiler: Three guesses as to what [[Main/FalseFriend Arl Howe]] [[Main/DoomedHometown does to Bryce Cousland and his castle of Highever that evening]].]]

* The UsefulNotes/GameBoy game ''Final Fantasy Legend II'' (''VideoGame/SaGa2'' in Japan) avoids this. One world your characters explore has a myth that turns out to be true and another myth that turns out to be false. [[spoiler:Also, there are actually 78 "MAGI", not just 77 as mentioned at the beginning of the game.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaBreathOfTheWild''also starts with a myth about Calamity Ganon, which the heroes must use to fight him in the present day. Of course it turns out to be very accurate indeed, although missing a crucial bit of information.