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* GreatDetective Literature/NeroWolfe is one of the self-imposed variants, in that he refuses to leave his luxurious Manhattan brownstone on business and is reluctant to leave it at other times if he doesn't have to. It's downplayed, however, since he's not especially agoraphobic and ''can'' leave the house if necessary or if he chooses to; he simply prefers not to.
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* In ‘’ComicStrip/InSecurity’’ Sedine’s cousin Roy has a wife named Charlene who is absolutely terrified of being outside.
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* Not usually, but when her friends are absent for a while, Jodie from ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}'' becomes this [[://web.archive.org/web/20160412055942/http://the-qlc.com:80/loserz/go/279 here]].
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* Not usually, but when her friends are absent for a while, Jodie from ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}'' becomes this [[://web.this: [[//web.archive.org/web/20160412055942/http://the-qlc.com:80/loserz/go/279 here]].
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* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Brian has to do [[HeroDoesPublicService community service]] for a misdemeanor, so he's running Meals on Wheels, bringing lunches to elderly people who can't go out. He meets and falls in love with an old lady who used to be a great singer but got dissed in a review and hasn't left her house in years. He sings an Emmy Award-winning song to her, convincing her to leave her house -- and she's immediately hit by a car.
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* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Brian has to do [[HeroDoesPublicService community service]] for a misdemeanor, DUI, so he's running Meals on Wheels, bringing lunches made to be a home health aide, to a grouchy and mean elderly people who can't go out. He meets and woman named Pearl and, eventually, falls in love with an old lady who her, when he finds out that she used to be a great singer but but, when she went to go big (she used to sing jingles), she got dissed in a review and hasn't left her house in years. He sings an Emmy Award-winning song to her, convincing her to leave her house -- and she's immediately hit by a car.
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* ''WesternAnimation/ThePJs'': Juicy's parents can't leave their apartment because they're too obese to go through the door.
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* ''WesternAnimation/ThePJs'': Juicy's parents can't leave their apartment because they're too obese to go through the door. His dad eventually does leave the apartment, though, in a later episode.
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* ''Literature/TheReformedVampireSupportGroup'': Most vampires end up this way. Most [[{{Muggles}} ordinary people]] think of vampires as the deadly predators they're portrayed as in the media. However, in reality, vampirism is a debilitating and unpleasant disease -- which means that someone acting out a heroic fantasy of slaying evil vampires is ''really dangerous'', and the safest way to prevent that is to [[TheMasquerade prevent anyone from learning that vampires are real]].
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[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]
* In the ''ComicStrip/TheBoondocks'' comic, Jazmine was [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome missing for two years]]. The in-series reason was that she is locked herself in her room after since 9/11 due to fearing terrorists. [[NotAllowedToGrowUp Yet, she didn't age a bit]].
[[/folder]]
* In the ''ComicStrip/TheBoondocks'' comic, Jazmine was [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome missing for two years]]. The in-series reason was that she is locked herself in her room after since 9/11 due to fearing terrorists. [[NotAllowedToGrowUp Yet, she didn't age a bit]].
[[/folder]]
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* Cadis Etrama Di Raizel from ''{{Noblesse}}'' used to be this. He would never leave his mansion unless personally summoned by the Lord of Lukedonia.
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* Cadis Etrama Di Raizel from ''{{Noblesse}}'' ''Webcomic/{{Noblesse}}'' used to be this. He would never leave his mansion unless personally summoned by the Lord of Lukedonia.
Lukedonia.
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* Elsa and Anna from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' are this way in the prologue. Due to [[AnIcePerson Elsa]] almost killing Anna by accident as a child their parents decided to keep them locked in the castle. Elsa in particular apparently ''very'' rarely ever left her bedroom in the span of thirteen years. The real plot starts at Elsa's coronation, where she and Anna break out of this.
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* Elsa and Anna from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' are this way in the prologue. Due to [[AnIcePerson Elsa]] almost killing Anna by accident as a child child, their parents decided to keep them locked in the castle. castle until Elsa could control her powers. Elsa in particular apparently ''very'' rarely ever rarely, if ever, left her bedroom in the span of thirteen years. 13 years, while Anna would play outside but not be able to leave the castle walls. The real plot starts at the now 21 year old Elsa's coronation, where she and Anna break out of this.
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[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/GreatExpectations http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misshavisham_bw_movie.jpg]]]]
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[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/GreatExpectations http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misshavisham_bw_movie.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_shut_in.jpg]]]]
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* Not usually, but when her friends are absent for a while, Jodie from ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}'' becomes this [[http://the-qlc.com/loserz/go/279 here]].
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* Not usually, but when her friends are absent for a while, Jodie from ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}'' becomes this [[http://the-qlc.com/loserz/go/279 [[://web.archive.org/web/20160412055942/http://the-qlc.com:80/loserz/go/279 here]].
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* Rob, a side character in ''Webcomic/MenageA3'', lives in the same building with the protagonists, and appearently hasn't left his apartment since the '80s.
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* Rob, a side character in ''Webcomic/MenageA3'', lives in the same building with the protagonists, and appearently apparently hasn't left his apartment since the '80s.
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* On ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU'', the VictimOfTheWeek was a woman who had been raped ''several'' times in her life, and in particular was being stalked by her rapist as well, and as a result, she almost never leaves her house. She has a neighbor pick up groceries for her, and works from home (only stopping by the office once a week to deliver paperwork).
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* On In one episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU'', the VictimOfTheWeek was a woman who had been raped ''several'' times in her life, life and in particular was being stalked by her rapist as well, and as a result, she almost never leaves her house. She has a neighbor pick up groceries for her, and works from home (only stopping by the office once a week to deliver paperwork).
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In the Music/PinkFloyd album ''Music/TheWall'', the main character Pink shuts himself in his hotel room half way through the album, after his wife leaves him. Although this is darkly subverted when his manager literally breaks down the door to force him to perform that night, casing him to crack and lose what little sanity he had left and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName become even worse.]]
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* In the Music/PinkFloyd album ''Music/TheWall'', the main character Pink shuts himself in his hotel room half way through the album, after album upon completing his wife leaves him.personal wall. Although this is darkly subverted when his manager literally breaks down the door to force him to perform that night, casing him to crack and lose what little sanity he had left and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName become even worse.]]
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* In the backstory of ''[[Literature/ElementalMasters Unnatural Issue]]'', Richard Whitestone [[TheMourningAfter spends the bulk of his widowerhood]] in his chambers and library on the second floor of his country manor. He would have remained comparatively harmless[[note]](an Earth Master in that state of mind [[FisherKing would have done the local countryside absolutely no good]] were a mage of comparable strength not sealing the house off with wards)[[/note]] had he not [[FromBadToWorse gotten fixated on bringing his wife]] ''[[{{Necromancer}} back]]''.
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* In the backstory of ''[[Literature/ElementalMasters Unnatural Issue]]'', ''Literature/UnnaturalIssue'', Richard Whitestone [[TheMourningAfter spends the bulk of his widowerhood]] in his chambers and library on the second floor of his country manor. He would have remained comparatively harmless[[note]](an Earth Master in that state of mind [[FisherKing would have done the local countryside absolutely no good]] were a mage of comparable strength not sealing the house off with wards)[[/note]] had he not [[FromBadToWorse gotten fixated on bringing his wife]] ''[[{{Necromancer}} back]]''.
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* Johanna Barker from ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' is kept a prisoner in her own home by her tyrannical guardian Judge Turpin, who wants to shield her from the outside world and all its iniquities and has also come to desire her as more than a daughter (her having more than a passing resemblance to her mother Lucy Barker, who he had a serious lust for, definitely did not help things at all).
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* Johanna Barker from ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' is kept a prisoner in her own home by her tyrannical guardian Judge Turpin, who wants to shield her from the outside world and all its iniquities and has also come to desire her as more than a daughter (her having more than a passing resemblance to her mother Lucy Barker, who he had a serious lust for, definitely did not help things at all).
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* Johanna Barker from ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' is kept a prisoner in her own home by her tyrannical guardian Judge Turpin, who wants to shield her from the outside world and all its iniquities and has also come to desire her as more than a daughter (her having more than a passing resemblance to her mother Lucy Barker, who he had a serious lust for, definitely did not help things at all).
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* Elsa and Anna from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' are this way in the prologue. Due to [[AnIcePerson Elsa]] accidentally almost killing Anna as a child their parents decided to keep them locked in the castle. Elsa in particular apparently ''very'' rarely ever left her bedroom in the span of thirteen years. The real plot starts at Elsa's coronation, where she and Anna break out of this.
to:
* Elsa and Anna from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' are this way in the prologue. Due to [[AnIcePerson Elsa]] accidentally almost killing Anna by accident as a child their parents decided to keep them locked in the castle. Elsa in particular apparently ''very'' rarely ever left her bedroom in the span of thirteen years. The real plot starts at Elsa's coronation, where she and Anna break out of this.
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[[folder:Real Life ]]
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[[folder:Real Life ]]Life]]
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[[/folder]]
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----
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Clarifying that point 2 is ONLY for physical conditions. Agoraphobia got listed twice.
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* Those with a condition that prevents them from going outside. [[HighFatIndex Extreme obesity]], [[WeakenedByTheLight extreme photosensitivity]], general agoraphobia, or being bedridden and likely near death are the most common reasons.
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* Those with a physical condition that prevents them from going outside. [[HighFatIndex Extreme obesity]], [[WeakenedByTheLight extreme photosensitivity]], general agoraphobia, or being bedridden and likely near death are the most common reasons.
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* Not usually, but when her friends are absent for a while, Jodie from ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}'' becomes this [[http://the-qlc.com/loserz/go/279 here]].
* In ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent''
** Marigold starts out as a recluse obsessed with anime (especially hentai) and World of Warcraft, who works on a family company website from home and almost never leaves her apartment. Once she's introduced to the other characters, she starts to get out more.
** Hannelore's backstory is an extreme example. She suffers from some very severe OCD and grew up on a space station as a nervous wreck, drugged into insensibility half the time and incapable of surviving without constant supervision. By her first appearance in the comic, she had learned to manage her condition enough to get out and socialize, and continues to grow more comfortable in company. When she visits the station and is finally able to hug her father without freaking out from human contact, everyone present who knew her only as a child is shocked.
** Bubbles is a retired combat android who lives at her workplace and almost never goes outside, thanks in large part to crippling self-consciousness about being seen by people. [[spoiler:Faye takes it upon herself to bring Bubbles out of her shell, with some success.]]
* Dr. Schlock from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' has been devolving into a shut in after taking charge of [[spoiler: Hereti corp]], often using video conferencing or inflatable decoys to communicate with people while staying locked in his office. His growing list of enemies and set backs is not being kind to his sanity.
* Rob, a side character in ''Webcomic/MenageA3'', lives in the same building with the protagonists, and appearently hasn't left his apartment since the '80s.
* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Jaina Repellista Zahard is one of Zahard's Princesses, but ever since she got that sweet lighthouse she never left her room, spending her days spying on the tower and playing video games [[http://img.batoto.net/comics/2012/02/03/t/read4f2bbf1e9a9ac/img000011.jpg like Skyrim.]]
* Cadis Etrama Di Raizel from ''{{Noblesse}}'' used to be this. He would never leave his mansion unless personally summoned by the Lord of Lukedonia.
* In ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent''
** Marigold starts out as a recluse obsessed with anime (especially hentai) and World of Warcraft, who works on a family company website from home and almost never leaves her apartment. Once she's introduced to the other characters, she starts to get out more.
** Hannelore's backstory is an extreme example. She suffers from some very severe OCD and grew up on a space station as a nervous wreck, drugged into insensibility half the time and incapable of surviving without constant supervision. By her first appearance in the comic, she had learned to manage her condition enough to get out and socialize, and continues to grow more comfortable in company. When she visits the station and is finally able to hug her father without freaking out from human contact, everyone present who knew her only as a child is shocked.
** Bubbles is a retired combat android who lives at her workplace and almost never goes outside, thanks in large part to crippling self-consciousness about being seen by people. [[spoiler:Faye takes it upon herself to bring Bubbles out of her shell, with some success.]]
* Dr. Schlock from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' has been devolving into a shut in after taking charge of [[spoiler: Hereti corp]], often using video conferencing or inflatable decoys to communicate with people while staying locked in his office. His growing list of enemies and set backs is not being kind to his sanity.
* Rob, a side character in ''Webcomic/MenageA3'', lives in the same building with the protagonists, and appearently hasn't left his apartment since the '80s.
* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Jaina Repellista Zahard is one of Zahard's Princesses, but ever since she got that sweet lighthouse she never left her room, spending her days spying on the tower and playing video games [[http://img.batoto.net/comics/2012/02/03/t/read4f2bbf1e9a9ac/img000011.jpg like Skyrim.]]
* Cadis Etrama Di Raizel from ''{{Noblesse}}'' used to be this. He would never leave his mansion unless personally summoned by the Lord of Lukedonia.
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[[folder:Theatre]]
* Laura in ''Theatre/TheGlassMenagerie''.
* Princeton becomes this at the end of Act 1 of ''Theatre/AvenueQ''. The second act opens with his friends coming to get him... after two weeks. Good to know they care.
* ''Theatre/{{RENT}}'': Between Collins' departure and the "one magic night" Roger has barely left his house if at all.
* In the third scene of ''Vanities'', Kathy has holed up in an unidentified friend's apartment after a [[HeroicBSOD nervous breakdown]] due to [[SuperOCD her obsession with "an organized life"]]. She copes with it by reading all the books she was assigned but never read in college, which leads her to become a novelist in the final scene of TheMusical.
[[/folder]]
* Laura in ''Theatre/TheGlassMenagerie''.
* Princeton becomes this at the end of Act 1 of ''Theatre/AvenueQ''. The second act opens with his friends coming to get him... after two weeks. Good to know they care.
* ''Theatre/{{RENT}}'': Between Collins' departure and the "one magic night" Roger has barely left his house if at all.
* In the third scene of ''Vanities'', Kathy has holed up in an unidentified friend's apartment after a [[HeroicBSOD nervous breakdown]] due to [[SuperOCD her obsession with "an organized life"]]. She copes with it by reading all the books she was assigned but never read in college, which leads her to become a novelist in the final scene of TheMusical.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:Music]]
In the Music/PinkFloyd album ''Music/TheWall'', the main character Pink shuts himself in his hotel room half way through the album, after his wife leaves him. Although this is darkly subverted when his manager literally breaks down the door to force him to perform that night, casing him to crack and lose what little sanity he had left and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName become even worse.]]
* The Music/SimonAndGarfunkel song "I Am A Rock" is basically the Hikikomori ''theme song.''
* Music/{{Nerdcore}} artist Ultraklystron has [[http://ultraklystron.bandcamp.com/track/hikikomori a single devoted to this]].
* Music/EntertainmentForTheBraindead portrays herself this way in some of her song lyrics. In "Resolution" she has to resolve to "leave the house at least once a day", and in "Relapse" she says, "I don't plan on leaving the house this year / If by then you still remember me, you'll find me here".
* The song ''Flowers On The Wall'' is apparently about someone who is afraid to come out of his room.
* "Isolated" by Chiasm is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* Alison Moyet - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8CeAHfAD2w "Invisible"]], [[ReclusiveArtist which reflected her real life situation for many years]].
* The video to Kim Wilde's ''Kids in America'' is about an agoraphobe, despite the song's lyrics.
* Music/OingoBoingo's song "Private Life" is about a man who wants someone to save him from his room, his lack of friends, and his PornStash.
* The Pub Rock song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SECVGN4Bsgg "Who Can It Be Now?"]] by Men At Work. When getting a knock on his door, the singer makes excuse to why he shouldn't answer or actively sneaks around to make others think he's not home. He caresses his "childhood friend" (a guitar amplifier) while insisting that [[BlatantLies his mental health is fine]].
* Music/DanielAmos's "My Room" (from ''Music/{{Alarma}}'') is about a man who locks himself in his room, except for one day a week when he locks himself in a bigger room with other shut-ins. The song is a {{satire}} of Christians who don't socialize with anyone outside their church.
[[/folder]]
In the Music/PinkFloyd album ''Music/TheWall'', the main character Pink shuts himself in his hotel room half way through the album, after his wife leaves him. Although this is darkly subverted when his manager literally breaks down the door to force him to perform that night, casing him to crack and lose what little sanity he had left and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName become even worse.]]
* The Music/SimonAndGarfunkel song "I Am A Rock" is basically the Hikikomori ''theme song.''
* Music/{{Nerdcore}} artist Ultraklystron has [[http://ultraklystron.bandcamp.com/track/hikikomori a single devoted to this]].
* Music/EntertainmentForTheBraindead portrays herself this way in some of her song lyrics. In "Resolution" she has to resolve to "leave the house at least once a day", and in "Relapse" she says, "I don't plan on leaving the house this year / If by then you still remember me, you'll find me here".
* The song ''Flowers On The Wall'' is apparently about someone who is afraid to come out of his room.
* "Isolated" by Chiasm is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* Alison Moyet - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8CeAHfAD2w "Invisible"]], [[ReclusiveArtist which reflected her real life situation for many years]].
* The video to Kim Wilde's ''Kids in America'' is about an agoraphobe, despite the song's lyrics.
* Music/OingoBoingo's song "Private Life" is about a man who wants someone to save him from his room, his lack of friends, and his PornStash.
* The Pub Rock song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SECVGN4Bsgg "Who Can It Be Now?"]] by Men At Work. When getting a knock on his door, the singer makes excuse to why he shouldn't answer or actively sneaks around to make others think he's not home. He caresses his "childhood friend" (a guitar amplifier) while insisting that [[BlatantLies his mental health is fine]].
* Music/DanielAmos's "My Room" (from ''Music/{{Alarma}}'') is about a man who locks himself in his room, except for one day a week when he locks himself in a bigger room with other shut-ins. The song is a {{satire}} of Christians who don't socialize with anyone outside their church.
[[/folder]]
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* Curtis from the Canadian series ''Twitch City'' can be interpreted as a Western example. He's an agoraphobic Canadian TV {{otaku}} who never leaves his Toronto apartment if he can possibly help it.
* The title character of ''Series/{{Monk}}'', Detective Adrian Monk, was a complete shut-in immediately after his wife's death. The canon story was that while he was always a neurotic freak, Trudy Monk was the one person who helped him keep his anxieties at bay and function normally. Once she died, he had a HeroicBSOD and shut himself up in his San Francisco home, not leaving for three years straight. It isn't until the arrival of his nurse Sharona that he starts transitioning back into society -- well, transitioning as best as Mr. Monk can. Even as the series progresses, Mr. Monk is still getting used to simple things like going outside.
** Later on it's revealed that his brother Ambrose has the same condition, though Ambrose hasn't gotten over his. [[spoiler: He's eventually forced outside by Monk because his house was on fire.]]
* In ''Series/{{K9}}'', Professor Gryffen becomes this after having accidentally [[spoiler: killed his wife and children in a science experiment. He manages to overcome this in ''Eclipse of the Korven'' at the end of season one.]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' episode "The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification." Sheldon becomes obsessed with extending his life expectancy. Deciding that the outside world is too dangerous, he shuts himself in his room and builds a remote-controlled "Mobile Virtual Presence Device," equipped with a monitor, camera and speakers so that he can interact with others.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Wonderfalls}}'' concerns a morbidly obese man who hasn't left his trailer for a very long time. It turns out that he actually isn't morbidly obese anymore, but he still sees himself as fat. At one point, the protagonist Jaye admits to him that a part of her envies the Hikikomori lifestyle, and that she'd be tempted to try it if she thought her family would leave her alone.
* ''Series/TwinPeaks'' has Harold Smith, whose secluded nature is due to agoraphobia (a fear of open spaces).
* An episode of ''Series/ThePretender'' had Jarod helping a woman who had not left her home since being raped a second time. This was actually intentional on the rapist's part, as the second rapist was actually the ''first'' rapist, who attacked her again because she had been recovering from the first assault.
* Stephen Kepler in ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' is this, [[spoiler: or so it would seem...]]
* Dorothy has a run-in with one in an episode of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' when she's helping Sophia with Meals on Wheels. Martin Mull plays a hikikomori who hasn't left his apartment since the '60s because it's "just too hard out there".
* Mollwitz in ''Literature/{{Fame}}''. He's 38 and living with his mother, who doesn't allow him to talk to women. He has an office job, but refuses to actually do work or talk to people.
* On ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU'', the VictimOfTheWeek was a woman who had been raped ''several'' times in her life, and in particular was being stalked by her rapist as well, and as a result, she almost never leaves her house. She has a neighbor pick up groceries for her, and works from home (only stopping by the office once a week to deliver paperwork).
* The title character of ''Series/{{Monk}}'', Detective Adrian Monk, was a complete shut-in immediately after his wife's death. The canon story was that while he was always a neurotic freak, Trudy Monk was the one person who helped him keep his anxieties at bay and function normally. Once she died, he had a HeroicBSOD and shut himself up in his San Francisco home, not leaving for three years straight. It isn't until the arrival of his nurse Sharona that he starts transitioning back into society -- well, transitioning as best as Mr. Monk can. Even as the series progresses, Mr. Monk is still getting used to simple things like going outside.
** Later on it's revealed that his brother Ambrose has the same condition, though Ambrose hasn't gotten over his. [[spoiler: He's eventually forced outside by Monk because his house was on fire.]]
* In ''Series/{{K9}}'', Professor Gryffen becomes this after having accidentally [[spoiler: killed his wife and children in a science experiment. He manages to overcome this in ''Eclipse of the Korven'' at the end of season one.]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' episode "The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification." Sheldon becomes obsessed with extending his life expectancy. Deciding that the outside world is too dangerous, he shuts himself in his room and builds a remote-controlled "Mobile Virtual Presence Device," equipped with a monitor, camera and speakers so that he can interact with others.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Wonderfalls}}'' concerns a morbidly obese man who hasn't left his trailer for a very long time. It turns out that he actually isn't morbidly obese anymore, but he still sees himself as fat. At one point, the protagonist Jaye admits to him that a part of her envies the Hikikomori lifestyle, and that she'd be tempted to try it if she thought her family would leave her alone.
* ''Series/TwinPeaks'' has Harold Smith, whose secluded nature is due to agoraphobia (a fear of open spaces).
* An episode of ''Series/ThePretender'' had Jarod helping a woman who had not left her home since being raped a second time. This was actually intentional on the rapist's part, as the second rapist was actually the ''first'' rapist, who attacked her again because she had been recovering from the first assault.
* Stephen Kepler in ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' is this, [[spoiler: or so it would seem...]]
* Dorothy has a run-in with one in an episode of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' when she's helping Sophia with Meals on Wheels. Martin Mull plays a hikikomori who hasn't left his apartment since the '60s because it's "just too hard out there".
* Mollwitz in ''Literature/{{Fame}}''. He's 38 and living with his mother, who doesn't allow him to talk to women. He has an office job, but refuses to actually do work or talk to people.
* On ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU'', the VictimOfTheWeek was a woman who had been raped ''several'' times in her life, and in particular was being stalked by her rapist as well, and as a result, she almost never leaves her house. She has a neighbor pick up groceries for her, and works from home (only stopping by the office once a week to deliver paperwork).
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* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': Bella Swan is like this in ''New Moon'' after [[SatelliteLoveInterest Edward]] moves away [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim to protect her]].
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* Victoria Victrix from the ''Secret World Chronicles'' by Creator/MercedesLackey became one of these through a combination of being betrayed by a lover and set on fire by a crazy relative. Her writing career allowed her to make a living without needing to leave her apartment for anything other than the horrifically stressful ordeal of grocery shopping, which she has to steel herself to perform for days, and does as early in the morning as possible so that she doesn't have to encounter many people. She starts opening up more after becoming a superheroine, but [[MissionControl her]] [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection duties]] to her team are still arranged so she can perform them without leaving home, and her idea of hanging out with her teammates is to send an elemental to the bar where the others are hanging out to pick up drinks while she chats with them over the radio.
* ''Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict''
** Karma never leaves her house, which is secured and armoured like a fortress, to the point Nikita nicknames it Castle in her narration. She's rather antisocial, tolerating only Nikita and Ilya (her caretaker) in her vicinity, and spends most of her time in front of the computer.
** Kosma never leaves his library and tries to limit his interactions with other humans to a minimum, as he's afraid that any factor of his life that he cannot control will cause his [[UnstoppableRage berserk spirit]] to manifest. [[spoiler:As of the end of the second book, he's starting to overcome it with Nikita's help.]]
* ''Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict''
** Karma never leaves her house, which is secured and armoured like a fortress, to the point Nikita nicknames it Castle in her narration. She's rather antisocial, tolerating only Nikita and Ilya (her caretaker) in her vicinity, and spends most of her time in front of the computer.
** Kosma never leaves his library and tries to limit his interactions with other humans to a minimum, as he's afraid that any factor of his life that he cannot control will cause his [[UnstoppableRage berserk spirit]] to manifest. [[spoiler:As of the end of the second book, he's starting to overcome it with Nikita's help.]]
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* The Millenium saga, by Stieg Larrson, has a recurring secondary hikikomori character with the class-A hacker Plague, who suffers from social seclusion at a point that he is officially recognized as "socially incompetent" by the State and given a disability allowance.
* Mommy is one in the beginning of ''Literature/TheFireUsTrilogy''. This causes problems when the family has to leave home.
* The Protagonist in ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'' is an example of this, hiding himself away from the world after developing leprosy.
* In the backstory of ''[[Literature/ElementalMasters Unnatural Issue]]'', Richard Whitestone [[TheMourningAfter spends the bulk of his widowerhood]] in his chambers and library on the second floor of his country manor. He would have remained comparatively harmless[[note]](an Earth Master in that state of mind [[FisherKing would have done the local countryside absolutely no good]] were a mage of comparable strength not sealing the house off with wards)[[/note]] had he not [[FromBadToWorse gotten fixated on bringing his wife]] ''[[{{Necromancer}} back]]''.
* In ''Literature/AMacabreMythOfAMothMan'', Ozzy is agoraphobic and refuses to leave the home he set up after escaping the lab. He monitors the world through a TV he rigged up, and has Moth-Man run various favors for him. Brett also stayed indoors quite a lot before dating Nina, because of a skin condition that made him sunburn very easily. After he discovered [[spoiler:being out in the sun caused him to contract Melanoma]], he stayed inside to such an extreme that his friends became very worried.
* This is the lifestyle of choice for Spacers of Solaria in Isaac Asimov's ''Literature/TheNakedSun''. Each Solarian inhabits his or her own nation sized 'estate' physically remote from their fellows. Husbands and wives share estates but have separate quarters and meet only on rare and uncomfortable occasions. All this is enabled by highly advanced holographic communications and innumerable robots.
* Two of the top five players in OASIS are directly described as being this in ''Literature/ReadyPlayerOne''. It takes one of them [[spoiler:getting killed by the CorruptCorporateExecutive]] to get the other to leave his home and find safety.
* Miss Havisham in ''Literature/GreatExpectations'', who reacts to being jilted on her supposed wedding day by locking herself away in one room of her house for thirty years.
* Mommy is one in the beginning of ''Literature/TheFireUsTrilogy''. This causes problems when the family has to leave home.
* The Protagonist in ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'' is an example of this, hiding himself away from the world after developing leprosy.
* In the backstory of ''[[Literature/ElementalMasters Unnatural Issue]]'', Richard Whitestone [[TheMourningAfter spends the bulk of his widowerhood]] in his chambers and library on the second floor of his country manor. He would have remained comparatively harmless[[note]](an Earth Master in that state of mind [[FisherKing would have done the local countryside absolutely no good]] were a mage of comparable strength not sealing the house off with wards)[[/note]] had he not [[FromBadToWorse gotten fixated on bringing his wife]] ''[[{{Necromancer}} back]]''.
* In ''Literature/AMacabreMythOfAMothMan'', Ozzy is agoraphobic and refuses to leave the home he set up after escaping the lab. He monitors the world through a TV he rigged up, and has Moth-Man run various favors for him. Brett also stayed indoors quite a lot before dating Nina, because of a skin condition that made him sunburn very easily. After he discovered [[spoiler:being out in the sun caused him to contract Melanoma]], he stayed inside to such an extreme that his friends became very worried.
* This is the lifestyle of choice for Spacers of Solaria in Isaac Asimov's ''Literature/TheNakedSun''. Each Solarian inhabits his or her own nation sized 'estate' physically remote from their fellows. Husbands and wives share estates but have separate quarters and meet only on rare and uncomfortable occasions. All this is enabled by highly advanced holographic communications and innumerable robots.
* Two of the top five players in OASIS are directly described as being this in ''Literature/ReadyPlayerOne''. It takes one of them [[spoiler:getting killed by the CorruptCorporateExecutive]] to get the other to leave his home and find safety.
* Miss Havisham in ''Literature/GreatExpectations'', who reacts to being jilted on her supposed wedding day by locking herself away in one room of her house for thirty years.
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* In ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'', Johnny Truant becomes one, after working on The Navidson Record for a while. It has an unhealthy effect on any reader's sanity... including ''yours'', dear reader.
* Eri Asai from Haruki Murakami's novel ''After Dark''. After being deprived of a normal childhood because of her hectic modeling career, she abruptly locked herself in her room and went into deep periods of sleep, awakening only to eat and use the bathroom.
* OlderThanRadio: Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, the protagonist of [[Literature/{{Oblomov}} the eponymous novel]] by Ivan Goncharov (1859), goes in a self-imposed exile from public life, not leaving his [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Saint Petersburg]] apartment for ''years''. What's most interesting here is that such behavior wasn't seen as something really extraordinary for a wealthy Russian landlord -- a class that had such high proportion of oddballs and weirdos that you might seem out of the line if you ''didn't'' have any eccentricities.
%%%* The main character of Creator/FyodorDostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground.''
* [[WellIntentionedExtremist Rodion]] [[AxCrazy Romanovich]] [[TheAtoner Raskolnikov]] from Dostoevsky's ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment''. The unhealthy amount of time he spends in his cramped, dingy apartment ([[EmpathicEnvironment emulating his mental state at the time]]) is theorized to be a contributing factor to the [[spoiler:murders he commits]].
* Except to purchase food (and the next copy of Misery's romantic escapades, of course), Annie from Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Misery}}'' rarely if ever leaves her secluded cabin.
* In the short comic "The Forever Box" by Sarah Mesinga (anthologized in ''Flight''), the main character shuts herself in a magical time machine box with her books, laptop, and DVD's after the death of her brothers.
* The Once-ler from Creator/DrSeuss's ''Literature/TheLorax'' is most definitely this, although he does tell his story for a small fee.
* Eri Asai from Haruki Murakami's novel ''After Dark''. After being deprived of a normal childhood because of her hectic modeling career, she abruptly locked herself in her room and went into deep periods of sleep, awakening only to eat and use the bathroom.
* OlderThanRadio: Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, the protagonist of [[Literature/{{Oblomov}} the eponymous novel]] by Ivan Goncharov (1859), goes in a self-imposed exile from public life, not leaving his [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Saint Petersburg]] apartment for ''years''. What's most interesting here is that such behavior wasn't seen as something really extraordinary for a wealthy Russian landlord -- a class that had such high proportion of oddballs and weirdos that you might seem out of the line if you ''didn't'' have any eccentricities.
%%%* The main character of Creator/FyodorDostoevsky's ''Notes from Underground.''
* [[WellIntentionedExtremist Rodion]] [[AxCrazy Romanovich]] [[TheAtoner Raskolnikov]] from Dostoevsky's ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment''. The unhealthy amount of time he spends in his cramped, dingy apartment ([[EmpathicEnvironment emulating his mental state at the time]]) is theorized to be a contributing factor to the [[spoiler:murders he commits]].
* Except to purchase food (and the next copy of Misery's romantic escapades, of course), Annie from Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Misery}}'' rarely if ever leaves her secluded cabin.
* In the short comic "The Forever Box" by Sarah Mesinga (anthologized in ''Flight''), the main character shuts herself in a magical time machine box with her books, laptop, and DVD's after the death of her brothers.
* The Once-ler from Creator/DrSeuss's ''Literature/TheLorax'' is most definitely this, although he does tell his story for a small fee.
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* Those with a condition that prevents them from going outside. [[HighFatIndex Extreme obesity]], [[WeakenedByTheLight extreme photosensitivity]], or being bedridden and likely near death are the most common reasons.
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* Those with a condition that prevents them from going outside. [[HighFatIndex Extreme obesity]], [[WeakenedByTheLight extreme photosensitivity]], general agoraphobia, or being bedridden and likely near death are the most common reasons.
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* ''Film/CastawayOnTheMoon'' is about a suicidal man turned castaway, because he can't swim off a tiny island in the middle of Seoul. The only person who notices him there is a young hikikomori woman, who eventually risks the outdoors to communicate with the man on the island (with elaborate schemes to get out unnoticed by anyone in the dead of night).
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* The Glutton victim from ''Film/{{Se7en}}''. He even had his groceries delivered.
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* Columbus in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', prior to the ZombieApocalypse.
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[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* Elsa and Anna from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' are this way in the prologue. Due to [[AnIcePerson Elsa]] accidentally almost killing Anna as a child their parents decided to keep them locked in the castle. Elsa in particular apparently ''very'' rarely ever left her bedroom in the span of thirteen years. The real plot starts at Elsa's coronation, where she and Anna break out of this.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'', since Linda picked him up, Blu almost never went outdoors, and had trouble socializing with other birds.
[[/folder]]
* Elsa and Anna from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' are this way in the prologue. Due to [[AnIcePerson Elsa]] accidentally almost killing Anna as a child their parents decided to keep them locked in the castle. Elsa in particular apparently ''very'' rarely ever left her bedroom in the span of thirteen years. The real plot starts at Elsa's coronation, where she and Anna break out of this.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'', since Linda picked him up, Blu almost never went outdoors, and had trouble socializing with other birds.
[[/folder]]
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* '''{{Hikikomori}}''': More or less the same as agoraphobic. Although the word has connotations specific to Japan, as a trope it effectively covers agoraphobia as a whole.
to:
* '''{{Hikikomori}}''': More or less the same as agoraphobic. Although the word has connotations specific to Japan, as a trope it effectively covers agoraphobia as a whole.
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%% NOTE: This example below simply has no page associated with it. Going with "intentional dead link" for future-proofing.
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* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': While generally averted with Mycroft Holmes, whose character was [[AdaptationPersonalityChange changed considerably]] from the novel, he was portrayed as morbidly obese shut-in who was barely able to move in ''The Abominable Bride''.
to:
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': While generally averted with Mycroft Holmes, whose character was [[AdaptationPersonalityChange changed considerably]] from the novel, he was Holmes is portrayed as morbidly obese shut-in who was barely able to move in ''The Abominable Bride''.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': Because of her ability to destroy anything, her [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength lack of control over it]], and a lack of [[AxCrazy mental stability]], [[CreepyChild Flandre Scarlet]] is locked up in the basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion by her sister Remilia.
[[/folder]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': Because of her ability to destroy anything, her [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength lack of control over it]], and a lack of [[AxCrazy mental stability]], [[CreepyChild Flandre Scarlet]] is locked up in the basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion by her sister Remilia.
[[/folder]]
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* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** Brian has to do [[HeroDoesPublicService community service]] for a misdemeanor, so he's running Meals on Wheels, bringing lunches to elderly people who can't go out. He meets and falls in love with an old lady who used to be a great singer but got dissed in a review and hasn't left her house in years. He sings an Emmy Award-winning song to her, convincing her to leave her house -- and she's immediately hit by a car.
** A one-episode gag involves Peter Griffin's unnamed hairless twin, kept in captivity by family his entire life. At the end of the episode, the twin escapes and unconvincingly tries to replace Peter.
** Brian has to do [[HeroDoesPublicService community service]] for a misdemeanor, so he's running Meals on Wheels, bringing lunches to elderly people who can't go out. He meets and falls in love with an old lady who used to be a great singer but got dissed in a review and hasn't left her house in years. He sings an Emmy Award-winning song to her, convincing her to leave her house -- and she's immediately hit by a car.
** A one-episode gag involves Peter Griffin's unnamed hairless twin, kept in captivity by family his entire life. At the end of the episode, the twin escapes and unconvincingly tries to replace Peter.
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
**''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Brian has to do [[HeroDoesPublicService community service]] for a misdemeanor, so he's running Meals on Wheels, bringing lunches to elderly people who can't go out. He meets and falls in love with an old lady who used to be a great singer but got dissed in a review and hasn't left her house in years. He sings an Emmy Award-winning song to her, convincing her to leave her house -- and she's immediately hit by a car.
** A one-episode gag involves Peter Griffin's unnamed hairless twin, kept in captivity by family his entire life. At the end of the episode, the twin escapes and unconvincingly tries to replace Peter.car.
**
** A one-episode gag involves Peter Griffin's unnamed hairless twin, kept in captivity by family his entire life. At the end of the episode, the twin escapes and unconvincingly tries to replace Peter.
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* ''Literature/NeroWolfe'': The titular character will only leave his brownstone if there is ''no other alternative''. The reason: He's an extreme {{bookworm}}.
* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'': Mycroft Holmes, elder brother to legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, appears in four of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. In every case, Mycroft seems to live his entire life at the Diogenes Club, despite having even greater powers of observation and deduction than Sherlock.
* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'': Mycroft Holmes, elder brother to legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, appears in four of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. In every case, Mycroft seems to live his entire life at the Diogenes Club, despite having even greater powers of observation and deduction than Sherlock.
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%% The below is not misplaced. It translates to "30 Rock"
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[[folder:Real Life - General Examples]]
%% Trying to keep these top examples "can happen to anyone"
* The real life psychological condition known as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoraphobia agoraphobia]]'' can result in even young, otherwise healthy individuals never going outside, sometimes even with the aid of a friend or family member buying them food.
* Those who are bedridden to the point that they couldn't withstand being aided into a wheelchair and wheeled around outside are another tragic group of shut-ins.
* Those who are extremely photosensitive or burn with mere seconds of sunlight exposure tend to range between night owl and complete shut-in. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albinism Albinism]] is more known, and more often portrayed in media. (i.e. HeroicAlbino and EvilAlbino) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum Xeroderma pigmentosum]] is an extremely rare example which generally isn't indicated by skin pigment, but victims' ability to repair skin is compromised.
* Those who hold the record for obesity are invariably subjected to this fate.
* Those with severe [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction video gaming addiction]] may never leave the house, especially if they have an enabler who buys them supplies. Overlaps with agoraphobia are common.
* While [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity electromagnetic hypersensitivity]] is generally agreed to be the symptom of a mental illness rather than an actual physical ailment, the way sufferers handle it is very real. Self-treatment ranges from going outside with tinfoil linings to being a complete shut-in with one or more rooms converted into a Faraday cage.
* Extreme cases of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume_intolerance perfume intolerance]] may cause sufferers to become a shut-in and/or move to [[TheHermit out of the way places]].
%% Trying to keep these lower examples "culture specific"
* There have been cultures throughout history (some lasting to this day) that prohibit girls who have entered puberty from going outside. As the role of women at the time (especially the higher class ones) is mostly to "[[MenActWomenAre be and look attractive]]", they're kept inside so they'll learn only from what the family would allow and preventing them from looking "filthy" by interacting with people outside, especially the commoners/working class people. Strong overlap with GildedCage.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life - Specific Examples]]
--> '' '''No living examples, please!''' However, exceptions may be made for shut-ins (usually former) who speak openly about their own situation. ''
%% Trying to keep these top examples "can happen to anyone"
* The real life psychological condition known as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoraphobia agoraphobia]]'' can result in even young, otherwise healthy individuals never going outside, sometimes even with the aid of a friend or family member buying them food.
* Those who are bedridden to the point that they couldn't withstand being aided into a wheelchair and wheeled around outside are another tragic group of shut-ins.
* Those who are extremely photosensitive or burn with mere seconds of sunlight exposure tend to range between night owl and complete shut-in. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albinism Albinism]] is more known, and more often portrayed in media. (i.e. HeroicAlbino and EvilAlbino) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum Xeroderma pigmentosum]] is an extremely rare example which generally isn't indicated by skin pigment, but victims' ability to repair skin is compromised.
* Those who hold the record for obesity are invariably subjected to this fate.
* Those with severe [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction video gaming addiction]] may never leave the house, especially if they have an enabler who buys them supplies. Overlaps with agoraphobia are common.
* While [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity electromagnetic hypersensitivity]] is generally agreed to be the symptom of a mental illness rather than an actual physical ailment, the way sufferers handle it is very real. Self-treatment ranges from going outside with tinfoil linings to being a complete shut-in with one or more rooms converted into a Faraday cage.
* Extreme cases of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume_intolerance perfume intolerance]] may cause sufferers to become a shut-in and/or move to [[TheHermit out of the way places]].
%% Trying to keep these lower examples "culture specific"
* There have been cultures throughout history (some lasting to this day) that prohibit girls who have entered puberty from going outside. As the role of women at the time (especially the higher class ones) is mostly to "[[MenActWomenAre be and look attractive]]", they're kept inside so they'll learn only from what the family would allow and preventing them from looking "filthy" by interacting with people outside, especially the commoners/working class people. Strong overlap with GildedCage.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life - Specific Examples]]
--> '' '''No living examples, please!''' However, exceptions may be made for shut-ins (usually former) who speak openly about their own situation. ''
to:
[[folder:Real Life - General Examples]]
%% Trying to keep these top examples "can happen to anyone"
* The real life psychological condition known as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoraphobia agoraphobia]]'' can result in even young, otherwise healthy individuals never going outside, sometimes even with the aid of a friend or family member buying them food.
* Those who are bedridden to the point that they couldn't withstand being aided into a wheelchair and wheeled around outside are another tragic group of shut-ins.
* Those who are extremely photosensitive or burn with mere seconds of sunlight exposure tend to range between night owl and complete shut-in. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albinism Albinism]] is more known, and more often portrayed in media. (i.e. HeroicAlbino and EvilAlbino) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum Xeroderma pigmentosum]] is an extremely rare example which generally isn't indicated by skin pigment, but victims' ability to repair skin is compromised.
* Those who hold the record for obesity are invariably subjected to this fate.
* Those with severe [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction video gaming addiction]] may never leave the house, especially if they have an enabler who buys them supplies. Overlaps with agoraphobia are common.
* While [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity electromagnetic hypersensitivity]] is generally agreed to be the symptom of a mental illness rather than an actual physical ailment, the way sufferers handle it is very real. Self-treatment ranges from going outside with tinfoil linings to being a complete shut-in with one or more rooms converted into a Faraday cage.
* Extreme cases of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume_intolerance perfume intolerance]] may cause sufferers to become a shut-in and/or move to [[TheHermit out of the way places]].
%% Trying to keep these lower examples "culture specific"
* There have been cultures throughout history (some lasting to this day) that prohibit girls who have entered puberty from going outside. As the role of women at the time (especially the higher class ones) is mostly to "[[MenActWomenAre be and look attractive]]", they're kept inside so they'll learn only from what the family would allow and preventing them from looking "filthy" by interacting with people outside, especially the commoners/working class people. Strong overlap with GildedCage.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life - Specific Examples]]
--> '' '''No living examples, please!''' However, exceptions may be made for shut-ins (usually former) who speak openly about their own situation. ''
]]
%% Trying to keep these top examples "can happen to anyone"
* The real life psychological condition known as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoraphobia agoraphobia]]'' can result in even young, otherwise healthy individuals never going outside, sometimes even with the aid of a friend or family member buying them food.
* Those who are bedridden to the point that they couldn't withstand being aided into a wheelchair and wheeled around outside are another tragic group of shut-ins.
* Those who are extremely photosensitive or burn with mere seconds of sunlight exposure tend to range between night owl and complete shut-in. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albinism Albinism]] is more known, and more often portrayed in media. (i.e. HeroicAlbino and EvilAlbino) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum Xeroderma pigmentosum]] is an extremely rare example which generally isn't indicated by skin pigment, but victims' ability to repair skin is compromised.
* Those who hold the record for obesity are invariably subjected to this fate.
* Those with severe [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction video gaming addiction]] may never leave the house, especially if they have an enabler who buys them supplies. Overlaps with agoraphobia are common.
* While [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity electromagnetic hypersensitivity]] is generally agreed to be the symptom of a mental illness rather than an actual physical ailment, the way sufferers handle it is very real. Self-treatment ranges from going outside with tinfoil linings to being a complete shut-in with one or more rooms converted into a Faraday cage.
* Extreme cases of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume_intolerance perfume intolerance]] may cause sufferers to become a shut-in and/or move to [[TheHermit out of the way places]].
%% Trying to keep these lower examples "culture specific"
* There have been cultures throughout history (some lasting to this day) that prohibit girls who have entered puberty from going outside. As the role of women at the time (especially the higher class ones) is mostly to "[[MenActWomenAre be and look attractive]]", they're kept inside so they'll learn only from what the family would allow and preventing them from looking "filthy" by interacting with people outside, especially the commoners/working class people. Strong overlap with GildedCage.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life - Specific Examples]]
--> '' '''No living examples, please!''' However, exceptions may be made for shut-ins (usually former) who speak openly about their own situation. ''
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%% As tempting as it is to list J.D. Salinger, there's no decent source out there to suggest he was more than a mere recluse for any significant period.
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YMMV is not and was never a trope. Do not link to it for any reason.
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* ''Film/{{I Am Sam}}'': Annie, the elderly neighbor who babysits Sam's daughter Lucy when Sam works, is an agorophobe who had not been outside in years. When testifying on behalf of Sam to his fitness as a father in his custody battle, her credibility is attacked with a lawyer bringing up this psychological condition.
to:
* ''Film/{{I Am Sam}}'': ''Film/IAmSam'': Annie, the elderly neighbor who babysits Sam's daughter Lucy when Sam works, is an agorophobe who had not been outside in years. When testifying on behalf of Sam to his fitness as a father in his custody battle, her credibility is attacked with a lawyer bringing up this psychological condition.
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* ''Film/ThatDarnCat'': In the remake, an elderly woman complains she never goes anywhere. We find out at the end that this is literally true. When her floor (someone else's ceiling) is destroyed, she falls through still in her armchair. She's happy, though: "I finally left my house!" Why she never leaves her house is [[{{YMMV}} left up to the viewer]].
to:
* ''Film/ThatDarnCat'': In the remake, an elderly woman complains she never goes anywhere. We find out at the end that this is literally true. When her floor (someone else's ceiling) is destroyed, she falls through still in her armchair. She's happy, though: "I finally left my house!" Why she never leaves her house is [[{{YMMV}} left up to the viewer]].viewer.
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[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/GreatExpectations http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misshavisham_bw_movie.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:One of the [[OlderThanTheyThink earliest]] shut-ins.]]
It's not the least bit uncommon for people to avoid going outside in RealLife, and fiction follows through by giving us an assortment of house [[TheHermit hermit]] characters. They tend to come in three flavors:
* The self-imposed shut-ins who for whatever reason (typically agoraphobia) cannot bring themself to go outside, or simply do not want to do so.
* Those with a condition that prevents them from going outside. [[HighFatIndex Extreme obesity]], [[WeakenedByTheLight extreme photosensitivity]], or being bedridden and likely near death are the most common reasons.
* Those who are kept against their will their entire lives, typically by family. Often ends up being a family's DarkSecret or SecretLegacy.
Since most fictional characters need to eat to live, shut-ins who are still ambulatory and aren't captives may go outside to buy the most necessary of supplies, but otherwise remain in isolation.
!![[Main/SuperTrope Subtropes include:]]
[[index]]
* '''{{Hikikomori}}''': More or less the same as agoraphobic. Although the word has connotations specific to Japan, as a trope it effectively covers agoraphobia as a whole.
* '''MadwomanInTheAttic''': The tragic, non-consensual form of TheShutIn.
* '''GildedCage''': Usually befalls a young person, almost AlwaysFemale, who is given a luxurious lifestyle but is otherwise denied any socializing outside of interactions with her servants.
[[/index]]
Compare TheHermit, ReclusiveArtist, and CrazySurvivalist. Compare and contrast YouAreGrounded, which is typically short and doesn't include school. NPCScheduling, especially in older games, may make characters look like shut-ins, but that's just due to the simplistic AI. Compare ConvenientComa and the like, where being a shut-in is merely a side effect of being unconscious and therefore completely incapable of going anywhere. [[PrisonTropes Prisoners]] and rare cases like [[Film/TheTrumanShow Truman]] who are prisoners in wide open spaces don't really count, as they still have interactions with peers of their social standing within their microcosm. Prisoners in solitary tend to fall under GoMadFromTheIsolation and/or PunishmentBox.
----
!!Other Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* ''Film/{{Benchwarmers}}'': Howie is terrified of the sun and of other people, so he lives in a very small room in his brother's house. He overcomes his fear by the end of the movie, however.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'': Eight years after the end of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Bruce Wayne has spent most of those eight years as a complete recluse, not interacting with anyone but his butler, Alfred. The police finally got organized crime out of Gotham, so the city doesn't need Batman anymore -- and Bruce is still too heartbroken over [[spoiler:Rachel Dawes' death]] to interact with the world in his civilian persona. But Bruce Wayne's withdrawal allows Bane's agents to establish a foothold in the city; by the time Batman comes back out of retirement, it's almost too late.
* ''Film/{{I Am Sam}}'': Annie, the elderly neighbor who babysits Sam's daughter Lucy when Sam works, is an agorophobe who had not been outside in years. When testifying on behalf of Sam to his fitness as a father in his custody battle, her credibility is attacked with a lawyer bringing up this psychological condition.
* ''Film/NimsIsland'': Alexandra Rover is agoraphobic and never leaves her apartment. When Nim writes to her explaining her trouble, Alexandra forces herself to go out and find her.
* ''Film/TheOthers'': The kids cannot go outside because of a genetic disorder ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum Xeroderma pigmentosum]]), as they might be exposed to sunlight and die. [[spoiler:Once they realize they are already dead, they get to enjoy sunlight for the first time.]]
* ''Film/ThatDarnCat'': In the remake, an elderly woman complains she never goes anywhere. We find out at the end that this is literally true. When her floor (someone else's ceiling) is destroyed, she falls through still in her armchair. She's happy, though: "I finally left my house!" Why she never leaves her house is [[{{YMMV}} left up to the viewer]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Literature]]
* ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'': Charlie's grandparents stayed for twenty years without leaving their bed. Not the house; the freaking ''bed''.
%% NOTE: This example below simply has no page associated with it. Going with "intentional dead link" for future-proofing.
* ''Literature/FinalGirls'': In a [[HeroicBSOD PTSD]] sort of example, one of the main characters is unable to cope with leaving the house at all after the events they've been put through. They were essentially forced to live a horror movie.
* ''Literature/GreatExpectations'': Miss Havisham was jilted on her wedding day and spent the rest of her life shut up in her mansion, still wearing her wedding dress, as the house decays around her.
* ''Literature/NeroWolfe'': The titular character will only leave his brownstone if there is ''no other alternative''. The reason: He's an extreme {{bookworm}}.
* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'': Mycroft Holmes, elder brother to legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, appears in four of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. In every case, Mycroft seems to live his entire life at the Diogenes Club, despite having even greater powers of observation and deduction than Sherlock.
* ''Literature/TanteiTeamKZJikenNote'': Nanaki is this in the beginning due to the application of OnOneCondition -- he's required to stay in his family mansion until 20 as a condition of inheriting the family estate. Unlike most examples of this trope, he doesn't see it too much of an issue, despite TheTeam found the whole idea appalling. [[spoiler:Rendered moot eventually due to the bankruptcy of his father.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
%% The below is not misplaced. It translates to "30 Rock"
* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': In the episode "Gavin Volure", the eponymous character (played by Steve Martin) fakes being this trope. It turns out he's actually a white-collar criminal under house arrest.
* ''Series/BarneyMiller'': In one episode, Wojo arrests a man after the man's landlord complains of non-payment of rent. The man hadn't left his apartment for 20 years; shortly after coming to the precinct, [[spoiler:he dies]].
* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Jimmy [=McGill's=] brother Chuck suffers from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, and at the beginning of the show, he is revealed to have been a complete shut-in for years, aided by his assistant Ernesto. At the beginning of the show, his house is merely devoid of technology and he wraps himself in a tin foil blanket. Throughout, he ventures outside a few times but sometimes falls back harder. Near the end of season 2, he converted his living room into a Faraday cage.
* ''Series/MurderSheWrote'': In "Threshold of Fear", Jessica investigates a mystery involving her agoraphobic neighbor who has not left her apartment in 5 years.
* ''{{Series/Seinfeld}}'': In the pilot (but not the series) Kramer is said to never leave the building.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': While generally averted with Mycroft Holmes, whose character was [[AdaptationPersonalityChange changed considerably]] from the novel, he was portrayed as morbidly obese shut-in who was barely able to move in ''The Abominable Bride''.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': In the Star Trek franchise, including the ExpandedUniverse, most emergency holographic personnel cannot leave whatever room they are designed to serve. This was the Emergency Medical Hologram's fate in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', though later on an EMH Mk II was able to roam a prototype ship in the Alpha Quadrant, the ''Prometheus''. Mobile emitters like The Doctor's grant holographic personnel true freedom.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone'': The episode "Nothing in the Dark" featured an old woman who has refused to leave her apartment for years after seeing Death take a young woman. She believes that if she stays in the apartment that Death can't reach her. [[spoiler:Unbeknownst to her, she was right, but she unwittingly invited Death in anyway.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': Because of her ability to destroy anything, her [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength lack of control over it]], and a lack of [[AxCrazy mental stability]], [[CreepyChild Flandre Scarlet]] is locked up in the basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion by her sister Remilia.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/JackDavidHopkins'': Used very nastily in the story arc "Two For You". A loser is offered what looks like a sweet deal -- free room and board in a premium-luxury apartment as an advertising promotion, "So well cared for that you'll never have to leave this apartment again!" Of course there's a catch: [[spoiler: he's unwittingly sold his soul in exchange for a "Matrix"-type illusion, and then he loses even that.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** Brian has to do [[HeroDoesPublicService community service]] for a misdemeanor, so he's running Meals on Wheels, bringing lunches to elderly people who can't go out. He meets and falls in love with an old lady who used to be a great singer but got dissed in a review and hasn't left her house in years. He sings an Emmy Award-winning song to her, convincing her to leave her house -- and she's immediately hit by a car.
** A one-episode gag involves Peter Griffin's unnamed hairless twin, kept in captivity by family his entire life. At the end of the episode, the twin escapes and unconvincingly tries to replace Peter.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In the episode "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E12ATaleOfTwoStans A Tale of Two Stans]]", it's revealed that [[spoiler: Stan refused to leave his brother's house for several days after he inadvertently shoved him into an interdimensional portal, until he ran out of food. When he went to buy food from a nearby store, the people there gave him the idea to impersonate his brother in order to make some desperately-needed cash by inviting them to the Mystery Shack, thus averting this trope]].
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Wade, a [[TechnoWizard genius hacker]] who occasionally helps the main characters, never left his house during the majority of the series. He was only seen outside in late season 3 and season 4, and no reason for his prior status was ever given.
* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': A one-off King of the Hill gag featured a [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6xin6J4Hk1qk4934o1_500.png ghoulish looking kid]] who is homeschooled and never leaves the house, being plastered to his computer while awake.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'': In one episode, Piglet is too afraid to leave his house after getting carried away by the wind during a storm. The others try to get him to come outside again, but it takes Pooh getting caught in another storm for Piglet to snap out of it and go save his friend.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePJs'': Juicy's parents can't leave their apartment because they're too obese to go through the door.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life - General Examples]]
%% Trying to keep these top examples "can happen to anyone"
* The real life psychological condition known as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoraphobia agoraphobia]]'' can result in even young, otherwise healthy individuals never going outside, sometimes even with the aid of a friend or family member buying them food.
* Those who are bedridden to the point that they couldn't withstand being aided into a wheelchair and wheeled around outside are another tragic group of shut-ins.
* Those who are extremely photosensitive or burn with mere seconds of sunlight exposure tend to range between night owl and complete shut-in. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albinism Albinism]] is more known, and more often portrayed in media. (i.e. HeroicAlbino and EvilAlbino) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum Xeroderma pigmentosum]] is an extremely rare example which generally isn't indicated by skin pigment, but victims' ability to repair skin is compromised.
* Those who hold the record for obesity are invariably subjected to this fate.
* Those with severe [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction video gaming addiction]] may never leave the house, especially if they have an enabler who buys them supplies. Overlaps with agoraphobia are common.
* While [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity electromagnetic hypersensitivity]] is generally agreed to be the symptom of a mental illness rather than an actual physical ailment, the way sufferers handle it is very real. Self-treatment ranges from going outside with tinfoil linings to being a complete shut-in with one or more rooms converted into a Faraday cage.
* Extreme cases of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume_intolerance perfume intolerance]] may cause sufferers to become a shut-in and/or move to [[TheHermit out of the way places]].
%% Trying to keep these lower examples "culture specific"
* There have been cultures throughout history (some lasting to this day) that prohibit girls who have entered puberty from going outside. As the role of women at the time (especially the higher class ones) is mostly to "[[MenActWomenAre be and look attractive]]", they're kept inside so they'll learn only from what the family would allow and preventing them from looking "filthy" by interacting with people outside, especially the commoners/working class people. Strong overlap with GildedCage.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life - Specific Examples]]
--> '' '''No living examples, please!''' However, exceptions may be made for shut-ins (usually former) who speak openly about their own situation. ''
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers Collyer brothers]] were compulsive hoarders who eventually gained fame. This fame led them to shut themselves in their houses until the first died in a freak accident, causing the second, dependent on his brother, to starve to death.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes#Later_years_as_a_Las_Vegas_recluse Howard Hughes]] shut himself inside his Desert Inn suite for long periods of time. He purchased the Desert Inn writ large, along with a number of other casino hotels for often trite reasons...such as to remove a neon sign that shone through his drapes. After his nine year stay in said suite, his drapes were found to be rotten and never opened.
%% As tempting as it is to list J.D. Salinger, there's no decent source out there to suggest he was more than a mere recluse for any significant period.
[[/folder]]
[[caption-width-right:350:One of the [[OlderThanTheyThink earliest]] shut-ins.]]
It's not the least bit uncommon for people to avoid going outside in RealLife, and fiction follows through by giving us an assortment of house [[TheHermit hermit]] characters. They tend to come in three flavors:
* The self-imposed shut-ins who for whatever reason (typically agoraphobia) cannot bring themself to go outside, or simply do not want to do so.
* Those with a condition that prevents them from going outside. [[HighFatIndex Extreme obesity]], [[WeakenedByTheLight extreme photosensitivity]], or being bedridden and likely near death are the most common reasons.
* Those who are kept against their will their entire lives, typically by family. Often ends up being a family's DarkSecret or SecretLegacy.
Since most fictional characters need to eat to live, shut-ins who are still ambulatory and aren't captives may go outside to buy the most necessary of supplies, but otherwise remain in isolation.
!![[Main/SuperTrope Subtropes include:]]
[[index]]
* '''{{Hikikomori}}''': More or less the same as agoraphobic. Although the word has connotations specific to Japan, as a trope it effectively covers agoraphobia as a whole.
* '''MadwomanInTheAttic''': The tragic, non-consensual form of TheShutIn.
* '''GildedCage''': Usually befalls a young person, almost AlwaysFemale, who is given a luxurious lifestyle but is otherwise denied any socializing outside of interactions with her servants.
[[/index]]
Compare TheHermit, ReclusiveArtist, and CrazySurvivalist. Compare and contrast YouAreGrounded, which is typically short and doesn't include school. NPCScheduling, especially in older games, may make characters look like shut-ins, but that's just due to the simplistic AI. Compare ConvenientComa and the like, where being a shut-in is merely a side effect of being unconscious and therefore completely incapable of going anywhere. [[PrisonTropes Prisoners]] and rare cases like [[Film/TheTrumanShow Truman]] who are prisoners in wide open spaces don't really count, as they still have interactions with peers of their social standing within their microcosm. Prisoners in solitary tend to fall under GoMadFromTheIsolation and/or PunishmentBox.
----
!!Other Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* ''Film/{{Benchwarmers}}'': Howie is terrified of the sun and of other people, so he lives in a very small room in his brother's house. He overcomes his fear by the end of the movie, however.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'': Eight years after the end of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Bruce Wayne has spent most of those eight years as a complete recluse, not interacting with anyone but his butler, Alfred. The police finally got organized crime out of Gotham, so the city doesn't need Batman anymore -- and Bruce is still too heartbroken over [[spoiler:Rachel Dawes' death]] to interact with the world in his civilian persona. But Bruce Wayne's withdrawal allows Bane's agents to establish a foothold in the city; by the time Batman comes back out of retirement, it's almost too late.
* ''Film/{{I Am Sam}}'': Annie, the elderly neighbor who babysits Sam's daughter Lucy when Sam works, is an agorophobe who had not been outside in years. When testifying on behalf of Sam to his fitness as a father in his custody battle, her credibility is attacked with a lawyer bringing up this psychological condition.
* ''Film/NimsIsland'': Alexandra Rover is agoraphobic and never leaves her apartment. When Nim writes to her explaining her trouble, Alexandra forces herself to go out and find her.
* ''Film/TheOthers'': The kids cannot go outside because of a genetic disorder ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum Xeroderma pigmentosum]]), as they might be exposed to sunlight and die. [[spoiler:Once they realize they are already dead, they get to enjoy sunlight for the first time.]]
* ''Film/ThatDarnCat'': In the remake, an elderly woman complains she never goes anywhere. We find out at the end that this is literally true. When her floor (someone else's ceiling) is destroyed, she falls through still in her armchair. She's happy, though: "I finally left my house!" Why she never leaves her house is [[{{YMMV}} left up to the viewer]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Literature]]
* ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'': Charlie's grandparents stayed for twenty years without leaving their bed. Not the house; the freaking ''bed''.
%% NOTE: This example below simply has no page associated with it. Going with "intentional dead link" for future-proofing.
* ''Literature/FinalGirls'': In a [[HeroicBSOD PTSD]] sort of example, one of the main characters is unable to cope with leaving the house at all after the events they've been put through. They were essentially forced to live a horror movie.
* ''Literature/GreatExpectations'': Miss Havisham was jilted on her wedding day and spent the rest of her life shut up in her mansion, still wearing her wedding dress, as the house decays around her.
* ''Literature/NeroWolfe'': The titular character will only leave his brownstone if there is ''no other alternative''. The reason: He's an extreme {{bookworm}}.
* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'': Mycroft Holmes, elder brother to legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, appears in four of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. In every case, Mycroft seems to live his entire life at the Diogenes Club, despite having even greater powers of observation and deduction than Sherlock.
* ''Literature/TanteiTeamKZJikenNote'': Nanaki is this in the beginning due to the application of OnOneCondition -- he's required to stay in his family mansion until 20 as a condition of inheriting the family estate. Unlike most examples of this trope, he doesn't see it too much of an issue, despite TheTeam found the whole idea appalling. [[spoiler:Rendered moot eventually due to the bankruptcy of his father.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
%% The below is not misplaced. It translates to "30 Rock"
* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': In the episode "Gavin Volure", the eponymous character (played by Steve Martin) fakes being this trope. It turns out he's actually a white-collar criminal under house arrest.
* ''Series/BarneyMiller'': In one episode, Wojo arrests a man after the man's landlord complains of non-payment of rent. The man hadn't left his apartment for 20 years; shortly after coming to the precinct, [[spoiler:he dies]].
* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Jimmy [=McGill's=] brother Chuck suffers from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, and at the beginning of the show, he is revealed to have been a complete shut-in for years, aided by his assistant Ernesto. At the beginning of the show, his house is merely devoid of technology and he wraps himself in a tin foil blanket. Throughout, he ventures outside a few times but sometimes falls back harder. Near the end of season 2, he converted his living room into a Faraday cage.
* ''Series/MurderSheWrote'': In "Threshold of Fear", Jessica investigates a mystery involving her agoraphobic neighbor who has not left her apartment in 5 years.
* ''{{Series/Seinfeld}}'': In the pilot (but not the series) Kramer is said to never leave the building.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': While generally averted with Mycroft Holmes, whose character was [[AdaptationPersonalityChange changed considerably]] from the novel, he was portrayed as morbidly obese shut-in who was barely able to move in ''The Abominable Bride''.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': In the Star Trek franchise, including the ExpandedUniverse, most emergency holographic personnel cannot leave whatever room they are designed to serve. This was the Emergency Medical Hologram's fate in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', though later on an EMH Mk II was able to roam a prototype ship in the Alpha Quadrant, the ''Prometheus''. Mobile emitters like The Doctor's grant holographic personnel true freedom.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone'': The episode "Nothing in the Dark" featured an old woman who has refused to leave her apartment for years after seeing Death take a young woman. She believes that if she stays in the apartment that Death can't reach her. [[spoiler:Unbeknownst to her, she was right, but she unwittingly invited Death in anyway.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': Because of her ability to destroy anything, her [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength lack of control over it]], and a lack of [[AxCrazy mental stability]], [[CreepyChild Flandre Scarlet]] is locked up in the basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion by her sister Remilia.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/JackDavidHopkins'': Used very nastily in the story arc "Two For You". A loser is offered what looks like a sweet deal -- free room and board in a premium-luxury apartment as an advertising promotion, "So well cared for that you'll never have to leave this apartment again!" Of course there's a catch: [[spoiler: he's unwittingly sold his soul in exchange for a "Matrix"-type illusion, and then he loses even that.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** Brian has to do [[HeroDoesPublicService community service]] for a misdemeanor, so he's running Meals on Wheels, bringing lunches to elderly people who can't go out. He meets and falls in love with an old lady who used to be a great singer but got dissed in a review and hasn't left her house in years. He sings an Emmy Award-winning song to her, convincing her to leave her house -- and she's immediately hit by a car.
** A one-episode gag involves Peter Griffin's unnamed hairless twin, kept in captivity by family his entire life. At the end of the episode, the twin escapes and unconvincingly tries to replace Peter.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In the episode "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E12ATaleOfTwoStans A Tale of Two Stans]]", it's revealed that [[spoiler: Stan refused to leave his brother's house for several days after he inadvertently shoved him into an interdimensional portal, until he ran out of food. When he went to buy food from a nearby store, the people there gave him the idea to impersonate his brother in order to make some desperately-needed cash by inviting them to the Mystery Shack, thus averting this trope]].
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Wade, a [[TechnoWizard genius hacker]] who occasionally helps the main characters, never left his house during the majority of the series. He was only seen outside in late season 3 and season 4, and no reason for his prior status was ever given.
* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': A one-off King of the Hill gag featured a [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6xin6J4Hk1qk4934o1_500.png ghoulish looking kid]] who is homeschooled and never leaves the house, being plastered to his computer while awake.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'': In one episode, Piglet is too afraid to leave his house after getting carried away by the wind during a storm. The others try to get him to come outside again, but it takes Pooh getting caught in another storm for Piglet to snap out of it and go save his friend.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePJs'': Juicy's parents can't leave their apartment because they're too obese to go through the door.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life - General Examples]]
%% Trying to keep these top examples "can happen to anyone"
* The real life psychological condition known as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoraphobia agoraphobia]]'' can result in even young, otherwise healthy individuals never going outside, sometimes even with the aid of a friend or family member buying them food.
* Those who are bedridden to the point that they couldn't withstand being aided into a wheelchair and wheeled around outside are another tragic group of shut-ins.
* Those who are extremely photosensitive or burn with mere seconds of sunlight exposure tend to range between night owl and complete shut-in. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albinism Albinism]] is more known, and more often portrayed in media. (i.e. HeroicAlbino and EvilAlbino) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeroderma_pigmentosum Xeroderma pigmentosum]] is an extremely rare example which generally isn't indicated by skin pigment, but victims' ability to repair skin is compromised.
* Those who hold the record for obesity are invariably subjected to this fate.
* Those with severe [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction video gaming addiction]] may never leave the house, especially if they have an enabler who buys them supplies. Overlaps with agoraphobia are common.
* While [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity electromagnetic hypersensitivity]] is generally agreed to be the symptom of a mental illness rather than an actual physical ailment, the way sufferers handle it is very real. Self-treatment ranges from going outside with tinfoil linings to being a complete shut-in with one or more rooms converted into a Faraday cage.
* Extreme cases of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume_intolerance perfume intolerance]] may cause sufferers to become a shut-in and/or move to [[TheHermit out of the way places]].
%% Trying to keep these lower examples "culture specific"
* There have been cultures throughout history (some lasting to this day) that prohibit girls who have entered puberty from going outside. As the role of women at the time (especially the higher class ones) is mostly to "[[MenActWomenAre be and look attractive]]", they're kept inside so they'll learn only from what the family would allow and preventing them from looking "filthy" by interacting with people outside, especially the commoners/working class people. Strong overlap with GildedCage.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life - Specific Examples]]
--> '' '''No living examples, please!''' However, exceptions may be made for shut-ins (usually former) who speak openly about their own situation. ''
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers Collyer brothers]] were compulsive hoarders who eventually gained fame. This fame led them to shut themselves in their houses until the first died in a freak accident, causing the second, dependent on his brother, to starve to death.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes#Later_years_as_a_Las_Vegas_recluse Howard Hughes]] shut himself inside his Desert Inn suite for long periods of time. He purchased the Desert Inn writ large, along with a number of other casino hotels for often trite reasons...such as to remove a neon sign that shone through his drapes. After his nine year stay in said suite, his drapes were found to be rotten and never opened.
%% As tempting as it is to list J.D. Salinger, there's no decent source out there to suggest he was more than a mere recluse for any significant period.
[[/folder]]
