History Main / WesternRattlers

->Away down south in the land of traitors
->Rattlesnakes and alligators
-->-- [[https://youtu.be/DhSzuhdIkuE Union Dixie]]

* This trope is OlderThanFeudalism in Native American Mythology, specifically the Southwest, where one brought death into the world when one Killed in self defense, and they're often agents of vengeance against wrongdoers.

Even if they don't actually appear alive, you can still see rattlesnakes in Westerns if a character is wearing snakeskin just to really show how badass they are. If you want to stretch it, one could even include characters having Rattlesnake motifs to convey "I'm dangerous and you should avoid me if you know what's good for you."

* In the yet-unreleased AdventureGame ''[[https://adventuregamers.com/games/view/15494 Rise of the Hidden Sun]]'', which is set in the Wild West, the gunslinger protagonist Jake Dawson has the nickname "Rattlesnake".

* Many zoos display rattlesnakes in exhibits themed after the mines common in the Southwestern US, likely to do with how they burrow underground. The Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska has a good one in it's Desert Dome exhibit complex, called [[https://omaha.com/lifestyles/omaha-zoos-new-rattlesnake-exhibit-aims-to-set-the-record-straight/article_76895ea7-fb15-570f-b4dc-caa80f1bd5ed.html Rattlesnake Canyon]].

It may help this trope that the range of rattlesnakes coincides with the origin point of Mexican culture, with rattling instruments like rattles and castanets sounding much like the snakes' tail rattles [[note]]Heck, the scientific name for rattlesnakes, ''Crotalus'' and the subfamily Crotalinae come from the Greek word for castanet[[/note]]. You can expect more lighthearted portrayals to use the snakes as such.

* ''Literature/{{Holes}}'': The Camp Green lake juvenile detention center is a DeadlyEnvironmentPrison in the middle of a forbidding Texan desert that's infested with rattlesnakes, scorpions, and deadly lizards. Some kids [[DeliberateInjuryGambit deliberately get bitten]] by rattlesnakes because being hospitalized in town is less awful than staying.

* Striker from ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' is an Imp, but his design is clearly based on that of a rattlesnake. His leitmotif is even the ''sound'' of one. And he's about as [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent trustworthy as one.]]

* ''VideoGame/PacManAdventuresInTime'': Rattlesnakes appear as dangerous obstacles in levels them after TheWildWest.

* ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'': The playable character Rattle Shake is a anthropomorphic rattlesnake who dresses and acts like a cowboy.

* ''WesternAnimation/WildKratts'': One of the first episodes set in the Sonora Desert featured Western Diamondbacks as the focus animal, where the Kratts ended up having to use rattlesnake powers, particularly heat sensing, to find particular crystals that power their ship. One is introduced rattling and scaring off horses the bros were riding on.

* In "Jackalope Wives" by Creator/UrsulaVernon, one of her stories set in the WeirdWest, after the protagonist's grandson accidentally maims a jackalope, the main character goes into the desert to seek help from the Painted People. The Patterned People are giant rattlesnakes who can take the shape of humans and whose bites have supernatural effects, but who sometimes [[EquivalentExchange ask for a life in return for their help.]]

* ''VideoGame/DeadlyCreatures'', set in the Sonora desert, features a rattlesnake as a twice-recurring boss for the playable Tarantula chracter. Both times, its up on a ledge where you have to dodge its strikes and get at it's tail (which for whatever reason it keeps dangling out leaving a window for you to get). The second and final one at the end eventually has the tarantula scale up a gas pump, shoot webbing at its face, and uses it to bite the snake in the head before escaping.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', set in the Mojave Desert and effectively the [[VideoGame/{{Fallout}} series']] CowboyEpisode, Introduces the Nightstalker, half [[ThoseWilyCoyotes Coyote]], half Rattlesnake, complete with the trademark rattle.

[[folder: Film]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'': Rattlesnake Jake is one of the villains of the film, being a tough gunslinger with the gun in the place of his rattle, and even insinuated to be from Hell.
* ''Film/TrueGrit'': One scene has [[TheHero Mattie Ross]] falling into a pit where a rattlesnake bites her arm. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome By the end of the film, she has to have her arm amputated]].

In real life, 36 species of the creatures known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattlesnake rattlesnakes]] are found across North America and many environments, from temperate forests in the east, to swamps and marshes in the south, to jungles and the plains of the heartlands right up into Canada. Many species can even be found in South America.

* ''WesternAnimation/WildKratts'': One of the first episodes set in the Sonora Desert featured Western Diamondbacks as the focus animal, where the Kratts ended up having to use rattlesnake powers, particularly heat sensing, to find particulsr crystals that power their ship. One is introduced rattling and scaring off horses the bros were riding on.

It may help this trope that the range of rattlesnakes coincides with the origin point of Latino culture, with rattling instruments like rattles and castanets sounding much like the snakes' tail rattles [[note]]Heck, the scientific name for rattlesnakes, ''Crotalus'' and the subfamily Crotalinae come from the Greek word for castanet[[/note]]. You can expect more lighthearted portrayals to use the snakes as such.

In real life, 36 species of the snakes known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattlesnake Rattlesnakes]] are found across North America and many environments, from temperate forests in the east, to swamps and marshes in the south, to jungles and the plains of the heartlands right up into Canada. In fact, many species can even be found in South America too.

However, in pop culture, there's usually only one place rattlesnakes are found: deserts and scrubland of the Southwestern US and into Mexico, and it's usually the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_diamondback_rattlesnake Western diamondback rattlesnake]] one sees, or the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_cerastes Horned or Sidewinder rattlesnake]].

By any rate, you'll find them a lot in Westerns and works inspired by it, and always as a menacing symbol. The rattling noise of them made by the tips of their tails are unnerving warnings, and of course they're venomous, which will at best make you hallucinate and at worst knock you unconscious, something you don't want when your are in the desert, especially if you're alone and parched in the wide open, desolate wastelands of it. On the other hand, the long winding and flexible shape may also evoke a whip or lasso, tools of the trade used with cowboys.

It may help this trope that the range of rattlesnakes coincides with where up until recently Latino culture in the country, who use rattling instruments like rattles and castanets much like their tail rattles [[note]]Heck, the scientific name for rattlesnakes, ''Crotalus'' and the subfamily Crotalinae come from the Greek word for Castanet[[/note]]. You can expect more lighthearted portrayals to use them as such.

Even if they don't actually appear alive, you can still sea rattlesnakes in westerns if a character is wearing snakeskin just to really show how badass they are. If you want to stretch it, one could evwn include characters hsving Rattlesnake motifs to convey "I'm dangerous and you should avoid me if you know what's good for you."

* ''Literature/HankTheCowdog'' (which takes place in the Texas Panhandle) of course features the standard Diamond Back, with one book titled "The Case of the Double-Bumble Bee Sting " features the titular dog getting bitten and suffering the side effects, but denying it in favor of two bumble bees.

[[foldercontrol]]

* An iconic scene from ''Film/TrueGrit'' (both versions) has [[TheHero Mattie Ross]] falling into a pit where a rattlesnake bites her arm. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome By the end of the film, she has to have her arm amputated]].

* In the ''Literature/InCryptid'' WeirdWest short story "The Flower of Arizona", the MonsterOfTheWeek is a Questing Beast with [[MixAndMatchCritters the body of a mountain lion and the head and tail of a giant rattlesnake]].

* The Sonora-set ''VideoGame/DeadlyCreatures'' features a rattlesnake as a twice-recurring boss for the playable Tarantula chracter. Both times, its up on a ledge where you have to dodge its strikes and get at it's tail (which for whatever reason it keeps dangling out leaving a window for you to get). The second and final one at the end eventually has the tarantula scale up a gas pump, shoot webbing at its face, and uses it to bite the snake in the head before escaping.

* In ''VideoGame/PacManAdventuresInTime'', rattlesnakes appear as dangerous obstacles in levels them after TheWildWest.

However, in pop culture, there's usually only one place rattlesnakes are found: deserts and scrubland of the Southwestern US and into Mexico's, and its usually the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_diamondback_rattlesnake Western diamondback rattlesnake]] one sees, or the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_cerastes Horned or Sidewinder rattlesnake]].

In real life, 36 species of the snakes known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattlesnake Rattlesnakes]] are found across North America and many environments, from temperate forests in the east, to swamps and marshes in the south, to jungles and the plains of the heartlands right up into Canada.

By any rate, you'll find them a lot in Westerns and works inspired by it, and always as a menacing symbol. The rattling noise of them made by the tips of their tails are unnerving warnings, and of course they're venomous, which will at best make you hallucinate and at worst knock you unconscious, something you don't want when your are in the desert, especially if you're alone and parched in the wide open wastelands of it. On the other hand, the long winding and flexible shape may also evoke a whip or lasso, tools of the trade used with cowboys.

It may help this trope that the range of rattlesnakes coincides with Latino culture in the country, who use rattling instruments like rattles and castanets much like their tail rattles [[note]]Heck, the scientific name for rattlesnakes, ''Crotalus'' and the subfamily Crotalinae come from the Greek word for Castanet[[/note]]. You can expect more lighthearted portrayals to use them as such.

[[folder: Folklore]]

Even if they don't actually appear alive, you can still sea rattlesnakes in westerns if a character is wearing snakeskin just to really show how badass they are. If you want to stretch it, one could evwn include characters hsving Rattlesnake motifs to convey "I'm dangerous and you should avoid me."

In real life, 36 species of the snakes known as Rattlesnakes are found across North America and many environments, from temperate forests in the east, to swamps and marshes in the south, to jungles and the plains of the heartlands right up into Canada.