Line #75 Main/SafeUnderBlankets


1	[[quoteright:300:[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/safe_under_blankets.png]]]]
2
3	->''"Why do we feel safe under blankets? It's not like a murderer will come in thinking 'I'm gonna ki...ah, damn! She's under a blanket!'"''
4	-->-- '''Internet Meme'''
5
6	Whether you're a little kid afraid of [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight the monsters under your bed]] or a [[FearOfThunder thunderstorm outside]], or an adult trying to ignore someone, you'll find yourself throwing a blanket over your head in a vain effort to make the problem go away.
7
8	For some reason, people ''do'' seem to feel safer underneath a blanket. There are even several scientific theories as to why people do this. Some think it's an attempt to "swaddle" oneself like in infancy, or even to "crawl back into the womb".
9
10	They may or may not be hiding under a SecurityBlanket.
11
12	Not to be confused with ComfortingComforter.
13
14	Compare OstrichHeadHiding, the stereotype of ostriches burying their heads in the sand when frightened. See also NoObjectPermanence.
15
16	----
17	!!Examples:
18
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
22	* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' have been known to do this.
23	** One occasion had his parents go out for an evening and decide to leave him by himself, so, naturally, he and Hobbes get a scary movie. When his folks come home, they find him upstairs hiding under the covers and the room booby-trapped.
24	** Another time they hear a monster under the bed. It claims to be alone, so Calvin thinks he and Hobbes can take it, but then they hear the monster arguing with others and they pull the covers over and yell for Mom.
25	* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' had a strip for a snorkel allowing a child to breathe comfortably while hiding under the blankets (showing the kid doing just that while hiding from a dragon and a werewolf).
26	[[/folder]]
27
28	[[folder:Fan Works]]
29	* ''Fanfic/ACertainMagicalFriendship'': In ''Context_SHIFT'': [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/287615/4/a-certain-magical-friendship-context-shift/assault-on-the-city-of-science-magicians-and-espers "Assault on the City of Science - magicians_AND_espers"]]: Fluttershy wants this, when the day needs saving:
30	--> Unlike the others, Fluttershy hadn't moved from her spot in the park. She couldn't – if she tried, she was sure that she would just dive back down the hole to Humansville and hide under her covers, hoping desperately for someone much braver than her to save the day.
31	* ''Fanfic/SorrowfulAndImmaculateHearts'' series: Discussed during a SeinfeldianConversation in "Gone Fishing". Clark claims that it's because ghosts can't pass through bedlinen, as evidenced by [[BedsheetGhost all those ghosts you see trapped under bedsheets]].
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
35	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei hides under her blanket after panickedly running home from school. Unfortunately, since she does so while in her giant red panda form, it isn't big enough to cover her completely.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
39	* ''Film/DontListen'': One night, when Eric gets scared by the voices in the house, he hides under the bed sheets.
40	* ''Film/HomeAlone1'': Subverted then played straight. After the thieves come the first night, we see the bed in the master bedroom in the morning with a child-sized lump on it. Then the camera pans down to show Kevin under the bed. He then decides he's not going to be afraid and marches outside... where he runs into Old Man Marley. Kevin runs screaming back into the house, into the bed, and pulls the covers over his head. He stays there, refusing to move, even when a police officer comes by to check on him.
41	* ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'': At the end of the movie, Maisie tries to escape from the Indoraptor by hiding under her blankets. It doesn't work.
42	* ''Film/TheWasteland2021'': At the start of the movie, Diego is hiding under his blankets, peeking out occasionally for anything that spooks him.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Literature]]
46	* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': During the "What Shall we Do, Lemony Snicket?" Q&A section of one of the early books, one submitter is scared of noises in their closet and their username is Blanket Over My Head.
47	* Creator/RobertSheckley's short story "Ghost V" serves as a WhatDoTheyFearEpisode for his recurring troubleshooter characters Arnold and Gregor and sees them visit a planet whose atmosphere contains an unknown agent turning people's subconscious imagings into [[YourMindMakesItReal unreasonably realistic]] hallucinations. The protagonists only realize this as they are returning to Earth in their contaminated spaceship, and so must spend the trip defeating the [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight monsters of their shared childhood]] by recalling the various creatures' {{Weaksauce Weakness}}es. Unfortunately, the final monster has ''none''. In order to outlast it, the duo eventually remembers the ultimate "universal law" of their childhood, that no monster can find you under a blanket, and simply hide in their bunks for the rest of the trip.
48	* Weaponized in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' against bogeymen (the traditional "bump in the night" monster): because putting yourself under a blanket causes them to go away, putting one under a blanket (or even a square of fabric) gives them an existential crisis.
49	* ''Literature/WereGoingOnABearHunt'' ends with the family getting into bed and hiding under the covers after fleeing from the bear, then deciding that they're never going on a bear hunt again.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
53	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Played with in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E4Listen Listen]]". A tense sequence involves a small figure hiding under a blanket, which might be a frightened boy or it might be the thing he's frightened of.
54	* ''Series/WandaVision'': In "[[Recap/WandaVisionEpisode7BreakingTheFourthWall Breaking the Fourth Wall]]" we first see Wanda lying in bed, recovering from Halloween, and then hiding under the comforter as the boys come charging in.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Podcasts]]
58	* ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' episode 86 "Tucked In". The victim of the episode goes to look for an old friend but finds him dead and rotten- with his body under a blanket like he was hiding there. Soon the victim starts seeing a foul-smelling, shadowy creature sneaking around his room at night, that only stops moving when he hides under his blankets. [[spoiler: The blankets don't save him, though.]]
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Video Games]]
62	* ''VideoGame/TheSims4'' has a "Scared" mood when Sims can hide under their covers. This usually happens during a lightning storm. If autonomy is turned on, Sims will often try to do this without the player's prompting.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Webcomics]]
66	* ''Webcomic/IrrationalFears'' discusses our instinctual fears about [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight monsters under the bed]], and the corresponding instinctual feeling of safety under a blanket.
67	-->[…] it can't get you so long as you're completely underneath the blanket. If no skin is exposed, you might asphyxiate, but you're safe.
68	* ''Webcomic/MilkAndMocha'' occasionally shows the duo hiding under blankets, typically when watching scary movies or, more heartbreakingly, when the latter is overwhelmed by news about the ongoing pandemic.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Web Video]]
72	* [[https://youtu.be/-fDzdDfviLI?t=70 This]] short horror film features a scared woman hiding under a blanket.
73	* ''WebVideo/UnwantedHouseguest'': The entire [[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHI2B7t2SHH8LGCUI7zT0-SnFEfgTZs25&si=uA6JmzlaiZ3FffRO Under the Covers]] album is filmed from this perspective.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Western Animation]]
77	* ''WesternAnimation/Rugrats1991'':
78	** In the episode "[[Recap/RugratsS2E8FamilyReunionGrandpasDate Grandpa's Date]]", Tommy and Chuckie realize they were put to bed early by Grandpa Lou. When Tommy suggests they find out what's going on, Chuckie refuses to entertain the idea and pulls his blanket over his head.
79	** In "[[Recap/RugratsS2E7LetThereBeLightTheBankTrick Let There Be Light]]", Chuckie is afraid of the dark and hides under his blanket... but then, [[DidntThinkThisThrough he realizes that it's dark under there, too]].
80	** In "[[Recap/RugratsS3E16UnderChuckiesBedChuckieIsRich Under Chuckie's Bed]]", Chuckie starts sleeping in a regular bed after Chas takes his old crib away. Angelica tells Chuckie a scary story about a boy who was eaten under his bed, saying that the safest place from monsters is under the covers. Chuckie wraps himself under them at the climax, and Tommy has to coax him to come out.
81	* ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas'': When Charlie Brown announces that Sally will be playing Linus' wife in the Christmas pageant, Linus immediately throws his blanket over his head when Sally gets too close.
82	* ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'': At the end of "For a Fuel Dollars More", Baloo is recovering in the hospital after Rebecca's last great idea literally blew up (albeit with some help from him). When she starts going on about ''another'' crazy scheme, he moans and pulls his blanket up over his head.
83	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mickey Mouse\|2013}}'': In "[[Recap/MickeyMouseS4E9TheScariestStoryEver The Scariest Story Ever]]", Mickey tells a scary story about a witch that bakes children into pies, which terrifies his and Donald's nephews, as well as Donald and Goofy, and makes them all run upstairs and hide under the covers. When Mickey thinks he sees the witch from his story at his door (actually Minnie in costume), he goes up and joins them.
84	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E3HomerGoesToCollege Homer Goes to College]]", Homer's wacky hijinks leave him completely unprepared for the final exam, until he comes up with a plan:
85	-->'''Homer:''' I've been working on a plan. During the exam, I'll hide under some coats, and hope that somehow everything will work out.
86	* In a ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch, a couple of monsters sarcastically lament that they can't get a kid under the covers... and then bust out the baseball bats.
87	[[/folder]]

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