Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / AccidentalIncantation

Go To

1%%
2%%
3%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
4%%
5%%
6->''"Reading ancient books silently in your head can be a great way to learn about monsters and how you might potentially defeat them. Reading them aloud is a good way to call down the end of the world."''
7-->-- Tip #16, ''[[http://monsterlibrarian.com/horrorsurvive.htm Horror Survival Guide]]''[[note]]Also touching on the UnspokenPlanGuarantee.[[/note]]
8
9You're one of those [[SoundingItOut reading-aloud]] types. A [[TomeOfEldritchLore mystical text]] -- possibly [[OminousLatinChanting in Latin]] or [[PropheciesRhymeAllTheTime in rhyme]] -- improbably ends up in your hands, and you obviously want to know what it says (or maybe you just want to [[FeigningIntelligence pretend you're a Latinophone]]). Well, you've sounded out the last syllable, only to find that [[YouJustHadToSayIt your loose lips]] have just cast a spell!
10
11The consequences of an accidental spellcast can range from [[AccidentalMurder killing]] [[BadassUnintentional a villain]] and [[AccidentalHero saving the day]], to [[TrappedInAnotherWorld warping to another dimension]], to ButtDialingMordor, to [[FreakyFridayFlip swapping bodies]] with [[ForcedTransformation your dog]], to [[{{Necromancer}} reviving]] the [[AnimateDead dead]] or [[SealedEvilInACan awakening ancient evils]]. If it's a {{Horror Film|s}}, expect this to have [[CuriosityKilledTheCast fatal consequences]]. No magical powers are required of the people involved -- the ''incantation'' is often enough to [[{{Pun}} make the magic happen]], although [[ThisIndexHasMagicProperties magical items]] such as [[MagicWand wands]], [[MagicalAccessory rings]], [[PaperTalisman talismans]], or [[AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome amulets]] may factor into it.
12
13This is a common source of conflict for skeptical, curious, or otherwise oblivious characters. In more egregious examples, it may feel like [[StupidityIsTheOnlyOption an excuse]] to [[TrapIsTheOnlyOption throw them into traps]] at a moment's notice. However, when not PlayedForDrama, this can also be an easy way to get characters ''out'' of a bad situation (such as by [[OpenSesame opening a den of hidden treasures]], or unwittingly getting the characters where they need to go).
14
15SisterTrope to UnexpectedlyRealMagic, which covers skeptics accidentally casting magic, and SorcerersApprenticePlot, in which a beginner intentionally casts magic, but is unable to keep it under control. By contrast, this trope is about not realizing something is a spell, but activating it [[StupidityTropes out of sheer ignorance]]. Compare and contrast BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor, which involves wishes accidentally coming true; MagicMisfire, which is when a spell is ''meant'' to be cast, but has GoneHorriblyWrong; and RealAfterAll. Also compare SpeakOfTheDevil, as well as a common attempt to subvert it, TheScottishTrope. Contrast with WordsDoNotMakeTheMagic.
16----
17!!Examples:
18[[foldercontrol]]
19[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
20* ''Anime/CardcaptorSakura'': The events of the series are kicked off by Sakura reading aloud the name of the Windy card and accidentally summoning wind to scatter the Clow cards across the city. What's lost in the dub is that part of the reason why Sakura said the word in the first place is that it was written in the foreign language (to her) of English and she was sounding out the unfamiliar word.
21* ''Manga/FairyTail'': Natsu does this near the beginning of the filler episode "Changeling", after finding an odd request on the request board which states whoever can figure out the meaning of the ancient writing that is written on it will earn 500,000 Jewels. Natsu recognizes the letters and promptly reads them out loud which results in him, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Happy, and Loke [[FreakyFridayFlip switching bodies with each other]].
22* ''Manga/ZatchBell'': Kiyomaro accidentally sets off one of Zatch's signature spells, Zaker, when he tells the boy not to mess around with him (''fu'''zakeru''' na''). In the English dub of the anime, accidentally misnaming him ("'''Zack, or''' whatever your name is") accomplishes the same thing.
23[[/folder]]
24
25[[folder:Comic Books]]
26* ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'': Referred to occasionally. Stephen often finds it necessary to warn others that it's generally not a good idea to read unknown spells and incantations out loud, having learned through bitter experience.
27* ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'': Johnny Thunder possessed a ring containing a genie named the Thunderbolt, who was summoned with the magic words "Cei-U". It took Johnny a while to catch on that the genie even existed, though, meaning that every time he said "[[{{Mondegreen}} Say, you-]]" the Thunderbolt would appear to grant anything Johnny said that sounded like a wish. And the Thunderbolt was a LiteralGenie to boot.
28[[/folder]]
29
30[[folder:Comic Strips]]
31* ''ComicStrip/WhatsNewWithPhilAndDixie'': Seems that our man Phil Foglio [[http://www.airshipentertainment.com/growfcomic.php?date=20070408 reads the incantation]] just to [[http://www.airshipentertainment.com/growfcomic.php?date=20070415 play a game]] of escaping [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]].
32* ''ComicStrip/TheWizardOfId'' finds a spell to transform a castle into a toadstool, and exclaims "That's absurd!" He reads on, and finds to his shock that those very words cast the spell.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
36* ''Film/BlackbeardsGhost'': When the protagonist reads an incantation from a book hidden in the pan he won at an auction, he suddenly comes face to face with the ghost of Blackbeard.
37* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'': Ghostly whispers command one of the characters to "Read the Latin... out loud..." Despite one of the characters' GenreSavvy protests, [[YouJustHadToSayIt they inevitably do]]. [[spoiler:Zombies ensue.]]
38* ''Film/ElviraMistressOfTheDark1988'': Elvira inherited a book, which she used as a cookbook to create some Adraka Kozorol thinking that it was casserole, although not strictly following the recipe. The result was a dangerous monster that sprung out of the pot, and Elvira learning that it's actually a spellbook. She attempted to replicate the effect at the village potluck, but instead caused people eating the casserole to become unnaturally aroused.
39* ''Film/TheEvilDead1981'': The events of the film start when the group find a recording left by Professor Knowby, which just so happens to contain him speaking the incantation to summon the Deadites.
40* ''Film/{{Halloweentown}}'': In ''Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge'', the way to undo a spell is to [[SdrawkcabSpeech say the incantation in reverse]]. The BigBad's "Gray Spell" has afflicted the entire town, stripping them of magic, memory, and personality, and he's trapped the good guys there while he turns his attention to the mortal world. At one point, Marnie is racking her brains for how they can "get out of this trap, a spell or a—" which unexpectedly results in a cursed person nearby returning to normal. Initially, they think that the curse just wore off, but when the evidence against that piles too high, they review what happened and realize the truth: she said "trap a," and the curse's incantation is simply "Apart!"
41* ''Film/JustVisiting'': Shortly after Thibault returns to his original time, Hunter, back at the house, drinks what he thought was a shake that they poisoned. He finds a slip of paper on the counter, and accidentally reads out the incantation. Immediately he is sent back to the medieval era seemingly in the same place as Thibault.
42* ''Film/KnightsOfBadassdom'': Eric and his friends are at a LARP event. He tries spellcasting, unaware that his book is more than a prop. Long story short, his seemingly farcical incantation actually summons a [[SuccubiAndIncubi Succubus]] who takes on the form of Beth, his friend Joe's recent ex-girlfriend, and starts slaughtering other event participants.
43* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'': This occurs at Moria in the first movie, at least on Frodo's part. After he asks Gandalf for "The Elvish word for friend," he seems somewhat surprised when the door opens upon Gandalf's answer, suggesting that he at least thought he'd have to repeat it intentionally to make it work. (This word was the password to open the door.)
44* ''Film/{{The Mummy|1999}}'': This is how Imhotep is unleashed upon the world. Evey really should have known better than to read from the Book of the Dead.
45* ''Film/ScaryMovie 5'' parodies the ''Evil Dead'' scene. The protagonists find the Book of the Evil in the basement of a cabin in the woods, where a Christian group on retreat is also staying. The protagonists ignore the many "DO NOT READ THIS" warnings and start reciting the curse and spell to reverse it multiple times, completely oblivious to the Christians being repeatedly possessed and unpossessed upstairs.
46* ''Film/TheShaggyDog'':
47** The 1959 original has Wilby Daniels find a ring with an inscription ("in canis corpore transmuto") and read it aloud several times, turning it into a little song. It turns him into [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a dog]].
48** In the sequel ''The Shaggy D.A.'', when other people read the inscription it continues to turn Wilby into a dog. Late in the story, the BigBad learns about it; he keeps reading the inscription over and over to keep Wilby in dog form. Eventually it backfires on him and turns '''him''' into a dog.
49[[/folder]]
50
51[[folder:Folklore]]
52* A Bavarian folk legend from the collection of Creator/FranzXaverVonSchonwerth concerns a man paying a visit to his friend, the sorcerer Zwergl. While the guest waits alone in the sorcerer's room, he picks up a strange book lying atop a cupboard and starts reading. Soldiers come in by the door, with ever more of them entering so long as the guest keeps reading. Eventually the man panics and jumps out of the window; Zwergl comes by and speaks a few words to the soldiers upon which they disappear, then warns his friend "not to touch things which aren't his business". It is implied the soldiers were demons summoned by the magic book.
53[[/folder]]
54
55[[folder:Literature]]
56* ''Literature/TheCaseOfCharlesDexterWard'': Dr. Willett reads aloud an incantation that resurrects someone. Fortunately, who-or-whatever they were, they were on Willett's side.
57* Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
58** The heroes of ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'' are in the lair of Bel-Shamharoth, a.k.a. the Soul Eater, an EldritchAbomination so horrible even Time doesn't go near it. Rincewind realizes exactly where they are; and since he knows that eight is its sacred number, tells everyone not to say the number that corresponds to the sum of seven plus one, or three plus five, or ten minus two... (Even the narration gets in on it, describing the 7a passages as branching off from the room with four times two walls). Cue Hrun's talking sword asking why Rincewind doesn't want them to say "eight"; the words "EIGHT, Hate, ate" echoing around the temple without fading away; and of course, Bel-Shamharoth waking up.
59** Played with when the inept Wizard Rincewind is charged with speaking the Great Spells that reset the world and abort the Apocalypse. He gets the pronunciation wrong at a key moment: most of the spoken words hover in the air in iridescent colours, waiting to be completed. But the one he repeatedly mispronounces comes out as a dirty brown mist, the visual equivalent of the flat "ding" noise Microsoft computers make on making an input error. It takes a lot of time and experimentation before it comes out right.
60* ''Literature/TheEchoriumSequence'': The Echorium WizardingSchool trains its Singers extensively to use the five mind-altering [[MagicMusic Songs of Power]], but the BigBad manages to "pirate" one Song, invoking and exploiting this trope by tricking a Singer into [[NotInFrontOfTheParrot using a Song of Power within earshot of a flock]] of semi-sapient BirdPeople that are [[VoiceChangeling perfect vocal mimics]]. Since it's not being consciously directed, the Song doesn't work ''well'', but the BigBad makes do with quantity over quality.
61* A short story called ''The Gazing Ball'' has a very benign example--a little girl's father buys a new home with a garden--within this garden is a faerie garden for her, complete with a gazing ball. When she looks in the ball, she expects to see herself--but sees a fox-like creature, who likewise didn't expect to see a human girl in ''his'' gazing ball. The two begin a VERY long-distance friendship that takes an unexpected turn when their respective worlds make contact. Alas, by the time it's possible for their people to easily travel from one planet to another, a century has passed since the two first made contact, [[DreamCrushingHandicap which means they are far too old to make the trip]], and never see each other face-to-face. [[spoiler:They do, however, have a joyous meeting in the afterlife.]]
62* ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'': In ''Literature/NightOfTheLivingDummy'' and its sequels, characters find a piece of paper near a dummy with the words "Karru marri odonna loma molunu karrano". They read them aloud in confusion, prompting the dummies (Mr. Wood and Slappy in the first one, and just Slappy in the sequels) to come to life.
63* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'': Eragon's sword Brisingr [[FlamingSword bursts into flame]] whenever he says its name. It scares the bejeezus out of him when he first names it.
64* ''Literature/TheMagicTreeHouse'': When Jack and Annie discover the tree house, they unwittingly activate its TimeTravel abilities (and get sent back to the Cretaceous period) when Jack wishes he could "see a Pteranodon for real".
65* Exaggerated in ''Literature/TimeWarpTrio''. What causes The Book to send Joe, Sam, and Fred to different time periods changes every installment, ranging from saying the right combination of words to highlighting key phrases in the text.
66* ''Literature/{{Unsong}}'': The main character kicks off the plot by accidentally discovering the last seven syllables of one of the names of god. All of those syllables are "Meh."
67* ''Literature/{{Uprooted}}'': Among the books that an agent of the Wood sent to the King's library is a volume called ''The Bestiare.'' It's chock full of drawings of various magical creatures, with accompanying descriptive text. But the characters quickly find that reading from the ''Bestiare'' is a bad, ''bad'' idea. [[spoiler: The reader will be lured into reading the text aloud, which triggers an InvoluntaryTransformation into the beast they were reading about]].
68[[/folder]]
69
70[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
71* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
72** In the {{backstory}}, Fred accidentally opened a portal into Pylea by reading aloud from a book whose language she didn't know. Subverted when it's revealed that she was set up by a jealous professor that wanted to get rid of her, who's done it to other promising students before.
73** In another episode, Angel comes upon some low-level grunts from Wolfram & Hart performing a spell. They don't know what they're saying; they're merely acting under orders, following a list of instructions "like a cookbook."
74* ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow'': In "Floating Eye of Death!", the band accidently summon the titular creature by saying its name backwards three times.
75* The entire plot of ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'' was kicked off when Ash and a random one-night stand decided to try reading random passages from the Necronomicon [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy while stoned]].
76* The plot of ''Series/AstridAndLillySaveTheWorld'' is initiated by the titular girls, burned by a mean prank from their peers, do a random series of actions as an outlet for their frustration. It just so happens that the cosmos was aligned and their actions perfectly performed a ritual in those conditions to open a {{Hellgate}} and unleash monsters from parallel dimensions onto their hometown.
77* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
78** In an interesting twist, [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E8IRobotYouJane one of the first episodes]] has a demon who is released into the school's Internet network as the library converts all its texts to digital format. In scanning the tome that summoned him, the computer system did its equivalent of "reading it aloud."
79** In the episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E17Superstar Superstar]]", Riley is researching and asks Willow if the spells really work. She says that they do, but require concentration and being attuned to nature. Xander tries to illustrate with the following:
80--->'''Xander:''' Right, you can't just go... ''[looks into the book and picks out a random group of words]'' 'librum incendere' and expect --\
81''[the open pages of his book burst into flames; Xander closes it quickly to extinguish it]''\
82'''Giles:''' Xander, don't speak Latin in front of the books.
83* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'':
84** In one episode, Phoebe tells her non-witch classmates that the words to a supposed love spell they are reading are wrong; and gives them the correct version, which one of them records on a tape recorder. The three classmates then try to do the spell with the wrong incantation, to no avail. One of them plays the tape, and before they can do anything, the spell is cast, [[HumanityEnsues turning animals into]] [[MrFanservice strapping]] {{naked|FirstImpression}} [[HumanityEnsues men]].
85** Shortly after joining the family, Paige starts having dreams of her past life. Not realizing yet that they're real, she finds an old rhyme from her dreams in the Book of Shadows and reads it out loud, satisfied to finally remember how it ends. It promptly brings her evil past incarnation into the future.
86* ''Series/TheOutpost'': Talon is given a page with a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Lu'quiri]]'s [[IKnowYourTrueName name]] and a summoning incantation by Galwood Outpost's blacksmith, who has been studying the lore of the blackbloods and Lu'quiri for many years. He warns her not to read it aloud; she does and accidentally summons the creature, which starts killing a civilian every night until she's able to banish it.
87* ''Series/SesameStreet'': In one episode, Grover assists the magician The Amazing Mumford in a disappearing-pineapples trick. Mumford makes each pineapple vanish merely by reciting "A la peanut butter sandwiches!". After they've all disappeared, Grover casually comments how he is amazed that all he had to do was recite the words. Mumford tries to warn Grover not to repeat them, but Grover does anyway...[[YouJustHadToSayIt with ugly results]].[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHtS3ZweFxA]]
88* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S1E12 I of Newton]]" has a professor reciting equations out loud as he writes a math problem on the blackboard: "The integral of d of x over the cosine to the n of x..." When he can't work out the problem's solution, he angrily cries "Damn it! I'd sell my SOUL to get this thing right!" [[InadvertentEntranceCue Cue a demon manifesting in the classroom to take said soul.]] When the professor protests that he didn't mean what he said, the demon explains that the spoken equations had "the right phonetic structure to be a good old-fashioned demonic invocation--especially with that neat little curse word woven into it."
89* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': In one episode, a group of people are reading a magic scroll to no effect. Gabrielle realizes that they are using the wrong meter. When she [[BlunderCorrectingImpulse demonstrates what the correct pronunciation is]] she accidentally casts the spell herself.
90* ''Series/TheYoungOnes'': Parodied when Rick reads an article about getting an increased student grant in the notoriously misspelled ''Guardian''. When he tries deciphering the last part of the sentence three times ("All you need for an increased grant is a numcal pucajule ftoomch"), it ends up summoning a demon.
91[[/folder]]
92
93[[folder:Podcasts]]
94* ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'': invoked by [[spoiler: Elias]] at the end of season 4. He knows that Jon is forced to finish a statement once he starts reading it, so he creates a fake statement and slips it in with the rest. Once Jon is hooked, he's forced to read off [[spoiler: Elias's]] evil monologue explaining his full plan, before reciting the incantation needed to [[spoiler: trigger the apocalypse]].
95[[/folder]]
96
97[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
98* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The ''explosive runes'' spell creates a written trap that explodes when read by someone, dealing damage to them and anyone around them. Note there's no need for reading aloud with this.
99* ''TabletopGame/GURPSTechnomancer'': The nail that [[TheMagicComesBack changed the world]] (and [[WeirdHistoricalWar not completely for the better]]) was Robert Oppenheimer actually saying the quote of the Bhagavad Gita he recalled as the Trinity bomb detonated ("I have become Death, Destroyer of Worlds") and completing a summoning spell that turned the nuclear explosion into a never-stopping geyser of Mana.
100* ''Fanfic/OldManHenderson'': During a legendary TabletopGame/TrailOfCthulhu campaign, Henderson and some other player characters go into the cultists' house to investigate, and Henderson finds a book and reads a magical incantation out loud, calling the incantation gibberish, but summoning a monster that depletes the sanity of anyone who looks at it. Another player character tries to tell him about it, but he says he refuses to fall for a "look behind you" trick, and just leaves the room without looking at it. Later on, the party apparently catches onto this, and puts the same incantation into an overhead projector presentation at large meeting of other cultists, tricking them into thinking they're saying a prayer for their dead comrades. Hilarity ensues, especially since the player characters have noped out of the meeting by that point, and barricaded the doors from the outside.
101[[/folder]]
102
103[[folder:Video Games]]
104* ''VideoGame/Persona5'':
105** At the beginning of the game, Ren and Ryuji accidentally enter Kamoshida's [[MentalWorld Palace]] when Ryuji coincidentally mentions the keywords in sequence (these being "Kamoshida", "Shujin", and "castle").
106** Later, [[spoiler:Sumire]] unwittingly does something similar near the stadium, resulting in the discovery of [[spoiler:Maruki's Palace]].
107* ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'''s main protagonist Heather reads aloud a Latin sentence in a storybook: [[AC:Tu fui, ego eris!]] Suddenly the Glutton, the non-combative monster that has been blocking her way forward, cries out and disappears.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Web Animation]]
111* ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'': In ''[[Recap/HTFReadEmAndWeep Read 'em and Weep]]'', [[BumblingDad Pop]] buys the freakin' {{Necronomicon}} at a yard sale for his child Cub (it was cheaper than the actual children book Cub wanted). After reading it as a bedtime story he unwittingly causes supernatural events (such as birds falling dead from the sky) before finally summoning a demon which [[DemonicPossession possesses]] Cub.
112[[/folder]]
113
114[[folder:Webcomics]]
115* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': The Warriors of Light discover that a cult is intending to summon a monster, but interrupt them before they succeed. Black Mage realizes he could summon the monster to do his own bidding, but [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2006/10/05/episode-752-its-all-fun-and-games-until-everything-dies/ can't pronounce]] the monster's [[IKnowYourTrueName true name]] (which is required to summon it). Thief and Red Mage also join, but can't figure it out either. Then Fighter happens to {{sneeze|OfDoom}} while looking at it... [[SubvertedTrope which turns out to be just a harmless sneeze.]] Except then Fighter immediately makes a lucky guess as to the monster's name and ends up summoning it.
116* ''Webcomic/{{Jailbreak}}'': In the reset route, the protagonist is revealed to have runes he can't understand tattooed onto his stomach. Despite having no idea what they're for, he reads them out loud and manages to summon an elf.
117* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': In the first two books, V using ''explosive runes'' (see the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' example above) is a RunningGag. Then [[BrickJoke it is used again in Book 4]] for [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0659.html dramatic effect.]]
118[[/folder]]
119
120[[folder:Web Videos]]
121* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': In the video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lnPaXM862c "After the books according to J.K. Rowling"]], Terrence Boot (a wizard from the books who crossed over into the real world by using TimeTravel and teleportation simultaneously) explains what happened to Harry Potter characters after the events of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. When he gets to Lucius Malfoy (5:35), he complains that Lucius Malfoy [[KarmaHoudini got away scot-free despite being an open Death Eater with multiple witness accounts of attempted murder.]] He doesn't finish the sentence because (at 5:45) when he utters the words "Avada Kedavra" he accidentally shoots down a bird and walks away from the scene with a NotSoInnocentWhistle.
122[[/folder]]
123
124[[folder:Western Animation]]
125* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS2E1ItCameFromTheNightosphere It Came from the Nightosphere]]", when Finn asks Marceline about her father, she mentions that he can only be summoned by performing a specific ritual and speaking a particular incantation; she then speaks it, unaware that Finn has been performing the ritual behind her back, leading to her demonic father being unleashed onto Ooo.
126* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': In the short "[[WesternAnimation/Transylvania65000 Transylvania 6-5000]]", Bugs Bunny is in a vampire's castle reading a book of spells in bed. As the vampire is about to get him, he reads the word "Abracadabra" and the vampire turns into a bat. Bugs continues reading and gets to the word "Hocus-Pocus", which turns the bat back into a vampire, right as he's flying over the moat. This becomes a RunningGag throughout.
127* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In the season 3 finale "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure Magical Mystery Cure]]", Twilight reads Star Swirl the Bearded's (unfinished) spell aloud, trying to make sense of it, then goes to bed. The next morning, she discovers she accidentally cast the spell on the Elements of Harmony, causing them to change colors and in turn causing her friends' cutie marks to shuffle among them.
128* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': {{Parodied|Trope}} in "[[Recap/PhineasAndFerbAreYouMyMummy Are You My Mummy?]]"; in an old mummy movie where [[DugTooDeep an archeologist]] reads an incantation that will [[{{Necromancer}} make a mummy come to life and follow his every command]]. He then exclaims "Well, pummel me with a chicken!" and the mummy [[LiteralMinded proceeds to repeatedly beat him with a rubber chicken]].
129* ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooShow'': In the episode [[Recap/TheScoobyDooShowS1E1HighRiseHairRaiser "High Rise Hair Raiser"]], Shaggy and Scooby are reading from a book of spells and read one out loud that turns them into monsters. They then read the counterspell and return to normal before they even realize that they had changed in the first place.
130* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
131** In S14 E11 ("[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E11BartingOver Barting Over]]"), Lisa starts reading something in a musty old tome when [[SummoningRitual a demon begins taking form]] behind her, only for her to abandon the book for Mad Libs and [[IdiotHero unwittingly abort the creature's summoning]].
132** S26 E4 ("[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS26E4TreehouseOfHorrorXXV Treehouse of Horror XXV]]") sees Bart summon not just a demon but [[WelcomeToHell the entirety of Hell]] by running an Aramaic phrase through Lisa's translation app.
133* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': In the episode "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E19TheHandOfFate The Hand of Fate]]", the plot is started by a guy who reads out loud the incantation on a stone tablet he stole. Turned out there was an EldritchAbomination [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in it]].
134* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': In "[[Recap/TangledTheSeriesS2E14RapunzelAndTheGreatTree Rapunzel And The Great Tree]]", Rapunzel sings the lyrics of the Hurt Incantation when visiting The Great Tree. As she sings, her hair and eyes turn black and everything in the room begins to decay.
135* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'': At the end of "[[Recap/TeenTitansGoS2E43YearbookMadness Yearbook Madness]]", Robin asks Raven to sign his yearbook, and then read what she wrote, which happens to be her incantation "Azerath Metrion Zinthos", suckering her into transporting Robin inside the yearbook.
136** Raven herself uses the same trick on the Whisperer after she makes all sounds disappear, giving the Titans their voices back.
137* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'': The episode "A Very Venture Christmas" has Dean, disappointed by the Christmas stories he got from the toll line, looking elsewhere for better ones. He grabs one of Dr. Orpheus' books and starts reading it out loud, which ends up summoning TheKrampus to the Venture Compound Christmas Party.
138[[/folder]]

Top