The lights flicker on and off. In the less-than-a-second of darkness, the character the camera was previously focused on has disappeared. After another flicker, he will reappear, closer to the POV camera/ other characters. Can be done repeatedly to great effect if the camera doesn't move. Usually done by villains, though it can be done by a Terror Hero wishing to scare some mooks. Sometimes the "flicker" effect is achieved by the POV character's eyes closing, usually involuntarily.
Related to Offscreen Teleportation. Compare Stop Motion Lighting, where a character stays in focus as the lights turn on and off and Villain Teleportation.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Zombie Land Saga: Done unintentionally in episode 4, when the company president is terrorized by seeing the girls of Franchouchou out of their make-up, and the lights in the hotel's hallways just happen to flicker in a way that makes the girls look even more unsettling.
Comic Books
- Batman's probably done this once or twice.
- Batman: Arkham Asylum: One of the Game Over screens has the Scarecrow do this.
- The Dark Knight Rises film does this to one of Bane's mercenaries as he fires his assault rifle at Batman, with Batman jumping forward with each muzzle flash.
- Batman: Arkham Asylum: One of the Game Over screens has the Scarecrow do this.
Fan Works
- Abraxas (Hrodvitnon): A couple variations occur over the course of the story. First, there's the headcam of one of the torch-and-bury operation catching sight of an Artificial Zombie's silhouette, which disappears when the camera swivels elsewhere and back again. Later, Monster X pulls such a teleportation amid a lightning-flash when it goes up against Ghidorah's "shed skin", MaNi/Elder Brother.
Films — Live-Action
- The Collection: Arkin is exploring a room in the hotel where the lights keep flickering. The Collector enters the room, and slowly sneaks up on him. Arkin turns around just as the Collector lunges at him. Then when the lights flicker again, we see that Arkin managed to slip out of the room before the Collector could get him.
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019): The Big G himself does this early on, slowly approaching the underwater window of an offshore platform deep enough that the only source of light is the intermittent flashing of his dorsal plates.
- Invoked in Happy Death Day when a serial killer is trying to murder the protagonist Tree. However, it's Tree who's doing the invoking here, as she's been through the day-long "Groundhog Day" Loop enough times to know when certain events will happen, including a rolling blackout that occurs at 9:23 PM. She utilizes that knowledge during her run at the Golden Ending outcome, which includes taking down the serial killer Tombs who escapes from his hospital bed and attempts to kill her. Knowing when exactly the lights will go out, the invoker flashes a Grin of Audacity before the momentary blackout and disappears when the lights come back on as Tree gets up and slips behind Tombs, who's still looking at where Tree was, before she kills him with several gunshots.
- In Jason X, Jason disappears in the middle of a hail of gunfire when the lights momentarily go out.
- In Ju-Rei, a ghost appears and disappears with the flickering of an out-of-order light in a school stairwell.
- Kild TV: When the lights flicker at one point in the movie, Ira, who was sitting in a chair in the supply closet, disappears.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) has Freddy doing this, except it's actually an inversion, as he appears when the eyes of the one watching him close, since they are drifting in and out of consciousness, and Freddy attacks in dreams.
- Van Helsing: The vampires' supernatural powers enable them to pull off lots of Offscreen Teleportation, but at one point near the climax, the vampire Aleera pulls off this trope when taunting Anna in a dark cell; vanishing amidst a lightning flash.
Literature
- Go to Sleep (A Jeff the Killer Rewrite): Jeff shows up before an adult Randy by appearing under a streetlight that went off and back on mere moments beforehand. After he identifies himself to Randy, the light flickers again, and Ben's angry ghost appears besides Jeff.
Live-Action TV
- Doctor Who: This trope is used to good effect with the Weeping Angels, angelic statues that animate when no one's looking at them (or in darkness). So when the lights are flickering, you see their slow transformation into horrific monsters getting closer... and closer... and closer...
- The Mandalorian does this towards the end of "The Prisoner" while hunting down Mayfeld, an assosciate who tried to leave Mando trapped in a New Republic prison cell. For added creepiness the lights change from bright white to red with each flicker.
- One episode of Primeval features this, as Lester catches glimpses of a future predator bearing down on him in a hallway, under flickering ceiling lights.
- Sherlock: Episode "The Great Game". During the planetarium when the Golem sneaks up behind Sherlock.◊
- Teen Wolf: Episode "Anchors". The flicker of killer Allison with ring daggers in the elevator.
Music
- Jack White's video for "Would You Fight for My Love?" features this prominently in the second half of the song.
Pro Wrestling
- The Undertaker: Has made this one of his trademarks.
- Sting, after taking up his "Crow" gimmick.
- Willow The Wisp, originating in the PWI promotions such as OMEGA but most (in)famously in TNA
- Sami Callihan in his JAPW promotional packages against Corvis Fear. Unlike most examples Callihan's videos are strictly a result of him being off his rocker.
- TNA's Suicide, later Manik. Until that "later" this could be easily explained by "Suicide" being a Collective Identity.
- The Wyatt Family, especially Bray Wyatt. Alexa Bliss started doing this when she joined Bray. On Dec. 21, 2020, Bliss not only appeared, she materialized a whole playground swing set in the middle of the ring, then they disappeared when the segment was done.
- Catrina, to the point neutralizing her apparent super power became a plot point on Lucha Underground.
Video Games
- All Alone With Mannie: Whenever the Player Character blinks their eyes, Mannie has a window of opportunity in which to move around.
- Part of Alma's box of tricks in the F.E.A.R. videogames.
- Pokémon Reborn: Shade does this randomly if you wait in the center of his gym.
- The Secret World: The Rabbit Killer leaves the Morninglight clubhouse basement this way during "My Bloody Valentine." As it's already been established that she's capable of super-speed, this isn't too improbable.
- SCP – Containment Breach does it with SCP-173, which moves when you're not looking at it.
- In Undertale, Sans is well known for using this. Specifically on a genocide run, when he warns you not to kill his brother, and during the fight with him.
- In Spec Ops: The Line, Walker fights a Heavy Trooper in a room full of statues. During the fight, both the trooper and the statues move around with each light flicker, though the game's ending implies this was likely due to Through the Eyes of Madness.
Web Original
- Kirby on episode 7 of There Will Be Brawl.
- There's a Youtube video which involves a kitten doing this, approaching while the person filming looks away and being unmoving when the camera comes back.
- Here's a fixed-camera version of the cat in action.
- Here's
- Sculpture, a fan tribute to SCP-173.
- There is a creepypasta involving the POV character seeing a figure far away, that gets closer when he blinks. The story ends with the figure just five feet away, with a big nasty grin on its face, and the POV character's eyes watering, trying desperately not to blink...
- A video on YouTube involves a boy playing a terrified game of peekaboo after bedtime with a clown doll...
- The Review Team: "The Drums Of Jeopardy". When the lights come back on during one scene, there's a strange eyeball monster in the room.
Western Animation
- The Amazing Worldof Gumball: In the flashback episode "The Rival", baby Anais (who had demonic powers back then) repeatedly tries to kill Gumball and Darwin. In one scene, Gumball tries to play "peek-a-boo" with her, leading to such a moment where he opens his eyes and they're suddenly to the middle of a busy highway.
- Looney Tunes: In Greedy for Tweety, Sylvester and a bulldog repeatedly abuse each other while recovering from injuries in a hospital. In one scene, Sylvester is given sleeping pills, leading to a scene where he lapses in and out of consciousness while the dog comes to beat him with a club, appearing closer each time he opens his eyes, with the last blink being followed by a Hit Flash.
- The Powerpuff Girls (1998): In "Power-Noia", Bubbles has a nightmare in which her stuffed toys appear to come to life and gain slasher smiles. As she repeats to herself "It's not real", the dolls come closer to her bed each time she opens her eyes until they're looming over her.
- The Simpsons: A flashback from "Homerpalooza" shows a teenage Homer trying to socialize at a party. As some cool kids dance to a strobe light, Homer stands some distance away, coming closer with each flicker. When he's rejected, the next flicker has him instantly back where he started.
