"Their eyes stared into space as if transfixed by a vision of terror."
— Marshal Petain on the troops returning from the Battle of Verdun.
"You've heard of a thousand-yard stare? This guy had a million mile one. He'd seen forever. He'd been somewhere else, and I don't know, sometimes I wonder if he'd maybe had a pretty good fucking conversation with someone he met there."
"I've seen that look in her eyes. That haunted look, like she's staring right through me, at something only she can see. She's so quiet most of the time, but her eyes are howling."
— Mariko talking about the PTSD-stricken Vivienne Graham, Abraxas (Hrodvitnon)
"The thousand-yard stare. A Marine gets it after he's been in the shit for too long. It's like you've really seen...beyond. I got it. All field Marines got it. You'll have it, too."
— Corporal Payback, Full Metal Jacket
"There was nothing behind those eyes; no soul, no remorse. He didn't care about his mission, or the people he killed, or even himself."
— Snow describing Zero, Katana ZERO
"Starring in more than 100 kurzgesagt videos, Duck has seen more birds die in the past five years than any other duck in the world — the wide-open empty eyes are no coincidence."
— Kurzgesagt, lampshading their obsession with apocalyptic scenarios on the entry of their Series Mascot in the Universe in a Nutshell app
By the time we found her up on the roof, she was just... sitting there. Staring off into space. She wouldn't talk to us... wouldn't even look us in the eye.
"No, Squidward. This is worse. He's got the thousand-yard stare. I had it once myself back in my service days."
— Mr. Krabs to Squidward upon finding the shock-ridden SpongeBob, SpongeBob SquarePants
"Oh dear, you really are an uptight bastard, aren't you? You can drop the thousand-yard stare. I've seen it all before, and I'm not impressed."
— Lewis, Rambo IV
I was willing to bet that there had been a time before her eyes had looked like twenty miles of empty highway, all wasted miles and lonely turns.
— Verity Price, talking about Mary Dunlavy, Swamp Bromeliad
"The man was staring ahead, as though he was somewhere else. Maia bet that he had had quite a conversation with someone on the other side."
Kevin stared straight ahead, his face a blank.
— Max Disaster #1: Alien Eraser to the Rescue
