Gallows Humor is technically a sub-trope of Black Comedy; Black Comedy is pretty much joking about things that usually aren't supposed to be funny, like getting injured or other people's misery. Gallows Humor is more specifically about making jokes about death, like Barry the Chopper of Fullmetal Alchemist fame, who's motto/Catchphrase is "I kill, therefore I am,"*
Um, no. The trope is described as being from the vicitms point of view...
These were cited without details — please add some when replacing them on the main page.
- Two words: Catch-22
- Murder Most Horrid
- House Of 1000 Corpses
Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" has William of Baskerville invoke a certain saint to Jorge to illustrate the value of humour in Christianity. Apparently, while being boiled alive, this saint says that the water isn't hot enough, and when their 'gallowsman' puts his hand in the water, he gets burned. This could be a 'Real Life' examples (bearing in mind Eco is a medieval scholar), thought the reference is from literature.
Can anybody confirm/expand?
Goal: Clear, Concise and Witty
A good two thirds of the examples on this page are Black Comedy, not Gallows Humor... if anyone wants to try to move some of them, that'd be great.
Hide / Show Replies