Horror's Most Insidious Trope

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It’s always a scary moment when the movie’s monster is finally revealed, but you know what’s even scarier? When it hides from you in plain sight. When the ones you know and love lie to you to keep you from it.

The horror of deception can be worse than any slasher or beast, and there are a lot of great stories out there that prove it.

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[TheTaleFoundry]

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[spoon]

I run a dnd campaign and had the party meet a character that refers to them self as "The Philosopher". Each time the party meets them they give them a mission or a question etc and impart a lesson on to them. With time the lessons became grimmer. Until the final lesson was "Everybody is out for them self's and trust nobody", the Philosopher then attempted to kill the party to clean up any loose ends. The Philosopher failed to do so as the party ran and didn't fight. But the betrayal caused plenty of turmoil and untrust between them self's and the other npc's.

[seanmcfadden]

As someone who suffered from regular suicidal thoughts for over a decade, that talk about self deception really hit close to home for me. In a good way. It definitely feels supportive to hear it talked about in a respectful way.

In case anyone is wondering about the suicidal thoughts, I eventually got some counseling and haven't had any major incidents for a few years now. I can still (metaphorically) see those Dark Woods in the distance, and I doubt I'll ever be truly free of them, but I am doing a lot better. I know what triggers to be mindful of, what little maintenance tasks I need to do, and I have a few techniques for if I feel like I'm slipping. One day at a time. Some days are harder than others, we all have bad days, but I am doing better for the most part.

[peculiarpangolin]

I was not expecting Bloodborne from Tale Foundry, but man, am I glad! Of course, I should have expected it since you lot also love cosmic horror! Also, wonderful job breaking down some of those themes! Poor, Gerhman....

[mathieuleader]

“The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist.” - Charles Baudelaire is a great quote about the enemy hiding in plain sight

[polaknasieci]

This is honestly part of why I love OMORI so much, the entire game is centered on a series of lies and the people effected by them, and you spend the game slowly finding out these lies as you slowly inch towards the truth, and when it's finally revealed, it's devastating, mainly because of how it effects the other people, you dread revealing the dreadful truth to your friends who all believe a already horrible, painful lie. The best part about this is that none of it comes out from nowhere ether, the truth is plastered everywhere in background, lurking, where you don't even notice it unless you already know it and are actively looking for it.

[markmerk]

The Magnus Archives podcast does some great things with this concept, along with many other fears. I highly recommend

[JeevesPeabodyPOGO]

I feel this so deeply. I have an extreme phobia of trust. I've been deceived by my family, my friends, my abusive ex, even myself. And you're right, your world does become extremely small. I talk to 4 people regularly in my life and sometimes I even pull away from them. That's when it really gets lonely. It's hard to be this afraid of trusting people. I try to convince myself to take these little leaps of faith and just talk to others but I can never manage to go through with it. Now, I just spend all my time in bed and kept to myself. I'm in therapy but the phobia is just too big for me. My fight, flight, or freeze kicks in and I'm normally a fighter but with this, I just freeze. It just feels too big, too terrifying to overcome.

[dracorex]

There is literally a whole ending to Bloodborne based around breaking the cycle. Beating Gehrman frees him from the Hunter's Dream. That's why you replace him in ending two. But if you beat the Moon Presence and achieve apotheosis, you *can't* replace him. With Gehrman gone and no replacement available, it's over. Without somebody to fill the Gehrman role, a new hunter can not be tied to the Dream. It is literally impossible for the cycle to continue as it had.

[SamuelDancingGallew]

I love writing a good mystery, and lies are almost vital for this kind of thing. If there's a murder, somebody doesn't confess. If there's a secret, somebody isn't speaking. And it's so much worse when more people are wrapped up in the lie, or even convince themselves of it.

[rami_ungar_writer]

A great book I read earlier this year where this theme plays a big part is Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge, about a small American town with an annual ritual on Halloween. For most of the youths taking part in the ritual, it's a chance at freedom and to leave their town for good. But the adults in the community know differently.
Anyway, I highly recommend it, especially with a movie version coming out later this month and the Halloween season having just begun.

[corinna]

Castlevania is such a good series. The way the characters are written is masterful.

In my own life, I remember going to the theatre to see Tangled when I was 17. I had a very distinct feeling when Gothel was singing "Mother Knows Best", but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. Over the years, I've come to understand the gaslighting and emotional abuse I went through. It's easier to call it out now, but the traces are still there. I'm starting to understand how I'm deceiving myself about who I am and what I can do; I just hope I can get past it someday.

[morbid_curiosity]

As someone who spent 15 or so years being abused mentally, emotionally and other horrific ways by a parental figure, I can definitely say how warped your perspective becomes. When that’s all you’ve known and it becomes your normal, your skin crawls and stomach flips when you learn to process and understand what actually happened. Then I found out that my abuser wasn’t even my biological father which made my reality split even more at the age of 16.

Even though my biological father is a good man and has welcomed me with open arms, it still feels wrong in a way to call someone ‘dad’. Men make me uncomfortable even if they’ve done nothing to indicate they’re a threat. My mind’s eye sees them as ravenous wolves just waiting for an opportunity. My entire perception is twisted and tainted. Even at the age of 22 I’m dealing with the scars. It’s taken years to fully understand what happened to me. The depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts are still there even though I’ve been away from my abuser for years. Not to mention I’ve only recently realized I might be on the autism spectrum so my brain already processes things differently.

All this to say, you don’t realize how damaging those lies and deception can be until you really have time to sit and go over it again and again in your head. You get angry, frustrated, you may even start to blame yourself. I’m still struggling with that to this day but I thankfully don’t blame myself as much as I use to. It’s a slippery slope that takes a lot of energy to get out of, let alone to not fall into again.

[gabrielbruce]

The thing about Bloodborne is, the Church is not the top level of that pyramid of deception. It's the Moon. The player character literally leaves themself a note, "seek Paleblood to transcend the Hunt", but Paleblood finds you first... and takes you in as her beloved chosen one.

[misty]

Wow. I’m a survivor of so much trauma that was done by the hands of the people I trusted the most. The ones I was supposed to trust the most. I’ve been deceived and disillusioned so many times that it feels like I have thick layers of psychological scar tissue on my tender empathetic heart. You made me feel seen in a way that I don’t think media has ever done so before. Thank you, from the bottom of my forever-sensitive heart.

[hypermaeonyx]

Oh man what insane timing!
I just watched a video explaining how good Bloodborne is and how it deceived everyone!
This is amazing!

[iseetheendisnear]

The only trope I love more than this one is that of humanizing the monster itself — if you found out you were a monster, you’d strive to understand when, how, and why. Same goes for people who’ve been lying to you your whole life. What is a monster really when we shift that perspective to align with the monster itself? Does understanding lead to reconciliation and eventual dissipation of the monster? And where did it come from? The answer to that may reveal the biggest monster itself — the originator of all monsters.

[LemurG]

I'm so happy you mentioned the Mandela Catalogue! I love analog horror and that one is so good with how detailed and real it feels

[TheMightyPika]

A good example of this is Silco from Arcane - completely broken from a betrayal and instead of healing he pours all his life and energy into a revolution for his own people who fight him every step of the way. He by all means should be the hero - fighting the good fight against fascism - but the break in spirit turns him ruthless. Does that even matter if it results in a free nation? That's up to the viewer.
I imagine a lot of historical figures who fought for justice and independence have similar backgrounds.

[adriftinglink]

Deception is the scariest thing anyone can experience. As a community based creation, if the community rejects us or hates us, it both taps into the horror of instability and being unable to find help. That’s why stories where that horror happens and is reversed with at least one truthful person, the story feels wholesome and like a victory.