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{{trope}}
[[File:mookseyes.png|link=Batman: The Animated Series
{{quote|''"Whoa, where are we? I suddenly feel so... easy to animate."''
|'''Strong Bad''' gets left in the dark, ''[[Homestar Runner]]'', [http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail197.html "your edge"].}}
Whenever it is pitch dark, characters' open eyes are always visible.
The same applies, eventually, to [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family|any great big teeth]] which something lurking in the darkness may possess. A common shot is to have a nervous character scared in the dark as a variety of seemingly glowing teeth gather around them.
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In live action, it is usually used to spooky effect.
This is generally a form of [[Hollywood Darkness]], and may immediately precede a [[Nuclear Candle]] as part of [[The Reveal]].
Not to be confused with [[See the Whites of Their Eyes]], which is a figurative expression for getting close to your enemy. Nor [[Eye Lights Out]], which is a death trope.
{{examples}}
== [[Film]] ==
* Although common enough in Disney short cartoons, this trope is rarely used in the [[Disney Animated Canon|feature films]], perhaps because they generally try for a more realistic tone. A few exceptions:
** ''[[The Emperor's New Groove
** ''Treasure Planet'', when B.E.N. accidentally cuts off the power on the ship. ([[Justified Trope|justified]] in that his eyes are actually light displays.)
** ''[[Alice in Wonderland (Disney film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1951). When Alice is looking at the Tulgey Wood sign, a number of eyes appear in the dark above it. One pair is revealed to be a "glasses bird", which hops onto Alice's head. See it on YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-x_5RsdGEE here], around the first 30 seconds or so.
** ''[[Snow White and
* In the CGI feature ''[[Robots]]'' the characters have actual headlights for eyes - possibly a [[Reconstruction]], although it may not have been intentional.
* A live action (sort of) example: when night falls on ''[[Muppet Treasure Island]]'', the characters' eyes glow. As do the eyes of the wild boar tribesmen sneaking up behind them...
* ''[[The Thief and
* When in the sewers in the ''[[Doom]]'' movie, Goat approached a set of eyes in a dark corner after his flashlight dies, while looking for a scientist. When he asks "Doctor Willets?" several other eyes appear around the main set, revealing that not that there are more of them, but that the transformed Dr. Willets had grow several more eyes all, over his head. The creature the leaps and attack Goat.
* Also done in ''[[Pitch Black]]'', where it was a character point.
* When Pee-Wee Herman ends up abandoned in the desert in ''[[Pee
* In ''[[
* Emperor Palpatine from ''[[Star Wars]]'' usually keeps his hood pulled forward enough to cast a dark shadow on the upper half of his face, but occasionally the light glints off his eyes creating a very spooky effect.
* In ''[[For a Few Dollars More]]'', when Manco is creeping around the room where El Indio hid the [[MacGuffin|cabinet]], this effect is achieved by painting Eastwood's face dark brown, so his eyes glow out.
* The second ''[[Asterix]]'' movie had a sequence with the main characters stuck in one of the Pyramids of Gizah. When their torches go out, they suddenly turn into cartoon eyes floating in the dark (and stay that way until the dog leads them out).
* The 1974 [
* [[Mega Neko|The Catbus]] from ''[[My Neighbor Totoro]]'', whose eyes serve as headlights, and has small mice on its roof and lower body whose eyes serve as the destination sign backlights and taillights, respectively.
== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[
== [[Live
* Done rather creepily in the (live-action) ''[[Dune]]'' miniseries: all the Fremen have '''glowing''' blue eyes. In the sequel miniseries the brightness is pulled back a little. (In the books, the eyes of spice addicts are so dark-blue they appear nearly black.)
* A more [[Nightmare Fuel|humorous]] live-action example: ''Pee Wee's Big Adventure''.
* Used in ''[[
** In one classic Muppet sketch, Ernie and Bert run so many appliances in their apartment that it blows a fuse, and the blackout is presented with their eyes floating around in complete darkness.
* The South African episode of ''[[
{{quote|
'''Graham''': "They ''are'' hundreds of tiny little eyes..." }}
* ''[[Battlestar Galactica
* Done rather creepily on ''[[The X-Files]]'' with Eugene Victor Tooms, the liver-eating mutant whose eyes glow a dull yellow.
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* At one point in the third trial of the third ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]'' game, there is a power outage, and you can see Phoenix's and Godot's eyes (though, given the fact that Godot's "eyes" are an illuminated visor, it's probably justified).
** In fact, this is foreshadowing of the fifth case, in which {{spoiler|Godot's illuminated visor becomes vital testimony for a murder which took place in pitch darkness. Phoenix's eyes, not so much.}}
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
* Occurs a few times in the ''[[King's Quest]]'' series.
** In ''[[King's Quest IV]]'', Rosella at one point must navigate a pitch-black cave with a resident troll and a chasm opening into a [[Bottomless Pit]] ... all without any light for the player to see by.
** In the large labyrinth of ''[[King's Quest VI]]'', one room is so dark that all the player can see of Alexander is his white eyes against the black surroundings. If the player doesn't have a source of light, rumbling noises and a growl are heard as the Minotaur enters the room, while Alexander's eyes are lifted up, shaken, and... well, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN8_cUuSaSU that's gotta be painful].
* In ''[[Rayman]] 2'', there are several instances in which there are inacessable pitch-black rooms, holes in the walls and even [[Nightmare Fuel|half-closed coffins]] where if you look into them, you're sure to see a pair of eyes looking back at you.
* [[
** In the ''[[World of Warcraft]]: [[Expansion Pack|The Burning Crusade]]'' trailer, the first thing you see of Vindicator Maraad is his eyes. However, that's [[Glowing Eyes of Doom|justified because he's a draenei]].
* In ''S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl'', ALL of the mutant's eyes glow. No matter what. Even AFTER they are dead. .
* [[Kirby
* ''[[Earthworm Jim (
* Taokaka from ''[[
* In ''[[Tales of Monkey Island]] Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood'', one of the buttons on De Singe's Auto-Trepanation Helmet causes the entire "laboratorium" to go dark temporarily, with only Guybrush's eyes visible when he says, "Ack! I'm blind!" Thankfully the lights turn back on.
* In ''[[The Legend of Kyrandia]]'', stepping into an unlit room in the caves will cause Brandon's death by a horde of glowy-eyed monsters.
* ''[[
* Whenever [[
* ''[[Watch Dogs Legion]]'': There is a secret room behind a fireplace on the second floor of The Three Hawker Boys pub, which can only be reached by a spider drone. In it are three cat statues in armchairs having tea. Lining the walls of the room are stacks of banker-style boxes, through the handholes of which can be seen glowing and blinking eyes.
== [[Web Original]] ==
* Shows up on ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' in the Strong Bad Email [http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail197.html your edge], providing both the page quote and an unusually detailed look at Strong Bad and The Cheat's eyes.
* Seen several times in ''[[RWBY]]'', most notably in the "initiation" sequence early in the first season.
** The eyes of the creatures of Grimm glow red even in full light.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Cleverly coupled with [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]] in [https://web.archive.org/web/20160314004227/http://www.centralcitytower.com/2010/11/project-0-page-203.html Project 0] when Ciro and Kareem go into shadow mode.
* ''Dreamleak'' (which appears to have been taken down) subverted it: what looked like the protagonist's eyes in the dark turns out to be a "novelty torch" shaped like eyes.
* Reynardine from ''[[
* [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2000/3/31/ This] ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]''.
* Done and lampshaded in the ''[[Insecticomics]]''. This causes confusion at once point, where Tarantulas mistakes the snake-handed Quickstrike for being two mechs because he seems two pairs of optics.
* ''[[Everyday Heroes]]'' makes use of this trope [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=136660 here].
* ''[[Goblins]]'': One of
* [http://www.sdamned.com/2008/12/12142008/ Used] in ''[[Slightly Damned]]'' - switching on the eye glow improves a Demon's night vision ([[MST3K Mantra|do not think about it too much]]).
* Used briefly at the beginning of ''[[Fleep]]''.
* The Monster In The Darkness from ''[[The Order of the Stick
* {...} of ''[[Hanna Is Not a
* ''[[Bob and George]]'': [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/020305c Cool! I'm just a pair of glowing floating eyeballs!]
* ''[[Rusty and Co
* ''[[Tamuran]]'' [http://www.tamurancomic.com/?p=477 In the trees]
* ''[[Underling]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120624184645/http://underlingcomic.com/page-one-hundred-seventy/ In the cave]
* In ''[[
* ''[[Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire]]'' had [https://web.archive.org/web/20150428202653/http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20080913 this]. Given ''what'' those critters turned out to be, may be but a minor side effect of their physiology.
* ''[[
* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Virtually every ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon that includes a dark scene; the odds of then striking a match inside a dynamite shack are quite high.
** A particularly notable example is the [[Bugs Bunny/Characters|Bugs Bunny]] cartoon ''Hyde and Hare'' (1955), where Bugs locks himself in a dark closet with Dr. Jekyll to protect them from "the maniac". Jekyll, naturally, transforms into
* Likewise virtually every episode of ''[[Scooby
* Spoofed in an episode of ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'', where Buster and Plucky get stuck in a dark pit, and pass the time by using their illuminated eyeballs to play Pong and Pac-Man.
** The best part of that scene was when Buster and Plucky lit a match, and when the room was lit, ''all that remained were their eyeballs.''
* Whenever ''[[
* Lampshaded in ''[[The Simpsons (
** Also spoofed in the final scene of "The Last Temptation of Homer". Homer and Marge are in a hotel room, and after he turns off the lamp for some happy time, a third set of eyes appears, those of the creepy bellman from earlier who starts cat-calling. Homer's eyes become angry and he punches the bellman, and one of his eyes disappears.
** Another bizarre example in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' Treehouse of Horror XIII segment "The Island of Dr. Hibbert": Two pairs of eyes peer out from under some bushes. One pair turns into a set of fangs and devours the other pair.
** In ''Mother Simpson'', after the power is cut from the house, Marge scolds Homer for faking his death, in pitch blackness. Her emotions and even body language are wonderfully portrayed through only her eyes.
** There's another episode where not only Homer's eyes are visible in the dark so are his teeth.
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* A strange Disney example is [[Classic Disney Shorts|Mickey Mouse]] himself in his pie-eyed days. While at face value his eyes seem to be the two black inkblots on his face, in the dark (and in the way these inkblots move around his head and in some colorations of the comics) it's revealed that they're actually two pupils in a merged set of giant eyeballs that take up half his face. Basically his design from ''Plane Crazy'' without the eyes outlined. That, or maybe they just couldn't think of any other way to make those black eyes to show up in the dark.
** Not sure if this counts, but during one of the animated sequences in the show Fantasmic, a late night performance at one of the Disney theme parks, the character Mickey, during a voiced version of the sequence from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", goes down a whirlpool, after which you see his eyes appear in a dark place for a couple seconds as he tries to figure out where he is.
** Speaking of which, [[Donald Duck]] does this in the more recent ''[[Mickey, Donald, Goofy:
** As does Ratigan in ''[[The Great Mouse Detective]]''.
* Parodied in the ''[[Roger Rabbit Shorts|Roger Rabbit]]'' cartoon ''Roller Coaster Rabbit'', where at one point the eyes are running around on little legs.
* Used in ''[[Metalocalypse]]'' when the members of Dethklok snuck into a closet to eat food, since they were supposed to be on diets.
* [[Disney]] is fond of a variation of this trope as a scene-ender. The screen fades to black, except for the animated character?s (usually a villain?s) eyes, which fade out a few moments later. This happens with the Queen-turned-crone in ''[[Snow White and
* The eyes at the very end of the last ''[[Sonic
* In ''[[An American Tail]]: Fievel Goes West'', Fievel is chased into a hole by a hawk, and we only see his eyes...accompanied by evil glowing eyes that belong to a scorpion.
* Seen also in the ''[[Super Mario World (
* ''[[Ruby Gloom]]'' has fun with the characters' distinctive eyes. They cheat a little with Misery's inverted eyes (white pupils, black sclera) by turning them gray.
* ''[[The Herculoids]]'' episode "The Lost Dorgyte": the eyes of the monsters of the Stone Forest.
* Parodied in ''[[Drawn Together]]'', when Captain Hero and Unusually Flexible Girl have sex. The lights go off leaving just their eyes visible as they go through various positions. The positions start off reasonably enough, getting more and more unusual until their eyes are going through a Newton's Cradle type motion.
* One episode of ''[[Codename
* ''[[
** "The Power Pirate". Wendy and Marvin are trapped in a dark room, Initially all the audience can see is their eyes.
** "The Planet Splitter". When Doctor LeBon's assistant closes the observatory's door and shuts off the outside light, we see Wendy's eyes floating in the darkness.
** "The Shamon U". While Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog are hiking up Mystery Mountain in the dark they see two pairs of glowing eyes approaching them. The eyes turn out to belong to Batman and Robin, who were following them.
* It happens in [[Jimmy Neutron]] when they're stuck in a tomb. You could tell which pair of eyes belonged to which character because they all looked different.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9dbAQJIu1o The opening] of ''[[The Trap Door]]''.
* The lions in the ''[[
* ''Stoked'' Finn inside the sack being kidnapped by Reef, Broseph and Emma is decipted as her eyes.
* Parodied in [[
* In ''[[
== [[Real Life]] ==
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