Cobweb of Disuse: Difference between revisions

A cobweb or two is often used as a sign that something hasn't been used or hasn't moved in a while. This is a standard part of the decor in [[Haunted Castle|Haunted Castles]]s and [[Haunted House|Haunted Houses]]s, so much so that white fibrous decorations simulating cobwebs appear in stores every October.

In [[Real Life]], this is only partially true. A spider only needs a few hours to build a web on something. On the other hand, not regularly removing cobwebs from something will allow dust to build up on them, making them a lot easier to see.

* ''[[Ranma One Half½]]'': Happens within minutes to the Tendou household when they temporarily lose all their money due to shenanigans involving Nabiki.

* ''[[Mad (Magazine)|Mad]] Magazine'' did this a LOT, particularly Sergio Aragones' "A MAD look at _____". If a person bought something that sits in disuse, you'll see it sitting on a shelf or in a closet with spider webs.

* Present in Thunderstorm's ice cave in ''[[Calvin and Hobbes: The Series (Fanfic)|Calvin and Hobbes The Series]]''.

* Played with in the 1931 ''[[Dracula (Film1931 film)|Dracula]]'', where much of the Count's castle is swathed in cobwebs that make it appear totally deserted. At least, they ''seem'' to imply nobody's been using it ... until a sneaky camera cut makes it appear that the vampire has walked straight through a large orb web ''without disturbing it''.

* In ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'', Eddie keeps the desk of his [[Dead Partner|late brother and partner Teddy]] untouched since his death as a [[Shrine to Thethe Fallen]]. It is covered in cobwebs and layers of dust.

* The ''[[Indiana Jones (Franchise)|Indiana Jones]]'' movies had this, what with all the ancient ruins and stuff.

* Jenna's Palace in ''[[Septimus Heap (Literature)|Septimus Heap]]'' is filled with cobwebs, mostly due to the staff being overwhelmed by the sheer size of the Palace and only a few parts being truly used.

* The second edition of ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' had an illusion like this, to confuse burglars and thereby protect valuables.

* In ''[[Psychonauts (Video Game)|Psychonauts]]'', parts of people's minds which haven't been accessed in a long time are blocked by "mental cobwebs" which you need to [[Cash Gate|buy a specific piece of equipment]] to clear.

* ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'' had a dojo [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-08-25 disused] but lacking cobwebs... then the [[Side-Story Bonus Art|sketchbook]] [[Lampshaded|explains]] [http://www.egscomics.com/sketchbook/?date=2010-08-26 why].

* ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'': When the family goes to the library to do research for school they find no books and cobwebs on the shelves. So Marge tells them stories of [[Henry VIII]], Sacagawea and [[Mozart]].

* On the ''[[SpongebobSpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode "Pretty Patties", the Krusty Krab is covered in cobwebs when business gets slow. SpongeBob tries to clean one, a spider makes another one. Later, Mr. Krabs himself is seen covered in cobwebs.

* When the Nazis invaded France, many French people would hide their valuables in their wine cellars by bricking off part of the cellar. They would then find spiders and place them in front of the newly built walls so they would build webs and make the walls look older. (In a similar vein, wine merchants would often run a scam against Nazi officials by sprinkling dust on top of bottles of cheap crap to pass it off as old and valuable.)

** Speaking of wine and cobwebs, wine bottles are possibly the only food-item that you'd ''want'' to be delivered to you with dust and cobwebs all over it.

* Invoked by [https://web.archive.org/web/20111214114508/http://www.frightcatalog.com/Halloween-Props/Cobweb-Effects/Spider-Webs-Stretchable-1017677/ Halloween cobweb decor].

[[Category:CobwebBuilding Of DisuseTropes]]