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{{trope}}
[[File:rsz_kozilek_3928.gif|link=Magic: theThe Gathering (Tabletop Game)|frame|It's such a beautiful day, nothing could possibly-- [[Oh Crap]].]]
 
 
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'''Piglet:''' Oh, but this one happens in the daytime.|''[[The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]]'', "The Monster Frankenpooh"}}
 
[[Evil Is Not Well Lit]]. We all know this. It's human nature to believe that [[Darkness Equals Death]]. Therefore, it's been a commonly held trope for centuries that scary things have to happen in the dark. This is why there are so many horror movies where it's [[Always Night]], or why [[The Lost Woods]] never see daylight, or why whoever owns the [[Haunted House]] never pays the electricity bill. Conversely, well lit, sunny areas with 100% visibility must be safe. We know that no monsters will harm us once [[Cue the Sun|the sun comes up.]] Hey, the [[Things That Go Bump in Thethe Night|Things That Go Bump]] only do it at night after all. If spooky things always lurk in the darkness, then [[Light Is Good]].
 
[[Tempting Fate|Right?]]
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== [[Anime and Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'' both the demon attack in the oppening scene, and the final showdown take place in daylight. Though the really freaky stuff starts at sunset, it doesn't end until the sun rises above the mountains, at which point it had been daylight for quite some time.
* ''[[Serial Experiments Lain]]'' is known for the highly contrasting light and shadows in its animation style, creating eerily bright days. There are a number of [[Mind Screw]] scenes that happen in these settings. They can be found [[Serial Experiments Lain (Anime)/Nightmare Fuel|here.]]
* In ''[[Highschool of the Dead]]'' one of "[[Not Using the Z Word|them]]" attacks the school in the morning.
** In fact, quite a bit of the series takes place during the day. Like other zombie shows, its the sheer amount of the creatures that makes them scary, since you may be able to fight some of them off, but you can't hold them off forever, as the characters find out repeatedly and constantly have to retreat to new areas.
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== [[Comics]] ==
* In [[Neil Gaiman]]'s fantasy/horror series ''[[Sandman]]'', many scenes take place in Hell. These scenes show horrific demons torturing souls in violent ways. The scenes are colored to look like it is perpetually dusk.
* Lampshaded in an issue of ''[[The Walking Dead (Comic Bookcomics)|The Walking Dead]]''. Rick, the main character, complains that it's getting cloudy. His friend welcomes the darkness since it had previously been very sunny and the sunlight was "too much of a contradiction."
 
== [[Film]] ==
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* ''[[The Mist]]'', though it's so, uh, foggy you really couldn't tell.
* Many scenes in the first half of ''[[Lost Highway]]'' maintain an incredibly menacing feel in broad daylight.
* The ''[[The Lord of the Rings (Filmfilm)|Lord of the Rings]]'' accomplished this in the first movie. The Ring Wraiths chase Arwen and Frodo across an open field on a very clear and sunny day. It's probably one of the more frightening sequences of the entire trilogy.
** Then there was that damn [[Half Human Hybrids|Uruk-hai]] attack.
** The scene where Frodo falls into the Dead Marshes from ''The Two Towers''. True, the water itself was fairly dark, but the whole scene took place during the day. Not to mention the soldiers' decapitated heads catapulted over the walls of Minas Tirith in broad daylight in ''Return of the King''...
* [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[Prince of Darkness (Film)|Prince of Darkness]]'' happens over the span of a single day in a church with obviously working electricity.
** Another from [[John Carpenter]]'s films, ''[[The Thing (Filmfilm)|The Thing]]'', while still using night time for some of its scares, manages to have a few intense moments in the light of day. Then again, they're in the stormy antarctic, so it's mostly an ''overcast'' daylight.
** One of Carpenter's most effective uses of the trope, and one of the most famous, are the scenes in his film ''[[Halloween (Filmfilm)|Halloween]]'' when "the shape" is stalking Laurie Strode and her friends through the quiet streets of Haddonfield during the middle of the day. The idyllic, sunny small town environment is rendered uncanny and frightening by the mixture of creepy music and the fact that the audience is aware of a malevolent presence that the onscreen characters cannot seem to sense.
* Obvious examples include both ''[[Day of the Dead (Film)|Day of the Dead]]'' movies, remake and original.
** The same goes for ''[[Dawn of the Dead (Filmfilm)|Dawn of the Dead]]''.
* ''[[28 Days Later (Film)|Twenty Eight Days Later]]'' as well as ''[[28 Weeks Later (Film)|Twenty Eight Weeks Later]]'' have the infected attack during the day.
** The opening of 28 Weeks Later was in broad daylight, over some nice green fields, with a horde of zombies. Nightmares ensue.
* [[David Cronenberg]] did this quite a bit in his early days with movies such as ''Shivers'' and ''Rabid'' which depicted horrific scenes in well-lit buildings or even daytime. For instance, the subway is pretty bright [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4Yu_7Q-KBk&feature=related in this scene].
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* Just to show that when this trope is used, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLTUV1RitPM it doesn't always work]. WARNING: Serious [[Narm]].
* The whole of ''[[And Soon the Darkness]]'' takes place in a sunny afternoon.
* Many of the scary scenes in ''[[Jaws (Filmfilm)|Jaws]]'' happen during the day, including the climax.
* The final sequence in ''[[A Nightmare On Elm Street (Film)|A Nightmare Onon Elm Street]]'' movie invoked this trope, going so far as to give the audience a false sense of security [[Hope Spot|before pulling the rug]].
* The [[Ken Russell]] film ''[[Lair of the White Worm]]'' was, at the time, a rare movie for showing vampires stalking victims during the daytime. The movie was based on a novel by [[Bram Stoker (Creator)|Bram Stoker]]. See also: Literature.
* The first ''[[Predator (Film)|Predator]]'' movie was mostly set during the course of a single day, yet the monster was still hidden due to invisibility, making those scenes more intense.
* The "Man behind Winkies" scene in ''[[Mulholland Drive]]''.
* [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s version of ''[[The Shining]]'' rarely shows darkness. It has many scenes in the day, the hotel always has all of its lights on, and there is a white blanket of snow on the ground outside that makes everything... well, [[Incredibly Lame Pun|shiny]].
* Most of the bird-attacks in ''[[The Birds]]'' occur during one bright day.
* A number of scenes in ''[[The Exorcist (Film)|The Exorcist]]'' have been remarked upon for taking place in daylight, notably [[The One With...]] Reagan's spinning head.
* The final scene of ''[[The Evil Dead]]'' (and subsequently, one of the first scenes of the second movie) shows that the awful night has finally ended: {{spoiler|Ash is alive, the deadites are gone, and all is well... then we're hit with [[Shaky POV Cam]].}}
* The cropduster attack in the cornfield from ''[[North Byby Northwest]]''.
* ''[[The Hills Have Eyes (Film)|The Hills Have Eyes]]'': Being the sadistic bastards that they are, the mutants preferred to take down most of their victims in broad daylight rather than at night when they're most vulnerable.
* ''[[Ju OnJuon]]'' and ''[[The Grudge]]'' (and numerous sequels): It doesn't matter if you're in your apartment with the lights on, in a bus, at school, in America thousands of miles away from Japan, or driving a taxi down the road in a Santa outfit delivering a cake to a certain cursed household, the grudge will get you no matter where you are...
* The ''[[Crocodile Hunter]]'' movie mentions on DVD commentary that they had a scene of Steve handling a deadly snake at night but didn't put in the movie because a similar scene during the day looked more dangerous.
* ''[[The Host (Filmfilm)|The Host]]'' invokes this trope perfectly when the monster first attacks. The director purposefully wanted an attack during a nice day in order to make the scene surreal and frightening. People are hanging out by Han River one minute, and getting eaten the next.
* In ''[[Serenity (Film)|Serenity]]'', Miranda is one of the most brightly lit planets we see in the 'Verse, but it's still where our [[Big Damn Heroes]] discover {{spoiler|how the Pax killed almost everyone on the planet and created the Reavers}}. And it's ''terrifying''.
* Many of the scenes of horror in ''[[The DevilsDevil's Rejects (Film)|The Devils Rejects]]'' take place during the day. One victim even dies the next morning, outside in broad daylight, after the killers have vacated the premises.
* The first ''[[Candyman (Film)|Candyman]]'' movie had many scenes set during the day. This includes when Candy Man himself first appears in a brightly-lit garage and many of the kills/gory scenes.
* The "birthday party video" scene from ''[[Signs]]''. It's arguably scarier than any of the scenes that take place at night.
* Obviously this doesn't work in the absurdly bad ''The House That Screamed'', since [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/movie-reviews/house-that-screamed.php the reviewer] at [[Something Awful]] repeatedly keeps pointing out that "'''nothing is fucking scary in broad daylight'''".
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* The frightening and unexpected closing scenes of ''[[Carrie]]'' occur during the day.
* ''[[Insidious]]'' had the scene {{spoiler|where the demon pops up in plain sight behind the woman's shoulder at the coffee table in the middle of the day}} which gave audiences a good startle just because it was so unexpected.
* ''[[Resident Evil: Extinction (Film)|Resident Evil Extinction]]'' is set almost entirely during the day.
* The remake of ''[[Friday the 13th]]'' had the typical "people take off their clothes and go out to the lake, only to be killed by Jason" scene. This time, however, it happened during the day.
* The final scenes of ''[[Session 9]]'' are not only bathed in sunlight, but birdsong too.
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** Part of "Amy's Choice" is set in a sleepy village during the day.
** All of "Father's Day" occurs on the day of a wedding.
* In the ''[[Torchwood (TV)|Torchwood]]'' episode "End of Days", {{spoiler|Abaddon terrorizes the city and kills loads of people}} in broad daylight. Given that a shadow was required in order to {{spoiler|devour people's life force}} this is actually logical, you need light to cast a shadow.
* ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' has lots of really creepy scenes that take place in broad daylight. Starting right with the very first scene.
* The sixth season of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' subverted the show's usual "Night-time horror" by having most of the scary stuff happen during daytime, culminating in the death of {{spoiler|Tara}}, and {{spoiler|Willow's}} attempt to destroy the world.
** Lampshaded in the very first episode where Willow is conducting a magic ceremony in a beautiful sunlit forest glade. A fawn comes up to lick her hand and Willow [[Blood Magic|promptly slits its throat]].
* Used frequently and effectively in ''[[The Walking Dead (TV series)|The Walking Dead]]'', as the zombies are active in the daytime.
** The main character, Rick Grimes, first emerges from his coma to find himself in the middle of a [[Zombie Apocalypse]] during the daytime.
** Later, Rick barely survives an encounter with a horde of zombies on the streets of Atlanta.
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== [[Literature]] ==
* Famously, [[Bram Stoker (Creator)|Bram Stoker]] originally had ''[[Dracula (Literaturenovel)|Dracula]]'' walking freely during the day.
** This is a staple of the Victorian vampire fiction. The idea of vampires dying in sunlight only became prevalent in the early 20th century thanks to the silent film ''[[Nosferatu (Film)|Nosferatu]]''. Similar examples include Lord Ruthven from ''[[The Vampyre (Literature)|The Vampyre]]'' and of course ''[[Carmilla (Literature)|Carmilla]]''.
* In [[Dean Koontz]]'s novel ''Cold Fire'', Jim and Holly are awakened on a sunny morning by a monstrous presence trying to force its way through the bedroom ceiling. "When something from Beyond found you in the dead hours of the night, you half expected it. But sunshine was supposed to banish all monsters."
* Invoked in-universe for ''[[The Zombie Survival Guide]]''. Which recommends finding safe places to sleep during the night, and only 'get moving" when there's Daylight. Implicitly putting you on even terms with the undead, who don't need to see you to find and eat you.
* Consciously invoked by [[HPH.P. Lovecraft]] in his short story, ''Cool Air'':
{{quote| It is a mistake to fancy that horror is associated inextricably with darkness, silence, and solitude. I found it in the glare of mid-afternoon, in the clangour of a metropolis, and in the teeming midst of a shabby and commonplace rooming-house with a prosaic landlady and two stalwart men by my side. }}
 
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In [[Magic: theThe Gathering]], the Rise of the Eldrazi set started a three-block series of horror sets. To set the [[Eldritch Abomination]] Eldrazi apart from the biomechanical [[The Corruption|Corruption]] of the Phyrexians, or the [[Hammer Horror]] inspired Innistrad, they were always drawn in bright daylight. This served to show their bright, coral-inspired colors and to make it clear even daylight could not protect you.
 
== [[Video Games]] ==
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** ''4'' is still pretty gray and gloomy, even during the day, but a slim majority of 5 occurs out in the blinding sun.
*** Amplified by the superior lightning effects in ''5'', an enemy with their back to the sun is a major annoyance.
** ''[[Resident Evil 3 Nemesis]]'' as well. Well, until you get out of the police station that is.
*** Not that it makes a difference - the classic Resident Evil's were never dark to begin with, unless we're talking about a room with a light switch or an area where you have to turn the power on.
* ''[[Left 4 Dead]] 2'''s daytime segments don't just change the lighting, but the behavior of one of the Special Infected. Witches normally sit in one place at night, but during the day they wander around.
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** A specific example is Horizon, a colony in the process of being abducted by the Collectors. It's a beautiful, summery day and the colony looks like any prefabricated community, a place where people live, farm, work and sleep. And then you come across humans frozen in place in the process of fleeing, falling, screaming, hiding, trying to help each other...and then you ''stop'' coming across them, and it's like they were never there at all.
** Taken several notches up in ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'' with ''Sanctuary''. It's a refugee camp on Horizon that takes in human refugees from planets destroyed by the Reapers and the reception area looks a lot like an [[Crystal Spires and Togas|elegant and clean airport with huge skylights and indoor parks]], except for some very recent damage from firefights and crashed shuttles. As you arrive the last enemy troops are on full retreat and [[Nothing Is Scarier|there is nobody else there]], while the PA keeps blaring out instructions to new arrivals, which sound increasingly like cult propaganda. From terminals you learn that new arrivals are confined to the reception area and have to leave behind all their possessions. If you volunteer as a receptionist, you are promised better accomodations once you are permited inside the main compound. From which nobody has ever returned. {{spoiler|It's actually a kind of concentration camp where refugees are turned into brainwashed cyborg soldiers and everyone who is not suitable is turned into test subjects for anti-zombie weapons.}}
* ''[[Bio Shock Infinite (Video Game)|Bio Shock Infinite]]'' looks to be heading in this direction.
* ''[[Pathologic]]'' is this trope. Though even the noon of the sunniest day in the game has a withered, autumn atmosphere and can look mildly gloomy.
* Lake Yantar in ''[[STALKER]]'' is somehow more creepy during the day than during night. During the highly overcast day you can often see zombiefied Stalkers shuffling in the distance or Snorks crawling through the bushes while at night it's just a usual dark wilderness level.
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* [[The Slender Man Mythos|The Slender Man]] is generally associated with fog and dark places, but there's nothing really stopping him appearing in broad daylight if he so desires, as seen in most of [[Marble Hornets|the]] [[Everyman HYBRID|web]] [[Tribe Twelve|videos]] based on his mythos.
* Much of ''[[Nyx Crossing]]'' takes place during the daytime. Doesn't stop it from being eerie though.
* The second chapter of ''[[The Bongcheon Dong Ghost (Webcomic)|The Bongcheon Dong Ghost]]'' takes place in the middle of the day at a train station.
 
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Fiver's vision in ''[[Watership Down]]'' shows blood creeping across a meadow with a bright sun overhead.
* ''[[Final Fantasy: theThe Spirits Within (Anime)|Final Fantasy the Spirits Within]]'', the phantoms began rising from the shore and started killing unsuspecting people playing about in the beach one afternoon. Of course, they are invisible - nothing like being attacked by a monster you can't see in daylight.
* ''[[Batman: theThe Animated Series]]'': The episode "Home and Garden" shows one of the few times where Batman's in action in broad daylight. Of course, the reality behind Poison Ivy's new domestic life is no picture-perfect fairy tale, either...dear God, the "cabbage plant kids"...
* Extremely noticable in the animated Disney film ''[[Tarzan (Disney film)|Tarzan]]'', especially the scenes involving [[Cats Are Mean|Sabor the leopard.]]
 
== [[Real Life]] ==
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