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{{trope}}
[[File:Helena02.jpg|link=Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Filmfilm)|rightframe]]
 
{{quote|"''Hair black like night, skin [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (Literaturenovel)|white as snow]]...''"|''[[Author Appeal|A trope by]] '''[[Tim Burton]]''', [[Production Posse|starring]] [[Helena Bonham Carter]].''}}
|''[[Author Appeal|A trope by]] '''[[Tim Burton]]''', [[Production Posse|starring]] [[Helena Bonham Carter]].''}}
 
The '''Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette''' is a character not just with [[People Sit Onon Chairs|mere brown hair and light skin]], but [[Shiny Midnight Black|hair as black as midnight]] and skin pale as a ghost -- possiblyghost—possibly because they ''are'' [[Undeathly Pallor|a ghost]], though it's not required. This [[Deliberately Monochrome|black and white]] complexion is [[Chiaroscuro|visually contrasting]] and interesting to look at, serving as a cue to a high contrast or even [[Hidden Depths|duality]] about the character and setting them apart from their peers. And it's dirt common among villains, creepy characters (vampires especially), and [[Goth|Goths]]s.
 
The reasoning why goes something like this: [[Dark Is Evil|black is evil]], [[Hair of Gold|blonde is good]] ([[Blondes Are Evil|usually]]); tanned is healthy, pale is sickly. Put them both together and you get the most common villainous complexion. It's enough to suggest [[All Thethe Tropes Additional Evil Overlord Vows|a tanning bed]] to would-be world conquerors. Who knows? Maybe regular trips to the beach might dissuade the [[Omnicidal Maniac]] from his schemes?
 
Sometimes [[Justified]] by [[Victorian Novel Disease]], which practically codified the trope, hence its popularity in [[Goth|Gothic]]ic fiction.
 
That said, this is still something of an alignment neutral trope. On the [[Dark Is Not Evil]] side of the equation, there's the [[Goth]], [[Strange Girl]], [[Trickster]], and [[Anti-Hero]]. Still, some of the more memorable examples of this trope are the likes of [[The Vamp]], [[Blood Knight]], and [[Wicked Witch]]. Oddly enough, the [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette]] is hardly ever [[The Big Guy]] or a bruiser, as most villains with this complexion complement it with [[Looks Like Cesare|haggard, sleep deprived eyes]] and [[Lean and Mean|near starved frames]], perhaps to send the message that evil takes a physical as well as [[This Is Your Brain Onon Evil|moral toll]]. If they ''are'' on the side of good, though, they'll usually be of [[The Lancer]] or [[The Smart Guy]] type.
 
This is somewhat ironic, as [[Once Upon a Time]], pale skin symbolized wealth and education, as the privileged could afford to work indoors rather than in the fields. (Also, it's very easy to tell if a pale person is sick; with a 'healthy tan', one can hide it more easily.) Nowadays, this is not uncommon in [[Real Life]]. Also, [[Raven Hair, Ivory Skin|some people find the coloration attractive]].
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One thing worth noting is that, since only albinos can have ''pure'' white skin in [[Real Life]] (if you want to get really technical, they can't either, since the blood under their skin will tint it very slightly), having a character whose skin is literally milk-white may land them in the [[Uncanny Valley]] unless it's part of a highly stylised art style. Comics and cartoons have also been known to tint characters' skin tones pale ''green'', or violet, blue, or grey, as a variation on this aesthetic. Even in live action, a yellowish, or "sallow", tinge is not unknown.
 
Counterpart to the [[Dark-Skinned Redhead]] and the [[DarkskinnedDark-Skinned BlondeBlond]]. Very common among [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampires]]. Often, these people [[Looks Like Cesare|look like Cesare]], especially if they apply [[Excessive Evil Eyeshadow]]. Compare and contrast [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]], [[Raven Hair, Ivory Skin]], and [[Stringy -Haired Ghost Girl]]. Also see [[But Not Too Black]]. Not to be confused with [[Undeathly Pallor]].
{{examples}}▼
 
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Most of the Otherselves in ''[[BlackBlack★Rock RockShooter (band)|Black★Rock Shooter]]'', bordering on [[Undeathly Pallor]].
* ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei-sensei]]'': Kiri Komori fits this trope pretty much to a T, being a [[Hikikomori]] who, by nature, doesn't go outside much.
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': Zolf J. Kimbley and Frank Archer. Both have black hair, and Kimbley has unhealthy-looking skin because of his prison time. Archer has pure white skin that even the homunculi cannot compete with. Also Izumi, though she has an incurable illness as an excuse.
** Nearly all the homunculi are like this except Gluttony and Envy, the former being bald and the latter having green hair in his preferred form. And King Bradley and Greed, while brunette, are not pale.
* L, Naomi Misora, and Teru Mikami of ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]''.
* Yuuko Ichihara of ''[[Xxx Holic (Manga)|Xxx Holic×××HOLiC]]''. Most color illustrations depict the rest of the main cast as these, too.
** All the main characters have black hair and pasty skin in the manga. Doumeki [[Adaptation Dye Job|has much darker skin in the anime]], but Watanuki remains very pale.
* Sunako from ''[[The Wallflower]]''. The boys in charge of making her into a lady initially mistake her for [[The Ring|Sadako]] thanks to the general aura of creepy she constantly emanates.
* This is one of the indications that the titular character of ''[[Hell Girl]]'' is [[Creepy Child|not]] [[Emotionless Girl|of]] [[The Grim Reaper|this]] [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|world]].
* Rue of ''[[Princess Tutu]]'', playing up the crow imagery around her.
* Kuromitsu, the beautiful, immortal vampire from ''[[Kurozuka (Literature)|Kurozuka]]''.
* Sawako from ''[[Kimi Nini Todoke]]'', whose creepy looks have had her nicknamed [[The Ring|Sadako]]. She's actually very nice, very naive, and really lonely (since her looks and her (mostly untrue) reputation tends to scare off potential friends).
* Orochimaru of ''[[Naruto]]'' goes beyond simply having pale skin -- hisskin—his is flat-out white, paired with black hair. Sai, Itachi, and Sasuke are less pale, but they all contrast with Naruto, who is blond-haired and well-tanned. More heroic examples are [[Shrinking Violet|Hinata]] and Neji Hyuga. (Well, Neji ''[[Character Development|becomes]]'' heroic...[[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy|esque]].)
** [[I Take Offence to That Last One|Hinata's hair is more black...blue...indigo?]]
* Hotaru Tomoe from ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' is a [[Creepy Child]] who has both a planet-destroying soldier spirit and a demon bent on bringing [[Apocalypse Maiden|"silence" to the world]] sealed inside her. Despite all this, when depowered, she's just a sweet girl who is misunderstood due to her [[Ill Girl|fainting states]] and creepy looks.
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* Tomoe in ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]''. Also, Kaoru, though she subverts the trope by being [[Tsundere|more emotional]].
* Precia Testarossa of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', an [[Evil Matriarch]] of a [[Big Bad]] with an [[Incurable Cough of Death]].
* Saki Hanajima from ''[[Fruits Basket]]'', complete with creepy goth tendencies and an unflattering reputation. Her younger brother Megumi is one of these too, and he's arguably even creepier than she is. Rin and Akito, both [[Broken Bird|Broken Birds]]s, also fit this trope.
* Momoko of ''[[Saki (Mangamanga)|Saki]]''. This, combined with her ~su [[Verbal Tic]], her power to [[Invisibility|disappear from sight]], and the black smoke effect used to portray those powers, makes her seem like a ghost.
* Re-l Mayer from ''[[Ergo Proxy]]'', whose pure white skin, pitch black hair, and liberal amounts of blue eyeshadow make her rather...striking.
* Fiore from ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'', an {{spoiler|[[Came Back Wrong|undead]]}} [[Meido]] who works for the villains.
* Ulquiorra Schiffer from ''[[Bleach]]'' has bone-white skin.
* ''[[D .Gray Man-man]]'' has two heroic examples: Krory and Miranda.
* Sebastian Michaelis from ''[[Black Butler (Manga)|Black Butler]]''.
* Yuno Morino from ''[[Goth (Mangamanga)|Goth]]''. The contrast of the scars on her wrists atop her pristine white skin is what drew the attention (and obsession) of the [[Nightmare Fetishist]] narrator.
* The surreal OVA ''[[Radio City Fantasy]]'' involves an artist who is in love with his muse who fits this trope, her white skin and black hair being visually interesting to him.
* Lelouch Lamperouge from ''[[Code Geass]]''.
* Death the Kid from ''[[Soul Eater]]''. He's a nice enough if eccentric chap, but he ''does'' have [[Skunk Stripe|black-and-white]] hair, slightly creepy yellow eyes, and comes across as more eerie than is the norm even for this series when he fights 'properly' or talks about gods, life, and death. And that's before you factor in his [[Brainwashed and Crazy|temporary]] insanity.
* Emma from ''[[Victorian Romance Emma]]'' gives off vibes like this to those around her, which led a few men to court her, but is often considered aloof by her peers.
* Shiki from ''[[Togainu no Chi]]'' has skin that's practically white and black hair. Were it not for his [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]], in fact, he would have a very monochromatic appearance since he wears black all the time.
* Nii Jenyi {{spoiler|Ukoku}} from ''[[Saiyuki]]''.
* Hagoromo-Gitsune from ''[[Nurarihyon no Mago]]'', as opposed to the ''[[Togainu no Chi]]'' example above, ''is'' monochromatic; she has [[Black Eyes|black eyes]], [[Curtains Match the Windows|black hair]], wears black serafuku with a white ribbon and has pale white skin that would make [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (Literaturenovel)|Snow White]] look tan.
* Zeref from ''[[Fairy Tail]]''
 
 
== Comic Books ==
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* Ragamuffin from ''[[Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl]]''.
* Cassie Hack from ''[[Hack Slash]]''. Probably best shown in [http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/163/slicehardprelude.jpg a panel] from ''Slice Hard Prelude'', where she and [[Monster of the Week|the Acid Angel]] are staring each other down.
* [[Spider -Man]] foe [http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/267065-193342-shriek.jpg Shriek]{{Dead link}}.
** And [[Morbius the Living Vampire]]
* ''Nemi'' '''is''' this trope.
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== Fairy Tales and Folklore ==
* "[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (Literaturenovel)|Snow White]]": Back in the day, unnatural paleness was the epitome of feminine beauty, since tanned skin was associated with commoners who worked outside all day. Hell, dying of tuberculosis was considered to add to women's attractiveness by causing paleness and [[Distressed Damsel in Distress|fainting spells]]. The paleness=corpse=unnatural association isn't any older [[Newer Than They Think|than the twentieth century]].
** [[Tanith Lee]] played with this by taking the whole "Skin pale as snow, lips as red as blood, hair black as a raven's wing" description and concluding that this meant Snow White and her mother were vampires. So did [[Neil Gaiman]].
*** Cecelia Eng wrote a [[Filk]] almost certainly based on Lee's story:
{{quote| Mirror, mirror, on the wall,<br />
Cannot see my face at all;<br />
My lips are red as the blood I crave,<br />
My hair as black as an empty grave. }}
* The legend of the [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki_onna:Yuki onna|Yuki-onna or Snow Lady]] in Japanese mythos. Exceptionally pale and beautiful, but her eyes can be terrifying. She may also lack feet.
 
 
== Film ==
* Any film by [[Tim Burton]], who got the idea from [[Looks Like Cesare|Conrad Veidt]]. It's practically guaranteed to have at least one, and it'll probably be [[Johnny Depp]].
** ''[[Batman Returns (Film)|Batman Returns]]'': Penguin counts as this played straight. He's as pale as it gets.
** ''[[Edward Scissorhands]]'''s titular character.
** Lydia from ''[[Beetlejuice (Film)|Beetlejuice]]'', but her hair is dyed, and she's one of the earlier examples of a [[Goth]].
** The main characters of ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Filmfilm)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]''.
** Don't forget ''[[Corpse Bride (Animation)|Corpse Bride]]''; Victor Van Dort has dark hair and his complexion is nearly white, along with every other living character in the film.
** Barnabas Collins in the ''[[Dark Shadows (Filmfilm)|Dark Shadows]]'' movie.
* Sadako/Samara from ''[[The Ring]]''.
* The entirety of [[The Addams Family (TV)|The Addams Family]] (except Pugsley, who's just as pale but has brownish hair) in the films, as a physical sign of their, er, 'difference'.
* The Thermians in ''[[Galaxy Quest (Film)|Galaxy Quest]]'', done to emphasize that they are aliens who have disguised themselves as humans in accordance with the film's plot.
* Esther Coleman from ''[[Orphan (Film)|Orphan]]''.
* In ''[[Waltz Withwith Bashir]]'', the director portrays his ex-girlfriend, who dumped him the same week he shipped out, as one of these. He has fantasies of her as a ghostly presence on the battlefield. In an interview, the director stated that his wife objected to how attractive he made her in the film.
* The BBC version of the [[The Chronicles of Narnia|White Witch]] is a straight up villainous example.
* Selene from the ''[[Underworld (Filmfilm)|Underworld]]'' movies. Being a vampire and all, this shouldn't come as a surprise.
* The ghost girl in ''[[Dead Friend]]'' (aka ''The Ghost'').
** Heck, ''every character'' in the film could fit this trope. Possibly intentional? The four main girls were particularly creepy whenever they stood in a row and just stared someone down.
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* The Pasteur (yes, that's how they spell it in the credits) in ''[[We Are the Strange]]''.
* Kelly in ''[[Mystery Team]]''.
* Most of the covers (for example, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140218053312/http://www.best-horror-movies.com/image-files/may-movie-poster.jpg this one]) for ''[[May]]''.
* Loki in ''[[Thor (Filmfilm)|Thor]]''. Fanart tends to take this [http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpmtnyJc6A1qkvrpzo1_500.jpg even further].
* [[Donnie Darko]].
* ''[[Kill List (Film)|Kill List]]'' has Fiona, Gal's new girlfriend. There's something distinctly off about her and her appearance and strange actions during Jay's dinner party are one of the first major hints that something is very wrong here.
 
 
== Literature ==
* Sirius Black fits this for most of ''[[Harry Potter and Thethe Prisoner of Azkaban (novel)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]''. When it's revealed that he's actually good, the characters basically stop mentioning his pale, waxy complexion.
** Also, Bellatrix, who, in the movies, is played by the pictured [[Helena Bonham Carter]]. And the rest of the Black family. And Snape, {{spoiler|though he, like Sirius, turns out to be a good, albeit [[Byronic Hero]]}}. And young Tom Riddle, which creeps Harry out, as he looks a bit like him. Rowling loves this trope.
* [[Coraline (Literaturenovel)|Coraline]]'s [[Wicked Witch|Other]] [[Wicked Stepmother|Mother]] fits the sinister aspects of this trope. In the animated movie, her [[Evil Is Sexy|original form]] also fits [[Raven Hair, Ivory Skin]].
* Gregor Vorbarra from the [[Vorkosigan Saga]] is described as being like this - as well as being tall and thin and dressed in dark clothing - so it shouldn't be surprising that he's [[The Emperor]] of a multi-planetary, extremely militaristic empire. Except that he's also one of the good guys.
** Most of Miles Vorkosigan's love interests fit this trope too, especially Elena and Elli.
* House Raith of the White Court in [[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]] - a clan of psychic vampires that feed on lust and all look like this.
* Juliet Salazar from Mike Carey's [[Felix Castor]] series, who has black hair, "black-on-black" eyes, and pure white skin: "the undiluted white of snow or bone rather than the muddy pink-beige mix that passes for white according to normal labelling conventions." [[Justified]] in her case, as she's a demon from Hell whose body isn't, technically speaking, an actual body. And in something of a subversion, she's not necessarily an ''evil'' demon from Hell, when she chooses not to be.
* [[Tsundere|Heleth]] from Douglas Hill's ''ColSec Trilogy'' is an [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette]] with [[Facial Markings|facial tattoos]]. Justified in that she was raised underground (the tattoos help camouflage her in shadows). And she sunburns ''badly''.
* Definitely on the [[Dark Is Not Evil]] side of this trope: Stephen Maturin, co-protagonist of the [[Aubrey-Maturin]] series. His hair is black, of course, and his skin tone is almost invariably described as "pale" or "sallow".
* Xanatos, [[Manipulative Bastard]] and [[Big Bad]] of the [[Jedi Apprentice]] novels in the [[Star Wars]] EU, is more or less described as looking like a vampire.
* Magiere from ''[[The Saga of the Noble Dead]]'' straddles the line between this and [[Undeathly Pallor]]. At her most normal, she has a chalk-white complexion (impossible given the amount of time she spends outdoors) and [[Red Right Hand|blood red highlights]] in her [[Shiny Midnight Black|otherwise black hair]] (when her [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] comes out, so do the fangs). [[Sarcasm Mode|Oddly enough]], [[All of the Other Reindeer|she had a rough childhood]] and developed a thing about superstitious peasantry.
* ''[[Emily of New Moon]]'' has very pale skin (to the point that, especially when she's a child, most people who meet her assume she's delicate and will likely die of tuberculosis) and black hair. It contributes to most people seeing her as a borderline [[Creepy Child]].
* While [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (Literaturenovel)|Snow White]] in the original fairy tale is far too nice to be this, her colouring has inspired several writers to [[Grimmification|depict her as a vampire]], for example, [[Tanith Lee]] in ''Red as Blood'' and [[Neil Gaiman]] in ''Snow, Glass, Apples''.
* In ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo]]'', Edmund Dantes is one of these, having dark hair and extremely pale skin. This is called attention to on several occasions, in which, as the Count, he's described as handsome but with an unsettlingly pale skin tone. The narrator explains that the years he spent in prison made Dantes very pale and prevented him from ever returning to his original tan skin tone.
* [[Town Withwith a Dark Secret|The entire town of Dark Falls]] in the ''[[Goosebumps]]'' book ''Welcome to Dead House'', sometimes bordering on [[Looks Like Cesare]] in the TV adaptation.
 
 
== Live-Action TV ==
* [[The Addams Family (TV)|Morticia Addams]] fits the physical description (moreso in adaptations that are in color, rather than black and white), but is a very nice person. She just has some unusual hobbies and a slightly odd outlook on life. Same thing with her husband and daughter.
** Speaking of her daughter, in the [[Netflix]] series ''[[Wednesday]]'', she claims her mother does this by appling baking powder to her face instead of actual makeup; given that there are some scenes where Morticia seems to have normal-colored skin, this claim seems legit.
** In [[The Addams Family (1991 film)|the live action movies]], her pale skin is accented by bright red lipstick and nail polish, plus a ghostly glow around her eyes, most noticeable in dim light, making her look even ''more'' eerie.
* Lily Munster of ''[[The Munsters]]'' also looks like this and would probably get along very well with Morticia if they met.
* In season 2 of ''[[Dexter]]'', Dexter's girlfriend Lila is a pale-skinned brunette. Because they're all in sun-filled Miami, this leads Deb to speculate that she's "a [[Actually Pretty Funny|gross English titty vampire]]". And when Lila {{spoiler|turns out to be [[Yandere|nuts]]}}, Deb describes her to the other cops as "[[Sir Swearsalot|pale as a fucking corpse]]."
* ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'':
** Lt. Cmdr. Data in ''[[Star Trek: the Next Generation (TV)|Star Trek theThe Next Generation]]'' was [[Ridiculously Human Robot|designed to be this]] on purpose to keep him on the left side of the [[Uncanny Valley]]. Amusingly, some aliens think he's just a weird-looking human. [[Shout -Out|In homage]] to Kirk's "rice-picker" in The Original Series and [[Blatant Lies]] regarding Spock in ''[[Star Trek IV: theThe Voyage Home (Film)|Star Trek IV the Voyage Home]]'', they tell some past humans in "Time's Arrow" that he's a "Frenchman".
*** In at least one holodeck episode, he passes himself off as South American.
** Spock and most Vulcans (barring Tuvok) in general fit this trope.
** Also, Deanna Troi.
** Let's not forget Weyoun of [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV)|DS9]], or every Vorta, for that matter.
* Merton J. Dingle from ''[[Big Wolf Onon Campus]]'', since he's a goth.
* [[The Woobie|River Tam]] of ''[[Firefly (TV)|Firefly]]''. Kinda justified on the pale-skinned part, as she doesn't leave the ship much. And she's [[Strange Girl|pretty]] [[Mysterious Waif|eerie]].
** Also, Bennett from ''[[Dollhouse (TV)|Dollhouse]]'', another character played by [[Summer Glau]].
* Willow in'' [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' at the end of season 6. Justified in that, {{spoiler|by that point, she's become completely taken over by grief, revenge lust, and black magic. She gets better.}}
** Drusilla - likely a side effect of vampirism.
* [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] Superstar Mark Callaway, aka [[The Undertaker]] (although his natural hair color is actually red), as well as his manager, [[Paul Bearer]]. Even after Taker changed his gimmick to a [[Badass Biker]], he's still noticeably pale.
* [[Fille Fatale|Bad girl]] Audrey Horne in ''[[Twin Peaks]]''.
* A benign version is Marian from the BBC's ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'', played by dark-haired, pale-skinned Lucy Griffith.
* By an act of divine fortune (for those who like women, anyway), Zoe Graystone from ''[[Caprica]]'' has very dark (nearly-black) hair and very light (as close to white as possible without albinism) skin. Particularly noticeable in the ads, in which she is stark-naked, [[Over -the -Shoulder Pose|looking over her shoulder]], and holding [[How Do You Like Them Apples?|a bright-red apple]].
* [[The Lab Rat|Abby]] [[Perky Goth|Sciuto]] from ''[[NCIS (TV)|NCIS]]''. Real scary when she gets going.
* Emily Prentiss from ''[[Criminal Minds (TV)|Criminal Minds]]''.
* The titular character from ''[[Sherlock (TV)|Sherlock]]''. Not so much in the [[Pilot]] version, where he was a little more tanned and had slightly browner hair.
** But [[Benedict Cumberbatch]] always has fair skin, being a redhead. The brown hair he had in the pilot version didn't make him look as pale, but the black hair next to his already pale skin made him look white.
** Moriarty fits this trope even more so.
* ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' does this to the season's mentor figure Dr. K. It's justified as she was kidnapped at a young age by government agents and raised in a think tank, being told that she was allergic to sunlight. It showed.
* The loyal warlock Merlin and the king's ward Morgana, from the BBC's ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]''.
** Though Morgana is a better fit for this trope than Merlin, since she's definitely paler-skinned (Merlin doesn't really have that "ghostly" complexion), as well as conveniently {{spoiler|turning into a near-psychopathic villainess hellbent on dramatic angst and sorcerous revenge}}.
 
 
== [[Music]] ==
* Märchen from the [[Sound Horizon]] [[Rock Opera]] of the same name. [[Undeathly Pallor|Being dead might have something to do with it.]]
* [http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_loqoxciE4N1qb4lmh_1311345930_cover.jpg Annie Clark]. Before the release of ''Strange Mercy'' she was just [[Raven Hair, Ivory Skin]], but since then she has shifted hard into this trope.
 
 
== Tabletop Games ==
* Due to [[Warhammer 40 K,000|flaws in various implants]], all Raven Guards have dark hair and pale skin, regardless of what they looked like pre-surgery.
** Night Haunter also looked like this, as did [[Night Lords|his legion]], [[Justified Trope|being recruited from a world in perpetual darkness]].
* Dark Elves in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]'' are almost all pale and black-haired, though no actual reason is given. Perhaps that was just a major dominant trait among the Nagarytheans.
** Nothing in official books, but various pieces of fluff and the occasional [[Word of God]] in articles and video-game material state that, yes, Nagarytheans tended towards this aspect. That, and millennia of using dark magic probably hasn't helped matters any...
* Moon elves, or Silver elves, in [[Forgotten Realms]] usually have black to blue hair and pale to icy-blue skin. At least one novel even [[Lampshaded]] that the subrace visually is a [[Foil|perfect contrast]] to [[Dark-Skinned Blond]] drow. They look the weirdest of whole elvenkind (except [[Winged Humanoid|Avariel]]), but tend to be the most human-like mentally (approachable, curious, and active) and the least decadent.
* Ubiquitous in ''[[Old World of Darkness (Tabletop Game)|Old World of Darkness]]'' with its Gothic aesthetic design. Open a rule book and you will see this trope.
 
 
== Theatre ==
* In [[The Musical]] version of ''[[Wicked (Theatretheatre)|Wicked]]'', Nessarose is almost always one of these, no matter the actress (the exceptions being when she is played as a washed-out-looking dishwater blonde or the actress is simply not of an ethnicity that makes this feasible). It makes sense, considering that she's fairly sickly and, being crippled, is confined to bed, and also [[Lawful Neutral|sees the world in terms of black and white]]. Later, when she turns evil, she [[Evil Costume Switch|exchanges her blue-and-white outfit for a black one]].
* Despite being [[The Ingenue]], Christine Daae in [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]'s version of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'' is sometimes (depending on the actress) played as this, though, in her case, it's mostly to make her look [http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu101/potocostumes/wishing/orig1sb.jpg fragile and ethereal]. In just as many cases, it's subverted by her having a fresh, lively, pink complexion to go with her dark hair, and a few actresses have simply been too dark to even come close to this trope.
** The Phantom himself [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/reiseaudun/designphantom/laircudiaustour.jpg looks like one of these] until it turns out his "hair" is actually a wig, and all he really has is a few scraggly wisps of graying brownish hair on an otherwise bald head.
* The Japanese production of ''[[Tanz Derder Vampire]]'' made Herbert von Krolock [http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd245/weshouldbefriends/Keigo%20Yoshino/cap147.jpg into one of these]. Western productions tend to go the other route and make him a [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]].
* [[Laurence Olivier]] played Shakespeare's [[Richard III]] as one of these [http://meandrichard.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/laurence-olivier-richard-001.jpg onstage]; when he recreated his performance for film, the makeup was toned down and Richard's skin tone was Olivier's own. (Ironically, [[RichardofRichard of Gloucester|the real Richard]] was, according to his surviving portraits, of middling complexion and with merely brown hair.)
 
 
== Video Games ==
* Bastila from ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Knights of the Old Republic]]''. {{spoiler|Her physical appearance definitely works when she joins [[The Dark Side]]}}. Satele Shan, Bastila's descendant who appears in ''The Old Republic'', also fits this trope.
** As well as Morrigan from ''[[Dragon Age]]'' and Miranda from ''[[Mass Effect 2]]''. [[Bio WareBioWare]] seems to have a thing for this trope.
*** Also, [[Dragon Age 2]]'s Merrill. Serves to support her [[All of the Other Reindeer]] story that the rest of the nomadic Dalish are mostly [[Darkskinned Blonde|Dark-Skinned Blondes]] (or just dark-skinned in general) whilst she is this trope.
* Soren from ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' 9 and 10. He's one of the protagonists, but his cynicism and utter lack of idealism occasionally puts off his allies.
** Noticeably, Karla of ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' 7 is the only (female) ally with black hair in the entire game. Mind, this is a series with a ''tradition'' of having at least ''thirty-odd characters'' on the allies' side alone, and they are all very pale. Upon supporting, her personality is revealed to be an equal mix of [[Cloudcuckoolander]] and [[Lady of War]]. Strangely for female characters in this trope, she is an undefeated fighter known as the Princess of Swords as well as [[The Rival]] to [[Boisterous Bruiser|Bartre]] [[Hot -Blooded|the Fighter]], and there are absolutely no allusions to her being sickly or weak, {{spoiler|though she ''does'' die of an illness years after the game ends}}. In the previous game, her daughter Fir continues the trait of having dark hair along with a few others--thoughothers—though, for some strange reason, Fir's hair is ''purple''.
** FE7's Morphs, artificial humans made by the [[Big Bad]], also fall under this.
* Viola Cadaverini from the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series. She's meant to be creepy and sickly looking, and it works.
** Sort-of subverted by Maya in the first game: throughout the second case, she seems like a less-creepy version of this trope, but once she's cleared of suspicion, she becomes the game's [[Genki Girl]] [[Sidekick]].
* Higashizawa Youdai of ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]'' is, considering the rarity of even [[Big Guy|Big Guys]]s crossing over with this trope, most likely the only [[The Brute|Brute]] example of a Pale-Skinned Brunette in existence.
** There's another example and that is {{spoiler|Shiki's true self}}.
* ''[[First Encounter Assault Recon|F.E.A.R.'s]]'' Alma is a straight example of this, as well as being a [[Stringy -Haired Ghost Girl]].
* Billy Coen from [[Resident Evil Zero]] is an example.
* The ''[[Suikoden]]'' series has a rather memorable example in [[Suikoden V|the fifth numbered sequel]]. Zerase is altogether too happy to [[Deadpan Snarker|deride the hero]] for his quote-unquote "idiocy" while [[Sink or Swim Mentor|deliberately withholding useful information]]. For extra tropaliciousness, her pale skin is even [[Lampshade Hanging|commented on]] in a hidden [[Furo Scene]], which implies that she {{spoiler|may or may not be undead, per the page heading.}}
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** Apparently, Kuja in ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' was originally envisioned to be of this trope, but it was changed to make him look like a mini-Sephiroth.
*** Lulu from [[Final Fantasy X]] is the goth aspect of this trope.
* Ashei from ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'' fits this trope physically, with her [[Shiny Midnight Black]] braided hair and almost paper-white skin (complete with under-eye dark circles). She's one of the good guys, however.
* The evil, [[Split Personality|schizophrenic]] Tira in ''[[Soul Series|Soul Calibur IV]]''.
* ''[[Bayonetta]]'', to go along with the rest of her great looks package.
* Yo-Jin-Bo's Bo has [[Hair Color Dissonance|dark navy]] [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|blue]] hair and the palest skintone in the game besides Hatsuhime.
* Eleanor from ''[[BioBioShock Shock(series)]] 2''. Living in an underwater city will probably do that to one's complexion.
* Vanitas from ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', once you finally see his face. {{spoiler|He looks like a pale Sora with darker hair and [[Eyes of Gold]], due to their mutual connection with Ventus.}}
* Alex Mercer from ''[[Prototype (Videovideo Gamegame)|Prototype]]'' fits the trope well enough, though [[In the Hood|the only time you can really tell he has brown hair]] is when you see old pictures of him.
* More like {{spoiler|Eerie Pale-Skinned Dark Redhead: Elaine Marley-Threepwood}} from ''[[Tales of Monkey Island]]'', {{spoiler|1=from the time that she willingly becomes LeChuck's demon bride up to the time that Guybrush manages to shrink [[MacGuffin|La Esponja Grande]].}}
* Alessa from ''[[Silent Hill]]''.
* Your "Guardian Angel" in ''[[Borderlands (Video Game)|Borderlands]]''.
* As the resident [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire]] of ''[[Disgaea 4: a Promise Unforgotten (Video Game)|Disgaea 4 aA Promise Unforgotten]]'', Valvatorez naturally has this hair color and complexion.
* The Witch in ''Path of Exile''. Also [[Nothing but Skin and Bones|very skinny]] (quite fitting considering [[Squishy Wizard|her starting attributes]]), sports a piercing glare that seems to stare directly into people's souls and is implied to be a [[Nightmare Fetishist]].
 
== Web Comics ==
 
== Webcomics ==
* Kit of [[Miamaska]] is [http://miamaska.tidalcomics.com/index.php?strip_id=53 very pale] compared to other Alodian citizens.
* This is part of the basic vampire template in ''[[Hanna Is Not a BoysBoy's Name]]'', along with [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]] (except for [[Ambiguously Brown|Casimiro]]). None of the ''specific'' vampires we've met are actually all that eerie, though. Well, maybe [[The Quiet One|Finas]].
* Raizel in [[Noblesse]] and any Noblesse with black hair fits this, because they are mostly centuries year old vampires.
* Four out of the six members of the Mouryou family from [[Contemplating Reiko]] are this. Reiko herself, two of her sisters, Shihoka and Shinobu, and her mother Fumiko.
* Umbria/Zaedalkaah from ''[[Our Little Adventure]]''.
 
 
== Web Original ==
* Riley from ''[[The Guild]]'', except for the sickly part.
* Phase (Ayla Goodkind) at the [[Super -Hero School]] Whateley Academy in the [[Whateley Universe]]. Her hair is jet-black (it was a sandy-blond back when she was a boy, before she mutated). She's quite pale (some wavelength of light may be passing through her). She's also very rich and highly educated, which fits the trope too. But she's one of the good guys. A lot of mutants don't believe that, because her family are the most notorious mutant-haters anywhere.
* [[Goth|Persephone]] in ''[[ThaliasThalia's Musings]]''.
 
 
== Western Animation ==
* Nearly all human(oid) Disney villains ever.
** [[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White]]'s wicked stepmother and so on.
** Vanessa{{spoiler|, Ursula's human form}} from ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'', certainly qualifies.
** A Pixar example would be Anton Ego, the food critic from ''[[Ratatouille]]''.
** Mozenrath in the ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' tv series.
* Mai and Jun of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. Not to mention Zuko, arguably the palest character on the show.
* Kevin from ''[[Ben 10 (Animation)|Ben 10]]'' starts out this way and is quite psychotic. When he [[Heel Face Turn|joins the team]] in the [[Time Skip|sequel]], his skin tone is almost the same as the Tennysons.
* Kylie Griffin, the [[Goth]] member of the [[Extreme Ghostbusters (Animation)|Extreme Ghostbusters]].
* Ingrid Third of ''[[Fillmore!]]''.
* Triana Orpheus of ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'', a bit of a [[Perky Goth]] subversion.
* Shego from ''[[Kim Possible]]'' was designed with this in mind. Her green highlights make her seem poisonous. Oddly (given the suggestion above), she's often seen on a beach, or a tanning bed, with no apparent effects; maybe she wants to differentiate herself from her heroic brothers who follow a similar scheme.
* Creepy Suzie, the [[Goth]] "Clubhouse Kid" from ''[[The Oblongs (Animation)|The Oblongs]]''.
* Raven from ''[[Teen Titans (Animationanimation)|Teen Titans]]''.
* Marceline the Vampire Queen from ''[[Adventure Time (Animation)|Adventure Time]]'' is this, only because she is a vampire.
** Well, Marceline was {{spoiler|already pale-skinned and black haired before she was bitten}}, as seen in the episode Memory of a Memory.
* [[Hero Antagonist|Dib]] from ''[[Invader Zim]]'' is a male example. His sister [[Creepy Child|Gaz]] comes close, except that she has dark ''[[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|purple]]'' hair.
* Master XOX from ''[[Sidekick (Animationanimation)|Sidekick]]''.
* The animated version of Lydia from ''[[Beetlejuice (Animationanimation)|Beetlejuice]]''.
* [[The Incredibles]] has Violet Parr who is depicted as gloomy, uncertain and socially withdrawn -- preferringwithdrawn—preferring to hide behind her long raven hair.
 
 
== Real Life ==
* [[Michael Jackson]], for the last decade or two before his death. He suffered from [http[wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitiligo |vitiligo]], which caused him to gradually lose his skin pigmentation; that alone wouldn't have made him creepy-looking, but he also got a large amount of plastic surgery that put him into the [[Uncanny Valley]]. He was also infamously reputed to be a pedophile following the accusations of child molestation in 1993 and again in 2003. He was acquitted both times ([[Convicted Byby Public Opinion|but that wasn't enough to save his reputation]]), but he ''was'' a [[Man Child]] and a spectacular example of a [[Cloudcuckoolander]].
* [http://media.photobucket.com/image/skandar%20keynes/krlailujoe/SkandarKeynes.jpg?o=160 Skandar Keynes], the actor who plays [[Anti-Hero|Edmund Pevensie]], in the ''[[Chronicles of Narnia]]'', apparently manages to pull this look off, without even trying, a fact that helped him a lot to look like the [[The Dark Side|bad one]]. His co-star, William Moseley, who plays his brother and [[Darkskinned Blonde|is in contrast with him]], joked about this at one point and told him he almost looked like a [[Goth]].
* Musicians with a gothic image, particularly members of alternative or metal bands, often have the looks of this trope (often in combination with [[Looks Like Cesare]], as that page mentions), whether naturally or [[Dye Hard|on purpose]]. However, not many of them come across as eerie to their fandoms or to laypeople, though a few have been [[The New Rock and Roll|painted as villains]] by [[Moral Guardians]].
* It's not that difficult<ref> assuming you're white, Asian, or fair-skinned black; members of races with more melanin can only do it if they bleach their skin or happen to have a [[Heroic Albino|pigmentation]] [[Evil Albino|abnormality]]</ref> to acquire the skin and hair colors of this trope, if you dye your hair and stay out of the sun, and some people are naturally black-haired and pale-skinned enough to fit the visuals. Eerieness, however, is both harder to achieve and far more subjective, and people who ''try'' to be eerie can easily wind up looking like poseurs instead.
** The physical features are particularly common in ethnicities with a higher than average proportion of red-heads.
* [[The White Stripes]]. Both of them. ESPECIALLY Jack. It doesn't help that Meg is super silent.
* [[Neil Gaiman]] breathes this trope.
* [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Meyer:Lena Meyer-Landrut |Lena Meyer-Landrut]], winner of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest and further contestant in 2011.
* Rose McGowan of ''[[Charmed (TV)|Charmed]]'' fame.
* [[Wicked (Theatretheatre)|Idina Menzel]], minus the green makeup, as shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=s_lCJsJPUeY this performance of "For Good"].
* [[The Room|Tommy Wiseau]], although the eerieness is undermined by his...[[Funny Foreigner|other]] [[What the Hell Is That Accent?|traits]].
* [[The Sex Pistols|Sid Vicious.]] Ebony hair and eyes, deathly thin and deathly pale, and it really didn't help that he liked to carve epithets into his chest.
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[[Category:Useful Notes/Hair Color in Japan]]
[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
[[Category:Black Index, White Index]]
[[Category:Hair Colors]]
[[Category:Personal Appearance Tropes]]
[[Category:Amazing Technicolor Index]]
[[Category:Eerie Pale -Skinned Brunette]]
[[Category:Trope]]
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