Glamour Failure: Difference between revisions

There are many things that go bump in the night, secure in the knowledge that their unholy powers can trick the human eye into blindness, allowing them to [[Masquerade|live among and prey on humanity]] with impunity. But their supernatural (and at times [[Always Chaotic Evil|inherently evil]]) nature means that no matter how complete the deception, they can never truly hide what they are. They may fool the mundane senses, but not the spiritual ones; inanimate objects, [[Evil-Detecting Dog|animals]], [[Oracular Urchin|children]], [[The Empath]] or [[Touched by Vorlons|spiritually touched]] people can sense and [[You Can See Me?|see through]] the deception and cause a [[Glamour]] Failure. [[The Hunter]] and mundane heroes wise to these evil tells will be sure to use them to ferret out the villain; directors also love to work them into [[The Reveal]] when the creature's victim finally puts two and two together. More tragically, a hero under the effects of [[The Virus]] will usually have the [[Heroic BSOD|full emotional impact]] of it sink in when she [[Tomato in the Mirror|can't see her reflection.]]

* Physical defect (usually for [[Shape Shifter|Shapeshifters]], [[Cloning Blues|Clones]], [[Invasion of the Body Snatchers|Body Snatchers]], or [[Chest Monster|Chest Monsters]]). See [[Red Right Hand]].

* No shadow (usually ghosts and [[Hologram|Holograms]] will lack these).

* The page image from ''[[Van Helsing]]'' shows one of the common ways in which vampires can experience this -- lacking a reflection in a mirror.

* Computers -- [[Magical Computer|whether they run on magic like Hex or not]] -- aren't easy to fool in any of [[Terry Pratchett]]'s works; even if it's just a throwaway line, they ''will'' see through glamour and respond appropriately. Specific examples include a military base's automated security system raising the alarm when Death and company enter an off-limits section in ''[[Good Omens]]'', or a computer chitchatting with [[Santa Claus]] in a short story.

* In the ''[[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]]'', no shapeshifter can change [[Red Right Hand|their eyes, which may be highly unnatural in color.]] On that basis, occasional [[Glamour Failure]] is not that surprising.

** As per the RPG rulebook, anyone with some magical talent gets some sensitivity toward others' supernatural natures, particularly with physical contact. While [[Muggle|Muggles]] might walk right by a Red Court vampire without knowing about it, if a wizard did the same they'd at the least know ''something'' was up.

* The [[Telenovela]] ''La Mujer en el Espejo'' ("The Woman in the Mirror") is about a homely woman who finds a magic mirror that gives her a beautiful appearance -- but her reflection still looks ugly.

* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S31 E06 The Vampires of Venice|The Vampires of Venice]]", the vampires cannot be seen in mirrors, are burned by the sun, and reveal [[Fangs Are Evil|scary fangs]] when they attack. {{spoiler|Turns out to be ''literal'' [[Glamour Failure]], as they are actually a race of non-humanoid [[Fish People]] called Saturnynians, using a "perception filter" to look human. However, the combination of actual reflection + perception filter confuses your mind, so it just doesn't see any reflection, the fangs is your subconscious warning your conscious mind of the danger, and they fear the dehydrating heat of the sun rather than the light, since they're, well ''fish''}}.

** Also, in a literal case of [[Glamour Failure]], the vampiric "glamour" ability (akin to hypnosis) is completely ineffective on Sookie (what with her not being fully human and all).

* The supernatural beasties in ''[[Grimm (TV)|Grimm]]'' reveal their [[Game Face]] when excited or caught off-guard. Even then, ordinary people still perceive the human disguise; only the eponymous line of monster hunters can detect the [[Glamour Failure]].

* In Swedish folklore, trolls, sorcerers and the Devil can ''förvända synen'' -- "warp the sight" -- in onlookers. While there are some standard folkloric methods of protection, two bear mentioning. First, in many legends it is a active process. If the supernatural being isn't aware of you, you can see their true shape. For instance, there is a common story of a sorcerer who is heckled by a young woman. He threatens her and says he can call the river to raise up, and indeed a flood appears, so the woman jumps on a rock and lift her skirts. Another woman who comes by unseen by the sorcerer, however, see her jumping the rock and showing her unmentionables -- there is no flood. Second, some beings with glamour are trapped by their own vanity. Trolls, for instance, usually appear incredibly beautiful and dressed in expensive clothing, looking like refined ladies or gentlemen. Which seems useful, but the natural habitat of trolls is empty wilderness, preferably in the middle of the night, where rich gentlemen and fine young ladies don't wander around willy-nilly.

* In ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'', the Mask that disguises changelings as mortals always shows some small hint of their true nature and appearance. This gets worse as they become more powerful -- the most powerful, although still human in appearance, look decidedly ''off'', and are unlikely to be able to go anywhere without drawing unwanted attention. Also, certain people can sometimes see through the Mask -- the insane, those who are high, [[Tomato in the Mirror|fetches]], very young children, people with certain forms of brain damage... it's not a sure thing, though. Furthermore, a changeling's shadow '''always''' shows hints of their true nature -- if you were turned into a mountain goat, your shadow's going to show horns, even if you strengthen the Mask to the point that even other Changelings can't see through it, or use Contracts (Fae magic) to appear as something or someone else entirely. Fortunately, the shadow only looks 'off' to other fae or creatures that can see through the Mask, not to everyone in general.

** An article on Changelings in one ''[[Eberron]]'' sourcebook dedicated a section to "ways to spot a Changeling". The top causes of [[Glamour Failure]] are [[Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping|an incorrect accent]], incorrect clothing (the body might transform, but the clothes do not) and a lack of knowledge on local customs.

* In ''[[Exalted]]'', the Lunar Exalted are shapeshifters extraordinaire, but each one possesses a single animal feature -- its Tell -- that remains consistent regardless of what form it takes. The Tell is usually fairly subtle, such as an oddly-colored patch of hair or strange-looking eyes, but it does allow anyone who knows what he's looking for to identify the Lunar.

* Many of the [[Glamour Failure|Glamour Failures]] in ''[[Deadlands]]'' are exactly what one would expect from a series were [[All Myths Are True]]: silver repels even human-form werewolves, and so on. The series' most unique form of [[Came Back Wrong|revenant]], the Harrowed, bear most extensive discussion: they carry the [[Evil Smells Bad|smell of death]] everywhere they go, have a distinctly [[Evil Albino|pale complexion]], keep a [[Red Right Hand|scar from their cause of death]], and are prone to [[Evil-Detecting Dog|setting off]] nearby wildlife. If a lot of their giveaways make them sound like evil incarnate, it's worth remembering that even the [[Anti-Hero|nice]] [[Heroic Willpower|ones]] have a [[Jekyll and Hyde]] complex.

* Next time you fight a [[Demonic Spiders]] in ''[[God Hand]]'', take a look at the other [[Mook|mooks]] around you. They all gain [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]].

* In ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'', the Cubi all possess powerful shape-shifting abilities, which obviously comes in handy [[Horny Devils|for many things]]. However, they all have a single "marking" on them that they cannot change -- and which also shows what clan they belong to. If you manage to spot such a mark, and happen to know what they mean, you'll both know that you're actually facing a Cubi -- and ''usually'' whether it's the kind that feasts on pain, terror and suffering, or the kind that feeds on lust, joy and happiness. Very handy for determining what your next response should be, really. Although make-up or clothing can conceal them, but only real clothing, not clothing made by shapeshifting.

* In the original [[The Slender Man Mythos|Slender man Mythos]], The Slenderman ''did'' have a face, but it did not show on cameras due to [[Glamour Failure]]

** The most notable [[Glamour Failure]] is when he tried to mimic Mandy. [[Perpetual Frowner|The reason being that she never smiles.]]