All The Tropes

Inn of No Return: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Inn of No Return (view source)

Revision as of 15:59, 9 April 2014

204 bytes removed ,  10 years ago
m
Mass update links
VisualWikitext
m (categories and general cleanup)
m (Mass update links)
Line 17:
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* A two parter in the ''[[Hatenkou Yuugi]]'' anime features one of these.
* In ''[[Ge Ge GeGeGeGe no Kitaro]]'', Kitaro ends up as a mind-controlled servant of a [[Chinese Vampire]] who runs an inn like this.
 
== [[Comic Books]] ==
Line 26:
* Two words: [[Psycho|Bates Motel]].
* The 1992 Hong Kong action film ''Dragon Inn'' features Maggie Cheung as the innkeeper at a remote inn where she occasionally seduces the guests, murders them, carves them up, and makes them into meals for the other patrons.
* The bar in ''[[From Dusk Tilltill Dawn]]'' is really a feeding ground for vampires.
* ''[[Motel Hell]]'', in which the owner and his sister make sausages out of the guests.
* The ''[[Hostel]]'' films take this trope and just roll with it.
* Played with in ''[[The Happiness of the Katakuris]]'', where the innkeepers ''aren't trying'' to kill their guests. Everyone who stays dies, and it bothers the hell out of the owners.
* ''[[Frontiers (Film)|Frontiers]]'' has one run by a family of cannibalistic neo-Nazis.
* A variation of this occurs in ''[[Stardust (Filmfilm)|Stardust]]'', when the witch Lamia builds an inn out of magic for the express purpose of luring the heroine there so she can cut out her heart. Although she fails to kill her intended victim, she does kill and rob the only other patron who happens to show up at her inn that night; the party who was following them turns up the next morning to find the dead man naked in a bathtub, and no trace of the magical inn.
 
== Folklore and Mythology ==
Line 37:
** One of these was named "Three Cups and you cannot cross the Mountain," referring to their rice wine-based house drink, which rendered travellers unconscious and ready for butchering.
* Likewise, Japan has myths about a mysterious "Sparrow's Inn," where shapeshifting birds lure humans in and kill them in their sleep, presumably to eat them.
* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: In [[Greek Mythology]] is the story of "Procrustes' Bed." It was owned by the bandit/innkeeper of the same name, who claimed it was a perfect fit for everyone: He made sure of it by racking out and flattening too short and hacking off the legs of those too tall. He was [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard]] by Theseus.
* The original ''[[Sweeney Todd]]'' legend fits this pretty well, as do its adaptations.
 
Line 43:
* The short story ''The Red Inn'' by Balzac is a good example, and was filmed twice as a horror comedy, even closer to this trope.
* Used to real [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]] effect in Camus' story ''The Inn'', which he also wrote as a play titled ''Cross Purposes''. In brief, a guy abandons his family at a young age and then comes home rich to the inn run by his mother and sister with the intent of bettering their lives. They don't recognize him and have gotten in the habit of killing and robbing customers. They do this to him, discover who he was, and [[Hilarity Ensues|suicides ensue]].
* [[Wilkie Collins (Creator)|Wilkie Collins]]' story ''A Terribly Strange Bed'' is a famous example, and is set in Paris, and has an inn which is in cahoots with a crooked gambling den.
** [[Joseph Conrad (Creator)|Joseph Conrad]]'s story ''The Inn of the Two Witches'' has a similar premise and an identical method of killing customers. This similarity may have been an accident, the product of both authors hearing similar traveler's tales.
*** [[William Hope Hodgson (Creator)|William Hope Hodgson]] wrote a story titled ''The Inn of the Black Crow'' which again, has a similar plot and murder method. This story was anthologized in ''The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives'', where the editor commented something like "no points for guessing the writer Hodgson was plagiarizing."
* Sbirro's restaurant in mystery writer Stanley Ellin's short story ''The Specialty of the House''.
* Sort of used in [[James Bond (Literaturenovel)|Ian Fleming's]] ''You Only Live Twice''. Here Blofeld has made a garden full of deadly plants and lava lakes at a castle in Japan. And the more the press and governments investigate the case the more the suicide obsessed Japanese people come to the garden. And should any of those people have second thoughts while they are there, Blofeld has a staff who will be helping with the last step...
* In Isaac Bashevis Singer's ''Stories for Children'', one story, ''The Fearsome Inn'' tells of an inn run by a married couple of two witches/demons who would lure and trap lost travelers.
* Happens in ''Rattle of Bones'', one of the [[Solomon Kane]] short stories by [[Robert E Howard|Robert E. Howard]].
* [[Roald Dahl]]'s story ''The Landlady'', although in this case, the killer is simply psycho rather than greedy.
* In a short story by [[Frank Herbert]], a honeymooning couple on their way to Vegas become trapped in a hotel which imprisons gamblers. Although it doesn't actively attempt to kill them, ''no-one'' has ever left.
* In the [[H.P. Lovecraft (Creator)|HP Lovecraft]] short story ''[[The Shadow Over Innsmouth (Literature)|The Shadow Over Innsmouth]]'', the residents of Innsmouth {{spoiler|attempt to break into the narrator's room at the Inn to kill him, presumably to keep the [[Town Withwith a Dark Secret|secrets of the town]] hidden from outsiders. The narrator actually references the trope in the story, wondering if it is one of those hotels where travelers are slain for money (despite his obviously lack of excessive prosperity) and his preparation is what saves his life}}.
* Kenji Miyazawa's eponymous ''Restaurant of Many Orders''. The "guests" finally caught on about the time they figured out [[To Serve Man|the "cologne" was actually vinegar]].
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Conan the Barbarian]] story "[[ShadowsMan inEaters Zamboulaof (Literature)Zamboula|Shadows in Zamboula]]," Aram Baksh's inn. He survives by murdering only strangers.
* ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'': {{spoiler|Harfang.}}
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] and Subverted then Inverted in [[The Black Company]] series (''The White Rose''). A wayside inn is taken over by deserters from the Lady's army. Croaker refers to them as Trapdoor Spiders. The {{spoiler|remnant of the}} Company stays the night, scouting the Deserters as they, in turn attempt to scout the company, and are allowed on their way. The Deserters {{spoiler|attack on the road the next day, and get counter ambushed by the squad mages}}.
Line 60:
 
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* The eponymous pub in the ''[[Jonathan Creek (TV)|Jonathan Creek]]'' episode "Mother Redcap."
* The ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' team went after a Bates-style serial killer. Played by [[Wil Wheaton]] of [[Creator's Pet|all people]].
** So the ending of the episode has {{spoiler|Wesley [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Crushed]].}}
Line 77:
** Also in ''Avernum 3'': exploring further east than the quests provide any need to will bring your party to an isolated town that appears unpopulated and undisturbed, except for a sickly odor, difficult to identify. A single inhabitant welcomes you to his Inn. If [[Genre Savvy]] doesn't clue you why it's a bad idea to drink the wine or sleep in the beds, [[Save Scumming]] will teach you.
* ''[[Breath of Fire]] 2'' has the Wildcat Cafe, in which you are politely instructed to discard your equipment, pick up your utensils and season yourself liberally, culminating in a fight with the chef after a trip across a hot grill. Partly subverted in that the Wildcat Cafe is happy to serve patrons who are strong enough to fight their way in. Of course, they [[To Serve Man|serve]] everybody else, too...
* The Ultra-Luxe Casino (which includes hotel facilities) is rumored to be this in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]''. In reality, {{spoiler|the only cannibals are Mortimer and a small group of his followers, who want to return the White Glove Society to its old customs. The rest are okay}}.
 
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* The refreshingly honest Rob-U-While-U-Sleep Inn in ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]''. Perhaps a partial example, since Elan and Sir Francois manage to escape, but the staff is hiding a corpse when they check in.
* Parodied in [http://www.angryflower.com/viands.html this] ''[[Bob the Angry Flower]]'' comic.
 
Line 87:
* The Bates Motel is parodied in ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]''.
{{quote| "Yes we have a vacancy, and we've got showers in all the rooms. What's that?! Will you excuse me? Coming, Mother!}}
* The motel Taz and Bushwacker Bob stay at in the ''[[Taz -Mania]]'' episode "A Midsummer Night's Scream".
* [[Porky Pig]] and Sylvester check into a hotel full of murderous mice in the [[Looney Tunes]] short ''Claws for Alarm''.
 
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/938987"