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{{trope}}
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{{quote|''"Oh look, they were too cheap to hire villains!"''|'''Joel Robinson''' on invisible enemies, ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''}}
You can't {{color|white|see them}}, but they can probably hurt you.
Many invisible enemies are just [[Underground Monkey|variants of ordinary monsters]]. Or [[The Unseen|their true forms are never revealed at all]]. In [[Video Games]], they frequently overlap with [[Goddamn Bats]] or [[Demonic Spiders]]. Sometimes, they become visible when doing specific things, like attacking, dying or moving.
In other media, especially Television, an Invisible Monster is used to save budgets for more outlandish monsters. Often, they are accompanied by creepy noises or music that alerts the Audience to their presence. Done poorly they can be [[Narm|laughable]], done right, terrifying.
Not to be confused with [[Invisible Monsters (
See also [[Invisibility]]. Take note of [[Nothing Is Scarier|Nothing Being Scarier]], which is why this can work at all.
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
== [[Anime]] ==
* In ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] StrikerS'', we learn that an invisible [[Mecha-Mooks|Gadget Drone]] was what {{spoiler|nearly killed Nanoha during the [[Snow Means Death]] incident}} after another one of them {{spoiler|[[Normally I Would Be Dead Now|stabs Vita through her chest]]}} during the final mission.
* [[The Heartless|Hollows]] in ''[[Bleach]]'' could not be seen by anyone who could not [[I See Dead People|see dead people.]] This lead to the first few episodes having these...things chasing people that nobody could see. Only the footprints and scenery destruction following them.
** Even those who can see dead people have trouble seeing them; you need to have a lot of dead person energy built up. Even Ichigo couldn't see them until the start of the series, and he had trouble telling the dead from the living when he was younger.
== [[Film]] ==
* Not seen (but present) in the live-action film ''[[The Blade Master]]'', since visible monsters would've strained the budget.
* ''[[Predator]]''. Although it was the rather embarrassing [[No Waterproofing in
* The film ''Captain Sinbad'' has the title character face an invisible monster that leaves dinosaur-like tracks in the ground (that form from an explosion as its feet land). Considering all of the [[Special Effects Failure]] monsters that appear, it's rather startling.
* The Monster from the Id in ''[[Forbidden Planet]]''.
* There's a movie called ''The Sound of Horror'' about invisible dinosaurs. ''That'' is a low budget.
* The titular "witch" of [[The Blair Witch Project]].
* In 1984's ''[[Supergirl (
== [[Literature]] ==
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* [[Demonic Spiders|The Hand That No One Sees]], in [[Bridge of Birds]].
* The Gnoolies, in [[Roald Dahl]]'s ''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator''.
* The titular entity in ''[[
** Also, Abdul Alhazred, the author of ''[[Tome of Eldritch Lore|Necronomicon]]'', was devoured alive by an invisible monster.
* [[Discworld|The Agatean Empire]] is [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|most definitely not]] under attack by 2,300,009 invisible vampire ghosts.
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Fraggle Rock]]'': The Invisible Garboyle from "Gobo's Discovery".
* [[Kolchak the Night Stalker]] featured two [[Eldritch Abomination
* Hell hounds in ''[[Supernatural]]'' are invisible to everyone but their target.
* Mirror Monsters in ''[[Kamen Rider Ryuki]]'' (and its American adaptation ''[[Kamen Rider Dragon Knight]]'') can only be seen by those who've been to the mirror world; to everyone else, they're this.
* Parodied in ''[[
* An Episode of ''[[The X
* The Krafayis from the ''[[
** Played with during ''The Face of Evil''. When some of these start chasing the Doctor and Leela, the Doctor deduces that the creatures can't be following them by sight, since light would just pass through their eyes if they even had them. He uses the vibrations of an alarm clock to distract them.
*** In [[Midnight]], the monster was more or less invisible, only 'showing' itself when it inhabited other people's bodies. We never did find out what it looked like.
* ''[[Stargate SG
* ''Batman'' had such an episode in its cheap 3rd season and it took the concept even further in the climatic fight when the heroes kill the lights to even the odds fighting against multiple invisible enemies and the fight concludes in total darkness.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Dungeons
** You can see the exact picture at the top of the page...
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[Amnesia:
** In a later section, you enter a mostly drained cistern which has walkways that lie above the water. Many players never enter the water at all out of fear that [[Nothing Is Scarier|there could be]] another of those creature in it. {{spoiler|There normally isn't, but when you take too long in the room, the game adds one, even if you have stepped into the water safely before.}}
* [[The Legend of Zelda]] ''loves'' this trope.
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]'' has the [[Wall Master|invisible hand monsters]].
*** This mod of the game based on the beta has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLPkqu8un00 invisible Redeads]. That presumably rise up from the ground. Sweet dreams
** And ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
*** However, you can still use the [[Camera Lock On]] to find them. You just can't see whether they're about to attack you.
** ''Zelda II'' has invisible ghosts in the abandoned town.
*** Before you have a source of light, the caves are full of invisible enemies. Passing through this is neccessary to continue.
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]'' has those [[Goddamned Bats|goddamned]] {{spoiler|zombie rats}}.
*** And the poes which are invisible at night.
*** Both of these are easily seen as a wolf while in "sense" mode.
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass]]'' has a boss like
** Let's not forget Ganon in the [[The Legend of Zelda (
* There are a number of enemies in the ''[[Metroid]] Prime'' games that require the use of other visors to track. You usually run into at least one ''before'' you get the visor...
** That robot guarding the Power Bombs in Metroid Prime is an exception as it is invisible to all of the available visors, but its stealth is ruined by muzzle flash.
*** It also can't be scanned or locked onto. However, if you have the Wavebuster, prepare for a short fight (thank god).
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* ''[[Time Splitters]]'' are mostly invisible, except when they're being shot.
* Appeared in the original ''[[Metal Gear]]'', and again in ''Metal Gear Solid'': Four ordinary grunts, all wearing active camo, in a small room.
* The Spy in ''[[
** The Assassin in ''Dark Messiah'' (multiplayer). 'Can' attack when invisible (breaking the invisiblity), however, the invisibility itself is more of a cloak meant to assist in stealth - walking in bright-lit open areas around sharp-eyed players will get the Assassin spotted.
* ''[[Perfect Dark]]'' has a weapon that gives the mooks a cloaking device.
* The ''Jedi Knight'' games have the Force Power "[[Jedi Mind Trick|Mind Trick]]" which in multiplayer renders the players invisible.
* The two most recent ''[[Prince of Persia]]'' games have these- though in Warrior Within they're just invisible versions of the normal ninja enemies.
* ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]. Melee'' also has the cloaking device. As a few comic strips have noted, in Smash, if they can't see you, ''you can't see you either''. This generally results in such mishaps as falling off the edge of the map. But to be fair, when you move or attack, you have a [[Invisibility Flicker]], so you aren't ''blind''.
** On the positive side, the user accumulates no damage for the duration. For some reason.
*** And, of course, there's the bonus for pulling off at least one KO while cloaked.
** Of course, [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard|the computer controlled opponents won't fall off on their own, and can still see you.]]
** It's also utterly useless for hiding if you you're playing with your name on to save your records as it will appear above your head at all times, even when cloaked.
** Replaced with the smoke ball in Brawl, though that game still has an option to [[Hilarity Ensues|make everyone invisible for the whole fight]].
* The Sorcerers in ''[[Gauntlet (1985 video game)]]'', distinguished by their purple robes, wink in and out of existence as they charge towards you. The Super Sorcerers in ''Gauntlet II'' are able to use this ability tactically, appearing at the edge of the screen, firing at you, and then disappearing.
* ''[[
* Bitterflies in ''[[Castlevania]]: Symphony of the Night'', which phase in and out of visibility in large, seemingly empty rooms.
** Strangely avoided in the sequel Portrait of Ruin, where there is an Invisible Man enemy, but they actually start out wearing a hat and trenchcoat, so you know where they are. Once they sense you, however, they take off said hat and trenchcoat and really are invisible (barely visible via a few intentionally misplaced pixels here and there). However, it's rare that they'll be able to do much while truly invisible; they don't take that many hits to destroy.
** Both of the above enemies are back in ''Order of Ecclesia.''
** Nemesis and Alastor in ''Aria of Sorrow'' are invisible enemies with visible weapons. Nemesis's soul grants Soma the ability to turn invisible. There's also the Sky Fish, which isn't
* The GameCube remake of ''[[Resident Evil]]'' features a challenge mode in which '''all''' of the monsters are invisible. Prepare to die repeatedly.
** [[Resident Evil 4]] features an enemy located in an [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]] called the "Novistador". These enemies are invisible until they die, and their bodies become visible.
* There is a type of invisible robo-coptor in ''[[Mega Man ZX]] Advent''. Sirnaq's/Model P's radar can see them though, and shoot them. They also do an [[Invisibility Flicker]] when they shoot.
* There is a variation of this in ''[[World of Warcraft]]''. If you visit the Kodo Graveyard, there are visible vultures that are hostile and will attack you, but if you visit the graveyard while dead in spirit form, you will notice friendly Kodo Spirits scattered around.
** There are also level 50 invisible ghosts in one area of Duskwood. A zone for characters at about half that level. Prepare to die if you hit one by accident.
*** In the same vain there are level 5 ghosts in the courtyard outside of Undercity. These are much less a threat as by the time you hit the zone you're already level 5 and you don't have any spells that would hit them at this level anyways. Both of these can be seen with spells or potions that detect invisibility.
** Interestingly, both spirit form and invisibility follow a pattern where if two entities have it, they can still see eachother. In some dungeons, the Mage's Invisibility spell was useful to spot monsters who were invisible for that exact reason.
* ''[[Nethack]]'' takes this to the extreme. In addition to having two types of enemies that are permanently invisible, it contains methods that allow pretty much ''any'' creature in the game to become invisible.
** {{spoiler|Potions/wands of invisibility make living things (not items) permanently invisible. If a monster sees one on the ground, it will pick it up and use it. To top it off, these are considered "defensive items" and pretty much every monster has a chance to receive one at spawn time.}}
** {{spoiler|Cloaks of invisibility. Monsters that can wear armor will pick them up and don them.}}
** {{spoiler|Every sufficiently high-level spellcasting monster can cast an invisibility spell on themselves. Every sufficiently high-level spellcasting monster usually does the moment they see you.}}
* In ''[[
* ''[[
* The ''[[Halo]]'' series has invisible enemies and a [[Power
** The weapons are still visible. One of the funnier moments in the original was watching [[Too Dumb to Live]] elites charge you invisibly with massive glowing energy swords fully visible in their hand, completely negating the point of the invisibility. They'd have been better off going with the old-fashioned blue armour, the light blue shieldless armour of the invisible elites is the lightest armour in the original [[Halo]] and allows the bearer to be taken out with a single headshot as easily as a grunt. This recieved much mocking in several flash videos.
** The Mausoleum [[Multi Mook Melee]] has invisible [[Elite Mooks|Ultra Elites]].
* ''[[
** Unless you're going for the chests, in which case one Reaverbot will ambush you just as you exit the alcove.
* ''[[Cosmos Cosmic Adventure]]'', one of Apogee's old games, had invisible robots that would shove you backwards if you bumped into them. You could barely make out their outline, and if you jumped on them enough, they would become visible. Walking through them from behind would also hurt you.
* The first three ''[[Avernum]]'' games have black shades and guardians. The black shades can easily become [[Demonic Spiders]] through their love of [[Enemy Summoner|summon spamming]].
* ''[[
* Two versions exists in ''[[La
* The boss of Chapter 3 in [[
* In ''[[Rogue (
* ''[[
* [[Kirby]] Super Star had Chameleo Arm, which tended to be invisible...and tended to fire balls of paint which the protagonist could get the Paint ability from to reveal and damage him with.
* [[
** Invisibility is a somewhat important unit attribute, in fact, as stealth units cannot be directly targeted for attack. When fighting a Terran or Protoss player one should always have detector units handy or else be left helpless. Zerg units can't move while invisible but they can burrow to set up ambushes.
* [[Dawn of War]] games use a similar system to the aforementioned [[
** [[Dawn of War|Dawn of War II]] fixed this by making infiltrators reveal themselves if they attack, or if they get within arm's reach of any enemy unit. This is with the exception of the super-infiltrated Cyrus, who can use his incredibly destructive array of explosives and specialist ammunition without breaking Infiltration, but will be otherwise be revealed just like any other infiltrated unit.
* [[Ancient Domains of Mystery]]'s Invisible Stalker is...[[Exactly What It Says
** {{spoiler|If you eat the corpse of an invisible stalker, there's a chance that YOU can become intrinsically invisible}}.
** {{spoiler|Like [[Nethack]] it also has spellcasting monsters who will turn themselves invisible.}}
* ''[[
* ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' gives us the Stealth Sneak, first as a [[Boss Battle]], then reappearing later on in the Hades Cup. The icing on the cake is one of the latter seeds, consisting of not one but ''two'' Stealth Sneaks to carve up. Mind you, locking onto and hitting one is not affected by whether they are visible or not. They can be detected by sight alone if you look very carefully. Their camouflage produces a "heat ripple" effect, though this is easier to see during the boss fight than during the seed match.
** ''[[Birth By Sleep]]'' also gives us the boss from the {{spoiler|Secret Episode}}. For the entire first part of the fight, the only parts of it you can see are its [[Glowing Eyes of Doom|glowing red eyes]] and, when it attacks you, its claws.
* ''[[
** ''[[Silent Hill 2]]'' has a single invisible demon in Toluca Prison. However, since it's trapped in a cell you can't open and can only be "seen" by James jerking his gun toward it when you're close enough, a lot of players fly straight by it without even noticing the first couple of playthroughs. It can be ''heard'', saying something that could be anything from "ritual" backwards to "[[The Beatles|I buried Paul]]", but strange noises are so commonplace in Silent Hill that you don't make that link until you kill it and hear the ''absence'' of the sound.
** The original game has Larval Stalkers, which can't actually hurt you, and later, Shadow Children.
* There are invisible monsters (that look kind of like a cross between a red cartoon pig and one of the demons from the same game series) in ''[[Catacomb
* ''[[Diablo]]'' has the genuinely creepy The Unseen, which do come visible when they attack, but before that could fill the entire room without you knowing it.
** Due to a bug in the level generation routine, they do not respect the safe zone around the entrance. So when you just arrived in the level and you are gathering your bearings, casting [[Mana]] Shield, checking item durability, etc., they could be ''[[Right Behind Me|right behind you]], getting closer''. And if this is multiplayer mode, your gear is now on the floor next to a sea of enemies right at the stairs.
* Chapter 10 of ''[[Eternal Darkness]]'' features a [[Our Vampires Are Different|telekinetically vampiric]] creature who turns invisible when he's not attacking anyone or getting healed at a shrine. Mercifully, you can use a spell to reveal him.
** That spell is less useful in the final chapter, when it can reveal only some of the invisible Trappers in a room. Good thing they can be [[Helpful Mook
* ''[[
* Flying-Neo from [[Alien Soldier]] is an [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|alien zombie dragon helicopter]]. Once it's health gets to a quarter, the [[Goddamned Boss]] turns ''completely invisible'' other than the silhouette of its legs against the ground when it flies low. Or when the [[Lightning Reveal|lightning in the background strikes]].
* Do-it-yourself variation can be (not) seen in ''[[The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
* In ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]: [[Strange Journey]]'' ''every'' monster is invisible. Fortunately you soon get a program downloaded into your power suit that allows you to detect, confront, and communicate with the demons. However, until you've killed them at least once, every non-boss monster will be rendered as a blob of static that you can't analyze.
* The ''[[Fallout]] 3'' addon "Operation Anchorage" includes Chinese snipers, who start off cloaked as though using a Stealth Boy power-up. Until they become visible, the player can't target them with the auto-aiming Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System.
** Nightkin in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' have the same effect, which much more difficult to see at night while climbing Black Mountain. Even worse are a pack of Nightstalkers, mutant coyote-rattlesnake hybrids, that can also cloak. It's nearly impossible to make out the tell-tale visual distortion in their dark cave, especially since they're so small and quick, but you can hear their faint rattling and hissing as they approach, sometimes in packs.
* The turn-based RPG ''Gorky [[17/Odium|Odium]]'' features, near the end of the game, a group of invisible mmonsters which are visible only when they move. You have to remember where they stopped so that you can shoot them (explosive weapons come in handy, as they cover a wide radius). Or you can just look at your character's movement range and check which squares are mysteriously inaccessible...
** They are [[Foreshadowing|hyped]] throughout the game as dangerous enemies, but they're rather weak, if only because they're slow and easy to kill. And their poison is ordinary poison that does mediocre damage, rather than [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|the supposed deadly toxin that kills in seconds]].
* In the ''[[Descent]]'' series, several robots have invisibility-cloaked variations. In the third game, the Thiefbot can also cloak.
* The V38 Phantom TIE fighters in ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Rebel Assault]] II''.
* Anything that has stealth in ''[[
* In [[Mario Adventure]], ghosts are invisible when you are looking at them. Thankfully they still don't move during this time.
* One of the most frustrating missions in [[Jak II Renegade|Jak II]] involve slaying 30 invisible Metal Heads in Haven Forest. They come in two flavours: humanoids with guns instead of hands which shoot at you from afar and keep moving all the time and big, bulky crabs with machine guns that drop their camouflage when they first spot and procceed to blast you away. The first kind make a brief return in Jak III, although only in one quest.
* The aptly named Unseen Terror from [[Enchanter]].
* One level of ''[[Pathways
* The ''[[
* One level in ''[[
* ''[[King's Quest: Mask of Eternity]]'' had one of these in the Frozen Reaches, which served as a [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere]] as well.
* ''[[The Hidden: Source]]'': 8 troopers vs. 1 invisible [[Knife Nut]]. The titular Hidden has ''[[Predator]]''-type invisibility, but, unlike him, is entirely waterproof.
* In ''[[
* Certain enemies in ''[[Bubble Tanks]] 3'' have the ability to use stealth, which turns them invisible. ''Bubble Tanks Tower Defence'' has the Stealth enemy, which is invisible to the player. When damaged, their invisibility wears off for a short time.
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[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
[[Category:Invisibility Index]]
[[Category:
|