Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Difference between revisions

The verifiable presence of magic in the world does not preclude this trope; in [[Fantasy]] works, this may come into play for divine intervention. Or some magical things may be clearly magical, and others more ambiguous.

See also [[Magic Realism]], [[In Mysterious Ways]] and [[Domino Revelation]].

Contrast [[Real After All]], which usually contains a mix of mundane and magical but it is clear at the end which is which -- at least to the audience. ([[Gave Up Too Soon]] is common for the characters.)

== Anime and Manga ==

* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[Gaunts Ghosts]] novels, Larkin's scope. It appears to show him things. Except that he's several cards short of a full deck.

** His best example comes from the story of the Angel in ''Ghostmaker''. In a mission to sneak into a Chaos-held city and snipe its leader, Larkin loses it and abandons the mission team. He holes up in a room high up on a tower with a statue of an Imperial Angel - which he imagines talking to him, convincing him to do his duty and giving him a strip of cloth to help steady his aim. He ends up taking out the Chaos warlord, then passes out. When he comes to, other Ghosts are helping him up, and Angel is just a statue again - but his long-las is sitting in the corner with a band of silk tied to it.

* Much of the premise of ''[[House of Leaves]]'' is very heavily based on this trope.

* In K.J. Parker's ''[[The Scavenger Trilogy]]'', after he loses his memory, all of Poldarn's actions are consistent with being just a unwittingly malign man, mired in circumstance and human nature ''or'' being the {{spoiler|God of Destruction. Or possibly the human agent for a group mind of crows. Or both.}}

* In ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'', also by Neal Stephenson, Enoch Root does something to {{spoiler|fix Amy's leg after she gets shot with an arrow.}} Neither of them are willing to say what he actually did.

** Enoch also qualifies for this trope, as he appears in both Cryptonomicon (set in WWII and the modern day). As well as appearing in ''[[The Baroque Cycle]]''. It's never explicitly stated if it's the same Enoch, or two men with the same name.

** Similarly, the Deathly Hallows themselves - are they genuinely mystical artefacts of [[The Grim Reaper|Death himself]], or ''merely'' incredibly powerful magical items invented by the Peverell brothers?

** Also, Professor Trelawney is generally believed to be a fraud who enters the occasional genuinely prophetic trance, but almost every "fake" prophecy she makes comes true in some sort of way. Some of them can be explained as cold readings, but sometimes she comes suspiciously close to the truth - at one point she reads the cards in a way recognised by the reader (though not her) to identify that Harry's close by and in a bad mood; and at one point she gets Harry's birth month about as wrong as possible, but it's perfectly accurate for Voldemort, a part of whose soul is sitting in Harry's head.

* [[Doctor Who (TV)|The Doctor]] may have pockets that are bigger on the inside, but he may just cut a hole in his pockets through to the lining. Considering these explanations are given for two different costumes, it may even be both.

** The show also featured Satan as a [[Monster of the Week]]. Is it really him, or just a [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]] who happens to resemble our popular conception of the devil? Never established for certain.

* The ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' episode “With Friends Like These” features a man named Ben who seems to be haunted by three "demons" who nobody else can see, and who force him to commit murder. The detectives dismiss them first as drug-induced hallucinations and then as symtoms of schizophrenia, but both explanations are eventually ruled out and it’s left unclear as to whether or not they were real.

** Criminal Minds makes sweet, sweet monkey love to this trope on a regular basis. Did the Satanic serial killer really have supernatural help, or was he just ludicrously lucky? Did the various psychics that the team encounter really have powers, or was it just a coincidence? Was {{spoiler|the bullet that killed Tobias Hankel}} really divine will, or was it just luck? Rossi gives a little speech at one point where he outright states that he has no idea whether or not the supernatural exists, but that figuring out the answer to that question isn't part of their job, and their job is tough enough as it is.

{{quote| '''George''': ''But you were a ghost! And you yelled at me!''<br />

'''Mega Man''': ''I assure you there's a rational explanation for all of that. I just don't have it.'' }}

* Peter, the [[Complete Monster]] enemy of the [[Affably Evil]] title character in ''[[Niels]]'', is regularly visited by and engages in not-always-consensual-on-Peter's-part relations with a demon only he can see. No proof as of yet whether it's real or a product of all the drugs Peter's on.

* [[Questionable Content]] managed to pull this off in strip 546, [http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=546 "Arbitrarily Named Comic Strip."] Did Hannelore's little voodoo doll of Marten actually work? Or did Dora just grab Marten's butt? We shall never know.