Mundanger: Difference between revisions

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Of course, since the heroes spend most of their time putting down creatures that are generally more dangerous and powerful than human beings, it's common to make these villains even more of a threat -- expectthreat—expect to see your heroes knocked about (physically or mentally) more than usual. [[I'm a Humanitarian|Cannibals]] are a common choice, largely because they border on monster-level weirdness anyway and aren't quite as played out as the [[Serial Killer]].

To help make the threat even more convincing, you can expect the writers to make these episodes darker than the usual fare, possibly through gruesome horror or psychological tension. The latter is particularly useful, since it can lead to the characters inflicting nasty violence on ''humans'' [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|rather than monsters]] for once. If the heroes can't kill humans then expect a [[Karmic Death]]. And if the show is given to platitudes you can expect some 'the real monster is man' philosophising at the end -- evenend—even though the werewolves, zombies and demons that appear in all the other episodes [[Broken Aesop|make it clear]] that the real monsters are ''monsters''.

The Mundanger may be part of a [[Scooby-Doo Hoax]] -- though—though with deadlier consequences than [[Scooby Doo]] would ordinarily encounter. Contrast [[How Unscientific]], where a show set in an ordinary world features a seemingly real supernatural event in one episode.

* Unsurpisingly, given its long run on TV, ''[[The X-Files]]'' featured a bunch of these. In "War Of The Coprophages", a cockroach infestation creates mass hysteria about an alien invasion, though the trope is subverted in that there really ''are'' robotic alien cockroaches,<ref>And even then, it's still unclear if there is actually more than ''one'' alien robotic cockroach and the others are not just the common kind</ref>, but they have nothing to do with the deaths in the episode. In "Grotesque", a serial killer believes he is possessed by a demon, though it is implied that this is more down to madness and obsession than genuine supernatural drama. "Home" sees Mulder and Scully tackling a trio of murderous inbred hicks. In both "Irresistible" and "Orison", a serial killer named Donnie Pfaster becomes obsessed with Scully; he is seen on a couple of occasions with a demonic visage, but this could just be his victims' fear warping their perception. In "Hell Money", an incinerated man turns out to be part of a grim organ-dealing gambling game. And in "Our Town", an entire town turns out to be a [[Cannibal Clan]]; although there is a slight supernatural edge to the piece -- eatingpiece—eating human flesh, it turns out, provides you with extended life and youthfulness -- ityouthfulness—it's secondary to the actual threat.

** The new series episode "Midnight", while it still had an [[Eldritch Abomination]] alien menace, was far more focused on the people of the episode, who grow more and more paranoid before nearly stretching to murder. What makes it Mundanger is that while the alien presence does manipulate people somewhat, the humans are the ones who are the real threat. A fantastic example of mob mentality. The episode is milked for all the [[Psychological Horror]] and [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters]] it can, a disturbing contrast to the usually quite idealistic program.

* Although the [[Ravenloft]] setting is best known for its vampires, werebeasts, mad scientists and other horror staples, it's also home to a number of [[Mundanger]] human killers. One of the Core's bloodiest darklords, the tyrant Vlad Drakov, is an ordinary fighter whose only supernatural quality is an enhanced resistance to magic. The (non-darklord) ruler of Nova Vaasa, Prince Othmar, is likewise a normal human villain.