Speak of the Devil: Difference between revisions

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== [[Literature]] ==
* In ''The [[Belgariad]]'', saying the name of Zedar allows him to listen in on your conversation. The protagonists eventually get around this by getting lots of storytellers to retell the tales of Zedar, so he won't notice them amidst all the noise.
* In Robert W. Chamber's ''[[The King in Yellow]]'', "Hastur" was originally a mysterious name, most likely a location, with only vague connections to the titular King. When [[August Derleth]] absorbed Hastur into the greater [[Cthulhu Mythos]], he started using it as the actual name of The King in Yellow, and [[Adaptation Decay|re-appropriated]] [[I Have Many Names|non-synonymous titles]] such as "Him Who Must Not Be Named," (likely another euphemistic name for Azathoth) and "The High Priest Not To Be Described" (a minion of Nyarlathotep who might actually be Nyarlathotep) as sobriquets. This spawned the idea in the [[Expanded Universe]] that referring to him in by name was a very bad idea. In particular, the 1980 [[Dungeons and& Dragons]] ''Deities and Demigods Cyclopedia'' stated that naming Hastur aloud could result in his sending some Byakhee to kill you. If they failed, he might appear himself to finish the job. Tricking a player into doing so has long been a favorite means of [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies|ending a game that has gone sour]].
** Not a bad thing but in fact quite good: In ''[[Persona 2]]'', saying "Hasturcomeforth" instead of your birth month to a fortune-telling girl would freak her out immensely and let you eventually summon him. (Hastur just loves hearing his name, basically.)
** In the [[Web Comic]] ''[[User Friendly]]'', Kuan is singing the Badger Song and Sid, annoyed, {{spoiler|gives him a Lovecraft version to sing, substituting "Hastur" for "Badger".}} It looks like {{spoiler|Kuan was [[Killed Off for Real]]}} as a result.
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* In ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' series, saying The Dark One's true name {{spoiler|Shaitan}} supposedly draws his attention, and certainly gives you a nasty fit of bad luck. He's the dark god, you know. So there exist many alternate names for him too - like "father of lies".
* Heroic example: [[Chrestomanci]], from the book series of the same name by [[Diana Wynne Jones]], will appear wherever his name is spoken. Chanting his name three times can summon him to another world. His enemies refer to him as "August Personage" to avoid attracting his attention.
* Used in ''[[Jonathan Strange and& Mr. Norrell]]'' with the Raven King, a [[Changeling Fantasy|human raised in faerie]] who is the bringer of magic to England, and who is considered the true ruler of those living [[Oop North]] who often make oaths by him. One Northerner, Childermass, declares himself loyal to the Raven King despite his absence, and later is shocked when he meets him and it's clear that The Raven King heard the oath {{spoiler|and is at least mildly amused that Childermass has no idea who he is}}
* In the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series Voldemort is ''literally'' called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by those who are afraid of saying (or printing) his name, though those using less formal diction call him You-Know-Who. His followers simply call him The Dark Lord. In the earlier books this is portrayed merely as people being monumentally afraid of Voldemort (and a sign of reverence, in the case of his followers). In the last book {{spoiler|Voldemort uses this to his advantage by placing a "Taboo" spell upon his name which causes the speaking of his name to break any protective charms on the area and reveal the location of the speaker to him. Seeing as the only people with the nerve to speak his name are Harry's group and (probably) The Order Of The Phoenix, this is quite clever}}.
** In a more benign case, house elves automatically Apparate to the location of their owner when their name is called, regardless of any curses or protective magic that should prevent them.
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== [[Tabletop RPG]] ==
* ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'': In early editions, saying the name of a demon could cause it to turn its attention to the speaker and attack him if possible, and speaking the name of a devil (which was inscribed on its talisman) would call forth that devil. And although they aren't villains, in the "[[Forgotten Realms]]" campaign setting, saying the name of any of the Seven Sisters would allow them to hear the next nine words uttered by the speaker.
** 3.5 has Truenaming, which around level 18 gives a feat that allows a character to do this with a use-name of their choice. Speaking the use-name, afterward, allows the character to know where you are, what the general situation is, and lets them decide whether or not to be teleported into the area. Depending on the character in question, this can either be an example of this trope, or [[Call on Me]]. Or, in some cases, both at once.
** Also from ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'': any good or neutral creature that speaks Pazuzu's name three times will catch his attention. He sometimes offers to aid such a creature if they're in trouble... but accepting a boon from a demon lord [[The Dark Side|is guaranteed to pull you into evil]].
*** No, just towards Chaos. Evil is only <s> eventual</s> inevitable.
**** also in the 3.X Deities and Demigods Handbook it states that Deities are generally aware if anyone says their name, anywhere or any of their common titles. This generally won't summon the deity to you of course, but that does make it hard to mount an assault on the gods....
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* A possible inversion of this trope (overlapping in aspects with [[I Know Your True Name]]) occurs in ''[[Breath of Fire]] IV''. Along with straight treatment of [[I Know Your True Name]], General Yohm hunts down [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|Fou-lu]]—even at one point explicitly commenting that ''the mere act of uttering Fou-lu's '''name''' is sufficient to send ripples in the world that can lead someone sensitive to those ripples to find him''. (Yes, this is justified—Fou-lu is not only a [[God-Emperor]] but a rare case of a [[Physical God]] that was explicitly summoned to be the [[King in the Mountain]] of a dying empire.)
** A straighter version ALSO exists. In a part of the game, Fou-lu refrains from revealing his name to [[Sacrificial Lamb|Mami]] explicitly to keep this from happening, and merely goes by his nickname "Ryong"—this eventually gets blown to hell when he tells her his story via a historical legend (and HAS to use his [[I Know Your True Name|real name]] in it).
* In ''[[RunescapeRuneScape]]'', saying {{spoiler|Zaros}}'s name (how fun, the fact he ''exists'' is a spoiler) gives him power. He's weakened that much - in fact, most NPCs (and other Gods) refer to him as "The Nameless God".
* In ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'' people who usually play free roam with their friends, have probably encountered a cougar. Because of that it's common to hear someone mention a cougar (example: 'Did I just hear a cougar?') and see or hear their demise. It gets better when you are in areas of the map where cougars never should/usually spawn, and you hear someone mentioning it. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* In ''[[Dead Space 2]]'', {{spoiler|Ellie mentions near the end of Chapter 10 that you luckily won't have to go through the Medical Bay, where the Necromorphs are coming from. Immediately after she says this, the computer voice indicates there is an obstruction ahead, and shuts down at where else but the Medical Bay.}}
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[Freakazoid!]]'' had the villain [[Candle Jack]] who would appear randomly and kidnap whoever said his name out loud.
** [[Candle Jack]] himself says,"[[Schmuck Bait|Not a very bright group, are you?]]"
** ''[[Freakazoid!]]'' also spoofed this in a [[Credits Gag]]: "Interesting Fact: If you spin around while saying '[[Gag Words|Huggbees]]' three times real quick, [[wikipedia:Pierre Salinger|Pierre Salinger]] will appear. Only he'll have... a beard!"
* In a ''[[South Park]]'' episode, saying Biggie Smalls' name three times while looking into a mirror will summon his ghost, which really pisses him off when he's got things to do.
* In ''[[Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law]]'', saying Mentok the Mind Taker's real name, Mufti, summons powerful magical winds.
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[[Category:Word Power]]
[[Category:Magic and Powers]]
[[Category:Speak of the Devil]]
[[Category:Be Careful What You Say]]
[[Category:Entrance Tropes]]
[[Category:Speak of the Devil{{PAGENAME}}]]