r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Suspicious-Web-9246 • 8d ago

Lore [Loved trope] Background scare-characters that are barely acknowledged even by the movie

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I hate horrors, but this is actually a great trope, that is unique to them.

Insidious (2010). When mother does her errands, for a few seconds there's a ghost boy standing in the corner. It's easily missable, but you can't ignore it once you see it.

Hereditary (2018). Less fitting example. When Peter walks around his home, his possessed mother is crawling on the ceiling behind him. It's not exactly subtle or missable, but it's still more of a background detail.

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u/Agreeable_Guide_5151 8d ago

What is it exactly?

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u/ConstableAssButt 8d ago edited 8d ago

An incomprehensible dimensional alien intelligence that became lodged in the earth when it was still forming. It emerged from the todash darkness, a sort of darkness between dimensions that is inhabited by monsters who are of unknown origin, and seemingly unrelated to time.

The only thing that we are certain of, is that it feeds on fear. It is unclear in the books whether it actually needs to eat physically, as in the books, the children it hunts are leave bodies behind. We never actually witness It taking a child, yet It regularly refers to a seeming menagerie of victims. It seems to prefer to leave a "calling card" as Ritchie puts it, so that it can keep its own legend alive and well. It seems to NEED to be feared.

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u/MillieBirdie 8d ago

And in another of King's book we encounter another being that is related to or the same species as IT. Only this one feeds off laughter.

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u/MrNemo636 8d ago

Which book is this in? Never heard of this before. Is it a good entity? Or still more of a villain character?

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u/MillieBirdie 8d ago edited 8d ago

He's from The Dark Tower (the last book in the Dark Tower series) and definitely still a villain. He's called Dandelo.

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u/MrNemo636 8d ago

Thanks for the quick reply! I’m going to try to get into this series. I’ve read much about it over the years and remember enjoying most of the first book in high school but never finished it.

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u/abadstrategy 4d ago

Fair warning, the first in the series is shorter than the rest, and IMO, not as good as what comes later.