# It was a dark and stormy night
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 30, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260 "2004-11-30T02:07:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/21 "2004-11-30T05:38:52Z")
Primary character is talking to spooky character. Primary looks away, looks back, spook is gone.
Primary character is preparing for bed/bath/whatever. Primary looks away, looks back, spook is suddenly there.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/22 "2004-11-30T14:09:42Z")
Person who is talking on phone suddenly notices something, stares at it, and slowly puts the phone receiver down, so all that is heard is the caller saying “Missy? Are you there?.. Missy, what’s happening?”
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### Author:  [@Phelan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phelan)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/23 "2004-11-30T16:46:56Z")
Primary character sees the villain out of the corner of her eye, looks away, then looks back and there’s no one there.
I like the way they did this in _Scary Movie_, except they kept the camera on the villain, and you see him run away when the primary character does look away for a second.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/24 "2004-11-30T18:06:24Z")
The cheapest possible way to make your audience jump:
Character goes into area where danger is known to exist. Sound track is turned way down, music very quiet and in a minor key.
Something jumps out. Soundtrack plays jarring chord at full volume.
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### Author:  [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/25 "2004-11-30T18:22:03Z")
with the lights out, the intruder is more familiar with your house than you are.
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/26 "2004-11-30T18:35:38Z")
The main character is hanging by his fingertips on the edge of a cliff or above some other huge drop. Will he fall to his death or somehow make it back to solid ground? Oh, the suspense!
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/27 "2004-11-30T18:35:42Z")
“It was a dark and stormy night, I had just taken a creative writing course” -Crow T Robot, MST3K
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### Author:  [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/28 "2004-11-30T18:42:59Z")
The hero has overpowered the killer, has him tied up, and is holding a gun on him. He starts to back out of the room…
and bumps into the REAL killer.
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### Author:  [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/29 "2004-11-30T19:46:52Z")
We are nearing the end of the story, when the identity of the Mystery Person will finally be revealed. So, until then, let’s just aim the camera at his feet and follow his every step until we’re good and ready for the big finish. Feet walk along passage way, go up stairs with a menacingly relaxed pace, turn, go along corridor, go through door… blah blah blah… until the director has finally had enough and actually pans up to give us beauty shot of the villain’s face.
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### Author:  [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/30 "2004-11-30T21:19:10Z")
Villain and main character battle, one of them had a gun but it was knocked free and lays on the ground. Villain and main character wrestle on the ground, both struggling to reach the gun, almost touching it. Finally one of them grabs the gun, the gun goes off, both of them wince in pain. Who was shot? Oh please, oh please, who was shot??!?
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### Author:  [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/31 "2004-11-30T22:23:57Z")
Woman on dark street thinks she’s being followed, pulls coat around her and hurries. Shot of her feet hurrying. Shot of his feet walking. Shot of her feet hurrying faster. Shot of his feet walking faster. This goes back and forth a couple more times until she’s actually running and he suddenly grabs her from behind.
(I never actually saw this, Harlan Ellison once wrote an article complaining that one of his well-written scenes had been cut and replaced with that. It sounds enough like mystery scenes I’ve seen that I believe it.)
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### Author:  [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/32 "2004-12-01T04:56:06Z")
> [@Yllaria](#):
>
> Woman on dark street thinks she’s being followed, pulls coat around her and hurries. Shot of her feet hurrying. Shot of his feet walking. Shot of her feet hurrying faster. Shot of his feet walking faster. This goes back and forth a couple more times until she’s actually running and he suddenly grabs her from behind
This has happened in every “Friday the 13th” movie.
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### Author:  [@Farmwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmwoman)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2004, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/277260/33 "2004-12-01T05:04:09Z")
Then there’s the medicine cabinet trick. You can be sure her reflection will have company when she closes the mirrored door. Hackneyed but effective.
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