Tropescilloscope: Scare Chord

A single musical note (or more if needed), coming out of nowhere in order to enhance the creepiness of a sudden scene. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Naïve Newcomer Obviously Evil Canadian Movies Last-Name Basis Up to Eleven I Have Your Wife Early-Bird Cameo Rousing Speech Contrived Coincidence Sadistic Choice Tap on the Head Fantasy Films In Name Only Ms. Fanservice "Well Done, Son!" Guy The Stoic Affably Evil Redshirt Army Hate Sink Vitriolic Best Buds Lock and Load Montage Reality Ensues Dwindling Party Genre Savvy Extreme Doormat Dies Wide Open Blackmail Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Action Girl Same Language Dub Reasonable Authority Figure Four-Temperament Ensemble Non-Indicative Name Beware the Nice Ones Married to the Job Trailers Always Spoil '80s Hair Toplessness from the Back Bi the Way Fake Shemp Punny Name Daylight Horror Hoist by His Own Petard Fiery Redhead Villain Protagonist Bilingual Bonus Improvised Weapon Face Death with Dignity Card-Carrying Villain Poor Communication Kills Deconstruction Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Rule of Funny Playing Gertrude Foil Corpsing Neck Lift Morality Pet Bait-and-Switch Dressing as the Enemy Parental Abandonment Did Not Get the Girl Honor Before Reason Documentary Hollywood Law I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Body Horror Anyone Can Die Every Car Is a Pinto Immune to Bullets Jerk Jock Well-Intentioned Extremist Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Never Trust a Trailer Informed Ability Knife Nut Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? La Résistance From Nobody to Nightmare Bavarian Fire Drill Spiritual Successor Everyone Has Standards Big "NO!" Sacrificial Lion Psycho for Hire Intergenerational Friendship The Mafia Plucky Comic Relief Serious Business Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Double Entendre Fainting Stuff Blowing Up Self-Deprecation Running Gag Motor Mouth Posthumous Character Epic Movie Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Hell Is That Noise The Cavalry The '90s More Dakka Military and Warfare Films Arch-Enemy Breaking the Fourth Wall Market-Based Title Improbable Weapon User The Vamp Suspiciously Specific Denial Offscreen Moment of Awesome Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds The Bad Guy Wins Men Are the Expendable Gender My Beloved Smother Super Strength Fat Bastard Neck Snap Foregone Conclusion Rasputinian Death Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Historical-Domain Character Not What It Looks Like Mr. Exposition Star-Crossed Lovers Dirty Cop Central Theme Evil Is Hammy Heroic Sacrifice Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Abusive Parents Car Fu Dying Moment of Awesome Aluminum Christmas Trees Berserk Button Those Two Bad Guys Hong Kong Films Bunny-Ears Lawyer And I Must Scream Funny Background Event The Alleged Car Vomit Discretion Shot Mythology Gag No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Only a Flesh Wound Break the Haughty Extremely Short Timespan Kick the Son of a Bitch Vomit Indiscretion Shot Action Survivor The End... Or Is It? Gainax Ending Line-of-Sight Name Take a Third Option Beard of Evil B-Movie Put on a Bus What the Hell, Hero? Naked People Are Funny Together in Death Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Comically Missing the Point Sealed Evil in a Can Thriller Gratuitous English Creative Closing Credits This Is Gonna Suck The Oner Villain with Good Publicity The Hero Dies Sir Swears-a-Lot Not So Stoic Too Dumb to Live Overly Long Gag Superhero Anachronism Stew Names to Run Away from Really Fast Soft Glass Canon Foreigner Bond One-Liner Pretty in Mink May–December Romance Loophole Abuse Logo Joke Cool Old Lady All Just a Dream Chekhov's Gun Madness Mantra Death by Sex Only in It for the Money Retired Badass Fate Worse than Death Mad Scientist No Ending Beta Couple Adaptation Name Change Chekhov's Gunman Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Large Ham Decoy Protagonist Pet the Dog Dissonant Serenity Even Evil Has Standards Works Set in World War II Despair Event Horizon Irony Historical Villain Upgrade Not Even Bothering with the Accent Slasher Smile Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Femme Fatale Fan Disservice "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Cool Car Those Two Guys Butt-Monkey Rewatch Bonus Facial Horror Combat Pragmatist The Hero Setting Update Serial Killer As the Good Book Says... Shoot the Shaggy Dog "Awesome McCool" Name Brainless Beauty Dual Wielding Kubrick Stare Faux Affably Evil Villain Opening Scene Evil Brit Better to Die than Be Killed Hooker with a Heart of Gold Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Frame-Up Darker and Edgier The Cameo Break the Cutie Here We Go Again! Our Vampires Are Different Mugging the Monster Mood Whiplash A Father to His Men Deal with the Devil Kids Are Cruel Exactly What It Says on the Tin Awesome, but Impractical You Have Outlived Your Usefulness For Want of a Nail Woman Scorned Important Haircut Nice Hat Title Drop British Films Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Wham Shot Hollywood Darkness Anti-Villain Australian Movies Faking the Dead Broken Pedestal Knight Templar The Stinger Disguised in Drag Author Avatar Never Found the Body Blood Knight Costume Porn Award-Bait Song Driven to Suicide Insult Backfire War Is Hell Spared by the Adaptation Age Lift Bowdlerise Big Damn Heroes Retirony Fanservice Extra Guile Hero One-Man Army Unwitting Instigator of Doom Jerk with a Heart of Gold Silent Movie Artistic License – Law The Remake Music Stories Failed a Spot Check Very Loosely Based on a True Story Country Matters Damsel in Distress Red Oni, Blue Oni Say My Name Insistent Terminology Easily Forgiven Cruel and Unusual Death Insane Troll Logic The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Even Evil Has Loved Ones He Knows Too Much You Killed My Father Off with His Head! The Dreaded The Big Guy Big Eater Determinator aka: The Determinator Half the Man He Used to Be Re-Cut Male Gaze Mercy Kill Groin Attack Meaningful Echo Romantic False Lead Would Hurt a Child Almost Kiss Celebrity Paradox Bring My Brown Pants Artistic License – Gun Safety Face–Heel Turn Evil-Detecting Dog Artistic License – History Authority Equals Asskicking Woman in White The Ghost The Casanova Mind Screw Coming-of-Age Story Product Placement True Companions Grey and Gray Morality Leaning on the Fourth Wall Badass Bookworm Chewing the Scenery Stylistic Suck Those Wacky Nazis Rape as Drama Never My Fault Expository Hairstyle Change Enemy Mine Anguished Declaration of Love Alpha Bitch The Quiet One My Greatest Failure She's Got Legs Manipulative Bastard Shower Scene Deus ex Machina An Arm and a Leg Drill Sergeant Nasty Leave the Camera Running The Great Depression Jitter Cam Death Seeker As You Know The Ditz Taking the Bullet Arc Words Hope Spot Ship Tease Drives Like Crazy Cloudcuckoolander Love Triangle Broken Aesop Hair-Trigger Temper It's All About Me Ominous Latin Chanting Happily Married Artistic License – Biology Badass Grandpa The Chessmaster Developing Doomed Characters Your Head A-Splode Made of Explodium Sinister Minister Camp Gay Big-Bad Ensemble Bolivian Army Ending Get Out! Random Events Plot Race Lift All There in the Manual Jerkass Russian Films Biopic Taking You with Me Death by Adaptation Earn Your Happy Ending Guns Akimbo Wrong Genre Savvy Framing Device Diabolus ex Machina Meet Cute Gone Horribly Right Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Green-Eyed Monster Took a Level in Badass French Films Artistic License – Physics Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Horror Comedy Suspiciously Similar Substitute Pay Evil unto Evil Disproportionate Retribution Ungrateful Bastard Big Brother Instinct Japanese Films Idiot Ball Dramedy All for Nothing Time Skip Action Genre Adult Fear Mighty Whitey Tagline In the Back I Did What I Had to Do Flashback Fish out of Water Cain and Abel "Shaggy Dog" Story Eye Scream Properly Paranoid Disney Death Adaptational Heroism The Smart Guy Sassy Black Woman It's Personal Badass in a Nice Suit Manchild Vacation Films A Minor Kidroduction Not So Different Empathic Environment Mexican Standoff Parental Substitute Determinator Alas, Poor Villain Call-Forward Ironic Echo No OSHA Compliance Credits Gag Older Than They Look Pretty Little Headshots An Axe to Grind Cool Guns Air-Vent Passageway The Voiceless Pimped-Out Dress Brutal Honesty Would Hit a Girl Straight Gay And Starring One Steve Limit Character Development Adaptation Expansion Foreshadowing Psychological Thriller Riddle for the Ages Stock Footage Video Credits Ax-Crazy Stealth Hi/Bye Accidental Murder Only Sane Man Evil vs. Evil Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Chekhov's Skill Fantastic Racism Evil Laugh Race Against the Clock Villain Song Mystery and Detective Films Improbable Aiming Skills Pragmatic Adaptation The '80s Dark Is Not Evil Shipper on Deck Crazy Jealous Guy Bittersweet Ending Artistic License – Military The Dog Bites Back After the End Sequel Escalation Action Prologue Early Installment Weirdness Ripped from the Headlines Rated M for Manly Betty and Veronica Creepy Child Apocalypse How Police are Useless Animal Title Index Public Domain Feature Films Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie NO INDOOR VOICE Rule of Symbolism It Will Never Catch On Gory Discretion Shot Fire-Forged Friends Jump Scare Red Right Hand Only One Name Took a Level in Jerkass Sanity Slippage Camera Abuse Corrupt Corporate Executive Television Movie Index Cluster F-Bomb The Alcoholic A God Am I Catapult Nightmare Rule of Three Affectionate Parody 20 Minutes into the Future The '60s Italian Films And the Adventure Continues Villainous Breakdown BFG Dropped a Bridge on Him Cassandra Truth Adults Are Useless Shell-Shocked Veteran Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Shout-Out folderlabel Chase Scene Slap-Slap-Kiss Hero Antagonist Heroic BSoD Big Fancy House Needs Wiki Magic Love Not Using the "Z" Word Does This Remind You of Anything? The '50s Not Quite Dead Asshole Victim Christmas Movies Index Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Room Full of Crazy Cat Scare Historical Hero Upgrade Disney Villain Death Leitmotif Tranquil Fury Manic Pixie Dream Girl Slashed Throat Horror Films Recycled IN SPACE! Lampshade Hanging My God, What Have I Done? Film Noir Index Ass Shove Police Brutality Death Glare Twist Ending Hypocritical Humor Mundane Made Awesome Karma Houdini Dark and Troubled Past Not So Above It All Mooks I Need a Freaking Drink Psychopathic Manchild The Lost Lenore Destination Defenestration Off-into-the-Distance Ending Babies Ever After Tempting Fate Fingore Adaptation Distillation Black Comedy Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Gold Digger Make It Look Like an Accident Translation Convention Bald of Evil Cool Old Guy Karmic Death Demoted to Extra Badass Normal "The Reason You Suck" Speech No Antagonist Interrupted Suicide Bury Your Gays Badass Longcoat Black Dude Dies First Grievous Bottley Harm Animal Motifs Undying Loyalty Bond Villain Stupidity Zombie Stories Artistic License – Geography Red Eyes, Take Warning Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Science Fiction Films Mama Bear Nice Guy Ghost Fiction Lighter and Softer Light Is Not Good Adorkable Totally Radical She Cleans Up Nicely Deliberately Monochrome Fun with Acronyms Narrator MacGuffin Shirtless Scene Department of Redundancy Department Flipping the Bird Parental Incest The Faceless Truth in Television Becoming the Mask Unspoken Plan Guarantee Papa Wolf Dark Reprise Only Known by Their Nickname Brick Joke Manly Tears Revenge Disappeared Dad What Happened to the Mouse? The Load Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Distracted by the Sexy Pragmatic Villainy Greater-Scope Villain Captain Ersatz Scary Black Man German Films Back from the Dead Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Captain Obvious The Film of the Book Ugly Guy, Hot Wife You Have Failed Me Humans Are Bastards Imagine Spot Armor-Piercing Question Film Noir No Name Given Black and Gray Morality In Medias Res Noodle Incident Wounded Gazelle Gambit Offscreen Teleportation Vampire Fiction Small Name, Big Ego Arranged Marriage Covers Always Lie Based on a True Story Ascended Extra N-Word Privileges Overprotective Dad Exact Words All There in the Script A.I. Is a Crapshoot Once More, with Clarity! Due to the Dead Unresolved Sexual Tension Monumental Damage Parental Neglect Skewed Priorities Punch-Clock Villain Maybe Ever After Heel Realization Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Adaptational Badass Death of a Child Silence Is Golden Word of God Abhorrent Admirer Bloodier and Gorier Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Obfuscating Stupidity Dirty Old Man O.O.C. Is Serious Business Wretched Hive The X of Y Red Herring Domestic Abuse The Bully The Chick Catch-Phrase Bland-Name Product Crucified Hero Shot Five-Man Band Bullying a Dragon Scenery Porn What You Are in the Dark Jerkass Has a Point Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Dark Action Girl The Lancer Heroes Want Redheads Major Injury Underreaction Curse Cut Short Dirty Coward Man on Fire Conspicuous CG Composite Character Kill 'em All Blatant Lies Stalker with a Crush Smoking Is Cool Smug Snake Sole Survivor Deliberate Values Dissonance The Reveal Drugs Are Bad Amusing Injuries Depraved Bisexual Bloody Hilarious Book-Ends Attempted Rape The '70s Eagleland Roaring Rampage of Revenge Darkest Hour Defrosting Ice Queen Fatal Flaw Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Wicked Cultured Malevolent Masked Men Yandere Real Life Belligerent Sexual Tension Genre Shift Mr. Fanservice Big Bad Curb-Stomp Battle Rich Bitch Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Romantic Comedy Oh, Crap! Refuge in Audacity Historical In-Joke Male Frontal Nudity Reality Has No Subtitles Visual Pun Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Bloodless Carnage The Power of Love Didn't Think This Through Hidden Depths Eyepatch of Power Dull Surprise Adaptational Villainy The Ace Agony of the Feet Spell My Name with an "S" Evil Is Petty Suddenly SHOUTING! Dramatic Gun Cock Slasher Movie Demonic Possession I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Bad "Bad Acting" Bound and Gagged Crazy-Prepared The Brute Establishing Character Moment Show Within a Show Laughing Mad Intrepid Reporter Genre Throwback Spanner in the Works Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Friend to All Children Throwing Your Sword Always Works Gender Flip Take That! Eiffel Tower Effect Actually Pretty Funny Big Bad Duumvirate Big Applesauce Moment Killer The Musical Advertised Extra Deadpan Snarker Gilligan Cut Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Heel–Face Turn Calling the Old Man Out Outrun the Fireball Antagonist Title All Men Are Perverts Rule of Cool Bad Boss From Bad to Worse Redemption Equals Death Soundtrack Dissonance Evil Counterpart Unusual Euphemism Good Is Not Nice Pre-Asskicking One-Liner One-Word Title Our Zombies Are Different Cowboy Cop Match Cut Missing Mom Henpecked Husband Boom, Headshot! Ambiguously Gay Blood from the Mouth Ambiguous Ending Children Are Innocent Defiant to the End Made of Iron Unreliable Narrator Be Careful What You Wish For Fourth Date Marriage Beauty Is Never Tarnished Fatal Family Photo Stepford Smiler Alliterative Name Unusually Uninteresting Sight Worthy Opponent The Sociopath Your Cheating Heart Killed Mid-Sentence No Celebrities Were Harmed Chiaroscuro I'm a Humanitarian Death by Irony Love at First Sight Aside Glance Adaptational Attractiveness Kick the Dog Epic Fail Animated Credits Opening Red Shirt Dumb Blonde Stealth Pun Bottomless Magazines Scare Chord Token Minority For the Evulz Dutch Angle Hero of Another Story Precision F-Strike Hypocrite Victoria's Secret Compartment Ambiguous Disorder Actor Allusion The Smurfette Principle The Starscream Expy Dramatic Irony Cat Fight Really Gets Around It Can Think No Good Deed Goes Unpunished The Atoner You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Freeze-Frame Bonus Index of Film Westerns Scenery Gorn Badass Boast How We Got Here Real Life Writes the Plot Bare Your Midriff Left the Background Music On The Un-Reveal Let's Get Dangerous! Pyrrhic Victory Black Best Friend Creator Cameo Obstructive Bureaucrat Reckless Gun Usage Implacable Man Fanservice Peek-a-Boo Corpse The Stoner Freudian Excuse An Aesop Cool Shades As Long as It Sounds Foreign Heterosexual Life-Partners Sports Stories Protagonist Title He Who Fights Monsters Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Amoral Attorney Meaningful Name Black Comedy Rape Danny Peary Cult Movies List Bar Brawl The Place Casting Gag Author Appeal Film Series Storming the Castle Laser-Guided Karma Paper-Thin Disguise Pre-Mortem One-Liner Loads and Loads of Characters Sequel Hook Double-Meaning Title Auto Erotica Adapted Out Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Brother–Sister Incest Shut Up, Hannibal! No-Sell Anti-Hero Martial Arts Movie All Girls Want Bad Boys Gorn Getting Crap Past the Radar Continuity Nod Spiteful Spit Eureka Moment Anachronic Order Shown Their Work Batman Gambit Dogged Nice Guy Downer Ending Call-Back Whole Plot Reference Wham Line Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Politically Incorrect Villain The Mole Blonde, Brunette, Redhead There Is No Kill Like Overkill Humiliation Conga Meaningful Background Event Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Does Not Like Shoes Daddy's Girl Reality Is Unrealistic Famous Last Words Handicapped Badass Mistaken for Gay Adaptation Dye-Job World of Ham Nothing Is Scarier As Himself Instant Death Bullet Have a Gay Old Time Kill It with Fire Plot Hole Annoying Younger Sibling Evil Plan Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Evil Sounds Deep timeperiod Closed Circle Novelization The Dragon Villain Ball Final Girl Accidental Misnaming A Date with Rosie Palms Sexy Discretion Shot Eldritch Abomination Funny Foreigner Homage Cold-Blooded Torture Sci-Fi Horror Retcon Crapsack World Training Montage Drowning My Sorrows Broken Bird