...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
Out, Damned Spot!
- 487 statements
- 92 feature instances
- 17 referencing feature instances
Out, Damned Spot! | type |
FeatureClass | |
Out, Damned Spot! | label |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! | page |
OutDamnedSpot | |
Out, Damned Spot! | comment |
This trope is under discussion in the Trope Repair Shop. Consumed by guilt, a killer tries to wash away the blood they know is on their hands, but they can't, no matter how much they scrub. This can extend to obsessively trying to clean away imagined bloodstain, or other evidence, when there is no physical trace of the crime left. Can overlap with Shower of Angst. Please note that examples of this trope need not always involve literal washing. Quite often, in fact, it is manifested in any general sense of feeling "dirty." As the name comes from William Shakespeare, this is Older Than Steam at the very least. This is an example of Truth in Television: the New York Times published a study showing that some people wash their hands when they have feelings of guilt. Compare with Brain Bleach, which is used to scrub away unpleasant mental images instead of guilt. Compare also with Terrible Ticking, where the guilty person hears something symbolic of their guilt. Can be one of numerous tics that result from a Sympathetic Murder Backstory... or not so sympathetic. Sometimes accompanied by a Madness Mantra or a Guilt-Induced Nightmare. See also Must Make Amends, Blood Is Squicker in Water. Often part of a Dark and Troubled Past. Contrast These Hands Have Killed, which tends to be a more temporary reaction. Not to be confused with really annoying TV spots that you wish would go away. It's not about that obnoxious dog you don't want to have indoors either. WARNING: This trope quite literally concerns flesh and blood, so possible Squick ahead. |
|
Out, Damned Spot! | fetched |
2023-05-17T07:57:46Z | |
Out, Damned Spot! | parsed |
2023-05-17T07:57:46Z | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to AceVenturaPetDetective: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to AnnieLennox: Not an Item - IGNORE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to BobSeger: Not an Item - IGNORE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to CoheedAndCambria: Not an Item - IGNORE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to Downplayed: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to FilleFatale: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to ImageSong: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to KillItWithFire: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to ManipulativeBastard: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to MyChemicalRomance: Not an Item - IGNORE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to PlayedForLaughs: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to PrivateDetective: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to ShowerOfAngst: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to TitleTrack: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to Wozzeck: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to invoked: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingComment |
Dropped link to lampshadehanging: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingUnknown |
AceVenturaPetDetective | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingUnknown |
Downplayed | |
Out, Damned Spot! | processingUnknown |
Wozzeck | |
Out, Damned Spot! | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_1ca3ab3e | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_1ca3ab3e | comment |
Near the end of Mix Beer With Liquor And You Will Get Sicker, Corbin scrubs blood off his floor that has gotten there when he'd mistook a person in his house for a burglar and brutally hit him over the head, only to discover afterwards that it was actually a friend looking after him. Said guy has survived the incident, but still got a pretty nasty injury out of it, and Corbin works himself into a guilt loop and keeps cleaning the spot even though the blood is long gone. He doesn't even realize that his hands have gone sore and blistering from the work. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_1ca3ab3e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_1ca3ab3e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Mix Beer With Liquor And You Will Get Sicker | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_1ca3ab3e | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_22d74b2e | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_22d74b2e | comment |
Outcast of Redwall: Veil suffers something similar. His victim was poisoned, and the Abbey herbalist puts out an announcement that it will be easy to find the killer because the particular poison used will stain one's skin and fur red within two days if one touches it with bare paws. Veil, unaware that this is a complete and utter lie, starts frantically scrubbing his paws at every opportunity, even with sandstone, thus making them look red. He breaks into the infirmary to find the "herbal solution" the herbalist supposedly left there and dips his paws into the basin without looking, only to find that said basin actually contains beetroot juice, thus leaving his paws very obviously red and proving his guilt. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_22d74b2e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_22d74b2e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Redwall | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_22d74b2e | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_23317314 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_23317314 | comment |
Robert Harris' Fatherland has a disturbingly understandable version. The protagonist, a former U-Boat captain, finds out that some of the uniform clothing he was issued while in the service was manufactured from the hair of Holocaust victims. He describes not feeling clean after bathing repeatedly for days; more justified than most given the close physical contact involved... | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_23317314 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_23317314 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Fatherland | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_23317314 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_261c8d3f | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_261c8d3f | comment |
The Simpsons: Used humorously in "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner" when Homer became a food critic and was criticized by his editor for an inept review. Lisa finds him in the bathtub repeatedly scrubbing himself and babbling: "Still not clean! Stink of failure still on me!" Also Played for Laughs in "Stark Raving Dad", where Homer is put in a mental asylum and has "Insane" stamped on his hand. After he's discharged, he is seen trying to scrub away the stamp, saying "Come off! I'm sane now!" |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_261c8d3f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_261c8d3f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Simpsons | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_261c8d3f | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2d1214a3 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2d1214a3 | comment |
In The Other Boleyn Girl, Anne Boleyn takes an extremely hot bath and rubs her skin raw the morning after she takes a potion from a witch to induce a miscarriage. She believes the baby to be dead, but probably still harbors guilt on the offchance that it may have been alive and the male heir she needed to bear to secure her position as Queen. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2d1214a3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2d1214a3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Other Boleyn Girl | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2d1214a3 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2e833eb | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2e833eb | comment |
In Fallout: Equestria, main character Littlepip discovers that the town of Arbu has been killing caravaneers, travelers and bandits so they can eat them, even feeding them to their children. Littlepip and her group of adventurers had "dinner" with the citizens before she discovered this. The revelation is so sickening and horrifying that she breaks down and murders every pony in the village bearing a 'mark of Arbu' (which signifies they've killed and consumed a victim)- in the chaos, she might have inadvertently or purposefully killed a child as well. Afterwards, however, she's sickened and horrified with herself and how far she went, unable to see herself as anything but a monster covered in blood. And she's the protagonist! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2e833eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2e833eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Fallout: Equestria (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_2e833eb | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3583b777 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3583b777 | comment |
In Eternal Darkness for the Gamecube, Alex Roivas comes across the ghost of a maid cleaning her grandfather's carpet. When the ghost hears Alex, she looks up and screams "I can't get the blood out!" Soon, she finds her grandfather's chapter of the Tome of Eternal Darkness, and discovers that the maid died on that spot forty years ago. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3583b777 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3583b777 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Eternal Darkness (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3583b777 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_36065097 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_36065097 | comment |
The Hunger Games: After Rue's death, Katniss attempts to scratch off the scabs she suffered during the forest fire escape in a manic state, along with Rue's blood. The trope applies because Katniss had just killed Marvel. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_36065097 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_36065097 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Hunger Games | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_36065097 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_37c12fb0 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_37c12fb0 | comment |
Chicago has a bit at the beginning with a character having a hard time scrubbing the blood off her hands in the dressing room before being called up on stage. Subverted, in that the character carries no guilt at all about the murder. |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_37c12fb0 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_37c12fb0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Chicago | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_37c12fb0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3af6f979 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3af6f979 | comment |
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: After Francie's attack, she begs her parents to help her because she can still feel where it touched her thigh. Her father pours acid over the spot, leaving a permanent scar but Francie is happy to have it rather than the feelings or dirtiness left by her ordeal. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3af6f979 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3af6f979 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3af6f979 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3d776ce3 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3d776ce3 | comment |
In Alpha Protocol, The Dragon, Conrad Marburg, wears black gloves at all times. At their first meeting, if the protagonist has accumulated enough of Marburg's dossier, he can accuse him of wearing them as a feeble psychological crutch to avoid feeling that he has blood on his hands. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3d776ce3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3d776ce3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Alpha Protocol (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3d776ce3 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3e8c09b9 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3e8c09b9 | comment |
In Attack on Titan, Reiner Braun is so crushed with guilt over his actions as The Mole that he begins suffering from bouts of self-inflicted Trauma-Induced Amnesia, creating a sanitized version of his identity and memories. During his various breakdowns, he stares at his hands more than once in disgust. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3e8c09b9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3e8c09b9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Attack on Titan (Manga) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_3e8c09b9 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_40601df8 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_40601df8 | comment |
The Originals: Elijah is always immaculately dressed in a suit, no matter the occasion, and has notably better impulse control compared to his other vampire siblings. It is revealed in the second season to be something of a compulsion, to disassociate himself from the wantonly violent deeds of his past. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_40601df8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_40601df8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Originals | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_40601df8 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_41b0198a | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_41b0198a | comment |
The Dresden Files: The robes of the Wardens are enchanted so that blood will not stain them. Keep in mind that the Wardens are tasked with administering death to anyone found in violation of the Laws of Magic even if they had no knowledge of the Laws and were unaware that they were performing dark magic (most of whom are teenagers). Because of how Black Magic affects people in this 'verse, though, most of the ones they execute are, by that point, less "punishing someone who broke a rule" and more "putting down a rabid beast before it kills anyone else." | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_41b0198a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_41b0198a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dresden Files | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_41b0198a | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_447f853a | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_447f853a | comment |
One Step Beyond: In "The Hand" Tom Grant, a piano player at a run-down dive, murders a beautiful young woman in a jealous rage with a broken-off beer bottle. After the police arrest a drunken derelict for the crime, Tom figures he's in the clear. Although he at first seems to have covered his tracks well enough, he soon discovers that, no matter how hard he tries, he cannot get the woman's blood off his hands. He forces a doctor to bandage the hand only to cause the blood to seep through. Eventually, he breaks down when he is called into witness for the murder and has to lay the hand on The Bible and swear to tell the truth. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_447f853a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_447f853a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
One Step Beyond | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_447f853a | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_44fe781e | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_44fe781e | comment |
Neon Genesis Evangelion: After destroying Leliel, Shinji becomes scared of his own hands, because he can't get rid of the smell of blood. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_44fe781e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_44fe781e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Neon Genesis Evangelion | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_44fe781e | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_46823c49 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_46823c49 | comment |
Moriarty the Patriot: In The Final Problem, William tells Fred that his hands have seemed covered with blood since his first murder and that he never intended for them to get this stained, but he cannot wash it out. Once he's alone again, he's shown scrubbing his bare hands in a well, despite no blood being on them at all and wearing black gloves while he murders people. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_46823c49 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_46823c49 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Moriarty the Patriot (Manga) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_46823c49 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4b887bd7 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4b887bd7 | comment |
Scar Tissue: After her Mind Rape Asuka always took long baths. As stated in chapter 11: | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4b887bd7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4b887bd7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Scar Tissue (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4b887bd7 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4c746380 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4c746380 | comment |
Inuyasha, two examples. In one, a Jekyll & Hyde slasher-villain/doctor did this after his villain side savagely murdered some people. Earlier in episode 52, Inuyasha tried to clean his hands after he killed a bunch of bandits when his Superpowered Evil Side took over, but after each frantic scrubbing found he could still smell their blood. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4c746380 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4c746380 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Inuyasha (Manga) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4c746380 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4f63edbd | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4f63edbd | comment |
In Soul Nomad & the World Eaters, this leads to one of the assassins, despite saving hundreds of lives in the story, committing suicide in front of his friends. No matter what he does the blood won't come off. So he decides to put his soul in the washing machine. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4f63edbd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4f63edbd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Soul Nomad & the World Eaters (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4f63edbd | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4fc1c922 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4fc1c922 | comment |
A variation of this occurs in the Wicked fanfic The Land of What Might-Have-Been: after revealing that she's captured the Cowardly Lion and is prepared to carve him up into bloody parcels until Dorothy is surrendered to her, the Hellion uses her magic to smear bloody handprints all over Dorothy's face as a sign of ownership. As soon as the spell ends, Dorothy sprints off to the bathroom and spends the next few minutes frantically scrubbing the blood off her face and hands - both out of fear of being owned by the Hellion and guilt for not being able to save the Lion. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4fc1c922 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4fc1c922 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Wicked (Theatre) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_4fc1c922 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_514489e5 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_514489e5 | comment |
In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov obsesses over cleaning up the murder of the pawnbroker. He compulsively washes the axe used to commit the deed, tries to clean off the coin purse and stow it in the wallpaper of his room, only to later decide to just bury it somewhere. Then he realizes that he got the blood on his sock, and desperately tries to work the stain out. While the stain fades to unrecognizability, Raskolnikov is unable to not see the blood on his sock. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_514489e5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_514489e5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Crime and Punishment | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_514489e5 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_5a3533fe | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_5a3533fe | comment |
On My Name Is Earl, Earl's mother slept with their next-door neighbor some 20 years prior. She broke it off, since she felt ashamed, and she kept it from her husband all that time. And when he found out, he left her. After having a good cry with Earl about it, he came back, and she was scrubbing the chairs in the garage where she and the neighbor had sex all those years ago, with bleach. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_5a3533fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_5a3533fe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
My Name Is Earl | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_5a3533fe | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_60d9c81d | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_60d9c81d | comment |
In Mutant Storm, after Harry kills Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange (one of them with his bare hands), he goes through a Heroic BSoD and just sits in the shower for a while he tries to clean himself. They have to knock him out to treat his injuries. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_60d9c81d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_60d9c81d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Mutant Storm / Fan Fic | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_60d9c81d | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_61350244 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_61350244 | comment |
In Train to Busan, after discovering his company is response for the Zombie Apocalypse, Seok-Woo shakily washes his hands in the train's bathroom. The blood does come off, but the effect is the same, and he quickly begins to sob at what he's helped cause. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_61350244 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_61350244 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Train to Busan | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_61350244 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_68ff28c9 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_68ff28c9 | comment |
Silent Hill 2 is essentially the protagonist's guilt over the murder of his wife manifest as a variety of physical monsters. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_68ff28c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_68ff28c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Silent Hill 2 (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_68ff28c9 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6c5e0560 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6c5e0560 | comment |
In Fushigi Yuugi, Miaka scrubs herself with a twig until she bleeds, trying to make herself "clean" again, after believing that Nakago raped her, and therefore she was no longer worthy of the title of Priestess of Suzaku...or Tamahome's love. He didn't. He just roughed her up a bit and let her come to her own conclusions when she came to, just as with Yui. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6c5e0560 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6c5e0560 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Fushigi Yuugi (Manga) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6c5e0560 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6ce7baa3 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6ce7baa3 | comment |
While watching a short film about Ross, an animal wrangler who captures wildlife for zoos, Joel's and the bots' commentary makes Ross out to be a villain on par with those from Captain Planet. Then, there's a brief shot of Ross wiping his face off with a towel, at which point Servo quips: | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6ce7baa3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6ce7baa3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Captain Planet and the Planeteers | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_6ce7baa3 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_72262aee | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_72262aee | comment |
Done rather melodramatically in the Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic The Chong Sheng Trilogy. When Jet dies in Katara's arms, she snaps and uses actual blood as bending fluid to kill several enemies before Sokka has to snap her out of her insanity. When Katara realizes what she's done she screams and goes catatonic until late that night, when she leaps into a dangerously rushing river and tries to scrub away her sins. Zuko has to rush in to rescue her before she drowns or is swept away. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_72262aee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_72262aee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Avatar: The Last Airbender | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_72262aee | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_727259ac | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_727259ac | comment |
On The Ren & Stimpy Show, "Stimpy's Fan Club", Ren rants about having to answer all of Stimpy's fan mail "with these hands... Dirty!! The dirt won't come off!" | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_727259ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_727259ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Ren & Stimpy Show | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_727259ac | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7884e8d1 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7884e8d1 | comment |
A subtle one in Pulp Fiction. After dealing with I Just Shot Marvin in the Face, Jules and Vincent wash their hands. Then they wipe them clean and Jules points out that Vincent's left some bloodstains on the towel. Which is symbolic of how Jules chooses a different path, but Vincent doesn't. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7884e8d1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7884e8d1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Pulp Fiction | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7884e8d1 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7894fb5d | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7894fb5d | comment |
The Four Gospels attest that Pontius Pilate washed his hands after sentencing Jesus to death, to assuage his guilt (or to show Jesus was Convicted by Public Opinion, not him). But this hasn't prevented the Apostle's Creed from stating that Jesus "suffered under Pontius Pilate." | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7894fb5d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7894fb5d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Four Gospels | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7894fb5d | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7de1376e | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7de1376e | comment |
Parodied in Wyrd Sisters (naturally, since it's a parody of Macbeth) where Duke Felmet becomes so obsessed with washing the metaphorical blood from his hand, he tries scrubbing it with a wire brush, among other things. (It's implicit his measures ensure that his hand will always have blood on it, just not the victim's anymore.) At one point he's even seen with a cheese grater, and bandages on his hand. The parody starts to turn very dark, though, when towards the end the narration describes "the remnant of his right hand," culminating in him falling to his death because he no longer has any (working) fingers with which to grab on to a wall. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7de1376e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7de1376e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Wyrd Sisters | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7de1376e | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7ff41376 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7ff41376 | comment |
Dark Shadows: In the old supernatural soap, the young witch Angelique lays a curse on her husband/enemy Barnabas Collins in a moment of transcendent rage, a curse on him to die and rise as a vampire. She almost immediately regrets it and tries without success to lift it, and tries to scrub up a bloodstain on the floor from the incident, only to find that no matter how hard she scrubs the blood won't come off the wooden floor. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7ff41376 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7ff41376 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Dark Shadows | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_7ff41376 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8065c431 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8065c431 | comment |
Dead Presidents: Cleon (Bokeem Woodbine) is a Bronx-based Protestant minister. He is also a Vietnam War veteran who feels remorse about the atrocities he committed in the jungle, and so he initially refuses to participate in a bank robbery being organized by an unemployed fellow vet. But he eventually agrees to take part in the crime, because there's a lot of money involved. After the violent heist, during which several policemen and two of the robbers are killed, Cleon is inconsolable as the gang counts their money at their hideout. He bleakly proclaims that "we've bought our way into Hell" and "I'm not sure I even want any of this dirty money." It all eventually gets to be too much for Cleon, and he rats out the rest of the gang after being himself arrested. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8065c431 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8065c431 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Dead Presidents | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8065c431 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_86814ea1 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_86814ea1 | comment |
Final Fantasy XV Episode Prompto has Prompto Argentum suffer a bout of this. He has recently discovered that the tattoo on his wrist is a barcode marking him as one of the cloned life forms that are daemonified and used as Magitek Troopers for the Niflheim Empire, and is left alone with his thoughts when he makes it to a campsite he was directed to by Aranaea Highwind. He starts off trying to rub it off, and eventually seizes a stick out of the campfire. The player is then given the option to have him burn his wrist with the hot end or cast the stick aside. The live trigger even has the header "Out, Damn'd Spot". | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_86814ea1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_86814ea1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Final Fantasy XV (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_86814ea1 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_886761ac | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_886761ac | comment |
Philosophy Tube: In Elon Musk, Pontius Pilate is re-imagined as a Steve Jobs/Elon Musk-type 'comprehensive designer' who has a breakdown trying to get the blood off his hands for killing Jesus Christ (a metaphor for the inadvertent harm brought by consumer capitalism, even when used by liberal personalities). | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_886761ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_886761ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Philosophy Tube (Web Video) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_886761ac | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_89ce309d | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_89ce309d | comment |
Macbeth, the original. Lady Macbeth, long after she had washed her hands dripping with Duncan's blood, continued to be preoccupied by hand-washing. So great was her sense of guilt that no amount of water and the ritual incantation of "Out, damned spot! Out, I say" could restore her peace of mind or ability to sleep. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_89ce309d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_89ce309d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Macbeth (Theatre) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_89ce309d | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8a0b018f | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8a0b018f | comment |
In Man in the Attic, Slade compulsively washes his hands in the Thames after each of the Ripper murders. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8a0b018f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8a0b018f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Man in the Attic | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8a0b018f | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8aaa3994 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8aaa3994 | comment |
The Tales of Alvin Maker series: The trope features prominently in the form of a curse. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8aaa3994 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8aaa3994 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Tales of Alvin Maker | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8aaa3994 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d814070 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d814070 | comment |
M*A*S*H turns this into a Tear Jerker in "Heal Thyself," when a talented and experienced new doctor has a Heroic BSoD after a grueling session in the OR. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d814070 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d814070 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
M*A*S*H | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d814070 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d817ccb | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d817ccb | comment |
On Lost, having just killed Ana-Lucia and Libby, Michael asks Eko about Hell while scrubbing Libby's blood off the floor. The conversation ends with Michael going outside to throw up. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d817ccb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d817ccb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Lost | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8d817ccb | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8ecb86b | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8ecb86b | comment |
Redeeming Love: When she first begins to see that Michael is a genuinely good man, Angel feels that because of her past as a prostitute she is unworthy of him; she plunges into a river and frantically begins trying to make herself feel clean. Michael eventually finds her rubbing her skin raw with gravel and sobbing. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8ecb86b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8ecb86b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Redeeming Love | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_8ecb86b | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90b916ba | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90b916ba | comment |
Used humorously in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "The Last Laugh". The Joker dumps a load of smelly garbage on top of Batman during their battle; afterwards, Bruce remarks that he still feels soiled after taking several showers. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90b916ba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90b916ba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Batman: The Animated Series | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90b916ba | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90c73dda | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90c73dda | comment |
In Animorphs, Cassie is disgusted and horrified by all that she's done and the deaths that she's responsible for. In one book, after ripping out a Hork Bajir's throat with her teeth while in wolf morph and finding a piece of flesh still lodged between her teeth after demorphing, Cassie brushes her teeth until her gums bleed. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90c73dda | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90c73dda | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Animorphs | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90c73dda | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90e09c2e | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90e09c2e | comment |
In Descendants of Darkness, after Hisoka has to kill Tsubaki at the end of the cruise murder mystery arc, he continues to see blood on his hands even though there is nothing there. His partner Tsuzuki comforts him. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90e09c2e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90e09c2e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Descendants of Darkness (Manga) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_90e09c2e | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9321b7f4 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9321b7f4 | comment |
Kamen Rider 555: This is the reason that Masato Kusaka obsessively cleans his hands. He wasn't the murderer but he did witness the massacre of his classmates and was killed himself. They got better. Still, this could partially account for why he's such a manipulative Jerkass. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9321b7f4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9321b7f4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Kamen Rider 555 | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9321b7f4 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_959e84f | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_959e84f | comment |
In Dragon Quest VI, there's a town that thrives due to their rejuvenating water, which, shortly after you arrive, turns blood red. Investigation reveals that a woman is trying to clean the blood off her sword at the water's source, consumed with guilt because she believes she killed her lover. You have to find him Not Quite Dead, but she'll be cleaning her sword until you do. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_959e84f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_959e84f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Dragon Quest VI (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_959e84f | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_974f7efb | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_974f7efb | comment |
The Drew Carey Show: Played for Laughs when Drew has cybersex with Mimi and doesn't realize it until the deed is done, whereupon we cut to a fully-clothed Drew sobbing in a hot shower. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_974f7efb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_974f7efb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Drew Carey Show | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_974f7efb | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_976efc02 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_976efc02 | comment |
Mystery Science Theater 3000. One of Tom Servo's repeated riffs is "But you'll never be able to get rid of the stain on your soul." While watching a short film about Ross, an animal wrangler who captures wildlife for zoos, Joel's and the bots' commentary makes Ross out to be a villain on par with those from Captain Planet. Then, there's a brief shot of Ross wiping his face off with a towel, at which point Servo quips: |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_976efc02 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_976efc02 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Mystery Science Theater 3000 | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_976efc02 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_998cbda3 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_998cbda3 | comment |
Daredevil (2015). After the massacre at the Bulletin, Karen Page is suffering from Survivor Guilt and repeatedly tries to wipe the blood spots from her sleeve during her FBI interview. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_998cbda3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_998cbda3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Daredevil (2015) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_998cbda3 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9aab7b0a | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9aab7b0a | comment |
The issue of Swamp Thing that resulted in the title no longer carrying the Comic Code Authority seal features a truly horrific instance of this trope, after Abby realizes the Awful Truth behind why her husband has been acting differently: | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9aab7b0a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9aab7b0a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Swamp Thing (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9aab7b0a | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9acfcc46 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9acfcc46 | comment |
Shishio Gen from Kekkaishi does this after remembering how he accidentally slashed his sister. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9acfcc46 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9acfcc46 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Kekkaishi (Manga) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9acfcc46 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9c32b00a | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9c32b00a | comment |
In Incarnation of Legends, while being attacked by terrorists as a concert in Altena, Bell immediately thrusts one of his sword through one of the culprit's shoulders, but can't bring himself to kill him. After the ordeal is suppressed by the Odin Familia, Bell finds that no matter how much he cleans his sword and hands, the blood didn't seem to come off, showing just how haunted by his murder of the man holding Haruhime captive. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9c32b00a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9c32b00a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Incarnation of Legends (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9c32b00a | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9d47a2a2 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9d47a2a2 | comment |
A Song of Ice and Fire. Melisandre uses a shadow assassin created from Stannis' life energy to kill Stannis' younger brother Renly, who is disputing Stannis' claim to the Iron Throne. Stannis never outright admits to being aware of her plan but implies it, talking about how he was asleep in his tent at the time, having a nightmare about Renly's murder. "I was in my tent when Renly died, and when I woke my hands were clean." | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9d47a2a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9d47a2a2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
A Song of Ice and Fire | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9d47a2a2 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e84c324 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e84c324 | comment |
Parodied in Batman Returns, by Catwoman: "The thought of busting Batman makes me feel all...dirty. I think I'll give myself a bath right here." Then - being a cat-person - she proceeds to lick herself! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e84c324 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e84c324 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Batman Returns | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e84c324 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e90248b | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e90248b | comment |
Scotland, PA (which is Macbeth in a rural '70s Pennsylvania fast-food joint), Pat McBeth gets a small burn from frying oil when Duncan dies. As she sinks into madness, she becomes convinced that the burn is getting worse, even though it completely healed in reality. In the end, she's driven to cut off her hand with a kitchen knife, then promptly faints and bleeds to death. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e90248b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e90248b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Scotland, PA | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_9e90248b | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a0637eef | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a0637eef | comment |
In Only God Forgives, Julian is given to sullenly staring at his hands and watching them slowly turn into fists. At one point he washes his hands, but he sees the water become blood. This is implied to be guilt over having beaten his father to death. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a0637eef | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a0637eef | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Only God Forgives | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a0637eef | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a1951fc2 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a1951fc2 | comment |
In We Are All Pokémon Trainers: Fool has a moment like this after she regains her memories and is mentally confronted with the murders of people and Pokemon that she was directly responsible for. Helios has his own, except with soot after incinerating Lanius' Praetorian Guard with the technique that he and Tagg accidentally invented during the Gold Conference. |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a1951fc2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a1951fc2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
We Are All Pokémon Trainers (Roleplay) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a1951fc2 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a32b6a64 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a32b6a64 | comment |
Subverted in the The West Wing fanfic Band of Blood. Toby has this reaction to Josh's blood all over his hands while waiting in the hospital after the Wham Episode, although he wasn't even indirectly responsible and his guilt was fanciful guilt over the possibility that his decision to take down a protective canopy for PR reasons might have caused the shooting. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a32b6a64 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a32b6a64 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The West Wing | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a32b6a64 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a41b49fe | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a41b49fe | comment |
Kamisama Kiss has two examples. When Tomoe first met Mikage he was trying and failing to wash blood off of himself. Later on, Tomoe kills a demonic spider and is trying and failing to wash to blood off when Nanami shows up to help. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a41b49fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a41b49fe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Kamisama Kiss (Manga) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a41b49fe | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a54eef52 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a54eef52 | comment |
In the ongoing Hetalia: Axis Powers fanfic Clinging, Ivan (Russia) has a couple of these moments. At 9 years old, he killed his father, who was trying to rape his older sister. Six years later, the owner of the orphanage where he and his sisters wound up repeated Ivan's father's actions, this time directed at Ivan himself. He killed the owner in self-defense. Even though both of them were at least somewhat justified, he has had at least two Out Damned Spot moments. So far. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a54eef52 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a54eef52 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Hetalia: Axis Powers (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a54eef52 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a5549ed0 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a5549ed0 | comment |
The Bible: Versed in the Book of Jeremiah as God's condemnation of Israel's behavior: "For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is marked before Me." (Jer 2:22) The Four Gospels attest that Pontius Pilate washed his hands after sentencing Jesus to death, to assuage his guilt (or to show Jesus was Convicted by Public Opinion, not him). But this hasn't prevented the Apostle's Creed from stating that Jesus "suffered under Pontius Pilate." |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a5549ed0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a5549ed0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Bible | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_a5549ed0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_aa5b7cc2 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_aa5b7cc2 | comment |
Also appears in Oglaf on page 4 of "Shaft" where Ivan is desperately trying to wash off the blood of the monter he accidentally killed. Subverted because the blood is very much real. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_aa5b7cc2 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_aa5b7cc2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Oglaf (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_aa5b7cc2 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_ac33235f | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_ac33235f | comment |
In The Second Coming: Judith, after she's cooked the poisoned pasta but before Steve's eaten it can be seen drying her hair and rubbing her head in a rather forceful manner. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_ac33235f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_ac33235f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Second Coming | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_ac33235f | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b183827e | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b183827e | comment |
Versed in the Book of Jeremiah as God's condemnation of Israel's behavior: "For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is marked before Me." (Jer 2:22) | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b183827e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b183827e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Book of Jeremiah | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b183827e | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b21cd2c3 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b21cd2c3 | comment |
This trope appears twice in book II of The Faerie Queene. Canto II begins with Guyon attempting to guiltily clean his hands of the blood of the couple he failed to save from poisoning and death, only for none of the blood to come off. Canto VII: The ghost of Pontius Pilate is trapped in the river Cocytus forever failing to wash his hands clean of Christ's blood. |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b21cd2c3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b21cd2c3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Faerie Queene | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b21cd2c3 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b3f145cb | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b3f145cb | comment |
In Woyzeck, the title character murders his unfaithful girlfriend and obsesses over fear that someone will find the murder weapon. His determination to hide it in the river and wash off the blood gets him drowned. Probably. This is the version of the ending used in the opera Wozzeck (which adds some anguished last words for the title character about the water being full of blood) and Werner Herzog's film version. |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b3f145cb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b3f145cb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Woyzeck (Theatre) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b3f145cb | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b5564670 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b5564670 | comment |
In Harriet the Spy, when even her friends turn on her when he spying is exposed, Harriet jumps (fully-clothed) into a bathtub and furiously tries to scrub off their friendship tattoo. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b5564670 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b5564670 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
HarrietTheSpy | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b5564670 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b6155ef5 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b6155ef5 | comment |
!HERO: The Rock Opera: Governor Pilate at the end of "Kill The Hero" says, "I wash my hands of this sick madness." | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b6155ef5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b6155ef5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Hero (Music) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b6155ef5 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b7f9bee2 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b7f9bee2 | comment |
Xenocide. Han Qing-jao becomes a "Godspoken" after she suddenly starts feeling her hands constantly dirty, washing her hands all the time and scrubbing them with stone until they bleed. It then turns out it's because Qing-jao, as well as all the Godspoken, was born with OCD. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b7f9bee2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b7f9bee2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Xenocide | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_b7f9bee2 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bacb3a97 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bacb3a97 | comment |
The Robe: Pontius Pilate is depicted briefly as washing his hands repeatedly, likely due to unconscious guilt over Christ's crucifixion. note The version of the story found in Matthew's Gospel actually has Pilate publicly washing his hands in front of the crowd to symbolize that he is not responsible for the death of Jesus. This is an old custom referred to in the Old Testament and is the origin of the modern expression "washing one's hands of" a situation. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bacb3a97 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bacb3a97 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Robe | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bacb3a97 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bca5b926 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bca5b926 | comment |
Early in The Magician King, Eliot mentions his first meeting with Julia at a spa, during which she had taken to obsessively taking steam baths - often at such high temperatures that nobody else could stand to be in the same room. Eliot speculates that she was trying to cleanse herself of something she can't remove, but the reason why doesn't become apparent until the end: Julia had taken part in the summoning of a goddess, only to get the attention of Renard the Fox, who brutally murdered all but one of Julia's friends - and then raped Julia herself in exchange for sparing her one remaining friend. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bca5b926 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bca5b926 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Magicians | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_bca5b926 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c62995ba | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c62995ba | comment |
In Ghosts of the Past, sequel of Child of the Storm, this is one of the punishments inflicted upon Yelena Belova by Morpheus for her abuse (specifically, sexual abuse) of Harry-as-the-Red-Son. Apparently, she ended up with them worn down almost to the bone. Given what she did, no one is overly sympathetic, especially as her victim was a child. It's hinted to be prophetic, as said victim, Harry later has a horrific incident of this during a Shower of Angst, related to the sexual abuse he underwent at Belova's hands after he relives the incident. He wears through flannel, a brush, and most of a wire scrubbing pad before being stopped. |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c62995ba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c62995ba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Child of the Storm (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c62995ba | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c72e48b0 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c72e48b0 | comment |
Marnie in 100 Feet repeatedly paints over the bloodstain left by her husband from the Killing in Self-Defense she was forced to. His ghost keeps bringing the bloodstain back. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c72e48b0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c72e48b0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
100 Feet | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_c72e48b0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_cffd305d | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_cffd305d | comment |
In April Showers, Jason tears off his clothes that have the blood of the dead girl on them, only to find that some of the blood went through the fabric to his skin. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_cffd305d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_cffd305d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
April Showers | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_cffd305d | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d46cc708 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d46cc708 | comment |
Parodied in an early episode of Ed, Edd n Eddy where Edd is shown desperately trying to scrub off a grass stain from his arm, and, when this fails, giving a Skyward Scream. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d46cc708 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d46cc708 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Ed, Edd n Eddy | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d46cc708 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d4c6e9c7 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d4c6e9c7 | comment |
In the early FPS Blood, the name of this trope is mentioned, then the trope is outright subverted in the first episode. Within the first map, the protagonist (Caleb, an undead, wisecracking cowboy with a sadistic streak as big as Texas) comes across a sink, to which he replies: When he finds another sink, deep within a kitchen area, he goes on to comment: |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d4c6e9c7 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d4c6e9c7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Blood (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d4c6e9c7 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d7c4626a | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d7c4626a | comment |
In The Sandman (1989), after mercy-killing his son Orpheus (who has spent millennia as a disembodied head), Morpheus is seen washing the blood from his hands in a bowl of water, looking sadder than he ever has in the series. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d7c4626a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d7c4626a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Sandman (1989) (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d7c4626a | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d868a4e8 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d868a4e8 | comment |
Done in Pluto, by a robot with shell-shock. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d868a4e8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d868a4e8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Pluto (Manga) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_d868a4e8 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_da25a6a8 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_da25a6a8 | comment |
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: After John Walker beats a terrorist to death in public with Captain America's shield - both literally and figuratively sullying Steve Rogers' legacy - Sam and Bucky engage in a brutal fist fight with him to take it back. They just barely succeed, and Sam numbly sits on the floor trying to wipe the blood off the shield with his bare hands. It doesn't work. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_da25a6a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_da25a6a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_da25a6a8 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_db30cf92 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_db30cf92 | comment |
In Warrior Cats, Hollyleaf killed Ashfur. The official iOS app mentions that she can still taste his blood in her mouth. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_db30cf92 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_db30cf92 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Warrior Cats | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_db30cf92 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_df7fa951 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_df7fa951 | comment |
Played very straight in Casino Royale (2006), during the shower scene. Vesper's consumed by feelings of guilt after watching James kill a bunch of Mooks, and he finds her sitting in the shower, clothed, and sobbing about the blood on her. The original plan was for her to be in her underwear. Daniel Craig, upstanding gentleman that he is, convinced everyone that this wouldn't make sense since she wouldn't have stopped undressing at her underwear. So she either had to be fully clothed or fully nude. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_df7fa951 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_df7fa951 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Casino Royale (2006) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_df7fa951 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_e293455a | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_e293455a | comment |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Bad Girls". The final scene of the episode briefly shows Faith desperately trying to clean the blood of the man she accidentally killed, out of her shirt. Also, when Anya becomes a vengeance demon again, and murders a frathouse who laughed at a girl who was broken up with at a party. Complete with a "what have I done?" | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_e293455a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_e293455a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_e293455a | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_eef5470a | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_eef5470a | comment |
Kenshin of Rurouni Kenshin, a master swordsman, hates to kill but decides to become an assassin for the Choshu during the Boshin War because he wants a peaceful new era. Much angst and hand-washing during those days. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_eef5470a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_eef5470a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Rurouni Kenshin (Manga) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_eef5470a | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f0c816fb | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f0c816fb | comment |
A possible interpretation of the events of Breaking Bad episode "Fly", where Walter obsessively tries to kill a fly contaminating the lab, all the while ruminating on how he's lived too long and the guilt he feels over Jane's death. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f0c816fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f0c816fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Breaking Bad | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f0c816fb | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f22e6bb4 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f22e6bb4 | comment |
Black Hawk Down: During the denouement, after everyone has come back to the base, General Garrison is visiting the wounded soldiers at the field hospital. He sees that some blood has spilled on the floor and grabs something to clean it up with, but only succeeds in spreading it around on the floor. In this case, it's not guilt for an evil act he has committed, but rather the burden of being responsible for the men serving under his command. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f22e6bb4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f22e6bb4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Black Hawk Down | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f22e6bb4 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f32e2ef5 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f32e2ef5 | comment |
The Machinist: Reznik is constantly seen washing his hands with bleach and lye. It turns out he once killed a young boy and has repressed the memory. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f32e2ef5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f32e2ef5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Machinist | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f32e2ef5 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5799bd9 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5799bd9 | comment |
The Critic: A woman Jay dated is showering, muttering, "Still not clean yet!" when he calls. It's revealed she's been in the shower for a week. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5799bd9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5799bd9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Critic | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5799bd9 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5aa03d2 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5aa03d2 | comment |
On My Honor: As the Newberry Award-winning book goes on, the guilt-ridden protagonist keeps smelling the river everywhere he goes. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5aa03d2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5aa03d2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
On My Honor | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f5aa03d2 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f6e5bd7f | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f6e5bd7f | comment |
Repo! The Genetic Opera has Nathan Wallace. He's very good at repossessing organs, but the fact that he actually enjoys his work leads to a lot of Out Damned Spot moments. It doesn't help that he's constantly being guilt-tripped by Dead Marni and taunted by the Genterns. A good example comes at the end of "Thankless Job" - when the song ends, it hits Nathan◊ about what he's doing while his arm is still in the corpse, and he ends up spraying down his uniform and tools. |
|
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f6e5bd7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f6e5bd7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Repo! The Genetic Opera | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_f6e5bd7f | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_fda45a68 | type |
Out, Damned Spot! | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_fda45a68 | comment |
At the end of the Batman (Tom King) storyline "The Gift", Booster Gold, who created a world where Bruce Wayne's parents weren't killed in a misguided attempt to help Bruce come to terms with it, For the Man Who Has Everything style, finds himself with the alternate Bruce in a certain alley in Gotham thirty years ago. When the alternate Bruce (who had already seen Thomas and Martha in his own timeline die) sees what happens, he shoots himself, and Booster gets splattered with blood. We then cut to him confessing what he's done to Batman, and he says there's a speck of blood on his goggles that just won't come off. "You see it too, right?" The goggles are immaculate. | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_fda45a68 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_fda45a68 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Batman (Tom King) (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Out, Damned Spot! / int_fda45a68 |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.