This Index Has Horns - TV Tropes
- ️Wed Oct 11 2023
Horns in fiction mean many things — most frequently, villainy (being affiliated with the devil), but they're also appealing for their supernatural factor or aesthetic purposes.
Some horns, such as unicorn horns and serpent horns, are said to be legendary objects that carry unprecedented power, and those who harmed such animals in pursuit for further power would face severe consequences at fate's behest.
Horns also signify inhuman-ness, and are often used to denote beasts and other non-human entities.
Horn tropes include:
- Aim for the Horn: Attacking a beast's horn (in some cases, snapping it off).
- Body Horror: If humans are transmutated into horned beings, this may be in effect.
- Crown of Horns: Crowns that imitate animal horns.
- Cute Monster Girl: Quite a few variants of Monster Girls have horns.
- Devilish Hair Horns: Meant to convey something about characters
- Hollywood Satanism: Often makes references to horned creatures.
- Horn Attack: Horns emit attacks.
- Horned Humanoid: Human-like characters with horns
- Horns of Barbarism: A cruel/inhuman character with horns.
- Horns of Villainy: Villains with a pair of horns.
- Horny Vikings: Viking helmets are horned.
- Little Bit Beastly: Characters that look humanoid, but have horns that make them stand out from ordinary humans.
Horned beings:
- Baphomet: A goat-headed, triple-horned, black-winged figure with both male and female features.
- Big Red Devil: Most (but not all) depictions of Satan portray him with horns.
- Fauns and Satyrs: Horned human/caprine beings from Classical Mythology.
- Fierce Unicorn: Unicorns are aggressive, dangerous, and ferocious.
- Kaiju: Are often horned, especially if they're reptilian.
- Kirin: A horned ungulate often compared with unicorns from Chinese Mythology.
- The Krampus: Let's hope you were on your best behaviour this year.
- Maou the Demon King: Like Satan, he's often depicted with horns.
- Mi'raj: A one-horned rabbit from Arab Mythology.
- Our Minotaurs Are Different: Being bull-like humanoid creatures, most depictions of minotaurs portray them with horns.
- Our Demons Are Different: A lot of depictions of demons in fiction portray them as horned.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Dragons are commonly depicted with horns on their head(s).
- Oni: Either have one or two horns.
- Satan: Satan is stereotypically depicted with horns.
- Satan Is Good: When some depictions of Satan are portrayed as heroic figures.
- Succubi and Incubi: Seductive horned individuals.
- Temper-Ceratops: Dinosaur variant.
- Unicorn: Horses with horns.
Hand symbols:
- Cuckold Horns: Used to indicate a man with an unfaithful wife.
- Warding Gestures: Various hand gestures in response to a shocking event.