A Sub-Trope of Literal Metaphor. It started as nothing more than a simple simile in the real world to describe a look of utter shock, surprise, and/or fright. But at some point, no one knows quite when and no one knows quite where, some genius realized characters in fiction who really have seen a ghost would... look like they've just seen a ghost. Ergo, when characters enter screaming and running from a ghost (or any supernatural creature that would frighten your average Muggle), it is customary for a Genre Blind character to say in complete jest, "What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost." Alternatively, the line may be said mockingly by the 'ghost' - whether they're literally a ghost, some other kind of undead, or merely wrongly believed to be dead - themselves.
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| - You Look Like You've Seen a Ghost
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| - A Sub-Trope of Literal Metaphor. It started as nothing more than a simple simile in the real world to describe a look of utter shock, surprise, and/or fright. But at some point, no one knows quite when and no one knows quite where, some genius realized characters in fiction who really have seen a ghost would... look like they've just seen a ghost. Ergo, when characters enter screaming and running from a ghost (or any supernatural creature that would frighten your average Muggle), it is customary for a Genre Blind character to say in complete jest, "What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost." Alternatively, the line may be said mockingly by the 'ghost' - whether they're literally a ghost, some other kind of undead, or merely wrongly believed to be dead - themselves.
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| - A Sub-Trope of Literal Metaphor. It started as nothing more than a simple simile in the real world to describe a look of utter shock, surprise, and/or fright. But at some point, no one knows quite when and no one knows quite where, some genius realized characters in fiction who really have seen a ghost would... look like they've just seen a ghost. Ergo, when characters enter screaming and running from a ghost (or any supernatural creature that would frighten your average Muggle), it is customary for a Genre Blind character to say in complete jest, "What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost." Alternatively, the line may be said mockingly by the 'ghost' - whether they're literally a ghost, some other kind of undead, or merely wrongly believed to be dead - themselves. Parodied and subverted like crazy these days, but the mystery abounds as to why this isn't a Dead Horse Trope yet. A Sub-Trope of I Was Just Joking. Examples of You Look Like You've Seen a Ghost include:
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