Stay on the Path: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

The heroes are journeying through some dangerous area—nearly always a [[The Lost Woods|dark and mysterious forest]]. A wizard or other such guide has sent them on their way with one piece of advice: '''Stay on the Path'''. Straying from the path will lead to... well, it's often [[When Trees Attack|not]] [[Giant Spider|quite]] [[Big Badass Wolf|specified]].

 

 

{{examples}}

== Comic Books ==

 

* ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'': [[Neil Gaiman]] is a fan of this trope. Anyone who strays from the path through the Serewood will fall victim to murderous plants. This trope also shows up in ''[[The Books of Magic]]'', during the journey through Fairyland. And in ''[[The Sandman]]'', Morpheus warns his guests that he will summon each in turn, and when they are summoned they are to follow the path and not stray from it. If they do, then Morpheus cannot guarantee their safety. One of the guests strays from the path, and ends up creating his personal nemesis...

* [[Ray Bradbury]]'s ''[[A Sound of Thunder]]'' justifies this trope: leaving the path while on a hunting trip in the past could lead to [[Temporal Mutability]] problems a la [[Butterfly of Doom]]. A character messes up, leaves the path and steps on a butterfly. Dystopia ensues.

* David from ''[[The Book of Lost Things]]'' is warned to stay off the road; when he strays to pick an apple, he is captured by a hunter.

* In ''Dream Park'', visitors at the Chamber of Horrors attraction are warned to stay on the green glowing path, as they pass through a holographic diorama of underwater terrors. One woman steps off the path anyway, and {{spoiler|is instantly snatched away and torn to pieces by a shark and an aquatic zombie! Lucky for Dream Park's liability insurance, she turns out to be a hologram too.}}

[[Category:Narrative Devices]]

[[Category:Horror Tropes]]