Innocent phrases that become terrifying

[RyumaruMG]

Amusingly, one of the elementary schools in my area had this on its board as I drove past earlier:

"See you next September."

[tomandtish]

"Don't Jerk and Drive". No really, South Dakota had this as an advertising campaign back in 2014. If you don't know what the campaign is actually about, it is terrifying to think how big a problem THAT must be in South Dakota that they were advertising about it...

[Jaycemonde]

"Don't Jerk and Drive". No really, South Dakota had this as an advertising campaign back in 2014. If you don't know what the campaign is actually about, it is terrifying to think how big a problem THAT must be in South Dakota that they were advertising about it...

Sounds like my kind of ad campaign.

[SaintRidley]

Gonna go with an old one, which could become pretty horrible.

"I'm sorry, I love you."

[sktarq]

Level 4 (signage on the ground floor) . . . in a facility that works with infectious agents. . . worse on the stuff my sister brought home from said work (paperwork and later explained as totally safe but freaked out the first time i saw it)

[J-H]

From a long AvatarTLA fanfic: "Harmonious accord." (ie, brainwashing if you're out of alignment, like caring too much about your child being raised by monks at another temple)

"Work makes you free." (duh)

"Hey, take a look at this." - at the dentist

"The science is settled, it's perfectly safe."

[Peelee]

"Cover the earth" Was a paint slogan if I remember correctly?

Sherwin Williams, I believe. Logo is a paint can literally covering the world with paint. Always got a bit perturbed by that.

[Jaycemonde]

Wasn't it just red paint? Because I can't see where they were being creepy or menacing if it were simply red paint or something. Definitely not. Nope.
I'm trying too hard to be funny, ignore me.

[Frozen_Feet]

"I see no flies."

This just occurred to me when I was cleaning my terrace of dead flies again. I hate how those things seem to swarm there just to die. But what if they're not really there? What if they're just hallucinations caused by my self-hating psyche? You can replace "flies" with any mundane object you find disgusting.

[Scarlet Knight]

"What? A mother can't spend time with her son without a reason?"

[Vinyadan]

Gonna go with an old one, which could become pretty horrible.

"I'm sorry, I love you."

And the terrible answer. "Thank you."

[Jaycemonde]

"It's just a prank."

Considering the kinds of horrible internet celebrities and the things they do that are justified with that phrase, I think it's pretty terrifying by now.

[danzibr]

DM: "Are you sure?"

This is my favorite so far.

"The good news is..."

[Tvtyrant]

Anytime an on duty officer asks you to "please wait here." That particular loophole is problematic for reasons I won't go into here.

[Bhu]

When I was doing research in finding a new(er) used car I used car complaints.com a lot to see what people complained about the most. I can't remember the make or model but I found one that only has too complaints, and they're both in the "other, minor" column. I take a peek cause I'm hopeful (minor complaints are stuff like cupholder breaks easy), and what do the two identical complaints say?

"May catch fire when parked." Doesn't say if the car has to actually be on while parked. I just kept getting this vision of the dealership with the occasional explosion and the salesman saying "Damn. Wind took another one."

Edit: I also had a friend with a lead foot who tried to put the (many) officers who pulled him over at ease with the phrase "There's nothing in the trunk.

Sometimes before they said anything.

Sometimes as HIS opening statement.

[The Artisan]

As a props master, these are the scariest phrases I've ever heard:

"Can we try something?"
"I had a question."
"If it's possible..." (hint: it is almost never possible!)

[AuthorGirl]

"I don't drink...wine."

"Just a reminder that IT will be updating our systems tonight."

DM: "Are you sure?"

XD yes, "Are you sure?"
Additionally:
"This will be a fun session."
"It appears to be a perfectly normal ___________."
"I've been reading too much horror lately . . ."
"Hey, I wanted a piece of that pizza." (Fast food-deprived DMs are terrifying!)

[AuthorGirl]

Amusingly, one of the elementary schools in my area had this on its board as I drove past earlier:

"See you next September."

Actually, that reminds me of several creepy Girl Guide songs, mainly because of Linger. Let's see:
"Fire's burning . . . draw nearer." I have a sick mind, but to me this does not suggest anything good.
" . . . mm-mm this is goodnight but not goodbye . . ." that line has always freaked me out. What does it mean, exactly . . . ?
"Out of my window, looking in the night, I can see the barges' flickering light . . ." to me this could be twisted in multiple nasty ways, starting with human traffiicking and proceeding through likelihoods to an attack by water spirits, hence the flickering.

This is just me, but for years, the image of Guider KerryAnne singing "Let me see your Funky Chicken" has haunted my nightmares. Doesn't count, though, since the Funky Chicken is a harbinger of doom no matter the context.

Unrelated but very relevant to this thread: "Let's have a sleepover."

[AtlanteanTroll]

Whenever Nurse Joy would say, "We hope to see you again soon!" or something to that effect. Such a bitch.

[KillingAScarab]

If you ever watch or read Neverwhere, "Mind the gap," fits into this topic.

[ebony]

Anytime an on duty officer asks you to "please wait here." That particular loophole is problematic for reasons I won't go into here.

Alternately, "Could you come with me, please?" Delivered by people in uniform, that never bodes well. Or medical professionals, I suppose.

On the subject of Gamemasters:

"Roll a d20." And afterward: "Well, I'm sure it wasn't important."

[Jormengand]

Oh, take a Fortitude save has become quite terrifying to my players.

[sktarq]

As for a DM/ST -"roll a d8" gets extreme result "oh that's gonna be different"

[Forbiddenwar]

My players never got scared by "Are you sure".

But they learned to fear my "huh. That's weird"

On the lines of innocent images being really disturbing, I recently saw schoolhouse Rock's preamble. In it it shows a large forest being wiped out and replaced with houses. To represent the growth of the us. Seriously messed up.

[Asmodean_]

"It's just a prank."

Considering the kinds of horrible internet celebrities and the things they do that are justified with that phrase, I think it's pretty terrifying by now.

"Hey stupid!" *decks in face* "Ha! You just got pranked on youtube!!!"
"No... I just got assaulted."
"ITS JUST A PRANK BRO"

[No brains]

"Check out this link!"

[TherianTheorist]

"Good news, Bad news"

[anjxed]

Test results came back positive
-your doctor

[Lethologica]

I do love a good experiment.

[Anachronity]

Steak 'n Shake seems to have two slogans. One of them is "In sight, it must be right!" which borders on the nonsensical.

But the other is just "It's a meal!"

Why yes... umm... what else would it be?