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{{Short description|Manic laughter by a villain in fiction}} |
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An '''evil laugh''' is a stock [[narcissistic personality disorder|megalomaniacal]] [[laugh]] by a [[villain]] in [[fiction]]. In comic books, where [[supervillain]]s utter such laughs, it is variously rendered as '''mwahahahaha''', '''muhuhahaha''', '''mwahahaha''', and '''mwa ha ha''' or '''BooWHAHAHA!'''. (Compare [[Ho ho ho]].) These words are also commonly used on internet [[Blogs]], [[BBSes]], and games. There, they are generally used when some form of victory is attained, or to indicate [[superiority]] over someone else. The words are often used as either [[interjection]]s or nouns. |
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'''Evil laughter''' or '''maniacal laughter''' is [[mania|manic]] [[laughter]] by a [[villain]] in [[fiction]]. The expression dates to at least 1860.<ref name=littell64_228/> "Wicked laugh" can be found even earlier, dating back to at least 1784.<ref name=burney1784/> Another variant, the "sardonic laugh," shows up in 1714 and might date back even further.<ref name=steele_addison1714/> A 2018 paper argued that this specific type of laugh has foundations in human psychology.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kjeldgaard-Christiansen|first=Jens|date=October 2018|title=Social Signals and Antisocial Essences: The Function of Evil Laughter in Popular Culture|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/jpcu.12728|journal=The Journal of Popular Culture|language=en|volume=51|issue=5|pages=1214–1233|doi=10.1111/jpcu.12728|s2cid=149719344 }}</ref>{{Explain|date=January 2021}} |
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The evil laugh has been used for thousands of years to convey a villans feeling of significance. |
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For men it starts off as a low rumbling, in the back of the throat, slowly accending to a loud cackle. For women, on the other hand, it begins as a hoarse scratchy sound, and then rises to a maniacal laugh- however, this could work either way. |
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In comic books, where [[supervillain]]s utter such laughs, they are variously rendered as ''mwahahaha'', ''muwhahaha'', ''muahahaha'', ''bwahahaha'', etc.<ref name=zawacki_dignan2003/> These words are also commonly used on internet [[blog]]s, [[bulletin board system]]s, and games. There, they are generally used when some form of victory is attained, or to indicate [[superiority complex|superiority]] over someone else ([[Owned (slang)|ownage]]), or also mockingly at a statement one finds hard to believe but which was uttered in earnestness. |
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The [[Evil Overlord List]] notes that evil laughter often distracts the villain from important details that the hero can use to escape or prevail. |
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During the 1930s, the popular radio program ''[[The Shadow]]'' used a signature evil laugh as part of its presentation. This was a rare case of a non-villain character using an evil laugh, and it was voiced by actor [[Frank Readick]]. His laugh was used even after [[Orson Welles]] took over the lead role.<ref name=mott2009/> Actor [[Vincent Price]]'s evil laugh has been used or copied many times in radio, film, music, and television,{{citation needed|date=December 2010}} notably at the end of the music video ''[[Michael Jackson's Thriller (music video)|Michael Jackson's Thriller]]''. |
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==Popular culture== |
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Characters that use an evil laugh include: |
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*[[Doctor Claw]] from the popular childrens cartoon series [[Inspector Gadget]] |
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*[[Mojo Jojo]] from [[The Powerpuff Girls]] |
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*[[Shao Kahn]] from the ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' series |
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*[[Bryan Fury]] from the ''[[Tekken]]'' Series |
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*[[Devil Jin]] from ''[[Tekken 5]]'' |
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*[[General Skarr]] from ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'' |
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*[[Grim (Billy and Mandy)|Grim]] from ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'' |
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*[[X-Death]] in ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'' |
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*[[Kefka]] in ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' |
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*[[Luca Blight]] in ''[[Suikoden II]]'' (HOO HOO HOO HA HA HA!!!) |
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*[[Ernst Stavro Blofeld|Blofeld]] in the opening sequence of ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'' |
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*[[King Bowser|Bowser]] from the ''[[Mario]]'' series |
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*[[Ganondorf]] from the [[Legend of Zelda]] series |
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*[[Joker (comics)|The Joker]] from ''[[Batman]]'' |
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*[[Green Goblin]] from ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]]'' |
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*[[Hobgoblin (comics)|Hobgoblin]] from ''[[Spider-Man]]'' |
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*[[Zim (Invader Zim)|Zim]] from [[Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon]]'s ''[[Invader Zim]]'' |
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*[[Ming the Merciless]] from ''[[Flash Gordon]]'' |
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*[[Doctor Evil]] from the ''[[Austin Powers]]'' movie |
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*[[Doctor Eggman]] from the Sonic the hedgehog video games ("HOO! HOO! HOO! HOO! HOO!") |
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*[[Yautja|Alien hunter]] from the film ''[[Predator (film)|Predator]]''. |
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*[[Covenant Elite]] from the video game [[Halo: Combat Evolved]]. Usually they make evil laughter when they defeated the [[Master Chief (Halo)|Master Chief]]. |
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*[[Malcolm Betruger|Dr. Malcom Betruger]] from [[Doom 3]] |
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*Professor Miloch from ''[[Blake and Mortimer]]'' |
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*"Lamont Cranston" in the [[radio drama]] ''[[The Shadow]]''. |
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*[[Jack Spicer (Xiaolin Showdown)|Jack Spicer]] in ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'' |
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*[[Wuya]] in ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'' |
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*{{rvbchar|O'Malley}} in the [[machinima]] series ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'' |
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*Mandark in the animated series ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' ("HA-Haha! Ha Haha Haha!") |
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*[[Freeza]], [[Raditz]] and [[Cell (Dragon Ball)|Cell]] from ''[[Dragon Ball Z]]'' |
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*[[Kodachi]] "the Black Rose" from ''[[Ranma 1/2]]'' ("OHHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!") |
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**[[Ayeka Masaki Jurai|Ayeka]] from [[Tenchi Muyo!]], and |
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**Naga the White Serpent from [[Slayers]] also have the same laugh. |
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*[[Katsuhiko Jinnai]] from ''[[El-Hazard]]'' |
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*[[Albel Nox]] from the video game ''[[Star Ocean 3]]'' |
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*[[Lezard Valeth]] from the video game ''[[Valkyrie Profile]]'' |
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*Isaac from the video game ''[[Castlevania: Curse of Darkness]]'' |
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*[[Albedo (Xenosaga)|Albedo]] from the game ''[[Xenosaga]]'' |
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*[[Robert Blake (actor)|Robert Blake's]] unnamed character in ''[[Lost Highway]]'' |
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*[[Sarevok]] from ''[[Baldur's Gate series#Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate]]'' |
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*The Summoner from ''[[Diablo II]]'' |
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*[[Purple Tentacle]] from ''[[Day of the Tentacle]]'' |
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*[[Minor characters in Monkey Island#Murray the demonic talking skull|Murray]] the talking skull from the [[Monkey Island series|''Monkey Island'' game series]] |
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* Master Hand from [[Super Smash Brothers]] |
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*[[Dark Samus]] from [[Metroid Prime 2: Echoes]] |
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*[[Evil Emperor Zurg]] from [[Toy Story]]'s [[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command]] |
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*Hector Con Carne from [[Evil Con Carne]] |
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*[[Jabba the Hutt]] and [[Emperor Palpatine]] (exhibiting the rarer "evil cackle") from [[Star Wars]] |
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* Various characters from [[One Piece]] |
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*[[Jafar]] from [[Disney's Aladdin]] |
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*[[Sideshow Bob]] from [[The Simpsons]] |
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*[[Megabyte]] from [[ReBoot]] |
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*The Phantom from [[The Phantom of the Opera]] (musical only) |
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* ZeeBad from [[The Magic Roundabout (film)|Doogal]] (American version) "The evil laugh comes from deep down the throat" in a parodical direct self-reference. |
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*[[Dr. Nefarious]] from the video game [[Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal]] |
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In films, evil laughter often fills the soundtrack when the villain is off camera. In such cases, the laughter follows the hero or victim as they try to escape. An example of this is in ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', where [[List of Indiana Jones characters#René Belloq|Belloq]]'s laugh fills the South American jungle as [[Indiana Jones (character)|Indiana Jones]] escapes from the Hovitos. |
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Other notable occurrences of the evil laugh in popular culture include: |
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==References== |
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*the fade-out of the video for the song "[[Tribute (song)|Tribute]]" by [[Tenacious D]] |
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{{reflist|refs= |
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*the song "[[Welcome to the Pleasuredome (song)|Welcome to the Pleasuredome]]" by [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]] |
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*the end of [[Vincent Price]]'s spoken "rap" in [[Michael Jackson]]'s ''[[Thriller (song)|Thriller]]'' |
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*the song "[[Feel Good Inc]]" by [[Gorillaz]] |
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*various occurrences in the [[Dilbert]] cartoons, usually though not always by [[Dogbert]], and usually spelled "Buwahahah" or some variation. |
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* Manolo Yanes From CSBS |
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*the song [[Peek-a-Boo]] by [[Devo]] |
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Professional wrestler [[Ted DiBiase]] was well known for an evil laugh whenever he performed as the Million Dollar Man during his run in the WWF. Although he doesn't usually laugh, [[Mark Callaway|The Undertaker]] does give a spine-chilling laugh once in while at the end of a promo, especially to his brother [[Glen Jacobs|Kane]]. |
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Also, [[Marty Wright|The Boogeyman]] is known to use an evil laugh to coincide with his gimmick. |
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<ref name=littell64_228>{{citation | first1=Eliakim | last1=Littell | first2=Robert S. | last2=Littell | last3=Making of America Project | title=The Luck of Ladysmede, part X | journal=Littell's the Living Age | volume= 64 | publisher=Littell, son & company | year=1860 | page=228 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VFtXLfrj_wMC&pg=PA228 }}</ref> |
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The "evil laugh" has become an almost-total [[cliché]] in recent pop culture and is now almost only used in a [[comedy]] light or [[satire]]. For example, [[Gary Larson]] drew a ''[[Far Side]]'' cartoon which portrayed a lecture hall full of science students aspiring to be [[mad scientist]]s. The mad science curriculum, asserts Larson, requires all students to take "one semester of maniacal laughter". |
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<ref name=burney1784>{{citation | first1=Fanny | last1=Burney | title=Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay: 1778 to 1784 | editor1-first=Charlotte | editor1-last=Barrett | publisher=Bickers and son | year=1784 | page=279 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w3oVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA279 }}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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*[[Megalomania]] |
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*[[Evil genius]] |
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<ref name=steele_addison1714>{{citation | first1=Richard | last1=Steele | first2=Joseph | last2=Addison | title=The Guardian | volume=1 | issue=29 | date=April 14, 1714 | page=118 | publisher=J. Tonson | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCoJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA118 }}</ref> |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/evil_20laugh_20activated_20hand_20dryer a proposal for an evil-laugh-activated hand dryer] |
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<ref name=mott2009>{{cite book|first1=Robert L. | last1=Mott|title=The audio theater guide: vocal acting, writing, sound effects and directing for a listening audience|publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]]|date=2009|isbn=978-0-7864-4483-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCu0fdtW13MC&pg=PA31|page=31}}</ref> |
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[[Category:Clichés]] |
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<ref name=zawacki_dignan2003>{{cite book|title=How to be a villain: evil laughs, secret lairs, master plans, and more!!!|first1=Neil|last1=Zawacki|first2=James|last2=Dignan|publisher=[[Chronicle Books]]|date=2003|isbn=0-8118-4666-0|url=https://archive.org/details/howtobevillainev00zawa|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/howtobevillainev00zawa/page/23 23]}}</ref> |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Evil Laughter}} |
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[[Category:1860s neologisms]] |
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[[Category:Sound effects]] |
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[[Category:Humour]] |
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[[Category:Interjections]] |
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[[Category:Laughter]] |
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[[Category:Good and evil]] |
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[[fi:Nauraminen#Paha nauru]] |
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Latest revision as of 23:55, 5 February 2024
Evil laughter or maniacal laughter is manic laughter by a villain in fiction. The expression dates to at least 1860.[1] "Wicked laugh" can be found even earlier, dating back to at least 1784.[2] Another variant, the "sardonic laugh," shows up in 1714 and might date back even further.[3] A 2018 paper argued that this specific type of laugh has foundations in human psychology.[4][further explanation needed]
In comic books, where supervillains utter such laughs, they are variously rendered as mwahahaha, muwhahaha, muahahaha, bwahahaha, etc.[5] These words are also commonly used on internet blogs, bulletin board systems, and games. There, they are generally used when some form of victory is attained, or to indicate superiority over someone else (ownage), or also mockingly at a statement one finds hard to believe but which was uttered in earnestness.
During the 1930s, the popular radio program The Shadow used a signature evil laugh as part of its presentation. This was a rare case of a non-villain character using an evil laugh, and it was voiced by actor Frank Readick. His laugh was used even after Orson Welles took over the lead role.[6] Actor Vincent Price's evil laugh has been used or copied many times in radio, film, music, and television,[citation needed] notably at the end of the music video Michael Jackson's Thriller.
In films, evil laughter often fills the soundtrack when the villain is off camera. In such cases, the laughter follows the hero or victim as they try to escape. An example of this is in Raiders of the Lost Ark, where Belloq's laugh fills the South American jungle as Indiana Jones escapes from the Hovitos.
References[edit]
- ^ Littell, Eliakim; Littell, Robert S.; Making of America Project (1860), "The Luck of Ladysmede, part X", Littell's the Living Age, 64, Littell, son & company: 228
- ^ Burney, Fanny (1784), Barrett, Charlotte (ed.), Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay: 1778 to 1784, Bickers and son, p. 279
- ^ Steele, Richard; Addison, Joseph (April 14, 1714), The Guardian, vol. 1, J. Tonson, p. 118
- ^ Kjeldgaard-Christiansen, Jens (October 2018). "Social Signals and Antisocial Essences: The Function of Evil Laughter in Popular Culture". The Journal of Popular Culture. 51 (5): 1214–1233. doi:10.1111/jpcu.12728. S2CID 149719344.
- ^ Zawacki, Neil; Dignan, James (2003). How to be a villain: evil laughs, secret lairs, master plans, and more!!!. Chronicle Books. p. 23. ISBN 0-8118-4666-0.
- ^ Mott, Robert L. (2009). The audio theater guide: vocal acting, writing, sound effects and directing for a listening audience. McFarland. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-7864-4483-0.