A dramatic device used in theater and film - lights are dimmed until the scene is totally obscured by darkness. On stage this accomplished by slowly turning off the lights. In film it can be done a number of ways including post production.

If properly applied, it can have a chilling or thought-provoking effect. This technique is particularly effective when no absolute resolution has been achieved, inviting the viewer to draw conclusions.

1980 motion picture thriller in which a warped, frustrated young film buff strikes back at his tormentors by dressing as characters from classic movies (Dracula, Hopalong Cassidy, James Cagney in gangster mode) and killing them.

I have to confess that not only did I see this film in the theater when it came out, but I also read the novelization. All I can say in my defense is at the time I myself was a warped, frustrated young film buff, and the idea of whacking bullies in a way that also served to confirm my superior status as a cultural cognoscente was immensely appealing.

On MUSHes, MUCKs, and other text-based role-playing games, players may list Fade To Black (often shortened to FTB) as a preference. This means that the player does not enjoy tinysex, and would rather end a scene at a suggestive moment rather than writing out everything their characters proceed to do pose by pose.

The scene is presumed to proceed offscreen. If they like, the players can pose the PC's waking up the next morning and working cricks out of their necks, rubbing the rope burns on their wrists, or making a hearty breakfast; all FTB means is that they don't have to spend hours typing out every single detail of how the characters got to that point if doing so would bore them or gross them out. In this sense, FTB is very much like fading to black in television programs and movies.

FTB preferences and policies can apply to scenes of graphic violence and horror as well as TS.