There is absolutely nothing to fear Silence Is Golden Except when it isn't. This is a Horror trope where fear isn't induced by a traumatic visual element or by a physical threat, but by the sole lack of event. When properly done, it can result in terrifying moments. It does so for one simple reason: the creator refuses to show us or explain just what it is that's causing this horror, but we desperately wish to know, so our imagination fills in the blanks and our minds provide the content, using whatever the individual considers scary.
It often has to do with where the events are happening, generally because said place is inherently scary, but sometimes merely because of the way it is filmed or described. This trope generally comes in three flavors: The classic version, where the moment serves to build up suspense and tension, until something scary suddenly jumps at you from elsewhere.
Even if it is, it's not going to have nearly as much impact on a viewer who's been anticipating it for the last minute or so. Many times, what the directors do is make the character look around with some small light source flashlight, cellphone, camera flashes for a mysterious noise , then turn around right when the suspense reaches its peak.
Of course, they sigh when they see nothing, and then they turn around again, and WHAM! Both of these methods alternate between being the norm , in that they can still keep the tension high, even when expected.
The full version is when there really is nothing happening, but the result can be several magnitudes scarier than the classic version, because the audience is left to imagine what could have happened.
