Dictionary
Pinter's Door
n.A dramatic object whose nonexistence does not prevent it from becoming threatening; the inverse of Chekhov’s Gun, deriving its significance not from eventual use, but from the expectation that something might happen involving it.
From the dramatic style of Harold Pinter, in which ambiguity, anticipation, silence, and unexplained menace frequently carry more weight than explicit action.
Example usage
(From an unpublished play by, probably, Harold Pinter):
Scene: A stage with a door which is clearly only painted on the wall.
There is a knock.
Nobody moves.
WILSON: Aren’t you going to answer it?
BEN: Answer what?
Pause.
WILSON: The door.
BEN: There isn’t a door.
Silence.
The door opens.