Safe houses are secure and discreet locations, typically concealed from public view designed to provide refuge and protection for individuals or groups facing threats or seeking sanctuary during times of danger or crisis. Fictional safe houses may be empty suburban houses, abandoned city rowhouses, motels, or cabins deep in the forest. Safe houses may have advanced security systems or hidden rooms within them. They are home to spies that have been double-crossed, members of a resistance movement, and criminals on the run.

Fictional safe houses are often sites used by those in hiding. The physical spaces are often unassuming, as their effectiveness relies on no one (or as few as possible) knowing their location or even that they exist. Farmhouses, cottages, or shacks in remote locations may be ideal safehouses. So too may be buildings that appear abandoned or industrial sites like warehouses.

The interior of fictional safe houses often contain elaborate security systems with cameras observing all possible points of entry. There may be hidden rooms, safe rooms, and hidden passageways within the safe house itself.