History Main / EvilTaintedThePlace

* A staple of Creator/HPLovecraft fiction. The Blasted Heath in Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace is either this or LeakingCanOfEvil. Exham Priory in Literature/TheRatsInTheWalls, and specifically the dark cavernous realm under it, where rampant cannibalism was practiced, drove the descendant of the family mad and caused him to revert to his ancestors' murderous habits.

!!Examples

* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': The ''whole world'' suffers from this due to [[GodOfEvil Morgoth]] pouring his spirit into it to control it. In the early days the world was as beautiful and perfect as Valinor before [[SatanicArchetype Morgoth]] introduced evil, suffering, and decay. This also affects everyone who lives outside of Valinor, even to the present day.
-->"The lies that Melkor, the mighty and accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days."

** A variation with the orks: a planet that's been invaded once will pretty much always have them, since the way they reproduce is by releasing spores on death that float around and eventually mature into even more orks (these are known as feral orks, and have a lower level of technology than the regular kind), though using fire to dispose of their corpses helps a bit. Having a completely infertile world (Forge and Hive worlds usually quickly become such) helps a lot more.

* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': The ''whole world'' suffers from this due to [[GodOfEvil Morgoth]] pouring his spirit into it to control it. In the early days the world was as beautiful and perfect as Valinor before [[{{Satan}}Morgoth introduced evil, suffering, and decay. This also affects everyone who lives outside of Valinor, even to the present day.
"The lies that Melkor, the mighty and accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days."

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K''

* ''Franchise/{{Ninjago}}''. The ultimate evil Overlord was defeated by the heroes in the middle of a crowded city in a major "final" battle that apparently destroyed the Overlord forever and created a clearing about the size of a small park. Following a TimeSkip of a few years they come back to this site and discover that an eccentric tech genius has built a sky scraper right on top of the clearing. Through this fine fellow's GenreBlindness a remnant of the ultimate evil becomes a virus in the network of his systems.

->''They had come to the desolation that lay before Mordor: the lasting monument to the dark labour of its slaves that should endure when all their purposes were made void; a land defiled, diseased beyond all healing, unless the Great Sea should enter in and wash it with oblivion.''

Compare SealedEvilInACan (for when an presence is sealed within a place), LeakingCanOfEvil (for when the originator of the evil is not directly present but is still is an active part of the threat), and VillainousLegacy (for when the work of a villain lives beyond them). See also UnholyGround.

Contrast IndianBurialGround for when a sight is actively haunted by a presence.

** A place contaminated by the forces of evil is forever tainted, even if it was originally built by one of the Free Peoples (one example is Minas Morgul, formerly a Gondorian city of Minas Ithil, which was so tainted by evil that the GenreSavvy Gondorians had to destroy it rather than reclaim after Sauron's defeat). Various attempts to reclaim places such as Moria (a former Dwarven underground kingdom) invariably end in tragedy. No one makes an attempt to claim Saruman's tower of Orthanc after the evil wizard is banished: they just surround Orthanc with Ents and Huorns and make sure no one tries to squat in the tower. Only the places that were merely destroyed by Sauron's minions, not claimed as their own, such as Osgiliath and Fornost, are rebuildable and reclaimable.

Compare SealedEvilInACan (for when an presence is sealed within a place), LeakingCanOfEvil (for when the originator of the evil is not directly present but is still is an active part of the threat), and VillainousLegacy (for when the work of a villain lives beyond them).

* Urban legends about St. Petersburg in Russia portray it as "a city built on bones", referring to the fact that it was built by forced serf labor and many builders died during construction, and to the city's founder Peter the Great's general cruelty (and that's not even touching the German siege in WorldWarII, when it was called Leningrad). In these legends, St. Pete is usually the place where something mysterious, gothic and fearsome happens.

* Urban legends about St. Petersburg, Russia portray it as "a city built on bones", referring to the fact that it was built by forced serf labor and many builders died during construction, and to the city's founder Peter the Great's general cruelty. In these legends, St. Pete is usually the place where something mysterious, gothic and fearsome happens.
* This is sometimes the reasoning behind lowering the prices of houses where people have died in. People do not like places where people have died, and they might not even believe in ghosts. The belief that death might leave some sort of mark on a place, if not an out right ghost has driven off many a customer from an old house.

* A staple of HPLovecraft fiction. The Blasted Heath in Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace is either this or LeakingCanOfEvil. Exham Priory in Literature/TheRatsInTheWalls, and specifically the dark cavernous realm under it, where rampant cannibalism was practiced, drove the descendant of the family mad and caused him to revert to his ancestors' murderous habits.

* A staple of HPLovecraft fiction. The Blasted Heath in TheColourOutOfSpace is either this or LeakingCanOfEvil. Exham Priory in Literature/TheRatsInTheWalls, and specifically the dark cavernous realm under it, where rampant cannibalism was practiced, drove the descendant of the family mad and caused him to revert to his ancestors' murderous habits.

* A staple of HPLovecraft fiction. The Blasted Heath in TheColourOutOfSpace is either this or LeakingCanOfEvil. Exham Priory in TheRatsInTheWalls, and specifically the dark cavernous realm under it, where rampant cannibalism was practiced, drove the descendant of the family mad and caused him to revert to his ancestors' murderous habits.

** A variation with the orks: a planet that's been invaded once will pretty much always have them, since the way they reproduce is by releasing spores on death that float around and eventually mature into even more orks (these are known as feral orks, and have a lower level of technology than the regular kind), though using fire to dispose of their corpses helps a bit.

While the things left behind can be anything between [[ArtifactOfDoom belongings]] left by the previous evil, to malicious magical remnants lurking in the walls, all of them will without fail, will be extremely well hidden and easily missed by any initial scan. However, obvious things like garbage or chemicals that the previous occupant didn't properly dispose of may also rear their head as some kind of threat. The most likely places characters will find residue when it does manifest itself, will be in the basements, attics, and storage spaces of the structure. In cases where the evil residue is not centered around an object or location, it may be present throughout the entire residence in the shape of a curse.

Canny Villains can even weaponize the residue by leaving a Fail Safe or SoulJar in dusty corner of the building. Not So-Canny villains can just take the option of leaving a malevolent curse that persists after their departure/demise. The most common cause of attacks however, is people unearthing and tampering with physical remnants of the previous evil.

How comfortable would you be with moving into the old Dark Lord's citadel? Or spending the night in Count Dracula's vacant coffin? Maybe you would you fancy a dip in the old dunking pond where the witch was finally defeated? If you feel that some unspeakable lingering evil will come to claim your soul and send you into damnation if you even think about doing these things then you have the right instincts.

Compare SealedEvilInACan for when an presence is sealed within a place.

Compare LeakingCanOfEvil for when the originator of the evil is not directly present but is still is an active part of the threat.

Compare VillainousLegacy for when the work of a villain lives beyond them.

* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' when Marge sells a murder house to her neighbors without explaining the history of the property. Of course, Marge feels guilty about this soon after the transaction, and she decides to offer them their deposit back the next time she meets with them. When she finally goes to explain and apologize about the omission she discovers that they already have found out about it. They aren't angry at her about it and are in fact delighted with the house's history. The most troubling part about it is, the neighbors exhibit a bus load of horror movie tics during the conversation. Marge and the audience can't tell if they're just joking or if an actual remnant of evil exists within the property.

* The bloodstain on the carpet from ''Literature/TheCantervilleGhost'' is a literal example. It started out as RustproofBlood from the murdered Lady du Canterville, however, Mr. Otis cleaned it up. Simon du Canterville, the titular spectre, won't have it and keeps replacing it. By using Virginia Otis's oil paints.

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