History Main / GeniusLoci

* Mark Z. Danielewski's ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'', [[MindScrew possibly.]]

!!General
* A sentient Hogwarts occasionally shows up in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fics, with varying degrees of sentience.
* A sentient Atlantis (who is partial to John Sheppard) is a common feature in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' fanfics, though some of the official side novels drop hints on the matter.

!!Specific Examples

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': [[spoiler:The city of Cognouza, formerly a neighborhood of Aeor, was shunted into the Astral Sea by its leaders, the Somnovem, to escape Aeor's destruction. However, they arrived in the midst of a psychic storm that shattered the minds of every living being in the city, who then slowly merged with their city. As a result, Cognouza is a living, eternally hungry city made of flesh poorly imitating structures like houses and trees, its mind the amalgamation of thousands of eternally screaming soul fragments, with the Somnovem -- completely insane after centuries of sustained MindRape -- at the helm.]]

** Aquarius, a rogue living star responsible for the death of [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Black Canary's husband.

** The first foe the ''ComicBook/XMen'' fought in UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|of comic books}} {{Revival}} was Krakoa, the Living Island, whose life had been [[HiveMind mutated into a single organism]] by a [[NuclearMutant nuclear test]]. As of ''ComicBook/XMen2019'', Krakoa is established as a nation exclusive to mutants.

* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', the Grove is a sentient, very ancient grove of trees just off the [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] campus, and it doesn't permit visitors it doesn't like. The Whateley Universe also reveals that there are multiple such ''genii loci'' for New York City, ranging from 'Street Life' and 'The Thug' to 'Show Biz' and 'The Firefighter', all spirits representing important aspects of the city.

* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', the Grove is a sentient, very ancient grove of trees just off the [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] campus, and it doesn't permit visitors it doesn't like. The Whateley Universe also reveals that there are multiple such ''genii locorum'' in New York City, ranging from 'Street Life' and 'The Thug' to 'Show Biz' and 'The Firefighter', all spirits representing important aspects of the city.

* In ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' series: one of the stages is called "The Living Forest" which is a forest of grimacing growling trees, some of which have sharp teeth. In Mortal Kombat 9 the trees look a lot less freaky than in 2.

* Like the above, ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' treats all human beings (and animals, during the credits) as Genius Loci, though more in terms of the mind than the physical body. Riley is the Genius Loci who gets the film's primary focus.

** The Ocean qualifies to whatever degree "Everywhere but the scattered islands sticking out of it" counts as Loci.

* The 2006 CGI movie ''WesternAnimation/MonsterHouse'''s...monster house.
* The movie ''Film/OsmosisJones'' treats each human being as a Genius Loci, inhabited by trillions of sentient cells that lead human-like lives.

** And a bizarre borderline example later on: Gaia Rothstein, a century baby. Her astral form looks like the 10-year-old girl she really is, but her physical form is an island...which looks like a walking, talking, two-mile high version of the Comicbook/SwampThing.

** On a smaller scale, it is implied in some stories that [[BedlamHouse Arkham Asylum]], the Gotham City psychiatric institution which houses the various psychopaths and lunatics that Franchise/{{Batman}} frequently battles, is in fact a living entity that causes and feeds on madness, thus partly explaining why Arkham's patients have a particularly tough time being cured, and why the asylum itself is a CardboardPrison.

** A Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica limited series starring Zauriel and ComicBook/MartianManhunter declares that [[spoiler:the reason the forces of evil fail in the invasion of Heaven that happens in the end is that God ''IS'' Heaven, down to the chairs, walls, and floor. More than Heaven even, as Zauriel states:]]

* In ''Theatre/DukeBluebeardsCastle'', the castle itself is treated as a character in the opera notes, and each facet of it reveals something about its master.

* ''{{VideoGame/ULTRAKILL}}'': The Act II ARG revealed that [[spoiler:{{Hell}} is not only alive, it's '''malicious'''. Strongly implied to be the cause of [[HumanitysWake humanity's extinction]], it teleports around the souls of the damned throughout itself, it gives them augmentations, [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration locks doors throughout itself to set up the game's combat encounters]], and generally makes the beings that inhabit it miserable [[ForTheEvulz all for its own twisted amusement]].]]
-> '''Hell Expeditionist:''' [[spoiler:hell is alive. it breathes. [[ItCanThink it thinks.]] the entire area is a massive intelligent superorganism and it is harsh and it is cruel.]]