History Main / GhostInTheMachine

* A very literal example comes from the ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' episode "Ghost in the Machine." Said episode deals with the ghost of Starscream, who is able to possess machines (in this case, other Transformers).

* ''Webcomic/KingOfTheUnknown'' co-stars Creator/LeonardoDaVinci, who on his death bed built one final, great invention to contain his spirit, so that he could continue to roam our plane of existence. In his now-robotic body, the modern-day "Vinny" acts as an agent of the U.S. GovernmentAgencyOfFiction known (to few) as IRSU. There, he constructs various technological wonders necessary to investigate and eliminate forces of the unknown and supernatural. He is also the roommate and best RobotBuddy of the series' titular protagonist, the [[Music/ElvisPresley King of Rock'n'Roll]].

** In one instance, two accountants are seen working inside Peter's skull as he suffers a hangover. In another, we cut to the inside of his brain, as the last brain cell after Peter's heavy drinking killed the rest (in homage to ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E8TimeEnoughAtLast Time Enough at Last]]") reflects on having time enough at last to read all his books... [[CruelTwistEnding only to suffer the same terrible fate as his Twilight Zone counterpart]].

* In ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'', all the characters have swarms of pixies that sometimes appear around their heads and represent aspects of their personality. They have iconic outfits that show what they represent. Most characters have an angel and a devil, but sometimes the angels are evil too. Interestingly, while the characters can only see their own pixies (and only when the pixies are talking) pixies can see the pixies of other characters and communicate with them when both sets are active.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Anime/NeoHumanCasshern'' the human scientist Tetsuya Azuma needed to find a method where he could stand against [=BK=]-1 in combat, and so transferred his mind into the titular android.
* Sayo of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' is both a figurative AND literal example. For starters, she is an ''actual ghost'' possessing a tiny doll. This tiny doll pilots a HumongousMecha, which is to say, a [[MobileSuitHuman normal sized robot]]. Built to look like her.

* In [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness early episodes]] of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Sakura had an "Inner Sakura" in her head. Inner Sakura was mostly just a device to let the audience know what Sakura [[InnerMonologue really thought of a given situation]], so there was no need for it once she became more assertive and outgoing. However, Inner Sakura did help her shake off Ino's mind control at one point, so whether it was an actual alternate personality or not is left up in the air.
* A major part of the premise of ''Manga/ShugoChara'', where the Guardian Charas within everybody are their Ghost in the Machine brought out into the real world. Most people have one, but heroine Amu has three [[spoiler:later four]]. That's one very busy machine.
* ''Manga/BGataHKei'' has everyone's sexual desires taking the form of small gods (or at least godlike) people that appear around their head.

* This is the main part of a {{Josei}} manga and adapted film called ''Manga/PoisonBerryInMyBrain''. Starring a 30 year-old woman's Boss/Reason, Past/Memory, Impulse, Pessimism, and Optimism--all personified as people having a business meeting in her brain.

* "The Nervs" were a similar idea in ''Smash!''
* In Leah Moore's ''Albion'' (which did to UK comics of the seventies what [[Creator/AlanMoore her father's]] ''ComicBook/LeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' did to Victorian literature), Numskulls and Nervs are both called "Menorgs", relating them to the rather odd theories of Alfred William Lawson.
** Note that Numskulls and Nervs (and indeed Menorgs) don't just run the brain, they run the ''entire body''. There's a Numskull in the mouth whose job is to shovel food down the hatch, and another whose job is to process it when it gets to the stomach.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* The film ''Film/OsmosisJones'' features a less metaphysical version, showing a brain inhabited by technicians tapping away at computers which represent neurons.
* The Creator/{{Pixar}} film ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' is based around this concept, with characters representing Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger living in the head of a young girl. There are also teams of "mind workers" who run the other aspects of the brain such as memory, reason, and imagination.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In the film version of Creator/StephenKing's ''Riding the Bullet'', while Alan Parker is in the front seat of several vehicles, his inner self is in the back [[DeadpanSnarker snarking all the way.]] His last driver, dead and well-aware of the goings-on in the story, turns around and yells at Parker's inner-self to ''shut up already!''
* In a segment of Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/EverythingYouAlwaysWantedToKnowAboutSexButWereAfraidToAsk'' (1972), Creator/BurtReynolds plays the master controller of an unseen man's body, while Woody plays a sperm.
* Scrooge and the three spirits in ''WesternAnimation/AChristmasCarol2009'' are depicted this way, and [[ActingForTwo all are played by Jim Carrey]].

* As mentioned above, ''Series/HermansHead'' depicted the thought processes of the title character as arguments between four personified aspects of his personality living in a loft apartment.
* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', the good Alexander inside evil Lex's head.

* An episode of ''Series/CornerGas'' had this, in Hank's head. Lacey almost shows him how to open a notoriously difficult carafe, but he stops her, saying he has a limited amount of room in his head. Cut to a Hank sitting at a desk in front of some boxes. Another one comes up to him to place a box of Knock-Knock Jokes next to the Music/{{Bananarama}} Lyrics. A minute later, Hank tries to tell a joke, but he says "Bananarama" instead of the proper punchline. Cut to his head again, where the boxes have all fallen and mixed together.

* In the ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'' episode "Journey to the Center of the Punk," the ultimate destination of Howard's FantasticVoyagePlot is Vince's brain: a lone cell who looks like Vince and spends all its time watching a television that only shows people who look like Vince.
* In ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', Jerry is dating a girl who is gorgeous and sexy, but not very bright. His conflict over this manifests itself in a scene where his brain (Jerry in a brain-shaped hat) and his penis (Jerry in a flesh-toned military helmet) face each other off in a chess game until one folds.
* ''Series/LizzieMcguire'' often featured monologues and asides from an animated version of Lizzie depicting her inner thoughts.
* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', over the course of the series, John has had everything from retreating into his inner self to try to work ideas out, to literal multi-layered ''wars'' inside his mind. On a day to day basis, his inner self usually has prolonged conversations with [[spoiler:Harvey, Scorpius's mind clone who is [[EnigmaticMinion mostly almost not entirely]] trying to help John. ...[[MagnificentBastard Maybe]].]]

* Inverted by the ''Music/Apollo440'' instrumental track "Machine In The Ghost".
* In Music/PoetsOfTheFall's [[https://youtu.be/xfvtPTvuFTA "Drama for Life,"]] a "prolific designer" that personifies the singer's unrestrained creativity is [[MissionControlIsOffItsMeds off-leash]], alternately depicted as a madman or rampaging animal with which the singer is in conflict.

* The final villain in ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'' is revealed to be one of these -- specifically, Max's super-ego, plotting to destroy both of them and a huge part of New York in order to save both others and himself from having to put up with Max.
* A DummiedOut concept in ''VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity'' involved the characters using the Psychetron to enter others' minds to retrieve information they forgot. Levels inside Coco and Cortex's brain would have involved the player fighting off all the weird inhabitants fabricated by their mind. The one remainder of this in the final game is Cortex inadvertantly trapping himself in Crash's brain in the ending. Said brain is just a population of Crashs roaming around and dancing.

* ''Webcomic/MenageA3'': Most of the cast seems to get ShoulderAngels, but Sandra has her id, ego and superego debating whether or not Didi is flirting with her.
* ''Webcomic/ImMyOwnMascot'' has Indie Kevin, a badly drawn version of the main character who seves as his self-loathing and Kevin's inner five-year-old, who seems completely unphazed by him.
* Webcomic/YumisCells are little people that live in her brain and embody several aspects of her personality, mental functions, and responsibilities. To name just a few, Rational and Emotional Cell embody the conflict of logic versus emotions, Hunger Cell is Yumi's desire to eat ([[BigEater and it's the largest Cell]]), Naughty Cell is responsible for Yumi's dirty thoughts, and Love Cell is the Prime Cell who can overpower any other Cell with ThePowerOfLove. Some Cells, like Writer Cell, have died due to disuse. Other characters have different Prime Cells depending on their personalities, like Babi's Detective Cell indicating that he's very observant.

* ''WebVideo/SandersSides'' focuses on the moral dilemmas faced by a fictionalized version of Creator/ThomasSanders, represented by his conversations with the "Sides", aspects of his personality personified as Thomas in different outfits.

* A number of shows have applied the trappings of {{Robocam}} to human characters, including ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''Series/{{Coupling}}''.

* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' explained that everyone has a "little hero" trapped inside their mind. Actual heroes have them free and in charge. Villains have them tied up and gagged. Darkwing's is not only free, but partnered with a grotesque monster that represents his ego.
* ''Reason and Emotion'', a [[WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts Disney]] WartimeCartoon, revolved around this concept. Apparently, the inside of one's head is like a car, and inside it are Reason (a prim and proper guy in a business suit) and Emotion (an unruly caveman). When Reason is in the driver's seat, everything is fine, but when Emotion is in charge... well, apparently you run the risk of turning into a Nazi. The short ends with both Reason and Emotion as pilot and co-pilot on an Allied bombing mission. A segment from this cartoon set in a woman's head, with a prim librarian-type and an impulsive wild girl, and no wartime references, often played on Disney TV shows.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'':
** In an episode, Timmy travels inside Vicky's brain to find that it is run by an army of computer technicians. It turns out that Vicky is so nasty because the technician responsible for controlling her "nice" emotions never shows up for work.
** Another episode involves Timmy wishing to have no emotions, which results in the emotions flowing out of his head in the form of colorful little characters (such as a white square for Common Sense, a pink heart for Love, and a green thing for Envy).

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'', Little Dog is trying to think of a plan, and we cut to the inside of his head, where his brain has an "OUT OF ORDER" sign hanging from it, and a sad little repairman sitting next to it and lamenting "I can't fix it! I just can't fix it!"
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' episode "Nevermore", Beast Boy and Cyborg find themselves trapped in AnotherDimension which is really Raven's mind, inhabited by copies of Raven with different personalities and costume colors -- as well as her demonic father and some creepy [[RedEyesTakeWarning red-eyed]] crows.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BrandyAndMrWhiskers'', Whiskers' brain is a separate entity in the vein of this, and for some reason he's ''Jewish''. On multiple occasions, he gets fed up with Whiskers not paying any attention to him, and leaves. This doesn't seem to slow Whiskers down, although he's invariably despondent that his brain has abandoned him.
* ''WesternAnimation/IlEtaitUneFois'' used this metaphor extensively, up to the point that the nucleii of every cell in the body were represented by fully staffed command centers.
* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'': In "The Racing Bug", the eponymous {{Puppeteer Parasite}}s climb into the brains of [[ThePollyanna Jimmy]] and [[FatIdiot Beezy]] and find little brain-like blobs driving little toy car rides like the ones you find at a mall. Jimmy's happily gives up his post when requested by the bugs, while Beezy's is asleep on duty and snarls at the bugs before being driven off.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' shows that Roger did, in fact, have a conscience modeled after Jiminy Cricket. It was caged and dying of neglect before finally committing suicide, [[ComedicSociopath which explains a lot]].
* The ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Monster From the Id" reveals that Candace's mental landscape is mostly devoid of these, save for a monstrous creature wielding [[RunningGag a Ducky Momo club]] that represents her Id.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': Shows up in "Hoss Delgado: Spectral Exterminator", the first episode to feature Hoss Delgado. When Grim begs him to destroy him because he's a slave to two rambunctious kids, Hoss is so dumbfounded, we see inside his mind a hamster running on his wheel and slowly coming to a stop.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Dimwit Dexter", while Dexter is overworking himself, we see his brain being represented as a nuclear plant whose core is about to have a meltdown. The men inside initiate a temporary shutdown so the core can cool off, which turns Dexter into an idiot, until they turn the plant back on at the end.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheEpicTalesOfCaptainUnderpants'': In "The Strange Strife of the Smelly Socktopus", George and Harold deliberately try to get suspended, and we go into Mr. Krupp's mind to see a meeting between Angry Krupp, Hungry Krupp, Happy Krupp, Sad Krupp, and Paranoid Krupp on whether to suspend the boys.
* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' has the premise that peoples' computers (and the internet) have beings living inside them, running the place-- and we're unaware that not only do these beings exist, we're [[FridgeHorror killing them every time we play a game against the computer and win]]. However, as the series takes place entirely within the Net-- and more to the point, the city of Mainframe-- we only see ourselves from the POV of the sprites, binomes and others who regard "the User" as a deity of some kind.[[note]]The User was later revealed in the live-action follow-up ''Series/ReBootTheGuardianCode'', but [[FanonDiscontinuity that show never happened in the eyes of most fans]].[[/note]]

* ''[[http://www.comedity.com/index.php?strip_id=35 Comedity]]'':

** This is actually a recurring gag in the strip; at one point, the facets of the main character's personality (including his [[GoodAngelBadAngel inner angel, inner devil]], muse, and inner ninja) are shown in a hot tub... and then the one representing his psyche realizes they're moving and storms out of the hot tub to find out who the hell is ''driving''.

* An episode of ''Series/CornerGas'' had this, in Hank's head. Lacey almost shows him how to open a notoriously difficult carafe, but he stops her, saying he has a limited amount of room in his head. Cut to a Hank sitting at a desk in front of some boxes. Another one comes up to him to place a box of Knock-Knock Jokes next to the Bananarama Lyrics. A minute later, Hank tries to tell a joke, but he says "Bananarama" instead of the proper punchline. Cut to his head again, where the boxes have all fallen and mixed together.

* Some people who experience the phenomena referred to as multiple personalities (or MPD or DID, in cases where it's dysfunctional) report having spaces within their minds where the various selves interact and converse.
** This extends to (and is very common among) people who create these other "personalities" intentionally.[[note]]Yes, this is possible, which should come as good news to anyone who read the above bullet point and decided it was an experience they wanted.[[/note]] These intentionally-created personalities are popularly known as "[[{{Tulpa}} tulpas]]", and there are [[http://tulpa.info various sites]] [[http://tulpa.io on the Internet]], including a [[http://reddit.com/r/tulpas subreddit]] on Website/{{Reddit}}, dedicated to the practice.
[[/folder]]

* Scrooge and the three spirits in ''WesternAnimation/AChristmasCarol2009'' are depicted this way, and [[TalkingToHimself all are played by Jim Carrey]].

** This extends to (and is very common among) people who create these other "personalities" intentionally.[[note]]Yes, this is possible, which should come as good news to anyone who read the above bullet point and decided it was an experience they wanted.[[/note]] These intentionally-created personalities are popularly known as "[[{{Tulpa}} tulpas]]", and there are [[http://tulpa.info various sites]] [[http://tulpa.io on the Internet]] including a [[http://reddit.com/r/tulpas subreddit]] dedicated to the practice.

* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' has the concept that peoples' computers (and the internet) have beings living inside them, running the place-- and we're unaware that not only do these beings exist, we're [[FridgeHorror killing them every time we play a game against the computer and win]]. However, as the series takes place entirely within the Net-- and more to the point, the city of Mainframe-- we only see ourselves from the POV of the sprites, binomes and others who regard "the User" as a deity of some kind.[[note]]The User was finally revealed in ''Series/ReBootTheGuardianCode'', but [[FanonDiscontinuity that show never happened]],[[/note]]

* The film ''Film/OsmosisJones'' featured a less metaphysical version, showing a brain inhabited by technicians tapping away at computers which represented neurons.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** In an episode, Timmy travels inside Vicky's brain to find that it is run by an army of computer technicians. It's revealed that Vicky is so nasty because the technician responsible for controlling her "nice" emotions never showed up for work.
** Another episode involves Timmy wishing to have no emotions, which resulted in the emotions flowing out of his head in the form of colorful little characters(such as a white square for Common Sense, a pink heart for Love, and a green thing for Envy).
* A very literal example in ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' Season 3, the episode ''Ghost In The Machine,'' deals with the ghost of Starscream, who is literally able to possess machines (other Transformers).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': Shows up in the first episode to feature Hoss Delgado. When Grim begs him to destroy him because he's a slave to two rambunctious kids, Hoss is so dumbfounded, we see inside his mind a hamster running on his wheel and slowly coming to a stop.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Dimwit Dexter", while Dexter is overworking himself, we see his brain being represented as a nuclear plant whose core is about to have a meltdown. The men inside initiate a temporary shutdown so the core can cool off, which turns Dexter into an idiot, and then they turn the plant back on at the end.

* The ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Dimwit Dexter" shows that while Dexter is overworking himself, we see his brain being represented as a nuclear plant whose core is about to have a meltdown. The men inside initiate a temporary shutdown so the core can cool off, which turns Dexter into an idiot, and then they turn the plant back on at the end.

* ''VideoGame/TheSims'' and its sequels are a computer game expression of this trope, in that the player serves to control the Sims' every move. VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval has the player play as [[{{God}} The Watcher]] and control the characters.

Cartesian philosophy (flanderised by pop culture -- consult Wiki/TheOtherWiki) includes a notion that there is, in effect, a little creature [[HappyPlace inside your head.]] It sits on your [[PinealWeirdness pineal gland]] and works the controls that make your robot-like body move around, much like the pilot of a MobileSuitHuman. The little thing is the "real you", and it's a much deeper and more interesting creature than [[MeatPuppet the physical "you"]] everyone else gets to see, mostly because the human body has lousy User Interface design. The term was actually coined as a criticism of Cartesianism by the British philosopher Gilbert Ryle.

* Some versions of ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon'' plots turn the Mob into this, serving as a physical manifestation of the protagonist's judgement instead of the puppeteers behind a [[PeoplePuppets Person Puppet]].

* At one time [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Epcot]] had an attraction called "Cranium Command" which was built around this trope. The hero had to "pilot" a twelve-year-old boy through his day with the aid/hindrance of the body's various organs, glands, etc. Especially noteworthy for Bobcat Goldthwaite's tender, nuanced performance as the adrenal glands. Curiously, the people who controlled the world's brains seemed to be randomly assigned and fired from hosts at random, one day piloting a chicken and then one day piloting a 12-year old boy.