History Main / GhostPlanet

* The Hell Planet in ''PitchBlack''.

* ''DoctorWho'', "Planet of the Dead".

* {{Subnormality}} gives us [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page505.html Wonte IV]]. "There was something besides oil that came out [[DugTooDeep when the drills got down there]] and it didn't [[EldritchAbomination mix with the human mind and its fuckin' little creations]]."

Not to be confused with SpaceGhost's home world, or ''GhostWorld''.

Not to be confused with SpaceGhost's home world.

* The planet Miranda in ''{{Serenity}}''. When the Alliance tested a drug meant to curb violent emotions on the people of the planet, the result was nearly all the population ceasing to do...pretty much anything, eventually laying down and dying. The tiny percentage of people who survived had the exact opposite reaction, creating the psychotic and cannibalistic Reavers.

* Happens a lot in the ''WarHammer40000'' backstory, there's a particularly good example in the ''{{Ravenor}}'' novels.

<<|SpeculativeFictionTropes|>>

* The planet Miranda in ''{{Serenity}}''. The populace was gassed and the vast majority basically ceased to do anything at all - including breathe. A tiny minority became the ultra-violent, cannibalistic Reavers who left to harass other planets.

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' novel ''The Magician's Nephew'', the city/dimension of Charn is one of these by the time Digory and Polly arrive. The buildings, sidewalks, and other examples of human industry are mostly intact, though in a state of ruin. However, except for the witch queen Jadis, every other living thing on the planet (including vines partially pulled down walls) was killed by the Deplorable Word. It's more than a little creepy.
* Mars in [[RayBradbury Ray Bradbury's]] ''TheMartianChronicles'' is like this, showing signs of a CrystalSpiresAndTogas civilization.
* Jonathan Lethem's ''Girl In Landscape'' primarily takes place on a GhostPlanet which is being sparsely colonized by humans. There are still a few lingering aliens, but they have only a passive interest in either the humans or the relics of their ruined civilization.
* ''Revelation Space'' by Alistair Reynolds has an archaeologist main character, and the plot centers on the dead Amarantin civilization.
* In Asimov's ''[[{{Foundation}} Earth and Foundation]]'', the characters discover some of the planets where space-faring humans first settled, in ruins and devoid of intelligent life.
* Mars in HBeamPiper's short story "Omnilingual." His short story "Graveyard of Dreams," later expanded into the novel ''The Cosmic Computer'', took its title from a poem by a colonist on Mars who was apparently inspired by the planet's ruins.
* Paul S. Kemp's ''The Twilight War'' trilogy set in the Forgotten Realms reveals that [[spoiler: Shar has been doing this to other worlds and intends to do the same to Abeir-Toril.]]
[[/folder]]

* The planet Miranda in ''{{Serenity}}''.

* In ''{{Firefly}}'' this is exactly what happened to Earth. Its resources were used up, so they were forced to terraform other planets and move there.
** On Miranda, the populace was gassed and the vast majority basically ceased to do anything at all - including breathe. A tiny minority became the ultra-violent, cannibalistic Reavers who left to harass other planets.

* In ''{{Firefly}}'' this is exactly what happened to Earth. Its resources were used up, so they were forced to terraform other planets and move there. [[spoiler: As well as Miranda, when almost all the occupants became too lazy and just gave up on life, and a tiny minority became the ultra-violent, cannibalistic Reavers who left to harass other planets.]]

*** [[EarthShatteringKaboom If they're still there.]]

* In {{Spore}}, one of the worlds in your home system has a crashed spaceship on it. Before they died, the survivors left directions to a nearby system, which turns out to be a ruined planet that was devastated by the Grox. Some [[EpilepticTrees theories]] suggest that the ruins may be human in origin, especially when you consider the fact that Earth is deserted when you discover it.

---> '''Garrus:''' There are secrets here that were ''meant'' to be forgotten.

*** Of course, this all makes sense, since every 50,000 years [[spoiler: the reapers kill all sentient lifeforms.]]

* In {{Spore}} your home system features a ruined planet that was devastated by the Grox. Some [[EpilepticTrees theories]] suggest that the ruins may be human in origin, especially when you consider the fact that Earth is deserted when you discover it.

* In the upper levels of ''CityOfHeroes'', you get the chance to go dimension hopping, discovering several Ghost Dimensions, including a literal Ghost Dimension where your counterpart wiped out the entire population. Needless to say, the ghosts aren't happy to see you.

* {{Subnormality}} gives us Wonte IV. "There was something besides oil that came out [[DugTooDeep when the drills got down there]] and it didn't [[EldritchAbomination mix with the human mind and its fuckin' little creations]]."

* In ''{{Firefly}}'' this is exactly what happened to Earth. Its resources were used up, so they were forced to terraform other planets and move there.

* Kobol [[spoiler: and "Earth"]] in ''BattlestarGalactica''.