History Main / HolyGround

** Moses sees a burning bush, which tells him to remove his shoes, because he is standing on [[TropeNamer Holy Ground]].
** Prior to the attack on Jericho, Joshua is visited by the Captain of the Lord's Host, and told to remove his shoes because he is standing on holy ground.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', the church of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary_of_the_Angels_in_Chicago Saint Mary of the Angels]] is one of the few remaining true holy grounds in the world, meaning that it is mostly impervious to all dark magic and anti-human supernatural forces. [[spoiler:Except {{Fallen Angel}}s and their hosts: they can enter, but ''really'' don't like to, because it lets them sense the presence of God and reminds them horribly that they could still repent]].

** The rule only prevents Immortals from fighting. Regular humans can still kill them there, as [[spoiler:Darius]] found out first-hand.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' have a number of spells for ''creating'' holy or unholy ground, such as ''[[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/hallow.htm Hallow]]''. Generally these give {{Field Power Bonus}}es to any creatures that share the ground's alignment.

* ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'' has Blessed Places. Any place where acts of true goodness and beauty were performed can become invested with the Light. Within a Blessed place those with good intentions are strengthened, and those who spend a long time in one find it easier to gain Integrity.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', the ruins of Zanarkand are considered holy ground by the Yevon clergy. It serves as the end of a summoner's pilgrimage to acquire the Final Summoning with which to defeat Sin. [[spoiler:Turns out the city's leader, Yu Yevon, was the one who MADE Sin in the first place.]]

* Scourge forces in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' apparently lost the Battle of Light's Hope Chapel because of they fought on sacred ground.

* Zigzagged in WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017. God is so disgusted by the corrupt church that he has withdrawn his protection of the church, leaving the bishop to be killed by a demon.

* In the ''UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}}'' religion, both the temple complex and the area surrounding it (signified with the iconic red Tori gates) is Holy Ground. This is landmarked by various items such as ropes and paper. The idea is that the area beyond the temple's reach is in some measure corrupted and thus a division has to be made. But this also works in reverse, so if the temple gets corrupted and it becomes UnholyGround, the same barrier protections will seal the evil inside so it does not influence the outside world.

%% * The Ganges River for the Hindu religion.
* In the ''UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}}'' religion, both the temple complex and the area surrounding it (signified with the iconic red Tori gates) is Holy Ground. This is landmarked by various items such as ropes and paper. The idea is that the area beyond the temple's reach is in some measure corrupted and thus a division has to be made. But this also works in reverse, so if the temple gets corrupted and it becomes UnholyGround, the same barrier protections will seal the evil inside so it does not influence the outside world.

* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'': In the episode "Benwolf", Gwen and Kai need to search [[HolyGround a sacred grove]] for a specific cactus that they believe will help cure Ben's supposed [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Lycanthropy]] ([[spoiler:it won't]]). Kai explains to Gwen that this grove is where the spirits of her people go to after death. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane It's implied]] that the spirits are real after Gwen sarcastically invokes them for help in finding the cactus, which she then finds after accidentally sitting on it.

* Temples, churches, UsefulNotes/VaticanCity, many graveyards, the Ganges River...
** Interestingly done in ''UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}}'', where the temple complex and area around it (signified with the iconic red gates) is the Holy Ground, and various items such as ropes and paper are placed to mark it as such. The idea is that the area beyond the temple's reach is in some measure corrupted and thus a division has to be made. But this also works in reverse, so if the temple gets corrupted and it becomes UnholyGround, the same barrier protections will seal the evil inside so it does not influence the outside world.

* Zigzagged in WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania}}. God is so disgusted by the corrupt church that he has withdrawn his protection of the church, leaving the bishop to be killed by a demon.

* Temples, churches, Vatican City, many graveyards, the Ganges River...

* In ''Film/SleepyHollow'' the Headless Horseman cannot cross the fence into the church. When he tries throwing a weapon, it lands on the ground and dissolves. He needs more creative means of getting his victim.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', the church of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary_of_the_Angels_in_Chicago Saint Mary of the Angels]] is one of the few remaining true holy grounds in the world, meaning that it is mostly impervious to all dark magic and anti-human supernatural forces. [[spoiler:Except Fallen Angels and their hosts, they can enter just fine, but the Fallen don't like to enter (see [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone/{{Literature}} My God, What Have I Done?]] for more)]].

* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E22AllHellBreaksLoosePartTwo "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two" (S02, Ep22)]], 5 pioneer churches are used to make a Devil's Trap, preventing demons from being able to reach the Hell Gate in the center.

* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'', Wrex tells Shepherd of how his father, Jarrod, called him to a Crush, a meeting between rival Krogan clans, at the Hollows, as close to sacred ground as Krogans get. Weapons and fighting are not allowed. Of course, it's a trap, and a fight breaks out, ending with Wrex killing Jarrod. This results in Wrex becoming severely disillusioned with his own people, so he leaves Tuchanka and spends the next several centuries wandering the galaxy as a mercenary.

* Done in VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles as Prince Maximilian von Regingrave didn't want to kill off Gallian militiamen present in the ruins of a Valkyrian temple, which is considered to be holy grounds.
* Falcon's Ache in ''VideoGame/{{Arcanum}}'' is sacred to the elves, and anyone who sheds blood on the ground will have their life taken by the spirits that live there. This becomes important in a quest when you have to drive away some lumberjacks that want to claim the site as a timber yard; you can't hurt them, but you can goad them into attacking you and let the spirits kill them, so long as you don't fight back.
* Meta-example in VideoGame/UrbanDead. There's a longstanding agreement between the human and zombie players that cemeteries are considered sacred ground, that survivors will regularly try to revive zombies there, and zombies are expected to not perform any hostilities.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', the ruins of Zanarkand are considered holy ground by the Yevon clergy. It serves as the end of a summoner's pilgrimage to acquire the Final Summoning with which to defeat Sin. [[spoiler:Turns out the city's leader, Yu Yevon, was the one who MADE Sin in the first place.]]
* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, [[OurGiantsArebigger Giants]] have sites set aside strictly as the final resting place for their dead. They typically do not live near these locations and do not guard them. Giants who feel that they are nearing the end of their lives will travel to these sites to die. If a Giant dies elsewhere, other Giants will [[DueToTheDead carry his body to one of these sites]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', so-called Gaia worlds are planets that are so accommodating to life-forms that any race in the galaxy can settle them without difficulty, regardless of what climates they're accustomed to. This means you'll want to snap them up as soon as you find them, but if such worlds happen to have a name already, and an automated fleet standing guard over them, you may want to reconsider - these are a religious [[VestigialEmpire Fallen Empire's]] sacred planets, and ignoring their warnings and settling such worlds is an easy way to [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant Awaken]] them.

* Played within the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Father's Day". The ClockRoaches can't get into a church, not directly because it's holy, but because its ''status'' as a holy structure has kept it in place for a very long time and therefore it's exceptionally "solid" to them.

-->'''Duncan''': And?
-->'''Joe''': It was in Pompeii. 79 AD.
-->'''Duncan''': The volcano...

* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'' Wolfram & Hart's people found the best place to build their first building was going to be on holy ground. They had to turn it into UnholyGround by desecrating it with the blood of a serial killer.

** The last time an Immortal violated that rule was in the Temple of Isis in Pompeii. In August of 79 AD.

* In the [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Fate]] [[VisualNovel/FateZero series]], the church in Fuyuki City is considered this, being used as a neutral site for Masters to meet.

* Holy Terra, Shrine Worlds, and some SpaceMarine recruitment worlds in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'' are entire planets devoted to this trope.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', the church of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary_of_the_Angels_in_Chicago Saint Mary of the Angels]] is one of the few remaining true holy grounds in the world, meaning that it is mostly impervious to all dark magic and anti-human supernatural forces. [[spoiler:Except Fallen Angels and their hosts, they can enter just fine, but the Fallen don't like to enter (see MyGodWhatHaveIDone/Literature for more)]].