History Main / HungryMenace

* ''Series/TheXFiles'': Rob Roberts from the episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS07E03Hungry Hungry]]" is a soft-spoken NiceGuy who can only subsist off of [[BrainFood human brains]] and keeps his literal starvation at bay for as long as he can through appetite suppressants and sheer willpower until eventually snapping and killing someone just to survive. [[IAmAMonster He hates himself for it more and more every time, believing himself to be an irredeemable monster]].

%% Image selected via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions44
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

* In ''Literature/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', this is what happens to [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]] under the effect of an Orc Lord's Unique Skill [Starvation]. They become perpetually hungry for ''anything'' they can get their hands on and tear apart with their teeth, [[CannibalismSuperpower along with the chance to gain the traits and abilities of what they eat]]. Interestingly, despite the hunger they can't actually ''die'' from starvation as long as the Orc Lord himself eats. Surprisingly for this trope, [[spoiler:the current Orc Lord only became one and accepted this skill [[WellIntentionedExtremist because otherwise the orc tribes would have perished to the last in a great famine]]]], and the orcs once freed of its effects [[spoiler:via the Orc Lord's death and absorption by Rimuru's hands after he chooses to FaceDeathWithDignity upon receiving Rimuru's promise to help his people]] are appropriately horrified by what they did to survive.
* In ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'', [[spoiler: GOD's true nature is that of a colossal, frog-like apex predator who can easily devour the 90% of wildlife on the planet in a few swings of his overly-long tongue. The fact that he's so impossibly delicious that hordes of animals gather around him spontaneously doesn't help.]]

** The undead Fantastic Four that originated from ''ComicBook/MarvelZombies'' ''claim'' that they need flesh to survive, but since they're just walking corpses, it's really just a psychological impulse that's almost impossible to ignore. Only one person is known to have resisted the hunger: [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Doom]].

* The [[FleshEatingZombie flesh-eating zombies]] of the ''Film/LivingDeadSeries'' and its many imitators.
%%* Played with in ''Film/SurvivalOfTheDead.''

** This is subverted with [[Film/Gamera3AwakeningOfIrys Irys]]. We discover early-on in the film that it has a horrific way of feeding (ie. using the claws on its arms to impale and then drain the life-force of other creatures), but, its main goal is really [[spoiler:to merge with Ayana so it can kill Gamera allowing the Gyaos to devour all of humanity.]]
* Baragon from the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' films, as depicted in ''Film/FrankensteinConquersTheWorld''.
* The aliens in ''Film/TheDeadlySpawn'' are driven by hunger, and hunger alone.
* The cannibal killer in ''Film/TheForest1982'' is a crazy hermit who refuses to leave the cave he lives in, and hunts everything he can to feed himself.

* Jean Jacket from ''Film/{{Nope}}''. It's an enormous flying saucer that has come to Earth to abduct people and animals [[spoiler: because as it's revealed later, it's not a spaceship: it's the ''alien itself'', and it's actions are motivated purely by hunger like an airborne version of Jaws.]]
* ''Film/ReturnOfTheLivingDead'' has an unusual example: they're driven to eat the brains of living humans because it's the only thing that dulls the pain of being a living corpse. This movie is the UrExample of zombies craving brains rather than just flesh.
* The main antagonists of ''Film/TheFleshEaters'' are ravenous microbes that console all flesh they can get.

* The villain in Creator/CyrilMKornbluth's short story "The Mindworm" is an EmotionEater, and feeding on strong human emotions drains his victims to death.
* In the book ''Literature/WorldWarZ'', zombies eat any flesh, as long as it's living or almost fresh. Of course, zombies dont actually ''need'' to feed, being walking corpses, it's because the hunger response is the only thing their brains are still capable of processing.
* ''Literature/{{It}}'' feeds off the fear and pain of the victims it devours and likes to target children because their fear is more "pure" and thus more potent. Without feeding, It will starve during its period of hibernation.
* Maw-mouths in ''Literature/TheScholomance'' are NighInvulnerable {{Blob Monster}}s whose hunger can never, ever be satisfied. They are the one variety of maleficaria that no sane wizard will even try to fight.

* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'': The episode "[[Recap/FringeS01E02TheSameOldStory The Same Old Story]]" has a MonsterOfTheWeek who [[DisposableSexWorker harvests prostitutes]] for hormones which will stall his RapidAging.

* The {{Energy Being}}s in the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episodes "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E13Obsession Obsession]]", "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E14WolfInTheFold Wolf in the Fold]]", and "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E7DayOfTheDove Day of the Dove]]".
* Rob Roberts from the episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS07E03Hungry Hungry]]" of ''Series/TheXFiles'' is a soft-spoken NiceGuy who can only subsist off of [[BrainFood human brains]] and keeps his literal starvation at bay for as long as he can through appetite suppressants and sheer willpower until eventually snapping and killing someone just to survive. [[IAmAMonster He hates himself for it more and more every time, believing himself to be an irredeemable monster]].
* The bone-eating monster in the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode "[[Recap/FarscapeS01E21BoneToBeWild Bone to be Wild]]" is actually friendly, just very, very hungry.
* Pudgy Pig, a MonsterOfTheWeek on ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', was sent by Rita Repulsa to cause world hunger by eating all the food on Earth. He's never full, and is even introduced carrying a giant knife and fork. He returns later on in the first season, but is given a new chance at life after the Rangers find [[LoveRedeems he's fallen in love with a normal pig.]]

* The Creator/GilbertAndSullivan play ''Theatre/{{Ruddigore}}'' (1887). Centuries ago, the first Baronet of Ruddigore persecuted witches. As she was burnt at the stake, one of his victims cursed all future Baronets of Ruddigore to commit a crime every day, or die in agony. Every Baronet of Ruddigore since then has died when he couldn't bring himself to continue a life of crime. Luckily the current Baronet discovers a CurseEscapeClause.

* In ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11,'' Skarlet was saved from a life of crushing starvation on the streets when Shao Khan saw her potenial, took her under his wing, and taught her blood magic. She now needs to drink blood to survive, which she gets from killing her opponents, and tells other combatants that she's constantly hungry.

** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri'' introduces the the Deviljho, a monster that is ruthlessly overpowered, and is known for wiping out ''[[PersonOfMassDestruction all]]'' of the local fauna because it is constantly HUNGRY! Other large monsters run from this menace, for fear of being eaten. If it runs into the corpse of a monster you killed, it will eat it to regain stamina. ''3 Ultimate'' introduces the ''Savage'' Deviljho, a specimen that's gotten so hungry it's undergone [[AutoCannibalism apoptosis]] because of it, and the resulting pain has sent its body into overdrive, spurring into a hunger-driven frenzy until it dies.
** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterGenerations'' has the Nakarkos, a cuttlefish-like Elder Dragon that drags prey to its lair from far and wide, leaving the areas closest to its nest for last so they have the most food. Though it ''does'' use bones and carapaces from some of its prey to armor itself, it's a different case than the above Deviljho. It doesn't eat because it's hungry or has [[HorrorHunger a juiced up metabolism]]; it eats because [[ObsessedWithFood it]] ''[[ItCanThink wants]]'' [[ForTheEvulz to.]]

* Played with in ''VideoGame/GodEaterBurst''. God Eaters who come off like this, including the PlayerCharacter, making comments during Devour attacks that suggest they feel their symbiotic weapon's desire to keep ripping chunks out of Aragami. While a bit creepy, the God Eaters do have complete control of the ability, downplaying the trope somewhat.
* Everyone in the Junkyard in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' is infected with a [[TheVirus virus]] that turns them into demons. Demons need a substance called Magnetite to live, which is commonly found in humans or other demons. If anyone infected with the virus abstains from eating other people, they go berserk.

* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'': the Hive have spent the past several billion years crusading across the galaxy exterminating every advanced civilization they encounter, partly for ideological reasons (they're [[TheSocialDarwinist social darwinists]] cranked up to OmnicidalManiac levels), but also because they're all infected with spiritual parasites that [[AbstractEater feed on violence]]. They get RealityWarper powers out of the deal, but if they fail to cause enough bloodshed to satisfy their worms, their worms will start eating ''them'' instead. The worms only grow hungrier as their hosts grow stronger, compelling them to perform ever-greater massacres to stay on top.
* Darth Nihilus, the Sith Lord of Hunger from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''. He's described as a black hole in the Force, feeding off the life force of others. He's the Sith responsible for the destruction of Katarr and the near extinction of the Jedi Order.

* The Hiver in ''Literature/AHatFullOfSky'' is an immortal disembodied spirit that has to live by serially possessing, and burning out, a succession of human hosts. It isn't evil; it can only live this way. It drives the host to seek power and dominance, believing that only this way can it feel safe, thus spreading misery to all around it. The character and the setting may be a ShoutOut to Creator/AlanGarner, who uses a very similar nightmare creature, the Brollochan, in ''Literature/THeMoonOfGomrath''. In both books, a possessed young Witch has to break free of the creature that has taken over her mind.

* The villain in CM Kornbluth's short story "The Mindworm".

** The undead Fantastic Four that originated from ''ComicBook/MarvelZombies'' ''claim'' that they need flesh to survive, but since they're just walking corpses, it's really just a psychological impulse that's almost impossible to ignore.

They commit acts of evil. They kill and torture. Why? Not [[ForTheEvulz for fun]], not [[PsychoForHire for profit]], not because they hold any grudge against their victims. Nope, it's because their very existence and survival depend on it. Maybe they actually need to eat some specific food like {{vampire}}s, maybe they feed on your pain, maybe they [[BrainFood feed on your brain]], maybe some supernatural curse demands {{human sacrifice}}s from them in exchange for sparing their life.

* In ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', this is what happens to [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]] under the effect of an Orc Lord's Unique Skill [Starvation]. They become perpetually hungry for ''anything'' they can get their hands on and tear apart with their teeth, [[CannibalismSuperpower along with the chance to gain the traits and abilities of what they eat]]. Interestingly, despite the hunger they can't actually ''die'' from starvation as long as the Orc Lord himself eats. Surprisingly for this trope, [[spoiler:the current Orc Lord only became one and accepted this skill [[WellIntentionedExtremist because otherwise the orc tribes would have perished to the last in a great famine]]]], and the orcs once freed of its effects [[spoiler:via the Orc Lord's death and absorption by Rimuru's hands after he chooses to FaceDeathWithDignity upon receiving Rimuru's promise to help his people]] are appropriately horrified by what they did to survive.

* While he might not hold any malice towards his victims and supposedly serves a few "necessary functions" within the universe, none of that changes the fact that ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, [[PlanetEater Devourer of Worlds]] has a nigh-countless number of genocides to his name. Unsurprisingly, the survivors of his feedings care little about the alleged balance of the universe, and has even tried to put Reed Richards on trial for sparing Galactus when he had the opportunity to destroy him.
* The undead Fantastic Four that originated from ''ComicBook/MarvelZombies'' ''claim'' they need flesh to survive, but since they're just walking corpses, it's really just a psychological impulse that's almost impossible to ignore.

* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' has a MonsterOfTheWeek who [[DisposableSexWorker harvests prostitutes]] for hormones which will stall his RapidAging.

-->-- ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', "Rising"

* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' had a MonsterOfTheWeek who harvested prostitutes for hormones which will stall his improbably rapid aging.

* The {{Energy Being}}s in the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episodes "Day of the Dove", "Obsession", and "Wolf in the Fold."
* Rob Roberts from the episode "Hungry" of ''Series/TheXFiles'': a soft-spoken NiceGuy who could only subsist off of human brains, and would keep his literal starvation at bay for as long as he could through appetite suppressants and sheer willpower, until he would eventually snap and kill someone just to survive, [[IAmAMonster and hated himself for it more and more every time, believing himself to be an irredeemable monster.]]
* The bone-eating monster in the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode "Bone to be Wild" is actually friendly, just very very hungry.

** ''Tri'' introduces the the Deviljho, a monster that is ruthlessly overpowered, and is known for wiping out ''[[PersonOfMassDestruction all]]'' of the local fauna because it is constantly HUNGRY! Other large monsters run from this menace, for fear of being eaten. If it runs into the corpse of a monster you killed, it will eat it to regain stamina. ''3 Ultimate'' introduces the ''Savage'' Deviljho, a specimen that's gotten so hungry it's undergone [[AutoCannibalism apoptosis]] because of it, and the resulting pain has sent its body into overdrive, spurring into a hunger-driven frenzy until it dies.
** ''Generations'' has the Nakarkos, a cuttlefish-like Elder Dragon that drags prey to its lair from far and wide, leaving the areas closest to its nest for last so they have the most food. Though it ''does'' use bones and carapaces from some of its prey to armor itself, it's a different case than the above Deviljho. It doesn't eat because it's hungry or has [[HorrorHunger a juiced up metabolism]]; it eats because [[ObsessedWithFood it]] ''[[ItCanThink wants]]'' [[ForTheEvulz to.]]

** The Horrors ... Possibly. As they are an UltimateEvil they appear only sparsely in ''Earthdawn'' and have yet to fully manifest in ''Shadowrun'', but what is known is they are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s from a different plane of existence. They are {{Emotion Eater}}s that subside on the pain and fear of the people they torment, and can only begin invading once the amount of mana in the environment reaches a certain threshold. However, it is unknown just how intelligent they are and to which degree they ''need'' to torture mortals to death to survive, which means they're possibly this trope or possibly just plain sadistic bastards.

[[quoteright:299:[[Literature/{{Goosebumps}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b8a5ffe2_f7d8_4782_9401_fec7c94c5df5img400.jpg]]]]

[[quoteright:300:[[Literature/{{Goosebumps}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b8a5ffe2_f7d8_4782_9401_fec7c94c5df5img400.jpg]]]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'': the Hive have spent the past several billion years crusading across the galaxy exterminating every advanced civilization they encounter, partly for ideological reasons (they’re [[TheSocialDarwinist social darwinists]] cranked up to OmnicidalManiac levels), but also because they’re all infected with spiritual parasites that [[AbstractEater feed on violence]]. They get RealityWarper powers out of the deal, but if they fail to cause enough bloodshed to satisfy their worms, their worms will start eating ''them'' instead. The worms only grow hungrier as their hosts grow stronger, compelling them to perform ever-greater massacres to stay on top.
* Darth Nihilus, the Sith Lord of Hunger from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''. He’s described as a black hole in the Force, feeding off the life force of others. He’s the Sith responsible for the destruction of Katarr and the near extinction of the Jedi Order.

%%* Played with regarding zombies in ''Film/SurvivalOfTheDead.''

If such a being kills and tortures to extend his life beyond its natural span, it's ImmortalityImmorality. It is close, but different as it present not doing amoral things and dying as the natural and only good solution for this problem, while this trope is more ambiguous. See also; HorrorHunger, OneTrackMindedHunger, FaceMonsterTurn and PhlebotinumMuncher. For a typical hero response, see GuiltFreeExterminationWar.

This, similar to introducing AlwaysChaoticEvil people, is an easy way to create conflict that can be resolved only with violence, as you obviously [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar can't negotiate with someone or something who needs to kill you to survive]]. A Hungry Menace may be portrayed in different ways -- from the horrible abomination that must be slain for the good of everyone to a NonMaliciousMonster or even a natural part of the universe that is not evil at all.

[[quoteright:305:[[Literature/{{Goosebumps}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b8a5ffe2_f7d8_4782_9401_fec7c94c5df5img400.jpg]]]]

They commit acts of evil. They kill and torture. Why? Not [[ForTheEvulz for fun]], not [[PsychoForHire for profit]], not because they hold a grudge against their victims. Nope, it's because their very existence and survival depend on it. Maybe they actually need to eat some specific food like {{vampire}}s, maybe they feed on your pain, maybe they [[BrainFood feed on your brain]], maybe some supernatural curse demands {{human sacrifice}}s from them in exchange for sparing their life.