History Main / ImmortalsFearDeath

* The AlternateContinuity ''Literature/ATaleOf'' series expands upon Gothel's behavior in ''Tangled''. She's the daughter of the Queen of the Dead and comes from a long line of [[WitchSpecies witches]] who can live for as long as they want, as long as they have rapunzel flowers. Each Queen of the Dead eventually dies and passes over their heritage to their daughter, but Gothel is the exception. She ''refuses'' to pass over. Her two sisters, Primrose and Hazel, died in their youth. Gothel tries endlessly to revive them, which is why she raised Rapunzel. She plans on reviving her siblings and living forever with them. Gothel thinks of death as undignified, but in the end she is killed when Eugene cuts Rapunzel's magic hair.

** [[MonsterOfTheWeek Ganma]] of ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'' are using a combination of [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens science]] and {{Magitek}} to create shells they project their souls in from their real, human-like, bodies. [[spoiler: [[EvilPrince Alain]]]] is stunned by the realization that he can die after he loses his eyecon body and it takes him a while before he can get it back together. Unfortunately, he swings the other way afterwards, lacking any sense of selfpreservation, overstraining his body and even adding a couple (failed) suicidal attacks. [[spoiler: He survived.]]
** Played straight and averted in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid''. [[MonsterOfTheWeek Bugsters]] are video game characters and thus can respawn indefinitely. That is unless defeated by [[spoiler: [[EvilerThanThou Cronus]]]], who can manipulate time to keep them from doing so. Finding this out has reduced the de facto leader of Bugsters, [[PsychopathicManchild Parado]], to a [[TroubledFetalPosition shaking wreck]]. His partner-in-crime, [[BloodKnight Graphite]], has not been afraid of death even before he knew about the respawning part so this has not affected ''him personally'' very much.

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnon San]] used to never worry about dying due to Ghidorah's ability to always [[FromASingleCell regenerate from leftover pieces whenever it died]]. But in Chapter 5, he becomes terrified by the idea that that might no longer apply due to him effectively turning himself into an ArtificialHybrid by fusing to Vivienne Graham, and that he could now die permanently, not least because his attempt to read Vivienne's memories of her temporary death [[CesationOfExistence didn't show anything]].

* In Creator/ManlyWadeWellman's John Thunstone stories, the evil immortals fear death so much that if you kill one and bury it under your doorstep, they cannot enter that building due to their dread.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

* [[SpaceElves The Lunarians]] of ''VideoGame/TouhouProject'' were originally humans who managed to identify impurity as the cause of mortality, and death as the greatest source of impurity. So, in order to escape their own natural deaths, they relocated to the untainted moon, erected a habitable pocket dimension on it, and became TheAgeless for their efforts. And everything would be fine and dandy about that if it wasn't for the fact that, due to the above mentioned way mortality works in ''Touhou'', the Lunarians' thanatophobia goes hand in hand with ''xenophobia''; they not only fear death but are also [[FantasticRacism intensely racist]] [[PureIsNotGood toward all things impure/mortal]] and have considered "[[DeadlyEuphemism purifying]]" the Earth on several occasions just to make sure none of Earth's impurity will ever reach them.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Sylvanas' brief taste of TheNothingAfterDeath that undead like her are apparently doomed to suffer deeply shook her.

* Voldemort of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' underwent many experiments to avoid death, succeeding by [[spoiler:splitting his soul and binding the pieces inside hidden artifacts]]. WordOfGod is that if he were to see a Boggart (a creature that shows one's greatest fear), it would transform into his own dead body lying in front of him.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', [[MadeOfEvil Aku]] is an [[TheAgeless ageless part of an ancient evil]] that was destroyed by the gods. Normally indestructible, Aku's only weakness are [[HolyBurnsEvil divine items]], which includes Jack's sword. Naturally, he goes to great lengths to avoid being on the wrong end of the sword, preferring to send out various mooks to deal with Jack rather than confront him personally. [[spoiler:And after 50 years in the future, Jack finally succeeds in returning to the past. Future Aku's reaction is [[OhCrap absolute horror]], knowing he's about to [[RetGone cease to exist]] and there's nothing he can do about it. Past Aku spends the last few minutes of his life running for his life from the 50 years stronger and more experienced Jack, a look of terror on his face.]]

** [[MonsterOfTheWeek Ganma]] of ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'' are using a combination of [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens science]] and {{Magitek}} to create shells they project their souls in from their real, human-like, bodies. [[spoiler: [[EvilPrince Alain]] ]] is stunned by the realization that he can die after he loses his eyecon body and it takes him a while before he can get it back together. Unfortunately, he swings the other way afterwards, lacking any sense of selfpreservation, overstraining his body and even adding a couple (failed) suicidal attacks. [[spoiler: He survived.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Back when [[LadyOfWar Moon]] first became Queen of Mewni, an army led by Toffee was trying to conquer the Kingdom and they took victory for granted because [[HealingFactor they can regrow any body parts they lose]]. Moon learns [[DarkMagic a spell]] from [[AmbiguouslyEvil Eclipsa]] that can kill members of their species; though she fails to kill Toffee, she blasts permanently off one his fingers, which scares the army enough to disband and Toffee enough that he spends the next few decades on a quest to destroy magic.

* [[spoiler:The Transcendent One]] from ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', as revealed if you talk with it. [[spoiler:Unlike most examples of this trope, The Transcendent One knows very well what being mortal is, as it is The Nameless One's mortality -- being reunited with The Nameless One would essentially be 'death' to it, however, and if you force it to rejoin you its final words is to the effect that it hates you, it will continue to hate you when you're reunited and that when you finally ''do'' die due to being mortal again it will laugh at you.]]

** Played straight and averted in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid''. [[MonsterOfTheWeek Bugsters]] are video game characters and thus can respawn indefinitely. That is unless defeated by [[spoiler: [[EvilerThanThou Cronus]] ]], who can manipulate time to keep them from doing so. Finding this out has reduced the de facto leader of Bugsters, [[PsychopathicManchild Parado]], to [[TroubledFetalPosition shaking wreck]]. His partner-in-crime, [[BloodKnight Graphite]], has not been afraid of death even before he knew about the respawning part so this has not affected ''him personally'' very much.

This can also occur if the person in question is not actually immortal but is just very powerful, and its their ego not allowing them to accept that their power is not enough to ward off the reaper, and they will seek ways to avoid it. In this case, they fear death not because they are immortal, but they sought out immortality because they fear death.

* Mother Gothel of ''{{Disney/Tangled}}'' keeps herself forever young by the power of Rapunzel's hair, but fears aging and losing her youth.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Back when Moon the Undaunted became Queen of Mewni, an army led by Toffee was trying to conquer the Kingdom and they took victory for granted because [[HealingFactor they can regrow any body parts they lose]]. With a spell she learned from Eclipsa, Moon made Toffee lose a finger and he couldn't regrow it. Seeing it [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere scared his followers into fleeing]].

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', Kuja goes into a VillainousBreakdown and becomes an OmnicidalManiac when he learns of his own mortality, deciding that if he doesn't get to exist, nothing else should either.

* Defied by Malfurion Stormrage in ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' ''3''. When Tyrande points out that [[spoiler:sacrificing the power of the World Tree to slay Archimonde]] will rob the Night Elves' of their immortality, Malfurion replies that "if the fear of death is enough to give us pause, then perhaps we have lived long enough."

* [[SpaceElves The Luniarians]] of ''VideoGame/TouhouProject'' were originally humans who managed to identify impurity as the cause of mortality, and death as the greatest source of impurity. So, in order to escape their own natural deaths, they relocated to the untainted moon, erected a habitable pocket dimension and became TheAgeless for their efforts. And everything would be fine and dandy about that if it wasn't for the fact that, due to the above mentioned way mortality works in ''Touhou'', the Lunarians' thanatophobia goes hand in hand with ''xenophobia''; they not only fear death but are also [[FantasticRacism intensly racistic]] [[PureIsNotGood toward all things impure/mortal]] and have considered "purifying" the Earth on several occasions just to make sure none of Earth's impurity will ever reach them.

* Due to the [[SoulEating fate that befalls their souls if they die pertinently]], the [[TheFairFolk Drukhari]] from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' have built their entire society around the extension of their lives through the torture of others. It is for this reason that many of the oldest Drukhari, particularly the Haemonculi, hate and fear the worshipers of the [[SpaceElves Aeldari]] god of the dead, and his [[PhysicalGod Avatar the Yncarne]], because their SoulPower is able to permanently kill them.

This makes perfect sense, in a way -- when you're immortal and cannot die, and depending on the type of mortality cannot be killed, you would of course want to watch out for the things that ''can'' kill you. And it's not like you have anything else to fear, you're immortal, the world holds no danger for you except for that one weapon or that one person who can end your life. In addition, the kind of person who is [[MortalityPhobia terrified of dying]] is much more likely to go to the necessary lengths to find a way to become immortal in the first place, especially if ImmortalityImmorality is in effect.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': The homunculi have been alive for centuries and they show fear once near death. The most notable ones are Envy and Pride, who spend their final moments screaming while begging for their lives.

!!Examples

[[folder: Film ]]
* [[spoiler:Ego]] from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', having disregarded mortal life as irrelevant due to his millennia of existence, when it becomes ''very apparent'' that he's about to die, he's reduced to begging Peter not to let it happen.

* Hades and Ares from ''Film/WrathOfTheTitans'' join Cronus on the condition they keep their immortality. Gods [[CessationOfExistence cease to exist upon death]] and that thought terrifies them.
* Implied with [[spoiler:Davey Jones]] in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd''. After giving his CatchPhrase "Do you fear death?", Jack retorts "Do ''you''?" [[spoiler:when he's about to stab his heart]].

* It's implied in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' universe that the Q fear the very thought of being mortal to the point where it's considered a major punishment for them. [[Series/StarTrekVoyager When one of them decided]] he wanted to die, they imprisoned him in a comet rather than see what would happen. The ExpandedUniverse reveals that they also fear that death brings either utter ceasing of existence for them, or that [[AlwaysABiggerFish there's something more powerful than them waiting in the afterlife.]]

** One of the main differences between the Doctor and TheMaster. The former has shifted increasingly towards WhoWantsToLiveForever over the series, while the latter will do anything to stay alive. This comes into play at the end of the 2007 series. When the Master threatens to [[RageQuit destroy the entire planet rather than admit defeat]], the Doctor reminds him of all the disasters they've already been through and calls his bluff. He seemingly chooses to die by another means a few minutes later, but has a SoulJar standing by.
*** From time to time, the Doctor has expressed a fear of death, such as when the Ninth Doctor faced imminent death in Cardiff in "The Unquiet Dead" and the Tenth Doctor faced the spectre of his next regeneration in "The End of Time". In Series 9, however, his fear shifted to the death of other people, in particular a companion he'd developed love for. The Tenth Doctor is at one point asked why he fears death if he'll regenerate. He replies that while the Doctor will live on, ''he'' (that is his personality/soul/identity) will die, and it ''hurts''. This is shown when his time comes, where he rages about how unfair it is for him to sacrifice himself when "I could do so much more" (though he still does it), and his last words are a whimpered "I don't want to go."
** In the episode ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime The End of Time]]'', The Time Lord president Rassilon who is a historical legend for creating time travel and being immortal, is faced with the extinction of his race in the time war and ends up bellowing that he refuses to die no matter what. In fact, he'll destroy the current universe and AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence before accepting death.

* [[MonsterOfTheWeek Ganma]] of ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'' are using a combination of [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens science]] and {{Magitek}} to create shells they project their souls in from their real, human-like, bodies. [[spoiler: [[EvilPrince Alain]] ]] is stunned by the realization that he can die after he loses his eyecon body and it takes him a while before he can get it back together. Unfortunately, he swings the other way afterwards, lacking any sense of selfpreservation, overstraining his body and even adding a couple (failed) suicidal attacks. [[spoiler: He survived.]]
* Played straight and averted in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid''. [[MonsterOfTheWeek Bugsters]] are video game characters and thus can respawn indefinitely. That is unless defeated by [[spoiler: [[EvilerThanThou Cronus]] ]], who can manipulate time to keep them from doing so. Finding this out has reduced the de facto leader of Bugsters, [[PsychopathicManchild Parado]], to [[TroubledFetalPosition shaking wreck]]. His partner-in-crime, [[BloodKnight Graphite]], has not been afraid of death even before he knew about the respawning part so this has not affected ''him personally'' very much.

* ''Series/ForeverKnight''. In a historical flashback, the protagonist tries to frighten a chaste peasant girl in medieval France, and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech she counters with this trope]] when he boasts of how he's going to live forever as a vampire. She turns out to be Joan of Arc, the implication being she's NotAfraidToDie due to her faith.
* ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': This trope is exactly what kicks off the series' plot with the BigBad learning that her immortality is fading fast and she only has a few months or weeks left to live. In her desperation to live, she hastens the search of the substance that can prolongue her existence, triggering an earthquake in New York that leads to all the titular heroes teaming up against her.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Of all people, ''Jesus'' according to the Gospels is this way in the Garden of Gethsamane. However it seems it's less so the part of death itself than ''taking on the sins of the ENTIRE world'' that does it. Since Jesus is technically [[God God]] according to Christianity and Messianic Judaism, this has even more impact.

* Of all people, ''Jesus'' according to the Gospels is this way in the Garden of Gethsamane. However it seems it's less so the part of death itself than ''taking on the sins of the ENTIRE world'' that does it. Since Jesus is technically [[God]] according to Christianity and Messianic Judaism, this has even more impact.