History Main / LivingMemory

* In the works of Creator/TimPowers, particularly the novel ''Literature/ExpirationDate'' and the ''Alternate Routes'' series, all ghosts are psychic echoes created during traumatic events. If the person survives, the ghost merges back into their psyche, but if they die, the ghost is left hanging around.

* In the first 4 .Hack games, scenes from the anime series .hack//Sign can be witnessed by visiting the frequent hangout, Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, at certain points in the storyline. They're described in a similar manner to LivingMemory. At the end of the game, [[spoiler:AI Subaru, AI Tsukasa, and AI Sora]] will join the party. They are noticeably out of place chronologically in their behavior, and players familiar with other aspects of the .Hack Universe will know there's no possible way it's the real versions, who are still alive but simply not playing The World.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft: Wrath of the Lich King'' Argent Confessor Paletress summons a "memory" of an enemy the players previously defeated.[[labelnote:Examples]] This includes Edwin VanCleef, Lady Vashj, Onyxia, [[MemeticBadass Hogger]], Archimonde, and Illidan Stormrage.[[/labelnote]] The spell description for her ability implies these are the player's darkest memories, though they are nowhere near as strong as when previously faced.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}} In the episode "Superhell!" all of the inmates worst memories come to life during the climax to help destroy Superhell.

* There were a few ghosts on ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}'' who were like this -- the ones that made Buffy & Riley have lots of sex.

The Living Memory is a very strange "being" and similar to [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] in a lot of ways. Physically they're usually [[IntangibleMan intangible]] (though YourMindMakesItReal can make them dangerous regardless), but some are in physical (though probably non-human) bodies. They may be fully sapient and can be reasoned with, a chunk of memories with a bit of personality, or just vinyl records on an endless loop. What they all have in common is that they are not the real deal, the original, just an [[UncannyValley eerie simulacrum]]... and [[TearJerker some]] even [[WhatHaveIBecome realize it]].

* The character has a [[SoulFragment piece of their soul]] split off and [[strike:live]] haunt a person or location. This is especially common if the character "removed their dark side", in which case their [[TheHeartless Heartless]] will torment loved ones.

* In ''Manga/DGrayman'', the Noah clan survives by passing their "memories" to a new host every time they are killed. While only Wisely and the Millennium Earl fully recall the past 7,000 years, the memories do tend to cause emotional reactions to things that range from feeling recognition of the Noah's original name to crying when a Noah dies to urges to kill Exorcists while in their presence, not to mention causing them to...[[TomatoinTheMirror see things in mirrors]]. This is made for a stronger trope when [[spoiler:Allen Walker meets the deceased Nea, the 14th Noah, in his head.]]

** Also, the fact that [[spoiler: Yuni was able to summon the Will of Primo from the Vongola Rings (and subsequently the First-Generation Guardians) suggests that the Vongola Bosses probably weren't the only ones 'living on' through the Vongola Rings.]]

* A particularly [[TearJerker tear-jerking]] (although not without its heartwarming moments) story made by, would you believe it, Creator/JunjiIto has this as its central theme. In ''Lingering Farewell'', the protagonist married into a wealthy family who would perform a ritual on their recently deceased to create an 'after-image', to give them plenty of time to say their farewells and accept their death. [[spoiler: What she didn't know was that she died on her wedding day, [[TomatoInTheMirror and she really is one of such after-images.]]]]

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met might have been just another echo, meaning that Jim and Spock may have already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart, which they can now implement without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentially]], the LivingMemory would form the basis for a StableTimeLoop (or TrickedOutTime, depending on whether or not this is the first time the loop has run) - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches Kirk Prime die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, [[CrossThrough which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century]] [[TimeTravelEscape before he meets Picard and dies]] and leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.

* Mal in ''Film/{{Inception}}'' is literally Cobb's memory of his dead wife which has taken on a life of its own (her own?) in his dreams and any other dreams he enters. Said life generally involves sabotaging whatever Cobb's trying to do, in an attempt to make him [[spoiler: commit suicide like she did, thinking that she was still dreaming and unable to wake up. The reason this particular memory is so powerful is the guilt Cobb feels for accidentally driving his wife to suicide.]]

** The Denarian demons work similarly to this, being [[SealedEvilInACan trapped inside their coins]] but able to grant their shape and powers to their bearer even if they don't have the actual coin. [[spoiler: More specifically, Lasciel imprints a copy of herself into Dresden's brain when he inadvertently touches her coin. Harry promptly buries her coin inside an insulating magic circle and pours concrete over it, doing his best to protect himself from its corrupting influence. She freely admits that she's not actually Lasciel, just a copy that lives in his brain, but she's still able to grant Harry several useful abilities as much as he permits her to. The copy spends years tempting him to let her out of her prison before she finally dies absorbing a psychic attack.]].

** In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Skin of Evil", Armus is the cast off evil of a race that has AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. As such, he is basically MadeOfEvil and stuck haunting his planet.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'', [[spoiler: the main characters are all Living Memories, dream spirits of their true forms that were defeated by the Dread Fiend Murdaw. Once they realise this, they have to find their true selves, which in one case was turned to stone, and in the case of the Hero, is running around just as amnesiac as his dream-self was at the start.]] In addition, [[spoiler: nearly everyone]] seem to have [[spoiler:dream-world versions of themselves, which can manifest as ideal versions, painful fears, or even dreams of the past, returning to haunt them]].

* ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' has a interesting version. The 'Will' of the previous Vongola Bosses lives on in the ring.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', the [[CallARabbitASmeerp pyreflies]] create this sort of effect on [[TheLifestream the Farplane]].
** It's not entirely clear whether these are the actual ghosts or what exactly. They don't talk and just kind of stand there. Only the dead (but not the Unsent) appear on the Farplane (Tidus is able to see his mom but not his dad when they first visit in the game).
** Also, In ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', Lucretia's memories are stored as data inside Shelke.

[[folder:FanWorks]]

** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'': [[spoiler:spoiler:The Librarian]] may have been dead for 100,000 years, but she left helpful imprints of herself on Requiem.

* In the works of Creator/TimPowers, particularly the novel ''Literature/ExpirationDate'', all ghosts are psychic echoes created during traumatic events. If the person survives, the ghost merges back into their psyche, but if they die, the ghost is left hanging around.

* The above picture is aptly named "Memory of Alessa", a boss in ''VideoGame/SilentHill3''. She tries to kill Heather, who is basically her reincarnation, in order to help her avoid the pain and horror of birthing an EldritchAbomination.

* The ''Audio/BigFinishDoctorWho Companion Chronicles'' play ''Tales from the Vault'' is a ScrapbookStory built from different recordings held by U.N.I.T., including a living memory of Zoe Heriot stored in an alien memory crystal.

** In ''Literature/TheCrippledGod'', [[HeroicAlbino Silchas Ruin]] stubles into a corner of the chaos between realms in which realms fold one upon another to such a degree that it leaves a stain on time itself. There he finds the reflections of gods whose mortal bodies are walking various realms. These reflections retain their originals' memories and personalities, but have taken on lives of their own, including planning to murder [[BigBad the Crippled God]] to siphon his power.

[[folder:Webcomic]]
* Brain Ghost Dirk in Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}.

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', the person behind the mysterious attacks at Hogwarts turns out to be a living memory of the BigBad from when ''he'' was at school. At first, he could only communicate via the diary he was preserved in, but once he got [[spoiler: Ginny]] to trust him with enough secrets, [[EmotionEater he grew steadily more powerful]]. The entity referred to itself as an animated memory. Four books later, it turned out that the diary was one of several [[SoulJar soul-jars]] Voldemort created, although this was by far the most dangerous; however, the small but vocal part of the fandom that declared FanonDiscontinuity on the later books and ignores the SoulJar plot-point maintain the boy in the diary really was a living memory.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* The ''Audio/BigFinishDoctorWho Companion Chronicles'' play ''Tales from the Vault'' is a ScrapbookStory built from different recordings held by U.N.I.T., including a living memory of Zoe Heriot stored in an alien memory crystal

* ''KingdomHearts'':

* For a while, ComicBook/{{Rogue}}, who had wiped out all of Mrs Marvel's memories, had her talking to her in her head, and sometimes trying to take control.

* [[Manga/YuGiOh Bakura]] places a piece of his soul inside the Millennium Puzzle, allowing him to follow the rest of the cast in a rare villainous example played straight. This splits off into EpilepticTrees when you learn that [[spoiler:Yami!Bakura is a bizarre fusion of Present!Bakura, the original Thief King!Bakura, and Zorc, living embodiment of all darkness, complete with [[WebVideoYuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries his dragon willy.]]]]