History Main / PossessingADeadBody

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero Sion, is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with bamboo spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. So Anri, The hero's necromancer ally, transferred Touka's soul into Sion's decaying body via transmigration, and has no choice but to [[DeadPersonImpersonation pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.]][[spoiler: But it's revealed that Sion [[DrivenToSuicide purposely walked into the trap and killed himself]] because 3 years ago, he let the seal of the hell gate a little looseto save Anri from dying because necromancers need mana and souls to live, and didn't know that this would lead the world to destruction yet again, and feels he's at fault for it.]]

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero Sion, is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with bamboo spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. So Anri, The hero's necromancer ally, transferred Touka's soul into Sion's decaying body via transmigration, and has no choice but to [[DeadPersonImpersonation pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.]][[spoiler: But it's revealed that Sion [[DrivenToSuicide purposely walked into the trap and killed himself]] because he let seal the hell gate a little loose 3 years ago to save Anri from dying because necromancers need mana and souls to live, and didn't know that this would lead the world to destruction yet again, and feels he's is at fault for it.]]

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero Sion, is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with bamboo spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. So Anri, The hero's necromancer ally, transferred Touka's soul into Sion's decaying body via transmigration, and has no choice but to [[DeadPersonImpersonation pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.]][[spoiler: But it's revealed that Sion [[DrivenToSuicide purposely walked into the trap and killed himself]] because he let seal the hell gate a little loose 3 years ago to save Anri from dying because necromancers need mana and souls to live, and didn't know that this would lead the world to destruction yet again, and feels he's it at fault for it.]]

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero Sion, is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with bamboo spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. So Anri, The hero's necromancer ally, transferred Touka's soul into Sion's decaying body via transmigration, and has no choice but to [[DeadPersonImpersonation pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.]][[spoiler: But it's revealed that Sion purposely walked into the trap and killed himself because he let seal the gate of the underworld a little loose 3 years ago to save Anri from dying because necromancers need mana and souls to live, and didn't know that this would lead the world to destruction yet again, and feels he's it at fault for it.]]

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero Sion, is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with bamboo spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. So Anti, The hero's necromancer ally, transferred Touka's soul into Sion's decaying body via transmigration, and has no choice but to [[DeadPersonImpersonation pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.]][[spoiler: But it's revealed that Sion purposely walked into the trap and killed himself because he let seal the gate of the underworld a little loose 3 years ago to save Anri from dying because necromancers need mana and souls to live, and didn't know that this would lead the world to destruction yet again, and feels he's it at fault for it.]]

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero Shion, is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with bamboo spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. The hero's necromancer ally placed the main character's soul into the hero's decaying body via transmigration, and has no choice but to [[DeadPersonImpersonation pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.]][[spoiler:But it's revealed that the hero purposely walked into the trap and killed himself because he let seal the gate of the underworld a little loose 3 years ago to save Anri from dying because necromancer need mana and souls to live, and didn't know that this would lead the world to destruction yet again, and feels he's it at fault for it.]]

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with bamboo spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. The hero's necromancer ally placed the main character's soul into the hero's decaying body via transmigration, and has no choice but to [[DeadPersonImpersonation pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.]]

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. The hero's necromancer ally placed the main character's soul into the hero's decaying body via transmigration, and has no choice but to [[DeadPersonImpersonation pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.]]

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. The hero's necromancer ally placed the main character's soul into the hero's decaying body via transmigration, and has no choice but to [[DeadBodyImpersonation pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.]]

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. The hero's necromancer ally placed the main character's soul into the hero's decaying body via transmigration, and is forced to pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. The hero's necromancer ally placed the main character's soul into the hero's decaying body and is forced to pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero is [[UndignifiedDeath killed]] by accidentally walking into a pitfall trap with spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. So, the Hero's necromancer ally placed the main character's soul into the hero's decaying body and is forced to pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.

* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'': As the title suggests, The legendary hero is [[UndignifiedDeath accidentally killed]] by a pitfall trap with spikes that the main character set up to prevent animals that keeps eating his crops. So, the Hero's necromancer ally placed the main character's soul into the Hero's decaying body and is forced to pretend to be the legendary hero though out the whole series.

* [[spoiler:Belos]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', who finds himself in a body that's rapidly falling apart after [[spoiler:possessing Hunter]] didn't work out, [[spoiler:enters his Grimwalker laboratory and possesses a dead Grimwalker that was left behind in the ground. However, considering that possessing a ''living'' Grimwalker was already almost too much for that Grimwalker's body to handle, possessing a dead one results in its body ''immediately'' liquefying and falling apart. However, while consuming the Grimwalker didn't give Belos a working body, it did give him enough energy to climb up to the Collector's castle and possess Puppet Raine's body instead.]]

* ''AvatarTheophileGautier'': [[spoiler:The story ends with Balthazar Cherbonneau reversing the mind switch between the two men he'd conducted at the beginning of the story. The wannabe lover makes no effort to return to his body, leaving the doctor with a corpse. Suddenly he gets a brilliant idea, with the news that Balthazar died [[BodySurf but left all his belongings to a young man]]]].

* ''Avatar'' by ''Creator/TheophileGautier'' ends with a doctor reversing the mind switch between two men he'd conducted at the beginning of the tory (the young man was in love with another's wife, switched his mind with the husband, but it failed when the wife didn't recognize her husband). The wannabe lover makes no effort to return to his body, leaving the doctor with a corpse. Suddenly he gets a brilliant idea, and the story ends with the news that the doctor died [[BodySurf but left all his belongings to a young man.]]

* ''Literature/TheDaevabadTrilogy'': When [[spoiler:Dara]] wants to talk with a marid, an ElementalEmbodiment of water, he kills one of the marid's human priests and throws the body in its lake. The marid animates the corpse, encrusted with lake life and detritus, to speak with him. It's unclear what physical bodies the marid actually have.

** It's discussed in ''The Curse of Chalion''. Several characters say that a body slain by death magic must be burned before nightfall to prevent ghosts from possessing it; one describes such a possession, seen many years ago.

* ''Literature/{{Chalion}}'': Discussed in ''The Curse of Chalion''. Several characters say that a body slain by death magic must be burned before nightfall to prevent ghosts from possessing it; one describes such a possession, seen many years ago.
-->I saw a case once, when I was a young divine. The degraded spirits are shambling stupid things, but it’s so very awkward to get them out again once they take possession. They must be burned...well, ''alive'' is not quite the right term. Very ugly scene, especially if the relatives don’t understand, because, of course, being your body, it screams in your voice...

** "Fiends" are the classification for [[OurDemonsAreDifferent devils]] that possess dead humans, apparently as [[EmergencyTransformation a means to avoid dying]]. This "possession" lasts for the rest of the Devil's life, effectively making them an ArtificialHybrid. In rare cases, they'll retain their hosts memories, which make Violence Fiend [[ReluctantMonster unusually benevolent]]. Visually, they look like humans with some sort of alteration to their face ([[HornedHumanoid horns]], ExtraEyes, a partially NonhumanHead), and are constrained by human biology (e.g. break their neck and they'll be paralyzed), but still have enhanced abilities and [[HealItWithBlood heal by drinking blood]].

* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean'', Foo Fighters is a colony of plankton with human-like intelligence due to being given a Stand. After being [[DefeatMeansFriendship beaten and befriended]] by Jolene, Foo Fighters inhabits a nearby corpse in order to pass as human.

* In the universe of ''Series/{{Lucifer 2016}}'', it's possible for the denizens of Hell to escape by possessing the body of someone who recently died.

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': One episode has aliens who need to use the recently deceased as host bodies. Unlike [[CruelTwistEnding the norm for the series]], they're quite benevolent. The worst thing to come out of it is a man who'd had a deceased loved one used as a host having to face the reality that the body's new inhabitant is a completely different person; tragic but not evil or dangerous.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E14WolfInTheFold Wolf in the Fold]]". A non-corporeal alien being is capable of possessing the bodies of living human beings. During the episode, Captain Kirk hits the body it's possessing and kills it. The being flees the dead body. Later on, with no other options, the being possesses the dead body again and makes it walk around.
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E13SubRosa "Sub Rosa"]], the disembodied spirit that has been altering Beverly's mental state to try and get her to sleep with him decides to jump into Bev's dead grandmother's body and use it to try and attack the crew stopping him.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank". A man named Jeff Myrtlebank dies of the flu and is about to be buried two days later. He suddenly wakes up in his coffin and appears to be just fine. The local townsfolk think that his body was possessed by an evil spirit while he was dead. There's evidence they're right - flowers die when he holds them and he can light a match without striking it, apparently with magic.

** In the opening of season 15, a rift torn open between Earth and Hell causes every hellbound soul to flee and grabbing every host they can get their hands on. This results in a localized ZombieApocalypse when everybody in the cemetery starts rising up and attacking the Winchesters. The usual method of dispatching a ghost is to [[FireKeepsItDead burn their bones]], but since they aren't even in their original bodies, all it would really do is slow them down and continue attacking in ghost form. The rift also allows demons who were otherwise trapped in Hell to escape, which allows the demon Belphegor to possess [[spoiler:the body of Jack, who was killed by Chuck in the season 14 finale.]]

* In the ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'' episode "Dance of the Mayflies", the ''Andromeda'' crew discover a plague that reanimates the corpses of the people it kills as zombies. [[spoiler:It's able to possess Trance immediately, leading Dylan to question whether she was really alive to begin with ({{foreshadowing}} later developments).]]

* The Former Humans of the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' series are of this variety. They were Marines killed by the demons, which then took possession of their fallen bodies.
** The Possessed in ''Doom 2016'' are an exception, as they are instead created by an event known as the Argent Biowave.

** The X parasites don't need to possess living organisms, and can infect corpses just as easily, as shown with the BSL scientists in ''Fusion''.

* ''Anime/DigimonGhostGame'': The [[spoiler:Moon=Millenniumon]] in Episode 61 kills a young woman, then possesses her corpse to trick her fiance into bringing the seemingly resurrected body home. From that point on all it needs is to drain the first victim's life force, then claiming two more victims before it turns into [[spoiler:the apocalyptic Zeed=Milleniumon.]]