History Main / PossessionBurnout

[/folder]]

* In Creator/AlanGarner's ''LiteratureTheMoonOfGomrath'', an ancient Celtic demonic entity, the Brollochan, is released form its prison cell by human interference. The Brollochan is an entity that lives vicariously through the senses of people and animals it serially possesses -- but no host can contain it for long without burning from the inside and crumbling to death.

* In Creator/AlanGarner's ''The Moon of Gomrath'', an ancient Celtic demonic entity, the Brollochan, is released form its prison cell by human interference. The Brollochan is an entity that lives vicariously through the senses of people and animals it serially possesses -- but no host can contain it for long without burning from the inside and crumbling to death.
* Sir Creator/TerryPratchett's Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''A Hat Full of Sky'' introduces an entity called the Hiver, which is so alike in description, purpose and occupation to Garner's Brollochan that you might assume Pratchett had read Garner's book in his youth and "borrowed" the idea. (Although Garner says his conception is not original - he has updated it from Celtic mythology. Pratchett may have read the same root sources.)
** Further Discworld example: The Cunning Man, whose rage is so intense that it ''literally'' burns out whatever unfortunate person it chooses as a vessel.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', any host for a particular escaped Phantom Zone criminal dies in 24 hours. Naturally, a Kryptonian body can withstand it much better, but somehow, trying to possess Clark results in the creation of a new, cloned body (with the same clothes Clark is wearing, too, though the color of his jacket becomes the color of his shirt and vice versa.) He becomes the series' version of Bizarro.

* Happens in ''Series/StargateSG1'' when [[spoiler:Anubis]] possesses a host. The host develops sores and various ailments, eventually dying, forcing him to look for a new host. This is because he's not an ordinary Goa'uld (who normally can make their hosts last for centuries) [[spoiler:but partially ascended.]] This is why [[spoiler:Anubis used a containment suit instead of a conventional host, [[Recap/StargateSG1S7E22LostCityPart2 until its destruction in the 7th season finale]]]].

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** [[DemonicPossession Demons]] are the premier example in the series as they can possess people against their will. Any normal wound they receive while possessed is ignored, but once exorcised the wounds take their toll on the host, frequently killing them. It is unclear if there would be any burnout from an injury-free, long-term possession as no such cases arise.
** Angels are so powerful that they will do this to any host that isn't specifically suited to them, doubly so for Archangels. [[spoiler:Sam and Dean]] are the result of generations of breeding to produce viable hosts for [[spoiler:Lucifer and Michael]]. Satan is forced to settle for his "second choice", and as the page quote shows, his raw power caused the host to slowly decay/burn despite the large amount of demon blood he was drinking. The implication is that any other host would be vaporized outright. [[spoiler:Even Sam isn't fully immune to this, and has to drink a couple of gallons of demon blood to survive Satan first possessing him. Whether or not he had to keep drinking it is never made clear, as the issue is resolved before long.]] Even Raphael's true vessel is left catatonic after being his possession. It may just be he didn't care to heal him, as Michael promises Dean he wouldn't leave him a "drooling mess" after possessing him. Bloodline are also important, and can help avert this. Michael's chosen host was [[spoiler:Dean, but he at one point possess John Winchester, and later uses Adam (Dean's half brother) when it becomes apparent he can't use Dean.]]
** [[spoiler:The Leviathans']] combined power is too much for their first host [[spoiler:Jimmy after they booted out/killed Castiel]] forcing them to disperse.

* ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'': After losing [[spoiler: Utsusemimaru]] as a host, AnimatedArmor villain Dogold is forced to use [[EliteMooks Cambrimas]]. Unfortunately for him, they only last a month, forcing him to keep moving on to a new Cambrima when the current one perishes. They ''melt'' when he leaves them. His goal for some time is getting [[spoiler: Utchy]] back, then it's finding a new host. Eventually, [[spoiler:the new general Endorf makes an ass of himself once too often, and so once weakened by King's SuperMode, Dogold kills two birds with one stone, getting rid of him and getting an even stronger host than Utsusemimaru.]]
* In the TOS ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Star Trek]]'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E20ReturnToTomorrow Return To Tomorrow]]", when the consciousness of Sargon and the other two aliens take over the bodies of Kirk, Spock, and Dr. Mulhall, their metabolic and heart rates shoot up to dangerous levels.
* In an episode of ''Series/BloodTies'', the disembodied spirit of a cop Vicki knows visits her and asks her to [[WhodunnitToMe investigate his death]]. In fact, she finds out that his body is still walking around. Her assistant figures out that her friend's body has been taken over by an ancient entity that {{Body Surf}}s every few days because of this trope. By the time they force the entity out of the body and destroy it, the cop's body is too far gone, and he dies minutes later.
* In ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'', [[spoiler:when The Thinker starts {{Body Surf}}ing through the bus metas, it turns out that his incredible intelligence starts doing the same kind of damage to these bodies as it did to his original one, which isn't helped by him constantly adding new powers to his repertoire. He seeks out Ralph Dibny to become his final host, as the elastic hero can shapeshift into an undamaged form no matter what harm he suffers.]]

[[/folder]]

This is different from (but may happen in conjunction with) TransformationOfThePossessed, which is where a body is changed to resemble (or become) the possessing entities' original body, and tends to be stable. It's more akin to PowerDegeneration, and in fact [[PowersViaPossession use of superpowers]] can hasten the decay. This trope applies to both living, dead, and ''un''dead bodies; usually living bodies last longer and dead ones decay at a much faster rate, the trade-off being that corpses [[FightingFromTheInside don't put up a struggle]].

* In ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' this is M.Bison’s main problem. The strength of his Psycho Power is so great that his own body can barely handle a portion of his full power without starting to rapidly breakdown. One of his main goals is to find or create a body capable of handling the full might of his Psycho Power.

** Zouken Matou is constantly suffering from this. His method of prolonging life is by possessing and molding other bodies by filling them with worms, but each body lasts less than the previous one, and by the time the game starts, he can only remain in a body for a few months at most. It's revealed that this has less to do with the degenerating quality of his stolen bodies, but rather [[spoiler:the fact that his very soul is decaying]]. This is why he wants the Holy Grail, as it can allow him to achieve immortality [[spoiler:not through a wish, but through its true function, the creation of the Third Magic]].

* The demon in the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode Lonely Hearts. It had to keep body jumping because the bodies wore out and died.

** The {{Bodysurf}}ing human wizard Marcus from Carpe Noctem can only stay in his host bodies for a short time before they combust, killing the victim. He is pleased to discover that when he possesses an already-undead vampire (Angel), this kind of body is immune from the combustion.

** In the ''Heaven's Feel'' route, [[spoiler:Shiro is implied to be suffering from this. Having Archer's left arm grafted onto him grants him Archer's stronger projection magic, but various scenes imply that Archer is actually still alive through the arm and dominating Shiro's mind whenever his powers are called upon (making this a case of PowersViaPossession). Because Servants have much heavier souls than normal humans, Shiro suffers from backlash whenever he uses the arm - eventually, when he uses it too much in a small time frame, it inflicts brain damage and causes swords to start growing out from under his skin, and in one Bad End Shiro outright becomes a vegetable due to using it too much too quickly. Even right after he receives the arm, Rin and Kirei need to put a magical seal on it to prevent it from causing this trope due to merely being attached to his body. And it's only the fact that Archer is the potential FutureBadass version of Shirou that the burnout isn't ''even faster''.]]

* Vincent Olmstead from Videogame/Borderlands3 Guns, Love and Tentacles DLC is a Lovecraft-style cultist trapped inside the heart of an EldritchAbomination that can turn anyone who puts a [[ArtifactOfDoom ring made from a piece of the heart]] [[CloneByConversion into a copy of himself that he can control]]. The twist is that Vincent got put in the heart in the first place because he was terminally ill and that was the only thing that could stop the disease from killing him and since the ring can only recreate his body exactly as it was all the clones are terminally ill too but don't have the heart to keep them alive.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In 'Film/StarWarsTheRiseOfSkywalker'', this is the fate of Palpatine after his first death in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''; he transfers his spirit into clone bodies of his original self, but none of them are able to contain his power and very quickly degrade, becoming more and more corpselike in appearance over time. Unfortunately, the exact specifics of this process are only detailed in [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary material.]]

When a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]], [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost]], or other [[GrandTheftMe body stealing]][=/=][[DemonicPossession possessing force]] takes control of a body, it causes the body to rapidly decay and get the wear and tear of a lifetime over a few days or months. Removing the being isn't a guarantee of [[NoOntologicalInertia undoing the damage]], and staying for too long in the same body will likely kill the host before long.

This is different from (but may happen in conjunction with) TransformationOfThePossessed, which is where a body is changed to resemble (or become) the possessing entities' original body, and tends to be stable. It's more akin to PowerDegeneration, and in fact [[PowersViaPossession use of superpowers]] can hasten the decay. This trope applies to both living, dead, and ''un''dead bodies; usually living bodies last longer and dead ones decay at a much faster rate, the tradeoff being that corpses [[FightingFromTheInside don't put up a struggle]].

* Zato-1 from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' is an assassin who relies on a [[CastingAShadow shadowy]] beast named Eddie possessing his body to help him fight. Until he died. In the newer installments, Eddie has to deal with controlling Zato's decaying corpse in combat until he can find a new host. This is also a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, as it was the way the creative team found to write around Creator/KanetoShiozawa's death, as he voiced Zato-1.

** In the ''Heaven's Feel'' route, [[spoiler:Shiro is implied to be suffering from this. Having Archer's left arm grafted onto him grants him Archer's stronger projection magic, but various scenes imply that Archer is actually still alive through the arm and dominating Shiro's mind whenever his powers are called upon (making this a case of PowersViaPossession). Because Servants have much heavier souls than normal humans, Shiro suffers from backlash whenever he uses the arm - eventually, when he uses it too much in a small time frame, it inflicts brain damage and causes swords to start growing out from under his skin, and in one Bad End Shiro outright becomes a vegetable due to using it too much too quickly. Even right after he receives the arm, Rin and Kirei need to put a magical seal on it to prevent it from causing this trope due to merely being attached to his body.]]

** Also Illyria, the initial infestation [[spoiler:and death of Fred]] might count, but then there's also the aftermath-she was wearing out the body and the team had to zap her with a FrickinLaserBeam to drain some of her power away.

* The ''ComicBook/XMen'' villain Proteus "burns out" any body he possesses; by the end stages, his victims look like walking corpses. This was censored in the [[WesternAnimation/XMen television adaptation]], where it was shown that possession by him caused extreme fatigue instead.

* Exploited in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "The Doctor's Wife", wherein the "soul" of the TARDIS is forcibly transferred to a human body -- which is reported by its new occupant to be fast falling apart due to its inability to long hold the energy of the TARDIS. This will kill her and leave House unopposed in her true body.

When a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]], [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost]], or other [[GrandTheftMe body stealing]] / [[DemonicPossession possessing force]] takes control of a body, it causes the body to rapidly decay and get the wear and tear of a lifetime over a few days or months. Removing the being isn't a guarantee of [[NoOntologicalInertia undoing the damage]], and staying for too long in the same body will likely kill the host before long.

This is different from (but may happen in conjunction with) TransformationOfThePossessed, which is where a body is changed to resemble (or become) the possessing entities' original body, and tends to be stable. It's more akin to PowerDegeneration, and in fact [[PowersViaPossession use of superpowers]] can hasten the decay. This trope applies to both living, dead, and ''un''dead bodies; usually living bodies last longer and dead ones decay at a much faster rate, the tradeoff being that corpses [[FightingFromTheInside don't put up a struggle.]]

* In ''Film/TheDeadCenter'', John Doe's body is a wreck - catatonia, amnesia, shaking, labored breathing, coughing fits, etc. - due to this, [[spoiler: and it's possible the demon transferred to Dr. Forrester because John's body was too badly damaged in their final encounter.]]

** It was later revealed that [[spoiler: this was not the case, and that someone had tampered with the genetic sample for Palpatine, which is what actually caused the clone bodies to degrade so quickly. The fresh bodies start to degrade before they are even ready for possession, and Palpatine can't fix it because even the original genetic material used as the template is damaged.]]

* This happens in ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'' when high level deities inhabit mortal bodies. Order, for instance, can possess any ordercrafter of sufficient power and piety but they all quickly implode from the strain of his power. Those possessed by Lady Chaos explode or turn into monsters. It turns out that [[spoiler: defying this trope is the entire point of the series. Lady Chaos wants a vessel that won't explode when she inhabits it, so she sent Tasio to fetch Eric and mold him into someone who could withstand her power indefinitely.]]

* A variant of this occurs in the ''Literature/DresdenFiles'' novel ''Literature/SkinGame''. Harry's brain has been infected with a parasite which Mab is keeping at bay, in order to keep him under her thumb. If it keeps possessing him, it will cause him to degenerate wildly, starting with his brain. [[spoiler: Except that it's not -- not exactly. Rather, that's a spirit of intellect which is the end result of the thought patterns of Harry and Lash, and could be construed as his ''daughter''. Yes, he's pregnant. None of which means that it'll be any less detrimental to him when he, ahem, gives birth.]]
* In ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' [[spoiler: Darquesse plays this trope straight as a rod, describing in detail her organs melting whilst in the process of killing]] [[spoiler: Stephanie]] [[spoiler: whilst she is possessing the body of]] [[spoiler: Obloquy.]]

** Angels are so powerful that they will do this to any host that isn't specifically suited to them, doubly so for Archangels. [[spoiler:Sam and Dean]] are the result of generations of breeding to produce viable hosts for [[spoiler:Lucifer and Michael.]] Satan is forced to settle for his "second choice", and as the page quote shows, his raw power caused the host to slowly decay/burn despite the large amount of demon blood he was drinking. The implication is that any other host would be vaporized outright. [[spoiler: Even Sam isn't fully immune to this, and has to drink a couple of gallons of demon blood to survive Satan first possessing him. Whether or not he had to keep drinking it is never made clear, as the issue is resolved before long.]] Even Raphael's true vessel is left catatonic after being his possession. It may just be he didn't care to heal him, as Michael promises Dean he wouldn't leave him a "drooling mess" after possessing him. Bloodline are also important, and can help avert this. Michael's chosen host was [[spoiler:Dean, but he at one point possess John Winchester, and later uses Adam (Dean's half brother) when it becomes apparent he can't use Dean.]]

* ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'': After losing [[spoiler: Utsusemimaru]] as a host, AnimatedArmor villain Dogold is forced to use [[EliteMooks Cambrimas]]. Unfortunately for him, they only last a month, forcing him to keep moving on to a new Cambrima when the current one perishes. They ''melt'' when he leaves them. His goal for some time is getting [[spoiler: Utchy]] back, then it's finding a new host. Eventually, [[spoiler: the new general Endorf makes an ass of himself once too often, and so once weakened by King's SuperMode, Dogold kills two birds with one stone, getting rid of him and getting an even stronger host than Utsusemimaru.]]

* In ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'', [[spoiler:when [=DeVoe=] starts {{Body Surf}}ing through the bus metas, it turns out that his incredible intelligence starts doing the same kind of damage to these bodies as it did to his original one, which isn't helped by him constantly adding new powers to his repertoire. He seeks out Ralph Dibny to become his final host, as the elastic hero can shapeshift into an undamaged form no matter what harm he suffers.]]

* The BodySnatcher race known as the Ing in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' usually possess hosts with little trouble, though it is apparently a power that requires a little practice [[AllThereInTheManual according to Samus's scan notes.]] Younger Ing sometimes form imperfect possessions that cause permanent damage to the host form. Ing can also possess fresh corpses, but the bodies are still dead so they are slow and zombie-like. If inexperienced Ing bite off more than they can chew and try to possess powerful creatures, the creature can reject them or even kill them from within. The SpacePirates figured this out and began to look into how to prevent possession, though it mainly devolved into UnfriendlyFire or [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled suicide]].

* Vincent Olmstead from Videogame/Borderlands3 Guns, Love and Tentacles DLC is a Lovecraft-style cultist trapped inside the heart of an EldritchAbomination that can turn anyone who puts a [[ArtifactOfDoom ring made from a piece of the heart]] [[CloneByConversion into a copy of himself that he can control.]] The twist is that Vincent got put in the heart in the first place because he was terminally ill and that was the only thing that could stop the disease from killing him and since the ring can only recreate his body exactly as it was all the clones are terminally ill too but don't have the heart to keep them alive.

** Zouken Matou is constantly suffering from this. His method of prolonging life is by possessing and molding other bodies by filling them with worms, but each body lasts less than the previous one, and by the time the game starts, he can only remain in a body for a few months at most. It's revealed that this has less to do with the degenerating quality of his stolen bodies, but rather [[spoiler:the fact that his very soul is decaying]]. This is why he wants the Holy Grail, as it can allow him to achieve immortality [[spoiler:not through a wish, but through its true function, the creation of the Third Magic.]]
** In the ''Heaven's Feel'' route, [[spoiler:Shirou is implied to be suffering from this. Having Archer's left arm grafted onto him grants him Archer's stronger projection magic, but various scenes imply that Archer is actually still alive through the arm and dominating Shirou's mind whenever his powers are called upon (making this a case of PowersViaPossession). Because Servants have much heavier souls than normal humans, Shirou suffers from backlash whenever he uses the arm - eventually, when he uses it too much in a small time frame, it inflicts brain damage and causes swords to start growing out from under his skin, and in one Bad End Shirou outright becomes a vegetable due to using it too much too quickly. Even right after he receives the arm, Rin and Kirei need to put a magical seal on it to prevent it from causing this trope due to merely being attached to his body.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Wan wanted to be able to bend multiple elements to fight Vaatu. The Lion Turtle explained to him that humans lack the energy needed to bend more than one element at a time. To get around this problem, Wan allowed himself to fuse with Raava every time he needed to bend multiple elements. Holding a spirit and its extra power inside his body was extremely dangerous. Raava warned Wan that if she stayed inside him for too long he would die. In the end [[spoiler:they solve the problem by making the fusion between their spirits permanent by tapping into the [[WhenThePlanetsAlign Harmonic Convergence]], starting the Avatar Cycle.]]

* An evil mask that served as an early MonsterOfTheWeek in ''Anime/InuYasha'' causes its host to age and decay so fast that it's reduced to ''crude oil'' in under an hour. It sought a host that sustain it full-time.

* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' villain Worldkiller-1 burns out any body he possess if his host isn't strong enough to contain his spirit. In ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' he possessed a baseline human, and his victim's body melted in a matter of seconds.

* An evil mask that served as an early MonsterOfTheWeek in ''Anime/Inuyasha'' causes its host to age and decay so fast that it's reduced to ''crude oil'' in under an hour. It sought a host that sustain it full-time.