History Main / Psychopomp

* Myth/{{Hindu|Mythology}}: The Yamadoots, who serve Yama, the Lord Of Death and Justice.

* Zoroasterian: Daena for the righteous, Vizaresh for the wicked. They are the entities waiting at the end of the Chinvat Bridge, which is a nice wide path for the righteous that leads to the House of Song, but a thin strip for the wicked from which they'll be dragged to the House of Lies.

* ''Franchise/Pokemon'':

* ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': While Dusknoir's Pokedex entry ("the antenna on its head captures radio waves from the world of spirits that command it to take people there") would suggest that it abducts unwilling people, entries in later games suggest Dusknoir actually acts as a ferryman that guides lost souls "home" (into the realm of the dead). Drifblim is also stated in ''Ultra Sun'' to carry away people into the afterlife if they grab them at dusk.

** Kings could also climb a spiritual ladder into the sky and join the sun god in his solar boat.

* {{Valkyries}}: A Myth/{{Norse|Mythology}} counterpart, who specifically choose those who died an honorable death in combat, picking the warrior from the battlefield and taking him to Valhalla, the warrior's paradise.

* TheFerryman: A mythological archetype (usually [[Myth/GreekMythology Charon]]) who guides a character to a specific destination in their afterlife.

* Various: TheWildHunt acts in a similar role in some versions of the legend (in others, it's a hunting party either for demons, TheFairFolk, or the Old Gods. The French region of Bretagne has Ankou (or l'Ankou, ie the Ankou), which is similar to the Grim Reaper in many aspects but differs as his scythe is fit together wrongly ("emmanchée à l'envers") and that in some versions of the tale the last dead of the year fills the role for the following year, other versions have it that he is a suicide. Related: the washers at the ford wash the clothes of people about to die; in some legends, helping the washers is fine, but if you wash them the wrong way, the Ankou will assume you're dead and that it's your shroud.

* ''Literature/SwansBraidAndOtherTalesOfTerizan'': Ayzarua, goddess of the Gateway to Death. She guides the dead into the afterlife, though some won't go willingly and stay here as ghosts, annoying her.

* ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' had a brief side story about [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2023/05/05/wheel-saint Wheel Saint]], a psychopomp in [[UsefulNotes/TheEighties 1989]] who saves souls from [[PurgatoryAndLimbo Purgatory]] in his CoolCar on behalf of Heaven, racing against the [[{{Satan}} "other guy's"]] best driver.

* ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' had a brief side story about [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2023/05/05/wheel-saint Wheel Saint]], a psychopomp in [[UsefulNotes/TheEighties 1989]] who saves souls from {{Purgatory}} in his CoolCar on behalf of Heaven, racing against the [[{{Satan}} "other guy's"]] best driver.

* The Swedish children's book ''Nora från ingenstans'' (Nora from Nowhere), is about a young sick boy named Simon who ends up meeting a strange girl named Nora who's wearing some old worn shoes. Soon it is revealed that Nora was actually another child at the hospital who died and is now acting as Simon's friend before his own death. Soon, Nora gives Simon her shoes before disappearing, passing on the role to him to be a friend to another child that is about to die, knowing that child will eventually wear the shoes after him.

** A few psychopomps from alien cultures are show, like Kortar for Klingons, and the Registrar for Ferengi. ([[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane Always explainable as dreams, visions, or hallucinations]], of course.)

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' showed a few psychopomps from alien cultures, like Kortar for Klingons, and the Registrar for Ferengi. (Always explainable as dreams, visions, or hallucinations of course).
** The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Coda", has Captain Janeway dying and her father appearing to guide her to the next life. He turns out to be a hostile alien hoping to feed on her lifeforce. Chillingly when Janeway is about to be resuscitated by her crew, the alien tells her that she will die one day "and you will nourish me for a ''long'' time!"

* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', with the exception of [[PlayerCharacter the Hito-Shura]] and [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]] / [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th]], the [[BonusBoss holders of the Candelabra]] are various incarnations of death, including the Four HorsemenOfTheApocalypse, [[Literature/TheBible the trumpet-playing angel and the Whore of Babylon]], a Sokushinbutsu, [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg plus]] [[OriginalGeneration a matador and hell's angel]].

* Charlie and Minty Fresh in Creator/ChristopherMoore's ''Literature/ADirtyJob''.

* Gargravarr, guardian of the Total Perspective Vortex in ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse''.

* An early episode of ''Manga/{{InuYasha}}'' features the Soul Piper, a {{youkai}} who plays a flute for and entertains the souls of recently deceased children until they are ready to accept death and move on. Its eyes are [[EyesAlwaysShut usually closed]], but open slightly every time one of its charges does wrong; when its eyes open completely, the soul in question will be [[ShippedInShackles wrapped in chains]] and DraggedOffToHell.
* In ''LightNovel/SundayWithoutGod'', gravekeepers are something like a cross between psychopomps given physical form and ArtificialHuman. In a world without true death, these humanoid beings are the only ones who can grant rest to the living deceased. Protagonist Ai is half-human and half-gravekeeper, and while she can't sense the presence of the dead like full-blooded gravekeepers can, she can still properly bury them with the shovel given to her by her gravekeeper mother.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' Celty Sturluson is a [[HeadlessHorseman dullahan]] who rides around on her Coiste Bodhar, Shooter, in the form of a motorcycle and can utilize shadows to form things, notably her clothes and scythe. She used to inform the soon-to-be-dead of their impending demise until the loss of her head and memories, and has been looking for it ever since. This is complicated when [[spoiler:Izaya theorizes that dullahans are actually Valkyries that have fallen to earth and starts a gang war to awaken Celty's head so he can avoid the CessationOfExistence]]. In the end, Celty [[spoiler:is reunited with her head by Shingen, and now with all her memories intact, decides to return to her 'homeland' to fulfill her duties as a dullahan. However, Shinra is able to prevent her departure by once again severing her head by using Saika]].

* Islam: [[ArchangelAzrael Azrael]], although the Qur'an simply refers to him as "the Angel of Death". The Qur'an also mentions subordinate angels of death working under him. The traditions of the prophet Muhammad (Hadith) expand more on the angel of death's appearance as a large {{Eldritch Abomination}} covered in eyes and tongues. He lives under a magical tree, leaves fall from it with the names of humans to be slain. He is said to have a book of humans' names representing who is alive, he is constantly adding and removing names from it. He appears to the righteous as a familiar, attractive young man who gently takes their soul, but appears to the wicked as a hideous abomination, yanking their soul out violently. Finally, he is a good angel, only doing what God commands, not a force of evil.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-4999 SCP-4999]] is implied to be one; it manifests as a mysterious suited man who appears to ordinary, unimportant people who are otherwise DyingAlone and offers them OneLastSmoke.