History Main / SoulPoweredEngine

* ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'': It's eventually revealed that Argent Energy, used by multiple civilizations as a solution to their energy crises, is [[PoweredByAForsakenChild made of the souls of Hell's victims]], tortured horribly until their bodies and spirits are broken and [[DespairEventHorizon all hope has been driven from them]], before the souls are then harvested and converted into Hell Energy, which is then combined with Sentinel Energy and refined into Argent Energy. It is little wonder why the Slayer wants ''nothing to do'' with this energy, and why he destroyed the Argent Filters in the [[VideoGame/Doom2016 previous game]] to prevent them from being used.

* ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'': It's eventually revealed that Argent Energy, used by multiple civilizations as a solution to their energy crises, is in fact made from the processed souls of humans and other life forms killed by the demons and "refined" in the depths of Hell though [[ColdBloodedTorture very nasty means]], making it also an example of PoweredByAForsakenChild. It is little wonder why the Slayer wants ''nothing to do'' with this energy, and why he destroyed the Argent Filters in the [[VideoGame/Doom2016 previous game]] to prevent them from being used.

* ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'': It's eventually revealed that Argent energy, used by multiple civilizations as a solution to their energy crises, is in fact made from processed souls (human as well as alien lifeforms), refined in Hell itself.

* Used in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. Souls have power, quite literally. In fact, [[spoiler:the Philosopher's Stone turns out to be human souls condensed into energy]].
* In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'', [[spoiler:the human souls of the dead in our world serve as the fuel source for alchemy itself.]]
* In the ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' side story ''The Blue Destiny'', the super system [=EXAM=] is powered by the soul of a trapped Newtype girl named Marion Welsh, trapped there by its creator who feared Newtypes as a whole.
* Evangelions in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' are powered by souls, basically making them 3 human-like beings in one ([[ThereAreNoTherapists which is definitely]] [[HeroicBSOD a problem sometimes]]). [[spoiler:Typically they are the soul of the pilot's dead mother ([[AllPsychologyIsFreudian also weird]]).]]

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', the magical girls' magic gems, called soul gems, are [[spoiler: in fact [[SoulJar their souls]], removed from their bodies,]] that can be used to detect witches. [[spoiler: Everytime they use their powers their Soul Gems darken, turning them into a witch when it goes fully black. So they need [[SoulJar Grief Seeds]], which are souls of defeated witches, not to fuel their powers but to clear their soul gems and to prevent their becoming witches. Furthermore, because witches are magical girls who have gone evil, every grief seed is effectively a soul gem. So this Trope is played [[PlayingWithATrope straight]] and [[InvertedTrope inverted]] at the same time with the same thing.]]
* In ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', the Spiral Energy can do pretty much anything and it's the "scientific" representation of a person's soul.

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'': For a time, Dr. Eggman utilized this in the form of Egg Grape Chambers, in which he trapped live Mobians and/or humans and used their life force to power his city and technology. The process is anything but pleasant; Ixis Naugus was driven completely insane, Charmy Bee suffered amnesia, and thousands of others, especially [[DyingRace the Echidnas]], ''died''.
* In many of Creator/WarrenEllis's comics, most notably ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}'', Heaven and Hell are warring extradimensional engines powered by human souls ([[OurSoulsAreDifferent which are actually electromagnetic biosignatures]]) and the only way to escape them is to die in a nuclear reactor so that the electromagnetic pulse disrupts your essence.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' soulfire, the celestial counterpart to hellfire, draws upon its user's soul as a power source and can kill them if it's overused. However, as long as it's used in moderation the soul can recover from this with time (more quickly with the right emotionally "recharging" experiences to speed the process along) without suffering actual lasting damage. In fact, it's implied that repeated use actually strengthens the soul, allowing it to be used more in the future.
* The premise of an entire novel, ''Literature/TheGasp'' by Romain Gary. A scientist discovers a way to trap and harness 'something' that's released when people die, but being an atheist he refuses to believe it could be a "soul".

* ''Literature/{{Interworld}}'': HEX plays this trope completely straight, its ships' engines are literally powered by the souls of captured walkers. The process involves first [[SoulJar putting the soul in a jar]] and then using it as a power source. Both processes are excruciatingly painful.

* In the Creator/AlanDeanFoster short story "The Last Run", a "Banzai Runner" -- a member of a Southern California subculture who drive an assortment of CoolCars in very illegal ultra high-speed street races on the highway--winds up facing off against the Devil himself, in the form of a mysterious new contestant who drives a car "so black it was almost purple" with red headlights. In the end, the car is of course "powered by souls".
* ''Literature/{{Nightside}}'' features a [[SuicideAttack suicide bomber]] who'd had their soul transformed into a FantasticNuke that could damage the fabric of TheMultiverse. He eventually has a change of heart, but, unfortunately for him, the process is irreversible. Julien explains:
-->''"Blow an atom apart, and you get a lot of energy. Blow a ''soul'' apart, and you get the kind of energy, the kind of explosion, that can blow holes in reality itself ... There are those who see it as the ultimate form of suicide. [[CessationOfExistence Destroy your soul]], and you get to cheat Heaven and Hell."''

* Season Six of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' has the angel Castiel trying to garner 50,000 souls to power some sort of Angelic Nuclear Bomb. It's repeatedly stated that souls are basically nuclear reactors, which is why it takes some doing for God to forge them, and that an Angel's immense power is largely due to their [[AnatomyOfTheSoul Grace]] channeling this power.

* ''TabletopGame/GURPSTechnomancer''. The Soul Burner Gestalt is a necromantic device that converts the souls of sacrificed human victims into magical energy.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', the God Emperor of Mankind is kept alive thanks to the daily sacrifice of untold numbers of psykers, allowing his spirit to continue lighting the Astronomican without which interstellar travel is impossible.

** In the [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsII second game]], both King Vendrick and the Ivory King worked out a way to create golems that are powered by souls. They're just lifeless statues until an enemy is killed near them, at which point they absorb the soul and start moving. This could be a good thing (maybe the golem is the mechanism by which that heavy gate is opened) or a bad thing (maybe the golem will now start attacking you itself).

* In ''VideoGame/FallFromHeaven'', there's the 'Soul Forge' Wonder, an unholy engine that uses souls to speed production. In game-terms, this means that any unit that dies within a 1-square radius of the city, is added to its production (enemies and friends alike). If combined with Mokka's Cauldron - a Wonder that causes any unit that dies in the city to immediately be reborn as a Demon - a city can become essentially impossible to conquer, spawning units faster than you can kill 'em.

* In ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' M. Bison's Psycho Power is powered by his own, weaponized soul. Doubly so with Rose's canonically opposite Soul Power.

* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': Drake's Spirit Runes, which is a persons identity extracted into a stone. Creating one is completely harmless to the target.
* ''WebAnimation/DingoDoodles'': The parties mechanical dragon is powered by two gems one draws power from the sun, the other sucks up nearby souls and uses them as fuel. [[spoiler: If it's running low on souls it will attempt to refuel itself, through mass slaughter.]]

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' had that Haunted House that turned out to actually be an ELEVATOR TO HELL, with GHOSTS IN THE GAS-TANK! (Quoted verbatim.) Essentially, a number of captured spirits were used to power a spell that would open a gate into hell - and back - in order to provide a magician with an escape-clause from his Deal With The Devil.

The use of LifeEnergy or a soul, usually of human origin, as a type of AppliedPhlebotinum. That is, a funtional component or fuel of a machine.

** The series has this present with Soul Gems. Using a [[YourSoulIsMine Soul-Trap]] spell (or a weapon enchanted with that effect) on an enemy and then killing that enemy allows for the capture of that enemy's soul, as long as you have a large enough empty Soul Gem. (They typically range from Petty to Lesser to Common to Greater to Grand. Additionally there are Black Soul Gems, which are the equivalanet of Grand Soul Gems, which can trap sapient "black" souls, like those of [=NPCs=].) Filled Soul Gems can then be used to [[ItemCrafting enchant items]] to give them magical effects, or to recharge enchanted items.

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* In the ''Literature/DragonBones'' castle Hurog is one of those. It is PoweredByAForsakenChild, or maybe forsaken adolescent. Though not technically an engine, it is a self-repairing castle, with inbuilt magical servant/slave. The hero of the novel and current owner of the castle is not happy about this, but the only option to free the forsaken boy is to kill him.

* In the Creator/AlanDeanFoster short story "The Last Run" a "Banzai Runner"--a member of a Southern California subculture who drive an assortment of CoolCars in very illegal ultra high-speed street races on the highway--winds up facing off against the Devil himself, in the form of a mysterious new contestant who drives a car "so black it was almost purple" with red headlights. In the end, the car is of course "powered by souls".

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[[folder:TabletopGames]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' [[spoiler: the Nox Nyctores are revealed to have been created using a ton of human souls. Hazama also needs more souls to activate the Cauldron and create Kusanagi.]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

** It should also be noted that in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]], [[spoiler:the human souls of the dead in our world serve as the fuel source for alchemy itself.]]

* The premise of an entire novel, ''TheGasp'' by Romain Gary. A scientist discovers a way to trap and harness 'something' that's released when people die, but being an atheist he refuses to believe it could be a "soul".

* In many of Creator/WarrenEllis's comics, most notably ComicBook/{{Planetary}}, Heaven and Hell are warring extradimensional engines powered by human souls ([[LifeEnergy which are actually electromagnetic biosignatures]]) and the only way to escape them is to die in a nuclear reactor so the Electromagnetic Pulse disrupts your essence.

* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighter'' M. Bison's Psycho Power is powered by his own, weaponized soul. Doubly so with Rose's canonically opposite Soul Power.

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'': For a time, Dr. Eggman utilized this in the form of Egg Grape Chambers, in which he trapped live Mobians and/or humans and used their life force to power his city and technology. The process is anything but present; Ixis Naugus was driven completely insane, Charmy Bee suffered amnesia, and thousands of others, especially [[DyingRace the Echidnas]], ''died''.

* Season Six of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' has the angel Castiel trying to garner 50,000 souls to power some sort of Angelic Nuclear Bomb.

* In many of Creator/WarrenEllis's comics, most notably ComicBook/{{Planetary}}, Heaven and Hell are warring extradimensional engines powered by human souls ([[LifeEnergy which are actually electromagnetic biosignatures]]) and the only way to escape them is to [[CrazyAwesome die in a nuclear reactor so the Electromagnetic Pulse disrupts your essence.]]

The use of a human soul as energy to power a type of AppliedPhlebotinum. May Overlap with PoweredByAForsakenChild. See also HauntedTechnology. SubTrope of SoulPower.

* ''WebAnimation/DingoDoodles'': The parties mechanical dragon is powered by two gems one draws power from the sun, the other sucks up nearby souls and uses them as fuel. [[spoiler: If it's running low on souls it will attempt to refuel itself, through mass murder.]]