History Main / Telepathy

In a setting where there are telepaths, expect people to use PsychicStatic to protect their thoughts, and telepaths to construct a PsychicBlockDefense to give each other a PokeInTheThirdEye when they're snooping. Usually indicated by the PstandardPsychicPstance.

* The justification for the ConfessionCam segments on the kids' game show ''Series/{{Raven}}'' is the title character having this ability thanks to a device called the Raven's Eye.

* ''Anime/GodzillaCityOnTheEdgeOfBattle'': By borrowing the "Song of the Egg", the Houta are able to telepathically communicate with the landing team.
** ''Anime/GodzillaThePlanetEater'': The sequel reveals that the Exig possess similar PsychicPowers, enabling them to communicate telepathically and to induce visions and hallucinations.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Negi displays very limited mind reading ability in the first chapter (he puts his hand on the target's head and gets maybe 2 words out of it). Later on, the Pactio cards are introduced, which allows Negi and his partners to [[PsychicLink communicate telepathically]]. In addition, Nodoka gets a book that allows her to read people's thoughts as her artifact; after an upgrade she can essentially listen to the thoughts of anyone whose name she knows while another upgrade lets her find out anybody's name.
** Nodoka can also use her artifact on herself, which sometimes has hilarious results.
** [[WorldsStrongestMan Jack Rakan]] at one point [[PensieveFlashback peers into an opponent's mind to see their past]]. The only [[{{Handwave}} explanation]] we get is: "[[BadassBoast Nothing's impossible for me!]]"
** There are numerous levels and types of telepathy in Negima; it is implied to be an almost universal skill in Mages, with various degrees of power. For example telepathic communication even without Pactio's is rather basic, and WordOfGod states the reason Eva could instantly recognizes Nagi as an aged up Negi is because of another form of telepathy.

%%* Any Trance user in ''Manga/{{Psyren}}'', in the form of Mind Jacks.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Yellow from ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' can read the minds of Pokémon. As can [[spoiler:Lance]].
** Almost every ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' movie has the Pokémon it centers around being capable of telepathy. This almost never happens in the anime, and the first time it happens (in, of course, the first movie) everyone is surprised. By the eighth movie, Ash knows that Lucario is speaking to him through telepathy. Of course, it can be handwaved because a good deal of them are Psychic-Type (like Mewtwo and Jirachi), but it’s harder to explain for ones that aren’t (like Shaymin, Keldeo, and Diancie).
** One ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' episode featuring Jynx had a Lapras who spoke to Ash through telepathy.
** Anabel could communicate with her Pokémon with telepathy. This gave her a massive advantage in battle because she stays silent instead of CallingYourAttacks out loud, meaning her opponents could not predict her moves until they are launched. She tried to teach Ash and May to use telepathy, but failed.
* Joshua Christopher in ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' is able to read minds after he takes the horns of a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]] from the BigBad. However, [[PowerIncontinence he can't turn it off]], so it [[HearingVoices drives him]] [[ComesGreatInsanity insane]]. Mary Magdalene is also implied to be some sort of empath in the manga version of the series, but it's averted in the anime--she specifically tells Chrono that she can only see the future, and that she ''can't'' read minds.
* Some of the Espers of ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' have forms of telepathy. There are only two noteworthy cases, though; Haruue in ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'', and Misaki Shokuhou (a.k.a. "The Queen of Tokiwadai"). Haruue, as a Level 2, can only receive thoughts transmitted by other telepaths (such as her best friend Edasaki). Shokuhou, on the other hand, is a Level 5 telepath, and thus is capable of MassHypnosis and memory manipulation.

* ''Kichikujima''- Satoru the youngeset child of the family can read minds.
* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', Kyubey and magical girls can communicate with each other through telepathy.
* Satori of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' can read minds, much to Ranma's annoyance. He uses this power to [[LivingLieDetector reveal lies]], find out people's most private thoughts, and pit Akane against Ranma.
* Yukina from ''Anime/NightRaid1931'' uses this to great effect during spy missions with the Sakurai organization.
* Haruka Kotoura from ''Manga/KotouraSan'' is a fifteen-year old telepath who can't turn her ability off. As a child her [[InnocentlyInsensitive naturally naive personality]] causes her to simply blurt out sensitive information. This causes her to be labelled as a compulsive liar, to drive her friends and classmates away, and to cause her parent's divorce. However in highschool she is finally able to meet Manabe, someone who is transparent and honest and not scared of her ability.
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'' is usually more concerned with physical strength, but telepathy is important to the plot every now and again. The Kais all seem to have some level of mind reading and telepathic ability (King Kai's is so powerful he can psychically communicate with an entire planet at once, from anywhere in the universe). Babidi can use his magic for it, and even Goku and Vegeta will very rarely display low-level mind reading abilities.
** [[OldMaster Kame-sennin]] read the mind and memories of Nam, a powerful Indian mystic, without him noticing, just by standing near him. Korin can also read minds by just standing in front of a person and much later Goku learns to do this, but he needs to touch his target.
* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': Artemis and Luna have displayed some telepathic power, mainly the ability to re-awaken the Sailor Senshi's memories during the second season.
* ''Anime/SaintSeiya'': Hound Asterion can read minds, forcing Marin to completely clear her mind to beat him.

* ''Manga/CityHunter'': Episode 41 of season 2 where Ryo's client is a young girl with a unique telepathic ability to read minds. She can also [[TouchTelepathy gain access to other people's thoughts by touching them]]. When she does this on [[HandsomeLech Ryo]], this often leads to DirtyMindReading.
* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'': Telence D'Arby's [[FightingSpirit Stand]] Atum grants him a limited form of telepathy, wherein he can ask someone a question and then read their aura to get his answer; the drawback is that he's limited to "yes or no" questions. He uses this to trounce Jotaro at a baseball video game (asking questions like "Are you going to throw a curveball?", for example), until Jotaro's grandfather Joseph secretly uses his own Stand Hermit Purple to reach into the game console and change the inputs without even Jotaro knowing what they'll be. This means that while Jotaro's aura might say "Yes" to the curveball question, he'll throw a change-up, to D'Arby's growing confusion and anger; even worse, Atum reveals that Jotaro is cheating, [[NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught but he has absolutely no idea how]] until after he's lost and the Joestars reveal the trick.
* ''Manga/TheDisastrousLifeOfSaikiK'': Played for laughs. The title character is possibly the most powerful psychic individual on the planet, but none of his powers can be disabled, so telepathy ends up being a cacophony of noise. Despite this, he's learned to deal with it and it doesn't bother him, but being able to hear peoples thoughts and understand them simultaneously, he isn't surprised by anything, and can discern anyone's location by their thoughts (save for Nendo who is implied to be so stupid and impulsive that Saiki cannot determine where he is until he sees him as Nendo doesn't think, he just acts.). This is part of the reason he refuses to try and get to know certain characters, as he can hear their true thoughts (such as the haughty Teruhashi who talks nice to people but is a BitchInSheepsClothing).
** An episode focuses on Saiki discovering a Germanium ring that allows him to shut his telepathy off when worn, and it shows that he's so used to using his telepathy that he has a hard time walking about in public. He gets startled by his dad who opens his door rather calmly to tell him about dinner, and he dad figures he's just making fun of him given he knows his son can hear his thoughts.
** One episode played for laughs is the sudden appearance of a cockroach. Saiki admits he's terrified of bugs because they don't have thoughts he can read, and spontaneously teleports himself from his home in Japan to Texas in a panic. He teleports back, and gets a knock at the door, which turns out to be Nendo. He then teleports across the world again for the same reason.
* ''Manga/SPYxFAMILY'': Anya Forger is an orphan who was experimented on at a very young age, and thus gained the ability to read minds. Thanks to this, she knows that her adopted parents are a spy and an assassin even when neither of them know the other's true occupation, or about Anya's psychic abilities.
* ''Manga/TheMuteGirlAndHerNewFriend'' is about Mashiro, a mute girl whose {{Tsundere}} new friend Kokosaki can read minds, enabling her to know what Mashiro feels without having to say it outright.

* The Solarian Combine in ''Literature/DesignForGreatDay'' by Creator/AlanDeanFoster have developed telepathy into what is effectively a multi-species, intergalactic HiveMind. This is treated as the natural and [[TheSingularity penultimate evolutionary stage]] of all species.

* In ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'', the dragons and their riders communicate telepathically. It is very unusual for a DragonRider to be able to talk with any dragon other than her or his own, but a handful of such people have existed, among them Moreta, Lessa and Brekke.

* The childhood friends have this in ''Literature/{{Dreamcatcher}}'', and the Byrus somehow spread a low-grade version of it to the people nearby, which they weaponize in the movie when the Apache gunship crews can hear the aliens pleading in their heads that they're harmless and shouldn't be attacked (Colonel Curtis responds with his own RousingSpeech).
* Present in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Although invading the mind of a human is against wizard law -- that is, reading minds and mind control -- transmitting one's own thoughts is legal. This was used once in a chaotic situation, when an EldritchAbomination that could kill with a touch was released in a crowded room. A powerful wizard used magic to communicate a tactical plan for dealing with it to everyone in the room, complete with visual aids superimposed on the surroundings, all in the space of a second.
* Believed to exist in the ''Literature/{{Eldraeverse}}'', until its possessors developed enough science to reveal it as organic Wi-Fi.

* In the ''Literature/FirebirdTrilogy'', both the Sentinels and the Shuhr have telepathic powers. The Sentinels are the "good guys", with strict and strictly enforced limits on how they are allowed to use their powers. The Shuhr are much less pleasant, as they do not put any limits on their use of power, leading to rather frequent MindManipulation among those they come in contact with (including the less powerful among their own race).

* In the ''Literature/{{Tempest}}'' trilogy, both merfolk and selkies can communicate telepathically. They can use different channels for communication, similar to radio frequencies. At first Tempest can only use the private channel she shares with Kona, but he teaches her to use a more common channel so she can communicate with his friends.

* ''Fanfic/MeetingOfMinds'': Thanks to his extended time spent with Soundwave, Rumble's acquired some basic telepathic powers. While not accomplished enough to engage in mind-reading, he ''can'' pick up sufficiently loud thoughts from nearby individuals.

->'''Uncle Mr. Bones''': You see, everyone has different brains. Some brains can talk to each other. We call this "E.S.P.".\\

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* Present in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Although invading the mind of a human is against wizard law - that is, reading minds and mind control -- transmitting one's own thoughts is legal. This was used once in a chaotic situation, when an EldritchAbomination that could kill with a touch was released in a crowded room. A powerful wizard used magic to communicate a tactical plan for dealing with it to everyone in the room, complete with visual aids superimposed on the surroundings, all in the space of a second.

* Sookie Stackhouse, the central character of ''Series/TrueBlood'' is a telepath.
** She also met a character named Barry Horowitz, who is a telepath.

** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E89ToServeMan To Serve Man]]", the Kanamits' means of communication is mental rather than verbal. As such, the voice that humans hear when speaking with Kanamits is "totally mechanical."
** This is the main conceit of "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS4E107Mute Mute]]". Humanity communicated concepts this way before language came about, rather than with miscellaneous mundane sounds and gestures. Speech largely overwrites it, but with severe training, telepathy can be learned like any other language or talent. Interestingly, the talent also provides the ability to see things remotely, such as when Ilse remotely scans the wreckage of her home.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone2019'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone2019S2E1MeetInTheMiddle Meet In The Middle]]" Phil and Annie's minds are linked, with both of them being able to hear each others' thoughts. However, they have to intend for this and specifically think of the other person.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': After San [[TwoBeingsOneBody fuses with Vivienne Graham]], they can communicate with each-other, feel impressions of each other's emotions, and if they choose to, even [[ExpositionBeam exchange memories]]. It also turns out that [[spoiler:Ghidorah, once its minds have regenerated]], can also telepathically communicate with Viv and San via a PsychicLink.

** In the Franchise/MonsterVerse, it's revealed in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' that Ghidorah's [[MultipleHeadCase three heads]] have telepathic capabilities which they used to communicate with each other. [[spoiler:Apex Cybernetics attempt exploiting the still-living neurons of Ghidorah's skull to create ElectronicTelepathy with which they can control Mechagodzilla, only for Ghidorah's consciousness remnants to hijack the link and become reborn in Mechagodzilla]].

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': After San [[TwoBeingsOneBody fuses with Vivienne Graham]], they can communicate with each-other, feel impressions of each other's emotions, and if they choose to even [[ExpositionBeam exchange memories]]; in a TwinTelepathy. It also turns out [[spoiler:Ghidorah, once its minds have regenerated]], can also telepathically communicate with Viv and San via a PsychicLink.

** Natural born psychics include Charles Xavier, Jean Grey, [[spoiler: Nathaniel Essex a.k.a. Sinister]], Betsy Braddock, Emma Frost and Harry Thorson.
** Telepaths via magic include Loki, Dumbledore and Voldemort [[spoiler: in chapter 68, he steals a significant portion of Harry's psychic powers]].

* In ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures'', the Hermit of Hekima possesses this ability. [[spoiler: In ''The Curse of Death'', he reads Simba's mind in order to get an idea of his personality.]]

* Voldemort in ''Fanfic/MyImmortal'' can read minds, because he "[[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe hath]] [[RougeAnglesOfSatin tele]]''[[MindOverMatter kinesis]]''"

* In ''Fanfic/KiraIsJustice'', there is the telepathy necklace, which lets Justice and Landras talk to each other via telepathy. This is [[EnforcedTrope enforced]] to fix the fact that Light talked to Ryuk in his room without his family noticing.
* ''FanFic/RacerAndTheGeek'', introduces a kind of pseudo-telepaphy in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/81159/7/racer-and-the-geek/teatime chapter seven. ]] by which magic users can communicate telepathically.
* The WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}[=/=]ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes FanFic series ''Legion of Lawndale Heroes'' has a lot of telepaths, and deals with the problems of being a telepath. There are so many telepaths in society (albeit not revealed to the [[{{Muggles}} general public]], they operate in government, the [[SuperSoldier military forces]] of many countries, and in [[CutLexLuthorACheck the corporate sectors]]) that the nations of the world have laws enacted and adhered to by even the rogue nations that police people with not just psi-powers, but powers in general. You can actually get a legitimate job with PsychicPowers, with the understanding that if you misuse them in your work, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard it's your fault]], not the fault of [[CorruptCorporateExecutive the people who hired you.]]
* In ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', the Kansael gives John the ability to communicate telepathically through water. Mostly this means he has to touch the others to “connect their water-strings,” but he can also connect them via a puddle, and he has much longer range in a body of water like the ocean, though just how long is not known. Nor is it known whether he can do more than just talk. He can, however, tap into Ringo's mindsight.
** In ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone'' John proves unable to do anything except talk with his water-telepathy; he can't even take information from an unwilling mind. However, the ability of the four to speak together in telepathic privacy turns out to be immensely useful, since they can plan without fear of being overheard by anyone.
*** Also in ''Keys'', John has to contend with a roomful of telepaths who are primed to mentally beat him up the second he tries to do anything. That he manages to evade them is partially due to the Kansael and partially to his own bad temper.
*** George occasionally [[VoluntaryShapeshifting becomes a telepathic creature]] in ''Keys'' but never does figure out how to use telepathy.
* [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/85411/reflections Reflections]], a followup story to ''FanFic/LastOneStanding'' by the [[http://www.fimfiction.net/user/kalash93 same author,]] expands further on the idea. Arparently, Luna and Celestia don't even need to speak, be in close proximity, or even use language in order to communicate with each other. They choose to communicate almost exclusively by mortal methods in order to maintain those skills as well as to respect each other's privacy.

* The title character of ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' is considered a telepath, as are the Psyches.
* When ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesGetXtreme'' [[CrossOver crosses over]] with ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' in chapter 6, the FridgeLogic behind Calvin being able to hear Garfield's thoughts is naturally [[LampshadeHanging addressed]], with Garfield's theory on the matter being that Calvin has this.
* Johnny and Roy end up with a telepathic link in ''[[http://susanproto.freeservers.com/Bound%20by%20Friendship.htm Bound by Friendship]]'' after they grab hands during a building collapse. They keep talking telepathically until over 24 hours later when they finally break the hold.
** The cat shifters in [[http://shiloh.tvheaven.com/hall.html this]] paranormal themed fic have telepathy as a standard ability when in cat form.
* ''Fanfic/SecondWind'': A minor version of this occurs with great proficiency in Observation Haki, allowing someone focusing hard enough to read the emotions of others with extreme precision, to the point of understanding their thoughts. Luffy and Zoro, two who possess such a skill, have used it a few times to convey messages while in the presence of others.
* In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'', several {{Kaiju}} such as Mothra, Grand King Ghidorah, and Kaizer Ghidorah possess telepathic abilities, allowing them to communicate with other races like humans. Since he's evil, Grand King Ghidorah also goes the mind control and MindRape routes.
* Mostly monsters, but also humans to a limited degree, in the ''Videogame/{{Undertale}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Visiontale}}'', [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/8779618/chapters/20125687 posted on Archive of Our Own]]. Social customs dictate when a monster can read someone else's thoughts.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Kamikakushi}}'', tsukumogami like Botan and Churippu communicate by projecting images.
* In ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/330336/just-a-pony Just a Pony]]'', it turns out that Vinyl Scratch is mute, but has a spell that lets her communicate via telepathy. She can only do it with one pony at a time, however.

* ''Fanfic/BoldoresAndBoomsticks'': Most (but not all) Psychic types use this to communicate. It causes some difficulty when Whisper tries to use [[MakeMeWannaShout Round]], because she hadn't used her vocal chords before.

* ''Creator/DavidCronenberg'', movie ''Film/{{Scanners}}'' the titular characters posses telepathic powers which on one scene are shown to be so powerful they can blow up a man's head.
* The Quasi-Dead from ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' possess powerful telepathic powers.

* The mutants in the second ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' film are telepathic.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
** Professor Charles Xavier's mutation grants him many psychic-related skills. He can read and communicate with other minds (in their [[Film/XMenApocalypse native language]], no less), access, suppress and restore memories, apply MindManipulation (PeoplePuppets are his specialty and he knows a few {{Jedi Mind Trick}}s) along with SeeingThroughAnothersEyes, generate mental blocks around a mutant's subconscious to reduce the full magnitude of their ability, [[Film/XMenFirstClass induce sleep]], summon a projection of himself, [[Film/X2XMenUnited kill someone with sufficient concentration]], and he can even [[spoiler:[[Film/XMenTheLastStand transfer his consciousness into another body]]]].
** Jean Grey, almost to Xavier's levels.
* Howard in ''Film/PrettyCool'' has this as part of his Mind Control powers.
** And in [[Film/PrettyCoolToo the sequel]], the Genie can [[InsistentTerminology interpret people's thoughts]].
* Regan [=MacNeil=] seems to have picked up some telepathic ability in ''Film/ExorcistIITheHeretic'', probably from using the brainwave synchronizer. When she helps autistic Sandra to speak, Dr. Tuskin knows exactly what she did and warns her it's not polite to get in people's heads without permission.
* Weaponised in ''Film/{{Dreamcatcher}}'' when the Apache gunship crews can hear the aliens pleading in their heads that they're harmless and shouldn't be attacked. Colonel Curtis responds with his own RousingSpeech.
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in ''Film/LetItRide'', where it seems like everyone else can read Jay Trotter's mind, especially when he's doing an InnerMonologue calculating how much someone may make, and the person (like the bathroom attendant) admitting it's not much, but it's a living.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:''
** Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch. In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', she induces hallucinations in the Avengers to [[MindRape reveal their worst fears]], reads Ultron's mind, [[TwinTelepathy instantly feels when her brother dies]] and mentally influences the civilians en masse to make them leave a war zone.

* ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'': Two or more Gelflings can "dreamfast" (read each other's mind) by touching their hands. They cannot pass on anything they saw in another dreamfast, only their own memories; this limitation drives a lot of the plot in ''[[Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance the series]]''.

* The ''{{Literature/Alterien}}'' series. As enhanced humanoids, the Alteriens are all telepathic.
* The spirits and the Aash Ra are all telepaths in ''Literature/AstralDawn''.

* Alfred Bester's novel ''Literature/TheDemolishedMan'' explores what would happen to human societies if telepathy were discovered to be not only real and provable, but a talent that could be developed in the manner of any other skill. With a guild to maintain ethical standards, "peepers" become valuable, contributing members of society.

* ''Literature/ThatIrresistiblePoison'' by AlessandraHazard: People from the planet Calluvia are all telepaths, though they have different levels of telepathic power.

** Lady Galadriel greets each of the Fellowship with a searching telepathic question, which greatly unnerves some of them. She also communicates without speaking with Gandalf, Celeborn and Elrond using {{Telepathy}} at the end of the final book. It appears to be a family trait, her brother Finrod could not only communicate telepathically, but was actually able to full-on read people's minds ([[MundaneUtility he used it to become an omniglot]]).

* ''Literature/MurderForTheModernGirl'': Ruby Newhouse has the ability to read the minds of other people and discern their thoughts. She uses this as a vigilante to hunt down heinous men who harm women and poison them. It's later revealed that [[spoiler:Ruby can break into the memories and minds of people, but it's dangerous for her as she could get permanently trapped in someone's mind that way.]]
* Gamina from ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' has this ability.
* The Flame and Deca from ''Literature/TalesOfAnMazingGirl'' can do this. The Latter most sensibly, To Insider Trades on the stock market to get a huge fortune.
* Creator/AlanDeanFoster:
** The (extinct) Tar-Aiym and the Ulru-Ujurrians in his ''Literature/HumanxCommonwealth'' series.
** The Solarian Combine in ''Literature/DesignForGreatDay'', who have developed telepathy into what is effectively a multi-species, intergalactic HiveMind. This is treated as the natural and [[TheSingularity penultimate evolutionary stage]] of all species.
* The telepaths in Creator/JohnBrunner's ''Literature/{{Telepathist}}'' covers the heroic range of this trope (split into "receptive" (able to listen) and "projective" (two-way), but most of all it's seen as a benefit to mankind. Actually having the ability to feel and see what someone is thinking is shown to be invaluable in, say, clinical psychology or conflict negotiation. However,when a really powerful telepath succumbs to the temptation to construct a DreamLand like their patients', they can construct a grand hallucination that another telepath has to [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind pull them out of]].
* In the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'', it seems that all magic users have the potential to become telepaths. Anyone with sufficient training can attempt to resist an attack upon their mind.
%%* Farseeking in Literature/TheObernewtynChronicles.
* Creator/JohnWyndham's classic ''Literature/TheChrysalids'', in which the core characters can share what they dub 'thought-shapes', implied to be an intermediate stage on the way to full telepathy. In the midst of its larger points re: resistance to change and growth, the novel also acts as probably the most famous serious exploration of the fear and horror telepathy might inspire in the wider 'normal' community.
* In ''Literature/AlexAndTheIronicGentleman'', this is how Lord Poppinjay attempts to communicate with his staff, much to their bewilderment. Alex is able to “communicate” back by offering suggestions as to the course of action, but phrasing it as though it was Poppinjay’s idea. He confirms that of course, that is exactly what he was thinking.
* In Creator/MarionZimmerBradley's ''Literature/{{Darkover}}'' series, the noble caste (referred to as "Comyn"), have telepathy as one of their defining features, along with red hair. With a society where most of the people (at least those who appear in the books) have telepathy has led to interesting social rules like 'Do not enter another's mind without permission' and if one accidentally 'hears' something they weren't meant to, it is considered polite not to mention it. Also, if one is suffering from mental anguish, one tries to keep one's thoughts to oneself so as not to burden others with their emotions. These do not apply to the mind-blind peasant class, who treat the Comyn as descended from Gods. Interesting world, Darkover.
* Katherine Kurtz's Literature/{{Deryni}} have a full range of telepathy from an empathic sensing of emotions through Truth Reading (detecting if someone is telling a lie) through compelling them to speak the truth and all the way up to total MindControl. They can also send and receive words (Mind Speech) and images at a much faster rate than ordinary speech. These skills prove highly useful when questioning people or gathering information from scouts, not to mention facilitating private conversations in the presence of other people. The good guys tend to reserve MindControl for maintaining the {{Masquerade}}; the bad guys (and girls) have no such compunctions.
* "Literature/GreybackInBlue": Most of the animal mutants, later revealed to be [[StarfishAliens Pilgrims]] possessing regular animals, in the story are telepathic and communicate by speaking directly to Joe's brain.
* ''Literature/MaximumRide'' has Angel. She's six years old and can make you buy her a teddy bear - or make a flying enemy fall by telling them to.
* [[Literature/HellsGate Sharona's]] Voices have perfect recall and can send and receieve telepathic messages to each other, including sensory information - sight, sound, smell, and touch, but can't read minds. On the other hand, Sifters can't send messages, but they can tell when other people are lying or telling the truth.
* [[Literature/TheSookieStackhouseMysteries Sookie Stackhouse]] views her telepathy as a [[BlessedWithSuck curse]] and usually tries hard to block out other people's thoughts.
* Mentioned at the end of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', when Gandalf, Galadriel, Celeborn and Elrond appear to communicate without speaking. Creator/JRRTolkien wrote a more detailed account of telepathy among Ainur (lesser deities), Elves and to a lesser extent Men in the essay called "Osanwe-kenta."
* Kris/Deliann's "flashes" in ''[[Literature/TheActsOfCaine Blade of Tyshalle]]''.
* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar:'' "Mindspeech" is one of the most common [[PsychicPowers Gifts]] among Heralds, and is occasionally found in other lands. Most, but not all, Heralds can speak mentally with their [[BondCreatures Companions]]. Stronger Mindspeakers can communicate with each other, pick up surface thoughts of others, and sometimes make themselves heard by the non-Gifted. The most powerful are capable of mind probes and mental control. Training is required to learn how to [[PsychicBlockDefense "shield"]] to prevent HearingVoices and other PowerIncontinence. Stories with Mindspeaking protagonists often discuss MindOverManners; Heralds being [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Heralds]], they never use their Gifts for personal gain, but often struggle with how much invasion of privacy and violation of another's free will is justified by the situation at hand.
* There's also "mind-speech" in the Zilpha Keatley Snyder ''Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy''. Telepathy in general is called pensing. A game called Five-Pense is played by little children to practice and strengthen these abilities, progressing from Signals and Choices to Images, Thoughts and Words.
* Zenna Henderson's ''[[Literature/ThePeople People]]'' communicate mentally as a routine thing. According to the narrator in "Deluge", they also have subvocal communication -- which is real, and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocal_recognition now being researched]]. Some of them are able to get in other people's heads and do file management, including deletion of information they shouldn't have.
* Literature/JakubWedrowycz has this ability. He refers to it as a "frequency" to which one must tune himself, much like a radio.
* The technological level of the [[Literature/TheCulture Culture]] in the Iain M. Banks novels is so high that the super-intelligent A.I. Minds are capable of reading the minds of humans, thanks to some kind of 'action/sensing-at-a-distance' effect. This is, however, considered taboo.
* In the ''Literature/FirebirdTrilogy'', both the Sentinels and the Shuhr have telepathic powers. The Sentinels are the "good guys", with strict and strictly enforced limits on how they are allowed to use their powers. The Shuhr are much less pleasant, as they do not put any limits on their use of power, leading to rather frequent MindManipulation among those they come in contact with (including the less powerful among their own race).
* Anyone in [[{{Animorphism}} morph]] in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' has the ability to project thoughts to others, called "thought-speech," conveniently solving the problem of how to communicate once your entire team has turned into, say, fish. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Other than in the first book]], mind reading or receiving thoughts from a non-thought-speaker is not possible. [[OurCentaursAreDifferent Andalites]] have no mouths and use thought-speech naturally, as do a few other races; the Andalites presumably built it into the morphing technology so they wouldn't lose the ability when they changed form. The Animorphs do encounter one species, the Leerans, who ''can'' read minds; the [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerks]] are highly interested in them because of this.
* In the ''Literature/{{Uplift}}'' series Galactics have several technologies to enhance telepathy and use it primarily to detect sapient minds at great distances or last resort communications (the psionic equivalent of a distress beacon is called a "psi-bomb" for a reason).
* Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' features several telepathic species.
* ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' grants its heroes the Lens, which makes the user telepathic if they aren't already, and able to converse in any language, human or alien. The more powerful Lensmen, including some belonging to already-telepathic races, have powers extending to mind control.
** Smith was well aware of the moral implications of access to this sort of power. Producing the Lenses are the Arisians, guardians of Galactic Civilization who see to it that nobody gets a Lens who would in any way be tempted to misuse it. Furthermore, the Lenses themselves are explicitly tuned to the mind of the person they're made for, to the point where they'll kill anyone else who tries to wear it. (They evaporate after the wearer's death, to avoid being a perpetual menace.)
* All the Martian races in ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' are mildly telepathic--mostly this is used to [[TheBeastmaster control domestic animals]], but can also be used to [[LivingLieDetector determine if someone is telling the truth]] during conversation. The First Born (aka Black Martians) largely do ''not'' have this ability, but their leader [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Issus]] does, which helps her cement her position as a living goddess. Certain groups have more advanced telepathic powers, such as the Lotharians (an isolated sect of White Martians who have developed tremendous powers of illusion, but become detached from reality as a result) and the kaldanes (crab-like creatures that are almost all brain and can seize control of anyone who makes eye contact with them). Earth humans, for whatever reason, can NoSell telepathic probing, something that comes in handy for Earth-born hero Carter during his adventures.
* ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'' references an entire planet of beings who were [[BlessedWithSuck cursed]] with telepathy. Everyone on their entire planet could hear every thought in every other mind on the planet, whether they wanted to or not -- which quickly threatened to drive them bonkers from information overload and/or sheer boredom. They solved this by adopting the habit of constantly talking loud enough to drown out the constant, unwanted incoming mental transmissions.
* A common ability among the people of Ki, the world where the ''Literature/{{Kadingir}}'' series is set. It is used both as a close-range and far-reach means of communication, and pretty much everyone can do it with a little concentration, although it's use is very uneven: for some races it basically replaced vocal speach, while others have too short of an attention-span to bother.

* Present in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Although invading the mind of a human is against wizard law - that is, reading minds and mind control -- transmitting one's own thoughts is legal. This was used once in a chaotic situation, when an EldritchAbomination that could kill with a touch was released in a crowded room. A powerful wizard used magic to communicate a tactical plan for dealing with it to everyone in the room, complete with visual aids superimposed on the surroundings, all in the space of a second.
* In ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'', [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Edward]] can read people's minds, though for some reason cannot read Bella's. [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Shapeshifters]] in the same pack can read each other's thoughts while in wolf form; Alphas of different packs can communicate mentally but not read each other's minds.
* Appears in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' in the form of Legilimency, the magic art of navigating and interpreting the mind. Also generally an aversion of the ConvenientlyCoherentThoughts trope common to telepathy stories.
* In Creator/MCAHogarth's ''Literature/{{Paradox}}'' series the [[SpaceElves Eldritch]] and [[OurCentaursAreDifferent Glaseah]] are telepathic, the former species have little control over their powers and shun them, while the latter embrace it to the point of preferring telepathy to verbal speech. Jahir and Vasiht'h are an Eldritch and Glaseah pair of psychologists who use their abilities to affect their client's [[DreamWeaver dreams]].
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/SargassoOfLostStarships'', the aliens. They can appear however they please, and launch nightmarish psychic attacks. Donovan, however, says they are not telepaths, refering to their inability to receive thoughts or control minds.
* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': Dragons can mind-speak with their flyers and only their flyers.
* In ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' the dragons and their riders communicate telepathically. It is very unusual for a DragonRider to be able to talk with any dragon other than her or his own, but a handful of such people have existed, among them Moreta, Lessa and Brekke.

* Some of the Martian people of Creator/LeighBrackett's novels were telepathic, including Captain Phil Kirby's Martian wife Shari in ''[[http://www.baenebooks.com/chapters/4410177015/4410177015.htm Alpha Centauri or Die]]''. When Kirby's ship makes it to Alpha Centauri, Shari encounters indigenous creatures who are true telepaths, able to teleport things and people at will. They can even see inside atoms.

* The WebNovel ''Literature/{{Ketrin}}'' features telpathic lupinoids, resembling big wolves with stripes, that communicate telepathically. Humans can also gain telepathy, either by suckling lupinoid milk in infancy as {{WildChild}}ren, or by a telepath mingling blood from a cut with a non-telepath. In theory it would be possible for a human to gain telepathy directly from a lupinoid's blood, but needless to say they're reluctant to part with it.
* Avery Lazar and Oksana, from ''Literature/VampireAcademy'', can read minds.
* Raziel, from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'', can read minds and hearts; justified due to his angelic status.
* Believed to exist in the ''Literature/{{Eldraeverse}}'', until its possessors developed enough science to reveal it as organic Wi-Fi.
* Dolphins in ''Literature/WetGoddess'' are capable of this. Human minds are mostly unfit for telepathy, [[HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs unless they're stoned]].
* In ''Literature/TheCloakSociety'', Shade can not only read minds but reshape them, controlling people and erasing their memories.
* This is Saleem's power in ''Literature/MidnightsChildren''. He has a particularly powerful version: not only can he read surface thoughts, he can share perception; with effort, he can pry into deeper, specific memories; he can [[ExpositionBeam transmit and receive images and information]]; he can intuitively sense the other midnight's children; he can transform himself into a mental relay that allows every midnight child to communicate with each other; and his range extends across all of India.
* Alex Courtney possesses telepathy in the YoungAdult ''Literature/JackBishop'' novels by Steve Diamond. Having been something she'd grown up with, she's pretty comfortable with them but they get ''very'' annoying when she's a teenage girl.
* In ''Literature/TheShatteredKingdoms'', Norlanders speak telepathically, although not at any significantly greater distance than normal speech allows. Their telepathy can convey emotional states as well as actual words, and makes it hard to lie. The Shadari are unable to use telepathy, and can't hear what the Norlanders say (although some Norlander characters have trouble believing this and express suspicion that the Shadari are just faking it so that they can eavesdrop).
* In ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', Esme can read Iseult's mind, regardless of whether the latter agrees to it.
* In ''Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict'', both Frigg and Freya can read minds with no effort whatsoever.
* In the novella ''Literature/ATasteOfHoney'', the Ashëans, due to being SemiDivine, are capable of communicating telepathically.
* ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'': Since they live within God's omniscient mind, Beatrice and other saints can respond to the complex theological questions Dante has before he asks them aloud. In Dante's own (heavily translated and context-extracted) words, Beatrice "read me as I read myself."
* In John French’s ''Literature/ThousandSons'' novels, the titular {{Evil Sorcerer}}s all spend more time communicating with each other telepathically than they do with their actual voices. They can also use their telepathy to invade other peoples’ minds and brainwash them, as [[spoiler:Sanakht]] does to [[spoiler:Hemellion]] in ''Ahriman: Sorcerer''.
* In the Creator/HPLovecraft collaboration ''The Mound'', a conquistador discovers a subterranean humanoid race which communicates almost entirely by telepathy.
* ''Literature/IAmMordred'': It turns out that Mordred can hear Merlin in the form of a hawk this way.

** ''Literature/TheHanSoloTrilogy'': [[FantasticDrug Glitterstim]] temporarily gives users this ability. Bria uses some to reveal that Teroenze, the High Priest of her religion, really is just a con artist who made the entire thing up.

* In ''Literature/DadAreYouTheToothFairy'', fairies [[HereThereWereDragons had to leave]] but if the children's parents sit with their eyes closed in a quiet area, they can hear the fairies talking to them in their heads.
* In ''Literature/HiveMind'', Amber is one of five telepaths, and as such is desperately needed to police a Hive City of a hundred million people (ideally, there should be at least eight telepaths). She's a particularly powerful telepath; as she reads minds she experiences "levels" of thought, and people are startled by an offhand comment implying how many levels she experiences. There are up and downsides; being so powerful makes her TheEmpath in addition and makes her invested in making people happy, but it also makes her vulnerable. There are also borderline telepaths, who only gain flashes or "insights" of telepathy and, while still rare, are more common than true telepaths like Amber.
* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': Sorcerers can easily broadcast their thoughts over long distances, either to a specific recipient or to anyone with SupernaturalSensitivity. Some non-magical people can learn the ability as well; Polgara teaches it to her retainer Killane by tricking him with a MagicFeather at first.
* Creator/IsaacAsimov:
** "Literature/GreenPatches": The life on Saybrook's Planet have evolved [[TheNamesake green patches]] that [[BizarreAlienSenses allow it to sense the minds of other living things]]. From the "little multipliers in the darkness" (bacteria) and "the non-movers, which, [...] were green and lived on the air, water, and soil" (plants), to "moving runners" (mice and hamsters) and "keen-thinkers" (humans).
** "Literature/TheWateryPlace": Subtly implied by one of the aliens saying that they can see "in [his] mind" that the sheriff really wanted them to leave. Obviously not very good telepathy, because then they'd know he thought they were merely humans giving him grief.
* ''Literature/TheNorbyChronicles'':
** The [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Jamyn dragons]] can send/receive surface thoughts, and grant this ability to their human visitors such as Jeff, who can now use TouchTelepathy with his RobotBuddy.
** One of Norby's many talents is his ability to communicate surface thoughts to people. When he first met Jeff, he inadvertently sent his feelings of [[TheEmpath loneliness]] when Jeff touched the stasis box that was holding him.
* In the ''Literature/{{Bounders}}'' series, this is how the Youli communicate. In ''The Tundra Trials'', Waters implants Youli skin cells in Jasper and Mira's brain stems, allowing them to communicate mind-to-mind so Jasper can act as [[TheSpeechless Mira]]'s translator.

* ''Literature/OfFireAndStars'': Queen Invasya communicates with Dennaleia when "advising" (manipulating) her in competition with other trainees this way. Dennaleia doesn't realize who's in her head at first.
* ''Literature/RemembranceOfEarthsPast'': Sort of. Trisolarans' thoughts are transparent to each other, meaning that they can read each others' minds even at significant distances. As a result they have very little experience with deception and political intrigue, forcing them to rely on their human collaborators to deduce Earth's defensive strategies.
* In ''Literature/TheMermaidChronicles'', this is how mermaids mainly communicate. They instinctively move their lips while they do it, but it's hard to hear each other underwater.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfDorsa'': Tasia communicates with Joslyn by using this after learning magic. It helps them to silently coordinate their fight with an enemy.
* ''Literature/ShatterTheSky'': Maren gets flashes of what her girlfriend Kaia is experiencing over long distances, and can sense what dragons think as well. It later lets her see what Sev is going through as well. Dragons in turn communicate partly by telepathy themselves, and can bond to humans doing so. People can talk by telepathy over vast distances.
* ''Literature/{{Dragonvarld}}'': Dragons communicate with each other this way. Their mental language is made up of colorful images that have meanings to them. Ven, who is [[HalfHumanHybrid half-dragon]], develops this too, as does his human half-brother Marcus.
* ''Literature/DaughterOfTheSun'': Aelia can read Orsina's mind, seeing memories of hers about her lover Perlita.

* This is common enough in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' that [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] has an entire Psychic Arts Department. Telepaths are required to learn the ethics of telepathy and pass the ethics test afterward. Some telepaths like [[JerkAss Don]] [[ManipulativeBastard Sebastiano]] don't follow the rules.

* Lilly from ''Literature/{{These days}}'' gains this ability, although it's unreliable and seems to activate on its own, much to her chagrin.

* One of the ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'''s entries references an entire planet of beings who were [[BlessedWithSuck cursed]] with telepathy. Everyone on their entire planet could hear every thought in every other mind on the planet, whether they wanted to or not -- which quickly threatened to drive them bonkers from information overload and/or sheer boredom. They solved this by adopting the habit of constantly talking loud enough to drown out the constant, unwanted incoming mental transmissions.

* Brian Lumley's ''Literature/{{Necroscope}}'' series features telepathy in vampires, as well as humans in varying degree. The humans also occasionally sport other powers, such as locating someone from a distance, clouding someone else's telepathy, or precognition. The telepathy of the titular Necroscope[[note]]as in "microscope" or "telescope," a person who can "see" or focus on the dead[[/note]] extends even to the dead.
* Present in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Although invading the mind of a human is against wizard law - that is, reading minds and mind control - transmitting one's own thoughts is legal. This was used once in a chaotic situation, when an EldritchAbomination that could kill with a touch was released in a crowded room. A powerful wizard used magic to communicate a tactical plan for dealing with it to everyone in the room, complete with visual aids superimposed on the surroundings, all in the space of a second.
* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Edward]] can read people's minds, though for some reason cannot read [[LoveInterest Bella]]'s. [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Shapeshifters]] in the same pack can read each other's thoughts while in wolf form; Alphas of different packs can communicate mentally but not read each other's minds.

* In Jeramey Kraatz's ''Literature/TheCloakSociety'', Shade. She can not only read minds but reshape them, controlling people and erasing their memories.

* Appears several times in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends:''

** Most Force-sensitives have some degree of telepathy, and some are able to create illusions, read and project thoughts, (of course) do a JediMindTrick, create a PerceptionFilter, communicate with animals, etc. However, there is an interesting limitation--telepathic conversations are almost impossible, even for the most advanced Jedi and Sith. Even those who are close (either physically or emotionally) can only send a sentence or two at most, combined with images and feelings.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's

* Creator/IsaacAsimov and Creator/JanetAsimov's ''Literature/TheNorbyChronicles'':

* ''{{Literature/{{Dragonvarld}}'': Dragons communicate with each other this way. Their mental language is made up of colorful images that have meanings to them. Ven, who is [[HalfHumanHybrid half-dragon]], develops this too, as does his human half-brother Marcus.

** ''VideoGame/EarthBound'': [[NiceGirl Paula]], while being held prisoner by the Happy-Happy Cultists, telepathically contacts [[TheAllAmericanBoy Ness]] in the hopes that he will and come rescue her, and she uses it again to contact Jeff when she and Ness are trapped underneath Threed. These uses are story-only, as unlike the prequel, the "Telepathy" command does not show up in-menu. Though much like his predecessor Ninten, this is likely how [[{{Expy}} Ness]] can understand animals. [[spoiler:Paula gets to really flex her telepathic muscle during the final battle against [[EldritchAbomination Giygas]], showing that space, time, and even ''dimensions'' aren't barriers for her to communicate with the other cast members and ''[[FromBeyondTheFourthWall the player]]'' in order to defeat Giygas]].

** Almost every ''Film/{{Pokemon}}'' movie has the Pokémon it centers around being capable of telepathy. This almost never happens in the anime, and the first time it happens (in, of course, the first movie) everyone is surprised. By the eighth movie, Ash knows that Lucario is speaking to him through telepathy. Of course, it can be handwaved because a good deal of them are Psychic-Type (like Mewtwo and Jirachi), but it’s harder to explain for ones that aren’t (like Shaymin, Keldeo, and Diancie).

* Powerful magic users in the ''Franchise/{{Warcraft|ExpandedUniverse}}-verse'' are capable of this.

* The Terran units called Ghosts in ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' have this ability, as Kerrigan (who is a Ghost herself) mentions in the first game's campaign mode.

* ''Manga/TheMuteGirlAndHerNewFriend'' is about Mashiro, a mute girl who also can read minds, enabling her to know what her {{Tsundere}} new friend Kokosaki feels without Kokosaki having to say it outright.

* ''WestternAnimation/JamiesGotTentacles'': Jamie first reads a mind in "Girls Are From Mars and Boys Belong on the Moon". It seems that he reads minds with little to no effort. He can also send messages with his mind, as shown first in "Artificial Intelligence".