History Main / TheHeartless

* The strangers from ''Website/GoodbyeStrangers'' possibly are a form of the heartless. They do not appear to be alive and appear spontaneously when conditions are right and they come in a variety of strains that appear to be themed around different emotions and concepts, especially negative ones like isolation and grief. Although unlike a lot of other examples on this page, many of the ones based on negative emotions are {{Non Malicious Monster}}s or are entirely harmless. For example, the [[https://strangers.atrocityland.com/enter/site/module/primer/s_buledroni.html buledroni]] doesn't do much besides constantly crying and the only effect it has on humans is increasing the production of tears.

* The strangers from ''Website/GoodbyeStrangers'' possibly are a form of the heartless. They do not appear to alive and appear spontaneously when conditions are right and they come in a variety of strains that appear to be themed around different emotions and concepts, especially negative ones like isolation and grief. Although unlike a lot of other examples on this page, many of the ones based on negative emotions are {{Non Malicious Monster}}s or are entirely harmless. For example, the [[https://strangers.atrocityland.com/enter/site/module/primer/s_buledroni.html buledroni]] doesn't do much besides constantly crying and the only effect it has on humans is increasing the production of tears.

* The strangers from ''Website/GoodbyeStrangers'' possibly are a form of the heartless. They do not appear to alive and appear spontaneously when conditions are right and they come in a variety of strains that appear to be themed around different emotions and concepts, especially negative ones like isolation and grief. Although unlike a lot of other examples on this page, many of the ones based on negative emotions are {{NonMaliciousMonster}}s or are entirely harmless. For example, the [[https://strangers.atrocityland.com/enter/site/module/primer/s_buledroni.html buledroni]] doesn't do much besides constantly crying and the only effect it has on humans is increasing the production of tears.

* The strangers from ''Website/GoodbyeStrangers'' possibly are a form of the heartless. They do not appear to alive and appear spontaneously when conditions are right and they come in a variety of strains that appear to be themed around different emotions and concepts, especially negative ones like isolation and grief. Although unlike a lot of other examples on this page, many of the ones based on negative emotions are {{NonMaliciousMonsters}}s or are entirely harmless. For example, the [[https://strangers.atrocityland.com/enter/site/module/primer/s_buledroni.html buledroni]] doesn't do much besides constantly crying and the only effect it has on humans is increasing the production of tears.

* The strangers from ''Website/GoodbyeStrangers'' possibly are a form of the heartless. They do not appear to alive and appear spontaneously when conditions are right and they come in a variety of strains that appear to be themed around different emotions and concepts, especially negative ones like isolation and grief.

* The strangers from ''Website/GoodbyeStrangersAndTheFearfulFrontier'' possibly are a form of the heartless. They do not appear to alive and appear spontaneously when conditions are right and they come in a variety of strains that appear to be themed around different emotions and concepts, especially negative ones like isolation and grief.

Not to be confused with [[LetsPlay/TheHeartless the Let's Player of the same name]], the film ''Film/Heartless2009'', or the single ''Heartless'' by Music/{{Heart}}.

* While technically made non-canon, in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', [[spoiler: The [[GodIsEvil Idea of Evil]] is a perfect example of what happens when [[MadeOfEvil all of humanity's negativity coalesces into a singular being]]. When people ask why bad things happen like death, war, famine, and plague, [[AbstractApotheosis The Idea of Evil answers it with its own existence]]. [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve It is a huge monster created out of humanity's need for a reason for all their suffering]]. As long as the setting of ''Berserk'' is a CrapsackWorld, The Idea of Evil will continue. Strangely enough, it does not seek to destroy humanity, and tells the Godhand to "do as thou wilt", so it's not actively malevolent as much as it is [[InherentInTheSystem inherently malignant]]]].

* The [[spoiler:Idea of Evil]], the [[GodIsEvil God]] of the ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' universe, is [[spoiler:created from mankind's desire for an explanation for [[CrapsackWorld why we suffer]]]]. Qlippoth creatures are also reflections of humanity's darkest side.

* While technically made non-canon, in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', [[spoiler: The [[GodIsEvil Idea of Evil]] is a perfect example of what happens when [[MadeOfEvil all of humanity's negativity coalesces into a singular being]]. When people ask why bad things happen like death, war, famine, and plague, [[AbstractApotheosis The Idea of Evil answers it with its own existence]]. [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve It is a huge monster created out of humanity's need for a reason for all their suffering]]. As long as the setting of ''Berserk'' is a CrapsackWorld, The Idea of Evil will continue. Strangely enough, it does not seek to destroy humanity, and tells the Godhand to "do as thou wilt", so it's not actively malevolent as much as it is [[InheritInTheSystem inherently malignant]].

* The [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Unversed]], which are the 'opposite of human life', are born from raw darkness. They apparently feed off of negative emotions, in a different way than the Heartless do. There's also Vanitas from the same game, who [[spoiler:is the darkness from Ventus's heart, removed and made into a separate entity.]] The Unversed simply extend the process; [[spoiler:each is a living incarnation of one of Vanitas's emotions, so, effectively, they are the Heartless of a Heartless (in terms of this trope's definition). Once Vanitas is merged back into Ven, however, they cease to be.]]

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. When ghosts [[UnfinishedBusiness linger in the world]] too long, they become consumed by their emotions and transform into Hollows. Their hearts are transformed into masks that hide their faces, leaving holes in their chests, and they become creatures of base emotion and insatiable soul-hunger, driven to hunt and kill any humans with spiritual power. Powerful Hollows that lose their masks regain a part of their lost hearts and become capable of higher reasoning. They usually hunt other Hollows rather than humans, mostly because they're now too powerful to be sustained by human spiritual power. Shinigami and Quincies have warred for a thousand years over what to do about Hollows, with Shinigami purifying them back into the cycle of reincarnation and Quincies forever destroying them.

* The WesternAnimation/TeenTitans gives us Trigon (an EldritchAbomination) who was able to produce an EvilTwin for each of the Titans (minus Robin and Raven). Things looked bleak [[spoiler: until they started switching opponents]]

* [[spoiler:The Thing Inside The Wall]] in ''ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac''.

* The Horrors from ''Series/{{Garo}}''.

* The Circles of Hell in ''Obsidian''.

* The Gnosis in the ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' trilogy.

* Darkling from ''VideoGame/GhostMaster''

* The "blot" versions of eaten residents of wasteland in the final level of ''VideoGame/EpicMickey''.

* The daemonia from ''Anime/IlSolePenetraLeIllusioni'' are a deconstruction of how this trope is usually handled in MagicalGirl anime... killing them kills the person they're born from as well.

* ''Franchise/PrettyCure'':

Depending on the context, this trope may be a subtrope of AbstractApotheosis. This is because nearly every series that this trope is used in presents these critters as AnAesop about them [[NotSoDifferent being in]] [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil everyone's hearts.]] Contrast/See also MadeOfEvil.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the Terminus beasts encountered in the final dungeon of the ''Shadowbringers'' expansion are apocalyptic manifestations of the deepest fears of [[spoiler:the ancient Ascians]], who had lost control of their ability to create anything with a thought due to a cataclysmic event.

[[caption-width-right:306:[-"Nega-Scott" picture by [[http://scarecrowartist.deviantart.com ScarecrowArtist]]-] ]]

Not to be confused with [[LetsPlay/TheHeartless the Let's Player of the same name]], the film ''Film/{{Heartless}}'', or the single ''Heartless'' by Music/{{Heart}}.

* [[spoiler: The Malice-class enemies from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|A Promise Unforgotten}}'' are a rare occurrence where instead of being fueled by rage, sadness, anger or any other usual negative emotion that you’d normally see with this trope, the Malice-class enemies are only fueled by one emotion: Malice (or spite, if that's what you want to call it). Also, unlike most other examples, they are only fueled by one guy instead of humanity itself. Plus, they only appear at the end of the game, wich is again unusual because TheHeartless usually appear as the main enemies of the story itself instead of simply appearing only at the end]].

* The Malice-class enemies from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|A Promise Unforgotten}}'' are a rare occurrence where instead of being fueled by rage, sadness, anger or any other usual negative emotion as per usual, the Malice-class enemies are only fueled by one emotion: Malice (or spite, if that's what you want to call it). Also, unlike most other examples, they are only fueled by one guy instead of humanity itself. Plus, they only appear at the end of the game, wich is again unusual because The Heartless usually appear as the main enemies of the franchise instead of simply appearing at the end.

* The demons in Creator/SimonRGreen's ''Literature/BlueMoonRising'' books [[spoiler: are just humans who've been taken over by the Darkness, completely against their will]].
** The series also does something of an extension on the the trope by having the Infernal Devices (swords) chosen to ''fight'' the demon armies capable of burning the humanity right out of the user, in essence making them the same or worse than the things they're fighting.

** The Zetsuborgs from ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure'' are another inversion: they are created by stealing the dream of the victim to power up the monster. The dream will be gone forever is the monster is not purified.

* [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Runaway Spirits]] from ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'' are a variation of this. They do not originate as TheHeartless, but become them after restoring spiritual power by hiding in their victim's bodies.

* Most ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' monsters are of this variety. The setting runs on [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve Clap Your Hands If You]] [[strike:Believe]] Fear, and the {{Big Bad}}s, who are the primary Heartless of this verse, harvest human fear and use it to animate anything the local populace fears, be it {{jackalope}}s, {{wendigo}}s or living blast shadows. These created abominations are powered by fear too, so they are also TheHeartless.

* The Malice-class enemies from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|A Promise Unforgotten}}'' are a rare occurrence where instead of being fueled by rage, sadness, anger or any other usual negative emotion as per usual, the Malice-class enemies are only fueled by one emotion: Malice (or spite, if that's what you want to call it). Also, unlike most other examples, they are only fueled by one guy instead of humanity itself. Plus, they only appear at the end of the game, wich is again unusual because TheHeartless usually appear as the main enemies of the franchise instead of simply appearing at the end.

* In ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy'', the Hiruko are what happens when TheHeartless gets combined with BodyHorror, resulting in a race of parasitic monsters bred from the despair, hate and fear of the residents of the Capital who at the slightest provocation will erupt in a NightmareFuel-laden scene, converting the hapless victim into a Red Cape, or outright bursting out of the body. Neither variant is particularly pleasant.

** Turns out that they are [[spoiler:the aimless breath of an Old God's corpse that only stops spreading when the corpse is drained completely of power. They're still TheHeartless but they aren't actual negative emotions but rather parasitic [[EmotionEater Emotion Eaters]] [[MadeOfEvil Made of Dead Old God Breath]]]].

* The Inkies in ''VideoGame/{{de Blob}}'' are a cross between TheHeartless and MechaMooks. The ink they're made out of is [[spoiler:harvested from Greydians who've been made utterly miserable, and the Inkies are then assembled out of said ink on a factory production line.]]