History Main / VirtualGhost

* The VI located on ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'''s planet Ilos contains the last untouched record of [[{{Precursors}} the Protheans]] to [[spoiler:send a message to future civilizations warning them of the [[EldritchAbomination Reaper]] threat.]] While the VI is not a ghost ''per se'', it has access to a vast amount of personal data and information about the Protheans that is unlike anywhere in the extant Galaxy, and claims its personality is loosely based on the project director's. To say that the dialogue that occurs between Shepard and the VI is [[IncrediblyLamePun haunting]] would be an understatement.

** Astrid Peth in "[[Recap/DoctorWho2007CSVoyageOfTheDamned Voyage of the Damned''", after [[spoiler:dying falling off the Space Titanic into a giant black hole, is brought back by The Doctor as one.]]

* Similarly deconstructed in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20010319.html here]] and [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20010320.html here]].

* Clay Kaczmarek [[spoiler: ''Subject 16'']] in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'' has a copy of his mind in the Templar's Animus machine. [[spoiler: ''[[FromBadToWorse He later gets deleted once the system starts purging files.]]'']]
* Lumi in ''VideoGame/ChildOfEden''.

* Alter Ego in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' [[spoiler: is a BenevolentAI created by the [[TheAce Ultimate Programmer]] Chihiro Fujisaki with his personality that's discovered by the others after his death. [[BigBad Junko Enoshima]] managed to [[AwesomenessByAnalysis make a copy of it]] with her own personality that serves as the BigBad of [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair the sequel]] [[HijackedByGanon after her death]]. The sequel also had Chiaki Nanami, who was DeadAllAlong with an AI copy of her acting as a guide to the other students.]]
* In ''Videogame/DestroyAllHumans 2'', Pox has become one of these.

* In ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders: the 2nd Runner'', [[spoiler:Viola, an AcePilot who died in the first game, returns as an AI. The Viola AI has all of the skills of the original, but none of the humanity.]]

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* [[spoiler:Megabyte]] pulls this trick near the end of ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot''. Even though he's already a computer program on a show taking place inside a computer. Yeah, probably best not to think about it too hard...
** He did this ''twice''. First to mess with whoever tried to shut down Mainframe's core manually, second time as a distraction. He was more or less intangible both times.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'': "Animatrons/Man or Machine", the BigBad turns out to be an android that the real Eisenstein uploaded his personality to before his death.

* Although not an exact Virtual Ghost as described above, Ether in the [{FMV=] game ''[=TerrorTRAX=]: Track of the Vampire'' describes herself as a "digital ghost".

Can serve as the SciFi version of the SpiritAdvisor. SisterTrope to LivingMemory. See also HologramProjectionImperfection. Not to be confused with HauntedTechnology, where a ghost inhabits technology by supernatural means. Compare with DigitizedHacker, which is a mind that has integrated with the internet. Compare and contrast with ArtificialAfterlife, which often involves a copy of a person living on after their death in an "afterlife" that people have created for themselves.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14073644/1/ The Echo Ranger]]'', [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Izuku Midoriya]] is mentored by an AI copy of [[Franchise/PowerRangers Tommy Oliver]], downloaded into the Echo Morpher centuries ago.

** This ''[[WildMassGuessing may]]'' be the ultimate fate of the [[spoiler:Asgard]] as of season 10 of ''Series/StargateSG1''. [[spoiler:With their last attempt at curing their [[CloningBlues genetic disease]] ending in failure, they opt for mass suicide and the destruction of their society in order to stop other races from pillaging their ruins. But not before transferring all their knowledge and technology into a legacy device which was handed over to Stargate Command. This device also has holographic projections of the Asgard people, which can be accessed at will. Given that individual Asgard had previously uploaded their brains into computers when their physical bodies died, it's possible that they collectively did the same here in hopes that someday the humans might be able to revive them. Note, however, that said holograms are never shown to have personality, merely being a glorified user interface similar to the ''Film/IRobot'' example.]]

* The dialogue for Dr Killjoy in ''VideoGame/TheSuffering'' seems to indicate that he is not a ghost or returned zombie-spirit-thingie like so many other adversaries. Apparently he set up spiritually-juiced film projectors throughout his Asylum and most of Carnate Island to test a subject he knew would be coming by long after he was dead. There are a few bits of physical interaction with the real world but mainly he is confined to filmstrips.

* Although not an exact Virtual Ghost as described above, Ether in the FullMotionVideo game ''[=TerrorTRAX=]: Track of the Vampire'' describes herself as a "digital ghost".

** [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Some unused audio files]] reveal a deleted scene where Cave did manage to get uploaded-- into an Aperture Science cube. He asks the player to unplug him, [[AndIMustScream because that manner of immortality is torture.]]

* [[spoiler:Prometheus]] is this in both ''VideoGame/TheConduit'' and ''VideoGame/Conduit2''.
* Alter Ego in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' [[spoiler: is a BenevolentAI created by the [[TheAce Ultimate Programmer]] Chihiro Fujisaki with his personality that's discovered by the others after his death. [[BigBad Junko Enoshima]] managed to [[AwesomenessByAnalysis make a copy of it]] with her own personality that serves as the BigBad of [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair the sequel]] [[HijackedByGanon after her death]]. The sequel also had Chiaki Nanami, who was DeadAllAlong with an AI copy of her acting as a guide to the other students.]]
* ''VideoGame/ExaPico'':
** ''VideoGame/ArTonelicoMelodyOfElemia'': [[spoiler:Mir]] [[AndIMustScream had her soul forcibly severed from her body, and then locked in Binary Field]]. The ghosts aren't just virtual, they are vengeful.
** Infel and Nenesha from ''VideoGame/ArTonelicoIIMelodyOfMetafalica'', posing as Mind Guardian of Cloche and Luca, respectively. [[spoiler:They are also the BigBad, and are manipulating Cloche and Luca into opening the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Tree of Marta]]]].
* Lumi in ''VideoGame/ChildOfEden''.
* [=Ma3a=] in ''[[VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh Tron 2.0]]'' straddles the lines of this, BrainUploading, and InterfaceWithAFamiliarFace. [[spoiler: Dr. Lora Baines-Bradley was killed by being partially digitized with her laser. Whether by accident or design, the part of her left in cyberspace was compiled with the AI project she and Alan were working on, creating [=Ma3a=].]]
* Clay Kaczmarek [[spoiler: ''Subject 16'']] in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'' has a copy of his mind in the Templar's Animus machine. [[spoiler: ''[[FromBadToWorse He later gets deleted once the system starts purging files.]]'']]
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'', [[spoiler:it is revealed near the end of the plot that Professor Sada/Turo has been DeadAllAlong. TheProfessor you have been talking to throughout the whole game is an AI in a robot body, given all of the Professor's memories and emotions, just in case they were to die]].
* In ''VideoGame/Portal2'', Aperture Science CEO Cave Johnson's dying wish is to achieve immortality through BrainUploading. Unfortunately, he dies before the project is ready, so they go with his back-up plan: [[spoiler: upload his [[HypercompetentSidekick hypercompetent]] GirlFriday Caroline instead so that she can run Aperture forever. Oh, and [[UnwillingRoboticization don't bother asking her opinion of the plan]]. This [[GoneHorriblyWrong did not go well]], and resulted in the creation of [=GLaDOS=].]]
** [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Some unused audio files]] reveal a deleted scene where Cave did manage to get uploaded-- into an Aperture Science cube. He asks the player to unplug him, [[AndIMustScream because that manner of immortality is torture.]]
** There's also an alternate universe where Cave was uploaded into [=GLaDOS=] instead of Caroline. GoneHorriblyRight does not ''begin'' to explain how much of a bad idea that was. Luckily, Cave-Prime pulls the player out of there and scraps the project in his dimension.
* In ''[[Literature/HeecheeSaga Gateway II: Homeworld]]'', the player finds the [[{{Precursors}} Heechee]], who have hidden themselves in a pocket universe the only way to which lies through a black hole. It turns out that, whenever a prominent Heechee dies, his or her brain is uploaded to a storage. The departed can then project themselves as heads and interact with those still living. This is only done when the Heechee is about to pass, as it's believed that the uploaded minds are the same people who have AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. A rogue group reveals that they have secretly disproven this theory by deliberatley uploading a living person with the person not feeling or acting out of the ordinary. They maintain that the uploaded minds are merely copies of the people who died and thus should not be given equal say in Heechee politics. While this may seem cruel, the Virtual Ghosts are shown to be very conservative (as anyone who has lived long enough gets) and try to maintain the status quo by any means necessary.
* In ''Videogame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', Handsome Jack, BigBad of ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' who was killed at the end of that game, exists in the form of an AI hologram that only Rhys can see after he plugged the ID Drive of Professor Nakayama (Jack's StalkerWithACrush) into his head. ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' details the creation of the AI in a sidequest, which Jack refers to as the "Diet Soda of immortality". Evidently a lot of work went into the AI in the time between the two games, as the one you help Nakayama create in ''TPS'' is... less than impressive, while the final product in ''Tales'' is a perfect recreation of the real deal (though he is lacking any knowledge of what happened during the second half of ''2'', as the real Jack never got to upload those memories for obvious reasons).
* In ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'', [[PlayerCharacter V]] begins to mentally fuse with the holographic ghost of Johnny Silverhand, who was a central character in the [[TabletopGame/Cyberpunk2020 tabletop series]]. The game does bring up the question of what exactly Johnny (and anyone else subjected to the Soul Killer) really is. Is it actually them, or just 1s and 0s resembling them? And if the soul does exist, is the digitized version soulless? Does the soul move on to whatever afterlife there is without the digitized self, or does it linger? V can specifically ask Johnny what he thinks, but Johnny dismisses the question.
** Depending on what choice you made in regards where to send [[spoiler:Jackie's body, then during "The Devil" ending path V is able to speak to him from Mikoshi. Unfortunately, since he was already dead when he was copied [[CameBackWrong he can only answer using a few set lines he said before]] and [[FateWorseThanDeath has no sentience whatsoever, and remains endlessly optimistic despite the situation they're in]].]]
** In that same ending path before that [[spoiler: V finds out Saburo Arasaka did have a back up in Mikoshi as well, one that only presents itself when called by Hanako. It's from there revealed he's played SpiritAdvisor to Hanako and He in fact uses that duplicate to enact a plan of [[OffingTheOffspring killing his own son]] via [[GrandTheftMe overriding the younger man's mind with the copy of his own.]] Showing this was nothing but a minor set back that plays out beneficially for him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Ripper}}'', Hamilton Woffard made an AI copy of himself just before he was killed by the titular villain. His brother, Covington survived, and near the end of the game, you meet this AI face-to-face after Covington uploaded it to his cyberspace well. There, Hamilton gives you instructions on how to take down the Ripper using an energy shuriken he built, and that he built a virtual mock-up of Whitechapel as it was in 1888. The AI's not perfect, though, as for some reason it can't distinguish you as anyone other than its brother.
* In ''Videogame/TormentTidesOfNumenera'', [[spoiler:The Specter]] claims he is The Changing God and tries to regain control of your body. Near the very end of the game, it's revealed that he is actually a backup of The Changing God's memories. [[spoiler:The real Changing God was either erased by The Sorrow's attack on the moon or simply lost his memories. If the latter, that means ''you'' are the real Changing God sans memories.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SpaceStation13'', a ghost can become this through a positronic brain.
* In ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysVRHelpWanted'', after he was KilledOffForReal Springtrap/[[SerialKiller William Afton]]'s [[HauntedTechnology "programming"]] was uploaded into the GameWithinAGame [[RogueProtagonist Vanessa/Vanny]] is playing, leading to her being [[DemonicPossession possessed]] by his digital consciousness and becoming his JackTheRipoff.
* ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'' takes place primarily in a virtual reality simulation, which the developers used as an excuse to bring back plenty of characters who died in previous games as [=AIs=] created from the surviving characters' memories, including [[spoiler:Julius, Tanya, Veteran Child, Maero, and even ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' Shaundi. Shaundi is still very much alive, but underwent such a drastic personality change between ''2'' and ''3'' that she's basically a different character entirely, [[TheScrappy which many fans didn't particularly care for]]. So they brought back the old Shaundi to coexist with the new one. [[IHatePastMe The two do not get along]], at least initially]].

* The Computer from ''Webcomic/EvilPlan'' has [[spoiler: Will's mind uploaded into it. He retains his full memory and tells his backstory from personal experience, things which his programmer had no idea about. Very useful for getting Alice up to speed on how Stan became evil.]]

* Samantha Harrison from ''Literature/{{Phaeton}}'' is this, made of hardlight, projected by a wifi modem, who can convert into pure electricity, and that's just the start.
* ''Literature/TheJenkinsverse'' has Adrian Saunders finding the data core which contains the Virtual Ghost of his dead friend [[spoiler: Trycrur]] as he builds the starship "Spot".
* ''WebAnimation/MetaRunner'': [[spoiler: Lucinia is eventually revealed to have become one after the Project Blue incident; while her physical body survived, half of her consciousness ended up in [=TASCorp=]’s servers, while the other half merged with the centerpiece of Project Blue, the AI known as the Turbo Artificial Rapid Intelligence, an event that eventually led to the genesis of the series’ main protagonist, [[FunWithAcronyms Tari]].]]

* Borderline case: Watson in ''WesternAnimation/SherlockHolmesInTheTwentySecondCentury'' -- he's not so much a digital recreation of his namesake as a RobotBuddy who consciously chose to imitate Watson to the best of his abilities.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' episode "[[Recap/BatmanBeyondS2E4LostSoul Lost Soul]]", Robert Vance does this to himself so that he can advise his company from beyond the grave.

* Quite literally in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. When Bender commits suicide in "[[Recap/FuturamaS6E19GhostInTheMachines Ghost in the Machines]]", his programming is uploaded into the wireless network shared by all AI. He acts like a "normal" ghost who can't be seen by anyone except the Robot Devil and has the ability to [[HauntedTechnology possess machines]]. It's seemingly not unusual for robot "ghosts" to be able to manifest in this manner; "[[Recap/FuturamaS2E18TheHonking The Honking]]" shows an incident in which robots are buried in improperly shielded coffins, allowing their programs to project holographic versions of themselves through a modem.
* Professor Honneycut from ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' had his body destroyed when he was struck by lightning. Incidentally he was helping his robot assistant Sal get untangled from some fallen wires and had his mind uploaded to Sal's body.[[spoiler:It is later revealed that he uploaded himself to the internet shortly before his HeroicSacrifice and comes back later to further aid the turtles]].

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14073644/1/ The Echo Ranger]]'', [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Izuku Midoriya]] is mentored by an AI copy of [[Franchise/PowerRangers Tommy Oliver]], downloaded into the Echo Morpher centuries ago.

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* The Dixie Flatline construct in ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'', but since he's stored on [[TechnologyMarchesOn ROM]] he's little more than a recording. [[spoiler:The titular AI's purpose is to create Virtual Ghosts on RAM, including ones of Case's old girlfriend -- and Case himself.]]
* The first Creator/WarrenEllis's ''Lazarus Churchyard'' story features "Virtual Heaven", a cyberspace environment full of the digitally preserved personalities of deceased programmers.
* Nimue/Merlin in ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' is technically this, a downloaded personality of ancient terran commander. She plays with this trope by having [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots life-like human body]], a PICA, which she uses to move around. [[spoiler:Nahrmahn Baytz]] becomes a more conventional one after [[spoiler:he's killed in terrorist attack]].
* Shade of Creator/GarthNix's ''Literature/ShadesChildren''. Also, the Leamington personality from the University, though it was much less refined.

* The Citizens of Creator/GregEgan's ''Literature/{{Diaspora}}'' are either humanoids who took part in the Introdus, or their descendants. They all live in Polises, giant supercomputers that run separate (but interchangeable) virtual realities.
* In Creator/IainMBanks's ''Literature/FeersumEndjinn'', people who die have their memories saved and are reincarnated in new bodies, however after a certain number of deaths they are reduced to virtual ghosts. After they die enough times in the virtual world they stop existing altogether.

* The idea is older than sometimes realized. "The Dead Lady of Clown Town" in Cordwainer Smith's story of that name written in 1964, is a virtual ghost, and also has a robot copy of her old body.
* An application of AI in ''Literature/InfinityBeach''. The main character uses it to talk to a simulation of her dead sister (which the AI chides her for, saying it's emotionally unhealthy).

* Most of humanity have been rendered into these in ''Literature/TheQuantumThief''. However, the Djinns featured in ''Fractal Prince'' are even closer to the trope, as they are people who were consumed by GreyGoo nanomachines called Wildcode and had their consciousness uploaded into the nanotech in the process. They haunt the Wildcode Desert like ghosts, sometimes attempting to possess living humans when given an opportunity.
** A trace of the consciousness of dead Oortians is uploaded into what they call the Alinen, a sort of virtual afterlife, from which they can be summoned to provide a base for AI's that run their spaceships. The AIs are not exactly the same person who has died, but they are considered reincarnations of sort, with traces of emotions and memories of the person they were based on.
* ''Literature/{{MARZENA}}'': Some people think that G-Net AIs are this. These Self-Aware Artificially Conscious entities are watching you from their own private Real Virtual Space and you can't even see their holographic avatars without your holo glasses or contact lenses on. Also they can go through walls, teleport through thin air and communicate via digital telepathy, but forget about telekinesis, their virtual universe is a world of LOOK, but don't touch.

* In ''The Hormone Jungle'' by Creator/RobertReed, TheAlternet contains virtual ghosts in the form of people that had their brain scanned when near death, whose bodies are then digitally reconstructed. For most, it is pretty hellish experience as standard computer processing power isn't strong enough to create realistic environments needed to prevent sensory deprivation; paupers can only afford to render what is immediately within their field of view, while the more wealthy that work as analysts can rent out supercomputer time for a lifelike environment.
* In ''Literature/Babel17'' by Creator/SamuelRDelany, they are referred to as "the discorporate". People who die may (if circumstances are right) have their personalities transferred to machines. This is common on ship's crews, as many ship operations don't actually require a physical body.
* In ''[[Literature/TheInterdependency The Collapsing Empire]]'', every [[TheEmperor Emperox]] of the [[TheEmpire Interdependency]] is implanted with a device that collects his or her experiences (sensory data, thoughts, feelings) and periodically uploads them to the computer in the Memory Room of the palace. An advanced AI is then able to project a holographic image of the desired dead emperox in order to converse with the reigning emperox. The projections are not true personalities, merely a sophisticated computer program simulating a real person based on the recordings of his or her experiences. The simulation has no emotions or ego or any of the other qualities that living, breathing human beings have. Not only is the newly-crowned Emperox Grayland II able to converse with her recently-deceased father, but she is also able to speak with her namesake Grayland I and even to the founder of the Wu dynasty Rachela I (who has been dead for over a thousand years).
* Many in the ''Literature/XeeleeSequence''. In ''Xeelee: Vengeance'', Michael Poole's mother is a virtual ghost, and resents her ex-husband for making that decision.
* The living portraits in ''[[Literature/HarryPotter Harry Potter]]'' are a rare explicitly supernatural version of this. A lot of images are shown to have fully developed personalities, such as the portraits who guard the common rooms at Hogwarts. Others are implicitly based on the surface thoughts of the subject: when Harry is embarrased to have his photo taken, the resulting image keeps trying to hide out of frame and has to be dragged back in place by the other figures. WordOfGod explains that portraits have to be trained to accurately reflect the personalities and memories of their source; we see this with Dumbledore's portrait in the Headmaster's office, which spent an extended time with the actual Dumbledore and helped to continue his work after his death.
* In ''Literature/AMemoryCalledEmpire'', people from the space station Lsel have a brain implant that compiles their memories into an "imago" that is eventually loaded into their successor's implants, advising them and gradually merging to form a combined personality with the host. Mahit doesn't get the chance to perform a proper integration with her predecessor Yskandr as they're forced to rush it, and he has a mental breakdown on seeing his corpse.
* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'':
** After his defeat, ''SAO'''s developer Kayaba Akihiko performs a destructive brain scan on himself, dying but creating an AI with his personality and memories. The AI Kayaba reappears a few times throughout the series to assist the protagonists, and is responsible for developing The Seed - an open-source version of SAO's engine and devkit which revitalises the VR industry.
** Some SAO players like Griselda and Sachi became a less complete version which haunts specific areas or people, explained as a glitch that can happen after the Cardinal System "detects an unusual emotional state and snapshots the area for later analysis". There may be others, as there were nearly 4000 fatalities from SAO, each with a .1% chance of becoming a virtual ghost in this way.
** Another appears in TheMovie, ''Ordinal Scale'': Yuuna Shigemura, [[spoiler: the daughter of Kayaba's mentor, Tetsuhiro Shigemura.]]

** Astrid Peth, after [[spoiler:dying falling off the Space Titanic into a giant black hole, is brought back by The Doctor as one.]]

* Perhaps the most heartwarming instance of this trope applied to music occurs in the current tour of ''Music/JeffWaynesMusicalVersionOfTheWarOfTheWorlds'' The tour ads bill "Richard Burton--In Sight and Sound!" among the other lead singers...behind-the-scenes material on the official website shows how they made the new CGI Burton hologram possible, and indicates that this might very well be the first time a long-dead thespian returned to stage work through holography. It's a thing of beauty, and brings a lump to the throat when you see it.
** In a lesser example of the trope, ''The New Generation'' tour used a full-body hologram of the still-living Creator/LiamNeeson for the Narrator's appearance. Whenever the Narrator is involved in the story, a pane of glass slides up and displays him. This allows for a much more "interactive" character, who passes a drink to the Artilleryman and knocks out the panicking Parson.
* Music/TupacShakur's appearance onstage at Coachella 2012.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGi2Nt-GTF4 "The Phoenix"]], a FilkSong, is narrated from the perspective of a person so revived after a spaceship disaster.
* For Music/TheWho's 2012-13 tour performing ''Music/{{Quadrophenia}}'', the band used archival footage to allow Keith Moon (died in 1978) to duet with Roger Daltrey on "Bell Boy", and John Entwistle (died in 2002) to play LeadBassist on "5:15".
* The Dio Returns tour, which featured a hologram of Music/RonnieJamesDio playing alongside former members of his backing band.

* The ''TabletopGame/TranshumanSpace'' setting for ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' has virtual ghosts via destructive [[BrainUploading uploading]]. The result is actually called a ghost, and in many countries is legally the same person, although opinion is divided as to whether the uploading process is really immortality, or a really expensive and narcissistic suicide. However, they never manifest as holograms as such; they either run on static computers, appearing to other people in virtual reality, or they're installed in physical robot bodies.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', Ghosts in the Machine, remnants of flatlined hackers floating around in the Matrix, are widely considered an urban legend. However the 4th edition "Runner's Guide" has "Ghost" as a quality that AI characters can take. The earliest known one was Alice Haeffner, who died in the first Crash in 2029. Several more Ghosts were created during Crash 2.0 in 2064, including the datajacked dragon Eliohann.
* Known as eidolons in ''TabletopGame/{{Mindjammer}}'' and the most common form of smart AI in the Commonality, though it's generally accepted that they're not the person their initial memories came from.

* Dr. Carroll in ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' is the mind of a dead scientist programmed into a floating laptop computer. He appears in human form in ''[[{{Prequel}} Perfect Dark Zero]]''.
* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
** ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'': This is [=MegaMan.EXE's=] origin in the video games since he's [[spoiler:Hub Hikari, Lan's twin brother who died not long after birth.]] Interestingly, not present in the anime version, ''Anime/MegaManNTWarrior'', nor the manga (manga Miyu does claim that Mega Man "has the soul of a human", but this [[AbortedArc never comes up again]]).
** ''VideoGame/MegaManX'': It seems likely that the Dr. Light hologram that appears in the series is a Virtual Ghost -- in the first game, it was possible that he simply provided pre-recorded messages, although remarkably prescient ones... but since then, the hologram has displayed knowledge that Dr. Light simply could not have had during his lifetime. This suggests he's still "alive" in some form. In fact, the end of ''X5'' suggests [[spoiler:that Light's hologram is capable of existing outside the capsules. In fact, the capsules in the game show that the hologram knows who Zero is (there are various explanations for this), but also who Alia is, which would be impossible for the original, living Dr. Light. In addition, he actually tells Zero early in the game that he has no knowledge of Zero's systems, so he can't upgrade him, but then states later, in a hidden capsule, that he's done some research and can now upgrade Zero. A very capable Virtual Ghost, indeed.]]
** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'': X himself takes a page out of his creator Dr. Light's book, by becoming an EnergyBeing to serve as Zero's mentor.

* In ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIVRogerWilcoAndTheTimeRippers'', villain Sludge Vohaul returns as a Virtual Ghost. [[spoiler:He also attempts to [[GrandTheftMe hijack the body]] of Roger's son to avoid being deleted.]]
* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline Episode 1'' has this. [[spoiler: A mission in the hunter's guild involves you escorting Elly, a girl who exchanged messages with a friend named Calus who was in Pioneer 1 and seemed like the only survivor since he continued messaging her long after the vessel exploded and traces of the people inside were lost. The further you go, the more Calus's messages seemed to contradict itself until finally you meet Calus, who turns out to be an AI in a computer that's hacked and close to self-termination. An NPC after the mission is finished explained he heard of a professor with the same name who died young of illness and created AI-Calus to live on. Afterwards, Elly had a copy of his AI, which is referred as Cal in Episode 2.]]
* Adam, the computer from ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', is actually [[spoiler:the mind of Samus's old CO Adam Malkovich]]. Who would've guessed? Anyone with a brain, perhaps, the foreshadowing is so hilariously obvious.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', the main character had his dead secretary digitized into an artificial intelligence on his PDA.
* Although not an exact Virtual Ghost as described above, Ether in the FullMotionVideo game ''[=TerrorTRAX=]: Track of the Vampire'' describes herself as a "digital ghost".
* The dialogue for Dr Killjoy in ''VideoGame/TheSuffering'' seems to indicate that he is not a ghost or returned zombie-spirit-thingie like so many other adversaries. Apparently he set up spiritually-juiced film projectors throughout his Asylum and most of Carnate Island to test a subject he knew would be coming by long after he was dead. There are a few bits of physical interaction with the real world but mainly he is confined to filmstrips.
** The second game allows him to extend his influence to televisions in Baltimore.
* An experiment in A.I. led to this in one story arc in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''. The player aids the doctor who was murdered and uploaded her mind into the Internet destroy the machine and her killers.
* In ''Videogame/DestroyAllHumans 2'', Pox has become one of these.
* In the ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' spin-off ''VideoGame/VirtuaQuest'', the cast of ''Virtua Fighter 4'' (save Dural) appear as ghost data called "Virtua Souls". When [[PlayerCharacter Sei]] encounters them, he engages in a one-on-one fight with them and, upon defeating them, is bestowed with knowledge of their fighting techniques. The evil organization Judgement 6 is looking for Virtua Souls, themselves, for use in a new weapon...
* In ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders: the 2nd Runner'', [[spoiler:Viola, an AcePilot who died in the first game, returns as an AI. The Viola AI has all of the skills of the original, but none of the humanity.]]

* Jefferson Clay in the ''Independence War'' series became one of these in his final battle. Created without consent, he is understandably upset about his situation and acts as the ship's resident DeadpanSnarker. He is the PlayerCharacter's mentor in [[VideoGame/IndependenceWar2 the sequel]].

* In [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14073644/1/ The Echo Ranger]], [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Izuku Midoriya]] is mentored by an AI copy of [[Franchise/PowerRangers Tommy Oliver]], downloaded into the Echo Morpher centuries ago.

* In the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', Jedi and Sith memories consigned to a holocron are actually self-aware, making them great teachers; in the case of the Sith, they can even attempt GrandTheftMe if so inclined (Jedi could probably do it too, but never do if they're still on the Light Side).

* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' episode "Lost Soul", Robert Vance does this to himself so that he can advise his company from beyond the grave.

* Quite literally on ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}''. When Bender commits suicide in one episode, his programming is uploaded into the wireless network shared by all AI. He acts like a "normal" ghost who can't be seen by anyone except the Robot Devil and has the ability to [[HauntedTechnology possess machines]]. It's seemingly not unusual for robot "ghosts" to be able to manifest in this manner; "The Honking" shows an incident in which robots are buried in improperly shielded coffins, allowing their programs to project holographic versions of themselves through a modem.

* In ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', when the Sailor Senshi are transported to the lunar ruins of the Moon Kingdom they are greeted by the virtual ghost of Queen Serenity, Sailor Moon's mother from her previous life.

** Well, not really. An attempt was made once with six million people simultaneously, but aborted.

** [[spoiler:Motoko Aramaki and the rest of the "children" of Motoko and the Puppetmaster were not born with biological bodies, and yet have a "[[OurSoulsAreDifferent ghost]]".]]
** The Puppetmaster also points out that everyone leaves "ghosts" in the minds of those we interact with, i.e. we recreate realistic images of those we interact with in our minds.
*** Well, useful images; Puppetmaster freely admits that information preserved this way is heavily fragmented, and most personal details are lost -- naturally, since only interactions with others are "recorded".
** Theoretically, this presumably is the result in mid-way of a [[BrainUploading Ghost Dub]], but it's just a deteriorated, incomplete copy, while the original dies. Trying to copy an entire human brain is difficult business in this universe.
* StrawNihilist Schwarzwald made a Virtual Ghost cameo in ''Anime/TheBigO'', inexplicably taking over a robot and killing the pilot for no real reason other than to indirectly save the hero via DeusExMachina, though, if the ghost's words are to be believed, it was a type 4 DeusExMachina (ChekhovsGun style) as the Megadeus are sentient and Schwarzwald, despite his insanity, turns out to be much more correct about the world than anyone else in the show.
* Noah (and Gozaburo) Kaiba in the [[OvertookTheManga anime-only]] Virtual Nightmare {{Arc}} of ''Anime/YuGiOh''
** The Big Five also count as this, since their bodies perished while their minds were imprisoned in the virtual world for too long, hence why they need to steal the heroes' bodies to escape.

* {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in ''Anime/DenNohCoil'', where several virtual ghosts appear that are [[spoiler:fleeting remnants of consciousnesses of eyeglass-users who got ''too'' integrated into the network and died. They're barely sentient and appear as tormented, shadowy beings]].

* [[spoiler: Tieria Erde]] in ''Anime/Gundam00AWakeningOfTheTrailblazer''.
** George Glenn in ''Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray'' is a semi-example. [[BrainInAJar Though he's still technically alive]], he can only interact with the outside world through a hologram.
* After his death near the end of ''Manga/TwentiethCenturyBoys'', [[spoiler:Manjoume]] appears in ''21st Century Boys'' as one of these in the Tomodachi Land SimulationGame bonus stage.
* The AI versions of Harold Hoerwick in ''Anime/DotHackSign''. They're nowhere near as advanced as most other versions on this page (and rightly so; this series is set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture) and tend to only repeat a few cryptic lines at a time, but the information inevitably proves crucial. He also appears in the four [=PS2=] games set slightly afterward.
* ''Anime/{{Zegapain}}'' is about this trope and giant robots.

* Jor-El in recent ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' titles, riffing off TheMovie and ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.
* The [[CrazyPrepared Batman-like]] version of The Black Terror featured in ''ComicBook/TomStrong'' and its spinoff ''Terra Obscura'' had created one of these before his death. Once activated, Terror 2000 manifests as a hologram projected from a swarm of floating golf ball-sized machines.

* ''Comicbook/XMen'': Bishop had a sister named Shard who was essentially this.

[[folder:Films — Animated]]

[[folder:Films — Live Action]]
* The ''Film/{{Superman}}'' movies had Virtual Ghost versions of the Elders of Krypton sent along with the spaceship.
* In ''Film/ManOfSteel'', Jor-El's recorded consciousness interacts with Clark, showing him Krypton's history. [[spoiler: He also helps Lois Lane escape Zod's ship and gives her information on how to return Zod's army to the Phantom Zone. He then briefly confronts Zod before getting shut off for good.]]
* Subverted in the film version of ''Film/IRobot''. A dead scientist leaves behind a 2D holographic recording of himself to guide the main character, but this is a more realistic hologram than most, in that it is a simple computer program rather than a copy of the dead man's personality. Its most commonly-used statement is "I'm sorry, my responses are limited; you must ask the right question." Spooner himself describes the hologram simply as part of a "TrailOfBreadCrumbs".

* Jobe becomes one of these at the end of ''Film/TheLawnmowerMan'', after consciously putting himself into the network and leaving his body behind.
* ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow''. A [[UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla Tesla]] Coil-projected image of MadScientist Dr Totenkopf warns off the protagonists, but it turns out he's been [[DeadAllAlong dead for over twenty years]], leaving his robots to carry out his scheme. The actor playing Dr. Totenkopf is one of these, too: the legendary [[Creator/LaurenceOlivier Sir Laurence Olivier]]. Like his character, Olivier had been dead for a while (15 years at the time of filming) and appears via computer manipulated stock footage.

* ''Film/JohnnyMnemonic'' has Anna Kalmann, the founder of [=PharmaKom=] whose brain was patterned into their mainframe so she could advise her successors. However she helps Johnny escape the company's agents.
* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', [[spoiler:Armin Zola is revealed to "live" in a roomful of 70s computer mainframes, expressing himself through monitors no more advanced than the 90s, {{Zeerust}} and only some modern technology such as an USB drive.]]
* Rosemary, the former receiver who committed suicide, is seen posthumously as a memory hologram teaching ''Film/TheGiver'' how to play piano.