There is one who remembers the way to your door:
Life you may evade, but Death you shall not.
You shall not deny the Stranger.
Character Death is a major event in stories. No, no... it is a really big deal. Really. Except when it isn't.
Obviously, this trope will lead to Spoiler central, so, due to the nature of these tropes, the spoilers are unmarked to avoid having to highlight them constantly.
The inverse of Birth Tropes. See also: Breaking And Destruction Tropes, Funerals, Indexitis, Injury Tropes, and Skeletal Tropes.
Life you may evade, but Death you shall not.
You shall not deny the Stranger.
—T. S. Eliot, Choruses From The Rock
Tropes
Categories:
open/close all folders
Tropes A-C
- Acquitted Too Late
- Afterlife Antechamber
- Afterlife Express
- Alas, Poor Scrappy
- Alas, Poor Villain
- Alas, Poor Yorick
- All Are Equal in Death
- All Deaths Final
- Almost Dead Guy
- And Show It to You
- And There Was Much Rejoicing
- Angsty Surviving Twin
- Another Man's Terror
- Antagonist in Mourning
- Ankle Drag
- Any Last Words?
- Anyone Can Die
- Artifact of Death
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence
- As Long as There Is Evil
- Assassin Outclassin'
- Asshole Victim
- Ate His Gun
- Attending Your Own Funeral
- Back for the Dead
- Back from the Dead
- Backup from Otherworld
- Backup Twin
- Balancing Death's Books
- Barefoot Suicide
- Barred from the Afterlife
- Bath Suicide
- Bequeathed Power
- Better Manhandle the Murder Weapon
- Better to Die Than Be Killed
- Big Guy Fatality Syndrome
- Big Sleep
- Birth/Death Juxtaposition
- Bitter Almonds
- Black Cap Of Death
- Black Comedy
- The Black Death
- Black Dude Dies First
- Black Spot
- Bleed 'em and Weep
- Blood from Every Orifice
- Blood from the Mouth
- Bloody Hilarious
- Bloody Horror
- Board to Death
- Bodyguard Betrayal
- Body of the Week
- Bonding Over Missing Parents
- Boom, Headshot
- Broken Faceplate
- Bungled Suicide
- Burial at Sea
- Burial in Space
- Burn the Witch!
- Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
- Bury Your Gays
- Bus Crash
- Butterfly of Death and Rebirth
- Cain and Abel
- Came Back Strong
- Came Back Wrong
- The Can Kicked Him
- Car Cushion
- Carpe Diem
- Carpet-Rolled Corpse
- Cartwright Curse
- Casualty in the Ring
- Ceiling Corpse
- Celestial Bureaucracy
- Cement Shoes
- Cessation of Existence
- Chalk Outline
- Character Death
- The Character Died with Him
- Characters Dropping Like Flies
- Chess with Death
- Chronically Killed Actor
- Chunky Salsa Rule
- El Cid Ploy
- Circling Vultures
- Climactic Battle Resurrection
- C-List Fodder
- Cold Equation
- Coming and Going
- Contractual Immortality
- Convenient Terminal Illness
- Conversation Casualty
- Cop Killer
- The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much
- The Corpse Stops Here
- Coup de Grâce
- Cradling Your Kill
- Creepy Mortician
- Cruel and Unusual Death
- Crusading Widower
- Cryonics Failure
- Curiosity Killed the Cast
- Cut the Safety Rope
Tropes D
- Dark Lord on Life Support
- Dateless Grave
- Dead All Along
- Dead Alternate Counterpart
- Dead Artists Are Better
- Deader Than Dead
- Dead Foot Leadfoot
- Dead Guy Junior
- Dead Guy on Display
- Dead Guy Puppet
- Dead-Hand Shot
- Dead Hat Shot
- The Dead Have Names
- Dead Man Honking
- Dead Man's Trigger Finger
- Dead Man Switch
- Dead Man Writing
- Dead Man's Chest
- Dead Partner
- Dead Person Conversation
- Dead Serious
- Dead Sidekick
- Dead Star Walking
- Dead to Begin With
- Deadly Bath
- Deadly Closing Credits
- Deadly Deferred Conversation
- Deadly Distant Finale
- Deadly Euphemism
- Deadly Hug
- Deadly Nosebleed
- Deadly Road Trip
- Deadly Rotary Fan
- Death-Activated Superpower
- Death Amnesia
- Death as Comedy
- Death by Adaptation
- Death by Ambulance
- Death by Cameo
- Death by Childbirth
- Death by Despair
- Death by Disfigurement
- Death by Falling Over
- Death by Flashback
- Death by Genre Savviness
- Death by Gluttony
- Death by Irony
- Death by Materialism
- Death by Mocking
- Death by Newbery Medal
- Death by Origin Story
- Death by Pragmatism
- Death by Racism
- Death by Recognition
- Death by Secret Identity
- Death by Sex
- Death by Transceiver
- Death by Woman Scorned
- Death Equals Emotion
- Death Equals Redemption
- Death in the Clouds
- A Death in the Limelight
- Death Is a Sad Thing
- Death Is Cheap
- Death Is Dramatic
- Death Is Not Permanent
- Death Is Such an Odd Thing
- Death Is the Only Option
- Death Montage
- Death Notification
- Death of Personality
- Death of the Hypotenuse
- Death of the Old Gods
- Death Row
- Death's Hourglass
- Death Takes a Holiday
- Death Wail
- Decapitated Army
- Decapitation Presentation
- Decapitation Required
- Deceased Parents Are the Best
- Departure Means Death
- Defiant to the End
- Denying the Dead Parent's Sins
- Desecrating the Dead
- Desert Skull
- Devoured by the Horde
- Dice Roll Death
- Did Not Die That Way
- Did You Die?
- Died Happily Ever After
- Died in Your Arms Tonight
- Died Standing Up
- Die Laughing
- Dies Wide Open
- Dig Your Own Grave
- Disappears into Light
- Disconnected by Death
- Discovering Your Own Dead Body
- The Disembodied
- Disney Death
- Disney Villain Death
- Disposable Intern
- Disposable Pilot
- Disposable Sex Worker
- Disposing of a Body
- Distracted from Death
- Divorce Requires Death
- The Dog Bites Back
- Doom As Test Prize
- Doomed Appointment
- Doom Magnet
- Doomed by Canon
- Doomed Contrarian
- Do with Him as You Will
- Dragged Off to Hell
- Dressing to Die
- Driven to Suicide
- Drop Dead Gorgeous
- Dropped a Bridge on Him
- Due to the Dead
- Duel to the Death
- Dwindling Party
- Dying Alone
- Dying as Yourself
- Dying Curse
- Dying Deal Upgrade
- Dying Declaration of Hate
- Dying Declaration of Love
- Dying Dream
- Dying for Symbolism
- Dying Moment of Awesome
- Dying Race
- Dying to Be Replaced
- Dying Truce
- The Dying Walk
Tropes E-K
- Eaten Alive
- Eating The Enemy
- Electrified Bathtub
- Empathy Doll Shot
- Empty Chair Memorial
- Empty Piles of Clothing
- Ending Memorial Service
- Everybody Lives
- Everybody's Dead, Dave
- Everything Fades
- Excessive Mourning
- Exit, Pursued by a Bear
- Explosive Decompression
- Explosive Stupidity
- Face Death with Dignity
- Faking the Dead
- False Widow
- Family-Unfriendly Death
- Famous Last Words
- Fatal Family Photo
- Fatal Method Acting
- Faux Death
- Fictionalized Death Account
- Field of Blades
- Final Girl
- Final Solution
- Finger in the Mail
- Finish Him!
- First Episode Resurrection
- First Law of Resurrection
- Flatline Plotline
- Fold Spindle Mutilation
- Fond Memories That Could Have Been
- Foreseeing My Death
- Friendly Target
- The Fun in Funeral
- Game of Chicken
- Gas Chamber
- Get It Over With
- Go Into the Light
- Good Night, Sweet Prince
- A Good Way to Die
- Go Out with a Smile
- Gory Discretion Shot
- Grave Humor
- Grave Marking Scene
- Grave Robbing
- Great Way to Go
- Gutted Like a Fish
- Half the Man He Used to Be
- Happier Home Movie
- Have a Nice Death
- He Had a Name
- He Knows Too Much
- Hellish Copter
- Her Heart Will Go On
- The Hero Dies
- Hero Killer
- Heroic Sacrifice
- Hesitant Sacrifice
- He's Dead, Jim
- He's Just Hiding
- High Voltage Death
- His Name Is...
- Hoist by His Own Petard
- Hollywood Heart Attack
- Hospital Surprise
- How Dare You Die on Me!
- Humanity's Wake
- I Cannot Self-Terminate
- I Die Free
- If I Can't Have You
- If We Get Through This
- If You Die, I Call Your Stuff
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die
- I'm Cold... So Cold...
- I'm Dying, Please Take My MacGuffin
- I'm Melting
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
- Implied Death Threat
- Immortal Hero
- Incurable Cough of Death
- Inferred Survival
- Informal Eulogy
- Inspirational Martyr
- Instant Death Bullet
- Instant Gravestone
- Interrogating the Dead
- Interrupted Suicide
- In the Back
- Inverse Dialogue Death Rule
- Involuntary Battle to the Death
- Involuntary Suicide Mechanism
- It Always Rains at Funerals
- It Is Not Your Time
- It's Always Sunny at Funerals
- I Will Only Slow You Down
- I Wished You Were Dead
- Jacob Marley Apparel
- Joggers Find Death
- Join or Die
- Joker Immunity
- Jumping on a Grenade
- Just Desserts
- Karmic Death
- Killed Mid-Sentence
- Killed Off for Real
- Killed Offscreen
- Killed to Uphold the Masquerade
- Kill 'em All
- Kill Him Already
- Killing In Self Defense
- Kill It Through Its Stomach
- Kill One, Others Get Stronger
- Kill the Cutie
- Kill the Ones You Love
- Kill the Poor
- Kill Us Both
- King in the Mountain
- King on His Deathbed
- The Kingslayer
- Kiss of Death
- Klingon Promotion
Tropes L-O
- Last Breath Bullet
- Last Day to Live
- The Last Dance
- Last Disrespects
- Last Grasp at Life
- Last Kiss
- Last of His Kind
- Last Request
- Last Stand
- Last Survivor Suicide
- Leave Behind a Pistol
- Leave No Survivors
- Leave No Witnesses
- Left for Dead
- Legacy Immortality
- Legally Dead
- Let Them Die Happy
- Libation for the Dead
- Life Will Kill You
- Lights Off, Somebody Dies
- Like You Were Dying
- Like You Would Really Do It
- Literally Shattered Lives
- Little Dead Riding Hood
- The Living Dead
- Living on Borrowed Time
- Load-Bearing Hero
- Lonely Funeral
- Long Dead Badass
- Losing the Team Spirit
- Losing Your Head
- Lunatic Loophole
- Made of Plasticine
- Make It Look Like an Accident
- Make Sure He's Dead
- Make Them Rot
- Man in the Machine
- Marked to Die
- Maternal Death? Blame the Child
- Matter of Life and Death
- McLeaned
- Meaningful Funeral
- Memorial Photo
- Men Are the Expendable Gender
- Mentor Occupational Hazard
- Mercy Kill
- Microwave the Dog
- Miles to Go Before I Sleep
- A Million Is a Statistic
- Misplaced Sorrow
- Missing Man Formation
- Mistaken for Dying
- Moment of Silence
- Monster Misogyny
- Monster Munch
- The Mourning After
- The Morality/Mortality Equation
- More Expendable Than You
- More Hero Than Thou
- Mortality Phobia
- Mortal Wound Reveal
- Multiple Gunshot Death
- Murder by Cremation
- Murder by Mistake
- Murder by Inaction
- Murder.com
- Murder-Suicide
- Mutual Kill
- My Death Is Just the Beginning
- My Life Flashed Before My Eyes
- Near-Death Experience
- Neck Snap
- Necro Non Sequitur
- Never Found the Body
- Never Got to Say Goodbye
- Never One Murder
- Never Say "Die"
- Never Say Goodbye
- Never Speak Ill of the Dead
- Never Suicide
- Night Swim Equals Death
- Nobody Can Die
- No Body Left Behind
- No Dead Body Poops
- No Longer with Us
- No-One Could Survive That
- No Party Like a Donner Party
- Nostalgia Heaven
- Not Afraid to Die
- Not Enough to Bury
- Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying over You
- Not Quite Dead
- Not Quite Saved Enough
- Not So Invincible After All
- Not Too Dead to Save the Day
- The Nothing After Death
- Nothing Left to Do but Die
- Obi-Wan Moment
- Of Corpse He's Alive
- Offing the Mouth
- Offing the Offspring
- Off with His Head!
- Oh, and X Dies
- One Last Smoke
- One Last Song
- One-Way Trip
- Only Mostly Dead
- Opening a Can of Clones
- Our Hero Is Dead
- Out of Continues
- Outliving One's Offspring
- Out with a Bang
Tropes P-S
- Parting Words Regret
- Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Death
- Passed in Their Sleep
- Peaceful in Death
- Personal Effects Reveal
- Phone Call from the Dead
- Pietà Plagiarism
- Player Punch
- Please Kill Me If It Satisfies You
- Please Wake Up
- Plotline Death
- The Plot Reaper
- Plot-Triggering Death
- Pop Goes the Human
- The Poppy
- Population: X, and Counting
- Posthumous Character
- Posthumous Narration
- Post Mortem Comeback
- Post Mortem Conversion
- The Power of Legacy
- Premature Eulogy
- Prematurely Marked Grave
- Pre-Sacrifice Final Goodbye
- Pretty Spry for a Dead Guy
- Prestige Peril
- Primal Fear (when fear of death is involved)
- The Problem with Fighting Death
- Psychic-Assisted Suicide
- Psychopomp
- Public Execution
- Pull Yourself Down the Spear
- Pummeling the Corpse
- Rapid Aging
- Rasputinian Death
- Really Dead Montage
- Redemption Equals Death
- Red Shirt
- Refusing Paradise
- Regularly Scheduled Evil
- Released to Elsewhere
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated
- Rerouted From Heaven
- Rescued from the Underworld
- Reset Button Suicide Mission
- Respawn Point
- Restrained Revenge
- Resurrection Sickness
- Retirony
- Revival Loophole
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves
- Rise from Your Grave
- Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies
- Robbing the Dead
- Rube Goldberg Hates Your Guts
- Say Your Prayers
- Schrödinger's Cat
- The Scourge of God
- Second Law of Metafictional Thermodynamics
- Secretly Dying
- Seeking the Missing, Finding the Dead
- Seen-It-All Suicide
- Self-Destructive Charge
- Self-Disposing Villain
- Self-Sacrifice Scheme
- Senseless Sacrifice
- Serendipitous Survival
- Serial-Killer Killer
- Severed Head Sports
- Shoot Him, He Has a Wallet!
- Shoot the Messenger
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog
- Shot at Dawn
- Shrine to the Fallen
- Sickbed Slaying
- Silent Credits
- Silent Scapegoat
- Slain in Their Sleep
- Slashed Throat
- Sketchy Successor
- Smoldering Shoes
- Sniping the Cockpit
- Snow Means Death
- Sole Surviving Scientist
- Sole Survivor
- Someone Has to Die
- Someone to Remember Him By
- Sorry That I'm Dying
- Sorting Algorithm of Deadness
- Sorting Algorithm of Mortality
- Spared by the Adaptation
- Speak Ill of the Dead
- Spit Out a Shoe
- Spontaneous Human Combustion
- Staking the Loved One
- Stars Are Souls
- Starts with a Suicide
- Starts with Their Funeral
- Staying Alive
- Stay with Me Until I Die
- Stripped to the Bone
- Stuffed into the Fridge
- Stupid Sacrifice
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome
- Suicide Attack
- Suicide by Cop
- Suicide by Sea
- Suicide for Others' Happiness
- Suicide Is Painless
- Suicide Is Shameful
- Suicide, Not Accident
- Suicide, Not Murder
- Suicide Pact
- Super Drowning Skills
- Superhero Movie Villains Die
- Supernaturally Marked Grave
- Super Power Meltdown
- Surprisingly Sudden Death
- Survivor Guilt
- Suspect Existence Failure
Tropes T-Z
- Tag Team Suicide
- Take a Moment to Catch Your Death
- Take Care of the Kids
- Taken for Granite
- Taking the Bullet
- Taking You with Me
- Talking the Monster to Death
- Talking to the Dead
- Tears of Blood
- Technicolor Death
- Teenage Death Songs
- Thanatos Gambit
- That Poor Plant
- That Was the Last Entry
- The Can Kicked Him
- The World's Expert on Getting Killed
- These Hands Have Killed
- They Died Because of You
- They Killed Kenny Again
- They Knew the Risks
- This Is Not My Life to Take
- Throw 'Em to the Wolves
- Time-Delayed Death
- To Absent Friends
- Together in Death
- Tonight Someone Dies
- Tontine
- Too Cool to Live
- Too Dumb to Live
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth
- Too Happy to Live
- Too Powerful to Live
- Torso with a View
- Touch of Death
- Tragic Bromance
- Tragic Keepsake
- Tragic One-Shot Character
- Transflormation
- Traumatic C-Section
- Trial by Friendly Fire
- Turbine Blender
- Uncertain Doom
- Undignified Death
- Unexpected Inheritance
- Unexpected Successor
- Unwanted Revival
- Vasquez Always Dies
- Vertical Kidnapping
- Viking Funeral
- Villain's Dying Grace
- Vorpal Pillow
- Waking Up at the Morgue
- Walking Wasteland
- Wall Slump
- Wax Museum Morgue
- We All Die Someday
- We Hardly Knew Ye
- We Will Have Euthanasia in the Future
- Weapon Tombstone
- Went to the Great X in the Sky
- What a Drag
- What Happened to the Pet?
- What Is One Man's Life in Comparison?
- Where There's a Will, There's a Sticky Note
- White Shirt of Death
- Whodunnit to Me?
- Who Murdered the Asshole?
- Why Couldn't You Save Them?
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?
- Why Won't You Die?
- Widowed at the Wedding
- Widow's Weeds
- The Wild Hunt
- Winged Soul Flies Off at Death
- With My Dying Breath I Summon You
- Wring Every Last Drop out of Him
- You Are Worth Hell
- You Are Already Dead
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness
- You Kill It, You Bought It
- Your Days Are Numbered
- Your Head A Splode
- You See, I'm Dying
- You Shall Not Pass
- Zipping Up the Bodybag
