History Main / BrainFever

* On ''{{Daria}},'' the title character is in the hospital for an embarrassing rash, and [[CoolLoser Jane]], trying to [[BadLiar make up an excuse]] for her whereabouts, tells [[DumbBlonde Brittany]] that she has brain fever. ("[[ShapedLikeItself It's a thing that brains get]]," but usually goes away after you read a bestseller.) Ironically the rash turns out to be [[AllergicToLove stress-related]], so it sort of fits this trope itself.

* As mentioned below Live Action TV, this trope hasn't fully disappeared in Asia. A few times in ''FruitsBasket'', Tohru stresses herself out or gets upset and gets sick as a result. It usually plays out as the Sohmas putting her to bed and putting a cold compress over her forehead and her getting better after a good night's rest.

* In [[{{Series/Hannibal}} Hannibal]] Will Graham's slow slide into insanity is marked by feverish hallucinations, among other symptoms. [[spoiler: He is revealed to be suffering a rare kind of encephalitis.]]

* In ''Eragon'', the first book in the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'', the title character and his mentor, [[TheObiWan Brom]] enter the city of Teirm under the aliases of Evan and Neal. Brom plays the role of the slighty senile uncle and Eragon comments to a guard that he had a bit too much sun and now has a touch of the brain fever. After they are safely inside the city, Brom comments "A touch of brain fever?" and Eragon replies that he couldn't let him have all the fun.

* Invoked in ''TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'': Huck is sneaking bread and butter out of the house by hiding it under his hat. When the (melting) butter starts to run down his face ''in front of Aunt Sally'', she starts screaming that he has brain fever, and it's [[{{Squick}} causing his brains to leak out]].

* Although [[{{HPLovecraft}} H.P. Lovecraft]] was more known to have characters GoMadFromTheRevelation, this trope also cropped up occasionally in his work, such as the young artist's suffering in TheCallOfCthulhu (although this, like many of Lovecraft's usages of Brain Fever, is ambiguous in that it ''might'' be the result of trauma, or possible a physical effect of the Great Old One's mental influence.)

* Some drugs, including cocaine, can induce hyperthermia when overdosed. In the 19th century, administering cocaine to patients suffering from emotional stress might actually have ''induced'' the febrile state which this trope blames on mental causes alone. When Creator/RobertLouisStevenson had a serious chest infection that was causing him to haemorrhage from his lungs, his doctors injected a vegetable alkaloid which probably saved his life, but caused him terrifying fever dreams that eventually inspired Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDoctorJekyllAndMrHyde. (At least, that was his story. He also used cocaine a lot too, mostly as a painkiller for his various aliments.)

* In the ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' story "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn", Valerius acts feverishly, babbling, thrashing, and giving Ivga a hard time quieting him. While he was wounded, it explicitly says that his mental torment was worse.

* In ''{{Therese}}'', the title character becomes ill for two weeks after her oldest and favorite sister leaves to become a nun.

* ''JoeVersusTheVolcano''. Joe suffers from a terminal "brain cloud". [[spoiler: He's told that, anyway.]]

* In [[{{Series/Hannibal}} Hannibal]] Will Graham's slow slide into insanity is marked by feverish hallucinations, among other symptoms. [[spoiler: He is revealed to be suffering a rare kind of encephalitis.[/spoiler]]

* In ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'', Sara's father dies of brain fever after going bankrupt. In just about every film version, he dies (or rather, [[DisneyDeath "dies"]]) in a war instead (the war in question being UsefulNotes/TheSecondBoerWar in the 1939 version and UsefulNotes/WorldWarI in the 1995 version).

* In ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'', Sara's father dies of brain fever after going bankrupt.

* In the ''ConanTheBarbarian'' story "Literature/{{A Witch Shall Be Born}}", Valerius acts feverishly, babbling, thrashing, and giving Ivga a hard time quieting him. While he was wounded, it explicitly says that his mental torment was worse.

** Weirdly, she also suffers from this the first time Heathcliff disappears ([[CatchYourDeathOfCold though sitting out in the rain for hours]] could have had something to do with it- at least given the [[ScienceMarchesOn medical understanding of the day]]), but, when being nursed at Thornfield, manages to ''infect'' Mr. and Mrs. Linton with it. Somehow.

** It could be a case of getting cause and effect the wrong way round- high temperatures caused by an infection not directly related to the brain can cause delirium or mental disturbance, especially in children.

* Happens a lot in Literature/GeorgetteHeyer's period romance novels.

* Victor Frankenstein from ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' had two bouts, one of which was brought on by seeing his own monster.

* In a ''PinkyAndTheBrain'' short, the duo went to live with a group of Amish farmers for some reason, and at one point Brain explains Pinky's antics as the results of "the Brain Fever".

* In ''VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'', [[spoiler:Hinamizawa Syndrome is a version of this combined with HatePlague]].

* Some drugs, including cocaine, can induce hyperthermia when overdosed. In the 19th century, administering cocaine to patients suffering from emotional stress might actually have ''induced'' the febrile state which this trope blames on mental causes alone.
** Not just cocaine. When RobertLouisStevenson had a serious chest infection that was causing him to haemorrhage from his lungs, his doctors injected a vegetable alkaloid which probably saved his life, but caused him terrifying fever dreams that eventually inspired TheStrangeCaseOfDoctorJekyllAndMrHyde. (At least, that was his story. He also used cocaine a lot too, mostly as a painkiller for his various aliments.)

* In ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'', [[spoiler:Hinamizawa Syndrome is a version of this combined with HatePlague]].

* This non-specific illness strikes Corrigan's child in 1915 silent film ''Film/TheItalian''. And it doesn't appear to be something real like meningitis, because in the movie absolute silence is crucial to the girl's recovery, which would hardly be likely for a real illness.

A ForgottenTrope. In fiction, Brain Fever is a sudden, acute febrile illness brought on by mental shock or stress. It is often severe and may cause raving delirium or insanity; in some cases it ends in death. Meningitis and encephalitis, literal inflammations of the brain, have also been referred to as "brain fever," and fictional cases of Brain Fever may exhibit the same symptoms.

A popular plot device in the nineteenth century, but also appearing in earlier works, Brain Fever isn't used much anymore because, well, [[ScienceMarchesOn diseases don't work that way]]. Today, we have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (formerly called Shell Shock or Battle Fatigue) instead.

Often- particularly in young women- is treated by [[TraumaticHaircut having all their hair cut off]]. Even by standards of pre-germ theory medicine, this seems to have no point except to add pathos to the patient's suffering.

** ''ShiningInheritance'': Go Eun Song helps an hurt old lady on the street; once her fever is down, it turns out the woman is the CEO of a giant food conglomerate.

* Played straight in ''TaiChiMaster''. This happens to Jet Li's character after [[spoiler: he is betrayed by his lifelong friend]].

** ''BoysBeforeFlowers'': This happens several times with Jeun Di, especially when she worked multiple jobs.

** ''DevilBesideYou'': Qi Yue gets to do the cold compress thing on Ahmon's brow.
** ''HanaYoriDango'': This happens twice between Tsukushi and Tsukasa, once in an elevator and once in a blizzard.
** ''[[Series/{{Mars}} Mars]]'': It gave Qi Luo an excuse to take care of Chen Ling all night long.

** ''YouAreBeautiful'': Hwang Tae Young took care of Go Mi Nam when she developed a fever after getting wet.

* Happens a lot in GeorgetteHeyer's period romance novels.