History Main / DeathWail

* Series/TeenWolf: In [[spoiler: 3x23 Insatiable: Lydia]]'s absolutely heartbreaking scream of [[spoiler: Allison]]'s name as [[spoiler: Allison is killed by an Oni]], Even ''more'' accurate with this trope, due to [[spoiler: Lydia]] being a [[spoiler: banshee]] and the realization that [[spoiler: she]] ''left the message she did because'' [[spoiler: she]] ''knew'' [[spoiler: Allison - or at least someone-]] ''was going to [[spoiler: die'']] but was trying to prevent it.

* Inverted in the ''Series/{{Dune}}'' {{film of the book}} (2000 version), where [[spoiler: Rabban]] does this when he [[OhCrap realizes]] that ''he'' is about to become the metaphorical ex-beloved ally.
** [[Series/ChildrenOfDune The sequel]] plays it straight, as [[spoiler: Leto II screams over the corpse of his father, Paul Muad'Dib. It turns into a frightening SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome when his scream suddenly morphs into a sandworm's roar.]]

* Heartwrenching one when [[spoiler: Nikki finds ET]] on ''Series/SeaPatrol''.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** Nyssa screams Adric's name in the final moments of "Earthshock" when it becomes clear that there is no hope of saving him from the doomed freighter.
** The Tenth Doctor does one after the Master [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dies in his arms]] at the end of "The Last of The Time Lords".
** And the Eleventh Doctor after watching Amy get sent back in time by a Weeping Angel.
* ''Series/TwinPeaks'': Sarah Palmer, upon learning of her daughter Laura's death.

* Ari's cry for help after finding [[spoiler:his deceased mother]] in ''Series/ElCorazonNuncaSeEquivoca'' is absolutely heartbreaking.
* ''Series/AllMyChildren'''s Edmund Grey lets out one of these upon being told that his wife Maria is dead (and at the time, the actors were HappilyMarried in RealLife. It's highly likely he was imagining how he would feel if this really happened).

* ''Film/Godzilla2014'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Joe Brody]] impressively lets out such a sound [[spoiler:in the film's prologue]], not after but directly ''before'' pulling a ShootTheDog once he's learned his wife has received a fatal radiation dose and he has to lock her in to prevent the entire city being exposed to the same lethal dose.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Encanto'', a flashback shows [[spoiler:a young Abuela Alma doing this as she witnesses her husband being killed by marauders. Even though we don't hear her scream because of the song "Dos Oruguitas" playing in the background, her expression conveys all the suffering and despair she felt in that very moment]].

* ''VideoGame/LostJudgment'': Yagami falls to the floor and screams in anguish upon discovering [[spoiler: Yoko Sawa's corpse on the floor of her apartment, having been murdered by Soma]].

* In ''VideoGame/CorpsePartyBloodDrive'', Ayumi lets out many gut-wreching screams when her sister died in front of her.

** Later on, Simon does an even bigger one, both figuratively and literally, [[spoiler:when Thymilph kills Kamina in front of him. Simon starts screaming in grief, the entire valley and the nearby mountains erupt in flame and lava and every Beastman except for Viral, Thymilph and the latter's Thunder Guard are killed in his rampage. Kamina has to literally will himself back to life to keep Simon from destroying himself, Dai-Gunzan/Dai-Gurren and everything else around him. When Kamina dies for good at the end of the episode, it's implied Simon screamed again after seeing his corpse.]]

* Michael Corleone's scream in ''Film/TheGodfatherPartIII'' when [[spoiler: Mary dies]] was supposedly so primal and intense that [[MomentOfSilence the audio had to be cut from the movie]], only keeping the tail end of it.

* ''Series/AllMyChildren'''s Edmund Grey let's out one of these upon being told that his wife Maria is dead (and at the time, the actors were HappilyMarried in RealLife. It's highly likely he was imagining how he would feel if this really happened).

* In ''[[VideoGame/DynastyWarriors Dynasty Warriors 7]]'', Liu Bei is quietly mourning for Guan Yu's death and is planning to attack Wu until a messenger came and told him that Zhang Fei was betrayed and murdered by his own men. Liu Bei's reaction to the death of his other sworn brother is so heartbreaking that he split his throne in half with a sword, dropped to his knees and screamed in anguish.

* Godzilla lets out a particularly heart-wrenching one at the end in ''Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla'' as he falls into the volcano. Unfortunately, it was cut in later releases because Toho apparently believed "Godzilla shouldn't scream"...even though his roar sounds a hell of a lot like a scream in most films!
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxF3kNmJ7tk Famously]] in ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''. Happens again in ''Film/ManOfSteel'' when Franchise/{{Superman}} is forced to [[spoiler:kill General Zod]].
* Averted by editing in ''Film/{{Rambo First Blood Part II}}''. After [[spoiler: Co is shot and dies in Rambo's arms]], Rambo originally lets out a wail. When a test screening was [[{{Narm}} met with laughter]], the crew quickly decided to cut the scene.

* ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'': Juliet forgoes her final speech for one of these.

* In ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', Thor lets out one after [[spoiler:he arrives only seconds too late to see his mother slain in front of him.]] There also was a scene where Loki lets out one after [[spoiler:being informed of his mother's death.]] It was cut for some reason.
* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'': [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter]] lets one out when [[spoiler:Captain George Stacy]] dies from his injuries after fighting the Lizard.
* In the film version of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', Katniss does this after [[spoiler: Rue is killed]], which comes out as a series of shrill, panicked shrieks interspersed with hysterical sobbing. Notably, she doesn't slip into this until after [[spoiler: [[DueToTheDead she decorates Rue's body]]]].

* ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'': Jin Sakai lets out a particularly heart-wrenching one when he kills Lord Shimura, his uncle, in the second ending of the game.

* In ''Anime/KazemakaseTsukikageRan'', Meow does this when [[spoiler: her childhood friend turned drug dealer Mei dies.]]

* ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'': Jin Sakai lets out a particularly heart-wrenching one in the second ending, after killing his beloved uncle to honour his wish for a warrior's death after their duel, all while holding his uncle's body as he breaks down in tears while in his clan's cemetery.

* ''Film/VanHelsing'' features one from Helsing himself. [[spoiler:He accidentally kills Anna when she rushes to him with a silver stake in hand while Helsing was still in werewolf mode, causing him to make a Death ''Howl'' that transitions to a Dead Wail as he goes back to human form.]]

* In ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' Kamina discovers that the skeleton that he and his partners are burying belonged to his father, who had left him behind in the hopes that one day Kamina would be strong enough to follow him to the surface. [[spoiler:Kamina breaks down in tears and bellows:'''"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDD!!!"''']]
* Later on, Simon does an even bigger one, both figuratively and literally, [[spoiler:when Thymilph kills Kamina in front of him. Simon starts screaming in hrief, the entire valley and the nearby mountains erupt in flame and lava and every Beastman except for Viral, Thymilph and the latter's Thunder Guard are killed in his rampage. Kamina has to literally will himself back to life to keep Simon from destroying himself, Dai-Gunzan/Dai-Gurren and everything else around him. When Kamina dies for good at the end of the episode, it's implied Simon screamed again after seeing his corpse.]]

* Later on, Simon does an even bigger one, both figuratively and literally, [[spoiler:when Thymilph kills Kamina in front of him. Simon starts screaming, the entire valley erupts in flame and lava and every Beastman except for Viral, Thymilph and the latter's Thunder Guard are killed in his rampage. Kamina has to literally will himself back to life to keep Simon from destroying himself, Dai-Gunzan/Dai-Gurren and everything else around him. When Kamina dies for good at the end of the episode, it's implied Simon screamed again after seeing his corpse.]]

* ''Film/VanHelsing'' features one from Helsing himself. [[spoiler:He accidentally kills Anna when she rushes to him with a silver stake in hand while Helsing was still in a combat high, causing him to make a Death ''Howl'' that transitions to a Dead Wail as he goes back to human form.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': In "Reunion", Pidge lets out a wail when [[spoiler: she believes her brother Matt to be dead when she sees a marker for him at a mass grave]].

** "Keen" comes from the Gaelic verb "caoin", meaning "to cry/weep, to mourn" and its active article "caoineadh" ("weeping", "crying", "wailing") can also be translated as "elegy/lament". The caoineadh itself was often composed and performed in an improvised way, with at least one keening woman (bean chaointe) hired to lead the rest of the mourners, who generally joined with the chorus. The caoineadh generally consisted of [[StockCharacter stock poetic]] elements (the genealogy of the deceased, praise for the deceased, emphasis on the sorrow of those left behind, etc.) set to vocal lament. [[http://www.keeningwake.com/keening-tradition/ The few people who have heard the last of the professional keening-women describe and even imitate them here.]]

** "Keen" comes from the Gaelic verb "caoin", meaning "to cry/weep, to mourn" and its active article "caoineadh" ("weeping", "crying", "wailing") can also be translated as "elegy/lament". The caoineadh itself was often composed and performed in an improvised way, with at least one keening woman (bean chaointe) hired to lead the rest of the mourners, who generally joined with the chorus. The caoineadh generally consisted of [[StockCharacter stock poetic]] elements (the genealogy of the deceased, praise for the deceased, emphasis on the sorrow of those left behind, etc.) set to vocal lament.

* The Gaels of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man have a currently defunct [[DeathWail keening]] tradition, the practice of ritualized singing and wailing for the dead. "Keening" is derived from the Gaelic verb ''caoin'', meaning "to weep, to mourn/lament" and the verb ''caoineadh'' ("weeping") also refers to a musical style, a lament for the dead. A [[OneWomanWail keening-woman]] would be hired by the family of the deceased to lead the community through their grief, with the keening occurring at the graveyard and the keening-woman (or ''bean-chaointe'' in Gaelic) would sing and wail a semi-improvised lament with the rest of the mourners joining at least during the chorus, the whole performance often punctuated with sobs. It was a way of helping the family and the community through their grief as well as a means f ensuring that the sou of the departed with reach Heaven, [[CelticMythlogy The Otherworld]], or wherever spirits seek to go. the wealthier the family of the deceased, the more keening-women that they would hire. The ''caoineadh'' usually consisted of stock elements (the illustrious ancestry of the deceased, their good qualities, and the heavy hearts of their surviving family and friends) and was often half-improvised, complete with beating your hands and tearing at your hair.