History Main / GhostAmnesia

** One notable example is [[spoiler: Nageki, a ghost who has forgotten almost everything except for books.]] Even in his ending where he supposedly regains his memories, he ''still'' doesn't remember [[spoiler:the full truth behind his death as he believes that he committed suicide in the library, not in the medical center]]. For that, you have to play the full version of the game.
** In ''Holiday Star'', we get to see a little of the bird afterlife. Forgetting everything while wandering across the stars is a prerequisite to being reborn.

* Ghosts in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' can apparently suffer from this trope, and need to remember how they died to ascend to the "50th Dead World." The episode "Ghost Princess" involves [[KidHero Finn]] and [[NonHumanSidekick Jake]] helping the title character, as well as another ghost named Clarence, discover their pasts. [[spoiler:It turns out she was called Warrior Princess in life, and Clarence was her lover, though they fought on opposite sides in a war. Clarence killed her, then was so miserable he ate himself into an early grave]].

* Sayo Aisaka from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. In both the original and ''Anime/NegimaSecondSeason'', she says she's forgotten just because it's been quite a long time. She doesn't really want to remember either since she bets it would be pretty depressing. The only anime episode generally agreed to have been quite good was a focus episode for that gave an explanation for her death: She died in World War II during a bombing run when she went outside in a storm to pick flowers for her sister.

* Scarlet from ''Webcomic/ImTheGrimReaper'' wakes up in hell with no memories. Strangely enough, no other sinners seem to have this problem. Satan claims that she did it to herself.
** It's eventually revealed that the source of her amnesia was [[spoiler:the Scarlet Rot she contracted targeting her brain.]]

* At first Dell from ''Webcomic/PumpkinFlower'' [[NameAmnesia can't remember his own name]], let alone how he died, but [[spoiler: [[HazardousWater the cause is hinted at frequently.]]]]
* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': [[spoiler:The dead Luteran pastor]] has forgotten her name, the exact circumstances of her death and the location of her [[spoiler:church]], the latter of which is problematic due to fiding it being a possible solution to solving one of the crew's most persistent problems.

* Sayo Aisaka from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. In both the original and ''Anime/NegimaSecondSeason'', she says she's forgotten just because it's been quite a long time. She doesn't really want to remember either since she bets it would be pretty depressing. The only anime episode generally agreed to have been quite good was a focus episode for that gave an explanation for her death: She died in World War II during a bombing run when she went outside in a storm to pick flowers for her sister.
* All of the shinigami in ''Manga/FullMoon'' forget about their past lives. Curiously, it seems that ghosts do not. For example, [[spoiler:Eichi Sakurai]].

* The [[CuteGhostGirl titular character]] of ''Manga/MyLovelyGhostKana'' has been dead for years by the start of the manga, and after spending all that time alone, trapped in the abandoned apartment building where she died, she's forgotten most details of her life. She isn't even sure how her name was spelled. She does have a pretty vivid recollection of how she took her own life, but she can't remember [[DrivenToSuicide why she did it]]. The upshot of this is it allowed her to develop into a [[GenkiGirl cheerful, energetic girl]] eager for company, [[AngstWhatAngst quite the opposite]] of what you'd expect from the ghost of someone who gruesomely killed herself.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh''. The pharaoh can't remember anything but gaming; he only even knows he's a pharaoh because other people told him. This seems to have been a semi-explicit part of his HeroicSacrifice, though. Maybe.
* ''Anime/AngelBeats'' uses this as a central plot point, since none of the already dead protagonists properly remembers how did they die or what their ghostly goals are... [[spoiler: and only can go to the Afterlife when they remember their former lives and work towards passing on in peace.]]
* Some of the ghosts in ''Manga/{{Rinne}}'' have it, and the shinigami sometimes need to figure out what they've forgotten before bringing them to the wheel of reincarnation.

* In the first ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' OVA, Clow Reed's PsychoExGirlfriend (and former student) Mahoudoushi doesn't even realize that she's dead, or that Clow Reed is. This causes a lot of problems for Sakura.
* ''Manga/BokuraNoKiseki'' has the {{Reincarnation}} version of this. Nearly all the characters in the series are reincarnated from a set of characters in the distant past. However, all of the reincarnated characters note they have extremely vague memories of how the war they died in started, and many of them can't seem to remember how it was they died. Especially prominent in the priests, who should have been evacuating the area, and thus would've been nowhere near the castle when it fell. (Even Gerald/Midou, who snuck out to the castle anyways, shouldn't have gotten there in time.) The protagonist Harusumi assumes that he's remembered all of his past life Veronica's memories over the years, but [[spoiler: with Teshimano's revelation that he remembers seeing Veronica fighting with Lucas, Harusumi realizes that Veronica must have lived beyond the memory that he had always assumed detailed her final moments.]]

* The unnamed protagonist of ''Anime/DeathParade'' cannot remember her past or how she died. That's normal in Quindecim however people do get their memories back eventually; she is abnormal in that it doesn't come back within a few hours. It isn't until the end that she remembers her past: [[spoiler:She was an up-and-coming professional ice skater named "Chiyuki" however she injured her knee. Being unable to skate anymore, she fell into a depression and ended up DrivenToSuicide.]]

* In ''Manga/YuunaAndTheHauntedHotSprings'', Yuuna Yunohana doesn't remember anything about her life, so she has no idea what UnfinishedBusiness she needs to do to move on to the afterlife. She doesn't even know her real name, "Yuuna Yunohana" was a name given to her by Chitose.

* In ''ComicBook/GhostDarkHorseComics'', Elisa returns from the dead to avenge her death. However, she cannot remember how she died or who killed her.

* In the ''Animal Crossing'' fanfic ''Fanfic/SliceOfHeaven'', Nadia can't remember much about her life, even her surname. Her memories of her life are foggy.

* Film/{{Fluke}} from the film of the same name.

* The ghosts in the film version of ''Film/{{Casper}}'' have this, though Casper himself ''eventually'' gets his own memories back, thanks to Kat.
* An important plot point from ''Film/TheSixthSense''.
* In ''Film/APureFormality'', the interrogated hero can't remember what he did the evening before, because [[spoiler: that's when he committed suicide]].

* Creator/PeterSBeagle:
** In ''Literature/AFineAndPrivatePlace'', the ghost Michael Morgan forgets how he died. Ghosts in general gradually forget their lives, and become less detailed and less definite in appearance as they forget what they looked like.
** In ''Literature/{{Tamsin}}'', the titular ghost [[OurGhostsAreDifferent appears to others as she remembers herself]]. Sometimes she remembers herself very well, right down to her crooked teeth; other times she has gaping holes in her body because she can barely remember anything. The driving force of the plot is finding out what the so-called Other One had to do with her death -- [[LaserGuidedAmnesia which Tamsin herself has forgotten because she was so terrified of him]].
** In ''The Innkeeper's Song'', Lukassa is brought back from the dead, but she can't remember anything from before or why this one guy (actually her lover) is so intent on finding her.
** In the short story "Spook" as well.

* In Dante's ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', heretics in Hell "remember" the future, but not the past (except, apparently, their own sins, since they speak of those). This is part of the IronicHell punishment, since once time ends they will remember nothing at all.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', ghosts are psychic echoes left behind by the impression of a traumatic death. This means the ghost is basically the person's mind on replay, constantly trying to resolve old business.
* Alluded to in ''Literature/TheBible'', in an unusual manner. "The former things are passed, nor will they come to mind." Unusual in that, after the Resurrection, everybody is [[BackFromTheDead alive]], so it doesn't technically fit the parameters of this trope, but it's close enough.
* In ''Literature/WarmBodies'' the average zombies remember nothing of their past but little of their humanity and spend time trying to guess their former lives from their clothes.
* In the Creator/NeilGaiman short story "October in the Chair", the ghost of a little boy is named Dearly... because that's the only word still legible on his extremely faded gravestone. A living boy suggests that "Beloved" was the next word there. Dearly agrees, but doesn't seem too invested in it.

* Anna from ''Literature/AnnaDressedInBlood'' can't remember the details of her death. Cas Lowood helps her remember through a spell.
* ''Ghost Cadet'' is a kid's novel about the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin ghost of a cadet]] from the American Civil War. He fell in battle, then hid his family pocket watch in his last moments so that Union soldiers wouldn't steal it from his corpse. He can't remember where, however, and his spirit can't leave the battlefield until he (or, in this case, the book's living protagonist) manages to find it.
* ''Literature/FamilySkeletonMysteries'': With a side of LaserGuidedAmnesia. Sid remembers what it's like to be human and has no problems functioning like one among those who know of his existence, but suffers LossOfIdentity up until a chance encounter with someone he knew while alive causes him to recall just a little bit.

* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'': Cartographer, a character introduced in the [[Literature/TollTheHounds eighth book]] of the series, is an undead corpse and cannot remember anything from his mortal life.
* By necessity, a ghost in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'' must have lost the third of their soul that defines their identity, so they cannot remember their names nor anything of their former lives.
* In ''[[Literature/SnowWalker The Soul Thieves]]'', ghosts that have not made either afterlife lose memory of their names and old clan affiliations.
-->'''Ghost:''' We know no names. Names are for the living.

* Izuko the guardian of the Gate of Rage in the Japanese live action series ''Manga/{{Skyhigh}}''.
* In the ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' episode "Random Shoes", Eugene is {{Dead To Begin With}} and doesn't remember much about his life or anything about how he died, [[spoiler: though his memories gradually come back throughout the episode as he sees things that remind him and helps [[WhodunnitToMe solve the mystery of his own death]], which turns out to be an accident.]]
* In ''Series/OhMyGhostess,'' Shin Soon Ae is a spirit who doesn't know why [[BarredFromTheAfterlife she can't move onto the afterlife]], and assumes that, like the other ghosts around, [[UnfinishedBusiness it's because of a "grudge," meaning something she can't do in death that she wanted to in life,]] and reaches the conclusion that her "grudge" is that she never had sex with anyone, so she sets out trying to possess a woman and have sex with their boyfriend in the very limited window that the possession allows, since the woman's body always quickly boots her out. This leads her to sullen, reclusive, UnhappyMedium Na Bong-Sun, a chef who has a massive crush on her boss, Kang Sun Woo, and who just so happens to share the same psychic frequency that allows them to share a body long-term; and she promises to help her win Sun Woo over by possessing her body and exuding a more bubbly, playful personality. As time goes on, however, Soon Ae realizes that what's she's forgetting about her life that's preventing her from moving on is that [[spoiler: she was murdered, and the killer was never caught.]]

* In both the [[Series/BeingHumanUK British]] and [[Series/BeingHumanUS American]] versions of ''Being Human'', Annie/Sally has forgotten that [[spoiler: her death wasn't just an accident; she was killed when she had a fight with her fiance and he pushed her down the stairs.]]
* ''Series/GhostWriter'' (if he is in fact a ghost) knows only that he used to be human.

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'''s ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' setting, this happens to petitioners in the afterlife and is tied into DeathAmnesia as well. Souls of the deceased always pass through the Astral Plane before going on to the afterlife, where their memories naturally strip away - a resurrected soul follows the path backward and picks up their memories all over again, displacing anything they experienced as a petitioner. This means that, if you know how, you can locate a dead person's "memory core" in the Astral and plunder their secrets.

* [[spoiler:Ego]] from ''VideoGame/TheSeventhGuest''.
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'':
** Yuyuko Saigyouji, to the point that she's trying to unseal the thing she [[HeroicSacrifice died to seal]]. Because she's bored.
** Mima. To quote, "As she can't remember things for such a long time, she appears to be enjoying her current days." Yes. She can't even remember WHY, but she decides to [[RoaringRampageofRevenge attempt to destroy the entire human race]]. And then [[DefeatMeansFriendship starts mooching off the one who eventually stopped her, whom also nearly managed to exorcise her]].
* Misha in ''VideoGame/{{Chulip}}'' loses more of her memories every time you meet her.

* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'':
** The Russalka was once a young woman who was murdered by being pushed into the lake, and can now remember little of her past life.
** In the same game there is a ghost in the forest who does not remember dying, until you interact with her.
* Neku in ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' starts the game without knowing anything [[spoiler:even that he's dead]]. After the first week [[spoiler:he does gain most of his memories back, but still doesn't know how he died]]. It's not until the very end of the game [[spoiler:that these memories are fully returned to him]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', every ghost seems to lose all memory of their past life. Friends, lovers, and family members have to introduce themselves and befriend them all over again as if they were a complete stranger.
* The whole point of ''VideoGame/AmberJourneysBeyond.'' Ghosts wander in a strange limbo-world based around the moment of their death, echoes of which appear in the world as a haunting. They can't remember they died or even that the corpse they see is themselves. You have to take care of their UnfinishedBusiness, help the ghosts remember the circumstances of their death, and remind them that they are indeed dead before sending them on their way.
* Used in ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'', where the dead take time to remember who they were, and what they even looked like. The entire plot is spurred by Sissel's search to find out who he is. Sissel himself can't even remember a lot of basic concepts such as "science" or "jail", or even [[spoiler: how to read]]. Of course there's a good reason for this--[[spoiler: he never knew them to begin with. He's a cat.]] ''Ghost Trick'' uses some pretty interesting concepts to explain why Sissel has memory loss that's lasted more than everyone else, too. [[spoiler: Apparently, if a ghost is somehow misled into thinking a body other than theirs is their own, they won't regain any memories. Conversely, once a ghost does identify their body, their memory starts coming back nearly immediately afterwards. Essentially, Sissel's memories stayed gone for so long because he was trying to remember ''the wrong person.'']]
* ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'':
** One notable example is [[spoiler: Nageki, a ghost who has forgotten almost everything except for books.]] Even in his ending where he supposedly regains his memories, he ''still'' doesn't remember [[spoiler:the full truth behind his death as he believes that he committed suicide in the library, not in the medical center]]. For that, you have to play the full version of the game.
** In ''Holiday Star'', we get to see a little of the bird afterlife. Forgetting everything while wandering across the stars is a prerequisite to being reborn.

* In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', one side effect of the Undead Curse is gradual memory loss. It's implied that the player character remembers nothing at all, save their own name, and the fact that they remember ''that'' is a bit of a surprise to the Firekeepers who "welcome" you to Drangleic. Throughout the game, other Undead characters you meet will lose their memories as the game goes on, some more quickly than others.
** One character in particular, Lucatiel, begs you to remember her name, because she's starting to forget it. ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' reveals that the Bearer of the Curse went above and beyond: one of the helmets is "Lucatiel's Mask", and its lore reveals that it was named such so that ''everyone'' would remember her name.
* ''VideoGame/PonyIsland'': [[spoiler: The protagonist has been in Limbo for so long, they know nothing about themselves. Only through encounters with Baphomet, can you hope to regain any memories at all.]]
* In ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'', the main character Talion is possessed by the wraith of a long dead elf lord that has no recollection of his past or even his own name. As the story progresses with Talion recovering the wraith's relics and artifacts he remembers his past bit by bit and his power increases each time. His identity is revealed to be none other than [[spoiler:Celebrimbor, the One Ring's very creator. With that said, its strongly hinted that it might not be the case as the ''Bright Lord'' DLC implies that just before taking Talion's body he still remembered his old self while declaring that "all will fear me and rejoice" and he used him to re-acquire his old powers]].
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'', where it's stated that ghosts called back to the living world are unable to remember their ''afterlife''. [[spoiler: This becomes a plot point in the final case, where this trait is used to trick a ghost into thinking he didn't die, which the ghost's killer used to trick a witness into reporting that the victim was still alive hours after his death.]]

* Säid the {{Mummy}} of ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' has almost completely forgotten the events of his life prior to his death and resurrection; he can recall the broad strokes of the period like the reign of Akhenaten and the Red Nights, and he can remember a few events -- such as his involvement in the Cult of Osiris, dalliances with girls in Abydos, and serving as a prince at some point - but other than that, his life prior to undeath is a blank. He doesn't even remember his real name, having adopted the name "Säid" out of convenience. At present, it's not known if the other members of [[TheNecrocracy the Kingdom]] suffer from the same condition.
* Yu and Rei from ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' do not remember anything about their past before they became ghosts... not that Yu minds, anyhow, since she actually likes being a ghost due to its perks. [[spoiler:A trivia tidbit in ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo20thAnniversary'' suggests that Rei forgot something important because of how shocked he was at becoming a ghost.]]

* A major plot point in ''[[http://www.graphicsmash.com/comics/mnemesis.php Mnemesis]]''.
* At first Dell from ''Webcomic/PumpkinFlower'' can't remember his own name, let alone how he died, but [[spoiler: [[HazardousWater the cause is hinted at frequently.]]]]

* Pretty much all the ghosts in ''Webcomic/{{Lapse}}''.
* Betelgeuse in ''Webcomic/CobwebAndStripes'' remarks to Lydia that he has no memory of who he was when he was alive, and at some point hopes to find out.

* Scarlet from ''Webcomic/ImTheGrimReaper'' wakes up in hell with no memories. Strangely enough, no other sinners seem to have this problem. Satan claims that she did it to herself.
** It's eventually revealed that the source of her amnesia was [[spoiler:the Scarlet Rot she contracted targeting her brain.]]

* Downplayed in ''Literature/JessicasGhost''. Jessica can't remember how she died at first, and whenever she tries to remember at first, she teleports back to the hospital where her body was taken. [[spoiler:After she learns she committed suicide, her memories flood back.]]

Compare with DeathAmnesia (where a character comes BackFromTheDead but can't remember their afterlife), and DeadAllAlong (where the dead character forgets that they're dead). Not to be confused with GhostMemory, where a character gains memories that are not truly theirs.

[[foler:Podcasts]]

* In ''Theatre/JasperInDeadland'', souls who enter Deadland begin to forget their past lives, [[spoiler:or to be more accurate, the water down their makes them forget]].

* ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'': Sakura is the only member of Franchouchou who can't remember her life from before she became a zombie, and much of her motivation for performing is hoping to spark those memories.

* Yu and Rei from ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' do not remember anything about their past before they became ghosts... not that Yu minds, anyhow, since she actually likes being a ghost due to its perks. [[spoiler:A trivia tidbit in ''20th Anniversary'' suggests that Rei forgot something important because of how shocked he was at becoming a ghost.]]

The tendency for [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] or otherwise [[DeadToBeginWith deceased]] characters, sometimes other types of TheUndead, to forget the details of their former lives. Common things forgotten are: their cause of death, everything ''but'' their cause of death, or everything about their former life entirely. It's often a major problem when attempting to accomplish GhostlyGoals. At times, it may be a self-imposed WeirdnessCensor / LaserGuidedAmnesia to avoid realizing they died in the first place. If a ghost has stayed on Earth for long enough then it might start to lose its memories as it begins to fade away/move on.

* Mahalah from "Webcomic/UndeadFriend'' has no memories of her life or what it even was like to be alive, making her a bit ignorant of what is appropriate human behavior. She is different from the other ghosts in the series who tend to only not be able to remember how they died.

* In ''Series/OhMyGhostess,'' Shin Soon Ae is a spirit who doesn't know why [[BarredFromTheAfterlife she can't move onto the afterlife]], and assumes that, like the other ghosts around, [[UnfinishedBusiness it's because of a "grudge," meaning something she can't do in death that she wanted to in life,]] and reaches the conclusion that her "grudge" is that she never had sex, so she sets out trying to possess a woman and have sex with their boyfriend. This leads her to shy, reclusive, UnhappyMedium Na Bong-Sun, a chef who has a massive crush on her boss, Kang Sun Woo, who just so happens to share the same psychic frequency that allows them to share a body long-term, and she promises to help her win Sun Woo over by possessing her body and exuding a more bubbly, playful personality. As time goes on, however, Soon Ae realizes that what's she's forgetting about her life that's preventing her from moving on is that [[spoiler: she was murdered, and the killer was never caught.]]

* In ''Series/OhMyGhostess,'' Shin Soon Ae is a spirit who doesn't know why she can't move onto the afterlife, and assumes that, like the other ghosts around, it's because of a "grudge," meaning something she can't do in death that she wanted to in life, and reaches the conclusion that her "grudge" is that she never had sex, so she sets out trying to possess a woman and have sex with their boyfriend. This leads her to shy, reclusive, UnhappyMedium Na Bong-Sun, a chef who has a massive crush on her boss, Kang Sun Woo, who just so happens to share the same psychic frequency that allows them to share a body long-term, and she promises to help her win Sun Woo over by possessing her body and exuding a more bubbly, playful personality. As time goes on, however, Soon Ae realizes that what's she's forgetting about her life that's preventing her from moving on is that [[spoiler: she was murdered, and the killer was never caught.]]

* Sayo Aisaka from ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''. In both the original and ''Anime/NegimaSecondSeason'', she says she's forgotten just because it's been quite a long time. She doesn't really want to remember either since she bets it would be pretty depressing. The only anime episode generally agreed to have been quite good was a focus episode for that gave an explanation for her death: She died in World War II during a bombing run when she went outside in a storm to pick flowers for her sister.

* In ''Manga/DeathNote'' fanfic Fanfic/ApplesEqualsCyanideEqualsLight, Shinigami Kira either doesn't remember or only has dormant memories of his human life.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'':

* Pretty much all of the ghosts in ''Videogame/TheBlackwellSeries'' fall into this, as they can't find peace and move on to the afterlife before they are remember they are dead. The problem is that their death is often such a traumatic event, that most ghosts subconsciously avoid thinking about things that can remind them of the event, and some even actively attempt to suppress the memory, so they need a little push (and sometimes more than that) to regain the memory.

* In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls2'', one side effect of the Undead Curse is gradual memory loss. It's implied that the player character remembers nothing at all, save their own name, and the fact that they remember ''that'' is a bit of a surprise to the Firekeepers who "welcome" you to Drangleic. Throughout the game, other Undead characters you meet will lose their memories as the game goes on, some more quickly than others.
** One character in particular, Lucatiel, begs you to remember her name, because she's starting to forget it. ''VideoGame/DarkSouls3'' reveals that the Bearer of the Curse went above and beyond: one of the helmets is "Lucatiel's Mask", and its lore reveals that it was named such so that ''everyone'' would remember her name.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

The tendency for [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] or otherwise [[DeadToBeginWith deceased]] characters, sometimes other types of TheUndead, to forget the details of their former lives. Common things forgotten are: their cause of death, everything ''but'' their cause of death, or everything about their former life entirely. It's often a major problem when attempting to accomplish GhostlyGoals. At times, it may be a self-imposed WeirdnessCensor / LaserGuidedAmnesia to avoid realizing they died in the first place. If a ghost has stayed on earth for long enough then it might start to lose its memories as it begins to fade away/move on.

The tendency for [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] or otherwise [[DeadToBeginWith deceased]] characters, sometimes other types of TheUndead, to forget the details of their former lives. Common things forgotten are: their cause of death, everything ''but'' their cause of death, or everything about their former life entirely. It's often a major problem when attempting to accomplish GhostlyGoals. At times, it may be a self-imposed WeirdnessCensor / LaserGuidedAmnesia to avoid realizing they died in the first place.