History Main / GhostMemory

* In VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater, The Sorrow was a telepath who would channel the spirits of dead soldiers to imbue himself with combat prowess.

* In one ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' book, they visit the [[ProudMerchantRaceGuy Iskoort]], who have a booming trade where people have their memories copied and then sold to others for entertainment. They use the money from selling their own memories to fund everything they need (helped by the fact that Erek, who has [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld several millennia]] worth, is with them). This technology also proves valuable in finally defeating the Howlers and striking a major blow against [[CosmicHorror Crayak]].
** The [[OmnicidalManiac Howlers]] themselves have a collective memory shared by the entire species. The [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerks]] also gain memories from anyone they infest.

* In the ''Franchies/MassEffect'' fic ''Fanfic/Project Delta'', Jane is implanted with some augments on which the past cycles worked like on the Crucible. She somehow gets the pain and vague memories of all the past augmented.

** The extinct Ayleids (Wild Elves) had memory crystals which could store memories and release them to the user. Overuse of these crystals was said to cause a "problem of capacity" for mortal minds.

** The extinct [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] counted among their many [[LostTechnology technological achievements]] a machine which could safely read an [[TomeOfEldritchLore Elder Scroll]] and imprint the information gained from it on a special cube where it could be more-safely accessed.

In ''VideoGame/MassEffect'', if Shepard does a certain quest early in the game, they receive a small and apparently useless Prothean device as a reward. Much later while exploring an alien planet, they can find a Prothean artifact that will react with the device, uploading several years worth of memory from an ancient human that the Protheans had been studying into Shepard's brain. The Beacon encountered on Eden Prime also worked in this way, but due to its damaged state the images it uploaded were indistinct and required Shepard to find several other parts before they made sense.

* This trope affects Chromedome in ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' as a ''severe'' side effect of his [[MindMeld mnemosurgery abilities]]. The thing is, he can [[InterrogatingTheDead read the memories of the dead]], but the side effect of that is that by reading their memories, he also ends up experiencing them, which is in turn [[TransferableMemory recorded in his memory from his perspective]]. The big problem with that is that ''he now knows how it feels to die,'' repeatedly, innumerable times, and in innumerable ways. They have become literal NightmareFuel for him, in that [[BadDreams these memories torment him irregularly and unexpectedly]] while he recharges until he [[CatapultNightmare flings himself awake in a terror]]. It's little wonder he was DrivenToSuicide (though fortunately [[HappilyFailedSuicide he never went through with it]]).

** The ancient Yokudans, ancestors of the Redguards, had memory stones which enabled those who used them [[InstantExpert to master complex sword techniques overnight]], although many of the maneuvers required extensive physical training to actually understand the knowledge, let alone use them in battle.

* Chimera Ants in HunterXHunter can sometimes recall memories from creatures eaten by their queen, to the point that some of them could be considered {{Reincarnation}}s of them.

* ''Warhammer40K'': some of the more ancient wargear available to humans and Eldar can retain a "ghost" of previous users' experiences. This tends to go badly when the equipmet is wired directly into the user's brain, such as Titans, or a previous user turned to Chaos.

* In the eminently forgettable Ray Liotta film ''Film/{{Unforgettable}}'', a doctor, accused of the murder of his wife, injects himself with her memories, or some damn thing.

* In one ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' book, they visit the [[ProudMerchantRaceGuy Iskoort]], who have a booming trade where people have their memories copied and then sold to others for entertainment. They use the money from selling their own memories to fund everything they need (helped by the fact that Erek, who has [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld several millennia]] worth, is with them). This technology also proves valuable in finally defeating their enemies and striking a major blow against [[CosmicHorror Crayak]].

* Introduced subtly at first, this becomes a major plot point in Creator/PamelaDean's ''Secret Country'' trilogy.

* In the eminently forgettable Ray Liotta film ''Unforgettable'', a doctor, accused of the murder of his wife, injects himself with her memories, or some damn thing.

* In the novel ''GreenRider'', Karigan is briefly possessed by a dead swordsmaster and fights another swordsmaster to save her own life. Later, the moves and skill he used is available to her, making her a better fighter than before.

* ''TheWheelOfTime'': [[spoiler:Mat blurted out]] a wish [[spoiler:to have the holes in his memory filled]], and the wishgivers responded by filling his head with spare memories of other people who had visited them. [[spoiler:This turns him into a brilliant general, and his already [[BornLucky obscene luck]] doesn't hurt either]]. He also demonstrates cases of GeneticMemory early in the series.

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* In The Glass Flower by G. Martin: [[spoiler: It’s revealed by the end of the book that the memories that the protagonist received were so overwhelming for him that he lost his identity in them and shifted more towards that of the original owner of those memories.]]

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* ''{{Buffyverse}}'':

* In ''VideoGame/BioShock1'', it's revealed in an audio diary found near the beginning of "Arcadia" that the visions seen throughout the game are from the genetic memory of any person whose ADAM was extracted (by the Little Sisters) from their blood to be recycled after they died. Those who splice up with the ADAM (including the main characters, Jack and Subject Delta) end up getting some of these memories with it, experienced in the form of seeing such "ghosts".

* MarvelUniverse limited series ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Pryde_and_Wolverine Kitty Pryde and Wolverine]]''. The evil {{Ninja}} Ogun tries to take over ComicBook/KittyPryde by impressing his mind on hers. Among other things, this gives her knowledge such as the ability to perfectly prepare a Japanese rock garden.

* In the DCUniverse, this is how the legacy of the ComicBook/GreatTen's Accomplished Perfect Physician works. Each new holder of the title inherits the collective memories of their predecessors; the current one is the seventeenth, giving him sixteen lifetimes of experience to draw on.

* Absorbing people's memories is one side effect of ComicBook/{{Rogue}}'s powers in most ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'' continuities, as well.

* ''TheSwordOfTruth'': Richard channels the skills of the titular sword's previous users in order to defeat a large group of master swordsmen.