History Main / PosthumousNarration

In some forms of media, this trope is well on its way to reaching the status of an UndeadHorseTrope - for example, a sizeable portion of {{Creepypasta|s}} of the "Lost Episode" and Video Game categories tend to end in this way, and it comes off as quite uninspired and a sign that the writer may have been unsure of how to end the story other than have their character of choice murder the protagonist (usually a slightly veiled AuthorAvatar) and have the protagonist comment on and narrate their death for a few lines afterwards.

In some forms of media, this trope is well on its way to reaching the status of an UndeadHorseTrope - for example, a sizeable portion of CreepyPastas of the "Lost Episode" and Video Game categories tend to end in this way, and it comes off as quite uninspired and a sign that the writer may have been unsure of how to end the story other than have their character of choice murder the protagonist (usually a slightly veiled AuthorAvatar) and have the protagonist comment on and narrate their death for a few lines afterwards.

Occasionally, in watching a show or film that features a narration in voice over, you find that the narration is ''not'' because the writers got too lazy to show what's happening, but because they want to present you with the odd phenomenon of a deceased character telling you the story. There's no explanation given for why or how this character can tell the story in question, or whom he's telling it to; we don't see him (assuming it's him) as a ghost, or as a character writing or speaking his last words. He's just a very talkative voice that happens to belong to [[PosthumousCharacter a character who doesn't survive the movie]]. It might result from NearDeathClairvoyance, [[MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEYes Life Flashing Before Your Eyes]], or even a DyingDream (which raises the possibility that they're [[AllJustADream also]] an UnreliableNarrator).

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', which takes place in the Land of the Dead. [[spoiler:Héctor recounts his last day alive when he realizes how similar it was to a scene from one of Ernesto's films]].

* ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'' actually ''starts'' with Creator/WilliamHolden's death; he tells us his story in {{Flashback}}.

** ''MachinimaTheStrangerhood'' explicitly parodied this:

* ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'', if the loading screen quotes count as narration. Doesn't matter if it's the main game or either of the Burial at Sea episodes.

* [[spoiler: Martin Septim]] in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''. Made even weirder by the fact that he [[spoiler:turned into a dragon.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' DLC Honest Hearts, Jed Masterson also does the closing narration, even though he died at the very start of the tale.

* Some versions of ''Videogame/AloneInTheDark1992'' include a walkthrough written as it was a guide written by Derceto owner after his suicide.

* In ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'', Flynn Rider starts out narrating the film with "This is the story of how I died." [[spoiler:He did. But he got better.]]

->''"And if you're reassuring yourself that I'm gonna make it through this since I'm talking to you now ... quit being such a smartass.\\
Hell, dude, you never seen Film/SinCity? Film/AmericanBeauty? Film/SunsetBoulevard?"''

Hell, dude, you never seen Film/SinCity? Film/AmericanBeauty? Film/SunsetBoulevard?"'' [[note]][[SubvertedTrope he does]] [[/note]]

* Similar to the ''Series/{{Wings}}'' example above, the ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "Star Trek" (nothing to do with the Franchise/{{s|tarTrek}}how, for once) starts in the FilmNoir-style with Steve lying facedown in a pool of cherry jello. Steve narrates how he became an accomplished children's book writer by writing a book making fun of Roger. He gets everything he wants, including a giant mansion and a pool of jello. There's also a movie that is going to be filmed based on his book. Then it turns out that the person in the pool was actually an actor who was supposed to be playing Steve in the movie accidentally killed by Roger (he wanted to kill Steve). The episode ends with Stan helping Steve dump the body in a lake. Steve admits this was "kind of a screw to the audience" and apologizes for it.

* Subverted in ''Film/{{Fallen}}''.
Det. John Hobbes' (Denzel Washington) opening monologue, where he states that he's "going to tell you about a time [he] almost died", seems to point to [[spoiler:the battle between him and Azazel in the climax]], only to reveal the voiceover is [[spoiler:Azazel in the body of a cat [[TheBadGuyWins repeating the opening line]].]]

* Subverted in Fallen(1998): Denzel Washington's opening monologue, "I'm going to tell you about a time I almost died." [[spoiler: seems defeat at the climax with the death of his character]] Det. John Hobbes, [[spoiler:only to revel the voice over is Azazel in the body of a cat repeating the opening line.]]

** Interesting variation. Joe Pesci's character narrates much of the film - not aware that his character is going to get whacked - and the second his character ''does'', the narration gags violently and ends - leaving the audience wondering just who the hell he was talking to.
** Also subverted: [[spoiler:The main character is shown dying in a car bomb at the start of the film, but it is later discovered that he escaped with his life.]]

* Danny Devito's character from ''Film/LAConfidential''.

* In ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'', Flynn Rider starts out narrating the film with "This is the story of how I died." [[spoiler:He did. But he got better.]]

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* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', which takes place in the Land of the Dead. [[spoiler:Imelda explains to Miguel that she doesn't really hate music; she just forced it out of her life after her husband left her to make the task of raising Coco easier for her]].

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* ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'' subverts this. Flynn Rider opens the movie by saying "This is the story of how I died." And while he ''did'' get killed in the movie's climax, it [[DisneyDeath didn't take]].

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}''. The movie starts off with the main character falling to his death, and almost everything after that is his life flashing before his eyes. When the flashbacks catch up to the present, he seems completely willing to die.
-->'''Megamind:''' ''So, this is how it ends. Normally, I'd chalk this up to my last, glorious failure...[[spoiler:but not today!]]"

* The novelty song "The Thing" is about a man who gets stuck with a box containing unidentified contents for his entire life due to being turned away in disgust by everyone he shows the box to. The penultimate verse describes how he ended up dying after his years of being stuck with the box and being forced to take the box with him to Hell by St. Peter when he tried to get into Heaven, while the last verse has the protagonist warn the listener not to pick up and open any strange boxes they may find or else they'll never be able to get rid of them.

* ''Literature/LambTheGospelAccordingToBiff'' is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a gospel]] [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis written by Biff]] after being raised from the dead 2000 years later.

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', which takes place in the Land of the Dead. [[spoiler:Héctor recounts his last day alive when he realizes how similar it was to a scene from one of Ernesto's films]].

See also DeadAllAlong and DeadToBeginWith.

Occasionally, in watching a show or film that features a narration in voice over, you find that the narration is ''not'' because the writers got too lazy to show what's happening, but because they want to present you with the odd phenomenon of a deceased character telling you the story. There's no explanation given for why or how this character can tell the story in question, or whom he's telling it to; we don't see him (assuming it's him) as a ghost, or as a character writing or speaking his last words. He's just a very talkative voice that happens to belong to [[PosthumousCharacter a character who doesn't survive the movie]]. It might result from NearDeathClairvoyance.