History Main / PsychologicalTormentZone

* In the first ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'' trilogy, the cave of the ''thetalos'' ritual would seem to qualify. It's not evil -- quite the opposite, it's sacred to MotherEarth -- and you go there to atone for JustForFun/{{egregious}} deeds, but the experience is unpleasant and it's implied that many do not survive.

* {{VideoGame/Celeste}}'s eponymous mountain is known for revealing the true selves of those who climb it. Madeline's evil reflection sabotages her journey every step, jump, and air dash along the way.

** The main setting in ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'' is literally such a thing; [[spoiler:The Cinema is in reality, a LotusEaterMachine set up by Nagi for Hikari to relieve her suffering of being [[TraumaCongaLine emotionally abused]] throughout her childhood, but the movies broadcasted in the Cinema is actually a series of documentaries that are purely consisted of negative thoughts and ''inversely'' makes her feel much worse than she already is.]]

** The main setting in VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth is literally such a thing; [[spoiler:The Cinema is in reality, a LotusEaterMachine set up by Nagi for Hikari to relieve her suffering of being [[TraumaCongaLine emotionally abused]] throughout her childhood, but the movies broadcasted in the Cinema is actually a series of documentaries that are purely consisted of negative thoughts and ''inversely'' makes her feel much worse than she already is.]]

** The main setting in VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth is literally such a thing; [[spoiler:The Cinema is in reality, a LotusEaterMachine set up by Nagi for Hikari to relieve her suffering of being [[TraumaCongaLine emotionally abused]] throughout her childhood, but the movies broadcasted in the Cinema is actually a series of documentaries that are purely consisted of negative thoughts and inversely makes her feel much worse than she already is.]]

* The Chamber of the Ordeal in Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/TortallUniverse'' books works this way. The idea is to weed out people who aren't tough and morally courageous enough to be knights by "hammering" their weak points. People sometimes die in the chamber, commit suicide when released or GoMadFromTheRevelation.

* The Dark Tower from ''Series/{{Merlin}}''. As Queen Mab puts it, "You must beware, Emrys. The Tower is not a real place. It is the heart’s rest, the mind’s deepest fear, the stillness in the hummingbird’s eye."

[[quoteright:306:[[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/psychological_torment_zone.jpg]]]]

* This is much of the premise of ''Series/AshesToAshes'', where Alex Drake is tormented constantly by her parent's death, The Clown of Death and by her thinning grasp of reality (including other torments) while she is in [[spoiler: purgatory]].

* CityOfHeroes has the revamped Dark Astoria when Mot, the God of Despair, breaks through the seals protecting the world from him and devours the various ghostly remnants in the area. The story arcs continuously feature heroes and villains driven to suicidal despair, their deaths feeding Mot and making him so powerful that it takes the biggest team-up of villains and heroes in the entirety of the game to beat him. And all that does is seal him in the zone.

* In ''[[Fanfiction/StarWarsParanormalities Star Wars: Paranormalities: Episode II]]'', Zolph is lured into the cave on Dagobah by a Valkoran probe droid as part of a very sadistic trap on Valkor's part. He encounters a hallucination of Dynn Manthis - whom Zolph was forced to kill six months earlier. Zolph knows she isn't real and tries to make her go away, but then Dynn rips his prosthetic arm (nerve connections included) and cuts his eye-lids open to make him see her as a Forceless-possessed monstrosity before almost getting disemboweled. Thankfully, Zolph's injuries weren't real, but because of Zolph's guilt surrounding Dynn's death, [[YourMindMakesItReal his own hallucinations would have killed him]] had Juganak not hit him in the back of the head. He goes through the experience again a few more times throughout the story with ancient Sith tombs on Korriban and Dxun and a Rakatan temple inhabited by a [[BrownNote madness-inducing]] EldritchAbomination.

* You're own nightmares and bad dreams. Particularly considering that according to a lot of theories about dreams every character you encounter in your dreams is in fact a facet of yourself.

* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', the guardian of Chorus puts potential "warriors" through this. Note that the test isn't one of morality, but rather of the person's inner strength, resulting in more than a few characters failing, including [[spoiler: Locus]]. The one who succeeds in the test is [[TheFool Caboose]], because he's TooDumbToFool.

* In ''[[Fanfiction/StarWarsParanormalitiesTrilogy Star Wars: Paranormalities: Episode II]]'', Zolph is lured into the cave on Dagobah by a Valkoran probe droid as part of a very sadistic trap on Valkor's part. He encounters a hallucination of Dynn Manthis - whom Zolph was forced to kill six months earlier. Zolph knows she isn't real and tries to make her go away, but then Dynn rips his prosthetic arm (nerve connections included) and cuts his eye-lids open to make him see her as a Forceless-possessed monstrosity before almost getting disemboweled. Thankfully, Zolph's injuries weren't real, but because of Zolph's guilt surrounding Dynn's death, [[YourMindMakesItReal his own hallucinations would have killed him]] had Juganak not hit him in the back of the head. He goes through the experience again a few more times throughout the story with ancient Sith tombs on Korriban and Dxun and a Rakatan temple inhabited by a [[BrownNote madness-inducing]] EldritchAbomination.

* The {{Wangst}} cave Matt and Sora wandered/fell into in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure.''

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' 's barriers tend to invoke this when the character and moment is just right. It is usually a way for [[spoiler: the witch to feed]]. For example, when Madoka gets caught up in H.N Elly's barrier, [[spoiler: Elly torments her with memories of the death of Mami]], until [[BigDamnHeroes Sayaka storms in]].

* In the final episodes of ''Anime/{{Inuyasha}}'', Naraku does this to Sango and Miroku while they're inside his body, showing them visions of the death of Miroku's father, who was consumed by the Wind Tunnel curse. In a twist, this is not meant to hurt Miroku, who was there and is well aware he could suffer the same fate, but to show Sango the horror of it and drive her to prevent it at all costs.

* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'': ''The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.''

* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''Literature/StormOverWarlock'', the Wyverns' test of Shann is his ability to reject "dreams" that are his memories by holding in mind that they are dead. One was of a time when a bully tormented him with an AgonyBeam; the other was seeing his beloved pet as if alive, and having to summon to memory its death in order to end it.
** In ''Literature/OrdealInOtherwhere'', the Wyverns use a stronger one, which they think will keep Shann imprisoned. Charis, with the help of Tsste and Thog, breaks him out. Later, he voluntarily throws himself into it to avoid questioning.

** [[TheAlcatraz Azkaban]] is this, what with all the joy-sucking [[EmotionEater Dementors]] there.

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
** Matt's father Maury uses his telepathy to turn people's minds into this. Matt eventually deals with him the same way, trapping Maury in an empty replica of their house on the day he abandoned Matt and Matt's mother.
** He does it again to Sylar in Volume Five.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** "The God Complex" is all about this trope.
** Amy falls into one in "Amy's Choice" and again in "The Doctor's Wife".
** The Twelfth Doctor is trapped in a very personalized one in "Heaven Sent".

* To a lesser extent, Sam Tyler in ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'' also undergoes Psychological Torment.

* ''Series/RedDwarf:'' The false reality generated by the Despair Squid is designed to break the Dwarfers by making them believe they are people who are the exact opposite of their actual nature.

* The Rooms of Renunciation from ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies''.

* The main setting of the ''VideoGame/{{Luna Game}}s''.

* The [[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei Megaten franchise]] has dabbled in this trope many times

** In ''Anime/PuellaMagiSuzuneMagica'', a witch's barrier becomes this for [[spoiler: Haruka Kanade]], leading to [[spoiler: herself becoming a witch]].

* In ''Machinima/RedvsBlue'', the guardian of Chorus puts potential "warriors" through this. Note that the test isn't one of morality, but rather of the person's inner strength, resulting in more than a few characters failing, including [[spoiler: Locus]]. The one who succeeds in the test is [[TheFool Caboose]], because he's TooDumbToFool.

* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic 2'', there is [[spoiler:the Tomb of Ludo Kressh]], where the [[PlayerCharacter Exile]] is forced to relive some of his/her traumatic memories from the Mandalorian Wars, as well as [[spoiler:having to face the conflicting loyalties of his/her teammates.]]

* The "[[SuperFunHappyThingOfDoom island where dreams come true]]" from ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia''. Not daydreams, ''[[RealDreamsAreWeirder dreams.]]'' With all that [[NightmareSequence that implies.]]

* In the first ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'' trilogy, the cave of the ''thetalos'' ritual would seem to qualify. It's not evil -- quite the opposite, it's sacred to MotherEarth -- and you go there to atone for {{egregious}} deeds, but the experience is unpleasant and it's implied that many do not survive.

* In ''Machinima/RedvsBlue'', the guardian of Chorus puts potential "warriors" through this. Note that the test isn't one of morality, but rather of the person's inner strength, resulting in more than a few characters failing, including [[spoiler: Locus]].