History Main / TargetedHumanSacrifice

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', it's entirely possible Voldemort could've used anyone's [[spoiler:blood for the base ritual to succeed in his revival, but he wanted Harry's to circumvent his [[ThePowerOfLove protective ward]].]]

* In TheKingOfFighters, [[spoiler: the original ritual to awaken {{Orochi}} 1800 years ago included plans for the sacrifice of eight {{Barrier Maiden}}s, known as the Kushinadas. Seven of these girls were sacrificed (and in the ''manhua'' they willingly offered themselves as this, having being told that they'd stay young and pretty eternally in exchange), but the last one was rescued by the Kusanagi, Yasakani and Yata leaders, who then went on fighting and sealing Orochi away.]] In the present, [[spoiler: the New Face Team (Yashiro, Shermie and Chris) kidnap the currently last descendant of this surviving Kushinada, a GirlNextDoor from Osaka named Yuki, for the same thing... and [[VillainBall commit the HUGE mistake]] of gloating about their evil plans to Kyo Kusanagi, Chizuru Kagura and Iori Yagami, the descendants of those who fought and sealed Orochi; since Yuki just ''happens'' to be Kyo's girlfriend, [[BerserkButton they piss him off BADLY]]. Obviously, Yuki is saved from them and Orochi is re-sealed.]]

{{Barrier Maiden}}s tend to pe prime targets for this, for obvious reasons.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', sacrificing Zelda is needed to [[spoiler:revive Ganon]]. When foiled, the perpetrators sacrificed themselves instead, and [[spoiler:Ganon CameBackWrong]].

* The BigBad comes back stronger this way
* They need it to overcome some specific power seal (Overlaps with 1, but is not identical to it)

* In ''HarryPotter'', book 4 [[spoiler:the Death Eaters capture Harry Potter in order to revive Voldemort. It's mentioned that they could've just taken any wizard who hated Voldemort for the base ritual to succeed, but Voldemort needed Harry's blood to get past his protective ward.]]
* ''TheDresdenFiles'' likes this trope.

* In ''ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', [[BigBad Ganon's]] followers are gunning for Link because they need to sprinkle his blood on Ganon's ashes in order to resurrect him.
* In ''ALinkToThePast'', Aghanim/[[spoiler:Ganon]] uses this on the descendants of the seven Sages to release the seal to the Dark World.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', sacrificing Zelda is needed to [[spoiler:revive Ganon]]. When foiled, the perpetrators sacrificed themselves instead, and [[spoiler:Ganon CameBackWrong]].

* In TheKingOfFighters, [[spoiler: the original ritual to awaken {{Orochi}} 1800 years ago included plans for the sacrifice of eight {{Barrier Maiden}}s, known as the Kushinadas. Seven of these girls were sacrificed, but the last one was rescued by the Kusanagi, Yasakani and Yata leaders, who then went on fighting and sealing Orochi away.]] In the present, [[spoiler: the New Face Team (Yashiro, Shermie and Chris) kidnap the currently last descendant of this surviving Kushinada, a GirlNextDoor from Osaka named Yuki, for the same thing... and [[VillainBall commit the HUGE mistake]] of gloating about their evil plans to Kyo Kusanagi, Chizuru Kagura and Iori Yagami, the descendants of those who fought and sealed Orochi; since Yuki just ''happens'' to be Kyo's girlfriend, [[BerserkButton they piss him off BADLY]]. Obviously, Yuki is saved from them and Orochi is re-sealed.]]

* In ''FullmetalAlchemist'', [[BigBad Father]] needs people who not only can open the Gate, but have done it once before and survived: this ends up being [[spoiler:the Elric brothers, Hohenheim, Izumi Curtis, and Roy Mustang]]. Without them, he can't perform his ritual and capture the power of God. They are targeted more because of their skills and experiences than some particular power or bloodline, but finding replacements would be extremely difficult, so it counts.

* In ''TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', sacrificing Zelda is needed to [[spoiler:revive Ganon]]. When foiled, the perpetrators sacrificed themselves instead, and [[spoiler:Ganon CameBackWrong]].

* In ''BlueSeed'', it is said that to stop the Aragami, the "Kushinada" (a human literally bred to be a human sacrifice) must be sacrificed. Prlbem is, this time there are ''two'' Kushinadas... [[spoiler: and one of them has had a FaceHeelTurn.]]

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}: Memories of Nobody''. The girl Senna (who is also the Memory Rosary) is captured by the Dark Ones (exiled Soul Reapers). They try to sacrifice her in order to collapse the Valley of Screams and destroy both the World of the Living and the Soul Society.

* In TheKingOfFighters, [[spoiler: the original ritual to awaken {{Orochi}} 1800 years ago included plans for the sacrifice of eight {{Barrier Maiden}}s, known as the Kushinadas. Seven of these young girls were sacrificed but the last one was rescued by the Kusanagi, Yasakani and Yata leaders, who then went on fighting and sealing Orochi away.]] In the present, [[spoiler: the New Face Team (Yashiro, Shermie and Chris) kidnap the descendant of the last Kushinada, a GirlNextDoor named Yuki, for the same thing... and commit the mistake of telling their plans to Kyo Kusanagi, Chizuru Kagura and Iori Yagami, the descendants of those who fought and sealed Orochi. And since Kyo Kusanagi ''happens'' to be Yuki's boyfriend, [[BerserkButton they piss him off BADLY]]. Obviously, Yuki is saved from them and Orochi is re-sealed.]]

* In ''BlueSeed'', it is said that to stop the Arigami, the "Kushinada" (a human literally bred to be a human sacrifice) must be sacrificed.

* In TheKingOfFighters, [[spoiler: the original ritual to awaken Orochi 1800 years ago included plans for the sacrifice of a BarrierMaiden, Princess Kushinada. She was rescued by the Kusanagi, Yasakani and Yata leaders, who then went on fighting and sealing Orochi away.]] In the present, [[spoiler: the New Face Team (Yashiro, Shermie and Chris) kidnap Kushinada's last descendant, a GirlNextDoor named Yuki, for the same thing... and commit the mistake of telling their plans to Kyo, Chizuru and Iori, the descendants of those who fought and sealed Orochi. And since Kyo ''happens'' to be Yuki's boyfriend, [[BerserkButton they piss him off BADLY]]. Obviously, Yuki is saved from them and Orochi is re-sealed.]]

* In ''{{Angel}}'', the demon Yeshka has the pretty exacting sacrifice requirements that people have to sacrifice their daughter, she has to be a [[VirginSacrifice virgin]], and it has to be done on the father's fiftieth birthday.

* In ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' Glory needs Dawn because she's The Key, an interdimensional gateway recently turned into a human being. The fact that activating its power will involve killing her is basically incidental.

* ''{{Bleach}}: Memories of Nobody''. The girl Senna (who is also the Memory Rosary) is captured by the Dark Ones (exiled Soul Reapers). They try to sacrifice her in order to collapse the Valley of Screams and destroy both the World of the Living and the Soul Society.

* The BigBad from the first ''Film/{{Scooby-Doo}}'' movie needs a pure soul for his ritual. The only soul meeting the requirements on the whole island is [[spoiler:Scooby's.]]

* In ''LesbianVampireKillers'', the blood of the last of the [=McLaren's=]] is nrequired in the ritual to resurrect Carmilla the Vampire Queen.

* A group from {{Naruto}} called Akatsuki tries to do this not once, but nine times! They search for the nine Jinchuriki, including protagonists Naruto and Gaara, to extract their inner demons.

* In FullmetalAlchemist, [[BigBad Father]] needs people who not only can open the Gate, but have done it once before and survived: this ends up being [[spoiler:the Elric brothers, Hohenheim, Izumi Curtis, and Roy Mustang]]. Without them, he can't perform his ritual and capture the power of God. They are targeted more because of their skills and experiences than some particular power or bloodline, but finding replacements would be extremely difficult, so it counts.

[[AC:{{Movies}}]]

* The BigBad from the first Scooby-Doo movie needs a pure soul for his ritual. The only soul meeting the requirements on the whole island is [[spoiler:Scooby's.]]

* In Harry Potter, book 4 [[spoiler:the Death Eaters capture Harry Potter in order to revive Voldemort. It's mentioned that they could've just taken any wizard who hated Voldemort for the base ritual to succeed, but Voldemort needed Harry's blood to get past his protective ward.]]

* In TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames, sacrificing Zelda is needed to [[spoiler:revive Ganon]]. When foiled, the perpetrators sacrificed themselves instead, and [[spoiler:Ganon CameBackWrong]].
* In {{Persona 3}}, [[spoiler:Shuji Ikutsuki]] tries to sacrifice the heroes to bring about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The Fall]], but it doesn't work.
* [[spoiler:Colette Brunel]] in VideoGame/{{Tales of Symphonia}} was to be sacrificed by the {{Big Bad}} [[spoiler:Mithos to resurrect his sister in her body.]] Though it is stated that several other people were used for the ritual before, it has never worked before, most likely due to the body not matching or whatever.

* In ''TheWickerMan'', Howie is slated to be the sacrifice [[spoiler:because he's still a virgin, because he's acting as a representative of the Crown, and maybe other reasons]].

* In FullmetalAlchemist, [[BigBad Father]] needs people who not only can open the Gate, but have done it once before and survived: this ends up being [[spoiler: the Elric brothers, Hohenheim, Izumi Curtis, and Roy Mustang]]. Without them, he can't perform his ritual and capture the power of God. They are targeted more because of their skills and experiences than some particular power or bloodline, but finding replacements would be extremely difficult, so it counts.

* In ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', to reverse a curse, the blood of a specific pirate is required - or that of his descendant Will Turner. They only need a small amount, as we learn when they attempt to use Elizabeth. But by the time they got Will, they were angry enough at him that they were decided to slit his throat instead.
* The BigBad from the first Scooby-Doo movie needs a pure soul for his ritual. The only soul meeting the requirements on the whole island is [[spoiler: Scooby's.]]

* In Harry Potter, book 4 [[spoiler: the Death Eaters capture Harry Potter in order to revive Voldemort. It's mentioned that they could've just taken any wizard who hated Voldemort for the base ritual to succeed, but Voldemort needed Harry's blood to get past his protective ward.]]
* In ''TheDresdenFiles'' likes this trope.
** In ''Summer Knight'' [[spoiler: Aurora]] needs [[spoiler: Lilly, because she holds the power of the summer knight, and killing her at that time and place will give the power to the Winter Court.]]
** In ''Blood Rites''[[spoiler: Lord Raith]] needs to kill both [[spoiler: Harry and Thomas]] to break the curse [[spoiler: their mother laid on him, because it's tied to her bloodline]].
** In [[spoiler: the Red Court needs to kill Harry's daughter so that the spell will trace her bloodline back and hit both Harry and his grandfather Ebenezar, one of the most powerful wizards in the world.]]

* In ''{{Angel}}'' the demon Yeshka has the pretty exacting sacrifice requirements that people have to sacrifice their daughter, she has to be a [[VirginSacrifice virgin]], and it has to be done on the father's fiftieth birthday.
* In ''TheVampireDiaries'' [[spoiler: Klaus needs to sacrifice Elena, that latest "Petrova doppleganger" to break the curse binding him.]] He also needs a vampire and a werewolf, but those are easier to get hold of.

* In TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames, sacrificing Zelda is needed to [[spoiler:Revive Ganon]]. When foiled, the perpetrators sacrificed themselves instead, and [[spoiler:Ganon CameBackWrong]].
* In {{Persona 3}}, [[spoiler: Shuji Ikutsuki]] tries to sacrifice the heroes to bring about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The Fall]], but it doesn't work.
* [[spoiler: Colette Brunel]] in VideoGame/{{Tales of Symphonia}} was to be sacrificed by the {{Big Bad}} [[spoiler: Mithos to resurrect his sister in her body.]] Though it is stated that several other people were used for the ritual before, it has never worked before, most likely due to the body not matching or whatever.

Uh oh... Alice finds herself captured and strapped to a wall/altar in the center of a big magic symbol. Candles are set in very specific places while an OminousLatinChoir hums in the background. It's obvious that she is going to be used in a dark ritual to summon an evil god of sorts, or alternatively, unlock a magical lock to a {{Macguffin}}. There can be several reasons why the evil forces go to the trouble of specifically capturing Alice, instead of just capturing a random innocent victim:

* In ''GunnerkriggCourt'', the first generation of the Court hits upon a self-defense scheme that involves killing a particular person, and immediately afterwards splitting the soul of their grieving lover, so the negative parts of their soul become an angry superpowered spirit, trapped at the place they died. The man who came up with this scheme insisted that the chosen targets were the only ones who would work as a sacrifice, but it's implied that he also selected these two because [[spoiler:one of them was the target of his unrequited affection]].

* [[spoiler: Colette Brunel]] in {{Tales of Symphonia}} was to be sacrificed by the {{Big Bad}} [[spoiler: Mithos to resurrect his sister in her body.]] Though it is stated that several other people were used for the ritual before, it has never worked before, most likely due to the body not matching or whatever.

** In the OCD manner on sealing the demons in the order of the number of tails that they have.

* In FullMetalAlchemist, Father needs people who not only can open the Gate, but have done it once before and survived. It's stated that he specifically needs these 5 people [[spoiler: Erlic brothers, their father, Izumi and Roy]]. Without them he can't perform his "ritual" and capture a power of God. They are targeted more because of their skills and experiences than for some particular power or bloodline, but finding a raplacement would be extremely difficult, so it counts.

* In ''TheWickerMan'', Howie is slated to be the sacrifice [[spoiler:because he's still a virgin]].

* In ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', to reverse a curse, the blood of a specific pirate is required - or that of his descendant Will Turner. They aren't sure how much blood they need, so... [[spoiler: in fact, one drop is the amount required.]]