History Main / Telepathy

* ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': Feyre becomes one thanks to the power from Rhys.

* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'': Tilly and Andromeda tried to develop this power in "Sleepover Sisters".

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'': Amazo develops this power during the time he was traveling through the universe and uses as such when he arrives back on Earth to hunt for Luthor.

-->'''Carrot''': What is this, Mind-Reading Day?
* A common ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' [[EpilepticTree fan theory]] is that Bart has this ability, going off his attempt to contact Homer this way in "Brother From the Same Planet" which only succeeds in reaching Milhouse, the gag in "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" in which he apparently reads Skinner's and Homer's thoughts, and several memorable incidents of ImagineSpotting (and a similar joke involving [[SuperpowerfulGenetics his sons]] in a FlashForward episode). Notably, he plays the role of Danny Torrance in WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror's WholePlotReference to ''Film/TheShining.''

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Aqualad claims to have telepathy, but he has yet to use it on anyone who isn't a [[ArtisticLicenseBiology sea creature]].

[[caption-width-right:348:"I'm giving this guy ''such'' a headache right now."]]

* Artemis and Luna from ''Anime/SailorMoon'' have displayed some telepathic power, mainly the ability to re-awaken the Sailor Senshi's memories during the second season.
%%* Hound Asterion from ''Anime/SaintSeiya'' has this particular ability.

* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} has a mental command over any creatures even vestigially connected to the sea: aquatic reptiles, crustaceans, squid, seabirds, mosquitos...
** Retooled after ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}''. Taking a page from some '90s stories and the early origins of the character, Aquaman's telepathy is now greatly toned down, as he can't truly commune with fish or fish-derived life, but just implant compulsions and desires: such as the will to help him.

* Played for laughs in ''Manga/TheDisastrousLifeOfSaikiK''. The title character is possibly the most powerful psychic individual on the planet, but none of his powers can be disabled, so telepathy ends up being a cacophony of noise. Despite this, he's learned to deal with it and it doesn't bother him, but being able to hear peoples thoughts and understand them simultaneously, he isn't surprised by anything, and can discern anyone's location by their thoughts (save for Nendo who is implied to be so stupid and impulsive that Saiki cannot determine where he is until he sees him as Nendo doesn't think, he just acts.). This is part of the reason he refuses to try and get to know certain characters, as he can hear their true thoughts (such as the haughty Teruhashi who talks nice to people but is a BitchInSheepsClothing).

** One episode played for laughs is the sudden appearance of a cockroach. Saiki admits to the audience that he's terrified of bugs because they don't have thoughts he can read, and spontaneously teleports himself from his home in Japan to Texas in a panic. He teleports back, and gets a knock at the door, which turns out to be Nendo. He then teleports across the world again for the same reason.

* Professor Charles Xavier of the Franchise/XMen has formidable psychic powers and is probably the foremost telepath in comics. A number of others have followed in his wake; the X-Books have more telepaths than any other comics subgroup.
** Such as ComicBook/JeanGrey, ComicBook/{{Cable}}, ComicBook/RachelSummers, ComicBook/XMan, {{ComicBook/Psylocke}} and Emma Frost and her clone daughters the Stepford Cuckoos being the most prominent examples.
** Notice that all the above are X-Men, the X-teams basically monopolize the named psychics in Marvel (SHIELD does have a number of redshirt weak psychics). In ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', one Avenger mentioned that the reason why the Avengers had difficulty tracking down the Phoenix 5 (when they weren't blowing things up in public) was that they had no telepaths to scan for them, they were all on the X-Men. They had a bit more luck tracking Hope before the disaster that created the Phoenix 5, but that was limited - for one thing, their telepath, Rachel Summers, was acting as a mole for her dad.
* Pretty much all of ''ComicBook/TheEternals'' are telepathic, although this is unsurprising for an entire race that has won the SuperpowerLottery. Their exact level of ability does vary by how much they have developed it, as is the case with all of their powers.

* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} has a mental command over ''any'' [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower creatures even vestigially connected to the sea]]: aquatic reptiles, crustaceans, squid, seabirds, mosquitoes, and...for those of you who believe in evolution, this includes ''humans''. Or, if you like to speculate, that also includes [[EldritchAbomination friggin CTHULHU!]]

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': All vampires can read the thoughts of humans and their own kind (with the exception of their own maker and fledglings). It's an extension of their SuperHearing, as explained by Lestat when he teaches Louis how to access this power.

* The verse of ''Series/{{Pandora}}'' has telepathy of some sort, but the only example we've seen as of two episodes in is really more of an Empath because he inherited his abilities from his father only, not both parents, so he's only got half-strength powers.

* Matt Parkman of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is unusual as being a telepath who ''isn't'' inordinately brainy. His power is actually "full control over the brain", meaning, in effect, every single power in the MindManipulation index. SuperpowerLottery to the max. Telepathy happens to be his earliest discovered ability and the most prominently featured.

* In the ''Series/GilligansIsland'' episode "Seer Gilligan", the titular character comes across some seeds that have telepathic powers, but before long, the castaways' abilities to read each other minds causes more bickering than they've ever done before. [[spoiler:Luckily, the effect is only temporary, and when Gilligan decides to burn the remainder, the Professor and Skipper applaud him for doing so.]]
* Clark gained this ability for one episode of ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.
* The Auronar in ''Series/BlakesSeven'' are a race of telepaths. Cally, a member of Blake's crew, was exiled from Auron and is therefore isolated from other telepaths -- all alone. Cally can be heard by other people (although reception varies) but cannot read minds. She does, however, act as an [[DetectEvil Evil Detector]].
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'':
** Members of the Scarrans' ruling caste all have a certain degree of telepathic power; most of them use it for forcing their captives to tell the truth while under their influence of their [[KillItWithFire heat projection]], though a few have used it to read the surface thoughts of others.
** The Skreeth assassin, who can telepathically speak through anyone wearing its bio-organic reciever (even over thousands of light years away) and read minds by touch.
** Don't forget Zhaan's traditional Delvian mysticism, which lends itself to the occasional MindMeld.
** And of course, there's Maldis, the vampiric EvilSorcerer, who knew all the details of John Crichton's life without being told. As he said once "Your mind is an open book. Big print and lots of pictures!"
* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', River possesses one-way telepathic abilities, being able to read minds. However, she has [[PowerIncontinence the inability to control this]], the thoughts she picks up are far from coherent or clear, and [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead they are not conducive to sanity.]] It doesn't help that she's a [[SanitySlippage traumatized]] [[TrainingFromHell wreck]] thanks to [[MindRape her experiences]] at [[SchoolForScheming the Academy]].
* In one scene of ''Series/{{Soap}}'', Chuck and Bob show off Bob's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwDbd4jQpkA telepathic abilities]].
* {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''Series/NoOrdinaryFamily''. The mind-reading character never seems to get the whole picture. She only reads people's minds at a few moments here and there, hearing not their full stream of thought, but a few relevant (and incomplete) thoughts.
* {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''Series/TheListener'', when in one episode the protagonist just neglects to listen to the thoughts of the murderer, who stands over the dead body a few hours after the murder. Instead he gleans a thought from someone else in the room, so the episode doesn't end there and then.
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': The higher castes of the vampiric Wraith have telepathic abilities, used mostly to control the far less intelligent Wraith soldiers, though Queens are strong enough to control humans as well. They were also able to [[MasterOfIllusion project illusions]] in the pilot, but this trait was quickly removed.
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'':
** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S5E9WhatWillTheNeighborsThink What Will The Neighbors Think?]]" Mona gains this ability due to being [[LightningCanDoAnything accidentally electrocuted]]. She uses it to read her neighbors' minds and manipulate them to do things she wants.
** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S5E19Stranded Stranded]]", the shapeshifter Tyr'Nar has telepathic powers. This allows him to read Kevin Buchanan's mind and assume the form of the US Air Force captain on the box which one of Kevin's many model planes came in. He later poses as Cindy Parker after reading Brad's mind. [[spoiler:After he kills Kevin's father Alex, his telepathy allows him to impersonate him full-time.]]
** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S5E22BetterLuckNextTime Better Luck Next Time]]", the EnergyBeings in Gerard and Kimble's bodies are able to share their memories with Detectives Terry Russo and Frank Daniels telepathically.
* The justification for the ConfessionCam segments on the kids' game show ''Series/{{Raven}}'' is the title character having this ability thanks to a device called the Raven's Eye.

* ''Series/Stargirl2020'': Brainwave can read people's minds, or communicate to theirs.

* In ''Series/FateTheWinxSaga'', Farah Dowling is able to see memories and tried to use this ability on Beatrix.
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** Zordon and the Aquitian Rangers in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' are all stated to be telepathic.
** Trip in ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' has some abilities that are stated to be telepathic.
** Zayto from ''Series/PowerRangersDinoFury'' comes from an alien race who can all read minds through touch. He does this in the premier to learn Ollie and Amelia's names and personalities.
* ''Series/AlienNation'': "Body and Soul" shows that Binnaum, the Newcomer catalyst third sex, can sense other Newcomers' thoughts.

** ''VideoGame/EarthBound'': [[NiceGirl Paula]], while being held prisoner by the Happy-Happy Cultists, telepathically contacts [[TheAllAmericanBoy Ness]] in the hopes that he will and come rescue her, and she uses it again to contact Jeff when she and Ness are trapped underneath Threed. These uses are story-only, as unlike the prequel, the "Telepathy" command does not show up in-menu. Though much like his predecessor Ninten, this is likely how [[{{Expy}} Ness]] can understand animals.

** Retooled after ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}. Taking a page from some '90s stories and the early origins of the character, Aquaman's telepathy is now greatly toned down, as he can't truly commune with fish or fish-derived life, but just implant compulsions and desires: such as the will to help him.

* Gorilla Grodd, one of ComicBook/TheFlash's nemeses, is an evil [[ManiacMonkeys gorilla]] with telepathic powers; his good counterpart, the late King Solovar of Gorilla City, had similar powers. Grodd usually uses his powers for MindControl or [[MoreThanMindControl more subtle manipulation]], though he can also fall back on his [[GeniusBruiser natural strength]].
* Grodd has a grandson (or brother, depending on who's telling the story) dubbed Sam Simeon, one half the comedic crime-fighting duo ComicBook/AngelAndTheApe, with a watered-down version of Grodd's powers that just lets him cloud the minds of people around him so they see him as a normal human.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** Lena Luthor, Comicbook/LexLuthor's little sister and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'s friend back in the Silver Age, was gifted with ESP after an incident in Lex's laboratory in ''Adventure Comics #271: ComicBook/HowLuthorMetSuperboy''. Her telepathy was strong enough to control animals and bypass even Luthor's defences.

** Several ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 Bronze Age]]'' Supergirl's Rogues like Psi or Barry Metzner are powerful telepaths.

->'''Uncle Mr. Bones''': You see, everyone has different brains. Some brains can talk to each other. We call this "E.S.P.".
->'''Meg''': E.S.P.--
->'''Uncle Mr. Bones''': NO INTERRUPTIONS!

** One ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' episode featuring Jynx had a Lapras who spoke to Ash through telepathy.

* Some of the Espers of ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' have forms of telepathy. There are only two note worthy cases though; Haruue in ''Railgun'', and Misaki Shokuhou (aka "The Queen of Tokiwadai"). Haruue, as a Level 2, can only receive thoughts transmitted by other telepaths (such as her best friend Edasaki). Shokuhou, on the other hand, is a Level 5 telepath, and thus is capable of mass MindControl and memory manipulation.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' had one of the most fleshed out portrayals of telepaths in fiction, even showing how different cultures treated their telepaths. The creator drew heavily from Creator/AlfredBester's novel ''The Demolished Man'', particularly for writing the Psi Corps.
--> The Corps is Mother. The Corps is Father.

** In the S3 episode "Earshot," Buffy is [[TouchedByVorlons exposed to]] some AppliedPhlebotinum and gains the power of passive telepathy, which becomes progressively more powerful during the episode. Eventually, the power [[BlessedWithSuck becomes so advanced that she is overwhelmed]] by the [[PowerIncontinence incessant stream of thoughts]] and needs some more AppliedPhlebotinum to get better.

** Season 7's "Showtime" shows that the main Scooby trio is apparently able to initiate contact even if Willow isn't actively using the ability, as [[spoiler: Buffy begins a telepathic conversation with Willow, who promptly brings Xander in as well]] in order to formulate an UnspokenPlanGuarantee.

** The [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E7TheSensorites Sensorites]] communicate with each-other this way if they're not close to each other.
** The Face of Boe primarily communicates with his mind. When his lips eventually move to form real vocalised speech in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock Gridlock]]", [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness it's a big deal.]]

** In the first ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E1TheManTrap The Man Trap]], the Salt Vampire creature can read the memories of human beings well enough that it can shapechange into the form of someone the human remembers and pretend to be that person.
** The Melkotians in "Spectre of the Gun" were described by Spock as ''true telepaths'' for their ability to speak directly into the minds of the ''Enterprise'' crew, each of them hearing the message in his or her own language, and for the realistic illusions they project.

* In Series/GilligansIsland episode "Seer Gilligan", the titular character comes across some seeds that have telepathic powers, but before long, the castaways' abilities to read each other minds causes more bickering than they've ever done before. [[spoiler: Luckily, the effect is only temporary, and when Gilligan decides to burn the remainder, the Professor and Skipper applaud him for doing so.]]

* The Auronar in ''Series/BlakesSeven'' are a race of telepaths. Cally, a member of Blake's crew, was exiled from Auron and is therefore isolated from other telepaths - all alone. Cally could be heard by other people (although reception varied) but could not read minds. She did, however, act as an [[DetectEvil Evil Detector]].
* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', members of the Scarran's ruling caste all have a certain degree of telepathic power; most of them use it for forcing their captives to tell the truth while under their influence of their [[KillItWithFire heat projection]], though a few have used it to read the surface thoughts of others.

* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in ''Series/NoOrdinaryFamily''. The mind-reading character never seems to get the whole picture. She only reads people's minds at a few moments here and there, hearing not their full stream of thought, but a few relevant (and incomplete) thoughts.
* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in ''Series/TheListener'', when in one episode the protagonist just neglects to listen to the thoughts of the murderer, who stands over the dead body a few hours after the murder. Instead he gleans a thought from someone else in the room, so the episode doesn't end there and then.

** In "Stranded", the shapeshifter Tyr'Nar has telepathic powers. This allows him to read Kevin Buchanan's mind and assume the form of the US Air Force captain on the box which one of Kevin's many model planes came in. He later poses as Cindy Parker after reading Brad's mind. [[spoiler: After he kills Kevin's father Alex, his telepathy allows him to impersonate him full-time.]]

* Zayto from ''Series/PowerRangersDinoFury'' comes from an alien race who can all read minds through touch. He does this in the premier to learn Ollie and Amelia's names and personalities.
** He's not the first in the franchise to be telepathic.
--->Zordon and the Aquitian Rangers in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' are all stated to be telepathic.
--->Trip in ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' has some abilities that are stated to be telepathic.
* ''Series/AlienNation'': ''Body And Soul'' shows that Binnaum, the Newcomer catalyst third sex, can sense other Newcomers' thoughts.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Project 0}}'' Ciro uses telepathy to broadcast a BadassBoast to an [[http://www.centralcitytower.com/2010/12/project-0-page-208-whistling.html entire]] [[http://www.centralcitytower.com/2010/12/page-209-fair-warning.html enemy battleship]] just before it explodes.

** ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings:'' Telepathy is one of [[TheAllAmericanBoy Ninten]] and [[BadassAdorable Ana's]] [[PsychicPowers PSI powers]]. It's used outside of battle to enter the AlternateDimension of [[FluffyCloudHeaven Magicant]], to read the minds of important [=NPCs=] in order to solve riddles, and once to unlock the power of [[{{Teleportation}} Teleport]] for the party. It's also likely the reason why Ninten can "speak" to and understand certain animals.

* ''Series/AlienNation'': ''Body And Soul'' shows that Binnaum, the Newcomer catalyst third sex, can sense others Newcomers' thoughts.

** Zia's superpower is telepathy that's directly inspired by [[ComicBook/XMen Charles Xavier]]. She can also manipulate and paralyse people's minds, but her telepathy is her most prominent power- not only does it have the longest range (that being fifteen miles), she also can't [[PowerIncontinence turn it off]].

*** Under the pen of her creator Diana was a mild telepath, but she couldn't read minds only perceive and fight back when another telepath was trying to trick her or mess with her mind and send messages. Gail Young on the other hand can read minds and not much else, and can only really concentrate enough to get a clear read when she's blindfolded.

* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Sargasso of Lost Starships'', the aliens. They can appear however they please, and launch nightmarish psychic attacks. Donovan, however, says they are not telepaths, refering to their inability to receive thoughts or control minds.

* Star Holmes in Mark Clifton's novella ''Star Bright'' has an IQ in the quadruple digits and is strongly telepathic. She makes contact with another child like herself, and they manipulate events so that his family moves in next door. She is even able to teach her dad some ESP.

* A rare ability in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' lets monsters communicate telepathically with any creature nearby that can understand any language; this doesn't confer mind-reading abilities by default, though some creatures have that ability in addition to or instead of mental communication. Spells like ''Telepathic Bond'' also serve this purpose.
* The Discipline of Auspex in ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' lets a vampire communicate telepathically -- and, unknown to mortal victims, read the minds of the people it's speaking to.