History Main / VengefulGhost

Part of OurGhostsAreDifferent and RevengeTropes. SisterTrope to {{Onryo}}, a Japanese counterpart to this trope that has distinctive traits but the same objective, and RevenantZombie, in which the person returns as a zombie but keeps all their memories and personality, including the memory of the one who killed them and the desire for vengeance.

In most cases, the object of a vengelful ghost's revenge is always a living person, or at least a deceased one whose spirit the ghost wants to [[DraggedOffToHell forcibly drag to hell]]. But for whatever reason, [[FridgeLogic said person rarely ever comes back as another ghost once his ghostly pursuer kills them]], and the chances of ''that'' ghost seeking revenge on the other vengeful ghost and possibly perpetuating a CycleOfRevenge are likewise ''extremely'' slim in fiction. When the writer addresses this scenario, expect some HandWave or justification as to why it doesn't occur -- such as the universe having specific rules concerning who gets to become a ghost (which the victim naturally won't meet), vengeful ghosts being far stronger than recently deceased spirits [[StrongerWithAge due to age]], or the latter having [[SoulEating cannibalistic tendencies]] on top of being extremely bloodthirsy.

See also UnfinishedBusiness, when revenge is not the (only) reason to come back as a ghost, GhostlyGoals, for when the primary mission of the ghost is revenge, and MurderIntoMalevolence, a reason for why the ghost can turn violent after the death.

** In Americas, there are plenty of vengeful ghost depending of the zone: in North America there's the ''Chindi'' a vengeful ghost that causes dust devils in Navajo mythology; in Latin America there's a prominent number of female vengeful spirits, everyone with different motifs, like ''La Llorona'' ("The Crying Woman", also known as The Woman In White) who lost her children and now cries while looking for them in the river, ''Sayona'', who believed her husband had an affair with her mother, '' Dama Branca'' who died after childbirth, ''Patasola'' who lures men and later devours them by converting into a beast, ''Sihuanaba'', who had an affair and attacks unfaithful men, and [[{{Myth/BrazilianFolklore}} Loira do Banheiro]], a ghost who haunts the bathrooms of a school built where her house used to be.

** ''VisualNovel/DeathMark'':

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[[folder:Mythologies]]

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* ''{{Franchise/Extrapower}}'' features a few minor ghosts of the vengeful variety. The souls of those slain trying to trespass on Blackberry's pyramid appear in ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce Attack of Darkforce]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist Giant Fist]]'' as robed phantoms twisted into the pyramid's protection. The latter half of ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerStarResistance Star Resistance]]'' Stage 3 is populated by warrior ghosts from the Shakun Star's violent, warmongering past. These forsaken souls are bound to their buried battlegrounds and persist through the sheer force of their hunger for conquest.

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[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Ghosts}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ghosts_73.png]]]]

* ''Literature/FightingFantasy'': The gamebook ''Literature/NightOfTheNecromancer'' is one of the few entries where the player character is a ghost; slain by a cultist at the beginning of the adventure, after returning home from a three-year crusade, the player spends the entire story uncovering the truth behind his death and avenge himself eventually, while saving his kingdom from the forces of evil.

** Eastern Europe has ''Rusalka'', an overlap of this trope with EnthrallingSiren; the ghost of a woman who committed suicide after being wronged by a husband or lover, she lures men to their deaths.

** Despite his name, the ComicBook/GentlemanGhost is a supervillain that lived in 1800s England as a thief and later entered the U.S. illegally and was killed by Nighthawk, one of the incarnations of ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}. Revived as a ghost, he became not just the ArchEnemy of Hawkman, but also a supervillain to stand against every superhero out there.

** In Americas, there are plenty of vengeful ghost depending of the zone: in North America there's the ''Chindi'' a vengeful ghost that causes dust devils in Navajo mythology; in Latin America there's a prominent number of female vengeful spirits, everyone with different motifs, like ''La Llorona'' ("The Crying Woman", also known as The Woman In White) who lost her children and now cries while looking for them in the river, ''Sayona'', who believed her husband had an affair with her mother, '' Dama Branca'' who died after childbirth, ''Patasola'' who lures men and later devours them by converting into a beast and ''Sihuanaba'', who had an affair and attacks unfaithful men.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBooks/{{Ghosts}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ghosts_73.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yokai.jpg]]

-->--'''Roger Mortis''', ''Film/DeadHeat''

In most cases, the object of a vengelful ghost's revenge is always a living person, or at least a deceased one whose spirit the ghost wants to [[DraggedOffToHell forcibly drag to hell]]. But for whatever reason, [[FridgeLogic said person rarely ever comes back as another ghost once his ghostly pursuer kills them]], and the chances of ''that'' ghost seeking revenge on the other vengeful ghost and possibly perpetuating a CycleOfRevenge are likewise ''extremely'' slim in fiction. When the writer addresses this scenarion, expect some HandWave or justification as to why it doesn't occur -- such as the universe having specific rules concerning who gets to become a ghost (which the victim naturally won't meet), vengeful ghosts being far stronger than recently deceased spirits, or the latter having [[SoulEating cannibalistic tendencies]] on top of being extremely bloodthirsy.

In most cases, the object of a vengelful ghost's revenge is always a living person, or at least a deceased one whose spirit the ghost wants to [[DraggedOffToHell forcibly drag to hell]]. But for whatever reason, [[FridgeLogic said person rarely ever comes back as another ghost once his ghostly pursuer kills them]], and the chances of ''that'' ghost seeking revenge on the other vengeful ghost and possibly perpetuating a CycleOfRevenge are likewise ''extremely'' slim in fiction. When the writer addresses this, expect some HandWave or justification as to why cush a scenario doesn't occur -- such as the universe having specific rules concerning who gets to become a ghost (which the victim naturally won't meet), or vengeful ghosts having [[SoulEating cannibalistic tendencies]] on top of being bloodthirsy.

In most cases, the object of a vengelful ghost's revenge is always a living person, or at least a deceased one whose spirit the ghost wants to [[DraggedOffToHell forcibly drag to hell]]. But for whatever reason, [[FridgeLogic said person rarely ever comes back as another ghost once his ghostly pursuer kills them]], and the chances of ''that'' ghost seeking revenge on the other vengeful ghost and possibly perpetuating a CycleOfRevenge are likewise ''extremely'' slim in fiction. When the writer addresses this, expect some HandWave or justification as to why it doesn't occur -- such as the universe having specific rules concerning who gets to become a ghost, or vengeful ghosts having [[SoulEating cannibalistic tendencies]] on top of being bloodthirsy.

In most cases, the object of a vengelful ghost's revenge is always a living person, or at least a deceased one whose spirit the ghost wants to [[DraggedOffToHell forcibly drag to hell]]. But for whatever reason, [[FridgeLogic said person rarely ever comes back as another ghost once his ghostly pursuer kills them]], and the chances of ''that'' ghost seeking revenge on the other vengeful ghost and possibly perpetuating a CycleOfRevenge are likewise ''extremely'' slim in fiction. When the writer addresses this, expect some HandWave or justification as to why it doesn't occur -- such as the universe having specific rules concerning who becomes a ghost, or vengeful ghosts being [[SoulEating cannibalistic]] as well.