Line #97 Main/CraniumChase


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10	[[quoteright:320:[[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/olaf_headless.jpg]]]]
11	[[caption-width-right:320:"I haven't lost my mind; it's right there!"]]
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16
17	Not everyone dies when their head is separated from their neck. [[LosingYourHead Some of them live on]], and promptly try to get their heads back on their shoulders [[HeadTurnedBackwards (it may take a few tries, however)]].
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19	Usually, their bodies retain their motor abilities to do so, by some supernatural or [[RuleOfFunny humorous means]]. Having the head argue with the body and trying to give it directions is optional. In these cases, the FridgeLogic that the body has no ears to hear this is rarely addressed, although in instances when the body doesn't seem to be paying attention to the head's instructions it is possible that the fact that the body doesn't have ears simply didn't occur to the decapitated character, and the body cannot hear him.
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21	Compare PullingThemselvesTogether; whereas this is a more comedic trope where only the head is detached and the body searches for it, Pulling Themselves Together refers more to a significant part of their bodies reassembling themselves.
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23	----
24	!!Examples:
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* Played with in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. Though Al does lose his head every now and then, his soul is bound to the chestpiece of [[AnimatedArmor the armor]]. As a result, he can control his body and even see without his helmet.
29	* In ''Manga/MonsterMusume'', Lala the Dullahan is introduced by having the protagonist help her track down her detachable head.
30	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
31	** In the Punk Hazard arc, the samurai Kin'emon's head is separated from the rest of his body -- not only that, but his head is cut into pieces, too (which leads into a brief hilarity when the Straw Hats try to put it together like a puzzle). It's revealed later that it's Trafalgar Law's doing.
32	** Law himself, with his Devil Fruit power, can disassemble other people's body parts non-fatally. The first time we see him using his power, he detaches a Marine officer's head and replaces it with a cannonball that is about to hit him -- not long after, said head screams in agony as his body gets burned, without any concern to his, well, neck.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Comic Books]]
36	* On one occasion in ''ComicBook/MasterOfKungFu'', the evil robot Brynocki finds himself chasing after his head after it is knocked loose.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
40	* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': As demonstrated by Anna and Kristoff's impromptu game of HotPotato upon first meeting him, the lower part of Olaf's body is often seen wandering aimlessly when his head's not attached (as pictured above).
41	* In ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'', Daffy Duck has his head detached while Mother is demonstrating the laser beam function of DJ's spy phone. Daffy's body starts feeling around the lab floor for its missing head. "No, no, stupid, over here."
42	* ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'' plays this for horror with [[spoiler:the Forest Spirit]], whose body [[spoiler:turns into an enormous EldritchAbomination draining life from nearly everything in sight]], seeking reunion with its severed head, which can still move.
43	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Fender's head falls off because he's lost the bolt that keeps it in place due to a failed attempt at stealing Rodney's foot. He tries to pick it up but keeps accidentally kicking it away.
44	* In the ''Sugar Rush Speedway'' game in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', some of Taffyta's fans are anthropomorphic lollipops, and when Ralph accidentally trashes the stands, part of the damage he does is to knock off the head of one such fan, which goes rolling along the ground whilst the body frantically chases it.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
48	* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen'', the King of The Moon's head prefers to stay off its body, which fills it with animalistic urges. There is a scene with the body chasing after the flying head.
49	* In ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', [=C3PO=] loses his head (which is attached to a [[{{Mooks}} battle droid]] body) and gets himself a battle droid head instead. Both parts of [=C3PO=] then travel to the Geonosis Arena with the battle droids, where R2 and a Jedi help reassemble [=C3PO=].
50	* ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy2005'' has Humma Kavula take one of Zaphod's heads as an incentive for Zaphod to bring him the point of view gun.
51	* In ''Film/HocusPocus'', Billy's head gets lost, and he spends a few seconds to find it again.
52	* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'', one of Davy Jones' henchmen loses his head. The body then stumbles about trying to find the head while the head tries in vain to give it directions. Eventually he gets tired of waiting and turns into a hermit crab to move on his own.
53	* Use to incredibly creepy effect in ''Film/ReturnToOz'' with Mombi, a sorceress with mix-and-match heads, one of which catches Dorothy stealing from her. The head starts screaming, as does ''every other head Mombi keeps on display'', as her headless body pursues Dorothy.
54	%%* The Headless Horseman in ''Film/SleepyHollow1999''.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Literature]]
58	* Celty the [[HeadlessHorseman Dullahan]] from ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' traveled all the way from England to Japan in search of her head. It's her body that is fully sentient, whereas her head is in a deep sleep.
59	* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'' has the Headless Haunt, a performance troupe/social club of headless ghosts who deliberately invoke this trope for comedy purposes, performing tricks such as head-juggling with their severed heads. Nearly-Headless Nick is very resentful that they won't let him in due to his partially-attached head.
60	* In ''Literature/TheLegendOfHuma'', Huma attempts to stop the immortal warlord Crynus by decapitating him with his own battle axe. Unfortunately this barely slows Crynus down, forcing Huma and his companion Kaz into a scramble to keep the severed head away from the still-mobile body. They attempt to use the head as bait to lure the body in front of the sacred Dragonlance that they believe can destroy it, but the body is alarmingly intelligent considering its brains are in a different location and dodges their attempt to skewer it. In the end, Crynus is only destroyed by the dragonfire of the Silver Dragon, just as he's about to put his head back on.
61	* Tsotha-Lanti, the BigBad of "Literature/TheScarletCitadel", attempts that at the end of the story after being decapitated by Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian. Of course, with the head promptly snatched up by a powerful rival sorcerer, his chances of retrieving it appear slim, but he still runs after it.
62	* In ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked'', [[spoiler:Darquesse]] gets [[spoiler:her]] head ripped off by [[spoiler:Mevolent]]. [[spoiler:She]] manages to magically reattach it before [[spoiler:her]] brain dies.
63	* In ''Literature/TheTruth'', vampire iconographer Otto Chriek is briefly separated from his head and has to ask for help in reuniting it with his body. Apparently it "stings a bit".
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
67	* The second episode of ''Series/{{Cybervillage}}'' begins with Robogozin's head breaking off and the body running around.
68	* A story arc of ''Series/DarkShadows'' was about the severed head of warlock Judah Zachery seeking to be reunited with its body.
69	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens The Pandorica Opens]]", Amy Pond finds a Cyberman head that still manages to be a threat thanks to CombatTentacles. After she gets some distance...
70	-->'''Cyber-Head:''' [[AC:[[TheAssimilator You will be assimilated.]]]]\
71	'''Amy:''' [[YouAndWhatArmy You and whose body?]]\
72	''[[[TemptingFate The rest of the Cyberman walks in and picks up its head]]]''
73	* In ''Series/GhostsUK'', the decapitated head of ghost Humphrey regularly tries (and fails) to give directions to his body to pick him up.
74	* In ''Series/GhostsUS'', the other ghosts amuse themselves by hiding Crash's head.
75	* A truly outrageous version of this trope happens in the TVB fantasy-drama ''Series/GodsOfHonor'' when the hero Nezha is challenged by Shen Gong-bao the sorcerer on who can survive the longest after decapitation. Because of their magical nature, they both can survive decapitation and levitate their heads, leading to their flying craniums battling each other in a mid-air chase while their headless bodies remain standing on the ground.
76	* In ''Series/KingdomHospital'', a decapitated ghost whose body had its head severed in a morgue prank wanders around the netherworldly "Old Kingdom", fumbling blindly for its missing part [[CrossesTheLineTwice while Basement Jaxx's "Where's Your Head At?" plays on the soundtrack]].
77	* In the ''Series/KolchakTheNightStalker'' episode "[[Recap/KolchakTheNightStalkerE15Chopper Chopper]]", the skull and body of a dead man are separated. The man's ghost animates his dead body as a HeadlessHorseman and goes on a search for his head, killing the people who murdered him along the way.
78	* ''Series/RedDwarf'': In "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonXIICured Cured]]", Kryten wakes up to discover that his head has been removed from his body and stuck on top of a mop handle. His head starts yelling instructions to his body which is blundering along the corridor searching for it.
79	* In ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', some of J.D.'s {{Imagine Spot}}s feature him as the "Floating Head Doctor", in which [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin his head is floating around]], separated from his body. This usually ends with J.D.'s body catastrophically screwing up the tasks that his head tells him to do.
80	* ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'': A construction worker finds the severed head of a Terminator and takes it home as it goes with his goth décor. Unfortunately, the rest of the body comes looking for it.
81	* ''Series/TheYoungOnes'':
82	** Two headless ghosts wander through the lads' apartment having an argument. Both drop their heads, and their bodies grope around for anything spherical (a goldfish bowl, a grapefruit) that they can tuck under their arms. Later, the two reappear arguing about which head the body with the nicer bottom belongs to.
83	** Vyvyan gets his head knocked off by looking out of a train window. His body is directed by his head to pick it up, but the body keeps kicking it along instead.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
87	* Jack, in the [[StingyJack legend of the Jack o'Lantern]]. Originally, it was a turnip, but he lost his head after making a deal with the devil and then double-crossing him. Neither Heaven nor Hell will accept him, and he uses the turnip/pumpkin as a temporary head while looking for his real one.
88	* Procopius of Cesarea attributed this as a demonic power to [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire the Emperor Justinian]]. Granted, his ''Secret History'' was ramblings of a disgruntled employee trying to smear his superiors as much as ungodly possible, so...
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Music]]
92	* "Johnny Came Home Headless" by Music/TheArrogantWorms involves the narrator's room-mate getting decapitated [[WhatDidIDoLastNight during a bender and failing to notice]]. The second verse involves him and Johnny's body trying to find it back and failing, due to Johnny being "absent-minded." The third verse inverts the trope, Johnny's head comes looking for his (now rotten) body.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
96	* In a non-comedy example from the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' setting, Jacqueline Montarri was cursed by the Vistani to live on without her head. She murders victims to appropriate their heads, then wears them to pass for human as she scours the Land of Mists for her missing original.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Video Games]]
100	* At one point in ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark 3'', the player encounters a beheaded [[InvincibleMinorMinion invincible]] zombie. To defeat him, the player must take his head, which is lying on a nearby table, and throw it to a pit so that the zombie jumps into the pit looking for his head.
101	* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' has an enemy called [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} Yorick]], which is a skeleton chasing his own head... and continually stumbling into it and kicking it like a soccer ball.
102	* In ''VideoGame/DisneysVillainsRevenge'', WesternAnimation/{{Alice\|InWonderland}} gets her head chopped off and the player has to go into a hedge maze to retrieve it.
103	* ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' builds game mechanics around this trope. You hop about as a naked Jim, seeking to re-enter your super suit.
104	* One of the {{Snowlem}}s in ''VideoGame/FrostyNights'' leaves his head on a windowsill. The head then rolls onto the floor when his body enters, before it puts its head back on and goes after [[PlayerCharacter the child]].
105	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': The skeletal stal- enemies cannot be killed directly, and will simply collapse into an animated cranium and a pile of bones after being dealt enough damage. After reassembling, the body will try to find and reattach its lost head, aided in this by its cranium actively hopping towards it. In fact, any stal body will happily reattach any head of the same type.
106	* ''VideoGame/LEGOIsland'': Played for laughs in a RandomEncounter. A civilian is walking along, then a truck goes by and knocks his head off. The head starts giving directions to the body, which is ineffectually trying to pick up the head and put it back on.
107	-->'''Civilian:''' Hey, I'm over here! To your left! Er, my left. Er, our left. ''[body goes left]'' Right. ''[body goes right]'' No, not "go right," "correct!" ''[body accidentally kicks head]'' It's not a soccer game! Use your brain! Oh, I guess that's over here. ''[body kicks head again]'' Ow! Just bend down slow and-- ''[body kicks head high into the air, and it lands on the neck]'' He shoots, he scores, OW!
108	* In ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', there's Mertwyn the Headless, whose severed head occupies a metal box and has to be carried around... until some thugs stole it and ran off. Since the body can't see where he's going, he's been reduced to wandering the halls and bumping into things, while the head tries to get someone to bring him back. He'll also refuse to explain how this condition came about. While his body appears to be perfectly fine (aside from lacking a head), his head's condition is apparently pretty gruesome, as he begs The Nameless One ''not'' to look into the box it's kept in.
109	* The Onkies from the ''VideoGame/{{row}}'' games may sometime lose their head which rolls a bit away when falling so their body have to get it back.
110	* ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'': Ms. Fortune's head (and the rest of her body) [[DetachmentCombat are all detachable]] and she can even move around as nothing but a head after she throws it as a weapon. She can also call her body over to her head if she wants to reattach.
111	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': While fighting the Headless Horseman, he loses his head, both in the Hallowe'en world event and in the actual dungeon fight. Players have to kill the boss' body, then his head, then kill the body all over again to win the fight.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Webcomics]]
115	* In ''Webcomic/BiteMe'', Ginerva winds up falling victim to the guillotine after a group of the, ah, ''disaffected proletariat'' find her aristocratic mien to be singularly insufferable. Being a vampiress, this is a comparatively brief disadvantage. (She wears a ribbon to keep her head tied on for the rest of her existence, though.)
116	* ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'': Ezra the vampiress is decapitated three times by Madeline, each time putting back her head on her shoulders (though after a StaircaseTumble for the third). Then again by Cube, who counters her regeneration by [[HeadTurnedBackwards putting it backwards]].
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Western Animation]]
120	* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'': In the episode "Dune Quixote", Genie's head gets separated from his body while his friends are in the middle of a life-threatening situation.
121	-->'''Genie's head:''' ''[whistles]'' Over here! This way! ''[whistles]'' Wait, what am I whistling for? I'm the part with ears.
122	* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' when the wooden dummy Scarface's head is severed, and the Ventriloquist chases after it.
123	* ''WesternAnimation/TheCrumpets'': Ditzy jumps and tries to catch back her balloon head after it's blown by one of her sisters in one episode. Otherwise, she sometimes likes having her head separate, like having to hold its string like a balloon.
124	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' zigzags this with regard to [[TinCanRobot Bender]], depending on RuleOfFunny. In some episodes, Bender's head and body act as separate characters when separated, but they usually work together to commit crimes. One episode inverts the trope: when Bender's head is separated from his body, the head tries to chase after the body (who has found a new, more evil head).
125	* [[GrimReaper Grim]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' is [[RunningGag a constant victim of this]].
126	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Happens [[RunningGag quite frequently]] to [[NighInvulnerability Quack Quack]].
127	* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Mouse Menace", a robot cat loses its head. It feels around for it but picks up a toaster and puts it on for a while before eventually stumbling into its own head.
128	* ''WesternAnimation/MonsterBeach'': Inverted. Widget, one of the monsters, is a zombie and her body parts can be disassembled flawlessly. In one episode, her head wakes up without the rest of the body and she starts to look for it.
129	* ''WesternAnimation/SevenLittleMonsters'': Seven [[LosingYourHead is capable of surviving removing his own head]] and often finds himself in situations where he loses his head and has to get it back.
130	* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' episode "[[Recap/TeenTitansS2E11Fractured Fractured]]", Starfire's head and body are separated when Larry messes with reality. She then has to chase it down.
131	* ''WesternAnimation/WhatACartoonShow'' has two instances of this.
132	** In ''Sledgehammer O'Possum: Out and About'', where the antagonistic dog character gets decapitated by a tree branch. This leads to the titular O'Possum faking the body out by making it run off a cliff after its head.
133	** ''Wind-Up Wolf'' also does this, with the titular character getting his head knocked off by a boxing glove. This leads to the body trying to put a large rock in place of it, leading the body to drop the rock on the head, flattening it.
134	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CraniumChase