Line #77 Main/AfterlifeTropes


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RampartsOfGodsHouse_6414.JPG]]
2
3	->''"You know, it's not so much an afterlife, more a sort of après-vie."''
4	-->-- '''Arthur Dent''', ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse''
5
6	Tropes relating to the afterlife.
7
8	Humans have often speculated what fate, if any, awaits them after death. This has been depicted in countless different ways in fiction (not to mention religion and philosophy), ranging from eternal paradise to fiery hellscapes to complete nothingness.
9
10	There is, however, the inverse of this that is almost never looked at: what happened before you were born? It could be any of the above, but the two do not necessarily have to be the same for a character. For this trope, we would include "before birth" stories as well, even if they do not say anything about death or an afterlife.
11
12	Almost all religions have a belief that you go somewhere after you die, but almost none of them are the same. Some say you go to {{Heaven}}, some say you burn in {{Hell}}, some say you're [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnated]] as a [[Literature/{{Discworld}} small angry six inch tall blue man]]. The important part is, that this is a place that you go, after you die.
13
14	'''Spoiler warning: many of these tropes detail major spoilers about characters' fates.'''
15	----
16	!!Tropes:
17	[[index]]
18	[floatboxright:
19	'''Afterlife locations:'''
20	+ InfernalTropes (Hell)
21	+ TropesOfTheDivine (Heaven)
22
23	'''Types of afterlife:'''
24	+ RebirthAndReincarnationTropes
25	+ ResurrectionTropes
26
27	'''Related indexes:'''
28	+ TropesOfTheSoul
29	+ UndeadIndex
30	]
31	* TheAfterafterlife: An afterlife for people who died when they were already in the afterlife.
32	* AfterlifeAngst: After a character dies, they are shown to experience angst over it for one reason or another.
33	* AfterlifeAntechamber: An area in the afterlife where a character goes just after they died but before going to the afterlife proper, which is usually not shown.
34	* AfterlifeAvenger: A character chooses to pursue another into the afterlife just to fulfill a grudge.
35	* AfterlifeExpress: A mysterious vehicle (usually a train but sometimes a boat or different vehicle) with a connection to the afterlife, usually taking souls there.
36	* AfterlifeOfService: Being buried with your employer so your soul can serve his.
37	* AfterlifeTour: A character is given a guided tour of the afterlife world.
38	* AfterlifeWelcome: The souls of a character's dead acquaintances are there to greet them just before the character dies or just after.
39	* AncestorVeneration: The veneration, exaltation, and/or outright worship of one's own ancestors.
40	* ArchangelAzrael: An angel who ushers the souls of the dead to God's judgment.
41	* ArtificialAfterlife: An afterlife that was created by regular people.
42	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: A character dies (or pseudo-dies) and then turns into a more godlike version of themselves.
43	* BackupFromOtherworld: The dead assist the living during a fight.
44	* BarredFromTheAfterlife: A character is unable to go to Heaven or Hell, and is stuck wandering around the mortal realm for eternity.
45	* BloodyBowelsOfHell: Hell is full of body parts, almost as though you're in a creature.
46	* BonusLevelOfHeaven: A bonus level in a video game where you need to go through Heaven.
47	* CelebritiesHangOutInHeaven: Dead celebrities hang out with other dead celebrities in Heaven.
48	* CelestialBureaucracy: A bureaucracy whose job is to determine where people are supposed to go after they die.
49	* CirclesOfHell: Hell has multiple layers devoted to punishing different types of evil.
50	* CityOfTheDamned: Hell is depicted as an urban setting.
51	* DeadToBeginWith: Stories set wholly or partially in the afterlife that focus on a dead character.
52	* DeathAmnesia: A resurrected person has no memory of their death.
53	* DeathIsALoser: Death is unpopular and/or unlucky.
54	* DefectorFromParadise: A character leaves a utopia that may be actual Heaven.
55	* DeliveranceFromDamnation: A person can be rescued from Hell and brought to Heaven.
56	* DiedHappilyEverAfter: After a character dies, they are seen as happy right before or after they AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence.
57	* DivineMisfile: A person is sent to heaven when they should have gone to hell, or vice versa.
58	* DontFearTheReaper: The Grim Reaper isn't such a bad guy.
59	* DraggedOffToHell: A person gets dragged to Hell against their will.
60	* DutyThatTranscendsDeath: One or more characters are [[{{Determinator}} so dedicated to some duty or other]] that even when they die, they keep doing it.
61	* EasyRoadToHell: Doing one bad deed will instantly condemn you to Hell.
62	* EnergyBeings: The afterlife is occasionally presented as this to avoid any religious connotations.
63	* TheFerryMan: A character whose job it is to help people pass nigh-impossible obstacles to reach a destination, which can be an afterlife.
64	* FireAndBrimstoneHell: The typical depiction of Hell as a fiery realm beneath the Earth.
65	* FluffyCloudHeaven: The typical depiction of heaven as a bunch of clouds in the sky.
66	* GodOfTheDead: The guy in charge of the afterlife.
67	* GhostReunionEnding: Ghosts reuniting in the afterlife.
68	* GoIntoTheLight: When a person dies, they have a near-death experience which causes them to cross over to the light.
69	* TheGrimReaper: Death is personified as a skeleton in a black cloak wielding a scythe who shows up to take people to the afterlife when their time has come.
70	* HealthyInHeaven: When a character goes to the afterlife, they lose any health problems they had at death and usually the old ones turn young again.
71	* {{Heaven}}: An eternal paradise where good people go after they die as a reward for living honest lives.
72	* HeavenAbove: The sky is associated with the divine.
73	* HeavenlyConcentricCircles: {{Heaven}}ly planes or beings are depicted as concentric circles in the sky.
74	* HeavenSeeker: A character does good deeds so that they can go to Heaven or their equivalent.
75	* HeavenVersusHell: Heaven and Hell are in conflict.
76	* {{Hell}}: An afterlife where bad people go to face eternal punishment for their misdeeds after they die.
77	* {{Hellevator}}: An elevator that leads to the afterlife, usually to Hell.
78	* HellHasNewManagement: A baddie dies, goes to Hell, and takes over.
79	* HellIsWar: A character is made to fight for eternity as a punishment.
80	* HellOfAHeaven: Heaven isn't half the eternal paradise it is said to be.
81	* AHellOfATime: Hell is actually a nice place to be.
82	* HellSeeker: A character who ''wants'' to go to Hell.
83	* HomeOfTheGods: Where gods and goddesses live.
84	* InfernalParadise: A particular group of people believe in an afterlife that ''they'' consider Heaven, but it doesn't sound anything like a paradise to outsiders.
85	* InnBetweenTheWorlds: An inn that exists in two worlds at once.
86	* IronicHell: A person who goes to Hell is forced to undergo a punishment that serves as an ironic reminder of the bad things they did in life.
87	* TheJourneyThroughDeath: A dead character must travel through an intermediary place to reach whatever awaits after death.
88	* JudgementOfTheDead: A dead character is judged about which afterlife they'll end up in.
89	* KarmicReformHell: An IronicHell meant to rehabilitate lost souls.
90	* KickedOutOfHeaven: A person gets kicked out of Heaven for whatever reason.
91	* TheLifestream: The place where souls go in between reincarnations.
92	* MistakenForAfterlife: A character thinks they've died and gone to the afterlife.
93	* MundaneAfterlife: Heaven and Hell are just like life, only perfect and really annoying respectively.
94	* NoAnimosityInTheAfterlife: Being dead makes people forgive each other.
95	* NostalgiaHeaven: The afterlife is a place that meant something special to the deceased.
96	* TheNothingAfterDeath: The afterlife is nothing but an empty void.
97	** CessationOfExistence: The belief that there is no afterlife and that people who die simply stop existing.
98	* NotAfraidOfHell: A character isn't afraid of any infernal realm.
99	* OffscreenAfterlife: The afterlife is never shown/described in great detail.
100	* OnlyOneAfterlife: All dead people go to the same afterlife.
101	* OverlySpecificAfterlife: Only certain beings are welcome into a specific afterlife.
102	* ThePearlyGates: The only thing standing between you and Paradise.
103	* PersonalizedAfterlife: Everyone has their own personal afterlife.
104	* PhysicalHeaven: Heaven is a place where living non-deity characters can physically go.
105	* PhysicalHell: Hell is a physical place.
106	* PlanetHeck: Hell-themed levels in video games.
107	* {{Psychopomp}}: A being who guides the spirits of the dead to the afterlife.
108	* PurgatoryAndLimbo: An afterlife where people go who aren't good enough for Heaven but are too good for Hell.
109	* QuietingTheUnquietDead: Giving {{the undead}} a helping hand to reach the afterlife.
110	* RefusingParadise: A character gets given the choice to either go to Heaven or an equivalent place or keep living. They choose the latter.
111	* {{Reincarnation}}: When a person dies, they are reborn in a new life.
112	* RelievingTheReaper: Someone assists, or subs for, the Grim Reaper.
113	* RememberTheDead: You only exist in the afterlife as long as people remember you.
114	* ReroutedFromHeaven: A person who was supposed to go to Heaven instead ends up in Hell.
115	* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: A character can be rescued from the afterlife.
116	* SelfInflictedHell: The afterlife is whatever you think it will be.
117	* {{Shinigami}}: A Japanese deity with a similar "job" to the Grim Reaper.
118	* SpeciesSpecificAfterlife: An afterlife designed for only one species.
119	* SpiritWorld: A place where all the spiritual characters live.
120	* StairwayToHeaven: Stairs (or occasionally an escalator) that lead to Heaven.
121	* StarsAreSouls: One or more characters become stars or constellations upon death.
122	* TakingOverHeaven: Attacking Heaven and taking charge of it.
123	* ThisIsntHeaven: A person who thinks they're in Heaven finds out that they're really in hell.
124	* TogetherInDeath: Two lovers have died, but the silver lining is that now they'll be together forever in the afterlife.
125	* ToHellAndBack: Part of the hero's mission involves entering Hell or a similar place.
126	* TheUnderworld: Subtrope of Only One Afterlife -- all dead people go to a dark place underground that's a bit gloomy but not hellish.
127	* UnderworldRiver: Rivers that surround or cross the underworld.
128	* UnfeelingHeavens: A Heaven whose angels are far removed from things like feelings and human attachments.
129	* UnfinishedBusiness: A dead person can't enter the afterlife until they take care of some important task that their death prevented them from doing.
130	* {{Valkyries}}: A fierce group of women who assist the Norse gods and guide fallen warriors to Valhalla.
131	* WarriorHeaven: A warlike culture's idea of Heaven is an afterlife full of war.
132	* WhodunnitToMe: A story centres around a ghost or similar trying to figure out who killed them.
133	* WindsAreGhosts: Winds that may contain the souls or spirits of those who have passed on.
134	* WingedSoulFliesOffAtDeath: After a person dies, their soul ascends to the skies as a winged angel.
135	* YouAreWorthHell: Someone's willing to join their love interest in Hell or a similar place.
136	[[/index]]

Context Main / AfterlifeTropes