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11[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/RustyAndCo https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2012_10_24_level6_41_b5c8d0e8.png]]]]
12[[caption-width-right:350:Well, that's ''one'' way to deal with a headache.]]
13%%
14->''"You don't kill a man by mucking around with rifles, arrows, rocks or other long-distance rubbish. You kill him by grabbing the biggest bloody sword you can find, running up nice and close to him, and chop the dumb bastard's head off!"''
15-->-- ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''
16
17If you're dealing with any sword-oriented media, whether it be fantasy, medieval, kung fu, or something else, and it's more violent than a PG-13 rating, chances are, someone is going to get their head chopped off (and it may not even need the R rating if you're [[NotEvenHuman dealing with nonhuman enemies]]). One of the most common methods of execution back in the medieval era next to hanging, decapitation is usually one of the surest ways to ensure someone is DeaderThanDead barring some very potent magic or divine intervention. Indeed, in RealLife, it is one of the very few ways that death can be instantly diagnosed (since it's impossible for humans to live without a head.)
18
19Beheading is more often than not a CruelAndUnusualDeath, particularly if the beheading is especially graphic or is botched in some way.
20
21Any {{Ridiculously Human Robot|s}} (even one with a CranialProcessingUnit) or other decidedly inhuman being will probably be capable of [[LosingYourHead surviving decapitation]], and will do so at some point either for a joke or as a plot point. In less serious series, the body will even continue to walk around bumping into things like a chicken or a cockroach with its head cut off.
22
23It is nearly always depicted as being [[MadeOfPlasticine surprisingly easy]] to cut through someone's whole neck and spinal column, even in one blow to a moving target. While Anne Boleyn did get beheaded with one stroke, most pre-guillotine beheadings took at least three strokes. Boleyn's executioner was -- by request -- a professional swordsman who would know how to cleanly behead someone. And that's when the target is helpfully restrained; in an actual SwordFight it would have been even harder to pull off and would also have been serious overkill. A direct cut through the skull into the brain -- or a strike to the neck that would at least sever critical blood vessels or the windpipe if it didn't cut through the spine -- was usually more expedient.
24
25This trope is named after the line ''Off with his head; -- so much for Buckingham'' from Creator/ColleyCibber's adaptation of ''Theatre/RichardIII''. The trope was also famously used by the Queen of Hearts in Creator/LewisCarroll's ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''. See also YourHeadASplode for a much gorier version of this trope and BoomHeadshot when it comes to firearms.
26
27May result in a HumanHeadOnTheWall.
28
29Also see AlasPoorYorick, DecapitationPresentation and SeveredHeadSports. When cutting off the head is [[AchillesHeel the]] ''[[AchillesHeel only]]'' [[AchillesHeel way]] to kill something, it's DecapitationRequired. If the severed head is somehow still alive after the fact for any notable length of time, that's LosingYourHead.
30
31Not to be confused with DemandingTheirHead, which is when a character is specifically requesting someone's head be brought to them for a bounty.
32
33Not to be confused with a DecapitationStrike, which is about decapitating a whole ''faction'' rather than just some person.
34
35For punishments that involve cutting something other than a head off, see AmputativeSentencing.
36
37!!As this is a {{Death Trope|s}}, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].
38----
39!!Examples:
40
41[[foldercontrol]]
42
43[[folder:Advertising]]
44* A senile old king is delighted when told of a competition which required people to cut off and mail in the headlines of the advertised newspaper. His EstablishingCharacterMoment shows he's got a [[AxCrazy complex about this trope]].
45-->'''Courtier:''' Sire! Sire!\
46'''King:''' ''(waking up)'' Mmm, what? Off with your head!\
47'''Courtier:''' ''(panicking)'' But a messenger has arrived!\
48'''King:''' [[KillTheMessenger Off with his head!]]
49* The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz0ZBJH0nGA Don't Lose your Head!]]" campaign for Fosters Beer in Australia, which showed people being decapitated mid-broadcast by animals, though the headless body still seems to be alive post-decapitation. These commercials caused quite a stir and calls for banning after they were shown on British TV, although most of the complaints were rejected.
50** One commercial shows a TV presenter crouching near a river and warning viewers about what may be lurking inside, right before his head is bitten off by a nearby pelican as the cameraman cracks up in laughter.
51** In another commercial, a presenter hosting a falconry show at the zoo makes a young female volunteer hold some meat intended for the eagle to take. But after being released, the eagle instead rips off her head as the audience gasps in shock, and the presenter promptly ends the show.
52** The third and final commercial shows a broadcast of a man bungee jumping over a river before his head is bitten off by some hungry crocodiles as the cameraman once again cracks up.
53* An advert for Crunchy Nut set during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution has two aristocrats hiding out in the basement of a chocolate shop, only for one to loudly eat a bowl of Crunchy Nut with chocolate and they get found out. Both of them and the shop owner are then executed via guillotine.
54[[/folder]]
55
56[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
57* Justice does this to Afro's father just five minutes into ''Anime/AfroSamurai''. [[HarmfulToMinors Right in front of the young Afro, no less!]]
58* In ''Manga/AkameGaKill'', Kurome's PeoplePuppet Natala finishes off the mortally wounded Chelsea this way before chopping the poor girl to pieces.
59** At the end of the series, the deposed emperor is guillotined.
60* In ''Anime/AkudamaDrive'', this is how Cutthroat makes his first appearance after being freed from his execution. He severs a police officer's head off with a knife.
61* In another Alice-related manga, ''Manga/AreYouAlice'', the Queen himself (yes, ''him'') states this a few times as an order. His job, executing "useless characters", also leads to this, with him using a giant scythe to do the job.
62* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'':
63** The second Titan that the Rogue Titan fights in Trost suffers this fate. Its head is punched clean off, and flies quite some distance away as well. Chapter 119 also features Gabi decapitating Eren with an anti-Titan rifle shot to Eren's neck, with only super-lucky timing and the difference in time moving in the Paths saving his life.
64** This is why [[AttackItsWeakPoint going for the nape kills Titans -- it's where the heads and bodies of their "pilots" are located.]] Later on in the series, characters use this to rip people out of their Titans rather than killing them outright.
65** At the end of the manga, this is Eren's final fate (as he has become the BigBad at this point after spending most of the manga as TheHero) when Mikasa enters his mouth during his battle with Armin in Colossal Titan form and separates his head from his spine.
66* ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' has this happen to Czeslaw Meyer in the first episode via [[YourHeadAsplode shotgun blast at]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill point-blank range]]. Fortunately for him, after his assailant leaves, [[HealingFactor his head reforms]] a few minutes later.
67* Guts of ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' is powerful enough to shear off the head of a horse with one blow from his {{BFS}}, as evidenced during the rampage at the end of the first Black Swordsman story. He pulls off an extremely spectacular decapitation in his fight against General Boscone during the Golden Age Arc; taking a sword lent to him by [[NobleDemon Nosferatu Zodd]], he uses it to chop off the heads of both Boscone and his horse in one mighty swing!
68** Also a standard method of execution in the series proper. At the beginning of the third arc (the one before the Golden Age arc), a young woman gets executed this way for heresy. Her head gets used by Guts to send a declaration of war to the Count, an Apostle who uses such accusations of heresy to provide him with [[ImAHumanitarian people to eat]].
69** During the Conviction Arc, Guts decapitates a demon-possessed horse that tries to rape Farnese and the possessed Great Goat Head, as well as one of Mozgus' disciples, the guy with the mancatcher and the PlagueDoctor mask.
70* In ''Manga/{{Blame}}'' Chapter 27, Killy tears the head off a [[HealingFactor regenerating]] Silicon Creature with his bare hands.
71* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
72** Early in the story Ichigo is advised to go for the head when fighting Hollows, since that's the most effective way of killing them.
73** The Fracción Avirama Redder asks Lieutenant Izuru Kira what his 'weird-looking' [[EmpathicWeapon Zanpakutō]], Wabisuke -- which is shaped like a square hook -- can cut through. Kira gives him a demonstration by placing the hooked bit under Redder's neck and -- ''yoink!'' There goes Redder's head.
74** Cang Du is executed by [[TheDragon Haschwalth]] in this way after his failure to defeat Hitsugaya -- not even his SuperToughness could save him. In the anime, the same thing then happens to [[PersonOfMassDestruction BG9]] for failing to defeat Sui-Feng (the manga simply cuts away as he begs for mercy).
75* ''Manga/CaseClosed'' uses the trope once in a while, and these times tend to be ''very'' memorable:
76** The murder of the ''first'' episode. Who would have thought of using the momentum of the roller coaster and a wire with hooks to make a gruesome decapitation?
77** Also happens to Chikako Ikeda in the ''Mountain Villa Bandaged Man Murder Case''. And her killer not only beheads her but ''dismembers'' her corpse and carries her head around hidden in his clothes. For worse, in the manga, there is a panel where ''the reader sees how the killer decapitates his victim in [[OneHitKill one single hit''.]]
78** And it takes place again in Chapter 915 of the manga, to some RedShirt from Nagano police. The way this takes place makes it even worse if that's even possible, thanks to a noose tied up to the guy's neck and with its other end tied to a vehicle that goes off a cliff, ''taking the pleading victim with it and cutting off his head in its way down''. [[NightmareFuel/CaseClosed What the HELL?!]] Then it's subverted: the "victim" ''was the killer'' and had used the headless corpse of the first person he killed (whom he strangled to death and '''then''' decapitated) and some props to go FakingTheDeath and get to his other targets.
79* Teresa from ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' is beheaded by Priscilla the instant she Awakens.
80** This is a common trope in general for the series, as both monsters and Claymores are certain to die properly [[DecapitationRequired only as long as the head is cut]], this is due to the near omnipresence of HealingFactor.
81* In Episode 6 of ''Manga/CuteyHoney'', Honey decapitates several Panther Claw Grunts with an axe while dressed as Marie Antoinette.
82* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'': This is the primary way to kill demons, though it only works when the Demon Slayers' special swords are used. Otherwise the demon will remain alive, and the severed head will still somehow control its body, as seen when [[KickChick Nezuko]] revealed her SuperStrength by kicking a demon's head right off, but it kept on fighting. And several demons are able to resist even that, such as Upper-6 [[BrotherSisterTeam Daki and Gyutaro]], who due to their unique status as TwoBeingsOneBody, need to be decapitated together simultaneously; or Upper-3 Akaza and Upper-1 Kokushibo, who are able to keep going through sheer [[{{Determinator}} determination]] and likely could have regenerated their severed heads if they hadn't lost their wills to fight for personal reasons.
83* ''Franchise/{{Devilman}}'': In the original manga, the OVA, and ''Amon'', after it is revealed on TV that Akira is actually Devilman, Miki searches for her little brother and sees him fall from the second floor; she approaches him and sees it's his headless body, and a member of the angry mob has his severed head. Later, when Akira arrives too late, he sees Miki has not only been killed but ''dismembered'' by the mob, and ''her'' head is on a pike as well (alongside her other limbs, each one on its own pike). Akira goes berserk and tears the mob to bloody pieces (in the manga, he set them all on fire). A few moments later, Akira is seen [[AlasPoorYorick cradling her head in his arms]], having crossed the DespairEventHorizon for real. In fact, it's said that this scene inspired the one in the ''Manga/{{X 1999}}'' manga where Kamui does the same with Kotori's head.
84* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
85** In [[Manga/DragonBall the original series]], Goku kicked Drum's head off.
86** In the Namek Saga, Vegeta does this to [[TimeStandsStill Guldo]] after he tried to kill Gohan and Krillin, though it was only because he wanted to kill off the weakest member of the Ginyu Force (he didn't give a damn about them at that point). Guldo [[LosingYourHead actually lives long enough to yell at Vegeta for what he did]] until he vaporized him.
87** In the Android Saga, when a motorist yells at Dr. Gero for blocking the road, Gero retaliates by grabbing him by the throat and strangling him so hard that his head ''pops off''. Gero is later [[KarmicDeath on the receiving end of this trope]] when Android 17 kicks his head off his shoulders and stomps on it.
88** During the battle against the Cell Jrs., Gohan decapitates two of them.
89** Two of the movies had decapitations, in the fourth Piccolo blasts Doradabo's head off and in the seventh Vegeta punches Android 15's head off.
90* ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'': This is the entire reason Celty Sturluson came to Ikebukuro in the first place. Being a dullahan, her head was never attached in the first place and she carried it around in her arms. However, after Shingen used Saika to sever its connection to her she woke up missing her head and has been searching for it for the past twenty years. The head is repeatedly given away or stolen by various parties, though is in the possession of Izaya Orihara for the majority of the show. Throughout the series, various men developed odd obsessions with it, such as Seiji and Seitarou's love for it, the artist's need to draw it and Izaya's wish to create a gang war over it. In conclusion, Shingen returns Celty's head to her, however, she attempts to leave to resume her duties as a dullahan. Fortunately, Shinra obtains Saika and once again severs Celty's head and it is given to Nebula.
91** Celty also threatens to do this to Izaya for making fun of Shinra.
92* Many deaths in ''Manga/ElfenLied'' caused by Diclonius, like in the cases of Kurama's secretary Kisaragi and Kouta's father. Their vectors can pick off a person's head like picking fruit off a tree or crush them like nothing.
93* In ''Literature/FateApocrypha'', Celenike Yggdmillennia, in the full throes of a {{Yandere}} VillainousBreakdown, uses a Command Seal to try to force her Servant Astolfo to kill Sieg, who he's developed a bond with, in as sadistic a manner as possible just to break the poor guy. [[KilledMidSentence But before she can complete the order]], Mordred uses Clarent to take her head.
94-->'''Mordred:''' ''Shut up.''
95* Raoh of ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' can do this to someone by ''slapping them'', as a particularly sadistic soldier of his learned the hard way after he made the mistake of abusing Raoh's female subjects in his absence.
96* Tomio in the ''Manga/FragmentsOfHorror'' story "Red Turtleneck" has his head severed by his wicked fortune-teller mistress' enchanted hair. But before she adds it to her collection, she gives him the chance to keep himself alive by holding his head on, warning him that any slip that disconnects the head will kill him. She tests his strength, too, torturing him by inserting things into the new gap between head and neck, hoping to make him slip.
97* In Chapter 51 of ''Manga/FutureDiary'', {{Y|andere}}uno kills Akise this way.
98* A lot of deaths in ''Manga/{{Gantz}}'' involve decapitation. Kurono and Izumi beheaded the oni boss, as well as the former beheading the shapeshifting oni. Katou also beheaded the Buddha boss. Anything else I miss?
99* In ''Manga/Golgo13'' The Professional, Duke sticks a grenade into Silver's mouth causing his head to be blown off his body in the resulting explosion.
100* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'':
101** Killua defeats Rammot by ripping his head off while he's paralyzed with fear, fast enough that [[DiedStandingUp the rest of his body is still standing]] as Killua crushes his skull.
102** Kortopi has this done to him in Chapter 357 by Hisoka. [[UndignifiedDeath On the toilet, of all things.]]
103* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', Dio Brando did this to ''himself'' to keep Jonathan's Ripple from finishing him off.
104* In ''Anime/LupinIIIDeadOrAlive'', to show Ole he's serious about the situation, General Headhunter casually decapitates one of his own men with a sword.
105* Turned upside-down by the finale of ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'': removing the Vajra Queen's head is presented as a ''nonlethal'' way of detaching Grace O'Connor from the main body. Due to BizarreAlienBiology, Vajra don't actually have any vital organs in their heads (their nervous system is decentralized, so they lack a "brain" as an organ). The Queen is not harmed by the loss of her head any more than the loss of one of her other limbs, and flies away with the rest of the Vajra once peace is restored.
106* In ''Manga/MermaidSaga'' decapitation is the only way to kill a mermaid, a Lost Soul or an immortal person.
107* The ''[[Franchise/{{Gundam}} Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' metaseries plays with this trope quite a lot. Lots of Mobile Suits and Gundams alike lose their heads, but it's usually an inconvenience as most MS cockpits reside in the torso, where the head merely contains instruments such as cameras. However, there are rather brutal methods of ''humans'' getting beheaded.
108** No one can forget the original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', where Char Aznable shoots Kycillia Zabi in the face with a rocket launcher. The missile straight-up decapitates her with enough force to knock her body out of her chair. ''Then'' [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill the warhead detonates with enough force to take out the entire bridge of her ship.]]
109** It also happens to Tolle Koenig in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', when Athrun Zala tosses the ''shield'' of his Aegis Gundam at Tolle's Skygrasper, and it hits his cockpit. Not only does Tolle get his head chopped off, he gets ''[[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe split in half'' even before the Skygrasper is blown to pieces.]] Thankfully, the death was very much instant, but... '''''[[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath OUCH.]]'''''
110** Still better than getting it taken off by a ''giant spinning tire'' like Uso's mom Mueller in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Victory Gundam]]''.
111* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
112** In the manga, [[DragonInChief Zabuza]] decapitates [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Gato]]. The anime {{Bowdlerise}}d it down to stabbing him in the chest with a kunai Zabuza held between his teeth and then kicking him off of a bridge.
113** Killer Bee and the Raikage together blow a Zetsu clone disguised as Kisame's head right off, which [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction compliments]] them [[LosingYourHead on its way down]].
114* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
115** During the Dressrosa arc, the first thing the Thunder Soldier (AKA [[ShroudedInMyth Kyros]]) does the moment [[NoOntologicalInertia Sugar passes out and his body is restored]] is grab a sword, make a beeline for Doflamingo and cut his head off. [[ActuallyADoombot Unfortunately, that was just a string clone.]]
116** During Act 3 of Wano, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Kaido decapitates Orochi after he objects to his "New Onigashima" plan.]] Orochi survives, however, [[{{Orochi}} having lost just one of his "eight" heads]]. Shortly after, Orochi encounters the Akazaya Nine who cut off his heads before a fight even begins. He survives yet again but is down to one head afterward, which gets sliced off by Denjiro who arrives to save Hiyori from Orochi's attempted TakingYouWithMe gambit]].
117* The Headhunter in ''Manga/PandoraHearts'', invoked by name.
118-->The Queen of Hearts\
119Made some tarts\
120The Knave of Hearts\
121Stole these tarts\
122So the mad queen said\
123"[[Literature/AliceInWonderland Off with his head]]!"
124* In ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}'' Chapter 3, Migi cuts off the head of the opposing parasite's host [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe in addition to cutting the body in half]].
125* ''Manga/{{Phoenix}}'': Partway into volume 1, the Bowman, having pinned the Phoenix down with iron arrows, finishes her off by decapitating her. Long story short, [[ResurrectiveImmortality it doesn't take]].
126* ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'' has two instances when Ashitaka decapitated people by ''shooting them in the head with arrows''. His arm was possessed by a demon, so that could have something to do with it.
127* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Mami Tomoe is killed in the penultimate timeline in episode 3 when the witch Charlotte ''devours her head''.
128** Also, in that same timeline Sayaka Miki chops off the head of the witch Elsa Maria with her sword. [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill And then she mutilates Elsa's corpse]], as proof that poor Sayaka is ''this'' close to crossing the DespairEventHorizon.
129** In the spin-off series, ''Manga/PuellaMagiKazumiMagica'', Mirai Wakaba meets this same fate after refusing to fight a witch that used to be Saki Asami, who Mirai loves.
130* Happens in ''Literature/ReZero'' when Subaru returns to the massacred and frozen-over village as a giant monster emerges from the mansion and tells him to "Sleep, along with my daughter." before Subaru's head suddenly falls off of his neck. [[GroundhogDayLoop Subaru gets better (kind of)]] and we later learn that the monster is Puck, who will end the world and kill anyone who isn't Emilia if Emilia ever dies.
131* ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'': as it's set before and during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution and has UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette as one of the main characters, this manga features the guillotine for both her execution and that of Louis XVI.
132* In the manga of ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo'', Kyo beheaded Nobunaga in their fight in the forest.
133* In ''Anime/SamuraiFlamenco'', a drug dealer takes some kind of pill before getting arrested and turns into a giant gorilla with a guillotine in his mid-section. He then uses it to decapitate at least one of the cops and nearly kills Samurai Flamenco the same way before being saved by his cop friend Goto.
134* In the ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' anime finale, Makoto's head is taken by Kotonoha soon after he gets knifed to death by Sekai. Kotonoha decides to display the head to Sekai before killing her to avenge Makoto.
135* In ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', Hendrickson, after transforming into a Grey Demon-Human Hybrid, engages in battle with the Seven Deadly Sins (minus Escanor, who had yet to be found) and Liones' Holy Knights and summons an attack called Dark Snow, a shower of slow-moving orbs [[OneHitKill which cause instant death upon contact.]] [[TemptingFate When two knights remark that the attack, while impressive, is easy to avoid,]] Hendrickson appears above them in mid-air upside down and rips their heads clean off in a single move.
136* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Justin cuts off Tezca's head. This destroys his body, but Tezca moved his soul elsewhere and "lives" on. Rather fitting, since [[HumanWeapon Justin is a guillotine.]]
137* ''Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon'':
138** A girl named Asura is decapitated by a gunshot in the final movie, and the audience sees her head vaporize as the rest of her lifeless body is sent flying by the recoil. [[HarmfulToMinors She was the youngest member (around 4- to 5-years-old) of the cast on top of that.]]
139** Also, while Kitty Kitten was fatally shot in the chest in the series itself, she was decapitated in {{the movie}}s.
140* ''Anime/StreetFighterIITheAnimatedMovie'': While she and Guile are dropping in on Dee Jay at his club to let him know about Shadaloo and their scout robots, Chun-Li ''kicks'' the head off a nearby one, much to Dee Jay's bewilderment.
141* ''Manga/StriderHiryu'': If not [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe cut in half]], this is the other common fate of anyone on the wrong end of the eponymous Hiryu's Cypher.
142* ''Literature/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': Jenna's SmugSnake slave Miauler puts fabricated letters in Leon’s room as a FrameUp for treason, on the orders of Frampton. Later, once Leon has absolved himself and is getting on his father Balcus' CoolAirship, he's asked what being arrested was about. Being the ReasonableAuthorityFigure that he is, Balcus tells his daughter Jenna to go up into the ship's cabin so she won't see him and promptly beheads Miauler.
143* ''Literature/TrappedInADatingSimOtomeGamesAreToughForUsToo'': After Frampton tells the Saintess that YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness, and he can have her replaced, she has Frampton's vassals expose evidence of his treason, resulting in a LaughingMad Julius beheading Frampton in a PublicExecution, to try and win back the Saintess' lost favor.
144* This is one of the very, VERY few ways to kill a [[{{Immortality}} sen-nin]] in ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms''. Brutally proved by Governor Gekkei, who kills King Chuutatsu of Hou this way [[KnightTemplar as punishment for his horrible reign]] ''and'' brings his head to his family. Then, he subjects Chuutatsu's wife Kekai ''and'' the kirin Hourin to the same fate, also as punishment for their own deeds (or inaction). "Royal Consort! Princess! Say goodbye to your King!", indeed.''
145* Karura in ''VideoGame/{{Utawarerumono}}'' actually ''punches'' a mook's head off. That must have been messy.
146* ''Literature/VillagerAWantsToSaveTheVillainessNoMatterWhat'': When on a RoaringRampageOfRescue for his tortured girlfriend Anastasia from the Est Empire, Allen takes the head of their torturing prince because he hopes to use it as a bargaining chip to officially marry Anastasia, when the two are StarCrossedLovers. However, the King of Centralen is too much of a PsychopathicManchild, and won't accept it, despite promising to, and tries to order Allen beheaded, sparking a CivilWar.
147* ''Manga/VinlandSaga'': This is how [[TheKingslayer Askeladd kills King Sweyn]].
148* ''Manga/TheVoynichHotel'': The second of the Three Mothers, Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs, met her fate via beheading. Rumor has it that her head is somewhere in Spain, christened "The Singing Witch Head."
149* ''Manga/{{X 1999}}'': This is how Daisuke Saiki dies in the manga version. It was so gruesome that the TV series [[{{Bowdlerise}} censored it]].
150** Earlier in the story, Kotori Monou is first stabbed in the chest by her {{Face Heel Turn}}ed brother Fuuma with a {{BFS}}, then her body is dismembered by cables turned into RazorFloss. Kamui is seen [[AlasPoorYorick holding her head in his arms]]. Agaon, so gruesome that the TV series had to censor it -- she "only" got stabbed.
151** While, barring a dream sequence involving Kotori, neither of these occurs in the film, Fuuma suffers this courtesy of Kamui at the very end.
152* ''Anime/XamdLostMemories'': Fuurichi [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide]] by cutting ''his own'' head off.
153[[/folder]]
154
155[[folder:Arts]]
156* Creator/ArtemisiaGentileschi:
157** Gentileschi painted multiple versions of ''Judith Slaying Holofernes'', a portrayal of the apocryphal Biblical story of Judith and the Assyrian general Holofernes (scholars distinguish the two most famous ones with the years they were done and the cities in which they were painted -- Naples, 1612-13 and Florence, 1620-21). These paintings show Judith and her maidservant Abra beheading Holofernes with a sword. Another painting, ''Judith and Her Maidservant'', shows the two women absconding with Holofernes' head in a basket.
158** ''Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist'' depicts the moment in the Biblical story where Salome is presented John's head on a platter.
159* Creator/GustavKlimt had a take on the apocryphal story of Judith beheading Holofernes. In ''Art/JudithAndTheHeadOfHolofernes'', Judith is proud and beautiful while Holofernes's head is cut off by the painting's borders, almost an afterthought.
160[[/folder]]
161
162[[folder:Comic Books]]
163* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'':
164** ''ComicBook/TheTenSeconders'': Watchtower kills two of his fellow gods by decapitating them. Harris even notes that it's starting to become a signature move for him.
165** ''ComicBook/AndersonPsiDivision'': Anderson has run into an ArtifactOfDoom that had been used by a headhunting cult. It drove anyone who went near it completely insane and made them cut off people's heads while shouting "Blood for the Blood God!".
166** ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': During the "[[ZombieApocalypse Judgement Day]]" arc, Dredd decapitates [[BigBad Sabbat]]. Being immortal, he survives this. Dredd still manages to defeat him by impaling the head on the lodestone Sabbat had been using to control the dead.
167* In the ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer: Season 8'' comic "Wolves at the Gate, Part 4", this is how Dawn kills her mechanical double.
168* ''ComicBook/Calico2020'': In issue #1, when Calico goes after a family who shot and killed a lioness in the Serengheti, the first thing he does is show the parents their teenage daughter's severed head (she also took part in the hunt).
169* In ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'', the State of Clerville carries out death sentences via guillotine (TheArtifact from the early issues, when the story was supposed to be set in France). Every time Diabolik is arrested, the police needs only to file the paperwork to try and behead him, as when he was arrested the second time he was held long enough to be tried and sentenced to death - though actually carrying out the deed is easier said than done. This becomes an especially important plot point in two occasions:
170** The issue "Stop the Guillotine!" is centered around Diabolik having been arrested with Eva unable to rescue him... Only for an abolitionist lawyer to stop the execution on account of [[KangarooCourt the many irregularities of the initial trial]] (while Diabolik was guilty of everything he had been accused the police could only prove that he had killed Walter Dorian ''in a different country'' and then impersonated him, and he was convicted for everything else purely on account of [[TheDreaded the sheer terror the confirmation such a criminal existed had caused in the jury and the people]]). The lawyer wasn't trying to get Diabolik free but rather to insure that death penalty was abolished in Clerville, as it was maintained only for Diabolik - as far as she was concerned, Diabolik deserved a life sentence, and if given the chance she'd insure just that. Eva managed to take advantage of the situation to free Diabolik, and the lawyer's appeal was rejected.
171** In "The Shadow of the Giustiziere" the titular villain, a terrorist convinced the police was actually working with Diabolik to cover their own incompetence, staged a number of bombings and threatened to continue until Diabolik was arrested and executed with the same guillotine that was supposed to be used the first time - and when the police faked the execution with a puppet and a properly rigged copy to stop the Giustiziere long enough to track them down they saw through it and staged another bombing. The executioner of Clerville's jail, fearing to behead someone who had been graced before he could be warned, had modified his machine so it would take two pulls of the rope to activate it, and the only ones to know were the executioner, who when given Diabolik to behead quickly pulled the rope twice just as Ginko realized there had been a switch, his two assistants, [[UnwittingPawn that Eva had duped into helping her with the switch]], and the wife of one of the assistants, who had convinced her husband to accept a bribe from Eva and let her meet with Diabolik, allowing her to pull off the switch. Discovering why the Giustiziere had requested that specific machine allowed both Diabolik and the police to identify them.
172* ''ComicBook/{{Dreadstar}} Returns'' begins with Dreadstar defeating a tyrant named Plunndo Tram by decapitating him.
173* ''ComicBook/ForgottenRealms'': The villain of the second story arc is a SerialKiller mage who goes around decapitating dragons. He needs their heads for a SummoningRitual which will bring forth the Tarrasque.
174* ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' comics:
175** In ''ComicBook/FridayThe13thSpecial'', Jason hits a soldier on top of his head (the sound effect being "FAM") so hard that his head goes through his body and comes out his ass (the written sound effect of ''that'' being "SWAQ!").
176** Two unlucky hunters at the end of ''ComicBook/FridayThe13thBloodbath'' find the frozen Jason in the woods, and one of them gets his head sliced off as he thaws out in front of them.
177** The fight between the two Jasons in ''ComicBook/FridayThe13thJasonVsJasonX'' ends with Uber Jason killing the regular Jason by ripping his head off. He then takes part of the loser's brain and stuffs it into his own to restore the memories of his mother.
178* ''ComicBook/{{Killtopia}}'': Happens frequently, such as [[ActionGirl Stiletto]] decapitating Megaton Prime in a previous Wreck-Fest.
179* In ''ComicBook/LastDaysOfTheJusticeSociety'', Starman uses his cosmic rod in the battle of Ragnarok to decapitate Loki, whose [[HornAttack horned head]] [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice then stabs]] [[InTheBack Starman in the back]].
180* ''ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics'': This is how Wood Man meets his defeat during his first clash with Rock.
181* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' Franken-Castle arc shows ComicBook/WerewolfByNight tearing off a {{mook|s}}'s head ''with his bare hands''.
182* ''ComicBook/Robin1993'': Villain Lynx ends up decapitated mostly due to the incompetence of her own gang. Neither Tim Drake nor Cassandra Cain are happy about it despite how much trouble she gave them with her ability to avoid prison time.
183* In ''ComicBook/SachsAndViolens'', the girls in the {{Snuff Film}}s are killed by being decapitated with an executioner's axe.
184* ''ComicBook/SamuraiGrandpa'': In the first {{Flashback}} of the comic, which is stated to take place 50 years prior, a young [[TheProtagonist Ojichan]] is beset by a man who tries to talk him out of fighting. Ojichan, however, decapitated him before he can finish his sentence.
185* In the ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'' tie-in ''ComicBook/MrsDeadpoolAndTheHowlingCommandos'' Marcus gets his head chopped off by Dracula with one clean sword-swing.
186* Due to his strength ComicBook/SimonDark uses his garrote wire to decapitate people. He does so rarely as he is opposed to killing humans, but he makes exceptions for those who have been killed by possessing entities and a rapist targeting the local high school.
187* ''ComicBook/SinCity'': In ''The Big Fat Kill'', Miho [[RasputinianDeath ultimately]] "makes a PEZ dispenser out of" Jackie-Boy.
188* ''ComicBook/StarTrekIDW'': In "Mirrored, Part 1", Mirror Spock decapitates Gorkon with Mirror Sulu's sword.
189* ''ComicBook/StarWarsKanan'': Lightsabers make short work of necks on two occasions:
190** After Coburn Sear sets himself on fire in an attempt to [[TakingYouWithMe kill Caleb]] Caleb cuts his head off in what is mostly a mercy kill and which disturbs him greatly as it's the first time he'd killed someone who wasn't a droid and he had momements before felt the call of the Dark Side and wanted to kill Sear out of anger fueled revenge.
191** Depa Billaba decapitated Mixx when defending her life and that of her padawan Caleb when Palpatine issued Order 66 and her battalion tried to execute them. It took seeing his former friend's head flying to get Caleb to unfreeze from having their friends go from [[MoodWhiplash joking with them to trying to kill them]].
192* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
193** In ''ComicBook/TheGreatPhantomPeril'', villainess Faora Hu-Ul breaks into the Fortress of Solitude. As she is exploring Superman's base, Faora runs into a Superman robot, and quickly slaps its head off its body.
194** ''ComicBook/SupermanSupergirlMaelstrom'':
195*** Malstrom intends to cut Superman's head off to please Darkseid.
196*** While fighting one of Darkseid's gladiators, Malstrom uses her energy whip to detach his head from his shoulders.
197** ''ComicBook/BatmanSupermanWorldsFinest'': After being brought back to life, Nezha immediately cuts his father's head off.
198** ''ComicBook/TheOtherSideOfDoomsday'': ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} gets mad as fighting T.O.Morrow's guardian robot and punches its head off its shoulders.
199** In ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'' crossover "ComicBook/FromEterniaWithDeath", Skeletor threatens cut Superman's head off if he does not bow down to Skeletor.
200* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage'': This is the way Shredder was KilledOffForReal in the original comics.
201* ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'': The Headsman enjoys lopping heads off with his tremendous axe very, very much. This all traces back to his childhood when his AloofBigBrother Cody beheaded his beloved dog.
202* ''ComicBook/TimDrakeRobin'': When Cam and her mother are murdered Cam is found decapitated with her head nearby.
203* ''ComicBook/TwistedDark'': One example of this occurs in the story "Flamboyant". In it, Chris Ingledow's old manager, Tom, decides to utterly destroy Chris' career and status by unfurling a huge banner on a building that says "Chris Ingledow is worth over $150 million. I was his manager for 15 years and am penniless. All I wanted was a fair wage. Is he a role model?" while he sticks his head in a guillotine in front of Chris and a large number of people, wherein he brings the blade down and decapitates himself.
204* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'':
205** ''ComicBook/UltimateVision'': Vision cut Tarleton's head for killing Dima, and threw it to the horizon.
206** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'':
207*** Abomination was dismembered by Hulk, and the finally executed with a megaton punch through the head in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates2''.
208*** Mastermind was decapitated by Valkyrie for trapping her in a fantasy world and attempting to rape her while she was catatonic in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates3''.
209* Occurs regularly in ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'', especially if a ZergRush is involved.
210* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
211** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Diana ends her duel with Medusa by chopping off her head.
212** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2006'': Diana takes off D'grth's head with her jet when the demonic entity attacks Washington DC, this does not kill him or stop him talking however.
213** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2011'': Artemis kills Lennox by tearing off his head, which she then presents to his surviving demi-god siblings with a taunt.
214* ComicBook/{{X 23}} wordlessly beheads a pimp she catches beating a prostitute in her self-titled one-shot. As her claws are coated in adamantium, she has little trouble slicing through his neck in one blow.
215* Jiro from ''ComicBook/GetJiro'' is introduced beheading a customer for his lack of sushi etiquette and asking for a california roll. This is apparently a regular occurrence.
216[[/folder]]
217
218[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
219* In "Literature/TheDeathOfKoscheiTheDeathless", Literature/BabaYaga tells Prince Ivan she will cut his head off if he fails to take good care of her mares.
220* "Literature/HowJackSoughtTheGoldenApples": When the two older princes convince him that Jack tried to poison him, the king orders the executioner to cut off Jack's head. However, the executioner takes pity on Jack and lets him go.
221* At the end of "Literature/MaidMaleen", the villainess attempts to get Maleen beheaded; instead, her treachery is discovered and her head is cut off.
222* In "Literature/TheNinePeahensAndTheGoldenApples", the mountain's old witch warns the prince she will cut his head off if he fails to take care of her mare properly.
223* In Creator/AsbjornsenAndMoe's tale "Literature/TheOldDameAndHerHen", the troll rips the older sisters' heads off because they turned him down, and he tears a goat's head off because the animal annoyed him.
224* In "Literature/TheTrollsDaughter", the titular character warns her suitor to be ready when her father calls his fish-self back, because if the troll catches him at the castle, he will cut his head off.
225[[/folder]]
226
227[[folder:Fan Works]]
228* ''Fanfic/SixTimesAiProtectedHerGroupmatesAndOneTimeTheyProtectedHer'': Ai, a zombie, removes ''her own head'' to scare off a pair of men harassing her and her friend Yugiri.
229* ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': In Chapter 7, [[{{Robeast}} Zeruel]] beheads [[HumongousMecha Unit 00]] with a single blow of its arm-whips.
230* ''Fanfic/AlwaysVisible'': Interestingly shown in Galbraith's nightmare, where doctor Baselard blows off the head of Schaeymoure's wooden mannequin.
231* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' naturally lampshades this by having Vegeta throw a dog bone to any heads that he decapitated.
232-->'''Android #15:''' [[KilledMidSentence Did you just throw a motherfucking dog-]].
233* ''Manga/Evangelion303'': When [[CoolPlane Unit 04]] crashed, [[OriginalCharacter Jessika]] got decapitated in the explosion.
234* ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'': Hiruzen of the Shadowkhan was killed this way by Tarakudo in the past.
235* ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'': In this setting Asuka is a ''[[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Khornate]]'' berserker. In battle, she hacks her enemies' heads off to offer them up to Khorne, God of War. Sometimes Shinji cuts an enemy's head off after defeating it to give it to Asuka as a present.
236* From ''Fanfic/{{Unfamiliar}}'':
237--> '''Louise:''' Alex, be a dear and remove Lord Mott's head from his shoulders.
238* In ''Fanfic/RetroChill'', Rupert threatens Lenny with this if he starts [[RunningGag freaking out about the ghost again.]]
239* In ''Fanfic/TheImmortalGame'': This is how Twilight kills BigBad Titan, after depowered him from mighty PhysicalGod alicorn to a mere mortal.
240** This also happens in a flashback which features a knight named Valiant presents Astor Coruscare (Twilight's FamousAncestor) with the head of one of the most powerful dragons to ever live as an engagement gift. Sadly, [[OffscreenMomentofAwesome the battle happens offscreen]].
241* ''Fanfic/FireEmblemAwakeningInvisibleTies'': In Chapter 15, this is how Chrom slays Gangrel.
242* The pirate captain in the ''Fanfic/GoldenAge'' series has the pirate ringleader killed this way for disobeying orders. He then has the head thrown into the kids' cell.
243* In the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'', Silver Spoon's father was brainwashed by Discord into trying to do this to her. Discord's defeat saved her, but the experience still left the poor filly traumatized for awhile. In Dark World, where [[TheBadGuyWins Discord won]] and that ''wasn't'' the case, she was killed this way though she was brought BackFromTheDead by Queen Libra.
244* Two ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fanfics (''Fanfic/MidnightSavior'' and ''Fanfic/{{Nightmare}}'') had Kim having nightmares of being beheaded by the Lorwardians. Both times have Kim [[CatapultNightmare waking up]] the moment the blade hits her neck.
245* In ''Fanfic/RealMenDontMakeSandwiches'', Krillin observes that Vegeta seems to have [[RunningGag made this into a habit]]. Doesn't stop the prince from literally knocking one poor jerk's head off during their ill-fated night out.
246* ''Fanfic/{{Quicken}}'': [[AntiHero Emma]] beheads super-villain Cricket with a kukri after defeating her.
247* In ''Fanfic/DeadManSwitch'', Ron Stoppable gets beheaded in Lorwardia, which [[HumanWeapon sets off a weapon]] to destroy the Lorwardian Star System as revenge for beheading Kim and forcing Earth to send them 15 teenage girls each year to be beheaded as a "tribute". But it turns out to be [[AllJustADream just Kim's nightmare.]]
248* A non-sword example in ''Fanfic/AMothersLove''; having taken Connor from Holtz, Illyria kills the hunter by literally kicking his head off, with that single blow sending Holtz’s head flying out of sight as his body falls to the ground.
249* Another non-sword example occurs in ''[[https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-21319/ShayneT+Smallville+Glory.htm Smallville Glory]]'', which sees Glory literally tear off Lana's head after Lana tried to control her with her own meteor power.
250* In ''Fanfic/RabbitOfTheMoon'', Gascoigne beheads Bell with his axe the first time Bell encounters him. When Bell wakes up in the Hunter's Dream, he quickly clutches at his neck to see if his head is still attached.
251* In ''WebAnimation/ToBelong'', Cinderella was Charming's loyal maid who helped him escape after he kills his fiancee Belle and his brother John. Charming's sister Pocahontas has her killed for treason.
252* The one-shot ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8641162/1/The-Princess-of-Ev The Princess of Ev]]'' expands upon what happened in ''Ozma of Oz''. It starts with Princess Langwidere's uncle chopping off her head at age seven and replacing it with a young maid's head. He kicks the maid down a well, however people can't die in Ev so she's ''still alive'' without her head. He continues chopping off other's heads and giving them to Langwidere. Eventually, she too gains a liking for stealing other people's heads.
253* The ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' fic ''Fanfic/InPainAndBlood'' ends with Elsa beheading her murderous son Aksel.
254* In ''Fanfic/{{Chrysanthemums}}'', the "traditional Unovan method of execution" is a public beheading. At least Opelucid City uses a blade made of a Haxorus' tusk.
255* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': Happens at least twice:
256** In ''Surprise Guest'', How a Mukrezar dies, KilledMidSentence:
257--->Mukrezar smirked "Just as I planned, you--" That was as far as he got before the Avatar’s two-handed sword cut off his words, along with his head.
258** From [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/dungeon-keeper-ami-sailor-moon-dungeon-keeper-story-only-thread.30066/page-5#post-6355777 "Underworld Army Attack"]]: How an Underworld dragon dies:
259--->Actions magically slowed, the dragon plummeted like a rock, unable to keep itself aloft. A moment before it struck the ground, the reaper blurred and leapt, swinging his scythe. The dragon's head separated from its neck before the giant body crashed, releasing a huge gout of hot blood. Rabixtrel landed on the corpse and screamed his triumph at the wavering soldiers.
260* In the beginning of ''Fanfic/GoldenThreadsTieUs'', [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Severa]] eliminates a Risen by lopping his head off.
261-->Severa heard a slash beside her ear, sharp and distinct from the white noise of the rain. A feinted step to the left, then she pushed forward and drove the tip of her blade up into the Risen's exposed chest. She gasped for breath, heart pounding in her ears, and took a second of reprieve before whipping out a foot and sweeping the Risen off its feet, forcing her sword out of its torso and swinging at its neck.\
262The severed head rolled to a stop, already covered in mud.
263* ''Fanfic/{{Anachronism}}'': In the past timeline, Gloria's Inteleon had its head torn off in a battle.
264* ''Fanfic/TheNightmareHouse'': [[WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse Lynn Loud]]'s nightmare involves accidentally punching her brother's head off.
265* In Chapter 19 of ''Fanfic/RemnantInferisDOOM'', the Doom Slayer kills Marlowe by using his hands to rip off his head (and much of his spinal column).
266* In the ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/HereThereBeMonsters'', Doctor Sivana intends to use his strength-augmenting disks to rip Captain Marvel's head from his shoulders.
267* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsFriendshipSouls'': The Grand Fisher dies when Applejack, Sunset, and Rainbow Dash destroy his head with a CombinationAttack. He's still standing after that so they think he's still alive, but he did indeed die.
268** According to Ember, this is the Lament's preferred way of killing.
269* ''Fanfic/QueenOfShadows'': This is how Kamisori kills Rosuto during the Battle of Tobe, using his razor-clawed hands in place of a sword.
270* ''Fanfic/JWITCHSeries'': In "The Shadow Eaters", Jade does this to Hak Foo. When Will comments on how hardcore this was, Jade counters that since Hak Foo is a Dark Chi Warrior, it doesn't matter, since that won't kill him.
271* ''Fanfic/RubyPair'': Zim and Tenn does this to [[TheDon Gabo Amebo]] after [[BadassAdorable Minimoose]] has wiped out the rest of his gang. Being an amoeba, he survives it, but is left completely incapacitated.
272* ''Fanfic/ReMyHostageNotYours'': During the climatic battle, Zim ultimately kills the Valkian Queen by ripping her head off with his bare hands.
273* ''Webcomic/{{Horrortale}}'': Dogaressa lops off a Royal Guard's head with her axe for insulting the competency of her deceased husband.
274* Wernn, a gnome prisoner, gets decapitated by a guard’s axe during the jailbreak in ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity''.
275[[/folder]]
276
277[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
278* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanVsTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'': The fate of an unfortunate Arkham guard.
279* ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'': The fate of any chicken that no longer lays enough eggs is to have its head cut by an axe by Mrs. Tweedy. Poor Edwina meets this fate.
280* ''WesternAnimation/{{Felidae}}'': Poor Felicity is given this treatment by the killer.
281* ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'': A particularly unfortunate and large bug gets hunted by Spot, who manages to rip its head off with his mouth.
282* In ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'', Taarna's [[InformedAbility only genuine act]] of badassery is to decapitate three {{Mooks}} in a bar.
283** In one stroke. It's like a gory ''Three Stooges'' gag.
284* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' has the titular hero try it on a hydra after being EatenAlive, but of course [[HydraProblem more grow back as per the myth]].
285* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' shows that this happened to Fa Deng.
286-->'''Great Ancestor:''' ''(speaking to Mushu)'' You had your chance to protect the Fa family!\
287'''Female Ancestor:''' Your misguidance led Fa Deng to disaster!\
288'''Fa Deng:''' ''(carrying his head under his arm)'' Yeah. Thanks a lot.
289* ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'': The stoner loses control of Barry in his house and trips on a few things, which leads to an ornamental axe slicing his head off. Barry takes said head with him.
290* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', this almost happens to Tyler when Mei throws a dodgeball at him hard enough to create a sonic boom. Tyler screams, ducks and the ball instead gives him a CloseCallHaircut, hits a window and breaks a hole in it. If she had aimed a few inches lower, she would have decapitated him.
291[[/folder]]
292
293[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
294* ''Film/TwentyFirstCenturySerialKiller'': When [[TheProtagonist Aaron]] can't bring himself to kill a woman in a car, Charles drags her out of it, and then saws her head off.
295* The MadeOfPlasticine factor is subverted in ''Film/ThirtyDaysOfNight'' where the shortest decapitation is two strokes. Normally three and quite messy.
296* Astinos, one of the ''Film/ThreeHundred'', goes out this way during a lull in the battle, which causes his father to [[UnstoppableRage go berserk on the Persians]] until he has to be dragged away by his comrades. This is also how Leonidas finishes off the [[GiantMook Uber-Immortal]] later on in the movie.
297* ''Film/AbandonedMine'': When she and Ethan reach the office at the bottom of the mine, Laurie grabs a rat and bites its head off.
298* In ''Film/AccidentMan'', Mike decapitates Atal Zim with a single stroke of Jane's katana after deciding he is not worth the far more elaborate demise he originally had planned.
299* In ''Film/AliceInMurderland'', Tiffany is murdered by being decapitated.
300* ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'':
301** ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'': The first alien corpse the humans discover on LV-223 suffered this, getting his head decapitated by a giant door.
302** ''Film/AlienCovenant'': Rosenthal is killed this way by a Neomorph.
303* ''Film/Alien2OnEarth'': While the spelunkers prepare to climb out of a hole, one of the creatures explodes from Jill's face and grabs Phil by the neck with its tentacles. Phil is then dragged upside down as the creature slices at his neck repeatedly until his head and part of his spine fall off.
304* In the Bond-knockoff ''Film/AngelWithTheIronFists'', the main villainess has a descending mechanism in her lair, which she uses to dispose of subordinates who fail her by suddenly dropping above them and chewing their entire heads off.
305* In the ''Film/{{Apocalypse}}'' film series, those who refuse to take the MarkOfTheBeast when inside the Day of Wonders virtual reality program is subjected to a virtual beheading, or in some cases another form of death like a lethal snake bite, which causes the victim to die in reality.
306* In ''Film/ArtOfTheDead'', Donna is decapitated during the battle between Dylan and Gina in the garage.
307* In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', Thor kills Thanos this way at the start of the film, remarking that he went for the head this time.
308* In ''ComicBook/BadKidsGoToHell'', Dr. Day is decapitated by the tomahawk on the sculpture of the Indian battling the serpent.
309* ''Film/BillyClub2013'': While Danny is driving through the woods on a buggy to try to escape from Billy. Billy appears in front of him and swings his [[SavageSpikedWeapons spiked]] [[BatterUp bat]], cutting off Danny's head with the retractable knife blade in the bat's top.
310* ''Film/BlackRain'': Sato beheads Charlie with his sword while riding his motorcycle.
311* ''Film/BloodWidow'': At the party at Laurie and Hugh's house, the killer decapitates two party-goers simultaneously once the power comes back on. She also decapitates Robert Wilson in front of his wife.
312* In ''Film/BringMeTheHeadOfTheMachineGunWoman'', the Machine Gun Woman cuts the heads off Longara's hitmen to prove that she has killed them. Santiago is horrified when he sees her take an axe to their corpses.
313* Seems to be the standard means of killing vampires in ''Film/{{Byzantium}}'' as those that are killed during the story are decapitated.
314* ''Film/Carved2018'': At the end of the film, we see the severed head of the daughter of the family on the front porch, her face carved into a jack-o-lantern.
315* ''Film/{{Clawed}}'': The Shadow Of Death is strong enough to be able to lop people's heads off with a single swipe of its claws.
316* ''Film/TheColony2013'': The cannibal leader is killed by Sam chopping his head off. From the jaw upwards.
317* Thulsa Doom does this to Conan's mom in ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' after the raid on his [[DoomedHometown home village]] that opens the movie. Conan himself returns the favor in the end, using two cuts in a "V" using the remains of his father's sword.
318* In the Australian short film ''Confessions of a Headhunter'' (2000), detectives are apparently questioning a mad axe murderer. Turns out he's [[NotSoDire loping the heads off statues]] of {{Evil Colonialist}}s as a political protest. The movie was inspired by the real life beheading of the statue of Yagan, an Aboriginal warrior whose head was cut off in the [=19th=] Century and [[ValuesDissonance sent to England as a museum exhibit]].
319* ''Film/{{Conjoined}}'': While making out with Courtney, Alisa kills her by decapitating her. We don't see the murder, but we [=DO=] see Courtney's decapitated head and headless body.
320* In ''Film/CurseOfTheHeadlessHorseman'', the HeadlessHorseman is a gunfighter who somehow lost his head. Possibly in a botched hanging, but this (like so much else in the movie) is never really explained.
321* In one scene in ''Film/DawningOfTheDead'', a guy uses a fire extinguisher to knock a zombie's head off its shoulders.
322* ''Film/DeadtimeStoriesVolume1'': In ''Valley of the Shadow", the entire expedition winds up beheaded with their heads mounted on sticks as a warning to other intruders.
323* The death of Simon Phoenix, the BigBad of ''Film/DemolitionMan'', combines this trope with KillItWithIce.
324--> '''John Spartan:''' Heads up!
325* In ''Film/DemonKnight'', Brayker uses a machete to decapitate the possessed Uncle willy. Beacuse this does not destroy his eyes, [[LosingYourHead the head and body keep functioning even they are no longer connected]].
326* ''Film/Destroyer1988'': Susan, and later David, finds a severed head in the prison photocopier.
327* In ''Film/DoctorInDistress1963'', Sir Lancelot remarks he wants Tommy's head on a platter when he calls Iris and hears his voice instead, seeing him as a romantic threat.
328* ''Film/DogSoldiers'': When Joe sees Terry in the barn slowly being eaten alive by a werewolf, the werewolf in question severs Terry's neck and throws the head at Joe.
329* In ''Film/DollFactory'', Sheriff Barclay has his head sliced off with barbed wire by the dolls.
330* ''Film/DontLook'': After the killer drowns Sherri Baby, we see him on a dock holding a severed head.
331* Joanie Fontaine is decapitated by the axe-wielding AxeCrazy Groton in the opening scenes of ''Film/DraculaVsFrankenstein''. Later, Dr. Durea is accidentally decapitated by his own guillotine.
332* At least one one Vietnamese soldier has his head cut off (and several others lose limbs) when Sammo Hung unleashes his MacheteMayhem in ''Film/EasternCondors''.
333* In ''Film/TheEroticRitesOfFrankenstein'', the first woman the monster kidnaps is decapitated so by Cagliostro's cult so that Cagliostro can use her head in constructing his female creature.
334* In ''Film/EvilBreedTheLegendOfSamhain'', Steve is decapitated when he runs into a length of RazorFloss strung between two trees while running from the Shape.
335* ''Film/FeedingFrenzy'': Mr. Plinkett is killed when his reanimated wife breaks free of her cage and pulls his head off.
336* ''Film/FinalDestination'':
337** In the first ''Film/FinalDestination1'' film, one of the characters was killed this way by an incoming sharp object caused by the train.
338** This happens to Nora Carpenter in ''Film/FinalDestination2''. Thanks to getting her hair caught in a man's prosthetic hook box, she gets her head trapped between elevator doors, the ceiling, and the elevator floor, and it chokes and slices her head off.
339* ''Film/FlaviaTheHeretic'': When he sees Abraham being hugged by Flavia, Ahmed charges toward them on his horse and beheads Abraham with a single swipe of his SinisterScimitar.
340* The titular weapon of the ''Film/FlyingGuillotine'' kung fu movies, including ''Film/MasterOfTheFlyingGuillotine'', was a basket that was thrown and dropped upon someone's head. As the name would suggest, once the basket landed on someone's head, the chain was pulled, the blades would go to work, and it was Off With His Head!
341** This inspired an episode of ''Series/MythBusters'' where Kari, Grant, and Tory competed to see which of them could design and build a real flying guillotine that worked like the one in the film.
342** A similar flying guillotine-style weapon shows up in ''Film/SevenSwords'', used by one of Fire-Wind's Lieutenants. The same villain who uses the weapon can be seen carrying half a dozen severed heads with him.
343** There is a spin-off film, ''Film/TheDragonMissile'', from the very same director of ''Flying Guilltine'', featuring a pair of curved, boomerang-like Dragon Blades that can remove heads or limbs after being flung.
344* Both Hans and his father are executed by being guillotined in ''Film/FrankensteinCreatedWoman''. Later, Christina murders Anton, Karl and Johann by cutting their heads off.
345* In ''Film/FreshMeat'', a blast from Gigi's shotgun takes off Ritchie's head and it lands in Rina's lap, looking up at her.
346* Jason Voorhees of the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' series has decapitated 10 or more of his victims in the series.
347** One notable instance is the triple decapitation of the paintball players in ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives Part VI]]''.
348** Most notably in ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIIIJasonTakesManhattan Part VIII]]'' where he ''punches off Julius's head.''
349** His mother was also killed this way in [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 the original]].
350** In ''Film/FreddyVsJason'', Freddy gets his head chopped off using Jason's machete.
351* ''Film/TheFunhouseMassacre'': A couple of examples.
352** One of the killers rips a guy's head off with just his bare hands.
353** A woman gets her head sawed off at one point.
354* In ''Film/GhostsOfMars'', the possessed miners like throwing sharpened metal disks at their enemies. Bashira Kincaid is decapitated with one during the climax. Commander Braddock disappears at one point early in the film, and Lieutenant Ballard later finds her head being mounted on a pike. It's not clear if she was actually killed by decapitation or merely decapitated after being killed.
355* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'':
356** In the 1974 film ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla'', Franchise/{{Godzilla}} managed to defeat his robotic counterpart by twisting its head off and making it explode. Odd, considering that [[Characters/GodzillaMechagodzilla Mechagodzilla]]'s head was able to spin with no problem.
357** But in the 1975 sequel, ''Film/TerrorOfMechagodzilla'', not only does this not work but the rays its exposed core begins firing at Godzilla actually get ''stronger''!
358** ''Film/GodzillaVsKingGhidorah'': King Ghidorah's middle head gets blown off in his defeat. It gets replaced by a metal head.
359** ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'': This seems to be the only way to disable Gigan, and Godzilla weakens Monster X when the latter transforms into Keizer Ghidorah by ripping off two of his heads.
360** ''Film/Godzilla2014'': This is the female MUTO's fate after Godzilla melts her neck from the inside out with his radioactive breath and the rest of her body falls away from her head.
361** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': Ghidorah's left head [[MultipleHeadCase Kevin]] ([[ButtMonkey the poor bastard]]) gets brutally decapitated, courtesy of Godzilla during the underwater battle in Mexico. It even happens to him again in Boston when Burning Godzilla's Nuclear Pulse disintegrates both the right and left heads to ash.
362** ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': Two counts. First, Kong does this to one of the Warbats posthumously and drinks the blood out of its skull. Then, Kong ends the Ghidorah-controlled Mechagodzilla by tearing off the head with his bare hands -- it seems Mike Dougherty wasn't entirely joking when he said decapitation is a RunningGag where Ghidorah's left head is concerned (in some form or another).
363* ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'': Billy decapitates a gremlin with a sword and kicks the severed head in the fireplace, and it screams as it's on fire. In the DarkerAndEdgier original script, Billy would have returned home to see his mother's head rolling down the stairs.
364* The SoBadItsGood wrestling film ''Grunt: The Wrestling Movie'' has this happen to a wrestler named Skull Crusher Johnson when his head is trapped in the ring ropes during a move. This causes an issue within the company, as Johnson was the champion, and they don't know what to do with the title - after all, he wasn't pinned, he didn't submit, and he obviously never said "I quit!" Finally, after several ''years'', they realize he hasn't defended the title at all since his decapitation and strip him of the belt, leading to the championship tournament that forms the rest of the film.
365* In the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' films, this happens off-screen in [[Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers the fourth]] to an officer in a police station, is pulled off with [[ArtisticLicensePhysics one swing of a kitchen knife]] in ''Film/HalloweenResurrection'', and the most gruesome example the series has to offer is in ''Film/HalloweenII2009'', where Michael saws a man's head off with a piece of broken glass. It's also how Laurie takes out Michael in ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'', but it got undone in [[Film/HalloweenResurrection the next movie]] so the franchise could continue.
366* ''[[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Rising]]'' (2007). Hannibal is being raised by his aunt, the Lady Murasaki-Lecter, whose samurai ancestor was into collecting the heads of his enemies. When she's insulted by a local butcher, Hannibal cuts off his head with her sword and presents it to her. His aunt is not pleased, but when Hannibal is arrested for the crime she impales the head on the railings outside police headquarters while Hannibal is being interrogated inside. The police naturally assume they have the wrong man and let Hannibal go.
367* The FinalBattle between Henry and [[BigBad Akan]] in ''Film/HardcoreHenry'' ends with Henry ''ripping out his own eye socket'' and using it to decapitate Akan.
368* Creator/OwenWilson's character in ''Film/TheHaunting1999'' is stunningly decapitated by the giant flue in the fireplace.
369* In ''Film/TheHazing'', Professor Kapps causes Roy to be decapitated by a detour sign.
370* ''Film/{{Hazmat}}'': Jacob cuts Gary's head off, and then throws it in view of the camera so the others in the control room can see it.
371* In ''Film/HeadlessHorseman'', Headless makes all of his kills by decapitation as he needs to deliver the heads to Hell to keep his end of the bargian.
372* A third violence-related theme in ''Film/Hellboy2019'', lots of folks get forcefully relieved of their heads.
373* Pinhead from the ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' series would usually tear people apart with chained hooks (hooked chains?) but in the fourth movie, ''Film/HellraiserBloodline'', he shot a bladed chain at a guy's neck. After the blade punctured the neck, it unfolded and on the reverse move decapitated the poor s.o.b. Have a nice day.
374* ''Film/{{Hereditary}}'' has a disturbing example with Charlie, a little girl, getting her head ripped off by a telephone pole. Her severed head shows up a few more times later in the film.
375* The Hong Kong film ''Film/HeroicTrio'' has a villain who has a chain weapon that cuts people's heads off in an almost identical manner ''Film/MasterOfTheFlyingGuillotine'' to the point where it is probably a ShoutOut.
376* ''Film/AHiddenLife'': Franz and other prisoners are put to death by guillotine.
377* This is the only way to kill an Immortal in the ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}'' series, any other damage is healed.
378* ''Film/HitchhikerMassacre'': The killer chops Tom's girlfriend's head off and stores it in an organ container.
379* Happens surgically in ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy2005'', when Humma Kavula takes one of [[TheDitz Zaphod Beeblebrox's]] heads as collateral before their trip to Magrathea.
380* ''Film/TheHobbit'':
381** At the Battle of Azanulbizar, as relayed in a flashback; Azog the Pale Orc beheaded Thrór and [[DecapitationPresentation held it up for all to see]], before throwing the head at Thorin's feet.
382** In ''[[Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney An Unexpected Journey]]'', one of the gargantuan stony giants has its head knocked off by a boulder flung by another such giant.
383** In ''[[Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug The Desolation of Smaug]]'', Legolas kills an orc by beheading him with two blades when the orc is mid-air.
384* In ''Film/HoboWithAShotgun'', Drake decapitates his brother Lloyd using a barbed wire noose attached to Slick and Ivan's car.
385* In ''Film/TheHollow'', the HeadlessHorseman dispatches his victims by decapitating them with a cavalry sabre.
386* In ''Film/HorrorsOfTheBlackMuseum'', the killer uses a portable guillotine to decapitate Joan in her bed.
387* Vincent uses his twin knives to decapitate Dalton after he falls over in ''Film/HouseOfWax2005''.
388* In ''Film/HudsonHawk'', a villain with two blades hidden up his sleeves attacks the titular Hawk, who retaliates by ''making the man cut off his head''.
389* In ''Film/TheIcePirates'', [[Creator/AnjelicaHuston Maida]] takes a swipe at an attacker, then asks, in a solicitous tone, "Feeling better?" The bad guy appears to be about to nod...and then collapses in two unequal pieces.
390* In ''Film/IdleHands'', The Offspring's Dexter Holland gets decapitated.
391* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'': the temple protecting the Holy Grail opens with a death trap that decapitates one mook [[GoryDiscretionShot just off-camera]] and several more off-screen. Indy notes the clue that "only the penitent man will pass" and realizes, at the last second, that a penitent man would kneel before God, allowing him to pass unscathed.
392* ''Film/InTheCut'': Beheading victims is the killer’s MO.
393* ''Film/JeepersCreepers'': The Creeper beheads a police officer with an axe while the man is driving a car.
394* ''Film/JeepersCreepers2'': The Creeper traps a student with his wings and beheads him, leaving his body to exaggeratedly move around and flail his arms in the air for a few seconds before collapsing. The creeper then consumes the head in order to grow himself a new one.
395* In the movie ''Film/JohnnyMnemonic'', the assassin was told to come back with Johnny's head, as it contained a cybernetic brain implant which had important information in it.
396* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'':
397** ''Film/JurassicParkIII'': The ''Spinosaurus'' appears to bite Nash's head off the second after its foot instantly crushes him to death.
398** ''Film/JurassicWorld'': After flipping over and immobilizing an '' Ankylosaur'', rather than attack her exposed underside, the ''Indominus Rex'' wraps her jaws around her head and bites. It's [[GoryDiscretionShot offscreen]], however.
399* ''Film/JurassicPrey'': When Sparks finds Beach's body, he finds his head's been bitten off.
400** The dinosaur also bites the head off Sparks and Cutler's partner.
401* ''Film/{{Kate}}'': This is how the climactic duel between Renji and Kijima is decided.
402* O-Ren Ishii does this to Boss Tanaka for [[BerserkButton insulting her heritage]] in ''Film/KillBill'' Volume 1.
403** The Bride also deals out several decapitations during the big battle with the Crazy 88.
404** Variation in the end: The Bride doesn't cut O-Ren's whole head off... but she ''scalps'' her by cutting off the top of it.
405* ''Film/KillerParty'': During Goat Night, Vivia fakes her own decapitation with a guillotine. During the April Fools Party, the killer uses it to kill Albert for real.
406* ''Film/{{Killersaurus}}'': In the opening scene, one of the scientists goes into the printing room to check on the dinosaur, and is promptly attacked. Afterwards, her severed head flies out of the room.
407* Trevor Nunn bookends his film ''Film/LadyJane'' with decapitations.
408* Double subverted and PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/LesVisiteurs'': an English knight who fought the French king and Godefroy seemingly gets his head cut off, but it turns out he actually ducked under the armor's breastplate. He peeks his head out with a confident smirk and gets his head cut off for real for his trouble.
409* In ''Film/DeLift'', a security guard gets his head stuck between the closed doors of the titular elevator, and then is decapitated by the elevator itself.
410* In ''Film/LizzieBordensRevenge'', Lizzie decapitates Janice with a single swing of her axe.
411* ''Film/TheLongestNite'' has a couple of examples, one onscreen and one off. Tony, the triad informant, murders one of his bosses and hid his head in a duffel bag in order to [[FrameUp frame his immediate rival, Sam]] for muder; and in the final shootout Tony gets his head sheared off by a sliding glass sheet.
412* Happens several times in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' movies:
413** Aragorn does this to Lurtz, the Uruk-Hai badass who [[HeroKiller killed Boromir]] in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing The Fellowship of the Ring]]''.
414*** One of the Nazgûl does this to a Hobbit watchman, though the scene cuts away before the head is sheared off.
415** ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers]]'': Uglúk chops off Snaga's head when he won't stop trying to eat Merry and Pippin, and Aragorn decapitates an Orc in the Warg attack.
416** ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'' has three examples:
417*** Éowyn chops the head off the Witch-King's Fell-Beast before facing him in person. It takes at least two strokes before the thing's head is severed.
418*** In the extended edition, the nasty-looking orc general who survived everything the Battle of the Pelennor Fields had to offer and was chasing Éowyn around gets his other arm sliced off, two axes in his chest, and his head chopped off by Gimli and Aragorn. Just to make sure he's DeaderThanDead.
419*** Also in the extended edition, Aragorn does this to the Mouth of Sauron.
420* In ''Film/TheMadMagician'', Gallico murders Ormond by using 'The Lady and the Buzzsaw' illusion to decapitate him.
421* One character is decapitated in ''Film/{{Madman}}'' when she tries to fix her car, and the killer jumps on the open hood she's being under. Another character has his head chopped off with an axe offscreen.
422* When Film/MadDogMorgan is shot by the police, the BigBad HangingJudge Cobham orders the doctor to remove the outlaw's head.
423* In ''Film/Madhouse1974'', Paul discovers that Ellen has been decapitated when he shakes her shoulder and her head falls off.
424* In ''Film/{{Magadheera}}'', the battle between the warrior Kala Bhairava and the traitor Ranadev Billa ends with Bhairava shoving his sword through his opponent's face, and ripping Ranadev's entire head off from the neck. In the final scene '''400''' years later, the same sword was retrieved, and Ranadev's skull is still stuck in its blade, having being embedded on the spot for four centuries.
425* This is how the corrupt attorney Jordan Kalfus dies in ''Film/ManOnFire''. Creasy finds his decapitated corpse floating in his pool, with a {{katana|sAreJustBetter}} lying nearby.
426* ''Film/MartialArtsOfShaolin'' ends with the heroine, Sima-Yan, killing the BigBad Lord He by decapitation, [[YouKilledMyFather avenging her father's murder by the villain]].
427* ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'' has Neo decapitating an Agent Smith-possessed bad guy with a jack handle.
428* The decapitation from ''Film/ThreeHundred'' above is spoofed in ''Film/MeetTheSpartans'' when Captain's son is decapitated, and his headless body gives a "peace out" gesture before it falls.
429* In ''Film/TheMidnightMeatTrain'', the killer takes out one victim by hitting him so hard with a meat tenderizer that his head goes flying across the train car. For added {{Narm}}, the camera cuts to the point of view of the victim's head.
430* In ''Film/{{Mohawk}}'', Oak removes Yancy's head and leaves it staked on a stick for Allsopp to find.
431* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''. The knight Bors has his head bitten off by the [[KillerRabbit Rabbit of Caerbannog]].
432* In ''Film/MostLikelyToDie'', The Graduate murders Bella by [[SlashedThroat slashing her throat]], then ripping her head off with his hands.
433* ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy'':
434** In ''Film/TheMummy1999'', Rick O'Connell decapitates a mummy, and it falls "dead" after the head spins for a bit. Then he decapitates another, and it starts juggling with the head, only falling "dead" after Rick hits the head [[PaintingTheMedium towards the camera]].
435** In ''Film/TheMummyReturns'', the only way to kill an Anubis Warrior is by taking off its head.
436* In ''Film/MurdersInTheRueMorgue1971'', Marot murders Cesar by beheading with an axe.
437* ''Film/Napoleon1927'' starts during the ReignOfTerror phase of UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, so of course the guillotine gets put to used -- and a few of the [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolutionMajorFigures politicians]] who advocated/led said reign of terror suffer this fate themselves. This was, of course, the case in RealLife as well.
438* The same as above for ''Film/Napoleon2023''.
439* All of the victims in ''Film/NightSchool1981'' are murdered by having being decapitated with [[KukrisAreKool a kukri]].
440* ''Film/NobodySleepsInTheWoodsTonight'': Ms. Iza stays behind to take on one of the twins to try and get Daniel's cellphone. Some time later, her head is thrown out of the basement entrance under the front steps of the house.
441* Lula is introduced in ''Film/NowYouSeeMe2'' using a RubeGoldbergDevice to fake her own decapitation.
442* The death of the reporter Keith Jennings from ''Film/TheOmen1976'', one of Hollywood's very first onscreen decapitations, when a sheet of glass is launched from a truck in front of him and shears the guy's head off in horrific fashion. It's still considered by horror buffs to be one of the best deaths ever filmed.
443* ''Film/OneNightInOctober'': After Emma kills her stalker, she walks out of the room holding his severed bloody skull with still-attached hair in one hand, and his spine in the other.
444* In ''Film/PatrickStillLives'', Sheryl is decapitated by her car's electric window.
445* ''Film/{{Peppermint}}'': Just before the attack on Riley North's family, [[BigBad Diego Garcia]] is shown taking a kukri to lop off the head of a would-be thief. The actual decapitation isn't depicted, just a big splash of blood on a nearby statue after showing the start of Garcia's swing.
446* In ''Film/ThePhantomOftheOpera1998'', the rat catcher's dwarf assistant is decapitated by one of the blade's from the rat-hunting machine.
447* In ''Film/PigHunt'', the cult leader decapitates one of the rednecks with a single stroke from his [[KukrisAreKool kukri]].
448* The titular antagonistic species in the ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' series decapitate their victims to collect their skulls and sometimes do so in combat, the most infamous instance being the death of King Willie in ''Film/{{Predator 2}}''.
449** Royce kills the lead Predator in ''Film/{{Predators}}'' by decapitating him with a machete.
450* ''Film/ThePrincess2022'': How the Princess kills Julius.
451* ''Film/{{Pumpkins}}'': Early in the movie, a guy who's out camping with his girlfriend gets out to take a leak. When he returns to the tent, the girl discovers, to her horror, he has no head.
452* ''Film/Rampage2018'': Near the end, Ralph gets his head ''eaten'' by Lizzie.
453* Near the end of Akira Kurosawa's ''Film/{{Ran}}'', Kurogane decapitates Lady Kaede. Much blood spatter ensues.
454* ''Film/RedwoodMassacreAnnihilation'': The Redwood killer does in Tom by lopping his head off with a single swing of his blade.
455** At the end, Laura kills the Redwood killer by chopping his head off.
456* ''Film/ReturnOfTheScarecrow'': The scarecrow kills Claire in Jolene's story by ripping Clare's head off with its bare hands.
457* In ''Film/RipperLetterFromHell'', Chantel is decapitated by a buzzsaw during the LumberMillMayhem.
458* ''Film/Severance2006'': Two characters discuss decapitation as a possible death and how long the head can remain aware even after it's severed. Guess how one of them dies. No, go on, guess...
459* In ''Film/ShowdownInLittleTokyo'', Yakuza boss Yoshida does this to Angel with his katana in a ruthless KickTheDog moment for warning Tanaka, his previous victim, about him behind his back.
460* In ''Film/ShredderOrpheus'', when Orpheus fails the rigged game show, the Furies decapitate him with a chainsaw as punishment.
461* In ''Film/{{Slashers}}'', Dr. Ripper cuts off Brenda's head using his [[ShearMenace oversized surgical shears]].
462* The ''Film/SleepawayCamp'' movies have this happen in [[OncePerEpisode every film.]]
463-->'''Angela:''' [[LampshadeHanging It seems every year I'm at camp someone loses their head.]]
464** The first film has it happen to Paul ''off-screen.''
465** [[Film/SleepawayCampIIUnhappyCampers The second film]] has it happen to Sean.
466** [[Film/SleepawayCampIIITeenageWasteland The third film]], this happens to Arab, when sticking her head out of the tent.
467* Obviously, almost every single death in ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'', due to the Headless Horseman's head fixation.
468** As well as ''Film/HeadlessHorseman'', which unleashes him on the modern-day south, including one incredibly badass kill that has him leaping over a car and taking the driver's head off on the way.
469* In ''Film/SleepyHollowHigh'', the HeadlessHorseman kills all of his victims by decapitating them with a sword.
470* In the climax of ''Film/{{Speed}}'' Jack Traven pushes Howard Payne against a stop light while on top of a speeding subway train causing the fixture to knock his head off his body.
471* ''Film/StarshipTroopers'': The flying Hopper Bugs are able to swoop down and decapitate humans with their claws mid-flight. At least two unfortunate troopers meet their demise this way.
472* ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' features a starship version when Krall's [[ZergRush swarm attack]] slices through the neck of the ''Enterprise'', separating the saucer from the stardrive section.
473* This trope is not uncommon in ''Franchise/StarWars'' thanks to the iconic LaserBlade weapon, the lightsaber.
474** Anakin [[AnArmAndALeg literally disarms]] Count Dooku in ''[[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Episode III]]'' and takes his lightsaber, scissoring the twin blades between Dooku's neck. Anakin is hesitant to kill him, but when Palpatine urges him to, he snips Dooku's head off with the joined blades.
475** Mace Windu kills off Jango Fett in ''[[Film/AttackOfTheClones Episode II]]'' this way.
476** Luke's fight with the [[ShadowArchetype shadow]] form of Darth Vader in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''.
477** Also in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' Yoda beheads Commander Gree and a clone scout trooper sent to assassinate him, and Mace Windu attempts to do this to Darth Sidious but is [[SaveTheVillain prevented]] (ironically, considering what he did to Count Dooku) by Anakin.
478** Many, many droids get beheaded throughout the prequel movies since the Jedi don't have the same compunctions about destroying them versus killing a sentient being.
479** At least one of the PraetorianGuard gets beheaded by Kylo Ren after they attack [[EnemyMine him and Rey]] in ''Film/TheLastJedi''.
480* The movie ''Film/StreetTrash'' has an exceptionally bizarre decapitation during the climax. The target's head is blown off by a fire extinguisher ''launched like a rocket'', and survives ''just'' long enough to look up a woman's skirt and leer approvingly.
481* ''Film/SwampShark'': While Deputy Cooper is spying on some kids making out, the shark leaps out of the water and bited his head off mid-jump.
482* The martial arts movie ''Film/TenTigersFromKwangtung'' notably ends with the main villain's head being ''kicked'' clean off his shoulders. Said villain is hanging from the ceiling by the legs, so when his head goes off it predictably comes with a waterfall of blood.
483* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'':
484** ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'': Marcus Wright rips the prototype T-800's head off to defeat it.
485** ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'': Kyle ends up killing the T-800 sent to 1984 by shooting its head off with the .50 caliber rifle.
486* ''Film/TerrorBirds'': The titular birds kill a few people over the course of the movie by biting their heads off.
487* ''Film/TheTheatreBizarre'': In "Sweets", the {{Evil Chef}}s cut off Greg's head before they butcher him for the [[ImAHumanitarian cannibal feast]].
488* ''Film/TheThirdSaturdayInOctoberPartV'': Jack Harding kills PJ's father by simply yanking his head right off his body while still wearing his football helmet.
489* In ''Film/ThirteenSins'', a group of motorcyclists are decapitated ([[AnArmAndALeg and lose limbs]]) to a RazorFloss steel cable stretched across the road.
490* ''Film/TimberFalls'': During the final escape, Sheryl decapitates Ida with a [[SinisterScythe sickle]].
491* ''Film/TortureGarden'': The evil cat in "Enoch" demands that the heads of the victims his servants kill for him have their heads removed. When Colin can no longer kill people because he is imprisoned, the cat visits him in his cell. When the constable next checks on him, Colin headless corpse is lying on his bunk.
492* Lord [=DeVere=] is executed this way at the beginning of ''Film/TowerOfLondon''.
493* ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'':
494** In ''Film/Transformers2007'', Optimus Prime dispatches Bonecrusher by stabbing him through the neck and wrenching his head from his body.
495** Ramjet is killed this way in ''[[ComicBookAdaptation Reign of Starscream]]'' #5. Right after mocking the Autobot he was trying to kill for "not using his head", he's beheaded by Crosshairs.
496** ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'':
497*** Optimus doesn't just chop the Fallen's head off, he ''tears it off''. It's not a nice, clean cut either. He only rips his face off, and you can see the Fallen vomiting up his equivalent of blood as he dies. BewareTheNiceOnes, indeed.
498*** Optimus also rips Grindor's head in two.
499*** Jetfire finishes off Mixmaster this way after [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisecting him]].
500** Optimus sure likes this, as evidenced in ''[[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon Dark of the Moon]]'' by Megatron's head, lying some distance from his body with an axe lodged in it.
501** In ''[[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction Age of Extinction]]'', Bumblebee finishes off [[EvilKnockoff Stinger]] this way.
502** In ''[[Film/TransformersTheLastKnight The Last Knight]]'', Optimus kills all five Infernocons in one fell swoop by decapitating them after they separate from Infernocus, asking them did they forget who he is when they dare charge at him. Onslaught is decapitated by Drift, who remarks "His fat head!" Mohawk finds his comrade's head before the same fate befalls him too when Bumblebee shoots him, and later Nitro Zeus as well.
503* In ''Film/TheTripper'', the killer decapitates the old MountainMan Wilson with a single stroke of his axe.
504* ''Film/TriassicWorld'': When things start to go downhill, it's kicked off by a security guard trying to warn everyone before getting his head bitten off by a dinosaur.
505* ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'': The only way to dispose of vampires is to decapitate them and burn their bodies. While this happens sparingly in the books (Bella, the narrator, tends to black out or run away when faced with danger), the films have no such limitations. Every single film has at least one character getting decapitated, reaching its culmination in Alice's vision of the Cullen vs. Volturi battle in ''Breaking Dawn - Part 2'', where dozens of vampires, including some of the good guys, are shown decapitated onscreen.
506* ''Film/TheUndertaker'': At the end of the movie, [[BigBad Roscoe]] is revealed to have decapitated Mandy when he holds up her severed head.
507* ''Film/UnderTheBed'': The monster kills one of the Evans boys by ripping his head off with its bare hands.
508* Happens several times in the ''Film/Underworld2003'' series.
509** The most well-known example is somewhat of a variation, as Selene doesn't quite locate Viktor's neck with her sword and instead cuts his head ''in half'' to kill him.
510** William in the sequel meets a similar fate to Victor, losing the top half of his head to Michael rather suddenly.
511* ''Film/{{Valentine}}'': After Dorothy's party, Kate finds the head of Detective Vaughn floating in the fishpond.
512* In ''Film/VampiresVsZombies'', decapitation is one certain way to kill a vampire. The General takes Tessa's head off with an axe, while Travis uses a saw to cut off the head of the Jeep driver.
513* ''{{Film/Vamps}}'': Cisserus beheads and dismembers one of her victims fairly early in the film. Later she's killed by beheading herself.
514* ''Film/WarCraft2016'':
515** Large amounts of people and orcs are killed either by beheading or having the skull crushed. The probability of the latter rises exponentially whenever Orgrim is on screen.
516** To stop Medivh's golem from finishing Portal incantation, Lothar cuts its head off, although this doesn't kill the thing.
517* ''Film/TheWindmillMassacre'': The Miller kills Douglas by looping a rope around his neck and then attaching one end to one of the windmill's vanes and holding on to the other. As the vane turns, the rope tightens till his head pops off.
518* In ''Film/{{Wishcraft}}'', the killer subjects Cody to a SandNecktie and then knocks his head off with a [[WeaponizedBall bowling ball]].
519* Several people are quite headless by the end of ''Film/TheWolfman2010''.
520* Partly done to the Blank version of Oliver Chamberlian in ''Film/TheWorldsEnd''.
521* ''Film/WrongTurn4BloodyBeginnings'':
522** Claire is decapitated by the hillbillies' wire noose.
523** Sara and Kenia are beheaded with razor wire the cannibals spread as a trap when they attempt to leave on a snowmobile.
524* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
525** ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''; the title character talks about wanting to decapitate his big brother, but only end up beheading "Weapon XI" (ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, in this version an experimented up Wade Wilson).
526** In ''Film/TheWolverine'': Logan uses one of the Silver Samurai's own swords against him, slicing the head off with it. Unfortunately that doesn't stop it.
527*** Yukio manages to snag Viper with a wire then ties it to an elevator, dragging her into it. A rigging coming down the shaft tags her in the head as she's being pulled up and...yeah.
528** Iceman by a Sentinel during the first battle of ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''. Two {{Cosmic Retcon}}s later, he's back alive.
529** ''Film/Deadpool2016'': Wade takes a few heads with his katanas. One unlucky motorcycle mook loses his head to his own motorcycle's broken drive chain in the horrific crash in the opening fight. In the big final fight, Deadpool beheads one mook, then soccer-kicks the head into another mook's face. He uses it afterwards to dot the "i" of "Francis".
530* ''Film/YakuzaApocalypse'': After beating Kamiura in combat, Mad Dog grabs his head and twists it 360 degrees... twice, before finally ripping it off.
531[[/folder]]
532
533[[folder:Literature]]
534* Many know the trope name from ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', in which the Queen of Hearts shouts "Off with his head!" and "Off with her head!" and "Off with their heads!" to order the execution of almost everyone at the croquet game. It isn't until the Creator/TimBurton version that the Queen is actually seen to have gone through with it, though. Every other time, victims were pardoned behind her back by [[HenpeckedHusband the King]].
535-->'''The Gryphon:''' It's all her fancy, that: they never executes nobody, you know.
536* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': Visser Three's preferred method of execution, though he's a fan of torture as well.
537* Literature/AnitaBlake often requests this (if she can't do it herself) for crazy old/powerful vampires/shapeshifters to ensure they're DeaderThanDead.
538* ''Literature/Area51'':
539** A government official is assassinated through being shot in the head with a .50 caliber bullet. That alone destroys his head overall-then the assassin fires into his head ''again'', to completely destroy it.
540** Al-Iblis has Saddam Hussein killed by one of his top military advisors, who shoots him repeatedly in the head until there's nothing left (changed to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with the e-book, which updated things).
541** Airlia can only be killed with certainty by [[RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain having their head severed or brain itself destroyed]], so this happens multiple times.
542* In ''Literature/ArmageddonForce'', this is how the main villain is dispatched; he gets punched so hard (the arm is cybernetic) that his head flies off.
543* ''Literature/TheBarbarianAndTheSorceress'': This is how Barnabus is killed.
544* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'':
545** Nesessitas' final fate, courtesy of Puxdool the troll.
546** Bazil kills Gog Zagozt by decapitating him.
547* This is the fate of Prince Baird at the end of the third ''Literature/BekaCooper'' book for his role as the willing figurehead of the conspiracy against his brother King Roger. (For the record, Baird got off ''lightly''. Everyone else was drawn and quartered.)
548* In "Literature/BeyondTheBlackRiver", Zogar Sag has his enemies decapitated so their heads can be offered on an altar.
549* "The Black Velvet Ribbon" ends with a man snipping the ribbon his wife always wears and her head tumbling to the floor, repeating the warning she gave him about the ribbon.
550* ''Literature/BloodyJack'': Jacky has a date with Madame Guillotine in ''My Bonny Light Horseman''.
551* ''Literature/TheBoundless'': Near the end of the book, Brogan is caught by the now-escaped [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Goliath]], who rips his head off his shoulders and sticks it on a tree.
552* In the third book of the ''Literature/ChristCloneTrilogy'', the main protagonist Decker Hawthorne gets his head lopped off by TheAntichrist with a sword.
553* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfDorsa'':
554** Joslyn kills Ty'Tsana by beheading her with a single swordstroke.
555** Later, she also kills the Prince of Shadows this way as well, with Tasia's help.
556** The deathless king is also killed by Joslyn this way, again with help from Tasia.
557* ''Literature/CiaphasCain'': In ''Duty Calls'', Ciaphas uses his {{chains|awGood}}word to decapitate a psyker cultist who was trying to assassinate him.
558* ''Literature/CobaltBlue'': The Fury of Russia loves doing this to those he's defeated... using his bare hands.
559* ''Literature/DarkShores'': Basically, the surest way to kill a corrupted is to cut its head, as the life they have stolen from others allows them to heal even fatal injuries, like being spiked with arrows. Slicing the spine or crashing the skull also works in some cases.
560* ''Literature/DaughterOfTheSun'': Orsina beheads Aelia's human form to banish her and make her regenerate another, which normally would take a very long time.
561* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
562** In ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', it's revealed that yetis can survive this (or, presumably, other causes of death, but this is the specific method used to demonstrate the ability) by, basically, SaveScumming. Becomes a ChekhovsGun when Lu-Tze, in desperate gambit, uses it to survive Mr White beheading him. This made the Auditors shifted their attention to Unity long enough for Lu-Tze to {{Save Scum|ming}} back and kills Mr White with chocolate.
563** Referenced in ''Literature/ReaperMan'', when the narration brings up the negotiations between [[ManOfTheCity Vetinari]] and [[WizardingSchool Unseen University]] about whether or not the latter will pay taxes. The appropriate passage reads:
564--->The wizards argued that you couldn't put a tax on knowledge. Vetinari said that yes you could, and it was two hundred dollars per capita. If per capita was a problem, ''de'' capita could be arranged.
565* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has this as the default punishment for breaking the laws of magic. Wardens typically carry a CoolSword for this purpose, since even they are beholden to the law that ThouShaltNotKill Using Magic.
566* In ''Literature/TheExecutioner'', when TheMafia boss says, "Bring me his head", [[DemandingTheirHead he often means it literally]]. Bolan has to decapitate a man while posing as a [[ProfessionalKiller Black Ace]], whilst in another novel to stop the notorious OneManArmy from killing them all TheDragon hands over the heads of his Mafia bosses by floating them across a lake to Bolan in a boat.
567* Lady Midday from ''Literature/ExperimentalFilm'' appears to laborers at exactly noon, and decapitates anyone who isn't perfectly respectful.
568* Very common in ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'', were defeated generals are beheaded so that their heads may be exposed for all to see. There are a few cases where the receiver though resist the attempt due to his supernatural powers, such as Ma Shan (he's actually a flaming lampwick), Yu Yuan (he's just that though), Hu Lei (can revive himself somehow), Yuan Hong (can regrow a new head istantly) and Daji herself (she's so beautiful she charms any executioner).
569* Aulis of ''Literature/TheFirstDwarfKing'' kills the [[BigBad Demon Lord]] by chopping off all three of the latter's heads at once.
570* ''Literature/ForestKingdom'':
571** In Book 2 (''Blood and Honor''), the skeleton monster Bloody Bones is dispatched via decapitation with an anti-magic axe. Being a Transient Being, this won't kill him permanently, but it's enough to stop him for the time being.
572** In Book 4 (''Beyond the Blue Moon''), the crime boss St. Christophe is finished off this way.
573* "The Fur Collar" ends with the heroine reaching out into the darkness and touching the fur collar of her friend's bathrobe...only to find that there's now nothing above it.
574* ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'':
575** In ''First & Only'', this is how the Inquisitor Heldane deals with the doctor who objects to his coming into the infirmary; it is told from the POV of the doctor, who sees his own boots and only then realizes that he lost his head.
576** In ''Traitor General'', Uexkull kills the local commander this way when [[YouHaveFailedMe he fails]] to search for Gaunt and his men as a top priority.
577* In ''Literature/GreyKnights'', Justicar Tancred finishes off the fallen Saint Evisser reanimated by lopping his head off.
578* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
579** Nearly Headless Nick is decapitated, but his head stays attached to his body by some remaining flesh and remains that way in his ghostly form.
580** There are also properly decapitated ghosts that can throw their heads around at will and have formed "The Headless Hunt" which refuses to allow Nick to join.
581** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' Hagrid reveals that Karkus, the gurg of the giants who was sympathetic to the Order's cause, was decapitated and replaced by a usurper with Death Eater ties.
582** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Neville chops off Nagini's head with the sword of Gryffindor. After pulling it out of the flaming Sorting Hat.
583* In Isabel Allende's "Literature/TheHouseOfSpirits", Clara's mother Nívea has her head cut off when she and her husband Severo perish in a crash car and a metal shard beheads her. Her head goes flying and isn't found until much, ''much'' later, when Clara is about to give birth to Blanca: she gets a vision of said head and goes searching for it with Esteban and some servants.
584* ''Literature/JamesBond'':
585** The dying leader of SPECTRE in ''Literature/NobodyLivesForEver'' organizes a literal headhunt for Bond, as the person who manages to kill him is [[DemandingTheirHead required to bring his head to the leader]] [[DecapitationPresentation on a silver charger]] to claim his prize of ten million Swiss francs.
586** A backstory detail in ''Literature/NeverSendFlowers'' concerns of a SerialKiller who believed that an Egyptian Goddess spoke to him, and decapitated four women on her orders.
587** After being bested in a duel, the eponymous villain in ''Literature/TheManWithTheRedTattoo'' commits {{Seppuku}}, and his friend finishes the ritual by decapitating him.
588** As Bond and fellow agent try to TheDragon out of a train window in ''Literature/DevilMayCare'', they suddenly enter a tunnel, and he ends up decapitated.
589* ''Literature/LandOfOz'':
590** In ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', our heroes are beset by a pack of vicious wolves. The Tin Woodsman swings his axe and decapitates one wolf, then decapitates another with a single axe swing, then another, then another; every swing of his axe separated a wolf's head from its shoulders. By the time he was done, there was a great big pile of headless wolf bodies lying at his feet.
591** Princess Langwidere from ''Literature/OzmaOfOz'' has a unique non-fatal example. As she collects heads to swap with her own on certain days to suit her mood which comes with different personalities, and she attempts to force Dorothy to trade her head for one she doesn't mind letting go from her collection (which is a case of BlueAndOrangeMorality, as the Princess thinks it is a perfectly fair and equitable deal -- even generous, and simply can't understand why Dorothy objects).
592* In the ''Literature/LeftBehind'' book series, this is done through guillotines (referred to as "loyalty enforcement facilitators") on the general populace to enforce the law of taking the "[[MarkOfTheBeast mark of loyalty]]" during the Tribulation.
593* The HeadlessHorseman in ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' was a Hessian trooper who was decapitated by a cannonball, and they were unable to find his head.
594* "Literature/LetsGetTogether": When Lynn shoots Breckenridge, he hits the neck, causing TheMole's head to roll around on the floor.
595* This is a favorite kind of death in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'', especially as the Steel Ministry loves to dual-wield obsidian axes. There are the mass executions in ''The Final Empire'', the first Steel Minister seen killed, and most brutally to the reader Elend Venture, possibly intentionally on his part at the climax of ''The Hero of Ages''. Another memorable example is Elend killing his former best friend Jastes this way, the first person he ever kills.
596* In ''Literature/{{Mockingjay}}'', Finnick Odair is killed by having his head bitten off by giant white lizard mutts.
597* ''Literature/AnOutcastInAnotherWorld'': This is how Rob kills his first two people. He looks away from the second one, but that doesn't help his mental state much.
598* In ''Literature/ThePaladin'', Shoka and Taizu are good enough with a sword to decapitate with seeming ease.
599* This is Mary Crane's ultimate fate in ''Literature/{{Psycho}}''.
600* ''Literature/APoisonDarkAndDrowning'': Queen Mab kills Whitechurch by cutting his head off with a sword.
601* ''Literature/TheReluctantKing'': The city state of Xylar operates under an odd custom where after five years each of their kings is publicly beheaded. At that point, his head is thrown into the crowd, with whoever catches this then becoming their next king. However, they have to suffer the same fate once their own five years are up. Jorian however escaped.
602* In ''Literature/RevoltingRhymes'', the story of Cinderella has one of the ugly stepsisters replace the glass slipper with one of her own shoes, so [[TheGirlWhoFitsThisSlipper it naturally fits]]. Horrified at the thought of marrying someone so ugly and obnoxious, the Prince cuts the ugly stepsister's head off in one blow, then does the same to the other sister when she offers to try on the shoe. Cinderella, horrified that her "Prince Charming" [[PrinceCharmless chops people's heads off at the slightest provocation]], decides to wash her hands of the whole thing and gets the Fairy Godmother to set her up with a humble jam-maker instead.
603* Merlin does this several times in the ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' novels. Often with comments by observers on the fact that normal people aren't physically capable of cutting people's heads off with a single swing. Of course, Merlin is a [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots PICA]] with a battle steel katana, not a normal person.
604* ''Literature/TheSagaOfTheJomsvikings'': After the Battle of Hjorunga Bay, seventy Jomsvikings who have failed to get away are taken prisoner by the Norwegians, and are set to be executed by beheading. One by one, ten Vikings get decapitated until their death-defiance impresses the captors sufficiently they pardon the rest.
605* Robert Olen Butler's book ''Severance'' consists entirely of vignettes presenting the imagined last thoughts of decapitation victims throughout history (including a few non-humans and the occasional fictional character). Very weird, quite fascinating.
606* ''Literature/AShadowBrightAndBurning'': When On-Tez the Vulture Lady, one of the seven [[EldritchAbomination Ancients]] released into the world years ago, sends one of her ravens (a human {{Familiar}}) to UsefulNotes/{{London}}, one of its first attacks tears a man's head off.
607* ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror'':
608** After Dayless conquered Hamahra and executed the queen, her young daughter swore to subject him to a CruelAndUnusualDeath for his treason. Dayless responded by [[WouldHurtAChild lopping her head off]].
609** After destroying Daybreak, Dayless's Archknight advisor turned on him and attacked. Knowing that some Archknights possess a powerful HealingFactor, Dayless [[DecapitationRequired went for the head]].
610** A beggar [[MuggingTheMonster tries]] to rob and murder Daylen in an alleyway, which ends with said beggar's severed head pinned to a wall with a dagger.
611** When Daylen and Lyrah catch two men in the act of AttemptedRape, she cuts both their heads off with blinding speed. This might have been a mercy, as Daylen [[CripplingCastration castrated]] the last man he caught in such a situation.
612** Daylen's use of [[AbsurdCuttingPower Imperious]] and Lyrah's [[MasterOfOneMagic massive]] SuperStrength means that any fight either of them is in is likely to involve a decapitation or two, alongside their targets being HalfTheManHeUsedToBe.
613* ''Literature/SirGawainAndTheGreenKnight'': The Green Knight dares anyone to chop his head off with his own battle-axe. Sir Gawain chops off the Green Knight's head, only to have the Green Knight pick his own head up, and place it back upon his shoulders.
614* Somewhat subverted in ''Literature/SnowCrash''. While Hiro does actually manage to decapitate someone with his katana, he muses to himself how difficult it is to actually kill someone in this manner, and considers himself lucky that he managed it rather than getting his sword lodged in his victim's vertebrae.
615* Last two sentences of ''Someone Is Bleeding'' by Creator/RichardMatheson read as follows:
616-->And when they took away the thing that Peggy was fondling in her lap she said they mustn’t. She said they had to let her keep his head because she loved the man.
617* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
618** The first book, ''Literature/AGameOfThrones'', has the rather shocking end of the road for Ned Stark, firmly planting the AnyoneCanDie aspect of the series. Also, the fate of several lesser characters declared traitors by the crown, including some poor, innocent dwarfs.
619** Also in the first book, Gregor Clegane decapitates his own horse during the tourney scene.
620** The entire series grew from Creator/GeorgeRRMartin's vision of a man being beheaded whilst a young boy watched. He wrote the scene and found it expanding into a second chapter and then a third. Thus, the first book was born.
621** However, the only "clean" decapitations are done with [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Valyrian steel swords]], or headsman's axes designed for this very purpose. Decapitations using other weapons are usually done in three or more strokes.
622* ''Literature/SoThisIsEverAfter'': Arek slew the Vile One this way, though it's harder than he expected with his sword having been pretty dull.
623* ''Literature/SplitHeirs'': Gorgarians tend to use beheading as their go-to killing method.
624* In ''Literature/StarfleetCorpsOfEngineers'', Soloman's Bynar partner is decapitated by a flying InsectoidAlien's scythe-like appendage. Rather than return to Bynar to be paired with another of his kind, Soloman chooses to stay with the ship, trying to learn to be a singular being.
625* Creator/CharlesDeLint's novel ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Svaha-Charles-Lint/dp/0312876505/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234305187&sr=8-1 Svaha]]'' has at least two scenes where characters (one of them the BigBad) get decapitated in fairly gory detail.
626* ''Literature/TheSunneInSplendour'': The expansive novel takes place during The War of the Roses, so there's many beheadings, with more than one major character meeting his end this way. Early on, a young Francis Lovell witnesses an execution and becomes sick. He's consoled and then befriended by a young Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
627* ''Literature/SwansBraidAndOtherTalesOfTerizan'': In "Swan's Braid" Swan beheaded the bandits whom she tracked down with her band. Later she also wants to behead Councilor Saladaz after discovering he aided them. He is beheaded with two other Councilors for this later.
628* ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'': This turns out to be one of the only ways someone can be killed ''permanently'' as otherwise magical resurrection could be done. Sam kills Mizzamir in this manner near the end.
629* ''Literature/WolfHall'' is about the reign of Henry VIII through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell, so. The beheadings of Sir Thomas More and Bishop Fisher occur in the first book. The second, ''Bring Up the Bodies'', has the famed execution of Anne Boleyn carried out by a specialist from France to ensure she gets a CleanCut. Her brother was not so lucky; at the block, it took three attempts by the executioner and the other four men accused of being her lovers in one.
630* ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': In ''Barrayar'', Cordelia has Bothari execute the pretender Vordarian this way. She tops it off by showing the severed head to his generals -- in a ''shopping bag''. The woman has style.
631-->''Good God, woman, where have you been?''\
632'''''Shopping.'''''
633[[/folder]]
634
635[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
636* During the final episode of ''Series/TwentyFour: Live Another Day'', Jack decapitates [[BigBad Cheng Zhi in revenge for Audrey's death]].
637* Happens many, ''many'' times in ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'':
638** "D. U. Die": A drunken motorist suffering from a bought of car-sickness sticks his head out the window to puke...and is decapitated by a mailbox, to the horror of his equally drunken passenger.
639** "Road Killed": A hippie chick going to a hemp convention runs over a raccoon, and tries to use CPR on it. Tilting her head up to cough, she has her head ripped off by the bumper of an incoming vehicle.
640** "Tongue-Tied": Two teens driving separate cars lean out the window to kiss, only to get decapitated by a forklift in the road
641** "Golden Die-Angle": A Laotian drug lord chasing after thieves end up decapitated by the very barbed wire fence he used as a security measure
642** "Kung Pao Pow!!!": A greedy crematorium worker steals the gold teeth from a corpse said to be of a man who died from getting struck by lightning strike. He wasn't killed from lighting, the man was actually killed when a weather rocket launched in order to bring rain to drought-damaged land refuse to detonate, fell back to Earth, and struck him in the chest. When the corpse was put in the furnace, the rocket's warhead ignited and blew the hatch off with enough force to decapitate the worker.
643** "Odds Are You're Dead": A loan shark cuts the hydraulic line on a scissor lift, which collapses onto his neck and decapitates him
644** "Miss-Ur Head": A criminal in early 20th century France is executed by the guillotine, with a doctor in attendance to his execution to study the effects of a freshly lopped-off head to prove that consciousness is maintained briefly after beheading, thus making the guillotine an inhumane form of capital punishment. (See RealLife below)
645** "Withdrawn": A bank robber (obviously based on Brian Wells) wears a C4 bomb collar around his neck to convince the tellers and cops that he was being forced to commit the heist. When one freaked-out teller deactivates her car alarm to get away from the madness, she unknowingly activates the collar's remote blast cap (which was on the same frequency as her alarm remote), causing it to explode and take the robber's head clean off. Well, not exactly clean, but you get the picture...
646* In ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryFreakShow'', this is the postmortem fate of Ethel, Salty, the curator of the American Morbidity Museum, and several of Twisty's victims.
647* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'':
648** In [[Recap/BlackadderS1E1TheForetelling the first episode]] of ''The Black Adder'', Edmund decapitates someone trying to steal his horse at the Battle of Bosworth Field. When he and Baldrick examine the head he's just cut off: "Oooh dear, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII Richard the Third]]."
649** In the ''Blackadder II'' episode "[[Recap/BlackadderS2E2Head Head]]", Edmund is made Lord Executioner, Baldrick becomes the man with the axe and hilarity ensues. We don't see the actual beheadings, although we do see one of the heads.
650* ''Series/TheBoys2019'': A security guard's head is blasted off by the EyeBeams of a superpowered baby held by Billy Butcher. Notably, there's no clean cauterization of the wound as usually expected with beam wounds, and instead there's thick gore from both the neck stump and the separated head.
651* Although the camera cuts away before we see the chainsaw hit flesh, Gordon Brittas is stated to have accidentally done this to a South American gangster in one episode of ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire''.
652* ''Series/BreakingBad'': The Twins kill Tortuga by chopping his head off with their trademarked axe. Then they stuff it full of explosives, mount it on a live tortoise, and send at the investigating DEA agents. Tortuga isn't the only one who ends up [[AnArmAndALeg losing body parts]]... The two attempt to kill Hank in the same way as the coup de gras instead of [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just shooting him]], but this proves to be their undoing, because it gives Hank just enough time to reload his gun and turn the tables on them.
653* ''Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}''. The title characters of ''Buffy'' and ''Angel'' occasionally decapitate their enemies. It's one of the ways to kill a vampire along with stakes, fire and sunlight, and it's the second most often used method to kill demons after the NeckSnap.
654-->'''Adam:''' You fear the cross. The sun. Fire. And, oh yes... ''(Adam pulls a vampire's head off through sheer strength)'' I believe decapitation is a problem as well.
655** How Xander kills Toru.
656** How Glory deactivates the Buffybot until the Scoobies rebuild her.
657* ''Series/CarnivalRow'': The method of execution in the Burgue turns out to be beheading with a large mechanical guillotine. It's able to behead multiple condemned prisoners at once, as shown in the Season 2 opener.
658* ''Series/ColdSquad'': In "Jane Klosky", the squad reopen the case of a nurse who was beaten to death with a strap and decapitated. When they discover another cold case of a nurse who was partially decapitated, they worry they might be dealing with an undiscovered SerialKiller. They're not, but only because someone else killed the killer before he could claim a third victim.
659* ''Series/TheCollector'': One woman made a DealWithTheDevil [[TimeStandsStill the moment she was beheaded]]. Also happened to Morgan once. [[GoodThingYouCanHeal He got better.]]
660* ''Series/{{Creepshow}}'': In "[[Recap/CreepshowS2E2PublicTelevisionOfTheDead Public Television Of The Dead]]" Claudia beheads Bookberry after she's converted to a Deadite (though her head keeps talking afterward, due to being undead).
661* The ''Franchise/CSIVerse'' franchise had had a few episodes in which at least one BodyOfTheWeek dies via decapitation:
662** ''Series/{{CSI}}'':
663*** "A la Cart": A go-kart racer loses his head on a road outside of Vegas. Near the end, the [=CSIs=] test their theory on a dummy, which is proven correct. As it turns out, the guy was racing a rival on a road at night. The rival passed a semi, causing the truck to swerve. One of the truck's tires burst and the rubber was flung backward at over 100 miles per hour... right at the head of the unfortunate victim, ripping it clean off.[[note]]Worth noting, the "Big Rig Myths" episode original ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'', originally aired June 6, 2007, performed a similar test. "A la Cart" first aired less than four months later.[[/note]]
664*** "Blood Moon": At the end of a [[Literature/TheTwilightSaga "vampire and werewolf" convention]], one of the attendees masquerading as a vampire is beheaded the night after its festivities end.
665*** "Jackpot": The [=CSI=]s looking in the death of a young man upon receiving his severed head. When his body is discovered in a forest in Jackpot, Nevada, it's discovered that he was [[SandNecktie buried up to his neck]], his cheek was cut with a blade and was decapitated by predatory animals drawn to the scent of his blood.
666*** "Last Victim Standing": A pro poker player found decapitated near the end of the episode.
667*** "Way to Go": An actor who recreates battles from UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar is found headless [[RailroadTracksOfDoom alongside railroad tracks]].
668** ''Series/CSIMiami'':
669*** "High Octane": Young adults perform dangerous automobile stunts in a beach parking lot at the start of the episode. One driver is sitting on the roof of his car as he uses his feet to maneuver the steering wheel when an electrical wire (connected to a string of lights) cuts clean through his neck at 40 miles per hour. It turns out that a saboteur installed a device in his car that could remotely control the its hydraulics, then activated it as the car approached the wire.
670** ''Series/{{CSINY}}'':
671*** "Corporate Warriors": One case investigates a businessman who was beheaded using a katana swung with such force [[DelayedCausality that the severed head remained balanced on the neck]] (he was sitting on a park bench at the time).
672*** "Hung Out to Dry": A sorority girl's headless body is found hanging from a ceiling fan. It's soon discovered that the killer's weapon of choice was a blowtorch.
673* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
674** John Healy, an assassin hired by Wilson Fisk for a job, goes to a bowling alley to carry out a hit. After taking out the target's bodyguards, he pulls a gun on his target...only for it to jam (despite [[HonestJohnsDealership Turk Barrett]] [[CutawayGag assuring him]] [[GilliganCut it wouldn't]]). Healy is forced to take the target on in a battle of fisticuffs, and after breaking both of his target's arms, finishes the guy off by smashing his head to pieces with a ten-pound bowling ball.
675** Wilson Fisk kills Anatoly Ranskahov by beating him unconscious, then bashing his head in with a car door until it snaps clean off the neck. [[DisproportionateRetribution All because the guy interrupted Fisk's date with Vanessa]].
676** When Stick is first introduced in his titular episode in Season 1, [[{{Fingore}} he cuts off a Yakuza gangster's hand]], gets him to reveal where the Black Sky is headed, then decapitates him.
677** In the Season 2 finale, Matt pitches Nobu off the rooftop. Nobu survives, so Stick finishes him off by impaling him, then slicing his head off. As revealed in later shows, this means Nobu can't resurrect anymore.
678* On the [[CoolVersusAwesome edu-tainment]] show, ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'', one of the hosts gives this as the signal when testing the makraka, a sickle-like weapon used by the Zande tribe of Central Africa on a ballistic gel torso dummy. It does its job.
679* ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': Continuing from ''Iron Fist'', decapitation is the only way to permanently kill a Hand member, especially when they lack the substance[[note]]A mixture of human blood, chemicals, and dragon bone marrow[[/note]] they use to revive themselves (due to Alexandra having used up their remaining reserves to revive Elektra). Over the course of the show, three of the Hand's five Fingers meet their demise by decapitation:
680** First Stick decapitates Sowande diagonally when he tries to kidnap Danny using the distraction of Matt telling Luke and Jessica about Elektra.
681** One episode later, after capturing Danny (and killing Stick in the process) and delivering him to the Hand, Elektra abruptly kills Alexandra in this way while she's chewing out Murakami, Bakuto and Madame Gao.
682--->'''Elektra Natchios:''' His name is Matthew. ''[pulls her sai out of Alexandra's body, letting the body fall to the floor]'' And my name...is Elektra Natchios. [[KlingonPromotion You all work for me now.]] ''[as if on second thought, Elektra then turns and abruptly cuts Alexandra's head off with her remaining katana blade]'' Any questions?
683** In the finale, Colleen Wing, Misty Knight, and Claire Temple take on Bakuto, and unlike their duel in ''Iron Fist'', Colleen successfully kills Bakuto for good by decapitating him, but not before Bakuto [[MythologyGag slices off]] [[AnArmAndALeg Misty's right arm]].
684* The Doctor about to be beheaded as been used as a cliffhanger in at least three ''Series/DoctorWho'' serials: "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E1TheMasqueOfMandragora The Masque of Mandragora]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E2FourToDoomsday Four to Doomsday]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E4TheVisitation The Visitation]]".
685** In "[[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]", several Cybermen are decapitated by {{Deadly Disc}}s flung by the Raston Warrior Robot.
686* In ''Series/Dracula2020'', Dracula beheads Mother Superior during his invasion of the convent.
687* ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' has a particularly gruesome version of this. John Walker uses Captain America's shield to decapitate an unarmed Flag-Smasher in front of Sam, Bucky Karli and a number of horrified civilians.
688* ''Series/FatherBrown'': "The Resurrectionists" starts with a young man on a motorcycle being decapitated by a low hanging branch. However, this turns out to be a case of FakingTheDead.
689* In ''Series/FromDuskTillDawn'', this is how Carlos deals with some people that are trying to steal from him, followed by DecapitationPresentation.
690* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
691** Ned Stark has an enormous greatsword made of [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Valyrian steel]] called Ice that he uses for executions, and he does so in the first episode, taking a deserter's head off in a single stroke. Towards the end of the first series, he is beheaded with his own sword when Joffrey instructs Ilyn Payne to 'bring me his head'.
692** In Season 2, Theon Greyjoy, after proclaiming himself Lord of Winterfell, tries to execute Ser Rodrik Cassel using an ordinary sword and [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath makes a complete mess of it]], [[DeconstructedTrope hacking and kicking madly until the head finally comes off]]. This contrasts with Ned's clean single stroke and Ned's own execution.
693** In Season 3, Robb Stark is forced to behead one of his bannermen, Rickard Karstark, for treason. Like his father and unlike Theon, he manages to do it in one swift stroke.
694** In Season 6, [[WorldsStrongestMan Gregor Clegane]] shows off his even more impressive strength as [[TheUndead Robert Strong]] by casually tossing aside a Sparrow (religious follower, not the bird), and nearly effortlessly ripping his head off, ''with his bare hands''. In the same season, his younger brother Sandor decapitates a Brotherhood marauder in one swing with a wood axe.
695** Robb Stark was beheaded posthumously.
696** Though Septa Mordane was not necessarily killed this way, her head is later displayed alongside Ned's and those of the rest of the Stark household.
697** It's unclear if Shaggydog was killed this way, but the Umbers make a DecapitationPresentation of his head nonetheless in Season 6.
698** Dany has Mossador executed by beheading, which is carried out by Daario.
699** This was how Rakharo died.
700** A few wights get seemingly dispatched by decapitation over the course of the show.
701** In the show's very first scene, Gared of the Night's Watch is beheaded by a White Walker while trying to run.
702** Oznak zo Pahl, the Meereenese nobleman sent to challenge Daenerys, is beheaded by Daario with his arakh.
703** Janos Slynt is executed this way by Jon.
704** It's implied that Brienne decapitates Stannis judging by the movement of her arms.
705** During the Battle of the Bastards, Tormund brings Jon back to his senses as they both see a horse with a decapitated rider gallop by their side.
706** Missandei is captured by Cersei, who has Gregor cut her head off when Dany refuses to surrender.
707** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'':
708*** The dubious honor of first person to be beheaded in the series goes to a nameless alleged murderer in the streets of King's Landing, by the hand of Daemon Targaryen using his sword, Dark Sister, during ThePurge Daemon leads the [[CityGuards City Watch]] into committing to secure the capital city for TheTourney the next day. Interestingly, Dark Sister is made of Valyrian steel just like the sword of Ned Stark, which was used for the first onscreen beheading in ''Series/GameOfThrones''.
709* ''Series/GoodbyeMyPrincess'': King Tömür is beheaded by Cheng Yin.
710* ''Series/GothamKnights2023'': Detective Ford is beheaded by someone wielding a sword after a failed attempt to kill Turner and co. The second episode reveals that the Talon also beheaded everyone else in Ford's squad, and sent the heads to the GCPD in boxes.
711* Happens quite a lot in ''Series/{{Grimm}}''. The Grimm are well-known (and feared) among the Wesen for this method of killing, as many Wesen are far tougher than humans. The Reapers, trained to hunt the Grimm, usually carry scythes in order to do the same to their hated enemies. It's also revealed that, prior to the Brothers Grimm becoming synonymous with others of their kind, Wesen hunters were known as "Decapitare", which is Latin for "decapitator", or more literally "he who decapitates". Some Wesen still use the older name.
712* So many heads rolled in the miniseries ''Henry VIII'' (2003) that it practically became a RunningGag. The King plays a particularly nasty joke on Cromwell: the executioner has never taken off anyone's head before. The results are not pretty.
713* The ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' TV series, like the films, is also predicated on the fact that a beheading is the only way for Macleod to survive battles with other immortals. Therefore this happens in virtually every episode (although usually off-screen).
714* In "The Wrong War" (also known as "The Frogs and the Lobsters") from ''Series/HoratioHornblower'' miniseries, Colonel le Marquis de Moncoutant has his personal guillotine. He gleefully uses it to behead half the village for treason, which was actually stuff like selling old bread. It bites him in the butt, though, because when Royalist forces collapse, the villagers execute him, equally gleefully.
715* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'':
716** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E4TheRuthlessPursuitOfBloodWithAllA ...The Ruthless Pursuit of Blood with All a Child's Demanding]]": Lampshaded by Lestat de Lioncourt when he informs Claudia about the fate of the aristocrat who originally owned the emerald necklace that he gives to her for her birthday (the incident may have occurred during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution).
717--->'''Lestat''': This was given to me by a marquis who was beheaded by a mob ten years after he gave it to me.
718** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E6LikeAngelsPutInHellByGod Like Angels Put in Hell by God]]": Lestat rips the head off of a train conductor and [[DeadGuyPuppet plays with it like it's a ventriloquist dummy]].
719** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEmfMte3L4A&t=2m41s In the Season 2 First Look Scene,]] a vampire in the background slices a man's head off and catches it like it was a football.
720* ''Series/IronFist2017'':
721** Decapitation is said to be the only way to permanently kill someone that's been resurrected by the Hand, meaning Nobu is dead for good.
722** Madame Gao personally kills one of her henchmen, King, by skewering him through the head with her SwordCane, after Danny and Colleen overpower him and manages to get the Hand's chemist Radovan away from them. Then she cuts off his head and skewers it on a pole in the back of a truck, where Danny and Ward find it the next day, with a stick on it with the address of a location where Danny is to be challenged in a duel with several Hand assassins.
723* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': After Jessica finds that Kilgrave has killed Ruben by making him cut his throat in Jessica's bed, she tries to get herself thrown in prison in an attempt to protect the people she cares about. Her 'plan', as it is, involves cutting off Ruben's head, going to the precinct, and dropping the head in a grocery bag on Det. Oscar Clemons' desk. The plan falls apart because Kilgrave tracks Jessica there and makes the cops point their guns at each other, and after giving Jessica an ultimatum, he makes the cops dismiss the severed head as the world's greatest prank ever.
724-->'''Kilgrave:''' Manual decapitation? ''[laughs]'' You're full of surprises.
725* ''Series/JonathanCreek'': A sabotaged chainsaw leads to decapitation in "The Clue of the Savant's Thumb". This leads to an elaborate cover-up in which a body seems to vanish from a locked room.
726* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': The Stylers' ''modus operandi'' in Season 2 is to cut off the heads of their enemy's associates then send the heads to the boss as messages.
727** In the first episode, Bushmaster kills Nigel Garrison, leader of the Brooklyn Yardies, then decapitates him posthumously and presents the head in a briefcase full of cash that he gives to Shades.
728** To officially declare his war on Mariah Dillard, Bushmaster arranges for the deaths of Mark Higgins (Atreus Plastics CEO who Mariah just blackmailed), Cockroach Hamilton (a gun buyer), and Ray-Ray Jackson (a bodyguard at Harlem's Paradise), and mounts their heads on pikes in the entrance of Mariah's new Shirley Chisholm complex, positioned so that they're prominently revealed during Mariah's ribbon-cutting ceremony.
729** Simultaneously with the severed heads, Bushmaster's men make several efforts to abduct Mariah's banker Piranha Jones. After Luke thwarts the first few attempts, they are able to capture Piranha, make him empty Mariah's bank accounts, then kill him. They then decapitate him and leave his head in a tank of, well, piranhas, which is how Luke and Misty find him.
730* Beheading would appear to be the standard method of execution in ''Series/Merlin2008'' (though BurnTheWitch is also pretty common). As of yet, they have not shown it on screen.
731* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'':
732** In "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS2E1 Death's Shadow]]", the first VictimOfTheWeek is decapitated by a single blow from an Indian sword.
733** In "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS8E8 Midsomer Rhapsody]]" a motorcyclist is decapitated by a length of piano wire strung across the road at neck height.
734** In "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS10E7 They Seek Him Here]]", the victims are beheaded with a prop guillotine on the set of a film adaptation of ''The Scarlet Pimpernel''.
735** In "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS13E2 The Sword of Guillaume]]", the first two victims are beheaded with a medieval longsword.
736* ''Series/MissFishersMurderMysteries'': In "Death Defying Feats", a magician's assistant is decapitated when the killer sabotages the prop guillotine being used in the act, turning it into a NotSoFakePropWeapon.
737* In ''Series/{{Moonlight}}'', decapitation is one of the two known ways to kill a vampire (the other being [[KillItWithFire fire]]). Despite this, it only happens twice on the show, and only once intentionally. The other time, the vampire slipped, while running on a roller coaster track and got stuck, with his head perfectly positioned to be struck by a speeding coaster.
738* ''Series/{{Motive}}'': In "Remains to be Seen", the VictimOfTheWeek is decapitated with a katana.
739* ''Series/Mouse2021'': The serial killer known as the Head Hunter gets his nickname from his habit of beheading his victims.
740* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'':
741** In "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S04E24ManosTheHandsOfFate Manos: The Hands of Fate]]", Dr. Forrester invents the Chocolate Bunny Guillotine. It's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
742** In the Netflix revival, Jonah has a habit of yanking off Tom's dome head whenever he goes too far with something.
743* ''Series/TheMyth'': Xiao Chuan time-travels to the scene of an execution, and is just in time to witness a man being beheaded.
744* ''{{Series/Mythbusters}}'', in both its [[Series/{{Mythbusters}} original]] and its [[Series/Mythbusters2017 revival]] series, have tested several legends about this trope.
745** Cases where decapitation is an integral outcome of the myth...
746*** Can hair gel detonate in an oxygen-rich environment (such as a jet's cockpit) and [[YourHeadAsplode cause the pilot's head to explode]]? Busted. It might start a small fire, but hardly anything more dangerous than that will happen.
747*** Can a ceiling fan running at full speed decapitate someone? Busted. Standard household wooden blades, industrial metal blades, and lawnmower blades were tested. The wooden blades would only result in a sore throat; the industrial and lawnmower blades were able to puncture the neck, but couldn't detach the head from the neck.
748*** Taken from ''[[Film/LethalWeapon Lethal Weapon 2]]'': Can a surfboard both penetrate through a windshield at 40 miles (64 km) per hour and immediately decapitate the driver of an oncoming vehicle in one fell swoop? Busted. Regardless of speed, all the surfboards used in this test simply deflected off the windshield.
749*** If a tire on an eighteen-wheeler explodes, can the rubbery shrapnel decapitate a motorcyclist? Confirmed. If the tire tread it flying at least 40 miles (64 km) an hour, not only could it tear a motorcyclist's head off if connects, [[FromBadToWorse it could also decapitate anyone riding in a car with its windows rolled up.]]
750*** Can a sheet of glass flying in a tornado decapitate someone? Confirmed quite easily, in fact, at speeds as low as 70 miles (119 km) per hour. Speaking of flying guillotines...
751*** Could "flying guillotines" (tethered "hat" weapons that can decapitate someone and return the head back to its thrower in a bucket) have existed as viable weapons? Plausible. If they actually were used, they were likely to have been used in situations for a stealthy assassination; live-combat usage would have been impractical due to accuracy issues when thrown.
752*** Is DelayedCausality (the possibility of a severed head temporarily staying in place before falling off) possible? Busted. Both a watermelon and a prop zombie head were used as targets for a rocket-propelled guillotine. Once the blade sliced through them, the upper halves of each fell to the floor almost immediately.
753** Where decapitation is a potential outcome, though not being an inherent part of the myth...
754*** When testing if pirates fired anything they could find out of a cannon, [[AbnormalAmmo a chain]], if used in place of a cannonball [[DiagonalCut cut straight through a pig carcass]], which makes decapitation -- and a likely messier death -- a frightening possibility.
755*** [[TooDumbToLive Keeping either a bowling ball or a hatchet on a car's backboard]] while slamming on the brakes could create a cannonball and a flying guillotine, respectively.
756*** A scene from the film ''Film/{{Headhunters}}'' suggests a man of normal build could survive getting T-boned from a big rig in the back seat of a squad car, provided he was sandwiched between two heavyset police officers as opposed to being alone. This was proven false; while the normal-sized passenger might have had some chance of survival, he was decapitated after being forced to share the back seat with the cops.
757* In Episode 6 of ''Series/MythQuest'', Alex takes the place of Caradoc the Younger. He beheads Elveis as part of a bet and is later sentenced to be beheaded himself (for a different reason).
758* ''Series/TheNewAvengers'': In "Trap", [[YellowPeril Soo Choy]] plans to behead Steed, Gambit, and Purdey as revenge for foiling his drug operation. He gets as far as getting Gambit's head on the chopping block.
759* ''Series/NewTricks'': The BodyOfTheWeek in "Romans Ruined" was a decapitated corpse found in a sandpit. UCOS gets involved when the murder weapon (a Roman sword) and the head are discovered years later. In a nod to realism, it is noted that it took several blows to remove the head.
760* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S4E21PromisedLand Promised Land]]", Krenn and Dlavan perform burial rites in which they behead David's corpse to release his spirit. Naturally, this comes off as wrong to the watching Rebecca, who doesn't understand their custom or language.
761* ''Series/TheOutpost'':
762** Galwood Outpost uses the guillotine. The Prime Order prefers hanging.
763** Yavalla is decapitated by Talon, but she still regenerates afterward.
764* ''Series/ThePunisher2017'': When Billy Russo's men track Frank Castle to David's compound, Frank surprises them by decapitating one of Russo's men, then strapping a grenade to the head before throwing it as an explosive.
765* Quite a few folks in ''Series/ResurrectionErtugrul'' meet their fate through beheading, either as a form of execution or at the tail end of a military confrontation. Notable victims include Sahabettin Tugrul, Kurdoglu Bey, Petruchio Manzini, Kocabas Alp, Gumustekin Bey, Bogac Alp, Doruk Bey, Ural Bey, Sadettin Kopek, Tekfur Kritos, Lais, Uranos, and Dragos.
766* ''Series/TheRiseOfPhoenixes'': Ning Yi cuts off Chang Zhong Xin's head.
767* ''{{Series/Salem}}'': While Rose is gloating about her foresight to Mary, Mercy comes out of nowhere and [[KarmicDeath decapitates her with a razor]].
768* In ''Series/ScreamTheTVSeries'', the first kill is of a boy named Tyler getting his head chopped off. We don't see the deed, but we ''do'' see the severed head get tossed into his girlfriend Nina's hot tub.
769* The 1980 miniseries ''Literature/{{Shogun}}'' was noted as being the first American network production to actually show a head being cut off on screen. The VHS version of the mini-series is gorier and shows the blood spurting from the neck.
770* Occurs at least every third episode in the Stars version of '''Film/{{Spartacus}}''. Usually done in a single sword stroke, with one notable exception near the end of the third season.
771* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
772** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E01ApocalypseRising Apocalypse Rising]]", an undercover Sisko punches out a Klingon warrior after he brags about beheading the Tellarite first officer of a Federation ship, before ripping the Benzite captain's breathing apparatus off so she'd slowly suffocate. Sisko knew the captain personally.
773** Discussed in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E04NorTheBattleToTheStrong Nor the Battle to the Strong]]", when a group of hospital workers discusses how they'd prefer to die if Klingons (with whom the Federation is at war at the moment) break into the hospital. One suggests being clearly decapitated with a [[CoolSword bat'leth]], only for another to say that he heard that the head remains alive for some time after death, making it a pretty horrible way to go.
774* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E04AbsoluteCandor Absolute Candor]]", Tenqem decides to continue his assault on Picard after being warned by Elnor that he'd be choosing to die, so Elnor cuts his head off.
775* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
776** Contrary to popular beliefs about sunlight and stakes, beheading is the most conventional method of killing vampires.
777*** It's also the only confirmed way to kill arachne and gorgons.
778** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS01E14Nightmare Nightmare]]", one of the victims gets killed by a window-guillotine.
779** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS05E05FallenIdol Fallen Idols]]", Sam kills Paris Hilton... er, we mean Leshii by chopping the head off with an iron axe specifically.
780** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS06E10CagedHeat Caged Heat]]", Crowley kills the [[MonsterProgenitor Alpha Shapeshifter]] this way... while it looks like ''him''.
781--->'''Crowley:''' Guess I kinda lost my head.
782** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS08E06SouthernComfort Southern Comfort]]", one of the victims gets decapitated under a car.
783** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS09E16BladeRunners Blade Runners]]", it's how Dean dispatches and kills Cuthbert Sinclair.
784** In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS13E08TheScorpionAndTheFrog The Scorpion and the Frog]]", Shrike is murdered this way by Bart.
785* Unsurprisingly as it's the same story, ''Series/TheTudors'' has this frequently as well, the scene of many a moving last speech beforehand. Though in this one the nasty joke against Cromwell is not by the king but several councillors. Eventually a nearby guard rushes in to take off his head, after over half a dozen less than accurate attempts by the inebriated headsman.
786* ''Series/TwoSentenceHorrorStories'': In "[[Recap/TwoSentenceHorrorStoriesS3E5Teeth Teeth]]" Olivia kills one of the werewolves by ripping his head off with her bare hands.
787* The ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' features this a fair bit in its earlier shows, back when Japanese censors weren't as concerned with how the heroes killed the monsters, most notably ''Series/UltraSeven'' and ''Series/UltramanAce''. [[OffWithHisHead/UltraSeries Here's a list of decapitations performed by various Ultramen throughout the series]].
788** And here's a fun, [[SarcasmMode totally kid-friendly]] video compilation of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJb_I-BHIvc monsters losing their craniums]].
789* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime2021'': Lanfear casually creates a weave and cuts off a man's head using it to get the poor sap's horse.
790* ''Series/WildBill'': In "Welcome to Boston", Bill investigates the death of a young woman, whose head was cut off somehow, then found in a field.
791* The Tudors again in ''Series/WolfHall''. This time, only two beheadings are shown, that of Sir Thomas More in the fourth episode and Anne Boleyn's in the sixth and final one. In each case, the camera cuts away from the scene just as the executioner is about to strike. Both were orchestrated by the protagonist, Thomas Cromwell, but he also seems to be one of the only named characters who show any respect for Anne as she ascends the scaffold.
792[[/folder]]
793
794%%[[folder:Manhwa]]
795%%* Happens to Noh-A a lot in ''Manhwa/JackFrost''. [[NighInvulnerable Not that it matters.]]
796%%[[/folder]]
797
798[[folder:Music]]
799* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUL_gcHv0EA music video]] for Praxis' "Animal Behavior" depicts Rammellzee (the guy wearing a robot samurai armor) beheading {{Music/Buckethead}}.
800* "Beheaded" by Music/TheOffspring is about the singer decapitating people and keeping their heads.
801* The oldest and most frequent method of execution used to climax Music/AliceCooper's concerts is the guillotine.
802** Seen used in the concert film "Good To See You Again, Alice Cooper" with magician James Randi working it and holding up Alice's severed head (in reality, a prop head).
803** Alice also appeared on ''Series/TheGongShow'' with this, singing "I Think I'm Going Out Of My Head". Instead of gonging him, Chuck Barris activated the guillotine on him.
804* A specialty for Music/{{GWAR}}
805* In Music/MichaelJackson's video for "Music/RememberTheTime", when Pyro fails to entertain the Queen, she orders him to be beheaded with a ThroatSlittingGesture.
806--> '''Announcer:''' ''(winces and rubs his throat)'' Phew, that's cold, whoof!
807* "Paranoid Android" by {{Music/Radiohead}}: "Off with his head, man".
808* The third segment to "A Complicated Song" by Music/WeirdAlYankovic involves Al losing his head after he [[TooDumbToLive stands up on a roller coaster ride.]]
809* Sir Marmaduke is beheaded by his wife in ''Music/ToKeepMyLoveAlive''.
810* Music/{{Cormorant}} recounts the CruelAndUnusualDeath off [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilien_Robespierre Maximilien Robespierre]] in "Uneasy Lies the Head".
811* Edmund Kemper in Music/{{Macabre}}'s song about him would pick up hitchhiking Co-Ed's and cut off their heads.
812[[/folder]]
813
814[[folder:Music Videos]]
815* Decapitation ([[PlayedForLaughs Played for Laughs]], but rather bloody) was featured in Music/BeastieBoys' "Body Movin'"
816* [[MultipleEndings One of the endings]] in Music/TheCardigans' "My Favourite Game" features lead singer being decapitated by top of the convertible's windshield, complete with absolutely mannequin-looking head.
817* Music/{{Skinless}}'s video for "[[https://youtu.be/XLETMkD2Q9U Skull Session]]" features the band themselves suffering this fate at the hands of an enraged neighbor named Hippie Jim, who loads them one by one into a homemade guillotine and drops the blade on them. Weep not for them, they were {{Asshole Victim}}s through and through, refusing to listen to Jim's complaints about their endless, overloud rehearsals (lead vocalist Sherwood Webber even went out of his way to flip Jim off and scream back at him on one occasion). There's also the part where their headless bodies and severed heads alike [[BackFromTheDead reanimate]] and start another practice session, causing Jim to [[DrivenToSuicide load himself into the guillotine and drop the blade one last time]].
818* A woman in a BadGuyBar gets her head yanked off and passed to another person in the video for Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "Eat It", which parodies the video for Music/MichaelJackson's "Beat It".
819* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flxBi8rAqIQ "Angel and the Ghost"]] by Music/LeavesEyes, the female speaker is beheaded for refusing [[DroitDuSeigneur a duke's advances]]. In the spoken-word bridge of the song, her ghost promises to haunt him at night and lay her head before his feet.
820[[/folder]]
821
822[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
823* This is a common way to kill vampires in general, right next to staking them in the heart. Some Western folklore sources recommend staking, beheading and putting garlic in the head's mouth, carving out the heart and burying it at a crossroads, then burning the body.
824* Severed heads were a pretty common trope in Myth/CelticMythology, since they identified it as the [[CranialProcessingUnit location of the soul]]. The most famous is probably [[OurGiantsAreBigger Bran the Blessed]], whose [[LosingYourHead still-living head]] is buried somewhere in the South-East of England to guard the British Isles against invaders.
825* OlderThanFeudalism: Perseus killed Medusa this way, using a magic sword or sickle to hack through the bronze scales on her neck, with the added bonus that her [[TakenForGranite powers]] still worked on anyone he [[DecapitationPresentation showed it to]].
826* There's an entire category of Christian Saints -- the cephalophores -- who are usually depicted as holding their severed heads.
827** Saint Denis, patron saint of France, was decapitated by the Romans only to [[LosingYourHead pick up his head and walk off with it]], cheerfully singing praises to the Lord until he reached the nearest village and dropped dead there. Predictably, he's depicted in art and media as a headless man who carries his own mitred head in his hand.
828** The most intriguing figure though is probably Saint Cuthbert, who, while never decapitated himself, is frequently depicted holding the severed head of Saint Oswald. Mystifying when you consider that Oswald had been dead for decades before Cuthbert arrived on the scene.
829** The concept of ''cephalophore'' (Greek ''kephalos'' = head, ''phorein'' = to bear), a headless statue with the head on its arms, comes from the image of a beheaded saint.
830* [[Literature/TheBible Biblical]] examples:
831** [[DavidVersusGoliath David beheaded Goliath]] with the giant's own sword.
832** John the Baptist was beheaded while in prison at the request of Herod's wife.
833** Sheba son of Bicri had his head thrown over a town wall in [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel 2 Samuel 20]].
834** Saul and Ishbosheth were both beheaded after they were killed (2 Samuel).
835** Judith decapitated the Assyrian warlord Holofernes in the apocryphal Book of Judith.
836* There is a truly creepy Chinese story of a beheaded general whose body did not die. His family took it home and it communicated with them via writing. It even begot a son on the 'widow'. [[{{squick}} ICK!]]
837[[/folder]]
838
839[[folder:Pinballs]]
840* This is how the trolls are defeated in ''Pinball/BigGuns'', as their heads serve as dropdown targets.
841* In Creator/SegaPinball's ''Pinball/GoldenEye'', failing the "Xenia Encounter" has the villainess crush a Naval Captain until his head pops off.
842* On the backglass of Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''Pinball/HauntedHouse'', one of the windows shows a ghost holding his head under his left arm. Another dapper-looking ghost in the Attic has his head under his right arm.
843* After defeating the peeping tom in ''Pinball/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon''[='=]s VideoMode, quickly jamming on the flipper buttons will result in an uppercut that [[DisproportionateRetribution decapitates the pervert]], [[NightmareFuel leaving an up-close-and-personal view of the top of his spine]].
844[[/folder]]
845
846[[folder:Podcasts]]
847* In the ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'' game ''Small Magic'', this is how Maggie defeats the cockatrice.
848** In ''Bloody Mooney'', Mooney tears the head of one of the government agents clean off.
849* Dealing as it does with UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, ''Podcast/{{Revolutions}}'' deals a lot -- like a ''lot'' with deaths by guillotine -- or as Creator/MikeDuncan put it "zip, thud, the end."
850* In ''Podcast/TrialsAndTrebuchets'', Laud the Slaad kills Ferdinand in this way.
851[[/folder]]
852
853[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
854* In Wrestling/{{Chikara}}, Wrestling/OlegTheUsurper's finishing move is a forearm clothesline to a kneeling opponent called Off With His Head. Mostly subverted since it usually just knocks wrestlers out, but played straight in one instance when Oleg used it to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSSBReFtxUQ send Dragon Dragon's head flying]].
855[[/folder]]
856
857%%[[folder:Radio]]
858%%[[/folder]]
859
860[[folder:Roleplay]]
861* In ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'', Alfred beheads a Dragonstorm war machine with a ''sledgehammer''.
862* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', [[BaldOfAuthority Ismail]] gets decapitated by [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Dreadlord]] [[AxCrazy Leraje]] after their fierce duel during the Battle of Vanna.
863* Troy [=McCann=], Daniel Brent and Guy Rapide in ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest V3'' die by being decapitated. A close-range gunshot to the back of the head beheads Uriel Hunter in V1. Hayley Kelly in V4 also seems to love this method, dispatching Steve Barnes and James Mulzet this way.
864[[/folder]]
865
866[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
867* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'' fanzine ''Mythic Perspectives'' #9, article "Draugadrottin, The Norse Necromancer". A draug (Norse zombie) can be killed by decapitating it with a single blow. Some legends say that only a sword taken from the draug's own grave can perform this task.
868* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': Some 'Mechs (most notably the ''Axman'', ''Hatchetman'', and ''Wolfhound'') feature a defensive variant: a full-head ejection system, where instead of a traditional ejector seat, the 'Mech's entire head rockets off to serve as an escape pod for the [=MechWarrior=], as well as anyone riding in the 'Mech's rumble seat. . . without a full-head ejection system, any passengers in the 'Mech's cockpit are left to their own devices if the [=MechWarrior=] has to punch out. The system is an enormous boon when fighting in environments not conducive to human life; there's little difference between letting your 'Mech explode around you and ejecting with a conventional ejection system if, say, you're fighting on a moon with zero atmospheric pressure.
869* Vorpal weapons from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' have this as their primary power, activating upon rolling a natural 20 on a D20 and then confirming the CriticalHit. Downplayed in 5[[superscript:th]] Edition, where creatures with Legendary Actions take lots of extra damage but are protected from decapitation by what's effectively PlotArmor.
870* Creator/GamesWorkshop games:
871** Worshipers, Daemons and Champions of [[WarGod Khorne]] from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' go for the skull yelling "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!", cutting the heads from worthy opponents as offerings for their bloodthirsty god.
872** ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
873*** During the Literature/HorusHeresy, Fulgrim presented Horus with the polished skull of Ferrus Manus after the Drop Site Massacre. Later, he chopped the head off one of his commanders, Eidolon, when he felt the Astartes was being too mouthy, but had it sewn back on when he realized Eidolon was still a useful commander to have around.
874*** ''The Horus Heresy Book One -- Betrayal'' tells some stories of warriors who went this route. Captain Lercon Hurn of the XVI Legion's 3rd Company pulled the Panarch of Somon's head off with his bare hands after killing his guards with said hands and Horus sent the Emperor the gold-plated skull of Vatale Gerron Terentius with the message "So perish all traitors."
875*** Ghazkhull Thraka suffered this during the ''Psychic Awakening'' storyline, courtesy of a MutualKill between him and Ragnar Blackmane. Thanks to [[MadeOfIron his orky physiology]] and a couple staples courtesy of Mad Dok Grotsnik, he got better.
876*** Alicia Dominica, leader of the [[BodyguardBabes Brides of the Emperor]], put an end to the Age of Apostasy with her beheading of the crazed [[EvilOverlord High Lord Goge Vandire]]. The group originally known as [[AmazonBrigade Daughters of the Emperor]] would later become the [[PraetorianGuard Adepta Sororitas]], the main military force for the Adeptus Ministorum and considered one of the most elite forces utilized by the Imperium.
877* In ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'', both vampires and werewolves are capable of regenerating lost body parts... except the head. Lopping off the head ends their hunt for good.
878* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Galt, as a FantasyCounterpartCulture of UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, has magical guillotines called ''final blades'' that trap the souls of those they kill, preventing resurrection.
879* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', a stake through the heart only induces torpor, a deep coma-like sleep. In that condition, it's pretty trivial to decapitate the vampire, which is a guaranteed Final Death solution.
880[[/folder]]
881
882[[folder:Theatre]]
883* ''Theatre/Frankenstein2014'' features a story that focuses on Victor's bond with his friend Henri, who gets beheaded by guillotine after confessing to a crime that Victor was actually guilty of. He goes proudly, singing to Victor that he will live on "In Your Dreams". This is Frankenstein, so [[SanitySlippageSong you can guess]] [[CameBackWrong what happens next]].
884* Creator/GilbertAndSullivan:
885** Subverted in ''Theatre/TheMikado'', wherein the Lord High Executioner only accepted the post to keep his own head and cannot bring himself to kill anyone else. He claims to have beheaded Nanki-Poo, but produces him alive when it transpires that Nanki-Poo was the heir apparent, and Ko-Ko now faces the Mikado's wrath.
886** At the start of ''Theatre/TheYeomenOfTheGuard'', Colonel Fairfax, imprisoned in the Tower of London, is scheduled for beheading. His escape is the plot.
887* In the musical ''Celebration'', "Saturnalia" ends with the execution of the Mock-King by decapitation. Mr. Rich is startled, perhaps because the puppet's head looks like his own.
888* While it is not directly shown on stage, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard both discuss their respective beheadings in ''Theatre/SixTheMusical''. Fittingly enough, Anne Boleyn even has a song titled "Don't Lose Ur Head".
889[[/folder]]
890
891[[folder:Theme Parks]]
892* One of the ghosts inhabiting ''Franchise/TheHauntedMansion'' is a decapitated knight. He has a small role in the video game, giving Zeke a Soul Gem.
893* [[UrbanLegend Allegedly]], the test dummies sent down the infamous looping water slide at Ride/ActionPark came out this way.
894* At Ride/UniversalStudios:
895** One of the rooms in ''Ride/ThePeopleUnderTheStairs'' haunted house of ''Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights'' featured a scareactor getting their head chopped off.
896** An attacking T-800 in ''Ride/Terminator23DBattleAcrossTime'' loses its head when the good T-800 tosses a Hunter Killer drone at it.
897[[/folder]]
898
899[[folder:Video Games]]
900* In ''VideoGame/TwoDark'', Smith's wife, Helen, is decapitated in the opening sequence.
901* The aliens in ''VideoGame/AlienHominid'' can bite the heads clean off of FBI agents, Soviet soldiers, and Area 51 guards. Doing so nearby other enemies makes them freak out for a second (or for the later of the three, momentarily stunned).
902* The ''VideoGame/AliensVsPredator'' games, of course, feature plenty of decapitations as trophies and/or delicious snacks. Special mention to the Predator Speargun in [=AVP2=] that removes human heads and pins them to the wall. You can then collect the heads to recover the spear and trophy.
903* Happens frequently when using the knife on card guards, in ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice''. The Queen does this to Cheshire late in the game.
904* In version 3, the ''VideoGame/AoOni'' kills Takuro by biting off their head. This also effectively demonstrates to Hiroshi and the others that contrary to their suspicions, the monster is ''very real''.
905* The backstory of Dieu Mort, the Arcana of Death in ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart'', was that he was an executioner so obsessed with chopping off heads that he eventually chopped off his own head [[AxCrazy out of madness and curiosity]].
906* ''VideoGame/BackStab'' allows you to perform a special move on unwary enemies, where timing your attacks right will have you knocking them to their knees before you lop off their craniums via cutlass.
907* The old 1980s fighting game ''Barbarian'' featured a spinning jumping backslash move that if launched with the correct timing and distance to the enemy could instantly decapitate them.
908* In ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', [[FinalBoss Gehrman]] does this to you with a SinisterScythe if you choose to give up instead of fight him. Funnily enough, considering the setting and the fact it doesn't technically kill you for real, it's the happiest ending the game has for your character.
909* In ''VideoGame/BloodyBattle'', a weapon called the Battle Axe can be used to chop people's heads off very easily, requiring 2-4 strikes if the attacked does not have armor.
910* ''VideoGame/BloodOmenLegacyOfKain'' features Vorador, the most powerful character in the game, dying via decapitation. His head is later seen as a trophy in ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKainSoulReaver2'' (which features decapitations as a possible finishing move that Raziel can perform). Also in ''Blood Omen'', Kain dispatches Moebius. In ''VideoGame/{{Blood Omen 2|LegacyOfKain}}'', Kain will perform several decapitating stealth kills.
911* In some scenes in ''VideoGame/BrainDead13'' when Lance's head gets cut off or knocked off or bitten off. Of course, this becomes [[PullingThemselvesTogether Pulling Himself Together]] by his head rejoining itself to his body thanks to the power of resurrection.
912* In the Japanese Playstation versions of ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'', Fou-lu decapitates the acting emperor Soniel with the very sword Soniel had just tried to run him through with. It's not graphically depicted, though, but shown in silhouette.
913** Unfortunately, this scene was a victim of {{Bowdleris|e}}ation in the non-Japanese Playstation versions as well as the Windows port.
914** In the manga adaptation of ''Breath of Fire IV'', this is actually a particularly important moment for Fou-lu: instead of using the sword he was stabbed with, [[MundaneMadeAwesome he generates an energy sword and lops Soniel's head clean off]] ''[[MundaneMadeAwesome while still having a sword that eats souls sticking out of his midsection]]''.
915* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend:'' -- '''"DECAPITATIOOOOOOOOONNNNN!"'''
916* ''Age of Chivalry'', later ''VideoGame/ChivalryMedievalWarfare'' allows the player to do (and suffer) this with a sufficiently powerful or accurate blow to the head.
917* ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersUndying'': The only way to destroy the undead Covenants, and it has to be done with a certain weapon at that. This is also one of only two ways to make a skeleton stay down for good, the other being ReviveKillsZombie.
918* ''VideoGame/ClockworkAquario'': If [[PlayerCharacter Gush the robot]] takes enough damage, his head will come off, showing the spring attacking it to his body. You can still control him as usual, thankfully.
919* Implied a few times in ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'': The opening theme song at the beginning of the game implies that "[[{{Satan}} the Devil]] will take [Cuphead's and Mugman's] heads" if they can't get the Soul Contracts for him by the midnight deadline ([[DecapitationPresentation and that song isn't kidding]] if you lose to the Devil's second phase and onwards in the final battle!); and Baroness von Bon Bon makes her throat-slitting gesture with her finger as her head jumps up a bit as a threat to the boys at the beginning of her battle. Also, earlier promos and previous trailers had the Devil threaten to decapitate the boys when he set out to claim their souls after winning the game (WordOfGod even says that [[https://kotaku.com/cuphead-developers-talk-cut-bosses-and-whats-in-the-cup-1820126327 they have their immortal souls inside their cups-for-heads as their lifeblood]], which may be the reason why the Devil wants their heads so badly). [[ShadowDiscretionShot The shadows on the wall show him making a cutthroat motion on their throats to illustrate the point of this threat.]]
920* In ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'', you can decapitate [[GiantSpider Duke's Dear Freja]] should you sliced enough time on either of her head or both.
921* One of the more common ways to kill a zombie in the ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' series.
922* In ''Franchise/DeadSpace'', one of TheManyDeathsOfYou comes at the tentacles of the Separator: it tears Issac's head off and steals his body. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well the other way; unlike with traditional zombies, decapitating a necromorph only makes it mad. DoubleSubverted because the Infector form creates necromorphs by jabbing its proboscis into the victim's head; [[ProperlyParanoid preemptively cutting off the head of every corpse you encounter]] is sometimes worth the effort.
923* ''VideoGame/DeathEndReQuest'' ''starts'' with this, with Shina being stabbed by a giant monster, then her head was chomped off.
924* ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'''s Demon Hunter can do this to demons with the Bola Shot ability. It was also apparently a common method of execution in Khanduras during the Darkening of Tristram, as evidenced in the Halls of Agony where you come across the decapitated ghost of Queen Asylla, who was executed by guillotine on orders from the maddened King Leoric.
925** Malthael does this to two of the Horadrim at the start of ''Reaper of Souls''.
926* Good aim and proper use of the game's physics mechanics and controls allow the player to decapitate enemies in the third-person adventure game ''VideoGame/DieByTheSword''.
927* Against humanoid enemies this is a possible finishing move with edged weapons in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. It comes spectacularly close to RasputinianDeath if the character has a DualWielding build: you run the guy through with one blade, then lop his head off with the other.
928** This is also how the Warden executes Loghain Mac Tir, should you decide to kill him (if Alistair doesn't do it first).
929* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
930** This features in some of the [[Literature/TheElderScrollsInUniverseBooks in-universe books]].
931*** In ''[[http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:2920,_Hearth_Fire_%28v9%29 2920, Hearth Fire]]'' Emperor Reman Cyrodiil III has his mistress beheaded for treason (she was innocent). Here it actually takes two strokes, with the first hitting the back of her head.
932*** In ''[[http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Hallgerd%27s_Tale Hallgerd's Tale]]'' the title character beheads the man cuckolding him ([[OutWithABang during the act of cuckolding]], we should note).
933** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', the [[TheLegionsOfHell invading Daedra]] seem to really enjoy doing this captured mortals. For added measure, they then place the heads on pikes. Notably, they did this to [[AscendedExtra St. Jiub the Eradicator]] when they sacked Kvatch. All that is left of him when you find his "corpse" in Kvatch is a severed head with a large chunk of his skull missing and a look of sheer terror on his dead face in the remains of a ruined house. (Oddly, despite being a Dunmer, it was modeled with human-like ears.)
934** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'':
935*** Happens at the very start of the game, with ''your'' head on the chopping block seconds away from execution. (A VillainousRescue saves you, thankfully.) One unnamed Stormcloak gets a discount hair-cut via axe right before you.
936*** Another instance occurs when you first enter the city of Solitude, for a man who aided [[RebelLeader Ulfric Stormcloak]]'s escape after he [[TheKingslayer killed the High King]] of Skyrim.
937*** This is possible with the appropriate perks in the One-handed and Two-handed skill trees. And, unfortunately, enemies can do it to you too with a lucky swing. [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard With a high success rate to boot]].
938* The fastest way to defeat zombies and Horrors in ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' is by beheading them. In particular, it is the safest way to deal with Ulyaoth-aligned zombies to prevent them from [[TakingYouWithMe Taking You With Them]].
939* ''VideoGame/ExitLimboOpening'' allows you to kill [[NotUsingTheZWord the Infected]] by knocking them down and then pulling their craniums off, if their health is low enough.
940* ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'': Headshots have a good chance to decapitate the enemy in the process of killing them, sometimes leaving the head spinning in the air as the body falls. This can even be inflicted by arrows and ''lightning''.
941* While YourHeadAsplode is common from killing [[BoomHeadshot headshots]] with ranged weaponry in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', Off With His Head is possible with them as well as the more typical melee weapons. A head shot with a Railway Rifle will often result in the target's head being ripped off their body and nailed to the wall behind them.
942* ''VideoGame/FearAndHunger'': Chopping off an enemy's head is usually the most effective way to take them out. This is countered by the fact that the enemy is naturally guarded and harder to hit; the player is encouraged to disable an enemy's legs first, which will make the head more vulnerable.
943* ''VideoGame/FearAndHungerTermina'': As before, the player can chop off an enemy's head to kill them. Provided you have one, you can also use a bonesaw to take the heads of enemies you have already killed. The heads can be offered to a ritual circle in exchange for soul stones.
944* Eldigan is executed this way in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''. In the Oosawa manga adaptation, King Chagall then [[FingerInTheMail sends his severed head to Eldigan's friends Sigurd and Quan and his sister Raquesis to taunt them]].
945* In ''VideoGame/FredbearAndFriends'', Thomas deals with one of the animatronics by knocking it over as it enters the security booth and dropping the automatic door on its neck.
946* In ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'', [[BigBad Khotun Khan]] prefers this method of killing his victims, as his EstablishingCharacterMoment has him set a revered samurai on fire before beheading him with his massive polearm. He also does this to Taka, Yuna's brother, while [[TheHero Jin]] is ForcedToWatch. It is only fitting, therefore, that Khotun goes down the same way: he is swiftly decapitated himself in the final battle, courtesy of Jin.
947* ''VideoGame/GodHand'' has the [[LimitBreak God Reel move]] Head Slicer.
948* Kratos is fond of ripping people's heads off in the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series. Among his kills in this fashion are Medusa from [[VideoGame/GodOfWarI I]], Euryale from ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII'', Helios from ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'', Mimir from ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' and Hrólf Kraki from ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok'' (though with Mimir at least he cuts his head off so quickly he barely has time to feel a scratch).
949* The attract screen of the Japanese arcade version of ''VideoGame/GoldenAxe'' features a scene of Ax-Battler [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7FCST3zbNc lopping off an enemy's head]], with [[CameraAbuse some blood splashing onto the screen]].
950* Katanas in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games that have them are capable of decapitating, even if the swing animation seems to be a one-handed swat. HilarityEnsues in San Andreas where there's an Asian gangster on a boat that challenges you to a duel if you then immediately manage to slice his head off with one swing.
951* ''VideoGame/HungryLamu'': Lamu takes the heads off his victims whilst noticeably leaving the rest of their bodies accounted for.
952* Ajna in ''VideoGame/{{Indivisible}}'', [[RevengeBeforeReason hungry for revenge]] for [[DoomedHometown her village]], swears to do this to [[StarterVillain Ravannavar]] after their first meeting. She makes good on her promise when they next meet, decapitating him in a cutscene. [[OneWingedAngel It doesn't help.]]
953* ''VideoGame/JediKnightDarkForcesII'', ''VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast'', and ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' all feature rather vigorous decapitations as one of your rewards for skilled lightsaber use -- it will quickly and very definitively eliminate a threat in a single blow. A powerful head-height swing is without question the best way to take care of large groups of weaker enemies, as well as see multiple decapitations in one swing. Decapitation and the occasional arm severing are the only 'default' dismemberment options in the game, but it's possible to enable a much more robust and ''incredibly'' gratifying 'realistic saber combat' mode. With that particular mode enabled, expect to see a ''lot'' more heads (and other body parts) popping off like wine corks.
954* ''VideoGame/KabukiZ'' have you defeating the Undead Samurai boss via removing his cranium. With the "Stage Complete" announcement over the bloody stump of his neck.
955* ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'': Bill uses his kukri to decapitate at least two infected. Joel can do this to enemies when equipped with a machete or axe, but only on the infected. This is likely due to the Cordyceps fungus softening the tissue of the host, making it much easier to cut their heads off.
956* A staple side effect of hitting zombies with a cutting or bludgeoning melee weapon (except for the FryingPanOfDoom) in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2''.
957* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': After taking enough damage, Blind the Thief's head flies off and he grows a new one. He survives two decapitations before being felled for good.
958* In ''VideoGame/LuckBeALandlord'', one of the items you can obtain is a Guillotine. It will automatically destroy any Billionaire symbols, giving you quite a handsome payout. The [[EatTheRich implication]] given the nature of the item is clear.
959* ''VideoGame/MarvelsSpiderMan2'': This is the fate that befalls Kraven the Hunter, who gets his head bit off by Venom.
960* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' has a few decapitation moves though, oddly, [[ArtisticLicensePhysics no heads actually fall off, they fall down dead anyway]].
961* ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'': This is Talion's signature execution. It makes sense, seeing as how it's one of the only ways to ensure that an orc is 100% dead. Your character can come back to life, AND SO CAN THEY -- except from headshots.
962* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
963** The series features a fair number of these in the {{F|inishingMove}}atalities of certain characters. Perhaps the most notorious is [[AnIcePerson Sub-Zero's]] Spine Rip fatality from the first game, where he pulls off an opponent's head, along with their entire spine dangling beneath it -- it was so gruesome it ultimately resulted in the creation of the ESRB.
964** The ending of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' has Raiden present Shinnok's severed head to new Netherrealm rulers Liu Kang and Kitana. The intro to ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' shows how that happened: after repeatedly subjecting the fallen Elder God to ElectricTorture, Raiden manifests a blade made of electricity from his fist and uses it to decapitate Shinnok.
965--->'''Raiden:''' ...[[CallBack There are fates worse than death.]]
966* Native ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade'' does not allow for this, but the easily-found "Dismemberment and Decapitation" mod is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Land a clean hit and watch as your opponent's head fly off with hilarious disregard for physics.
967* ''VideoGame/NetHack'' has the [[PublicDomainArtifact vorpal blade]], which has a 5% chance per hit of doing a OneHitKill via decapitation against any monster with a head.
968* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''
969** Travis Touchdown finishes off {{Mooks}} with either a vertical or a horizontal FinishingMove; the horizontal one decapitates them. Some of the {{boss|Battle}}es get their heads cut off in post-battle cutscenes, as well.
970** Particularly impressive is Skelter Helter's death -- his head is chopped off, flies straight up into the air, and lands right back where it had been removed from. And then in the next cutscene, he ''talks'' to you, then rips his own head off... What?!
971* ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}'': Chris Walker is [[TheBrute big and strong]] enough to rip a grown man's head off his body. ''Barehanded''. If he catches you, he will grab you by the neck and rip your body out from underneath it in one fell swoop. Unlike death caused by most other inmates, it's quick and efficient, reflecting his military background and his [[WellIntentionedExtremist non-malicious intentions: he's just trying to contain the Walrider as best he can]].
972* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', Fusions are now done by putting the Personas in bags and executing them via guillotines to fuse a new one. In the event of a Fusion Accident when the guillotines jam, Caroline and Justine pull out chainsaws instead. After realising who they really are, they order Joker to prepare the guillotines to execute ''them'' as a Fusion, which creates their true form as Lavenza.
973* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'': Zombies are decapitated when you bring their health down to zero, just before they drop dead.
974* ''VideoGame/Postal2'', the sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Postal}}'', allows the player to do this using either thrown knives or a certain silenced pistol.
975** In the expansion? Vanilla ''Postal 2'' has decapitation by shovel with some interesting options of what to do with the head afterward. You can also use a shotgun for YourHeadASplode.
976* Alex Mercer from ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' only consumes the head of Hunters and Leader Hunters, as opposed to eating the whole body for human(-sized target)s. He also decapitates the Supreme Hunter with the Blade.
977* ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': In the Judged ending, Mia presents Aeyr's severed head to the public in order to prove that she ended his threat to Asala and to show that despite being pushed around earlier, she's capable of being a ruthless leader.
978* Some creatures in the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series could kill you this way. Eg. Hunters, Ivies (plant monsters), chainsaw-wielding enemies such as Dr. Salvador, Scythe Zealots, Garradors, and the advanced Plagas. Typically a decapitation attack [[OneHitKill doesn't account for how much health you have]].
979** One particular instance distinguishes itself: not using the antidote on the Jack Baker during his last encounter in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7'' will result in him grabbing you by the head and killing you: the last thing you see is your newly decapitated body in his other hand.
980* ''VideoGame/RoadRedemption'' has a sword weapon, which is weak against helmeted riders but removes the head of unprotected ones, giving a "decapitation bonus" that awards twice the resources granted for a normal take-down.
981* Raimund's death animation goes like this in ''VideoGame/{{Rosenkreuzstilette}}'': Upon receiving the final blow, he loses his Grollschwert and Grassense, and his Grassense cuts his head off before they disappear off the screen completely, after which the rest of his body starts exploding after his head disappears off the screen as well.
982* Invoked in many of the later ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' games. One fatality (Basara Kubikiri's) involves the opponent being dragged down to hell in a portal, flayed, and their head thrown back to the battlefield with a satisfying thud.
983* ''VideoGame/SilentDebuggers'': The Player Character shoots off the head of Charles Smith, who was no longer human, in response to his plan to turn mankind into monsters.
984%%(ZCE)* ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming'' is big on those, especially with the axe.
985* In ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestI'', the AcidPool in the Kerona caverns will melt Roger's head clean off if he so much as sniffs it.
986* Solom Jhee ends up suffering an anticlimactic death because of this trope in ''VideoGame/SuikodenII''.
987* In ''VideoGame/TargetTerror'', enemies' heads pop off and bounce towards you (as opposed to YourHeadAsplode) when shot repeatedly.
988* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'':
989** The "WAR Update" gave the Demoman a new weapon called the Eyelander, a haunted claymore that whispers "Heads..." Kills with the Eyelander grant the Demoman a stacking boost to speed and health and an enemy Demoman can take that boost for himself [[KarmicDeath if he takes the Demoman's head]]. [[Franchise/{{Highlander}} There can be only one!]]
990** Updates after that have included a large number of swords as Demoman melee weapons; while they decapitate, they don't give him boosts on kills except for the Eyelander reskins [[GolfClubbing Nessie's Nine-Iron]] and the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker.
991** The Horseless Headless Horsemann himself also counts, decapitating any unfortunate players that gets in his way, regardless of which one he designates as "it". [[note]]This is because, mechanics-wise, he is a reskinned and scaled up Demoknight refitted into a boss.[[/note]]
992** The Pyromania Update added the Hitman's Heatmaker as an alternative for the Sniper's [[SniperRifle Primary Weapon]], which decapitates on a successful headshot kill.
993* Exeggerated with ''VideoGame/TecmoKnight'', but '''every'''. '''single'''. '''enemy'''. killed onscreen have their heads severed, with adequately bloody effects. There's even a special FinishingMove that allows you to grab and wring their craniums off their necks. Their severed heads will then turn into power-ups like health or extra lives (or maybe gems for points) for you to collect.
994* ''VideoGame/TimeKillers'' lets you cut off an opponent's head ''at any point.'' A round can end in decapitation literally a half-second after it begins, and the loser's portrait shows them ''without their heads''.
995** Its SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/BloodStorm'', required a character-specific move, and each had a smaller hit radius, but the heads could still roll at any time.
996* In ''VideoGame/TouchTheDead'', some of the zombies will actually rip off their own heads and throw them at you.
997* ''VideoGame/UnfortunateSpacemen'': One death animation involves a characters' head coming clean off their shoulders.
998* ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' includes the ripper, a gun that shoots ricocheting buzzsaw blades. A neckshot with the ripper will indeed cleanly remove a head for a OneHitKill. Including your own head should you get caught by the ricochet. Sadly, it did not return for later games in the franchise.
999* In ''VideoGame/{{Weaponlord}}'' when one character's health hits zero it's possible for their opponent to take their head off with an attack. Continuing to attack the severed head in mid-air can lead to the head bursting open and the brain falling out.
1000* ''VideoGame/{{Wet}}'' features two major decapitations in-story. The first decapitation happens to Trevor Ackers upon Rubi's arrival with him in the hospital after taking him out of Hong Kong, beheaded by [[TheDragon Tarantula]] on orders from who Rubi (and he) initially believes is the man's own father, William Ackers, but who turns out to be an Asian-based drug lord by the name of Rupert Pelham with aspirations of operating globally. The second decapitation is delivered by Rubi herself upon Pelham as her final vengeance at the very end of the game.
1001* Happens fairly regularly in ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'' when you use Group Style against humanoids. And appropriately so, since said sword art involves lots and lots of high-velocity horizontal slashes.
1002* ''VideoGame/{{Wulverblade}}'': Sometimes, killing an enemy will sever their head.
1003* ''VideoGame/ZombieMadness'': The death animation in the game is of the PlayerCharacter's severed head falling to the ground.
1004[[/folder]]
1005
1006[[folder:Visual Novels]]
1007* ''VisualNovel/Case03TrueCannibalBoy'': The original Cannibal Boy has a reputation for cleanly cutting off their victims' heads and eating the body. They inflict this fate on Sally, resulting in Marty reviving Sally's head as a zombie. The Hillpolly library notes that the second Cannibal Boy did the same thing, only they used their teeth to separate the head and body.
1008* This is how Seiko dies in ''VisualNovel/CorpseParty: Book of Shadows''. Ayumi's sister Hinoe also dies this way after pulling a BigDamnHeroes to save Ayumi and Naomi.
1009* Beheading is one of the more well-known forms of punishment in ''VisualNovel/LadyInMystery''. However, the most well-known example in the game comes during the end of Yurin's route, where she beheads several people that she deems responsible for the death of her lover...[[DrivenToSuicide including herself]].
1010* In ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen'', this happens to the people Elodie chooses to execute. She gets to say this trope word by word when she orders the execution of an Ixion diplomat.
1011* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'', beheading is indicated to be the favored method of execution in the Kingdom of Khura'in -- and due to the Defense Culpability Act, the same fate will befall a defense attorney (especially Phoenix!) if they fail to prove the innocence of the accused. In the final trial, once she takes over as prosecutor and discards any pretense of benevolence, [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Ga'ran proves particularly fond of threatening to behead her enemies.]]
1012* This was the fate of Ishida in ''VisualNovel/{{Policenauts}}''.
1013* Jean Jack Gibson was killed like this in ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}''.
1014* ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'':
1015** Kubitarou's modus operandi is collecting heads. She doesn't discriminate and collects them from toys, plushies, [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals animals]], and humans. Maruhashi is decapitated by Kubitarou and their body is found with toys stuffed into their open neck. Depending on the ending, this fate can also befall Seiji or Kaoru; Seiji is possessed and then decapitated by Kubitarou, while Kaoru is beheaded while talking to Akira over the phone.
1016** The Killer Peach's victims are all decapitated by the katana in her possession. This is her way of getting revenge for them cutting her own head off while she was a human and investigating their corruption.
1017* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'': Screw you, [[SmugSnake Furudo Erika]]. As "the great detective" in a complicated murder mystery, she cheerfully lopped off the heads of multiple people. Why? To make sure they were dead, of course!
1018--> [[MoralEventHorizon "I dashed all over the mansion, visited all the 'crime' scenes, and...completely severed their heads. All five people I killed......were very much alive and faithfully playing dead until the moment I killed them."]]
1019[[/folder]]
1020
1021[[folder:Web Animation]]
1022* ''WebAnimation/{{Chadam}}'':
1023** A Pallid manages to kill someone by ripping their head off -- with their bare hands, no less.
1024** Simkin kills a Pallid by chopping off their head, when he and Chadam go to save Palco.
1025* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': In "A Curse or a Blessing", Vampire Lord kills an insect monster by slashing its head off. Later on, Seleenara slashes Boru's head off after he gets it stuck in a hole in the wall. He quickly regenerates from it.
1026* In Episode 3 of ''WebAnimation/DrHavocsDiary'', this happens to one Mook during a fight with Brock.
1027-->'''Random Henchman:''' [[OhCrap Oh yeah, he's dead.]]
1028* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'':
1029** Kerry does this to Sand Snake by throwing [[LivingWeapon Shovel]] at his neck like a boomerang.
1030** This happens rather frequently with the Darkness Clones in [='VRcade'=], but since they function like an AsteroidsMonster, they can keep going even without a head.
1031* In ''WebAnimation/{{Ducktalez}} 4'', Buzzkill was decapitated by a roller coaster cart launched by Huey.
1032* ''WebAnimation/KlayWorld'''s characters usually die this way. In the movie, Dr. Brown is killed this way.
1033* ''WebAnimation/OnTheEdge'': "Scythe" Sakamoto from the episode ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfEAGIGqF04 You lose 4 fingers if you sleep with a Yakuza leader's girl...]]'' loved to chop people's heads off with his sickles.
1034* ''WebAnimation/Plan3'': The Fate lord tells Stephen that his second trial to lift his curse of bad luck is to take the head of his best friend, although when Stephen is [[HeroicComedicSociopath more than happy]] to do such an easy task and is about to off Hosuh, the Fate lord panics and stops him, stating that his demand had been a joke. Stephen isn’t amused and the Fate lord [[EvenEvilHasStandards clearly didn’t think Stephen would actually be ready to do it.]]
1035* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'':
1036** A repeated problem for Lopez, though inverted. He spends the latter half of ''The Blood Gulch Chronicles'' reduced to a head. Not that this stops him from building O'Malley a robot army or firing a turret gun. ("He's very determined," according to Simmons) Sarge rebuilds him after Season 5, but when Lopez shows up in Season 11, he's revealed to have ''somehow'' lost the rest of his body again. He manages to get a new body by the end, and Season 12 shows that he's somehow able to control it if dismembered again.
1037** The rematch between the buff Insurrectionist and [[TheBrute Agent Maine]] in Season 10 ends with Maine taking the man's head off with one punch.
1038* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
1039** This is how the Giant Nevermore meets its end in during the Beacon Academy initiation, courtesy of a plan by Ruby involving a FastballSpecial and the use of Weiss's runes to run up a mountain before finishing it with Crescent Rose.
1040** Later in Volume 9 when Team RWBY are [[TrappedInAnotherWorld trapped in the Ever After]], they meet the [[RoyalBrat Red Prince]] who is shown to enjoy doing this for amusement. Team RWBY see this firsthand when he is shown displeased with Penny's weapon since it is green and has the two toy soldiers that claimed to bring it themselves beheaded as a result. He later attempts to do this to Team RWBY themselves before being talked out of this by the Curious Cat.
1041* Happens [[TheyKilledKennyAgain frequently]] in ''[[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'' to certain characters.
1042[[/folder]]
1043
1044[[folder:Webcomics]]
1045* In ''Webcomic/AsteroidQuest'', it is a testament to the durability of [[HumanoidAliens neumono]] that this is not immediately fatal for them. They do still require immediate medical attention to survive it, however, and Rokoa is killed this way [[OffingTheOffspring by her mother]] during a false memory sequence.
1046* ''Webcomic/AxeCop'' will chop your head off!
1047** Verbally {{inverted}} in a guest comic: "Sometimes, I chop their whole bodies off leaving just the heads."
1048* ''Webcomic/BoundAdventures'': Duchess Isobel's nephew eventually decides to stage a coup and overthrow his aunt. As it turns out, he succeeds, and Isobel is beheaded.
1049* Happens to [[Webcomic/CiemWebcomicSeries Candi Levens]], ''twice'', both times on a block, and with a single ax stroke. (Though the first time was an illusion.) Also happens to all three of her sisters, although Erin was already dead ''beforehand''. Marina meets an identical fate to Candi. Miriam, however, gets the guillotine. Thankfully, all three die only in the epilogue.
1050* ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan''.
1051** [[AssholeVictim Luna's mother]], [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2002-08-06 Croona Travoria]] ''just after'' saying "[[IronicLastWords ...YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!]]". Amazing how a quick sword swing can change that.
1052** In the "Oracle Hunter" storyline, [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2008-02-13 Quilt winds up losing his head]] to the villainess of the chapter.
1053** In the "March on Maltak" arc: After calling out the Doma clan orc leader [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2009-10-06 for the deaths of her father and mother]], and for [[RapeByProxy forcing Stonewater to either claim her as a mate or kill her]], Melsheena Dernaks faces down him down, and calls him [[DirtyCoward a pathetic weakling]]. As Melsheena walks away, [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2009-10-08 the Doma chief tries to]] [[InTheBack stab her in the back]]. [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2009-10-09 He never gets the chance]], and Melsheena '''''literally''''' knocks the chief's block off. With Stonewater's hammer.
1054** In the "War In Hell" storyline, a demon responsible for turning Stonewater's friends against him [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2006-02-03 has his head torn off by Lord Karnak]]... and [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2006-02-11 Lord Karnak tends to make it a habit with other demons]], [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2006-03-05 and a few demon lords]], and more notably, [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2006-06-27 Tox'xel]].
1055** Warlord Damaske, Siegfried's father, [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2006-06-16 met this awful demise]] at the hands of the Royal Seer, who was working for Tox'xel. [[CallItKarma Not surprising]] that [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2006-06-03 Lord Damaske did this as kills]].
1056** In a humorous manner, Runcible Spoon is known to [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2007-02-26 take his own head off]] willingly and ''non-fatally''.
1057%%* In the ''Webcomic/DraconiaChronicles'' webcomic, this is how Gaia is killed.
1058* In ''Webcomic/{{Erma}}'', Erma likes to rip the heads off all her dolls. She also did this to herself while dancing, although the crowd was less than enthused by it.
1059* In ''Webcomic/{{Erstwhile}}'', the bride orders this for Maid Maleen. [[http://www.erstwhiletales.com/maidmaleen-34/#.T2-Bhdm6SuI And gets it herself.]]
1060* Since ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' averts CranialProcessingUnit, robots [[InvertedTrope can be decapitated non-fatally]]. This is [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2500/fc02449.png eventually]] taken to the LogicalExtreme.
1061* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
1062** Tinka ends up decapitated by Vrin and her Geisterdamen, but given she's a clank, this could theoretically be fixed in time.
1063** When Vole is sent to get the leader of the Knights of Jove war-stompers who were the first group to attack Mechanicsburg, he comes back with just Selnikov's head.
1064** Otilia's body ends up horrifically damaged and decapitated, but she was in another body at the time.
1065* In ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', when Big Ears kills Saral Caine, he stabs (!) him in the chest with an axe, then cuts off his head.
1066* In ''Webcomic/{{Godslave}}'', this is how the Blacksmiths deal with the tree-bird -- one of them transforms his arm into a giant machete and decapitates the thing.
1067* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
1068** This was how the Black King, the White King, the Draconian Dignitary (by Dave), the Aimless Renegade, and the Hegemonic Brute (twice) were killed.
1069** Dirk pulled this off on himself as part of a brilliant example of the very rare [[ThanatosGambit Thanatos]] [[XanatosSpeedChess Speed]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]].
1070*** Also, three mooks (well technically two mooks, due to time-related shenanigans) were beheaded by Spades Slick in the Midnight Crew intermission. And Hearts Boxcars did it to another mook as well, specifically [[IAmAHumanitarian he ''ate'' the mook's head.]].
1071** One of the final updates has a triple decapitation happen to [[OtherMeAnnoysMe Spades Slick]], Jack English, [[KillUsBoth and Dirk]] [[TheyKilledKennyAgain again.]]
1072* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': The master swordswoman Meti wrote in her BigBookOfWar that decapitation by more than one blow was severely impolite. [[RightWayWrongWayPair Her two students]] eventually ended up learning that lesson in completely opposite ways: When Incubus moved on Maya, he had two of his men hold her down and made over nine attempts at severing her head, failing completely and simply leaving her with half a windpipe and severe throat scarring. Maya returned the favour after the Discordance by cleanly decapitating Incubus with a single strike of the Maybe Sword, but as the latter had become a DimensionLord with mastery of [[UseYourHead Head of John]], his headless body simply trashed her half-dead [[GoodThingYouCanHeal and Incubus reattached his head]].
1073* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
1074** Miko punches off a hobgoblin's head. It strikes the next hobgoblin with enough force to kill it. So that's how unarmed people use the Cleave ability.
1075** Roy decapitating the zombie dragon on which Xykon rides. You could say that he has great cleave-age.
1076** Belkar killing the leader of the "beetle men".
1077* In ''Webcomic/TheSanityCircus'', Sammy kicks Steven's head off in one clean go.
1078-->'''Sammy:''' ''That's one less frowny face!''
1079%%* Sonic the Hedgehog dies this way by the hands of the Troll King in ''WebComic/TailsGetsTrolled''.
1080* In ''Webcomic/Trevor2020'', Dr. Stern gets a good portion of his cranium sliced off by Trevor.
1081* In ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'', Stockyard [[http://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic/ch10/ch10_100.html is gruesomely decapitated by a razor-wire noose.]] This is also an IronicDeath, as he is fixated on noose imagery -- his father was hung, he ties his hair into the shape of nooses, and he plasters noose iconography all over his brothel. He had also killed someone in a similar manner (with a wire garrote) shortly before.
1082* ''Webcomic/{{Zomgan}}'': In the first episode, Mirae On casually beheads the Zomgan guards and then goes on to behead some more Zomgans later on, mainly by using his organs he took out from his body and a bone he summoned from the ground. A rather noticable case is when he summons a miniature brain and proceeds to play baseball with it, blowing off some Zomgans' heads as a result.
1083[[/folder]]
1084
1085[[folder:Web Original]]
1086* Website/TheOnion: "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/white-house-jester-beheaded-for-making-fun-of-soar,17495/ White House Jester Beheaded For Making Fun Of Soaring National Debt]]".
1087* Lyle Krinkor from ''Literature/ThePiratesCoveredInFur'' beheads Pryllic after he fails to beat Michum and Tully in combat.
1088* Website/SFDebris did a review of the ''Game of Thrones'' pilot. This trope was a basis for his in-universe DrinkingGame: One shot for every head off and for every naked girl. Well, he ended up totally wasted and started to read his script from a previous show, mumbling about the philosophy in ''Film/TheMatrix''.
1089* In the final chapter of ''Literature/{{TOT}}'', [[BigBad Maximus Slade]] is ([[MadeOfIron finally]]) killed when Rachel chops off his head with a machete.
1090[[/folder]]
1091
1092[[folder:Web Videos]]
1093%%* ''WebVideo/MindMyGap'': The fate of any Langemanne, as well as their only fear.
1094* At one point during the LetsPlay/PartyCrashers[='=] first ''Gartic Phone'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOfPfz30VzY video]], Sophist receives a prompt to draw himself [[ExcrementStatement pissing on Vernias]]. His drawing consists of him hitting Vernias with such an excessive piss stream that it ends up decapitating him.
1095* In the final episode of WebVideo/ThereWillBeBrawl, Ganondorf infamously meets his end this way thanks to Kirby, who used Meta-Knight's sword to lop his head off after the big [[TheReveal reveal on who the murderous butchers (Ness and Lucas) were.]]
1096* WebVideo/{{Threekliksphilip}}’s second [[WebVideo/TheOdgrubSeries Odgrub video]] includes a nearly '''TWO MINUTE LONG ''' segment of Odgrub running around decapitating the random innocent citizens of Skyrim.
1097[[/folder]]
1098
1099[[folder:Western Animation]]
1100* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': In "Season's Beatings", a rat that Roger tested his GargleBlaster eggnog on goes berserk and beheads another rat.
1101* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': Implied and parodied in the AnimatedAdaptation of ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'', when the Joker sends Batman to the guillotine, and when the blade drops, we hear it slice through his neck and the sound of his head plopping on the floor. It quickly turns into LosingYourHead for a brief moment when the Joker restores him to life again.
1102* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'': How Bushido Brown meets his end.
1103* Implied to have happened offscreen to Chef Puree in ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' "The Fancy Restaurant."
1104* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': After its petrification thanks to Scrooge using the Medusa Gauntlet, Pixiu's head breaks off from its body.
1105* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': A [[CutawayGag cutaway gag]] featuring WesternAnimation/FoghornLeghorn at a [[UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken KFC]] commenting to Col Sanders on how good it smells in there, only to be beheaded by Sanders.
1106-->'''Foghorn Leghorn's severed head:''' Heh heh, look at that boy! Running all around like a chicken with his head cu-- [[OhCrap Wait a minute...]]
1107* ''WesternAnimation/FinalSpace'': In "[[Recap/FinalSpaceS3E11TheDeadSpeak The Dead Speak]]", this is how the Lord Commander, after achieving his OneWingedAngel form, kills [[BigGood Bolo]] after first [[BladeBelowTheShoulder turning his hand into a blade]] and impaling him.
1108* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': Jack, a destructive [[ThePrankster prankster]], had tricked Grim into giving up his scythe. Grim was forced to grant him eternal life in order to get it back and cut off Jack's head out of fury. Jack, now forced to wear a pumpkin as a head, decided to get his revenge by stealing back the scythe and using it on Grim, which would actually ''kill'' him.
1109-->'''Billy:''' Don't be an idiot. Grim's head is removable. Observe. ''(pulls Grim's head off)''\
1110'''Jack:''' Ah, but any head cut off by the Grim Reaper's scythe ''stays'' off. ''Forever.''\
1111'''Billy:''' ''(fearful)'' That's a different story.
1112* In episode 1 of ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' Omni-Man strikes Immortal with his hand in the throat, which causes his head to fly off.
1113* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'':
1114** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyRescueAtMidnightCastle'': Tirac threatens to do this to Spike if Scorpan doesn't get him a fourth pony for his chariot.
1115** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Subverted. In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E8JustForSidekicks Just for Sidekicks]]", Spike leaves the Mane Six's pets with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and has second thoughts when he hears Scootaloo screaming that Tank, Rainbow Dash's tortoise, lost his head. Tank turns out to be fine as he was hiding in his shell.
1116* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': In "Stick Hockey", Benson retired from playing the titular game after his apprentice Dave (another gumball machine like himself) was beheaded by their opponent in the finals of a tournament. Dave used his last few seconds of consciousness to lament that Benson told him they would have fun, and the same opponent threatened to do the same to Mordecai and Rigby in the present.
1117%%* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': This [[TheyKilledKennyAgain frequently]] happens to Kenny.
1118* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "Sleepy Time", in Squidward's dream, the king threatens to behead Squidward if he doesn't play his clarinet well.
1119* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'':
1120** "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E9CloakOfDarkness Cloak of Darkness]]": Ventress decapitates the first clone trooper to see her boarding the ''Tranquility'', before he can warn the others on the ship of her presence.
1121** "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS3E13Monster Monster]]": Ventress takes out two of the candidates for transformation by throwing their own scythes into their necks, seemingly just to toy with them.
1122** "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS4E14AFriendInNeed A Friend in Need]]": Ahsoka takes out four Death Watch members at once this way.
1123** "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS5E15ShadesOfReason Shades of Reason]]": Darth Maul executes Pre Vizsla in this fashion after the latter loses their duel for authority.
1124** "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS6E13Sacrifice Sacrifice]]": In Yoda's vision, Anakin kills Count Dooku [[CallForward the same way]] he will in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', by scissoring his and Dooku's lightsabers at the man's neck before decapitating him.
1125** "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS7E11Shattered Shattered]]": Maul, in perhaps the most brutal combat scene in the entire series, shows that ''lightsabers are completely unnecessary'' when you have sharp metal plates and the Force for removing clone trooper heads.
1126* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': In "[[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E11CallToAction Call to Action]]", Grand Moff Tarkin has the Inquisitor execute incompetent officers Aresko and Grint this way for their failures. ''Simultaneously'', thanks to the Inquisitor's [[DoubleWeapon double-bladed lightsaber]].
1127* In either homage to the comic book example, the Shredder in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' gets this treatment after the turtles storm his headquarters. He lives, because it's a robot suit.
1128** ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' also homages the comics by having Leonardo decapitate the Super Shredder in the Season 4 finale "Owari".
1129* ''WesternAnimation/ToddMcFarlanesSpawn'': After mafia boss Tony Twist's efforts to have the cyborg assassin Overkill kill Spawn end in failure, he sends one of his flunkies, Castellano, to Rome and persuade "the man" that Twist himself will rebuild and rearm Overkill. The next he sees of Castellano [[ShootTheMessenger is his battered head in a box]], with a note from Rome that only underscores just how unhappy they are.
1130* Happens to Tom at the end of the WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry short "WesternAnimation/TheTwoMouseketeers."
1131-->'''Nibbles/Tuffy:''' Pauvre, pauvre pussycat...
1132* In the Creator/VanBeurenStudios Tom and Jerry short "Swiss Trick", Tom briefly gets his head knocked off as a gag. He quickly puts it back on.
1133* ''WesternAnimation/ToonMarty'': Happens to Hollie in one episode.
1134* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': In "Crossfire", Megatron decapitates Airachnid's Insecticon, and it's implied that Airachnid might have done this to Breakdown (his head is found lying well away from his body with an expression of terror on his face).
1135* ComicBook/LadyShiva slices [[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} Ocean Master]]'s head off with a sword in ''[[WesternAnimation/YoungJusticeRevivalSeries Young Justice: Outsiders]]'' in order to stop him from killing the Justice League's families (an act which for [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge obvious reasons]] is considered by the Light to be the "[[GodzillaThreshold nuclear option]]").
1136[[/folder]]
1137
1138[[folder:Real Life]]
1139* Decapitation was a common form of capital punishment in many pre-modern polities, though it was often one of many forms of execution, and could vary in terms of why and how it was applied, as well as to whom and when. In Germanic and Scandinavian countries, decapitation was reserved for capital crimes such as murder; commoners were traditionally beheaded with an axe while noblemen with a sword. In England and France however, decapitation was solely reserved for the nobility who have committed serious crimes, with the latter almost exclusively using the sword and the former going for the axe. Following the UsefulNotes/FrenchRevolution, a few European countries followed France in reserving it for capital crimes, though it had been superseded by hanging in places like Great Britain. Those that continued using it into the twentieth century generally switched over to the guillotine, which had existed in some form or another before the nineteenth century. Today, the only countries which still have decapitation on the books are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Yemen, though only Saudi Arabia still carries them out.
1140** Decapitation has been carried out on corpses in cases where judgment has been rendered after death:
1141*** UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell, who had been dead some years before the restoration of Charles II, was sentenced to a ritual execution after being tried as a regicide. After having his corpse dragged to its place of execution, his head was then struck off and mounted on a spike atop Westminster Hall, where it stood for about two decades until it was blown down in a storm.
1142*** The remains of [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope]] [[UsefulNotes/NotablePopes Formosus]] were exhumed and put on trial in the "Cadaver Synod". Some sources say the cadaver was decapitated.
1143** During the UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, beheading by guillotine became the only legal method of capital punishment in France, with the only exceptions were crimes against the state and military offences (which were punished by [[ShotAtDawn firing squad]]). Consisting of little more than a heavy, angled blade mounted on a frame, the guillotine was so efficient that spectators were said to be disappointed at the brevity of the show -- as [[Podcast/{{Revolutions}} Mike Duncan]] succinctly put it, "just zip, thud, the end". Gruesome though it may be, the point of the guillotine was to make the act of executing the condemned as quick and painless as possible. By making decapitation the only legally accepted method of capital punishment, it was not only more humane, but also more equitable as well, ensuring that all criminals received the same punishment for crimes of similar severity.[[note]]Prior the Penal Code of 1791, sentencing could depend on the type of crime and one's status in society and often involved varying levels of torture beforehand. Hanging was the most common form of punishment for most crimes, but one could also be burned alive for sodomy or witchcraft (if not strangled beforehand), broken on the wheel for brigandage or murder, immersed in boiling liquid for counterfeiting, or dismembered for high treason or parricide. Decapitation (by sword) was solely reserved to the nobility, being seen as a more dignified (and less painful) way to die, especially as the executioner was generally of esteemed birth.[[/note]]
1144*** Contrary to popular belief, Joseph Guillotin did not invent the guillotine nor was he a victim of it. In fact, he was actually opposed to capital punishment on principle, and only proposed as an alternative should proposals to abolish the death penalty fail to be realized.[[note]]There is a further irony in that this one proposal has largely overshadowed his work as a doctor and chair of the Health Committee, one of the first attempts at public health initiatives in France.[[/note]] The real ironies of the guillotine were that Robespierre died of it (of course) and that UsefulNotes/LouisXVI had a hand in developing the standard design (specifically, it was he who suggested that the blade be angled, so as not to bounce off the neck of the condemned).
1145** The last execution by beheading in France was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamida_Djandoubi Hamida Djandoubi]], a Tunisian man convicted of the kidnapping, torture and murder of Elisabeth Bousquet. He was guillotined on September 10, 1977, the final time any Western nation executed someone via this method. The death penalty was then abolished in France in 1981.
1146** The last beheading in UsefulNotes/WestGermany occurred in 1949 when a convicted robber-murderer Berthold Wehmeyer was executed by guillotine. He was also the last person to be executed in West Germany. The last time a guillotine was used in these countries was in 1961 in UsefulNotes/EastGermany.
1147** The last beheading in Scandinavia happened 1910 when Swedish murderer Johan Ander was guillotined in Långholmen prison, Stockholm.
1148** Beheading was the ''de jure'' execution method in the Grand Duchy of Finland until 1917, although the last execution in Finland happened in 1828 [after that, all death sentences were commuted to internal exiles in Siberia]. The method was changed in 1917 into firing squad.
1149** The last beheading in UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}} took place in 1892. The last beheading before that had been in 1882, and the death penalty was largely on the vane in the country. Indeed, Jens Nielsen, the prisoner sentenced to death, had had two prior death penalties converted to life in prison, but he didn't want to rot in prison, so he kept attacking the prison guards. After the third incident, his deathwish was finally carried out. When the death penalty was re-introduced following World War II, the sentences were carried out by firing squad.
1150** Although decapitation was often the preferred means of departure for condemned members of the British nobility, it could get pretty messy at times. In 1405 the Archbishop of York was executed for rebelling against King Henry IV; the headsman deliberately used five blows to sever the churchman's head to mimic the five wounds of Christ. In 1685 the Duke of Monmouth suffered an even more Nightmare Fuel-lish fate; the terrified and incompetent executioner, Jack Ketch, took over ''seven'' unsuccessful blows to try and remove the head; he had to finish off the job with a knife. One account states that at one point the executioner threw down his axe and offered a large sum of money to anyone in the crowd willing to take over the job. Another account says that the watching crowd was so horrified (and the half-dead Duke was so annoyed) that the headsman had to be escorted out with armed guards at the ready as the mob was threatening to beat him to death.
1151** Obviously, UsefulNotes/HenryVIII of England, who had two of his six wives executed in this fashion. His kids did their fair share as well -- Edward VI actually had two of his uncles beheaded; Mary I and UsefulNotes/ElizabethI both had one of their cousins beheaded for claiming the throne -- Lady Jane Grey and [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], respectively. Given it was a major spectacle for the nobility, the fact that it took two or three strikes to get the job done was likely rather embarrassing to the headsman. (He was generous enough to call for a swordsman to come from France to do it for Anne Boleyn at her own request; also, contrary to popular belief, nobles were executed away from the public; not only was it considered harsh for them to be jeered at, many monarchs who had sentenced them did not want the bad publicity it would often cause.)
1152** A particularly horrific case was that of the 67-year-old [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Pole,_8th_Countess_of_Salisbury Margaret Pole]], Countess of Salisbury and a Blessed of the Catholic Church; condemned by Henry VIII (in what historians consider [[EvilIsPetty a spiteful act]] to [[RevengeByProxy get back at her son, Cardinal Reginald Pole]], who'd been disparaging and encouraging resistance to Henry's rule), who refused to admit any guilt and would not kneel at the headsman's block -- one account says that she leapt from the block after the first clumsy blow and ran, pursued by the executioner, being struck ''eleven'' times before she died.
1153** When the German medieval pirate Klaus Störtebeker was to be beheaded, he was granted the wish that those of his men would be pardoned, if he managed to walk past them ''after being decapitated''. And according to the legend, he managed to walk past eleven of them (and may have continued, but the executioner tripped him).
1154** UsefulNotes/NaziGermany guillotined almost as many people as the French Revolution did. Beheading was the usual sentence for felonies rather than political crimes, though certain members of resistance groups, such as Hans and Sophie Scholl of the nonviolent White Rose resistance group, were executed this way when they weren't hanged or shot. For extra cruelty points, the Nazis would often execute their victims ''face up'', so that they would be forced to watch the blade descend.
1155** During the religious persecutions of the fanatical Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, two Sikh boys [[WouldHurtAChild under 10 years old]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath were condemned to be]] [[BuriedAlive bricked up alive inside a wall]] for refusing to convert to Islam. The boys' executioners entombed them up to their shoulders and then beheaded them, [[MercyKill presumably out of pity]].
1156* Medieval martyrologies cite decapitation as a standard method of execution carried out by the [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Romans]] towards captured early UsefulNotes/{{Christian|ity}}s. Examples: Saint John the Baptist (who was actually beheaded on orders of Herod rather than the Romans themselves), Saint Paul of Tarsus, Saint Agnes of Rome, Saint Philomena, etc. Supposedly, since Paul actually held Roman citizenship, he couldn't be crucified by the Roman authorities: beheading was seen as quick mercy for condemned Romans compared to a slow, painful, degrading death by crucifixion.
1157** Two rather special cases are [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis Saint Denis]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solange Saint Solange]]. Both died by beheading (Denis, for being the Christian bishop of Paris in Roman times; MysteriousWaif Solange, for [[AttemptedRape fighting back against a would-be rapist]] [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty who was trying to kidnap her]] [[SexSlave and make her his mistress]])... but according to their legends, their "lifeless" bodies calmly ''took their own heads in their hands and walked towards the nearest towns'', only dropping truly dead in front of the local villagers.
1158* Often an unintended consequence of a botched judicial long drop hanging. If the drop is made too long or the convict has weak neck muscles or vertebrae, the result will be decapitation instead of NeckSnap. An example of this occurred in the 1930s with the hanging of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Dugan Eva Dugan]], whose head popped off and rolled to a stop at the spectators' feet. This is one of the reasons why, in the United States, hanging has been replaced by electric chair, lethal injection or gas chambers.
1159* Creator/VicMorrow (Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh's dad) and two child actors named My-ca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen were killed when a stunt helicopter crashed near them during the filming of ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'' in 1982. Morrow was filming a scene where his character [[HeroicSacrifice tried to save the children who were trapped in an area about to be bombed]] in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. He and one of the kids were decapitated by the chopper's rotor blades while the other was crushed under the weight... and their deaths were ''caught on film''.
1160** For the morbidly curious, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru6I9Cc9XnE footage]] found its way into one those atrocious ''Death Scenes'' {{mondo}} videos and is now available on the internet. The clip itself actually isn't graphical at all; the crash happens so suddenly and fast that nothing can be seen; Vic and the two children are there one moment, the chopper comes down, and in the next moment they've disappeared beneath the wreckage.
1161* Similarly to Vic Morrow, film director [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Sagal Boris Sagal]] (father of actress [[Series/MarriedWithChildren Katey]] [[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} Sagal]]) died via being decapitated by the tail rotor blades of a stunt helicopter.
1162* ''{{Seppuku}}'' was traditionally concluded by the samurai's second, or ''kaishakunin'', chopping off the samurai's head to finish him off after the initial self-disembowelment. This was so their suffering would be brief and to prevent the shame of showing pain.
1163* In the 1974 US [[UsefulNotes/FormulaOne Grand Prix]], Austrian Helmuth Koinigg crashed into an Armco barrier. The lower beam wasn't properly secured and buckled as the vehicle struck it. The car passed underneath the top portion... which was very firmly bolted on. Yikes.
1164* Another UsefulNotes/FormulaOne death happened this way. Tom Pryce struck a track marshal who had foolishly run onto the race course to extinguish a minor fire on the other side of the track. Pryce hit the man at full racing speed, the impact ripping him in two. The fire extinguisher the marshal had been carrying entered the cockpit of Pryce's car and struck his helmet, ripping it up and out of the car. The helmet's strap partially decapitated Pryce and his now driverless car careened down the track before hitting another car and coming to a stop. There is footage of the incident on Website/YouTube and various other video sites.
1165* [[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/08/31/2011-08-31_man_in_virginia_uses_cable_to_decapitate_self_after_argument_with_exwife_cops.html Man in Virginia uses cable to decapitate himself.]]
1166* The occupants of a Piper Cherokee lost their heads when [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroméxico_Flight_498 their plane collided with an airliner over the Los Angeles suburb of Cerritos]].
1167* Famously, this didn't completely work for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Headless_Chicken Mike the Headless Chicken]]. On September 10, 1945, Mike was taken to the chopping block to be butchered. Thanks to a botched axe swing, didn't die after his head was severed. He kept on walking around headless as if nothing had happened for ''a year and a half'', though the loss of his head meant that he could not survive without assistance.
1168* A possible consequence coming from flying kites with strings that are made of thread covered in liquid glue and pulverized glass. This is intended to cut rival kites' strings in flying competitions, but these 'covered' threads (known as "hilo curado" in Chile and "cendol" in Brazil) are [[RazorFloss dangerous enough to slit throats and straight up decapitate people.]]
1169* Sushi chefs usually cut off the heads of freshly caught fish before preparing it. The fish are generally already dead, and the beheading is largely because fish heads aren't much good as sushi: their meat is not conducive to eating in 1-2 bites as required for sushi eating. (The heads don't go to waste; they usually end up in fish stock either at the restaurant or after being sold to another, though if the head is big enough--e.g. tuna--the sushi place might harvest the head meat for rolls or gunkanmaki before doing that.)
1170* American patriot Henry Laurens was so afraid of being buried alive that upon his death in 1792, [[ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure he arranged for his remains to be subjected to a post-mortem decapitation just in case]], [[NoKillLikeOverkill and then burnt for good measure]]. His ashes were then buried on his estate.
1171* In accordance with his will, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham had his body preserved for posterity after his death in 1832. Following his dissection (ForScience), his body was reduced to a skeleton and his head was detached and mummified so as to retain the features that he had in life, though not with great success -- the preservers elected to use a wax head on the body instead. Nevertheless, his real head was left in the display unit alongside his body... until one too many frat house thefts led to it being locked away in a more secure location.
1172* Pirate queen Ching Shih had a pretty straightforward punishment for anyone who did anything dishonorable or excessively cruel while in her employ -- have their head chopped off, and the body thrown into the ocean.
1173* The macuahuitl, a pre-colonial Mesoamerican weapon, was [[AbsurdlySharpBlade so incredibly sharp]] and heavy that according to the Spaniards' reports, skilled wielders lopped off the necks of horses to demonstrate that they could do the same to humans even through metal armor. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], however, as said Mesoamericans were not yet familiar with steel, namely how insanely tough it is in proportion to its mass, which ''were'' a match for the macuahuitl. When ''not'' wearing that steel armor, on the other hand, the Spaniards' heads were easily chopped off and placed on public display on a ''tzompantli'' for intimidation.
1174* In 2016, 10-year-old Caleb Schwab was decapitated on Verrückt at Schlitterbahn Water park in Kansas City. Due to uneven weight distribution, when the raft went airborne, it hit the netting and Caleb was decapitated by a metal support beam (Internally as confirmed by his brother, Nate, who was waiting for him at the bottom, but still a HORRIBLE thing to see.) His father, Kansas state assemblyman Scott Schwab, sought criminal charges against the park. While the case was ultimately dismissed, the park's reputation was badly damaged, as attendance declined following the incident.
1175* Due to unhealed deep bite marks matching ''Tyrannosaurus'' found on some ''Triceratops'' frills, which wouldn't have had much meat, it is theorized that the former may have decapitated the latter postmortem by grabbing on their frills in order to get enough leverage to rip their heads off and get at their nutrient-rich neck meat.
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