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[[quoteright:350:[[Film/{{Nosferatu}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nosferatu_470567.gif]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[WeakenedByTheLight Sun rises, vampire falls.]]]]
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->''"We belong dead!"''
-->-- '''FrankensteinsMonster''', ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein''

TheUndead are [[LiminalBeing neither dead nor alive]], nor do they last in that state particularly long. For whatever reason, most media showing an undead character with sentience will have said character not be undead by story's end. Sort of like Schrödinger's Zombie, they can stay in [[LiminalTime their 'inbetween' state]] for hundreds of years if unobserved (by an audience), but appearing in a movie will force them to be either KilledOffForReal or brought [[UndeathIsCheap back to true life]].

Maybe [[WhoWantsToLiveForever they're tired of]] {{Immortality}} and choose to end their existence or cure their undead state, or embrace it so thoroughly they confuse eternal youth with indestructibility and get cocky fighting the hero. Whatever the case, undeath does not grant one the ability to [[StayingAlive stay alive no matter what]] ... well, undead no matter what.

Whether a vampire, lich, mummy, or rarer fare, you can rest assured that by the story's end any notable undead character will not be undead because of one of the following:
* The character accepts their death or fulfills [[GhostlyGoals whatever duty kept them tethered]] to the world and rests in peace or ascends to the afterlife.
* The character is killed by someone else (hero, villain; doesn't matter which).
* The character, [[WhoWantsToLiveForever unhappy]] with [[WhatHaveIBecome their undead state]], [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide]] or [[ICannotSelfTerminate convinces the heroes to slay/vanquish/exorcise them]]. (Vampires favor SuicideBySunlight.)
* The character kills themself inadvertently.
* The character dies in a HeroicSacrifice.
* The character is [[UndeathIsCheap restored to full life.]]

The extent to which this trope applies seems to be directly proportional to how much the portrayed version of undead can be said to fit and belong in the world once the story is over. Undead that can be empathized with, such as vampires, may very well continue existing indefinitely and be perfectly fine with it. Undead demonstrating angst over their situation, such as ghosts, demand closure and as such the narrative usually puts them out of their misery. Finally, the chance for assorted undead abominations such as zombies or FrankensteinsMonster to survive the show is vanishingly slim, as they are inherently unstable, seldom sentient and their condition is usually implied to be a FateWorseThanDeath.

This is an '''(Un){{Death Trope|s}}''', so spoilers follow.
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/XxxHOLiC'' and ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' example- [[spoiler:Yuko Ichihara.]] A full explanation would require an eight paragraph course in semi-made-up-by-CLAMP-mysticism, [[MindScrew confusingness]], [[GambitPileup multiple overly-complex-plan pileups]], and would leave you more confused than educated. The short version is that a RealityWarper effectively made the universe ignore her death for several hundred years.
* Goes with the territory of the ''Manga/TheKurosagiCorpseDeliveryService'' -- the main character's power allows him to temporarily coax the recently dead to talk (and move) again in order to finish business they left on earth, but this effect's length can usually be measured in minutes before they're done and pass on again. [[spoiler:Other characters who can revive the dead also exist, but their powers are equally temporary -- though in one girl's case it's because her powers cause the dead enormous pain and they become unreasoning monsters who must be put down.]]
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'''s afterlife is a bit messy and it's a little hard to say exactly how it fits into this trope. For starters, there are Pluses, good spirits. They have three possible outcomes: A) Be sent to Soul Society by a Shinigami, B) Get eaten by a Hollow, or C) Become a Hollow yourself. For Hollows, you A) Get killed by a Shinigami, sending your now pure spirit to Soul Society, B) Get killed by a Shinigami, sending your evil-as-a-human spirit to Hell, C) Get killed by a Quincy, AKA, [[CessationOfExistence end of the line]], D) Get eaten by another, stronger Hollow, or E) Eat other Hollows and eventually become stronger forms of Hollows (and still run the risk of losing control to one or more of the other Hollows that've been eaten). It becomes even more confusing when you get to the Soul Society, and it remains unclear exactly what happens to souls eaten by a Hollow after a Shinigami purifies the Hollow that ate them (ie do all of them end up in Soul Society separately or does the purified Hollow arrive as a composite of all the souls it ate?)...
* Happens ''by the wazoo'' in ''Manga/SaintSeiya'''s Hades Saga. [[spoiler: To both good guys ''and'' enemies.]]
* Any vampires, zombies or ghosts usually get defeated or pass on peacefully in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' but there are some noteworthy exceptions.
** A one-shot story reveals that [[spoiler: Yoshikage Kira]] went onto live as an amnesiac ghost, having to make amends by working for a priest [[GhostlyGoals to have a chance for moving on to afterlife.]] By the end of the story he remains a spirit wandering the earth.
** By the end of Part 5 [[spoiler: Polnareff]] becomes a disembodied spirit bound by Coco Jumbo's [[BiggerOnTheInside stand room.]] He doesn't seem too distressed by his state though and remains as a spirit even as the story ends. The sequel novel even claims he became a high-ranking member of the reformed gang despite remaining a ghost.
* Played with in ''Manga/MyLovelyGhostKana''--[[spoiler:Kana is still dead by the end of the manga, but her time with [[BoyMeetsGhoul Daikichi]] has made her ''feel'' more alive than ever, which is why she shows no desire or need to leave the world.]]
* By the end of ''Manga/InuYasha'', both Kikyo (reanimated as a lifelike golem) and Onigumo (the dead human who serves as the heart of [[BigBad Naraku]]) are gone for good. Though Kikyo had already reincarnated as the time-traveling main heroine Kagome before ([[TimeTravelTenseTrouble or centuries after]]) this.
* The ''Literature/{{Shiki}}'' are undead, but they're also mortal. They can be killed in numerous ways, such as being burned by the sun or by fire, getting their heads chopped off, or by having their hearts staked. Since can only digest blood and nothing else they can also die of starvation if they don't get blood.
* Kanoe Yuuko, the titular CuteGhostGirl from ''Manga/DuskMaidenOfAmnesia'', has been haunting her school for over fifty years, but due to GhostAmnesia, doesn't remember why, and is [[AngstWhatAngst surprisingly carefree]] about her situation. When she meets [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Teiichi]], a boy who doesn't realize she's a ghost at first, they have a conversation that leads the two to form the [[JapaneseSchoolClub Paranormal Investigation Club]] to look into the school's various ghost stories and try to figure out the circumstances behind Yuuko's death. [[BoyMeetsGhoul They gradually fall in love.]] [[spoiler:But eventually, [[BreakTheCutie they discover]] the [[HumanSacrifice horrible truth]] behind Yuuko's CruelAndUnusualDeath and Teiichi helps her come to terms with it with ThePowerOfLove. Unfortunately, the pain and resentment she had forgotten were anchoring her in the world of the living, and the closure she gains causes her to begin fading away against her will, just as her relationship with Teiichi was getting serious and she finally had a good reason to stay... [[SubvertedTrope only to unexpectedly return,]] because her separation from Teiichi was so painful that it served as a new regret to keep her lingering among the living. The story plays with this, in the end: Yuuko moving on has only been delayed, but when she does leave it will be with the man she loves.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comics]]
* Averted in any and all depictions of ''WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost''.
* After Doomsday rips his arm off, ComicBook/BoosterGold bleeds out on the operating table - but contrives to do so during a period in which no one on Earth can be born or die. Though clinically dead, Booster fights on with the help of a new suit of armour (incorporating a prosthetic arm) that his BFF Ted Kord rigs up for him. When the stasis period ends and death returns to the DCU, Booster drops dead - only to open his eyes again moments later, the suit Ted built having (unbeknownst to anyone but Ted) incorporated a life-support system that will keep Booster going indefinitely. This long period of undeath - during which Booster is basically a zombie in a tin can - ends when Booster strikes a deal with Monarch to heal his wounds and let him remove the life-support armour.
* At the end of ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', the vampire Cassidy makes a deal with God to help him take out Genesis. In return, he made God promise that he and Jessie would live no matter what. After Cassidy immolated himself in sunlight, he reappears completely fine...watching a sunset as a human.
* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Subverted. The Dark Judges are seemingly destroyed in their second appearance when Judge Anderson channels the energy of their millions of victims to destroy their spirits for good. It later turns out [[JokerImmunity they were only weakened]] and are soon back up to their usual killing spree.
* In ''ComicBook/ZombiesChristmasCarol'' this is initially subverted, as the zombies not being able to die is part of what makes them so horrifying and numerous. Played straight after Scrooge reforms, as zombies that needed death are granted it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Despite returning from the dead four times in ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures'', Hago always dies in the same story.
** Being immortal, Shocker [[DeathSeeker hungers for death]]. The closest he gets is being buried alive by the Interceptor in ''The Interceptor's Challenge''. This finally stops him for good.
* In ''Fanfic/DeadOfNight'', Vesser tells the Detective that since the zombified [[Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName Hanna]] was very recently dead, a more powerful warlock ought to be able to bring him back to life. This never happens during the fic's run time though, [[spoiler:and is subverted later, when it's revealed that Vesser was just lying to try to get more money out of them.]]
* In ''FanFic/BeingDeadAintEasy'', Joey is in danger of dying while already dead and ceasing to exist.
* In the Franchise/HarryPotter fic ''Fanfic/CruciamentumEternus'', this is cruelly averted. Draco becomes a ghost in the beginning of the story, and the conclusion is a hundred years later, ending with him saying he [[DownerEnding supposes he always will be]].
* In the ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'', [=SkyClan=] is plagued by rats which are actually the spirits of their dead ancestors that, due to [=SkyClan=] being exiled from the other Clans and their ancestors being thus separated from the other Clan's afterlife of [=StarClan=], cannot fade away like normal spirits. Firestar, Brokenstar and the reconstituted [=SkyClan=] are ultimately able to defeat the rats and allow the spirits of cats they once were to rest.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* At the conclusion of ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'', when Victor chooses to marry Victoria, the titular undead bride wishes them luck and then disappears into butterflies. Presumably she ascended to some higher plane rather than the afterlife seen in the movie.
* After the possessed house in ''WesternAnimation/MonsterHouse'' is destroyed, the spirit of the woman who haunted it is briefly reunited with her husband before departing into the afterlife.
* Played straight with [[spoiler: Mr. Prenderghast, Agatha, and the Puritan zombies]] in ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman'', who fade into the afterlife after [[MagneticMedium Norman]] helps them. Averted with [[spoiler: his grandmother and the other friendly ghosts in town]], who are all still around at the end of the film.
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'': [[spoiler:The countless people who have had their souls drained by the werecats are cursed to continue living as zombies, fully aware of their fate but unable to pass on to the afterlife after losing their lives, or do anything besides try to warn other people away from Moonscar Island so they don’t suffer the same fate. The climax sees Mystery Inc. and the zombies stall the werecats long enough to miss their deadline to drain more souls, causing them to die, and for all the zombies to disintegrate, their souls finally being allowed to move on in peace.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* The end of ''Film/LetTheRightOneIn'' averts this trope in that [[spoiler: Eli is still "living" as a vampire at the end of the film. What's more, "she" now has Oskar with her whom she might turn into a vampire as well, or keep around as her new caretaker (it's never mentioned how old that father figure was when he first met here).]] It could be argued that before she met Oskar, Eli was unhappy with her vampiric existence, but meeting Oskar gave her a new lease on unlife.
* In the movie ''Film/FrightNight1985'', Jerry Dandrige (vampire) and his ghoul servant end up dead, and Charley's girlfriend Amy (turned into a vampire) is returned to life. But subverted in the movie's final frames, where we learn that [[spoiler: Evil Ed was only playing possum.]]
* Averted in the Creator/EddieMurphy vehicle ''Film/VampireInBrooklyn''. Early in the film Murphy's vampire recruits another character as a "ghoul" (basically a sentient decaying zombie) to serve him. After Murphy has been "destroyed", his body turns into mist and floats away. The "mist" laughs and drops his ring to his limo, flying off into the night. The ghoul, who is sat in the back of the limo, tries the ring on. This turns him into a vampire as well. So he is still undead by the end of the movie, but has received a complimentary upgrade to Undead Deluxe.
* Averted in ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead.'' At the end of the movie, Shaun's [[spoiler:friend Ed who was turned into a zombie]] ends up chained up in the shed, playing video games. All rather poetic, considering [[spoiler:Ed]] was still "living" exactly as he had before dying. Much like a metaphorical zombie turning into a literal one.
* ''Film/InnocentBlood'': [[spoiler:The original vampire tries to kill herself at the end, but is stopped.]]
* ''Film/NearDark'' ends with [[spoiler: the rest of the vampires dead and the main character and his love interest cured of vampirism through a complete blood replacement]].
* Averted in ''Film/TheDevilsBackbone'' - although Santi accomplishes his GhostlyGoals, and so does [[spoiler:Dr. Casares]] who died need the end of the film, neither of them are able to pass on and remain stuck at the orphanage while everyone else leaves. It is suggested that souls can't reach Heaven because the desert is too hot.
* Zigzagged in ''Film/CrimsonPeak'', Creator/GuillermoDelToro's ''other'' ghost movie. It's unclear whether the ghosts of [[spoiler: Thomas' past wives, his mother, and his child]] are still haunting Allerdale Hall at the movie's end, but [[spoiler: Thomas himself]] does indeed cross over. However, the final shot of the movie shows that [[spoiler: Lucille's ghost continues to haunt the house.]]
* Averted in ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'', where everyone stays a ghost.
* ''Film/TheMummy2017'': Subverted. [[spoiler:By the end of the film Nick uses Set's power to take away Ahmanet's lifeforce, but the fact that the Prodigium goes through the effort of resealing her corpse back inside her warded sarcophagus indicates that she's still not truly destroyed.]]
* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing''
** During the Battle of Minas Tirith, Eowyn manages to kill the Witch-King, a disembodied spirit occupying a human suit of armor who used to be a mortal man, presumably destroying him for good. The other Ring Wraiths are seen to burst into flames after the destruction of the One Ring, too.
** Aragorn releases the Army of the Dead from the curse that his ancestor Isildur had placed on them, allowing them to finally pass into the afterlife.
* Averted in ''Film/TheHaunting1963''. It's [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane unclear]] whether there even ''are'' ghosts at Hill House, but if there are, [[spoiler: their number increases by one at the story's end.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'', it is implied that the creature committed suicide by burning to death.
* In Bram Stoker's ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', the [[CharacterTitle title]] [[{{Dracula}} character]], his three vampire "brides" (who were probably turned years beforehand) and [[PuritySue Lucy Westenra]] (changed into a vampire) are all killed.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** Death dislikes immortality in general for this reason. Everything dies eventually, regardless of any undeath or {{Soul Jar}}s they use to prolong their life, so Death basically has to reap them twice. He has enough work to do as it is.
** Averted with zombies, most of whom have jobs like policemen and lawyers. One exception is Windle Poons who becomes a zombie at the start of ''Literature/ReaperMan'' (due to the DeathTakesAHoliday situation) and dies at the end.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** Averted in the early books [[spoiler:but then played straight with all but the house ghosts, and they probably ''wish'' they could get this treatment.]]
** Harry Potter has kind of a [[SortingAlgorithmOfDeadness sorting algorithm of (un)deadness]] going on. Almost every form of cheating death (being a ghost, unicorn blood, Horcruxes, [[spoiler: the Resurrection Stone]]) has at least one major drawback to the user or those around them. The Philosopher's Stone is the only exception, with no apparent downside but having to rely on its elixir. Its only known users (Nicolas Flamel and Perenelle) simply [[WhoWantsToLiveForever grow tired]] and choose to see what comes next.
* The plot of Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/PetSematary'' circles around the concept that the dead should stay dead.
** And in fact they do. The corpses that revive after burial in the Pet Sematary are different creatures than the ones who died, the original owners are gone. The problem of the Pet Sematary is rooted in the desire to deny the reality of death, it's the 'come on' that enables the demonic power to get at them.
* ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' has the Zombie King. His power is to create zombies. They nearly always remain zombies, although if [[ThePowerOfLove they are given love]] and [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman treated like real people]] they can recover from their rotted state and ''appear'' alive again. Oddly, the Zombie King is not himself a zombie; he was for a while, but he recovered thanks to a potion he himself created [[{{Irony}} without knowing who it was really for]] (StableTimeLoop is involved).
* Death Knight Lord Soth from the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' books was [[HumanityEnsues turned Human]] and subsequently killed in the War of Souls trilogy.
** [[spoiler: This also happened to Ausric Krell in the ''Dark Disciple'' Trilogy, he was turned Human by Mina. He was given some powers over undead by Chemosh to compensate for the loss of his Death Knight powers, but he was still defeated and killed by Rhys near the end of the third book.]]
* Played with in ''Literature/WorldWarZ''. Near the end of the book, the "first generation" zombies are basically being worn down to nothing, but there's still no cure for zombieism save a kiss goodbye, a stiff drink, and a bullet between the eyes.
* Averted like all get out in ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}''. Sethra Lavode is a vampire and intends to stay that way. Since she's [[PersonOfMassDestruction so powerful that even the gods stay out of her way]], she's likely to remain so. She did once tell Vlad that under certain (very unlikely) circumstances she'd consider her existence fulfilled and [[spoiler:"become part of the rock of Dzur Mountain again"]].
* [[spoiler:Laura Moon]] in ''Literature/AmericanGods'' chooses death over undeath(or possibly full restoration) in the end.
* In the end of ''Literature/WarmBodies'', some of the zombies (presumably the ones still intact enough to function) start to come back alive.
* Mixed bag in the ''Literature/BetsyTheVampireQueen'' series: the vampires (mostly) survive, the zombie gets killed, and most of the ghosts go off to Heaven (or wherever), except for one who chooses to stick around.
* Averted in Creator/AnneRice's ''The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned.'' The Elixir of Life makes living creatures totally indestructible. If chopped to pieces, the parts will become independently animate. If incinerated, they will reconstitute. Naturally, the full ramifications of this are utterly horrifying once grasped.
* Averted and played straight in ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle''. Prince Edmund frees many of the undead in a drawn-out campaign of attrition, but remains undead himself. Hugh the Hand is allowed to die before the final battle against Sang-Drax.
* ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy'': Gerald Tarrant, aka The Hunter, got ''nine hundred years'' of undeath thanks to a [[DealWithTheDevil bargain with The Unnamed.]] But by the end of the third book, he [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices his life]] to defeat Calesta, and then the Mother of the Iezu restores him to human life for complicated reasons. And then he has a heart attack, but Damien heals him. And ''then'' his [[IdenticalGrandson great-great-great-grandson]] goes after him for [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge murdering his family,]] cuts off his head and throws it on a bonfire. [[spoiler: [[FakingTheDead It was a trick,]] and he walks away in the end.]]
* Played straight in the ending of [[Literature/GhostStory Harry Dresden's undeath]]. [[spoiler: He had himself killed to avoid letting Mab have use of his services. Being restored to life foiled his scheme.]]
* In Creator/AletheaKontis's ''Literature/{{Enchanted}}'', the ghost of [[spoiler:Rumbold's mother]] goes on at the end, after they've defeated the king.
* Guiliette the Wili, in ''[[Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms Fortune's Fool]]'', manages to time her ascension to Heaven in such a way that her transformation into light blinds her Jinn captor (and blasts open a spring, which lets Katya start using her water magic).
* Gilbert in ''Literature/TheWitchWatch'' turns out to be animated by someone's stolen life-force, and has to die for good to bring her back. He spends most of the novel actually looking forward to doing this, having been zombified unwillingly (and by mistake) anyway and generally being none-too-fond of his undead status.
* The [[NightOfTheLivingMooks undead army]] in ''Literature/AnArmyOfTheDead'' return to their dead state just after they finish killing their enemies and [[DigYourOwnGrave digging their graves]].
* Averted in China Mieville's Literature/BasLagCycle. There's even a nation that revolves around the stability of being ruled by the eternal abdead.
* ''Literature/TheDarkElfTrilogy'': In ''Exile'', Matron Do-Urden resurrects Drizzt's previously [[HumanSacrifice sacrificed]] father Zaknafein back as a ''zin-carla'', a mindless undead that is then compelled to hunt down and kill Drizzt. At the end of the book, Zak regains his consciousness for a brief moment, and [[HeroicSacrifice throws himself into an acid pit to destroy himself before Matron Do-Urden can regain control]].
* ''Literature/SteelCrowSaga'': Tala binds her [[EmergencyTransformation dying brother]] Dimangan's spirit as a Shade {{Familiar}}, which is seen as the darkest of TheDarkArts and inflicts nasty [[ImHavingSoulPains Soul Pains]] on them both. In the final battle, his Shadepact is severed and he dies for good, which devastates Tala but is strongly implied to save them both from an untenable, terribly painful situation.
* ''Literature/JohannesCabal'': [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] with Horst the vampire. He commits SuicideBySunlight at the end of [[Literature/JohannesCabalTheNecromancer Book 1]], having decided that [[VillainProtagonist his brother]] has become irredeemable and his own death is overdue. In [[Literature/TheBrothersCabal Book 4]], he's magically restored to unlife, a feat that's generally impossible to work on normal humans. Finally, at the [[Literature/TheFallOfTheHouseOfCabal end of the series]], the Fountain of Youth transforms him into a {{Dhampyr}} with [[MortalityGreyArea the benefits of both vampirism and true life]].
* ''Literature/VarneyTheVampire'' ends with the title character committing suicide by jumping into the crater of Mt. Vesuvius.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' DoubleSubverted this. It was revealed in season 6 that [[spoiler:the whispers heard throughout the show are the tormented souls of people who died on the Island and couldn't move on. In the DVD-only epilogue, however, Ben and Hurley bring Walt back to the Island, and it's heavily implied they plan to use Walt's powers to help the spirits, which include his father, move on.]]
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' subverted this; much of the series was spent building up the fact that Angel would play a major role in the apocalypse, after which he would become human. However, he threw it all away at the very end to give two fingers to the demons who secretly run the planet.
* ''Series/DeadLikeMe'' plays it straight, surprisingly. While the reapers are indeed undead and stay that way for decades, they do eventually get to go to {{Heaven}}-- or a reasonable generic facsimile thereof. So do all the one-episode ghosts throughout the series.
* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' had a particularly disturbing variant on this: Owen is turned into a kind of undead in the middle of the series and remains that way until almost the end of the series. He can't feel pain, can't eat or drink (since food just sits in his stomach), any wounds sustained do not heal (and have to be sewn up weekly) and worst of all, he can no longer have sex. [[spoiler:At the end of the series, he "dies" when he is trapped in a nuclear reactor and [[NightmareFuel his body literally melts into goo, with him remaining conscious until the very end]]]].
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** In one episode, a student from Buffy's school reanimates the body of his dead brother (who says he shouldn't have been brought back) and stitches together parts of different women to make him a girlfriend. Buffy and company are [[DebateAndSwitch spared the moral dilemma]] of deciding his fate when a fire breaks out in the house and the corpse-brother dies while trying to retrieve his future bride.
** Implicitly averted in general, given that vampires appear to be very hard for anyone but a Slayer to kill, and there generally being only a single Slayer at a time [[spoiler:until first there is Kendra, and then Faith, and at the very end a few hundred of them]]. Soulless vampires are not depicted as suffering from the sort of remorse or ennui that would lead one of them to embrace being even deader, and they generally don't want to become living or believe they can.
* Kai from ''Series/{{Lexx}}'' wins a game with the BigBad to restore him to life, but Prince goes back on his word... [[spoiler: or so we think. In the final episode of the series, he makes Kai truly alive - just so he'll lose his MadeOfIron tendencies and become truly dead in the explosion when he takes out the other villains' asteroid-ship. Kai does not survive.]]
* Constable Bob Fraser from ''Series/DueSouth'' is able to move on in the GrandFinale, only after Benton brings his wife's murderer to justice.
* Often averted in ''Series/GhostWhisperer'', as there are some spirits that choose to remain earthbound or to join with the mysterious dark forces [[AbortedArc that the writers seem to have forgotten they introduced back in the first season]].
* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryCoven'': Given that almost the entire main cast had come BackFromTheDead at some point in the season, [[spoiler: most of them end up dead by the end anyway]]:
** [[spoiler: Marie Laveau and Delphine La Laurie]], both immortal and unable to die, end up trapped in Hell by [[spoiler: Papa Legba]].
** [[spoiler: Madison Montgomery]], murdered by [[spoiler: Fiona]], resurrected by Misty Day, murdered again by [[spoiler: Kyle]].
** [[spoiler: Myrtle Snow]], burned at the stake ([[spoiler: by Fiona's doing]]), resurrected by Misty Day, burned at the stake again ([[spoiler: at her own insistence]]).
** [[spoiler: Misty Day]], killed several times, each time revived by her powers of resurgence, eventually trapped in her own personal Hell.
** [[spoiler: Kyle Spencer and Zoe Benson both come back from the dead and stay alive, Spalding and Fiona both die and do not return to life.]]
* ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy2019'' has [[PosthumousCharacter Ben Hargreeves]] as a ghost that can only be seen by Klaus. [[spoiler:In the end of Season 2, he pulls a HeroicSacrifice to ensure that his brothers and sister can return to the present without the risk of the apocalypse.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Religion & Mythology]]
* This trope seems to stem directly from most concepts of an afterlife depicting it as something conveniently happening someplace far away where the dead can't bother the living anymore. The notion of dead people actually hanging around in the same world as the not-yet-dead thus violates the 'natural order', which of course can't be allowed to stand...
* In folklore even Undeath by Choice never really works out. In Russian Folklore Koschei the Undying has separated his soul from his body, rendering him, well, Undying and then protected his soul with an elaborate series of wards. He goes on to get really-we-mean-it killed in *every* appearance he makes in folklore.
* Literature/TheBible inverts this. Many references to the souls of the damned have them with corpse-like attributes (i.e. worms going through them) and this will be retained after the Great Resurrection. On the other end, Heaven is very explicitly referred to as both "life after death" and "everlasting", so another big inversion there. Arguably played straight with the saints, who will be resurrected as immortal humans.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''TabletopGame/TheWorldOfDarkness'' does this on a case-by-case basis.
** Generally, players of ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' or ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' are going to want to keep their characters alive as long as possible, individually averting it. In the background material, few vampires are over a thousand or so years old (most of the canon characters are under 300), though this is less from ennui (the cure for that is the deathlike sleep called torpor) than from the backstabbing, predatory nature of Kindred existence.
** In ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'', the Created want to end their undying, unliving nature by [[HumanityEnsues completing the Great Work and becoming human]], but frankly, [[BlessedWithSuck can you blame them?]] Even then, Mr. Verney, FrankensteinsMonster, is still going after several centuries, much to his regret. Note that, although Prometheans generally only get a couple centuries, "going to the wastes" (complete isolation from humanity and their powers) can extend this clock, which many take advantage of to extend their deadline to complete the Great Work; Creator/WhiteWolf leaves it open whether Verney and the other Progenitors (founders of Promethean lines) are truly immortal or just punctual about going to the wastes.
** In ''TabletopGame/MummyTheResurrection'', the Undying spend time 'temporarily undead'. When they die for the first time, they're undead until they receive the Spell of Life, which returns them to true life and grants them ResurrectiveImmortality. Every time they die after that, their spirit spends some time in the Underworld before resurrection. It takes exceptional circumstances to finally kill them - utter annihilation or a genuine desire to die.
** The wraiths of ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion'' have three options: Oblivion, and utter destruction; [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Transcendence]], and an ambiguous fate; or remain in the Underworld. Some older wraiths have been around for thousands of years.
* As a rule, undead in standard ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' are evil because they're animated by "negative energy." Even the completely mindless ones. Therefore, lesser undead tend to fall by the dozen before player characters, and greater (intelligent) undead are also in the queue to be eliminated eventually, usually as bosses of some stripe or another. Individual settings shake things up a bit more, with prominent lich and vampire [=NPCs=] in some, and whole nations that revere or employ undead in others.
** ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' being particularly notable, where one nation, Karrnath, employs intelligent undead in its armies and whose king is secretly a vampire -- and is in fact the most peaceful, caring monarch around (just don't threaten him, his people, or the peace). The elven nation of Aerenal animate "deathless," undead fueled by positive energy, as a living afterlife for their greatest citizens. There's also a semi-popular religion that reveres undeath as the path to immortality.
** Second Edition AD&D also had a unique form of Elven Lich that 'lived' for the sole purpose of hunting down other undead and destroying them. As this would clearly not be possible simply because they occur more rapidly than the elven kind can kill them, and that such endeavors are innately dangerous, it's not certain whether or not they would live that much longer than a normal elf would, especially in worlds where Elves can count their potential lifespans in millenia and not centuries.
** Shows up also in a host of ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' modules and books, including several moments where the various undead elves complain about being dead for so long, despite canonically only approaching old age as an elf. Averted, however, for priests of Jergal[[note]]LawfulNeutral former god of the dead, currently archivist to primary god of the dead Kelemvor[[/note]], who sometimes turn themselves into liches so they can continue their work cataloguing death ([[DontFearTheReaper as opposed to adding to it]]).
** The Marut is a type of construct called an Inevitable. Each type of Inevitable is charged with enforcing some sort of universal constant: in the Marut's case it's that everything eventually dies. To this end, they hunt down and destroy particularly long-lived undead (as well as anyone else who takes extreme or unnatural measures to prolong their lifespans).
* Shrouds in ''TabletopGame/{{Anathema|2011}}'' may "live" for a very long time, but eventually their will score ''will'' hit 0 and they'll cease to exist. How quickly this happens depends on the actions of the player.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* D in ''VideoGame/AnotherCode'' moves on to the next life if you get the good ending. And in the second game, you lay to rest [[spoiler:Kelly, Matt's dead little sister.]]
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'': Alcatraz prison now functions as a purgatory pocket dimension run by evil dark forces, with the souls of all the inmates trapped there for untold years, including the protagonists of ''VideoGame/MobOfTheDead''. The follow-up, ''Blood of the Dead'', [[spoiler:sees the dimension’s master Brutus finally defeated, and all the souls of the inmates are finally able to move on to the afterlife, freeing them from their eternal purgatory.]]
* All of the Unsent in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' and its sequel are eventually sent to the afterlife, generally by Yuna, willingly or not.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' has the "miraculously returned to life" variant, in which [[ThePaladin Frimelda Loticce]] is cured of being a zombie and becomes a party member.
* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagicIII'': [[spoiler:The end of the campaign does multiple versions, the revived king Gryphonheart kills his original murderer in a darkly humorous cutscene. His soul then leaves his body.]]
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': This trope is both played straight and averted.
** Named members of the Scourge are exclusively killable targets. At this point, even the Lich King himself has been killed. Kel'Thuzad was killed and arose as a lich in ''VideoGame/WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos'', was defeated in ''World of Warcraft'', and then brought back once only to be beaten again, and Anub'Arak has been taken down, presumably for good.
** There is a quest chain devoted to bringing the lich Ras Frostwhisper back to life as a human... so he can be killed without self resurrecting.
** The Forsaken are clearly rotting, yet it seems that they'll stick around for a while given that they're a playable race. The death knights who turned against Arthas are also playable, so they're likely to remain undead as well.
** There are also undead whose age is measured in hundreds of years, like Dalar Dawnweaver (probable founder of [[TheMagocracy Dalaran]]) and Meryl Winterstorm (founding member of the Council of Tirisfal), so it's unlikely that they'll be going away anytime soon.
*** In ''Cataclysm'', [[spoiler: Sylvanas]] decides to openly {{def|iedTrope}}y this trope after getting killed in an ambush and experiencing TheNothingAfterDeath that [[spoiler: Arthas]] mentioned. Once resurrected by her Val'kyr, she proclaims that she can't let herself or [[spoiler: The Forsaken]] die off.
* After being resurrected in the ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' FirstPersonShooter, you will [[MadeOfExplodium explode]] if you die again, either from losing all your HitPoints (again) or from bleeding out after the teammate who resurrected you dies.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}'': Beyond the Grave is an undead protagonist, has been undead for almost twenty years (though most of that time was spent {{s|ealedBadassInACan}}leeping), and stays undead throughout both games. The animation ends quite differently: [[spoiler:he and Harry perform mutually-assisted suicide after realizing the flaws that led to their downfall]].
* Anyone who is resurrected using the life crystals in ''VideoGame/{{The Dig|1995}}'' is generally killed off again very quickly, from the alien wildlife (you can resurrect an alien turtle, but he'll just get eaten or explode seconds later...or if you screwed it up, he'll turn into slime) to major characters like [[spoiler:the Alien Inventor, who kills himself and seals himself inside a crystal after you're done talking to him, and Brink (as well as Maggie, if you choose to resurrect her), although Brink and Maggie's deaths are undone again at the end of the game]].
* This is a major plot point of ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}''. Dead Apostles, even though they're vampires, will eventually die sooner or later, so some of them have to get creative to extend their lifespans. Nrvnqsr Chaos does this by fusing with different beasts, Michael Roa Valdamjong does this through reincarnation, and Night of Wallachia does this by manifesting himself as a materialized fear or rumor.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'': [[spoiler: With the help of ThePowerOfLove (and the Crossroads Exit spell), Guybrush comes BackFromTheDead, and from his undead state, at the end of Chapter 5.]]
** Averted, however, with [=LeChuck=]. Although his undead form, whatever that may be, is destroyed in each game, he always comes back.
* In ''Videogame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'', Guybrush resurrects Rapp Scallion, but it's only temporal.
* Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture'', in which [[spoiler:Claire, was thought to be dead, is alive, albeit a few years later. But time travel is unstable, so she has to go back to the time she came from, and die.]]
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'':
*** This is the Underking's goal throughout the main quest. He seeks the Mantella (which he refers to as his "heart" and which later works imply is a soul gem containing his soul) so that he can destroy it and [[ICannotSelfTerminate finally be allowed to die]]. As a result of the MergingTheBranches of the game's MultipleEndings, he is the only part to get exactly what he wants.
*** Averted for Mannimarco, the [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich]][=/=][[{{Necromancy}} Necromancer]]. He seeks the Mantella in order to use it to become a god, and he ''[[DeityOfHumanOrigin succeeds]]''...sort of. Due to the BroadStrokes used in the MergingTheBranches endings as shown in later games, he does succeed in becoming the God of Worms...but it leaves behind a still-undead "mortal" version King of Worms whose cult now worships the God of Worms. In any case, he averts this trope as he survives the events of the game, still quite undead.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', Mannimarco returns as the [[ArcVillain primary villain]] of the [[MagicalSociety Mages Guild]] [[SidequestSidestory questline]]. This time, he plays the trope straight, as he is slain by the [[PlayerCharacter Champion of Cyrodiil]].
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''[='s=] ''Dawnguard'' DLC revolves around the conflict between the eponymous Dawnguard, an [[TheOrder order]] of [[CreatureHunterOrganization vampire hunters]], and a group of ancient vampires led by Lord Harkon, who seeks the means to [[TheNightThatNeverEnds blot out the sun]]. The [[PlayerCharacter Dragonborn]] can swing the conflict to either side, but in either case, Lord Harkon must killed, ending his reign as quite possibly the most ancient vampire in Tamriel.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Aveyond}} 3'' for the vampires Te'ijal and Galahad. Though they get restored to life near the end of the second chapter, by the end of the game both are vampires again.
* In ''VideoGame/TheDeadCase'', ghosts can pass on to the next life, but they need to perform a ritual involving the cooperation of various ghosts in the area. [[spoiler:The protagonist attempts this, but fails because he still had unfinished business he needed to take care of. It's also subverted at the end, when the other ghosts stay behind and find purpose amongst the living.]]
* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''VideoGame/HauntingStarringPolterguy'': In the very end, poltergeist Polterguy [[spoiler:turns into his human form after he has driven out the Sardinis the fourth time (without any foreshadowing that this would be possible). A second later, he's slammed with an anvil and turns back into his ghost form again.]]
* The undead Queen Frieda has this happen to her at the end of ''VideoGame/OneWayHeroics'', if you get her ending. The spell animating her body wears off as she's enjoying a parade, smiling.
* In all endings of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', the undead protagonist Nanashi loses his ResurrectiveImmortality. Right after his death at the start of the game, he can refuse to make the DealWithTheDevil that makes him undead, and will be treated to a NonstandardGameOver. He can also refuse to be resurrected after dying in battle. During the Law ending, [[spoiler:Nanashi dies for good when he sides with an angel who wants to wipe out Tokyo, himself included]]. During the Chaos ending, [[spoiler:Nanashi accepts Lucifer's offer of a new demonic body]]. During the Bonds ending, [[spoiler:Nanashi is completely revived as a normal human]]. During the Massacre ending, [[spoiler:Nanashi becomes a god]].
* One of your party members in ''VideoGame/PathfinderKingmaker'', Jaethal, is an undead elf, specifically a priestess of Urgathoa, goddess of undeath and hedonism. One ending to her companion questline has her [[spoiler:refuse to sacrifice her surving daughter to her patron]] and renounce her faith, upon which a BoltOfDivineRetribution strikes her dead. [[spoiler:Surprisingly this is part of the GoldenPath: she comes BackForTheFinale.]]
* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': Eithne the librarian became undead by accident, hates it, and deliberately takes life-threatening risks. Her personal quest involves finding her a SpellBook to [[DrivenToSuicide destroy herself]]. [[spoiler:[[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] when her spirit reappears, bored with the afterlife and looking for away to become undead again.]]
-->''"I'm just going to find a place to ''rest''... a place where I can be how I am supposed to be..."''
* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars2 Path of Fire'' Palawa Joko is not merely undead but immortal. No matter how much his body is damaged, he will eventually restore himself with his power intact; this is why Turai Ossa imprisoned him centuries ago rather than destroying him. At the end of "Long Live the Lich" he is finally killed when Aurene [[MagicEater devours his magic]], taking his immortality for herself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''WebComic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', '''[[{{Dracula}} DRACULA, KING OF ALL VAMPIRES!]]''' is fully aware of this trope, and is prepared to end his existence. However, he wants to know beforehand what awaits in the afterlife, so through [[{{Alucard}} an alias]], he funds the research of the clone of [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Benjamin Franklin]] to create an immortality serum, which actually turns out to be a serum that [[CameBackWrong turns Ben into a Headless Horseman]], all so he would have the ability to escape the afterlife and report back on it. Turns out purgatory is a restaurant with really bad service. Dracula then attempts to recruit Doc to die, use his ninja guile to make it past the restaurant, and see what lies beyond it, since Doc had already survived a near-death experience. Doc prefers not to take him up on the offer.
** In the final arc, Dracula has sided with King Radical against [=McNinja=], but during the final showdown, Doc manages to force a collision that results in Drac biting Radical, turning him into a vampire. He then [[ItMakesSenseInContext uses Pope Francis to destroy Radical]]. Dracula tries to escape through his teleporter, but [[BadassBookworm Dark Smoke Puncher]] hacks it to send him to the middle of a desert on the other side of the world where it's midday, and the sun vaporizes him.
* ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'': "The dead should stay dead" is the Kyorl clan's attitude; we shall see if they were right....
* ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'':
** "Uncroaked" units last for only a limited time before they decay. Many strategy games give newly created undead a limited "lifespan" as a game balance thing - otherwise the side who can turn all casualties undead would get an unfair advantage in the long run.
** This is later averted by [[spoiler:Prince Ansom and other "Decrypted" created by the arkenpliers]]. Which, of course, proved it [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in the first place, as in Book 2, [[spoiler:Wanda and her decrypted army are marching across the world nearly unopposed.]] This is literally a game changer for the story. The "uncroaked" retain no memories or skills of their former selves, decay after a few turns (depending on how much juice was spent for their "unroacking") and mostly used as cannon fodder. The "decrypted" however have their memories, skills, bonuses (if they had any) require no upkeep (a big deal) and are unquestioningly loyal to their new side. [[spoiler:Or rather everyone (even themselves) think they are loyal. At first.]]
* Averted so far in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''. Supporting character Sam became a vampire back in 1998, and he's still a vampire, and still a supporting character. It helps that his attitude is pretty non-confrontational and he's the last active member of a vampire clan with a ''really'' obscure KryptoniteFactor.
** Played straighter when it comes to ghosts: while UnfinishedBusiness is a factor, most of the ghosts encountered would have moved on normally if not for specific binding magic, which is removed within the same chapter as the ghost's introduction ("The Road to Björkea") or in the direct sequel published a year and a half later ("Brie Meighsaton House"/"Kesandru's Well"). The longest-lasting ghost is Mr. Squeeky-bobo, and even his undead torment ends with the same war that claimed his life.
* In ''Webcomic/ScaryGoRound'', Shelley was murdered and brought back as a zombie, but became a normal living human again after being [[LightningCanDoAnything struck by lightning]].
* Averted in ''Indefensible Positions'', where Dead Debbie, an undead protagonist, stays undead.
* This is becoming a serious concern for Richard of ''WebComic/LookingForGroup''. Whether due to the breaking of his demonic contract or growing desire for his abandoned humanity, Richard is slowly becoming more human each day. The only thing that reverses this is killing innocents, but he finds himself increasingly reluctant to do so. This also extends to the undead villagers who he rules over; as they get their power from him they are also becoming mortal, seemingly even faster than Richard.
* In ''Webcomic/TheKingfisher'', most of the vampires don't seem like they're going to fall into this trope... until they get older. The elder vampires find ways to die left and right.
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', [[spoiler:Malack]] is a vampire and has been around for over 200 years, making him the oldest character in the comic, even older than Xykon. [[spoiler:Nale kills him after the destruction of Girard's Gate.]]
** [[spoiler: Vampire!Durkon]], on the other hand, is eventually returned to life. [[spoiler: Or more precisely, the vampiric spirit possessing his body is destroyed, allowing him to be properly resurrected.]]
* Subverted in ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName''. While it's ''sort of'' implied at the beginning that there's some way to bring zombies back to life, Zombie specifically says that he has no interest in that happening. No attempts to hurt or kill him succeed (his limbs can be safely sewn back on) and [[spoiler:he's returned to his normal undead state after being exorcised of Lee's ghost]].
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', all of the Aberrations ever seen meet their end by the end of the "Sister 3" arc.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Downplayed in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'' episode "A Creep From the Deep", in which an Aztec {{mummy}} rises up from the Gulf of Mexico to terrorize an island community after his sacred treasure is stolen. Early in the episode, we're told this has happened at least once before, and while the story ends with the heroes [[GhostlyGoals giving the treasure back to the mummy, who returns to his watery grave,]] it's made very clear that he could rise again if anyone else messes with his treasure.
* Zig-zagged in the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' miniseries ''Stakes'': Marceline has her vampirism [[UndeathIsCheap removed]], but in doing so brings several evil vampires she'd slain BackFromTheDead. [[spoiler:Ultimately, most of the vampire are again dead, the Vampire King has his vampirism cured successfully, and [[StatusQuoIsGod Marceline returns to being a vampire]].]]
* The ghost of Cassidy from the second season of ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' is eventually brought back to life and reunited with her mother. It's never explained how this happened or how everyone reacted to someone who'd been dead for several decades suddenly showing up again.
[[/folder]]

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