History Main / Tulpa

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/25474393/chapters/65026042#workskin Divergent Points: ML Salt]]'', Marinette and her friends get pulled into a dimension run by a spiteful Doppelgänger of herself, who is convinced that the others had betrayed her in the events of "Chameleon", that everything should end perfectly for her, and those that cause the slightest fault should be [[DisproportionateRetribution immensely punished]]. After they wake up, Tikki suggests that the dimension was the manifestation of every negativity in AlternateTimelines where things went wrong (essentialy the various Salt fics for ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug''), floating off into a conscious being.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: A Realm Reborn'': The Primals are at first said to be gods summoned through the ardent worship of the beast tribes (and generous offerings of [[GreenRocks crystals]]), but they are later revealed to be more akin to this; rather than true gods, they are merely myths and legends brought to life through a combination of magic and their followers' beliefs. Some Primals - such as Good King Moggle Mog - aren't even recognised as Primals at first because they're not akin to the traditional elemental gods most Beast Tribes summon, and later in ''Heavensward'', [[spoiler:Ysale is able to transform into Shiva even after learning it's not truly the spirit of Saint Shiva, simply because she puts faith in the idea of the being she created herself, rather than the saint]]. The discovery of this causes the Scions of the Seventh Dawn to reconsider what they class as a 'Primal', since it could technically be ''anything'' someone with enough faith and a large enough reserve of aether could create. In a sidequest, Gilgamesh was able to summon the image of his missing friend as a primal which throws everything they knew about primals out. [[spoiler:It turns out that even the two "gods" of the world, Hydaelyn and Zodiark, are merely two particularly powerful Primals.]]

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'', [[spoiler:it's implied (but not confirmed) that the [[ParadoxPerson "Paradox Pokémon"]] are not actually from the past and future, but were thoughtforms inspired by tabloid magazines brought to life by the MineralMacGuffin TheProfessor used to make their "TimeMachine"]].

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'', [[spoiler:it's implied (but not confirmed) that the [[ParadoxPerson "Paradox Pokémon"]] never actually existed but were thoughtforms inspired by tabloid magazines brought to life by the MineralMacGuffin TheProfessor used to make their "TimeMachine"]].

* In ''Literature/{{Freya}}'' by Matthew Laurence, whenever humans [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve believe enough in a concept]], it creates a god which will actively try to retain humans' belief in it. These gods are sometimes called "cognivores" because they [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly need prayer badly]] to remain extant, and while they have some form of belief they will have complete {{Immortality}} and regenerate from any harm they sustain. Of course, at the same time, the beliefs of the mortals does shape the god if it has many worshipers, and the god is forced to do exactly what its believers tell it to [[spoiler:except in the case of Freya (and maybe other gods) who have so few worshipers that they're not required to conform to their believers' image of them and can do unexpected things]].
* In ''The Glunk That Got Thunk'' by Creator/DrSeuss, the Cat in the Hat's daughter uses her "Thinker-Upper" to bring a variety of usually cute and harmless thoughtforms into being temporarily. But one night ends up with a Glunk which promptly causes many problems such as wracking up very large phone bills. She discovers that the Glunk cannot be UN-thunk by her alone and she and her brother have to cooperate to get rid of it.

** It's also the central premise of another short story: ''The Circular Ruins'', with the main character being and old mystic that set as his life purpose the creation, in his dreams, of a man to turn real; in the end, [[spoiler:we find out he is one himself]].
* In the [[Creator/SeaburyQuinn Jules de Grandin stories]], the great polymath occult detective Jules de Grandin states in several short stories, that all the dark gods and devils he encounters are manifestations of humanity's evil thoughts that have been shaped by myth and folklore. Conversely though he states {{God}} is a real actual being and as such good will always triumph over evil, though it wins quicker when helped by Jules himself.

* The final reveal of the Creator/StephenKing story "Secret Window, Secret Garden" is that John Shooter, the ImaginaryEnemy who has been hounding the main character Mort Rainey throughout the story and eventually took over Mort's body somehow gained physical form on his own. After Mort dies, Shooter comes back to leave behind a message for his wife.

* ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'': [[spoiler: BigBad Fei-Wan Lead]] ultimately and shockingly appears to be this as [[spoiler: Kurogane literally [[LiterallyShatteredLives shatters him]]]], much to the confusion of the protagonists. Yuko then explains that [[spoiler: Fei-wan Lead was born out of Clow Lead immense magic powers combined with his sorrow over his lover's Yuko imminent demise and his powerful yet unconscious wish for her to stay alive]]. This had [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor unexpected and problematic]] outcomes, given the number 1 and almost unbreakable rule of the CLAMP-verse being [[spoiler:impossibility to bring someone back from dead]]. In addition of [[spoiler:Fei-wan Lead's creation]], it caused [[spoiler:Yuko getting trapped between the worlds of the Living and the Dead ones, her shop acting like some kind of limbo she can't get away from too far nor time]]. What would ''exactly'' happen if [[spoiler:the shop]] got destroyed remains unclear, but [[spoiler:Yuko]] probably wouldn't get resurrected.
** More in the like of ArtificialHuman, but in the same fashion, near the half/2-third of the story, the [[spoiler:Sakura and Shaolan we've been following since the beginning of the story]] are revealed to actually be magical Döppelgangers, the real ones being safely kept [[spoiler:into the glass artifact seen at the ''very first page of the manga'', which belongs to '''Yuko''']].

* ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'': [[spoiler: BigBad Fei-Wan Lead]] ultimately and shockingly appears to be this as [[spoiler: Kurogane literally [[LiterallyShatteredLives shatters him]], much to the confusion of the protagonists. Yuko then explains that [[spoiler: Fei-wan Lead was born out of Clow Lead immense magic powers combined with his sorrow over his lover's Yuko imminent demise and his powerful yet unconscious wish for her to stay alive]]. This had [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor unexpected and problematic]] outcomes, given the N°1 and only almost unbreakable rule of the CLAMP-verse being the impossibility to bring someone back from dead. In addition of [[spoiler:Fei-wan Lead's creation]], it caused [[spoiler:Yuko getting trapped between the worlds of the Living and the Dead ones, her shop acting like some kind of limbo she can't get away from too far nor time]]. What would ''exactly'' happen if [[spoiler:the shop]] got destroyed remains unclear, but [[spoiler:Yuko]] probably wouldn't get resurrected.

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'', [[spoiler:it's heavily implied that the [[ParadoxPerson "Paradox Pokémon"]] never actually existed but were thoughtforms inspired by tabloid magazines brought to life by the MineralMacGuffin TheProfessor used to make their "TimeMachine"]].

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy, ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', and ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'':

-->-- '''Alexandra David-Neel''', from ''[[http://www.astraeasweb.net/religion/davidneel_tibet.html Magic and Mystery in Tibet,]]'' quoted in ''ComicBook/DoktorSleepless''

A similar concept originating in 19th century occultism is the egregore, a thoughtform produced by a ''group'' of people instead of a single person and sustained by a constant stream of new [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly believers]] -- something which many modern fantasy works present as the true nature of gods. The egregore is now a prominent aspect of Chaos magic as part of a "thoughtform spectrum", (going in rank of power):

* In ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'', there are two Shinnentai (physical manifestations of unfulfilled desire) that appear in the story. First, the Shinnentai of Chieko Honda, a hotel caretaker who had a relationship with Keiichi's grandfather and manifested out of her desire to ride in his motorcycle, having been left unfulfilled due to her untimely demise. The second one manifests out of a customized motorcycle previously owned by his boss Chihiro Fujimi, who lost it in an accident at the Inoku Radai Circuit, having plunged to the sea after falling on a precipice. The Shinnentai accosted motorcyclists into competing against it.
* In ''Literature/AkashicRecordsOfBastardMagicInstructor'', one of the characters (specifically [[spoiler:the antagonist Jatice Lowfan]]) uses tulpas, which are physical manifestations of the imagination that can be used to circumvent effects that disable the activation of magic spells.
* The eponymous [[OurSpiritsAreDifferent spirits]] of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' can be created by many humans believing in the same sort of entity. In more superstitious ages, people would believe natural phenomena (including disasters like droughts or floods) were caused by malevolent gods, thus creating ayakashi who really do control those things. But it seems even things people consider fiction -- like fairy tales and novels -- can create ayakashi.
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Sternritter V "The Visionary" Gremmy Thoumeaux can create these as part of his ThePowerOfCreation ability. Anything he imagines comes to life, including a fictitious Quincy officer named Guenael Lee, "The Vanishing Point". Guenael even attacks Gremmy upon TheReveal before his existence is dispelled. [[spoiler:The tie-in light novel ''13 Blades'' reveals that he created ''another'' fake Quincy officer, Shaz Domino, "The Viability". However, Shaz was able to use his HealingFactor to replace [[TheseusShipParadox all of his imaginary cells with real ones]] and [[SelfConstructedBeing become fully real]]. [[TheEmperor Yhwach]] then granted Shaz a real Quincy rank as Sternritter Σ (Sigma).]]

** This is also more-or-less the origin of [[spoiler:The Idea of Evil]]. It was born from [[spoiler:humanity's collective unconscious, a manifestation of their need to have someone to blame for their problems.]] Hoo boy, [[GoneHorriblyRight it worked]].
* For a time in ''[[Manga/{{Genshiken}} Genshiken Nidaime]]'', [[WholesomeCrossdresser Hato]] was pestered by an apparition of a [[OutOfClothesExperience nude]] female version of himself. While largely treated as a fragment of Hato's imagination, [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane she's occasionally been shown to wander off on her own or ponder what exactly she is]] (her best guess being that she's some kind of [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure Stand]]). It's later revealed that she was based on an idealised version of a girl Hato once admired; when Hato realises that said girl is [[BrokenPedestal much less perfect than he remembered]], it results in the appearance of a second [[EnemyWithin more sinister]] tulpa who more closely resembles the actual person.
* ''Manga/HatsukoiZombie'' has the titular entities, born from their creators' idealized image of their first crush, but lack the sapience to do things beyond the range of their creator. One of the heroines, Eve, is a Hatsukoi Zombie that managed to gain sentience. Another Zombie, Kyouko, operates under similar circumstances due to ''being'' the true love of her creator.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Aside from a few special cases, Stands are almost completely in the control of their creators and tend not to have distinct personalities aside from whatever personality their User has or ascribes to them. Notable exceptions are: Foo Fighters in Part 6 (born from a colony of zooplankton that gained a Stand, rendering the User and Stand basically indistinguishable); [[spoiler:Echoes Act 3, the final form of Koichi's stand, which displays an aggressive persona and a fondness for swearing in sharp contrast to the mild-mannered Koichi;]] numerous examples from Part 5, such as Pannacotta Fugo's Purple Haze (a Stand characterized by its polarizing mood swings and hesitating willingness to listen to its User's commands when it goes into a rage), and Guido Mista's Sex Pistols (a "colony" stand comprised of six separate bullet-sized beings that have individual personalities and tend to bicker among themselves). [[spoiler:Part 5 also has Spice Girl, who is basically autonomous and fully sentient with her own personality that's somewhat different from her user Trish. And is referred to as "she" rather than "[[ItIsDehumanizing it]]".]]

* The ending of ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' reveals that [[spoiler:Lil' Slugger]] was born from the mind of one person, and [[spoiler:his power spread to other minds through rumors.]]

* ''Manga/{{Rinne}}'': Some of the supernatural ocurrences investigated by the titular character don't involve ghosts but spirits willed into being by someone's strong emotions (such like Ayame Sakaki's desire and jealousy accidentally creating a spirit which follows Tsubasa everywhere).
* In ''Manga/ShamanKing'', {{oni}} are born from [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead the negative emotions of]] people with [[{{Telepathy}} mind-reading abilities]], and can grow in strength and intelligence by consuming other oni and spirits. A {{Flashback}} reveals that Anna once possessed these powers, which lead to her being kidnapped by a powerful oni who referred to her as "mother". In the sequel, ''Manga/ShamanKingFlowers'', Hana was granted the ability to summon and channel oni as a DangerousForbiddenTechnique for when his life is in danger.

* In ''ComicBook/AstroCity,'' the Gentleman (an [[{{Expy}} expy]] of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]) is a girl's idealized vision of her late father.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': A three-parter from ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' in the late eighties saw Batman and ComicBook/{{Etrigan}} fighting an out-of-control Tulpa. Batman also fights Tulpas in ''Batman Annual #21'' (1997) and ''Batman Eternal'' (2014-2015).
* In ''ComicBook/TheDepartmentOfTruth'', reality can be altered if enough people collectively believe in something. [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Bigfoot]], TheMenInBlack, [[ReptilianConspiracy Reptilians]], and other fringe or conspiracy-based entities are the result of these beliefs. They are discomforting to look at directly because the human mind has a difficult time reconciling things that are simultaneously real and unreal. In people that do catch sight of them without knowing what they really are, the experience often leaves them with an obsessive need to prove their existence, which would in turn make them more real.
* In ''ComicBook/DoktorSleepless'', this is offered as a possible explanation for why there are two versions of Dr. John Reinhardt. Since the Doctor is imprisoned, he may have created a tulpa double to take his place while he went free.

* In ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', an alternative and fantastical origin story for Doctor Doom had Mr. Fantastic create him as one of these.

* In Creator/{{Vathara}}'s Urban Legends verse, ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'', a high-tech helicopter, hosts a thoughtform named Angel created by Jane Bethancourt and given [[Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} Class Six]] strength by the deaths of all but one of the people who worked on her, Hawke, at Moffet's hands. She's a MamaBear with a PsychicLink to all of the crew and takes the form of a winged wolf.

* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny2}}'': In Destiny 2 Lightfall, the new subclass Strand allows Guardians to create threadlings. Threadlings are little strand worms that seek out and damage targets, but they can also pertch onto a guardian, waiting for deployment. Threadlings can be spawned in through several means, including strand grenades. These are creatures woven from pure strand matter, and the Warlock Strand lore tab implies they are sentient and can feel pain. It also is implied threadlings are woven from the Guardians desire for a perfectly loyal army, hence threadlings are literly thoughts woven into reality.

** Sam Vimes may have created one. He's so concerned with living up to his own standards of justice despite the darkness he knows is within him that he has manifested an "inner watchman". WhoWatchesTheWatchmen Sam Vimes does. And who watches Sam? This guy. It's powerful enough that when Vimes is possessed by an ancient entity of pure vengeance whose mere name can cause those who know about it to flee in terror or die of fright, it is chased right out of his head by the Inner Watchman.

* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny2}}'': In Destiny 2 Lightfall, the new subclass Strand allows Guardians to create threadlings. Threadlings are little strand worms that seek out and damage targets, but they can also pertch onto a guardian, waiting for deployment. Threadlings can be spawned in through several means, including strand grenades. These are creatures woven from pure strand matter, and the Warlock Strand lore tab implies they are sentient and can feel pain.