History Main / AtTheCrossroads

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* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** The inn where Tyrion and Catelyn collide in "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" is actually called the "Inn At the Crossroads" in the novels since it sits at the main crossroads of the realm's northern half.
** In "Mockingbird", Brienne and Pod debate the fork in the road leading either north to the North or east to the Vale. Ironically, they choose the Vale but end up heading north in the next season anyway.
* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', deals with "crossroads demons", the ones that actually make deals that both parties are bound to, have to be made [[ShapedLikeItself at crossroads]]. These demons can be summoned with some personal effects, a bag of graveyard dirt, a black cat's bone, and a few other things. Once you've summoned the demon, just BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor when you make your DealWithTheDevil.
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Turn Left", Donna's decision whether to turn left or right at a road intersection determines the path her whole life will take and eventually affects the fate of the entire universe.

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* In an episode of ''{{WesternAnimation/Metalocalypse}}'', the band members are urged by one Mashed Potato Johnson (an obvious reference to the Music/RobertJohnson legend) to sell their souls to the Devil in exchange for the ability to play blues music. They go to a crossroads to do so, and HilarityEnsues when their negotiations result in the contract being significantly in their favor.

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* The OlderThanFeudalism Ur-example and TropeMaker is probably the goddess Hecate of Myth/ClassicalMythology who was goddess of the crossroads as well as her prominent realms of the dead, ghosts, magic, night and moonlight (if you didn't live in a region big on Artemis or Selene). Like other deities of paths such as Hermes or the Roman Janus, her offerings would be placed at the crossroads so she would control the evil spirits that walked along them. The Romans had a comparable deity Trivia (though one a bit DarkerAndEdgier) so this aspect continued strongest. This rite survived for quite a while into the Christianisation of Europe which leads to religious figures specifically demonising the practice which leads to the strong DealWithTheDevil associations throughout Western Civilisation.
* Voodoo in particular has a fascination with the crossroads as symbolism. Papa Legba is the lwa of the crossroads that serve as the boundary between the living and the dead. Kalfou, his evil side is also associated with them.
* There are old legends that vampires and other supernatural creatures must be buried at a crossroads.
* Also, folklore tells us vampires get disoriented (or even driven mad) at crossroads, and cannot tell one direction for another. Urban vampires seem to have developed a strong resistance to this weakness, especially those that frequent downtown districts.
* There was an old German folk belief that a man can turn into a werewolf if he goes at a full moon's night to a crossroad, wearing nothing but a belt made of a wolf's pelt. At midnight, the transformation will happen.

* In ''{{Exalted}}'' there's a road-making demon, Jacinth, but he can't make his roads cross with each others. Going under or over is fine. If there is a crossroad, then it's not made by Jacinth.

* One remote crossroads in the world of ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'' is the home of Ephram, a wandering penitent who stopped for a rest and came to realize that he wasn't aging and somehow knew how to give directions to any passer-by. It's also easy to find by people who are lost, and impossible to reach by people who are looking for it.

* The OlderThanFeudalism Ur-example and TropeMaker is probably the goddess Hecate of Myth/GreekMythology who was goddess of the crossroads as well as her prominent realms of the dead, ghosts, magic, night and moonlight (if you didn't live in a region big on Artemis or Selene). Like other deities of paths such as Hermes or the Roman Janus, her offerings would be placed at the crossroads so she would control the evil spirits that walked along them. The Romans had a comparable deity Trivia (though one a bit DarkerAndEdgier) so this aspect continued strongest. This rite survived for quite a while into the Christianisation of Europe which leads to religious figures specifically demonising the practice which leads to the strong DealWithTheDevil associations throughout Western Civilisation.

* Wiki/{{SCP|Foundation}}-[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-023 023]], based on the mythological [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_shuck black shuck]], can only be contained in crossroads and other intersections, such as the intersection of two corridors.

* The 'devil at the crossroad' myth is {{inverted}} in ''{{Exalted}}'': there's a road-making demon, Jacinth, but he can't make his roads cross with each others. Going under or over is fine. If there is a crossroad, then it's not made by Jacinth.

This is very popular with {{Fairy Tale}}s - especially associated with TheDevil or TheFairFolk and Wicca, Voodoo, Hoodoo, Vodun and other occult magic circles. This is a common place for a DealWithTheDevil. The crossroads are often chosen for safety, as there's a vague idea that ghosts, sprites and demons may find them confusing to navigate.

* ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk'' was banished to "The Crossroads" by Comicbook/DoctorStrange when he was "mindless" to (A) get him away from Earth and (B) let him choose where he wanted to live. But he never found a place he liked and eventually he was brought back to Earth.

This is very popular with {{Fairy Tale}}s - especially associated with TheDevil or TheFairFolk. This is a common place for a DealWithTheDevil. The crossroads are often chosen for safety, as there's a vague idea that ghosts, sprites and demons may find them confusing to navigate.

* Happens rather a lot in TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms, naturally enough as there's a force in this world that tries to make things happen the way they do in fairy tales, we see several [[SecretTestOfCharacter secret tests of character]] at a crossroads from the POV of both the testee and the tester.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Turn Left" features Donna making a literal AtTheCrossroads decision near the beginning of the episode, and again near the end. The choice she makes affects the entire universe.

* Tamora Pierce's series of books set in the Tortall universe has the big gods, like Mithros (war and justice), and the Goddess (fertility, women, agriculture), but it also has minor gods like Weiryn (god of the hunt for a small mountainous area), and rather hilariously a god of [[AtTheCrossroads crossroads]], NOT a god of travelers, just a god of ACTUAL crossroads.

* ''Webcomic/TheNoob'' hangs [[LampshadeHanging a lampshade]] on this trope, mixing it with PatchworkMap in [[http://www.thenoobcomic.com/index.php?pos=225 this comic]].

* The Angel of Death in ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy'' takes this a step further: "I am his death, and I will meet him at every crossroads."

* These exact words are used to describe Peggy and Billy's divergent paths in ''Film/ShowPeople'' (she is hitting it big as a dramatic actress while he's still stuck doing slapstick).

* There was a long-running British SoapOpera called ''Crossroads''. Given that significant events are ''always'' happening to soap characters, the title may not have been coincidental.
* In ''Series/BurnNotice'', Michael is often told that he's AtTheCrossroads or at a fork in the road by people who want him to make a choice.

* Technically, in ''Literature/HarryPotter,'' King's Cross Station takes on this significance -- you can't deny it's where many ways meet, and it's the go-to exchange point between the magical and Muggle worlds (in this respect, The Leaky Cauldron fulfills a similar purpose for Diagon Alley.) But King's Cross' symbolism really comes into play in book seven, when [[spoiler: it's where Harry has his brief sojourn at the crossroads with the afterlife.]]

* "The Crossroads of Destiny" is the name of the season 2 finale of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. Although it's not a literal example of this trope as there are no actual crossroads, both Zuko and Aang are forced to make very tough decisions in this episodes [[spoiler: and they don't make the decisions you'd necessarily expect.]] It's also one of very few episodes in the series not named after something literal (like ''The Swamp'' and ''The Southern Air Temple''), but rather something figurative. The name is even quoted by TheObiWan at one point. On a side note, it was one of the greatest episodes in the series.

* Webcomic/DominicDeegan's sight (not his second-sight, his mundane sight) goes all grey when someone close to him is about to encounter a metaphorical crossroad.

* In ''TalesOfMonkeyIsland'', pirates go to the Crossroads when they die. There's also some nice symbolism at the end when [[spoiler: Guybrush uses a spell to get back to the land of the living]].

* The Angel of Death in ''Film/{{Hellboy}} II'' takes this a step further: "I am his death, and I will meet him at every crossroads."

* In ''MeAndTheDevilBlues'' RJ sells his soul to the devil after playing the blues at the crossroads.

* In an episode of ''{{Metalocalypse}}'', the band members are urged by one Mashed Potato Johnson (an obvious reference to the Music/RobertJohnson legend) to sell their souls to the Devil in exchange for the ability to play blues music. They go to a crossroads to do so, and HilarityEnsues when their negotiations result in the contract being significantly in their favor.

* DominicDeegan's sight (not his second-sight, his mundane sight) goes all grey when someone close to him is about to encounter a metaphorical crossroad.

* The OlderThanFeudalism Ur-example and TropeMaker is probably the goddess Hecate of GreekMythology who was goddess of the crossroads as well as her prominent realms of the dead, ghosts, magic, night and moonlight (if you didn't live in a region big on Artemis or Selene). Like other deities of paths such as Hermes or the Roman Janus, her offerings would be placed at the crossroads so she would control the evil spirits that walked along them. The Romans had a comparable deity Trivia (though one a bit DarkerAndEdgier) so this aspect continued strongest. This rite survived for quite a while into the Christianisation of Europe which leads to religious figures specifically demonising the practice which leads to the strong DealWithTheDevil associations throughout Western Civilisation.