History Main / BarredFromTheAfterlife

* In the ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E84TheHunt The Hunt]]" a man does this to himself. He's allowed into heaven but he isn't allowed to take his dog with him. He decides that an afterlife without his dog is a fate worse than death (so to speak) so he refuses to enter and will just wander the path in between heaven & hell forever. Turns out that wasn't heaven, it was hell. Heaven allows dogs in.
* The ghosts in ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy'' are this. Ben seems to have been the exception. He was given the opportunity to go towards the light when he first died but chose to stay on Earth with Klaus instead.

* In ''Film/VanHelsing'', Anna Valerious's ''[[HereditaryCurse entire family]]'' was forbidden from entering Heaven due to her ancestor having sired Dracula. It was only by destroying Dracula before their bloodline ended could they be allowed in, with Anna being [[LastOfHisKind the last surviving member]]. [[spoiler:[[FurVersusFangs Thanks to his werewolf form, Van Helsing was able to kill Dracula]]...only to inadvertently kill Anna when she was giving him the cure for his curse. Fortunately, while burning her body, Van Helsing [[DiedHappilyEverAfter sees Anna reunite with her family in the clouds and smile good bye to him as she and her family are able to rest in peace]]]].

** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'':
*** Númenorean king Ar-Pharazon the Golden and his army, interned in the Cave of the Forgotten in Valinor until the Dagor Dagorath.
*** Subverted by Fëanor. He is the only elf who is barred from reincarnating because of his evil deeds. He will remain in the Halls of Mandos until Dagor Dagorath, and reincarnate only after it.

** In retribution for [[spoiler:killing Death]], a Reaper tells Sam and Dean that the days of DeathIsCheap are over for them, and the next time they're killed they'll be tossed into TheNothingAfterDeath for all eternity. [[spoiler:Ultimately the brothers are allowed into Heaven after they basically become the parents to the new God]].

* Franchise/{{Lobo}} was kicked out of both Heaven and Hell and is thus immortal. None of the other afterlife destinations will take him either; he even got kicked out of the WarriorHeaven [[Myth/NorseMythology Valhalla]] [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too violent]]. Let that one sink in for a bit.

* According to ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheCapedCrusader'', when Bruce Wayne dies, he is reborn as himself in another universe, and the cycle continues infinitely, barring him from being anything other than Franchise/{{Batman}} even after death.

* ComicBook/{{Lobo}} was kicked out of both Heaven and Hell and is thus immortal. None of the other afterlife destinations will take him either; he even got kicked out of the WarriorHeaven [[Myth/NorseMythology Valhalla]] [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too violent]]. Let that one sink in for a bit.

* ComicBook/{{Lobo}} was kicked out of both heaven and Hell and is thus immortal. None of the other afterlife destinations will take him either; he even got kicked out of the WarriorHeaven [[Myth/NorseMythology Valhalla]] [[EveryoneHasStandards for being too violent]]. Let that one sink in for a bit.

* In the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' universe, it's said in the [[Manga/DragonBall original series]] that people killed by Great Demon King Piccolo or his Mazoku minions are left floating between life and death, unable to go to Other World. The fact that Goku and Raditz ''don't'' meet this fate after Piccolo's reincarnation kills them in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is a sign of his impending HeelFaceTurn.

* The movie ''Film/Ghost1990'' is all about this--some souls aren't ready for one place or the other at the time they part with the body, and the main character had some things to resolve on Earth before his soul could be at peace.

* Those who die in ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' without strong faith get sent to the plane that lined up with their ethical and moral code; however, those who actively [[NayTheist reject the gods and religion]] instead learn the error of their ways when they go to be judged. Pharasma denies them the opportunity to pass on to any afterlife beyond the [[AfterlifeAntechamber Boneyard]] and are instead buried right there on the plane. They stay there, [[TheNothingAfterDeath patiently waiting]] for the end of all things.

On the other hand, there's plenty of outside factors that can cause this: His remains didn't get their [[DueToTheDead funeral rites]], the CelestialBureaucracy can't find his ticket for the afterlife, somebody [[YourSoulIsMine stole his soul]], or [[DeathTakesAHoliday Death went to Hawaii instead]].

'''DeathTrope alert! Unmarked Spoilers! Abandon hope, ye who read past here!'''

-->-- '''Ryuk''' (to Light Yagami), ''Film/DeathNoteTheLastName''

* In the ''ComicBook/XMen'' comics this seems to be the status of ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}} after his return to life. Said return involved selling in soul to demons from one of Hell's dimensions. He got a new body and tiny versions of himself out of the deal (who made his mutant powers stronger) and used it to bind his demonic father to Earth. This left him unable to die however, since he now lacks a soul. He was fatally wounded twice in ''ComicBook/XMenGold'' and didn't die either time because neither Heaven or Hell would take him.

* In the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' universe, it's said in the [[Manga/DragonBall original series]] that people killed by Great Demon King Piccolo or his Mazoku minions are left floating between life and death, unable to go to Other World. The fact that Goku and Raditz ''don't'' meet this fate after Piccolo's reincarnation. kills them in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is a sign of his impending HeelFaceTurn.

** In Season 9, Metatron closes {{Heaven}} down for business, [[FallenAngel evicting the angels]] and blocking out every non-{{Hell}}bound soul who dies.
** In retribution for [[spoiler:killing Death]], a Reaper tells Sam and Dean that the days of DeathIsCheap are over for them, and the next time they're killed they'll be tossed into TheNothingAfterDeath for all eternity.

* The ghosts in Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy are this. Ben seems to have been the exception. He was given the opportunity to go towards the light when he first died but chose to stay on Earth with Klaus instead.

* ''Fanfic/BeingDeadAintEasy'': this happens by accident when Joey trips over his shoes. [[spoiler:The actual reason is because Kaiba told him to stay with him.]]

* Invoked/Exploited by liches, who, by selling their soul to multiple entities, keep any of them from claiming their soul and achieve immortality.

* In the backstory of ''Film/TheHauntedMansion'', when Edward Gracy hung himself in response to his lover Elizabeth poisoning herself, his spirit ended up being cursed to remain trapped within his mansion, with the curse also barring everyone who died on the mansion's ground. In the end, when he learned that [[spoiler:Elizabeth had actually been poisoned [[TheButlerDidIt by his butler Ramsey]] instead of committing suicide like he thought]], the curse was lifted, with the spirits of himself, Elizabeth, and everyone else [[spoiler:except Ramsey who was DraggedOffToHell]] being able to pass on Heaven.

* In the backstory of ''Film/TheHauntedMansion'', when Edward Gracy hung himself in response to his lover Elizabeth [[spoiler:supposedly]] poisoning herself, his spirit ended up being cursed to remain trapped within his mansion, with the curse also barring everyone who died on the mansion's ground. In the end, when he learned that [[spoiler:Elizabeth had actually been poisoned [[TheButlerDidIt by his butler Ramsey]]]], the curse was lifted, with the spirits of himself, Elizabeth, and everyone else [[spoiler:except Ramsey who was DraggedOffToHell]] being able to pass on Heaven.