History Main / BodySurf

* ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'' provides The Owls, disembodied spirits that take over humans or vampires and turn them into rotting, blood drinking corpses known as Bloodjackers. When the corpse rots or is destroyed, The Owl simply grabs a new host. Some actually keep rooms full of fresh corpses, waiting to be possessed.
** The Owls are pretty much what hunters know about the strix from ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem''. Over there, the strix have the power to not only jump into human corpses (which will kill the host instantly), but to also possess vampires who are in torpor or whose souls are currently out of their body due to possession or astral projection powers.
* In ''TabletopGame/InNomine'', the Kyriotates (angels) and the Shedim (demons) are Body Surfers by necessity; they MUST possess the bodies of other beings while on Earth (unlike most angels and demons who are given special bodies to use in the physical world) and they can only possess their hosts for a limited amount of time, the Kyrios have a "hard limit" of anywhere from a day to a week or so as to how long they can borrow a given body continuously, and Shedim are required to force their hosts to perform evil acts each day, and the host becomes more likely to resist the longer they have been possessed, so the demons don't usually stick around for more then a few days at a time because the host gets too hard to control.

* In ''Anime/ValvraveTheLiberator'', the Kamitsuki - the pilots of the titular [[HumongousMecha mecha]], who become a sort of [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] - can do this. By biting another person's skin they take control of their bodies, which is connected to their ability to absorb 'Runes', tiny building blocks of information. The person returns to normal when they bite their original bodies back. They retain the abilities of the bodies they surf into, such as combat awareness, and language - in episode 16, [[spoiler: Saki]] didn't know how to say "hello" in Dorssian to K-Zwölf before body-snatching him, but communicates fluently with other Dorssian soldiers once in his body.
** This is how the [[spoiler: Magius managed to take control of all the world's major nations. Their power is the source of the Kamitsuki's]].
* In the second season of ''Anime/CodeGeass'', [[spoiler: Marianne, Lelouch's mother, reveals that she is [[NotQuiteDead alive and kicking]], despite her apparent assassination prior to the series. When she was shot, her Geass awakened and gave her the power to possess the nearest person. She body-surfs into a child who was staying in the palace]].
* ''Anime/{{K}}'': The [[spoiler:new Colorless King]] is revealed to have done this to multiple people, including [[spoiler:a random high school student, the Silver King, and two of Shiro's classmates]]. He's fully aware of his presence, and targets other Kings in hope of gaining their powers. And until the end of season 2, [[spoiler: Weismann was stuck in Tooru Hieda's body, and Tooru's consciousness was buried under Weismann's until Weismann returned to his original body]].
* In [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime adaptation of]] ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', the Philosopher's Stone can be used to Body Surf by transferring someone's soul and mind into a new body. The series BigBad has this technique repeatedly and is over 400 years old. Unfortunately the amount of time she can spend in each body lessens each time she does it, meaning she requires more and more Philosopher's Stones to keep going.
* Orochimaru from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' plans to live forever in order to learn all the world's jutsu. That is impossible since new jutsus are made everyday, and some are handed down from family to family and kept a secret, AND some require years and years to master, whether you're a prodigy or not. Not to mention that some require a Kekkai Genkai, which are locked behind one's genetics. To this end he developed his ''Living Corpse Reincarnation'' jutsu, which allowed him to be able to transfer his soul into another person's body, and the perks include acquiring any special abilities that the meat puppet may have. He can only perform this jutsu once every three years. In theory this could be the closest thing to immortality, but the reality is the host body will eventually weaken and reject Orochimaru's invading soul, so he will have to find a new host before it is too late. How long it takes for the host to reject him depends on how powerful the host is to begin with: the body he used as an emergency measure wasn't tremendously decayed by the time the three years were up while a powerful hosts like Sasuke or Itachi could serve him a reasonable term, if not a whole lifetime.

* Baby from ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' jumps from body to body trying to find a host powerful enough to kill Goku, Trunks and Pan. He also leaves behind pieces of himself in each body, ensuring he still has control even after leaving it. The meat of the conflict takes place after he settles into the body of Vegeta.
* Mukuro Rokudo in ''Manga/Reborn2004'' can transfer his soul between any bodies he has injured with his weapon, including artificial box animals (don't ask)... and it's his favorite tactic.
** Daemon Spade, as the Primo equivalent of Mukuro, also made use of this. [[spoiler: This allows him to still be alive in Tsuna's time and be the villain of the Inheritance Cerimony arc.]]

* The "Phantom Thief G" in ''Manga/DGrayMan'' ([[spoiler:actually an orphan with a parasite-type Innocence]]) can possess people [[spoiler:and Akuma]] just by looking at them; he's gotten roughly ''three dozen'' people arrested in his place.
* Pandaemonium in the manga version of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade''.
* Anon, from ''Manga/TheLawOfUeki'', who steals the bodies of his victims [[spoiler:by swallowing them whole.]] He does this to [[spoiler:Robert Haydn]] and even [[spoiler:the current ''God''.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Kekkaishi}}'', The Sousui and Tsukihasa are capable of this as a form of immortality.
* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', [[spoiler:Medusa]] uses magic to cheat death this way, the first time jumping into a helpless child, and then upgrading to something more comfortable by stealing the body of [[spoiler:her sister, Arachne.]]
** Giriko has enchanted his memories [[GeneticMemory into his own genes]], which are passed down to his children when he has kids. In effect, his children aren't people whose bodies he steals, they're ''him'', [[BodyBackupDrive born again and again.]]
* Karla The Grey Witch of ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' has survived for centuries doing this via GrandTheftMe by placing the circlet she now resides in on her victims' heads. She is forced out of one victim only to possess another. It's implied in the manga that she needs a willing host, as the circlet doesn't do anything except lie on the ground until [[spoiler:Woodchuck picks it up and places it on his own head after crossing the DespairEventHorizon]].

* ''Music/EvilliousChronicles'': There's a difficult to learn spell called the Swap Technique which allows for mages to move their souls into other bodies--they could also go the entire way and swap the person's soul into their previous body. The character Elluka Clockworker has used the spell to swap into at least three bodies over the course of the series.
* In the {{Hentai}} ''Bible Black,'' this is the motivation behind the actions of [[BigBad Reika Kitami.]] Years before the first series takes place, she was used a VirginSacrifice to summon the Devil. It didn't work, because she had been gang raped by the goons of her captor, the leader of a coven, hours before. After the leader of the coven killed her followers, Kitmai managed to kill her, [[DealWithTheDevil the Devil told her she could live for several more years on the condition he gave him a soul.]] As time ran out, he chose the LoveInterest of her former protégé, and after the ceremony is stopped, Kitami is seemingly killed, but is revealed that at the last second she manged to pu her soul into the other body. In the sequel, the coven is restarted and led by a new arrival, and in the final episode, the new leader's soul is taken to hell, while Kitami's soul takes over her body.

* [[spoiler:Palpatine]] in ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'' was forced to do this as one clone body after another was rotted by TheDarkSide, culminating in an attempt to possess newborn Anakin Solo, a desperation plan necessitated by [[spoiler:the fact that all of his remaining clone bodies had been sabotaged by traitorous elements in the Empire]].

* In ''Fanfic/MyLittleMommies'', The BigBad Sleipnir has this power, but with certain restrictions. You see, he's a MonsterProgenitor (called the "Father of All Monsters" in-story), he created griffins, minotaurs, manticores, and others (though he didn't create dragons) via magical mirrors. If his body was killed, he could jump to any sentient creature created by a mirror and shape its flesh into his own form, but only if they were ''directly'' born from a mirror, their descendants were immune. He's currently SealedEvilInACan, and plans to have his spirit inhabit one of the Mane Six's three foals created by the mirror at the start of the story (or Dinky, who was created the same way).

* In ''Fanfic/HailToTheJewelsInTheLotus'', Nezha is pinned by rock when Baro Ki'Teer is about to be killed by the Grineer. Seeing no other options, Nezha [[spoiler:uses Transference to transfer his mind into the fallen Inaros to rise up and lay waste to the Grineer.]]

* In ''Film/{{Immortal}}'' the bodies of the inhabitants of New York are too heavily mutated and modified to survive being Horus' hosts for long, so he is forced to jump from one to another every few hours. He stops after taking residence in the unmodified Nikopol.
* ''Film/TheHidden'' (1987). A PuppeteerParasite-like alien takes over various people in Los Angeles and [[ForTheEvulz uses them to commit thrill crimes]]. He is chased by a member of a different PuppeteerParasite species who is inhabiting the body of an FBI agent.

* In ''Film/{{Shocker}}'', this is Pinker's special power. He's very bad about selecting bodies with bad hearts, though.
* The Agents in ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' do this to revive themselves when killed. Since every human still plugged into the Matrix is a potential Agent, the Resistance cannot afford to leave witnesses when they go about trying to free people. As shown repeatedly in the movies, any populated area in the city is extremely dangerous. In a matter of seconds, an agent can jump into anyone nearby and shoot you dead.
** [[Film/TheMatrix The first movie]] shows this in the finale when Neo runs through a market and an apartment complex. Agent Smith, Agent Brown and Agent Jones are constantly taking shots at Neo from behind or from the sides as they try to kill him.
** In [[Film/TheMatrixReloaded the second movie]], this is taken to its logical conclusion with a highway chase scene during rush hour.
** [[Film/TheMatrixRevolutions The third movie]] culminates with Smith, now unbound by the rules the Machines imposed upon him, copying himself into every human and program in the Matrix.
* The main character in the Korean horror film ''Film/DeadFriend'' suffers from EasyAmnesia, [[spoiler: and doesn't even remember that she had [[FreakyFridayFlip swapped minds]] with the main villain. Since this happened just as she was about to drown, the villain quickly jumped into the next nearest girl, and spends the rest of the film possessing different characters to get revenge.]].

* The creature in ''Film/{{Proteus}}'' absorbs bodies throughout the movie and is able to assume their form from then on. The minds of the victims continue to exist within it and are able to surface when it naps after a meal.
* In the J-Horror film ''Another Heaven'', the Body Surfing killer is actually [[spoiler: a murderess from the future whose (inadvertent?) time travel turned her into a ''sapient puddle of water''.]] The bodies possessed are found to be missing their brains [[spoiler:which are found to be merely shrivelled up and covered in tumours]]. The film gets kind of weird towards the end, with the implication that [[spoiler:the killer evaporated from a housefire, and is now in the rain]].
* A rare non-supernatural example: In ''Film/TakingLives'', this is essentially the tactic of a serial killer - [[spoiler: he kills people who look similar to himself, dresses them up as his old persona (killing them in messy ways helps), and steals their identity, continuing his life as the victim.]]

* In ''Film/{{Xchange}}'', the titular company allows people who can afford it to swap minds for a short period of time as a form of instant travel (or just plain entertainment). The protagonist, Stuart Toffler, is a company's PR guy who is told by his boss to go to a city on the opposite coast via Xchange to attend a funeral. Unfortunately, he finds out too late that the guy he swapped with is a contract killer running from the law by constantly stealing bodies and running away with them. Stuart is required to "vacate" his temporary body for its rightful owner. Unfortunately, the only available body is that of a 4-day clone, and body swaps are forbidden more than twice in that time period. The film is (very) loosely based on Creator/RobertSheckley's novel ''Mindswap''.

* Klaus does this in ''Film/HoldYourBreath'', possessing one teenager after another.
* At the very end of ''Film/KillerParty'', the ghost/demonic entity that has been possessing Jennifer demonstrates that it has this ability by jumping from Jennifer to Phoebe.
* Combined with PossessingADeadBody in ''Film/{{Husk}}''. Alex turns the bodies of his victims in ScaryScarecrows and can shift his spirit between them at will. However, he is only able to animate one scarecrow at a time.

* In ''Film/TheHazing'', Professor Kapps pulls a GrandTheftMe on Doug and takes over his body. After Doug is killed, the heroes think they have won until one of them asks what is there to stop Kapps from jumping into another nearby host. It is almost immediately revealed that he has done just that and taken over Marsha's body.

* ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'': The villains Iuchiban and Yajinden do this. At one point Iuchiban attempts a GrandTheftMe on previous main villain Daigotsu, but for the most part their hosts are unimportant to the plot. They generally warp the bodies into their own image, however.
** Less nefariously, the Kami Togashi body-hopped for over a thousand years to guide the Empire towards the Second Day of Thunder. All of his hosts were willing members of his Clan hand-picked for the duty, however.
** Similarly, the Kami Shiba used his Clan's Ancestral Sword as a focus through which he can return in the soul of the current Champion of his Clan, all of which were his direct descendants. However, he is incapable of actively directing the new Champion, and instead acts more like a spirit guide.
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Lim-Dûl the Necromancer survived his original death on Shandalar by transferring his soul into another living body, and later took over the Shandalari wizard Azar's after the latter tried to slay him.
* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': Characters with the Possession advantage can do this, as can any informorph (AIs and [[BrainUploading uploaded human brains]]) in ''Transhuman Space'', though only with computer brains that are unoccupied.
* In ''TabletopGame/InNomine'', the Kyriotates (angels) and the Shedim (demons) are Body Surfers by necessity; they MUST possess the bodies of other beings while on Earth (unlike most angels and demons who are given special bodies to use in the physical world) and they can only possess their hosts for a limited amount of time, the Kyrios have a "hard limit" of anywhere from a day to a week or so as to how long they can borrow a given body continuously, and Shedim are required to force their hosts to perform evil acts each day, and the host becomes more likely to resist the longer they have been possessed, so the demons don't usually stick around for more then a few days at a time because the host gets too hard to control.
* ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' features body surfing as a core element of the setting, to the point where bodies are referred to as "sleeves", useful not only for restoring [[BrainUploading backed-up]] characters after death and customizing characters for the job at hand, but also for long-distance travel in the form of Egocasting.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':

* ''TabletopGame/ATouchOfEvil'': When a Hero with a Possessed card Knocks Out another Hero, that player gives their Possessed card to the other player.

* In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'' [[spoiler: the player spends the entire game struggling against a body-surfer that has inhabited her body and threatens to devour her identity.]]
** [[spoiler: Gann's mother]] possesses your companions while you are fighting her.
** In [[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights the original]], the Intellect Devourer has taken over [[spoiler:the prison warden]] and brainwashed several guards. If you're stealthy and you want some positive karma, you can snap the guards out of it and get them to flee. Otherwise, once you kill the first body . . . "Heeheehee, I'm HERE, foes!"

* In ''VideoGame/AvengingSpirit'', you play as a ghost who's been brought to earth by a scientist, and you have to save your girlfriend from some gangsters. You have to possess the game's enemies in order to do anything- every time one body gets killed, you have to go right into a new one in a certain amount of time, or you'll run out of spiritual energy.

* Likewise, this was the premise behind the AdventureGame ''VideoGame/OmikronTheNomadSoul'', while the player character being a soul from "our" universe who is only able to interact with the alien world of Omikron by taking over the bodies of Omikron's citizens. He/she hops from body to body quite frequently; the process seems to displace the original soul, so that the body's left an empty shell when the player leaves it for another. The morality of this is never even superficially addressed, especially considering the bad guys are essentially doing the same thing, only on a much more massive scale. The player even evaluates potential hosts like new cars when you examine them, and towards the end the game even requires you to poison a guy who just saved your life so you can jack his body.
* In ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersJericho'', the player character is a commander of an occult special forces military unit, and dies rather early into the game. His disembodied persona can shift into the bodies of each of his soldiers, possessing them consensually (though I guess nothing could stop him from 'pulling rank'.)
* Bob the Cherub's main tool in ''VideoGame/{{Messiah}}'' is his possession ability, which allows him to take over any person and leave once he no more needs them. Many of the puzzles require you to find and possess the right person. You'll be changing your possession victims a lot throughout the game.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', this is [[spoiler:[[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Lambda]]'s]] modus operandi. In the end, though, he settles down in [[spoiler:Asbel]].

* The player characters of the ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' series can kill people to absorb them, allowing you to take on their appearance and pass for them. You will do this often. There's also a move called Body Surf, but it involves ''literal'' body surfing. As in surfboards.
* Basically all of ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot Crash of the Titans]]''. Aku Aku even tells you to do this to beat the first boss. Just [[PeoplePuppets "jack"]] a spike, then keep Body Surfing on up the chain to defeat more powerful mutants!
* [[spoiler:Miang]] in ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' possesses another woman's body every time her current body is killed. She has gone through an average of one body a decade for [[spoiler:10,000 years]]. [[spoiler:Grahf]] also lives on by possessing people once his current body wears out.
* [[spoiler:Dimitri Yuriev]] in ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' also does this. At the time the game begins, he's been possessing bodies for at least 200 years because [[ImmortalitySeeker he's terrified of dying and having to face U-DO]] aka [[spoiler:God]]. He dedicates every waking moment to finding a way to destroy U-DO and comes very close to doing it. He'd be a TragicMonster, if he wasn't a complete asshole.
* The main mechanic of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', referred to as Capturing, lets you possess and control others with Cappy. You can control Goombas and Hammer Bros., Bullet Bills, taxis, frogs, Lava Bubbles, binoculars, trees, dinosaurs, and even ''other people''. The only limitation is that he can't possess anyone that's wearing a hat.

* In ''VisualNovel/DisgaeaInfinite'', one of the Prinnies has his soul sucked out of his body by [[MacGuffin a talking magical pocket watch]]. He has to jump between the other character's bodies to solve the main plot of the game. The fun part of the watch is that not only can he see events from the eyes of the person he's possessed, he can also hear their thoughts, and can influence their decisions, making them do things totally out of character i.e. Laharl hugging a sleeping Prinny or Etna professing love to Laharl.

* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfWonders'', the dark elf Incarnate unit.
* This is a major gameplay innovation in ''VideoGame/The3rdBirthday,'' a sequel to ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve''. It also doubles as MentalTimeTravel. Aya is using a machine to travel a year into the past, temporarily imposing over the physical presence of soldiers and civilians in the past; she can hop into another one at any time which lets her hop onto roofs or take over gun emplacements to use against the bizarre monsters plaguing the land.
** Oddly enough, this is to the ''benefit'' of the people she possesses, as Aya has access to more firepower and special abilities than anyone else. In addition, simply by taking over their bodies, she's allowing them to regenerate their health, which they can't do otherwise. Many of the challenges in the game revolve around keeping people alive, which will require a lot of body surfing during the tough segments.

* The BonusBoss of ''VideoGame/BaldursGateTalesOfTheSwordCoast'' Aec'letec will immediately take over the body of one of his cultists every time he is killed. Depending on how quickly you kill him each time this trope can easily come into play. Especially if you exploit his crippling weakness to Cloudkill.
* In ''[[VideoGame/GloryOfHeraclesIVGiftFromTheGods Glory Of Heracles IV]]'' Both the protagonist and Plato gain the ability to do this after losing their bodies. There are 100 or so characters one can become, scattered around the world.
* The DrivingGame ''VideoGame/DriverSanFrancisco'' has protagonist Tanner use the "Shift" ability to jump into the bodies of random motorists.
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', Master Xehanort seeks to transfer his heart into a younger vessel, mainly that of Terra. [[spoiler: It only works partially.]]
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' reveals that [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Luxu]] has been doing this for eons ever since the Keyblade War to keep watch over his Keyblade. Xigbar, Xehanort's [[TheDragon Dragon]], is Luxu's latest vessel.]]

* [[Literature/ArsGoetia Nebiros]] has this ability in ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei: VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''. He appears with a gaggle of other demons, which he'll periodically revive if killed. Should the player decide to focus on Nebiros, he will simply take over one of the other demons and ''[[ResurrectiveImmortality transform him into the next Nebiros]]''.
** Cain [[spoiler: a.k.a. Naoya]] combines this with ResurrectiveImmortality. Every time he dies, he reincarnates with all his previous memories intact. Unfortunately, [[WhoWantsToLiveForever this isn't consensual]], and has been going on ''since biblical times''.
* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'': While not normally a part of his skillset, Pit is forced to use this when [[spoiler: he is transformed into a ring that can control the body of whoever is wearing it]]. He surfs his way through the body of a little girl, a dog, and BadassNormal Magnus before he's able to return to his own.
* In ''[[VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans Destroy All Humans 2]]'' Crypto can possess pretty much anybody walking on the street. Which, since he is a [[TheGreys short grey alien]], is handy for walking around undetected, talking to mission givers (some of whom only talk to specific kind of people) and if he's possessing a cop or soldier, calling off the [[WantedMeter hunt for him]]. The downside is that it drains his host's life.
* In ''Videogame/IMissTheSunrise'', [[spoiler:The Black One]] does this every time they die, essentially giving them ResurrectiveImmortality. However, their consciousness can only take over the body of [[spoiler:a Lesser]]. Since [[spoiler:their brains aren't as complex as other creatures']], this leads to [[TheFogOfAges memory problems]].
* Multiple examples in ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** The [[MechanicalLifeforms Geth]] are in fact an entire race of computer programs, who can transfer themselves from one platform to another, either to escape danger or simply to take control of a more appropriate platform (a Geth Trooper as opposed to a [[SpiderTank Colossus]] or a [[CoolStarship Dreadnought]]). As a tradeoff, Geth typically have to operate in networked groups.
** Reapers can also take control of indoctrinated minions, though this plays more like DemonicPossession, leaving Shepard to deal with a super-charged ([[PowerGlows and glowing]]) BossInMookClothing.
* In ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'', this was how [[spoiler:Queen Himiko stayed alive for hundreds of years. Whenever her body becomes too old for her she chooses a successor among her handmaidens. Then she transfers her soul into the girls body, [[FateWorseThanDeath destroying the original soul in the process]].]] However the cycle was broken, [[spoiler: when the latest handmaiden [[HeroicSacrifice comitted suicide]] during the transfer ritual. As a result Himiko was trapped in her previous body which quickly decayed into a [[AndIMustScream horrifying corpse]]]]. Now very pissed off [[spoiler: Himiko causes the storms that keep people trapped on the island, while the solarii cult searches for a new host body]]. As it turns out the perfect replacement happens to be [[spoiler: Lara's best friend Sam]].
* In ''Relics'' (an old Japanese computer game by Bothtec), the player character was a shade that could possess various creatures.
* Player characters in ''[[VideoGame/NexusWar Nexus Clash]]'' respawn in a different, random body every time they die. This is constrained by character class, and each class has a different set of possible random bodies that one can wake up in. Unlike most examples of this trope, it's implied that you ''aren't'' displacing the original owners of those bodies, who were already removed from the picture by the PowersThatBe.
* Kyouji Kuzunoha of the ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' series, after his untimely death at the beginning of the first game. When the protagonist ends up in Kyouji's body, Kyouji ends up hopping from body to body throughout several games. He starts in the first game as [[spoiler:Takashi]], then shows up in ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'' as Sukeroku, and then again in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' as Daisuke Todoroki.
* ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'' allows the player to do this with [[http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/Possession Possession]] and the 'Chain Hosts' upgrade. Without this upgrade you must return to human form to possess another host.
* Late into ''VideoGame/{{SUPERHOT}}'', the game introduces the Hotswitch ability, which lets the player hijack a chosen enemy's body. It will kill your former host [[YourHeadASplode by blowing up their heads]], but will make your new one throw any weapon they're carrying.
* This is one of the main abilities of Ghost in ''[[VideoGame/Ghost10 Ghost 1.0]]'', who can possess any robotic body, occupied or otherwise, and while she does keep a primary body, she can eject from it and possess a new one at any time. There's an entire section of the game where, without access to her primary body, Ghost has to keep switching between bodies to progress.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Streets of Rogue}}'' the Shapeshifter class can do this to any nearby NPC with their back exposed as many times as the player wants. Relationships with other NPC (Friendly/Hostile) also get carried over while possessing an NPC.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Ambition of the Slimes}}'' the player's slimes can possess enemies to control them at will. There's one slime in particular (Phoenix) which can revive anytime after its current host is defeated, allowing the player to jump from body to body almost at will.
* [[spoiler:Saito Sejima]] from ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles''. [[spoiler: He actually swapped bodies years before the events of the game, and his master plan involves swapping bodies with his intended murder victims in a ploy to regain his original body.]]
* In the mobile game ''VideoGame/GhostSync'', the character Bernard can do this to enemies.
* The wolf in ''VideoGame/LostEmber'' is a "soul wanderer", capable of jumping into and controlling other animals and even switching between hosts on the fly. She doesn't cause any damage to the animals she possesses and they go back to going about their business when she's done with them. It helps that she can't take an animal too far from others of its species, so they're always able to return to their group without trouble.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', the tortured spirit of Shuyin is inside Nooj and later during the game transfers to Baralai. If you complete the Den of Woe sidequest, another imprint of Shuyin first takes possession of your playable character Rikku and then Paine, forcing Yuna to fight them to drive him out, before they then all fight illusions of Nooj, Baralai and Gippal conjured by him.

* Professor Fitz in ''Webcomic/{{Fans}}'' surfed through several bodies in order to avoid dying of old age. At one point, Will Erikson allowed Fitz to swap bodies with him in order to insure Fitz' loyalty to Rikk and AEGIS. Fitz is currently inhabiting the body of a fire-breathing dragon and loving every minute of it.
* This is the MO of [[spoiler:The Other]] from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. It's (thus far) ambiguous if [[spoiler:the original Other was Agatha's mother Lucrezia, or an EldritchAbomination or an experiment [[GoneHorriblyRight worked too well on]]]].
* Godiva from ''Webcomic/{{Vanguard}}'' has a power that requires a line of sight but lets her see and hear through the victim. It comes in handy against tougher opponents, as people very rarely have a defense against throwing their own weapon down and pulling back the [[NighInvulnerability Nigh Invulnerable]] face plate blocking all those bullets.

* This is the power of Jimmy, the main character of ''Webcomic/{{Demon}}''. When the body he's inhabiting dies, he automatically possesses the body of the nearest living human.
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Sirleck does this as a BodySnatcher Abberation. He [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2017-04-28 goes from a rich old (and braindead) man to the man's butler]], from him to [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2017-11-17 a janitor]] (possibly through intermediate hosts), and from the janitor to [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2017-11-10 Ellen]] with the ultimate goal of [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2018-03-19 possessing Magus]].

* Astral Controller of ''Website/EpicTales'' is only able to interact with the physical world by possessing human hosts. In his first appearance he switches between multiple different hosts as the situation requires.
* ''Literature/FineStructure'': [[spoiler:[[BigGood Mitch Calrus]] is distinctively ''not'' immortal, but he needs to be around in 20,000 years to fight the FinalBattle. The solution is to use BrainUploading to make countless digital copies of himself all over the solar system, and have his immortal ally upload him into available bodies as needed]].
* Dr Bright of the Wiki/SCPFoundation. His spirit is tied to [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-963 SCP-963]], so anytime his body dies, the SCP can be transferred to a new body. Bright is also a darker example of the trope than usual, since possessing someone even briefly [[DeathOfPersonality wipes their original brain pattern.]]
** Ditto for [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1510 SCP-1510]], an ancient Roman soldier's helmet containing the cursed spirit of its former owner. Any man between 28 and 35 years old who wears it will become possessed by the soldier's spirit.

* In ''Film/NoobLaQueteLegendaire'', [[spoiler:physical god Dortös]] has to posses a mortal host to survive on Olydri's surface. The character has been shown using two bodies so far due to the first being possessed from a lack of options and more compatible hosts existing out there. However, the character's dialogue as it takes leave of his first host's travel companions implies there is a least a little PossessionBurnout going on as well, as it talks about using the body until its resources run out. The video game context probably make the burnout likely to be CastFromHitPoints rather than CastFromLifespan.
* ''Literature/HeroesSaveTheWorld'': This is Michael Williams' power, combined with the ability to read thoughts and memories from whatever brain he's currently inhabiting.
* ''{{Literature/Deviant}}'': Crowd, a vigilante who can clone herself, can also surf between these bodies, possessing whichever ones she chooses. Another vigilante, Revenant, is effectively immortal because of their ability - they can possess as many bodies as they please, dead or alive.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' gives us Jericho, who can take over anyone by making eye contact. In the penultimate episode, he does this very rapidly during a big fight scene.
* In ''WesternAnimation/PacManAndTheGhostlyAdventures'', this is part of what made the villainous ghost Specter so dangerous. Most ghosts can only use DemonicPossession on a living being for a few minutes at best without artificial aid, but Specter had developed the ability so much that he could possess a body for days, and loved switching between them quickly, leaving Pac with no idea who he was, and [[ParanoiaFuel not even Pac's]] TrueCompanions [[ParanoiaFuel could be trusted]]. Specter was ''so'' dangerous, Pac had to use an EngineeredPublicConfession to get him on Betrayus's bad side so he would be locked up, since he would keep coming back otherwise, something Pac hasn't done for any of ghostly foes before or since.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/BountyHamster'' took place on a planet where a scientist had invented a device which allowed any two people to switch bodies. The BigBad for that episode had stolen that device before the main characters got there. They ended up trying to track down the BigBad as they ended up in the bodies of the locals (or each-other, or in one case the BigBad from a past episode). At one point the titular hamster, the girl who hired him, and the BigBad were all in the same body. At the end of the episode, he (the BigBad, not the hamster) ended up in a cactus.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' special, "Destination: Imagination", World can take over anything in his universe. He just can't take over anything that already has a face, and he has to be physically touching it.

* The premise of ''WesternAnimation/PennZeroPartTimeHero'' is that the characters travel to other dimensions and take over the bodies of specific inhabitants.
* In the third season premiere of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', Rick escapes from Federation captivity by transferring his consciousness into one of his interrogators, then when his own body is shot in the head he transfers to two other alternate reality Ricks.

* The main mechanic of VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey, referred to as Capturing, lets you possess and control others with Cappy. You can control Goombas and Hammer Bros., Bullet Bills, taxis, frogs, Lava Bubbles, binoculars, trees, dinosaurs, and even ''other people''. The only limitation is that he can't possess anyone that's wearing a hat.

* Late into ''VideoGame/{{SUPERHOT}}'', the game introduces the Hotswitch ability, which lets the player hijack a chosen enemy's body. It will kill your former host[[YourHeadASplode by blowing up their heads]], but will make your new one throw any weapon they're carrying.

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', [[spoiler:Medusa]] uses magic to cheat death this way, the first time jumping into [[AdultFear a helpless child]], and then upgrading to something more comfortable by stealing the body of [[spoiler:her sister, Arachne.]]

* This is the entire concept behind superhero ComicBook/{{Deadman}}, whose sole power is the ability to effortlessly possess ''anybody'', from children to Franchise/{{Superman}} to paintings to giant crabs. He shows off to ability to rapidly possess people in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #86, where a BrainwashedAndCrazy Deadman makes every single person on a crowded street attack Batman as he passes them by. First, a cop tries to shoot Batman, then a blind guy tries to smack him with his walking stick, then a businessman throws a briefcase at him, and finally a truck tries to crash into Batman just as he grapples away.
* In ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} (and possibly the other ComicBook/NewGods) is able to do this, as Darkseid is able to jump from "Boss Dark Side" to [[spoiler:Dan Turpin]].
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': The ComicBook/PostCrisis Giganta started out her villainous career by trying to transfer her essence into Franchise/WonderWoman to save herself from a fatal illness, but the attempt was stopped by ComicBook/WonderGirl and Zuel's assistant had to transfer her into a gorilla's body out of desperation. Zuel was displeased with her new body and found herself a human victim whose body and sizeshifting abilities are most commonly associated with the villain.

* In the {{Elseworld}}s book ''Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}: [[ComicBook/TheNail Another Nail]]'', [[Comicbook/NewGods Scott Free (Mr. Miracle)]] is killed by [=DeSaad=], but before dying he transfers his mind into Big Barda's Mother Box circuitry, allowing him to "possess" his wife long enough to use his escape-artist skills to release her from Darkseid's shackles. Barda then acquires a Franchise/GreenLantern power ring, allowing Scott Free the ability to manifest himself as a green energy construct.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} villain Worldkiller-1 transferred his soul from one body to another the whole time, looking for a perfect host. In the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' arc, as Supergirl was fighting the leader of an alien race, Worldkiller-1 emerged through the Diasporan damaged body and tried to snatch Kara's body. She forced him out, though, so he transferred his spirit into the bodies of random bystanders -who were burnt out nearly instantly- until Kara agreed to let him surf into her body.

* The villain Ultra-Humanite accomplishes this by surgically transferring his brain between bodies. He tried to do this to ''ComicBook/PowerGirl'', but she stopped him.

* ComicBook/DoctorDoom has the Ovoid mind switch, an alien technique taught to him by the, guess, Ovoids, a species of aliens incapable of reproduction at one point so they had to clone their bodies and transfer their minds into it. Despite a later ComicBook/SheHulk issue retconning it as being difficult if there's a soul / mind in the body the "caster" is trying to inhabit, Doom seems to be able to do this with relative ease, especially after the Unthinkable arc, where all he is is a spirit, and he swaps and hops about the Comicbook/FantasticFour until Reed shoots Doom-in-Thing, killing both, sending Victor von Doom... ''to hell''.
* In the third ''ComicBook/IronMan'' annual issue, anyone who held the wand of the (then-deceased) villain Molecule Man was eventually possessed by his essence. He is defeated when Comicbook/ManThing grabs the wand, and since he doesn't have a mind to possess, Molecule Man is left trapped helpless in the wand (although later eventually figures out how to recreate his body).
* The ''ComicBook/XMen'' villain [[Characters/XMenRoguesGalleryJToR Proteus]] [[PossessionBurnout burns through the bodies he possesses as he uses his mutant powers]]. However, assuming he doesn't ever use his reality-warping powers, he could stay in a single body indefinitely.

* Mountjoy, a villain from one of the X-Men's various dystopian futures, does this. He physically merges with his victims to possess them, and sometimes consumes their bodies for sustenance.
* ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}}, another X-Men villain, is known to do this. While he has healing and regeneration powers as well as technology to prolong his life, this is not enough to achieve immortality due to his powers slowly destroying his body. Apocalypse has had to from time to time forcibly [[GrandTheftMe steal the body]] of an unfortunate victim, who he terms as "vessels", his abilities allowing him to take over every aspect of their body to remake them in his appearance. Naturally he feels [[ItsAllAboutMe that someone being chosen to be his vessel is an honor]].
* ComicBook/IncredibleHulk villain Xemnu the Titan is able to survive death by psychically transferring his mind into other bodies and gradually transforming them into a copy of his original form. By the time of ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'', he's done this dozens of times over, and the mental and physical strain of it [[SanitySlippage has begun to take a severe toll on his sanity]]; he's started [[PsychopathicManChild talking in childish, sing-song speech patterns]], like saying he's "hungwy" when he needs to [[ToServeMan recharge his powers]].

* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' has the title villain, who through a ritual moves his essence onto younger bodies as the one he inhabits starts to break down. The movie starts with him getting a body that also has a HealingFactor, and through the story, Apocalypse decides that he will move onto Charles Xavier to [[TheSingularity "be everyone, everywhere"]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' gives us Jericho, who can take over anyone by making eye contact. In the penultimate episode, he does this very rapidly during a big fight scene.

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* [[spoiler: Jonah Magnus (during the time frame the series takes place in calling himself Elias Bouchard)]] from ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' does this, since it's how he keeps himself alive for so long(plus it's a great way to avoid suspicion and evade old enemies).
[[/folder]]

* In the sixth season episode "Leap" of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', [[spoiler:[[BigBad Izel]]]] is revealed to be an EnergyBeing able to possess anyone. She possessed Davis to survive a NeverFoundTheBody situation in the previous episode, and she jumps between several hosts and nearly steals the Gravitonium sphere before the main cast figures out what's going on. When Izel is cornered, she just starts surfing between everyone in the room, taunting that they can't hurt her without killing her host. [[spoiler: By the end of the following episode, however, Deke and [=FitzSimmons=] have figured out how this ability works and figured out a way to neutralize it.]]

* A MonsterOfTheWeek in ''Series/BloodTies'' turns out to be this. Interestingly, when it invades a person, his or her spirit is pushed out and roams around for a bit, only visible to other supernatural beings and people sensitive to the supernatural world. The creature burns out the body in a matter of days, after which it must find a new host. It can be without a body only for a few seconds before expiring. The "possessed" person mostly acts the same, having all the memories of the host, but is a little more animal-like and ''loves'' red meat. Unfortunately, its latest target is Vicki's old friend, an undercover cop, whose spirit comes to her for help. They manage to kill the creature, and her friend gets his body back, but it's already too damaged and survives only about a minute.

* In ''Literature/TheHost'' [[spoiler: Wanda ends up doing this when her friends swap her into another vacated body]].

* VideoGame/Dishonored2 allows the player to do this with [[http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/Possession Possession]] and the 'Chain Hosts' upgrade. Without this upgrade you must return to human form to possess another host.

* In VideoGame/{{Streets of Rogue}} the Shapeshifter class can do this to any nearby NPC with their back exposed as many times as the player wants. Relationships with other NPC (Friendly/Hostile) also get carried over while possessing an NPC.
* In VideoGame/{{Ambition of the Slimes}} the player's slimes can possess enemies to control them at will. There's one slime in particular (Phoenix) which can revive anytime after its current host is defeated, allowing the player to jump from body to body almost at will.

* In the mobile game VideoGame/{{Ghost Sync}}, the character Bernard can do this to enemies.

* The Mind Transfer gamemode in ''VideoGame/CloneDroneInTheDangerZone'' gives the player the ability to take over the body of the nearest robot upon death.

* At the evry end of ''Film/KillerParty'', the ghost/demonic entity that has been possessing Jennifer demonstrates that it has this ability by jumping from Jennifer to Phoebe.

* In ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'', the villains Iuchiban and Yajinden do this. At one point Iuchiban attempts a GrandTheftMe on previous main villain Daigotsu, but for the most part their hosts are unimportant to the plot. They generally warp the bodies into their own image, however.

* Characters with the Possession advantage can do this in ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}''.
** As can any informorph (AIs and [[BrainUploading uploaded human brains]]) in ''Transhuman Space'', though only with computer brains that are unoccupied.

* This is the MO of [[spoiler:The Other]] from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. It's (thus far) ambiguous if [[spoiler:the original Other was Agatha's mother Lucrezia, or an EldritchAbomination an experiment [[GoneHorriblyRight worked too well on]]]].

* This is the entire concept behind superhero ComicBook/{{Deadman}}, whose sole power is the ability to effortlessly possess ''anybody'', from children to Franchise/{{Superman}}. He was brought back to life at the end of ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', and in ''Comicbook/BrightestDay'' he appeared to be capable of restoring things to life. Then [[StatusQuoIsGod he died again]].

* Absolutely ''everyone'' in Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/LordOfLight''. Yes, even the protagonist.

* In the ''Franchise/EvilliousChronicles'' there's a difficult to learn spell called the Swap Technique which allows for mages to move their souls into other bodies--they could also go the entire way and swap the person's soul into their previous body. The character Elluka Clockworker has used the spell to swap into at least three bodies over the course of the series.

* This is the entire concept behind superhero ComicBook/{{Deadman}}, whose sole power is the ability to effortlessly possess ''anybody'', from children to Franchise/{{Superman}}. He was brought back to life at the end of ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'', and in ''Comicbook/BrightestDay'' he appeared to be capable of restoring things to life. Then [[StatusQuoIsGod he died again]].
* In ''Comicbook/FinalCrisis'', ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} (and possibly the other Comicbook/NewGods) is able to do this, as Darkseid is able to jump from "Boss Dark Side" to [[spoiler:Dan Turpin]].

* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' villain Worldkiller-1 transferred his soul from one body to another the whole time, looking for a perfect host. In the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' arc, as Supergirl was fighting the leader of an alien race, Worldkiller-1 emerged through the Diasporan damaged body and tried to snatch Kara's body. She forced him out, though, so he transferred his spirit into the bodies of random bystanders -who were burnt out nearly instantly- until Kara agreed to let him surf into her body.
* [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Jericho]] of Franchise/TheDCU had this as an ability, and when he tried to help Raven using it, [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow it eventually drove him completely mad]].

* At the evry end of ''Film/KillerParty'', the ghost/demonic entity that has been possessing Jennifer demonstrates that it has this ability by jumping from Jennifer to Pheobe.