History Main / BurnTheUndead

The undead's weakness to fire is often connected with the idea that FirePurifies: life-giving fire--the opposite of the dead, [[EvilIsDeathlyCold cold]], unholy undead--is particularly effective at sending such critters back to their graves for good. In the case of vampires, a weakness to fire may be connected to, or contain, [[WeakenedByTheLight a weakness to sunlight]].

* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime'': Downplayed -- zombies aren't extra-weak to fire, but certain zombies will not use their on-death abilities if killed by fire, such as the Surfer Zombie dropping his OneHitKill surfboard on the square he's on. It's also inverted with the Imp Dragon Zombie, the only zombie in the game that is ImmuneToFire.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperCaneMagicZero'', undead enemies, such as skeletons and mummies, take double damage from fire attacks.

Sometimes the internal justification for this trope is that the undead [[HealingFactor regenerate]] (part of the same magic that keeps dead flesh and bones moving at all), and ''all'' monsters who regenerate in the setting are vulnerable to fire, likely due to the fact that fire destroys with a completeness that little else can [[JustForPun match]]. Or, for [[IntangibleMan ghostly undead]], fire and other energy attacks may be less likely to pass through them than physical ones. In the case of zombies, it's often tied into some variation of killing TheVirus (similar to the practice of cremating the bodies of those who died from illness to prevent the spread of infection), [[RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain destroying the brains by frying them]], or, failing that, [[BodyHorror destroying and melting enough muscle and cartilage to prevent them from moving]].

** Alluded in the prequel, ''Recap/OnTheOriginOfPCs''. When Roy recruits Vaarsuvius into the order, he mentions that the elf is an expert at fire magic, which will be useful since he's expecting to fight lots of undead in their upcoming quest.

** In ''VideoGame/XCOM2 : War of the Chosen'' the Lost are vulnerable to fire damage and will run around in panic while burning. ADVENT Purifiers are anti-Lost specialists equipped with flamethrowers and incendiary grenades.

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'' this is the most effective way to kill the wights created by the [[HumanoidAbomination White Walkers]] from the humans and other animals who die fighting them.

* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' a common solution to the MonsterOfTheWeek, if it's a ghost or other formerly-alive being, is to find and burn its corpse and/or bones, which utterly destroys it on this plane. KillItWithFire tends to be the default solution from the Winchester brothers against monsters they don't know much about, and it's usually a safe bet (for example against Nazi Necromancers in "Everyone Hates Hitler").
* The Franchise/{{Whoniverse}}:

*** In episode 42, if you looked into the living sun its soul entered your body and you effectively became undead, leaving you with only two ways to die: the soul could burn you from the inside out, or it could eat you.
*** The Family of Blood's scarecrows are undead and must be burned.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Luminosity}}'', as in [[Literature/{{Twilight}} the text it's based on]], burning is the only way to consistently kill a vampire.

* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]] are only able to die if another vampire tears them to pieces and then all of the pieces are burned. Even if they have been DrivenToSuicide, this is absolutely the only way they can die, which is why [[spoiler:Edward Cullen]] asks the Volturi to do this to him in ''New Moon''. It's worth noting that Carlisle failed to try immolation during his many attempts at killing himself after he became a vampire, despite his father being a pastor who believed in wiping out evil supernatural creatures in such a manner.

*** Subverted in the case of the Dark Judges, who can only be slowed down by the Lawgiver's incendiary bullets (and [[KillItWithFire Judge Fire]] is obviously immune). It will destroy the host body, but their spirits can then roam free to find a new one.

-->--''WebVideo/GeminiHomeEntertainment'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyDvpwpRPM4 WORLD'S WEIRDEST ANIMALS]]