History Main / DesecratingTheDead

** An antagonistic example occurs in Season 3 -- [[spoiler:after receiving the news that [[DeathOfAChild Tommy was brutally murdered by Dream]], Bad, Ant and Punz (while BrainwashedAndCrazy by [[AlienKudzu The Egg]]) decide to celebrate by throwing a party in Tommy's house, placing down a cake and swapping out the floor from grass to a garish checkerboard pattern of yellow concrete and quartz. When [[OnlySaneWoman Puffy]] finds them, [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech tears into them]] and kicks them out, they decide to rent a room in Tommy's hotel instead to continue celebrating.]]

* Mixed examples occur in the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'':

Supertrope to PummelingTheCorpse (when a person can't stop beating someone they've already killed because of an emotional breakdown) and MakeSureHesDead (which is the justified version, and which may overlap with RasputinianDeath in cases where the dead has to be desecrated to keep them that way). Compare DeadGuyPuppet.

** Usually a KickTheSonOfABitch moment because the dead villain really deserved it, or a case of PayEvilUntoEvil. If it's a DeadGuyOnDisplay, it may simply be [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing to raise morale]].

* ''Fanfic/AWEArcadiaBayRogueDemon'': When Trench has a {{psychometr|y}}ic vision of what Nathan did to Rachel, he [[KickTheSonOfABitch puts a few rounds from the Service Weapon into the dead man's skull]], reducing his head to a bloody paste.

* In ''Literature/{{Doglands}}'', after killing four {{Angry Guard Dog}}s, Furgul and [[spoiler:Dervla]] use two of the dog's bodies as beds. They're bony but still more comfortable than sleeping on the cold, grimy floor. It's predominantly a KickTheSonOfABitch moment as the dogs were attempting to kill Furgul.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein 3D}}'', B.J. Blazkowicz does this to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler in the climax of the third episode, "Die Fuhrer Die", kicking his head off his remains and spitting on his corpse, a case of KickTheSonOfABitch if there ever was one.

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Batman spits on [[spoiler: The Joker]]'s corpse. This is an example of KickTheSonOfABitch, since said villain absolutely deserved so much worse.

-->-- '''Brunt''', ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', "Body Parts"

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "Suspicions", it is revealed that the Ferengi have very strict rules about the handling of their dead that precludes medical examinations being performed on their bodies. When Dr. Crusher is convinced that a Ferengi scientist had been murdered, but can find no leads through any other means, she conducts an autopsy to confirm her suspicions, violating Ferengi customs and jeopardizing her commission and licence.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Emanations", Chakotay leads an away team to a cobweb-filled burial chamber. Chakotay takes great care to avoid disturbing the dead, even refusing to scan the bodies, only to be told by the Doctor that the cobwebs were a by-product of their decomposition. "In essence Commander, you were strolling through dead bodies." In a further irony, the aliens get annoyed that they ''didn't'' scan the bodies, as it would have told them something about what happens after death.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Invoked in "Nemesis". The episode features a war between two alien species, the monstrous-like Kradin, and the human-looking Vori. A Vori commander lists the many atrocities the Kradin commit, including regularly desecrating the dead. It later turns out the episode is spent in a brainwashing camp, used to convince people the Kradin are AlwaysChaoticEvil. At the end Janeway confesses she does not know if the Kradin commit any of those crimes, but they accuse the Vori of the same things.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': The Decepticon Breakdown was [[spoiler: killed by Airachnid]]. MECH retrieved his body and used it as the new host body of their leader, creating CYLAS. This action [[EvenEvilHasStandards horrifies the ''Decepticons'']], and (when he fails to impress them), they avenge Breakdown by having CYLAS become Knockout's newest science experiment.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': The Decepticon Breakdown was [[spoiler: killed by Airachnid]]. MECH retrieved his body and used it as the new host body of their leader, creating CYLAS. This action [[EvinEvilHasStandards horrifies the ''Decepticons'']], and (when he fails to impress them), they avenge Breakdown by having CYLAS become Knockout's newest science experiment.

[[folder:Film]

* ''WebVideo/NightmareTime'': After [[spoiler: Gabe]] is killed, his body is skinned and turned into [[GenuineHumanHide a pile of human-skin wallets]], left on a table for the camp counselors to find.

* Appears a few times in the ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' series:

** In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'', it's revealed that after murdering Al Mualim for betraying the assassin order, Altair decided to publicly burn his corpse in order to prove he was dead. This greatly troubled Abbas, one of his fellow assassins, who believed Al Mualim's corpse had to remain whole in order for his soul to reach the afterlife. In Altair's defense, it was not an act born out of spite, but for pragmatic reasons, as he wanted to [[MakeSureHesDead make sure it was not another illusion created by Al Mualim]].

** A non-physical example occurs at the end of battle against [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]] against [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft the Lich King]]: [[spoiler:after killing his adversary and proving himself EvilerThanThou, as a final insult, Sauron triumphantly seats himself upon the Lich King's throne]].

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': When the dwarf king Thrór was captured by orcs, he was decapitated, his body and head thrown down the steps of Moria, and subsequently cut up and fed to carrion birds. His successor declared the War of the Dwarves and Orcs to claim vengeance, winning a PyrrhicVictory.

* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' story "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" ends with [[spoiler:the title character's killer stomping on his face]].

** A non-physical example occurs at the end of battle against [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]] against [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft the Lich King]]: [[spoiler:after killing his adversary and proving himself EvilerThanThou, Sauron triumphantly seats himself upon the Lich King's throne]].

** They may be the PoisonousFriend, doing what they feel has to be done but the morally purer characters can't.

* In the AnimatedAdaptation of ''ComicBook/PlanetHulk'', the Red King is humiliated upon death in several different ways. First, [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]] [[CurbStompBattle utterly whips the floor with him]] in their battle, only to hold off at the last minute so that [[HeelFaceTurn the reformed]] [[TheDragon Caiera]] may get the last blow. Caiera kills him by [[spoiler:infecting him with his Spike parasite, causing him to mutate into a zombie. Recognizing him as infected, his own robotic guards turn against him and incinerate his corpse.]]

* In ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKainSoulReaver'', Kain broke into the Tomb of the Sarafan, from which he rose his six lieutenants as vampires from the bodies within. He also took the time to deface the headstone meant for the missing Malek; prominent claw marks mar it.

* In ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'', Jin can find corpses of villagers and samurai alike left impaled on trees or strung up from branches. The impact of this is seen most poignantly in one of Lady Masako's missions, where she has an utter breakdown on seeing her sons hanging from a cliff.
-->'''Lady Masako:''' They ''strung them up'' like ''animals!''

* ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'' (first book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): Kaladin ends up mutilating Parshendi corpses and attaching bits of their natural armour to regular armour in order to exploit their BerserkButton about disturbing their dead. Normally he wouldn't do something so grisly, but his commanders [[SuicideMission are actively trying to get him and his men killed]], so he goes to whatever lengths necessary to keep them alive. If that means drawing every arrow from the Parshendi archers toward him, so be it.

* ''Series/HawaiiFive0'': Realizing the North Korean government has given them the wrong dead guy and unwilling to [[BuryingASubstitute bury a substitute]], Steve and Cath journey into North Korea to retrieve the body of a fallen friend. Finding out his corpse has been badly mutilated serves as a BerserkButton for Steve.