History Main / FlyingDutchman

* Jack from ''Comicbook/{{Fables}}'' and ''JackOfFables'' is apparently of the Jack O'Lantern variant, except his deal with the devil will eventually expire--so he needs to find a different version of the devil every few hundred years in order to make a deal for more time.

* There is a myth of a man in the southern USA who tricks the devil multiple times so the man doesn't die when he is supposed to. The man thinks that all he has to do is become religious in the extra time, and the devil won't be able to take him anyway. Unfortunately the man blows it each time he tricks the devil and gains more time (he spends all the extra time drinking). When he finally dies completely, heaven refuses to let him in. Then hell refuses to let him in because the devil doesn't want to put up with him after all the tricks. The man begs a lantern from the devil to let him see his way back to the land of the living, which is supposedly all you can see of him now.

* In TheDCU, one of ThePhantomStranger's purported origins--he has four, and DC will never say which if any of them is the real one--is that he is the Wandering Jew. (The other three also involve him being some kind of FlyingDutchman, but not ''the'' Wandering Jew. Clear?)

-->'''David Grey:''' Jesus Christ!\\
'''Lazarus:''' Where?

** TheNew52 showed us "The Trinity of Sin", three figures who were cursed to be Wandering Jews: the Phantom Stranger (revealed to be ''Judas Iscariot himself'') who was cursed to "walk the Earth as a stranger to man. As a witness of what greed can do"; The mythological Pandora and TheQuestion, cursed to "forever question [his] identity and forever search for answers [he will never find].

The Wandering Jew story can be traced to medieval Christianity -- in particular, a reference to [[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2016:28&version=KJV Matthew 16:28]], wherein Jesus states that some of the people listening to him speak would not die prior to Jesus "coming in his kingdom," which some believe to be a reference to the Second Coming. Since many ordinary lifespans had passed between Jesus' speech and the time of its progenitors, [[OffscreenInertia the myth arose]] that at least one of those ancient audience members had been for some reason sentenced to immortality.

* The ''ComicBook/SilverSurfer'' actually battled the Flying Dutchman's ghostly captain in one SilverAge story, and the captain has since appeared once or twice to bedevil Comicbook/TheAvengers among others.

** By the end of ''At World's End'', Will Turner becomes the new captain of the Flying Dutchman. ''His'' love waited the ten years (and [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy bore him a child, to boot.]])

* In Creator/RichardWagner's adaptation of the legend, the opera ''[[Theatre/TheFlyingDutchman Der fliegende Holländer]]'', the title character can be saved by ThePowerOfLove coming from the local StrangeGirl.

* The legend of the Wandering Londoner in ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel'': a murderer who got lost trying to escape through the abandoned emergency highways of the cities. After he [[SmiteMeOhMightySmiter made the mistake of saying that "the Trinity and all the saints"]] wouldn't stop him from reaching his hideout, his fate was sealed; wanders in the tunnels are said to see his ghostly figure in the distance, disappearing before it can reach them.

* The legend of the Wandering Londoner in ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel''.

* DanSimmons:

* ''SuikodenIV'' takes place in an archipelago, so naturally, there's an optional encounter with a particularly creepy-looking Flying Dutchman.

* In ''Videogame/AloneInTheDark2'', the antagonists are gangsters who actually are the undead crew of the Flying Dutchman.

* Davy Jones in ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' pilots a ship called the Flying Dutchman. His original purpose was to ferry souls across the sea at World's End. [[spoiler:If his love was waiting after ten years, he would go on land again for a single day with her before returning to his duty for another ten years (and so on for eternity). His love was ''not'' waiting, so he abandoned his duties and became a BadAss roaming pirate. His crew turned into half-men half-sea-creatures.]]
** [[spoiler: By the end of ''At World's End'', Will Turner becomes the new captain of the Flying Dutchman. ''His'' love waited the ten years (and [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy bore him a child, to boot.]])]]

* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel "Legion of the Damned", the titular Legion's only surviving spaceship (a "Star Fort") appears out of nowhere at [[TheCavalryArrivesLate the last minute]] to [[spoiler:[[BigDamnHeroes destroy the Keeler Comet and obliterate the Chaos armada]] while the Legionnaires wipe out the planetside Chaos crusaders right on the verge of their victory.]]

* In the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' novel "Legion of the Damned", the titular Legion's only surviving spaceship (a "Star Fort") appears out of nowhere at [[TheCavalryArrivesLate the last minute]] to [[spoiler:[[BigDamnHeroes destroy the Keeler Comet and obliterate the Chaos armada]] while the Legionnaires wipe out the planetside Chaos crusaders right on the verge of their victory.]]

* OlderThanFeudalism: The [[Literature/TheBible biblical Cain]] was cursed by God to [[WalkingTheEarth Walk The Earth]] for killing his brother. The [[MarkOfShame Mark Of Cain]] that goes with this immortal homelessness is supposed to show that he's under God's protection and any harm done to him will be avenged. The term "Wandering Jew" is sometimes used to refer to Cain himself.

The ''Flying Dutchman'' (named after the legend popularized by Creator/RichardWagner in an opera of the same name) is BarredFromTheAfterlife and cursed to go WalkingTheEarth (or sailing or flying or...) [[WhoWantsToLiveForever forever]]. Most versions of this fall into one of two types: the ''Flying Dutchman'', cursed to sail the seas, and the Wandering Jew, forced to wander the earth.

* In Creator/RichardWagner's adaptation of the legend, the opera ''Der fliegende Holländer'', the title character can be saved by ThePowerOfLove.
** Wagner lifted the plot from Heinrich Heine's ''Aus den Memoiren des Herrn von Schnabelewopski'' (From the memoirs of Mr. Schnabelewopski, 1838), where there is an at the time entirely fictional play the protagonist sees in Amsterdam. He helpfully ends up the summary: "The moral of the play for women is to watch out not to marry a Flying Dutchman; and we men see from this play that women in the best case cause us to perish."

* OlderThanFeudalism: The [[Literature/TheBible biblical Cain]] was cursed by God to [[WalkingTheEarth Walk The Earth]] for killing his brother. The [[MarkOfShame Mark Of Cain]] that goes with this immortal homelessness is supposed to show that he's under God's protection and any harm done to him will be avenged.

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* The SilverSurfer actually battled the Flying Dutchman's ghostly captain in one SilverAge story, and the captain has since appeared once or twice to bedevil Comicbook/TheAvengers among others.

* ''CascaTheEternalMercenary'', a series by BarrySadler, centers on Casca Rufio Longinus, the Roman legionary who thrust his spear into Jesus' side on the cross. He's cursed by Jesus to not only walk the earth til the Last Judgement, but to always be a soldier as well. While he can't be killed, he still feels pain when injured.

* In ''SilentHill2'', a magazine tells the story of a ship that disappeared on Toluca Lake, leaving the ghosts of the crew to reach up to boats that pass overhead. In ''SilentHill3'', the SinisterSubway is haunted by the wandering ghost of a train suicide, which pushes unsuspecting people onto the tracks.
* In ''Videogame/AloneInTheDark 2'', the antagonists are gangsters who actually are the undead crew of the Flying Dutchman.

* Used a few times in the {{Ravenloft}} setting, most notably with the Captain Pieter van Reise, the darklord of the Sea of Sorrows (a Dutchman {{Expy}}) and the cursed Captain Garvin from the ''Ship of Horror'' adventure.

* In the ''{{Traveller}}'' universe there is a {{Mythopoeia}} in-verse myth about the starship Robert-the-Bruce. At the founding of the Sword Worlds the ship had disappeared on a return trip to invite further settlers. According to Sword World's legend it wanders the stars forever and wherever it goes disaster follows behind.

** In the [[UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}} Mormon]] tradition, they believe that there are three disciples of Jesus Christ, otherwise known as "The Three Nephites", whom were chosen to wander the Earth until his second coming. However, their purpose is benevolent, as there have been folklore about their appearances, helping dozens people along their journey.

* ''VampireTheRequiem'' has the [[CrystalDragonJesus Lancea Sanctum]], who revere Longinus as Vampire Jesus. The story goes that Longinus was turned into a vampire when he stabbed Christ's side and the savior's blood dripped onto his lips; after that, he wandered for years until God revealed the purpose of vampires -- to [[ScareEmStraight harrow humanity back into righteousness]].

* In ''PrometheanTheCreated'', it is difficult to play a character who isn't a Wandering Jew on account of a curse that all Prometheans share that gradually spoils the land and turns the locals against them.
* The Vistani, a gypsy-like folk from the {{Ravenloft}} setting, are unable to reside in one place for more than a few nights without losing their [[GypsyCurse supernatural powers]]. Averted in the case of the Zarovan tribe, darklings (outcast Vistani), and occasional exceptions like Hyskosa.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' revival, the Doctor has become one of these: his home planet has been destroyed, and, although he tries to be upbeat about it, he's weary of traveling. In fact, given that in a Romani variant, the Wandering Jew is the blacksmith who forged the nails that crucified Christ, and wanders in expiation for his sin, the Doctor fits the trope even better in his late incarnations.

* The song "Charlie on the M.T.A", also known as "The Man Who Never Returned", is about. Because of this, he has to take the train all day, every day, never leaving. Why he couldn't get somebody to spot him the nickel he needed (Or have his wife, how passes him a bag lunch through the train window every morning, give him the nickel) is never brought up.

The ''Flying Dutchman'' (named after the legend popularized by Creator/RichardWagner in an opera of the same name) is cursed to go WalkingTheEarth (or sailing or flying or...) [[WhoWantsToLiveForever forever]]. Most versions of this fall into one of two types: the ''Flying Dutchman'', cursed to sail the seas, and the Wandering Jew, forced to wander the earth.