History Main / GenuineHumanHide

* ''Manga/RedRiver1995'': Zuwa from the Kaska/[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Kashga]] clan kills humans and sews his clothes out of the collected skin. Features include black for Nubian and brown for Egyptian.

** "Bolt-on", one of the more out-there fan theories, posits that Roose Bolton is [[HumanoidAbomination some manner of immortal]] who avoids drawing attention by periodically murdering his sons and wearing their skins, [[KillAndReplace passing himself off as the latest generation of Bolton]] using magic similar to that of the Faceless Men.

* In ''VideoGame/HyperLightDrifter'', the FrogMen chieftain wears a necklace made from the flayed skins of otter people. ]'
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** Chaos and the Dark Eldar, two of the more morally monstrous factions, use human skin in decorations, like clothing, banners, etc. Chaos Space Marines gives us Chaos worshipper and [[ObviouslyEvil all-around cackling madman]] [[DeadlyDoctor Fabius Bile]], whose [[IconicOutfit labcoat]] is, quite [[MemeticMutation infamously]], made of human skin over his power armor.[[note]]More specifically, Astartes skin. Whether [[{{Transhuman}} this still counts as human]] is a subject of some debate, but since Bile himself is an Astartes that arguably makes it even more monstrous.[[/note]] Many Dark Eldar [[TortureTechnician Haemonculi]], also wear labcoats of skin, indeed it may have been they who introduced Bile to the fashion while he studied under them early in his villainous career. Dark Eldar Mandrakes, for a bit of variety, wear hakama-style trousers made of stitched skin.
** The Flayed Ones of the Necrons get their names because they strip the flesh from their enemies and drape themselves in the strips, in a desperate attempt to return to their old organic selves. Of course, due to the technologies of the Dark Eldar, these human hides [[AndIMustScream could not only be still alive, but conscious.]]

* In ''VideoGame/HyperLightDrifter'', the FrogMen chieftain wears a necklace made from the flayed skins of otter people.

* ''Literature/FateZero'' features Gilles De Rais, AKA Caster, whose Noble Phantasm is [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos The R'Lyeh Text]], which is bound with still-living, regenerating human skin.

* Played for laughs in ''Film/{{Fantozzi}}'', where the Mega-director is rumored to own chairs made of human hide in his office, as (one of many) symbols of wealth and power within the Company. Of course, when asked directly, he [[BlatantLies shoots down]] these rumors... at least until he doesn't anymore.

* In ''Ark'' zombies can drop their skins as an item, which are usually vendor trash. The titular character has them tailored into a zombie-skin suit so he can enter an undead city without having to fight everything. He's blase about the whole thing while the others are squicked.

* In ''Website/SCPFoundation'', SCP-507 (the "[[RandomTransportation Reluctant]] [[DimensionalTraveler Dimension Hopper]]") once ended up in a desert landscape where he met a helpful man offering food and shelter. 507 followed the man until he noticed his leather overcoat had no seams or stitches.

* ''Literature/TheDescent'': Since the underplanet is so bereft of biological resources, the hadals are pretty much required to make do with each other for raw materials. Human skin, sinew and bone are vital parts of their economy -- not to even mention [[IAmAHumanitarian meat]]. The surface people who try to colonize the underplanet either learn to adopt the hadals' methods of survival or don't (survive, that is). One of the more disturbing hadal artifacts retrieved from underground is a leather ball made from human skin. Several different races of human were used to craft it, so the ball would have an interesting pattern.

** Psychos, common enemies in the series are in excruciating demand of such leather. Whether they have tastes for it, metaphorically and [[IAmAHumanitarian literally]], they '''will''' get one, but never actually seen wearing one... until ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' finally shows you a close look of what a [[spoiler:face pizza]] [[{{Squick}} looks like]].

* Youaltepuztli Nahualpilli from the anecdotes of ''Anime/SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas,'' who did it for ''warmth.''

* [[DiscussedTrope Mentioned]] by ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' when he says that one of the things an ogre's likely to do is "make a suit from your freshly-peeled skin."

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'' features Gilles De Rais, AKA Caster, whose Noble Phantasm is [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos The R'Lyeh Text]], which is bound with still-living, regenerating human skin.

* Ilse Koch, the wife of a Nazi concentration camp commander, allegedly had gloves and lampshades made out of inmates' skin. This came up in trials, but wasn't proven to legal standards.

* In Gary Jennings' ''Literature/{{Aztec}}'', the Xipe Totec ritual (as described below, an example of TruthInTelevision) is described in full Squicky detail in two separate scenes. There are also scenes of scalps worn as belts and circlets made from the skin of women's vaginas, worn by the Spanish invaders.
* In ''Literature/TheBookOfHumanSkin'' by Creator/MicheleLovric, the titular book is said to bound in the skin of executed Peruvian revolutionary Túpac Amaru II.
* In ''Literature/TheCaseOfTheToxicSpellDump'', many spells require flayed human skin -- but [[TheLawsOfMagic the Law of Similarity]] makes it easy to create ''fake'' human skin that works. [[spoiler: When the EPA's magic analysis device freaks ''out'' over the villains' magical factory, Fischer first thinks that their human skin substitute may have been created by the Law of Contagion, implying they used at least a little ''real'' flayed skin. Then he realises they aren't using synthetics at all.]]
* The Canim sorcerers from the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series wear clothes made from enemies. This means human skin for most of the series. They also use it to write letters on, including supposedly-friendly diplomatic messages to humans. One high ranking priest had a quilt made from human scalps.
* In ''Literature/CourtshipRite'', this is standard operating procedure. The people of the LostColony of Geta have few resources to start with. Human skin is too valuable to abandon. The people like to decorate their own skin with tattoos and decorative scars, knowing the art they choose will live on after them, on the leather worn or otherwise used by their loved ones and kin.

* One of the more disturbing [[TheMorlocks hadal]] artifacts retrieved from underground in Jeff Long's ''The Descent'' is a leather ball made from human skin. Several different races of human were used to craft it, so the ball would have an interesting pattern.
** Since the underplanet is so bereft of biological resources, the hadals are pretty much required to make do with each other for raw materials. Human skin, sinew and bone are vital parts of their economy -- not to even mention [[IAmAHumanitarian meat]]. The surface people who try to colonize the underplanet either learn to adopt the hadals' methods of survival or don't (survive, that is).

* As part of the Voigt-Kampff psychological battery in ''Literature/DoAndroidsDreamOfElectricSheep'', Deckard directs a subject's attention to his briefcase, then declares it to be "100% genuine babyhide" [[InvokedTrope to gauge her reaction]].

* In Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheEyesOfTheDragon'', Flagg reads from a book bound in human skin. It is implied strongly to be the ''[[TomeOfEldritchLore Necronomicon]]''.
* In F. Paul Wilson's short story, ''Foet'', the skin of aborted fetuses has become the latest fashion material due to a combination of its incredibly soft texture and the perceived transgressive nature of the product. Wilson states that the story was inspired by attempts to convince a friend that [[FurAndLoathing Fur is Murder]].
* Played for laughs in ''Hunting Problem'', a 1950's sci-fi by Robert Sheckley. A StarfishAlien is [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame hunting three humans]] so he can bring back a Genuine Human Hide. He finally succeeds in capturing them, pulls out a knife and...we cut to the three humans racing away in their spaceship, wondering why some alien would [[ExposedExtraterrestrials steal their clothes]].
* P.N. Elrod's ''I, Strahd'' opens with VampireHunter Rudolph van Richten sneaking into the titular vampire's castle in search of a way to defeat him. Upon entering the library, he finds a book laid out in a spot of honor, and touches its fine leather cover. The texture feeling completely off to him notifies him this trope is in place, and he yanks his hands away in disgust. Notably though, despite being a spellcaster, the book is ''not'' a TomeOfEldritchLore, but rather Strahd's memoirs.
* ''Literature/TheInnsmouthLegacy''.

** In ''Deep Roots'', the Outer Ones can pose as human using LatexPerfection, except theirs works a lot better because it's made of human skin grown in their laboratories.
* At one point in ''Literature/TheMalloreon'', Belgarath finds that the scroll holding a prophecy he seeks was made of human skin. This frustrates him, however, because [[DoWrongRight human skin is]] ''[[DoWrongRight terrible]]'' [[DoWrongRight at holding ink]], and the prophecy is now unreadable. He promptly rants that Angaraks were so preoccupied with being [[ForTheEvulz gratuitously evil]] that they forgot practical considerations.
* In ''Literature/{{Masques}}'', the protagonist finds an instruction for how to summon a demon, written on human hide. However, her companion Wolf decides to only tell her what it is for, not what it is written on, and burns it, letting her believe that it was animal skin parchment.
* A rare heroic example in ''Literature/MonsterHunterInternational'' Earl's jacket is made out of minotaur hide making it bulletproof. It turns out that the minotaur in question was Earl's friend and making his skin into a jacket was part of his will to repay Earl for saving his life.
* The [[Literature/TheNightmarePeople Nightmare People]] hollow out their victims.
* In the ''Literature/{{Nightrunner}}'' novel ''Shards of Time'', the ancient ''[[OurLichesAreDifferent dyrmagnos]]'' Rhazat appears as a beautiful woman by wearing the [[{{Necromancer}} necromantically]] transferred skin of her enemy, the [[HighPriest Hierophant]] Nhandi the Wise.

* There's at least one comment in the ''Literature/PlanetOfTheApes'' novel ''Conspiracy Of The Planet Of The Apes'' about 'man pelts'.
* In Cornelia Funke's ''Literature/{{Reckless}}'', Jacob fights the Tailor, a blade-fingered monster who wears the skin of his victims.
* As there are no other animals present on the Literature/{{Riverworld}}, people wind up using human skin as leather.

* A minor villain in a ''Literature/ScotHarvath'' novel by Brad Thor wears boots made of American soldiers he killed. The badass American operative going after him is ''not'' amused.

* House Bolton in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' is associated with this. Their sigil is a flayed man and older lords of the Dreadfort would wear cloaks of human skin.

* In Gregory Maguire's ''Literature/SonOfAWitch'', dragons have a penchant for peeling the skin off their victims' faces and bringing them back as trophies. As if this weren't bad enough, the Emperor has the faces stretched over frames, and plans to put them on display to intimidate a rebellious faction.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': In [[Creator/DanAbnett Dan Abnett's]] novel ''Salvation's Reach'', a part of the [[Literature/GauntsGhosts Gaunt's Ghosts series]], during the assault on the titular research facility, Gaunt examines a few bodies of Sons of Sek and discovers that all leather parts of their uniform and equipment are made of this material. Even the scroll tubes lying on nearby shelves are made of human skin.
* The Eelfinn in the ''[[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Wheel of Time]]'' series wear a lot of decorative leather. It is strongly implied that they obtain this from people who forget to negotiate the price for their services.

** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' has the Skin Dancers, a group of Kinfolk who grew tried of being second-class citizens in Garou society and performed a blasphemous ritual to become werewolves in full that required the killing and skinning of five Garou. They usually keep the skins around as mementos. The truly odd part is that they are under no obligation to be evil - a Kinfolk could hunt down five [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Black Spiral Dancers]], skin them, perform the rite, and then serve Gaia and fight the Wyrm, though they would forever be laden with Wyrm-taint. In the vanishingly rare circumstances that those five skins were ''willingly given'', the Skin Dancer wouldn't even be Wyrm-tainted.

* During UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution, [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks soldiers in the Continental Army]] occasionally made clothes from UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans who sided with UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire.

* During UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution, [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks soldiers in the Continental Army]] occasionally did this to UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans who sided with UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire.

** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' has the Skin Dancers, a group of Kinfolk who grew tried of being second-class citizens in Garou society and performed a blasphemous ritual to become werewolves in full that required the killing and skinning of five Garou. They usually keep the skins around as mementos.

** Chaos and the Dark Eldar, two of the more morally monstrous factions, use human skin in decorations, like clothing, banners, etc. Chaos Space Marines gives us Chaos worshipper and [[ObviouslyEvil all-around cackling madman]] [[DeadlyDoctor Fabius Bile]], whose [[IconicOutfit labcoat]] is, quite [[MemeticMutation infamously]], made of human skin over his power armor. Many Dark Eldar [[TortureTechnician Haemonculi]], also wear labcoats of skin, indeed it may have been they who introduced Bile to the fashion while he studied under them early in his villainous career. Dark Eldar Mandrakes, for a bit of variety, wear hakama-style trousers made of stitched skin.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': There's a throwaway reference in ''Literature/EqualRites'' to a trail boss wearing a trollhide jerkin. This is EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, basically treating trolls -- despite their portrayal in ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'' -- as generic monsters. Several books exploring WhatMeasureIsANonHuman later, the ''Discworld Companion'' entry for the character acknowledges that wearing trollhide is not acceptable these days, putting Adab Gander in the same category as whoever decided to mount a troll head at the Morporkian Embassy in Bonk (which is presented in the book as terrible). There’s also the fact that trolls are later established to be made of rock...how do you skin a rock?

* In ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', SCP-507 (the "[[RandomTransportation Reluctant]] [[DimensionalTraveler Dimension Hopper]]") once ended up in a desert landscape where he met a helpful man offering food and shelter. 507 followed the man until he noticed his leather overcoat had no seams or stitches.

* "[[Creator/JunjiIto Flesh-Colored Horror]]" doesn't need a killer to fuel a nightmare. Some years ago, a man tried to create the perfect skin lotion, but ended up creating a cocktail that separates the skin from the muscles underneath. ''He'' died of fright, but ''his wife'', Kawabe, became obsessed with the "inner beauty" and applied the lotion. Her skin she fashioned into a suit with a zipper on the back, because she still needed it to prevent her muscles and organs from drying out. The suit itself also needed to be kept hydrated, but that was a small price to pay. Then she got the idea to spread her sense of beauty and first tricked her sister, Maya, into undergoing the treatment. Thereafter, she wanted to help her son, Chikara, but Maya secretly repeatedly switched out the acid with water to protect her nephew. When Kawabe finds out, Chikara makes a stand and pours acid over his mother's skin suit, destroying it. Kawabe, in turn, demands Maya's skin and rips her face off, dooming them both.

* ''Manga/UshioAndTora'': the manga-only villain Namahage is an ape monster who wants to become a human... in order to successfully transform he must skin young girls and wear their skins as suits.

* The Godskin cultists of ''VideoGame/EldenRing'', as the name suggests, flay the demigods they kill and wear them as grisly, morbid outfits. The player can obtain and wear Godskin robes as well.