History Main / SummoningRitual

* Used memorably in the episode "And The Children Shall lead" of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', in which the child survivors of a colony massacre pump their fists and chant to summon Melvin Belli, an evil entity which calls itself Gorgon the Friendly Angel in order to win the kids' help taking over the galaxy.

** Another "Literature/{{Discworld}}" parody of the Summoning Ritual is the Rite of [=AshkEnte=], used to summon Death. Much is made about how the more traditional wizards want pentagrams and dribbly candles and mystical mumblings, when it could actually be done with three bits of wood and four cc. of mouse blood, or two bits of wood and a fresh egg. This is definitely done for the ''summoner's'' benefit, as Death is really quite a practical person and wouldn't be bothered by a lack of ceremony. What bothers him is that they're always summoning him when he's right in the middle of something.

* ''ComicBook/MsMarvelVol4'': As last resort, Bruno and Mike attempt to summon Loki based on advice they collected off the internet and doesn't fit into standard belief systems at all. It doesn't work. But they manage to [[DoubleSubversion attract his attention]] because they to choose a place Loki [[SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands keeps an eye on]] and the ''sheer ridiculousness of the attempt''.

* In the second volume of ''ComicBook/MsMarvel2014'' as last resort Bruno and Mike attempt to summon Loki based on advice they collected off the internet and doesn't fit into standard belief systems at all. It doesn't work. But they manage to [[DoubleSubversion attract his attention]] because they to choose a place Loki [[SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands keeps an eye on]] and the ''sheer ridiculousness of the attempt''.
* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' Volume 1, they were fishing for Death and caught Dream. Dream claims they got lucky in missing Death, even as he provides them with a FateWorseThanDeath.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2904 Lil' E aims for a hellhound]].

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' worked like this with summoning in the earlier editions. In the first edition Dungeon Masters Guide [[note]]but, pointedly, NOT the Player's Handbook...[[/note]], Creator/GaryGygax put in examples of summoning circles so that Dungeon Masters could [[KillerDungeonMaster check if the player's character had done it wrong, thereby letting a potentially lethal and very angry entity loose to do grevious bodily harm to the person who summoned it]]...

As all [[WitchSpecies witches]] and [[BlackMagic warlocks]] know, summoning creatures from another plane of existence requires a bit of ceremony. [[HumanSacrifice Sacrifices]] and [[EyeOfNewt exotic materials]] may be required along with [[RitualMagic elaborate ceremonies]], but a simple [[GeometricMagic geometric figure]] and a few candles will often be enough. Of course, there may be a [[DealWithTheDevil whole other price to pay]] if the ritual succeeds. Keeping trickster [[TheLegionsOfHell demons]] and other unworldly apparitions can take a great deal of concentration or chanting; if the protective pentagram should be disturbed... (Never... EVER... break the circle.)

* Shouta from ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' performed a demon summoning ritual to get a {{Familiar}} and prove to his father that he's a strong wizard. Lucoa sensed the ritual and -feeling that it would be bad if a demon showed up in the middle of a Japanese suburb- teleported herself in and formed a familiar contract with him instead. Since the ritual was specifically for demons, Shouta is convinced that Lucoa is a succubus, and her ComedicShotacon tendencies don't exactly help her attempts to convince him otherwise.
* In ''Manga/TheDemonGirlNextDoor'', this is the cause of Mikan's [[TheJinx curse]]; her father summoned a demon to protect his family and business, but [[ImperfectRitual did it wrong]], and the resulting demon took up residence in Mikan, trying to fulfill its intended purpose by lashing out at everyone around her when it senses her agitation or distress.

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' volume 1, they were fishing for Death and caught Dream. Dream claims they got lucky in missing Death, even as he provides them with a FateWorseThanDeath.
** Gets a CallBack in ''The Dreaming'' when the Grand Magus' great-granddaughter attempts to summon one of TheFairFolk and snags Puck, then ignores her own advice about politely thowing back snared sharks.
* In the second volume of ''ComicBook/MsMarvel2014'' as last resort Bruno and Mike attempt to summon Loki based on advice they collected off the internet and doesn't fit into standard belief systems at all. It doesn't work. But they manage to [[DoubleSubversion attract his attention]] because they to choose a place Loki [[SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands keeps an eye on]] and the ''sheer ridiculousness of the attempt''.

** One of the ones who drew it on still water still didn't think it through - she drew it on the sea, and got punished soundly for forgetting about ''waves''.

* In one of the first stories ever set in the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' world, Tasslehoff Burrfoot is brought to a wizard's tower by a teleporting ring. There, he interrupts the wizard's summoning of Demogorgon, allowing the Demon Prince to break free of its bindings and carry the wizard off. [[spoiler:Turns out Demogorgon had created the ring eons ago, specifically to free it if it ever became subject to a mortal's control.]] Given how strong Demogorgon is, this was one of the few documented times that a kender actually felt scared.
* The [[Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt Drizzt]] novels have featured this a few times. One was an apprentice who screwed up the pentagram and let out a balor. Cadderly also summons up demons and kills them, which inconveniences them... [[{{Retcon}} somehow]].
** Pasting demons on the material plane sends them home, and prevents them from coming back on their own for 100 years - unless summoned by the person who "killed" them in the first place.

* In ''Literature/AWizardOfEarthsea'', Ged decides to show off by summoning the spirit of Queen Elfarran from the dead. He succeeds, but also inadvertently calls a "Shadow", which promptly tries to kill him, then stalks him for the next several years trying to finish him off. On the bright side, it gives him the [[BreakTheHaughty taking down a couple pegs]] he badly needed; on the downside, it leaves him [[GoodScarsEvilScars badly scarred]].

* In ''The Double Shadow'' by Creator/ClarkAshtonSmith, the wizard Avyctes is an expert at summoning every kind of spirit and demon. So when he discovers a summoning spell from a hitherto-unknown [[{{Precursors}} precursor race]], he casts it the first chance he gets. This despite the fact that the spell (a) doesn't say ''what'' it summons, and (b) doesn't come with a matching rite of exorcism to make whatever it summons go away again. It doesn't end well.

* In Creator/MercedesLackey's ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Oathbound]]'', a young and incompetent mage accidentally speaks the name of a major demon rather than the imp he was trying to summon. The demon seduces him into dropping what protections he does have, and then kills him slowly and painfully.
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/{{Eric}}'', the titular Eric - the Discworld's first demonology hacker - attempts to summon a demon. Instead he gets Rincewind. Much to Rincewind's annoyance, he's still trapped in the magic circle until he grants Eric's wishes; as the [[PollyWantsAMicrophone parrot]] puts it "If you come in through the door marked 'wossnames', you get treated as a wossname. Demon."
** Albert became Death's manservant due to one of these. Reasoning that the Rite of Askh Ente summons Death to the caster, performing the ritual in reverse will keep Death away forever! Instead Albert(o Malich) found himself whisked away to Death's domain, while the wizards put up a big statue of him in Unseen University.
* In the Creator/FredricBrown short-short story ''Naturally'', a student summons up a demon wanting to be better at mathematics, except he draws a hexagram instead of a pentagram on his protective circle...
* In ''[[Literature/ThousandSons Ahriman: Exile]]'', Ahriman and Astraeos summon a daemon through an elaborate ritual (involving ninety-nine mirrors set to float in precise patterns, complex spirals carved into the floor, and a personal blood sacrifice on Ahriman’s part) in order to gain information on [[BigBad Amon’s]] plans. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for them, Amon anticipated that they would summon this particular daemon and bound it into his service pre-emptively; it pretends to be under Ahriman’s control, then attacks him when he lets his guard down.]]

* Magus of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' attempted to summon the EldritchAbomination Lavos in order to defeat it. In order to get the resources to do so, he convinced a race of Imps that he was really doing it to TakeOverTheWorld. The heroes hear this, and engage him in battle right at the point of summoning. Fortunately this didn't release Lavos, but it did scatter the combatants through space and time.

** Later in the game, upon learning [[spoiler: that the Zenon they encountered in the Coliseum was a fake, thanks to Etna easily stomping him]], they decide to summon "The Strongest Demon in the World" to narrow down their target, and an ingredient for the summoning ritual was an "Overlord's Nail", though an equally strong Demon Lord's Nail would work. They track down Etna and manage to convince her to give them one of her fingernails for the ritual..... only she gave them a press-on fake nail as a prank. [[spoiler: Unsurprisingly, Etna herself gets summoned, but thanks to the fake nail she is reset to Level 1.]]

* The plot of ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' consists of a massive Summoning Ritual to bring an EldritchAbomination to Earth. The main characters also gain the ability to summon their own demons.

* An odd, possibly unintentional example in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate II: Shadows of Amn'': A drow elf wizard near the very end of the game uses that game's version of the ''Gate'' spell to summon a Pit Fiend to fight for him. The fiends summoned by the spell will attack anyone who does not have the spell effect "protection from evil" cast on them. The wizard of course casts this on himself before doing the summoning, and a good way to beat him is to dispel it to set the devil on him. The odd thing is that sometimes, only sometimes, the Pit Fiend itself will use one of its spell-like abilities to dispel the effect. You'd think that if they were allowed to do that, they'd always do it and never get summoned.
** This reflects a larger AI flaw with wizards in the game. While they always cast Protection from Evil, thus making whatever demon they summon unable to attack them, it still registers as an enemy. Many an fight sees a wizard summon a demon and instead of trusting it to attack their enemies and get on with blasting them itself, the wizard instead spends all their energy fighting the demon ''they just summoned''.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'', a king is desperate to protect his kingdom from attacking Dread Fiends, so he calls on the bigger, badder demon Nokturnus to take care of them. [[EvilIsNotAToy No points for guessing what happens next.]] But Nokturnus is a BonusBoss; and if you track him down in his lair and prove yourself stronger then he is, then he'll do your bidding and take out the BigBad for you. While being able to beat Nokturnus means beating the normal FinalBoss would be no problem for you, it's still amusing to watch the GreaterScopeVillain beat down the BigBad for you.
* Rico the summoner in ''VideoGame/DuelSaviorDestiny'' pulls both Taiga and Mia from their world to hers at the start of the story. Or at least, that's what people assume, but Taiga wasn't supposed to get dragged along as well and it doesn't seem as though she really intended to grab Mia either. Still, neither of them is evil or anything, so despite the mistake everything goes well enough.
* The events of the ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'' series are set in motion when the druid Cabadath performs one in an attempt to call the titular {{Eldritch Abomination}} into the human plane to fight off the Roman invaders. [[FateWorseThanDeath It doesn't end well for him]].
* At the end of a linked game of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', Link stops Twinrova from completing the ritual to bring Ganon back by sacrificing Zelda. They sacrifice themselves instead, leading to a CameBackWrong Ganon.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' example: when Bloodworm tries to sacrifice Sara Waite for a dark boon, he gets the wrong hell, calls up the wrong demon, and ends up getting knocked into that hell dimension for a literal fate worse than death.

** The first time she attempts to summon a friendly spirit, and instead ends up with the former owner of the goggles she wears on her head - a vengeful bandit that she had killed several years prior. Under normal circumstances he would have been harmless, but [[ISeeDeadPeople Egg]] happened to be passing by and got possessed. He manages to fling Curls across the room and shoot Nights in the shoulder before being exoricised by Kaja, leaving Egg unconscious for most of the following day.
** The second time she attempts to summon a weak demon and instead ends up with Finn - who is undoubtedly a weak demon as demons go, but is now bound to her soul and can't leave or be killed without also killing Curls. [[ImAHumanitarian He also eats people]].

* This is done in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' to bring forth the SealedEvilInACan using Konoka's power. Unlike most summoning rituals, which bring pain to the sacrifice/vessel, this ritual felt good, according to Konoka.
* Not really summoning per se, but Third Impact in ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion End of Evangelion]]'' might count. If one can watch it without immediately being reduced into a whimpering wreck, that is (since it's '''the''' perfect MindScrew in a few-minute package). First, the MP Evas fly up into orbit, align themselves into a Kabbalistic Tree of Life and use the resulting anti-AT field to ''lift the entire geofront into space''. In the meantime, Gendo sticks his right hand-fused-with-Adam into Rei. Next, Rei absorbs the arm and flies up to Lilith who absorbs her into its chest. Finally, Lilith falls down from its cross, morphs into Rei and starts growing. The MP Evas change formation to resonate their AT-fields with that of Lilith. The result is '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWmJfX2AI2Q#t=1m45s REALLY FUCKING HUGE]]'''. If that's not a big enough MindScrew yet, the ugly bastards stab Unit 01's S2 organ with the Lance of Longinus, transforming it into the real Tree of Life then ''[[TooKinkyToTorture orgasmically stab themselves]]'' one-by-one, unleashing Lilith's power and reducing humanity into a HiveMind before the Tree and Lilith merge.
* ''Manga/BlackButler'' subverts this, which is pretty unusual since a Faustian Bargin is the focus of the show. while the exact circumstances of Ciel summoning the demon he names Sebastian aren't really revealed, he obviously did not perform a ritual. The most likely explanation seems that the cult who kidnapper Ciel summoned Sebastian using him as a sacrifice, but Sebastian found Ciel a more attractive prospect and made a deal with him, not them.

* Rituals and sacrifices are part of the Duel Monsters card game in ''Anime/YuGiOh''; stronger monsters can be summoned only by sacrificing weaker ones.

* The Summoning Ritual in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and ''Literature/FateZero''. It requires a magic circle made of blood, a long incantation, and ideally a catalyst for the Servant that they want to summon -- something closely connected that Servant. Even if everything goes right, though, there is a reason it is also in the 'Screwing Up Summoning' above.
** One does not absolutely ''need' something connected to the Servant. That's useful if you want to summon a specific Heroic Spirit but technically the summoner can use themselves as a catalyst. This has the advantage that you will get a Servant with a compatible personality at the cost of not being certain to get a powerful servant.
** Special mention must also go to the ''Fate/Zero'' version of Caster who's special ability is summoning [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]]. Smaller ones can be summoned with a few words but larger ones take full rituals comparable to summoning a Servant.
* ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'': The Tristain Academy of Magic has their their second-year students summon familiars with familiar-summoning rituals.

* Subverted in ''Literature/DayWatch''. A series of sinister events lead most of the characters to believe that Zavulon, the head of the Moscow Day Watch is willing to resurrect a powerful deceased dark mage/dragon Fafnir. It turns out, however, that he had a different plan and simply masked its stages as preaprations for the summoning ritual.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's Literature/ConanTheBarbarian story "Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword", Thoth-amon's RingOfPower can do this, with blood and incantations.
* Aya Nishitani's ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'', the origin of the famous ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' franchise, came to be when the protagonist and genius programmer Akemi Nakajima realized that a summoning ritual --with all its standardized rules, incantations, and rigid procedures-- could be automated and written as executable code on a computer. He then proceeds to do exactly that, creating the very first Demon Summoning Program. After successfully summoning the demon Cerberus as a guardian beast, he tries to go for broke and summon a Demon King, Loki himself, who only plays by Nakajima's rules for as long as it's convenient to him.
* ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' are required to summon the angel Raziel, a ritual that can only be done once every millennium. Once they have all three, Raziel will come to them and will grant any single wish the summoner wants. Or rather, he won't smite them the moment he appears and might consider granting that single wish. Well...
* In the final ''Narnia'' book, ''Literature/TheLastBattle'', some Calormenes decide to "summon" their god Tash as part of a big religious sham they've got going on. Notably, none of the people doing the summoning even believe Tash exists. Tash shows up anyway, to everyone's horror, and turns out to be a demon. The narration notes: "People should not call for demons unless they truly mean what they say."
* ''Literature/TheBalancedSword'' trilogy:
** Poplock's debut adventure in the first book involves preventing a massive attempt to summon a powerful demon, featuring many cultists, ritual movement, chants, symbols carved into the floor, and human (technically, in this case, non-human sapient) sacrifices. He manages to create a huge explosion that disrupts the ritual and sends cultists fleeing in all directions. The demon, which has manifested insubstantially in the center of the ritual circle, orders the wizard who was leading the summoning to say the phrase that will allow it to enter the physical world; the wizard demurs, pointing out that with the ritual incomplete the demon will have no limits on its actions and might just eat him on the spot. The demon approves of his caution and they negotiate terms -- which gives Poplock a chance to catch the wizard unawares and render him incapable of saying anything. The demon then tries to tempt Poplock to summon it on the same terms, even telling him the summoning phrase when he points out that he doesn't know it, but Poplock rejects the temptation and the demon is forced to depart.
** During the climactic battle in the last book, the BigBad summons the same demon to deal with Poplock. Only the end of the summoning is shown, but it's notable that the BigBad apparently managed it single-handed, without even any human sacrifices, a sign of how much more powerful he is than the wizard leading the earlier ritual.
* In the Creator/JohnBellairs novel ''[[Literature/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls The Letter, The Witch and the Ring]]'', the villain successfully masters the powers of the eponymous artifact and summons the demon Asmodai, but then (probably) falls victim to a LiteralGenie- she wishes to be young and beautiful and live a thousand years, and later the heroes see a young willow tree growing in an atypical place...
* In the Creator/RobertAHeinlein novella [[Literature/MagicInc "Magic, Inc."]] the witch named [[CoolOldLady "Granny" Jennings]] summons up several [[ElementalEmbodiment Elemental Emobdiments]], including a [[FierySalamander salamander]], an undine (water elemental), and a [[OurGnomesAreWeirder gnome]], a process that comes complete with candles, protective circles, cabalistic signs drawn in the dirt, and muttered incantations in [[LanguageOfMagic unknown languages]] that the narrator can't quite hear. The salamander (a ball of flame, not anything like a newt) is quite friendly, albeit displaying a [[BlueAndOrangeMorality totally inhuman sense of morality]], but Mrs. Jennings has to basically torture the sylph to get it to cooperate (burning it with the candle flame), and as for the gnome, she literally [[NeverMessWithGranny puts him across her knee and SPANKS him]].
* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book ''Darkness Within'', the Sisters perform a ritual to summon the spirits of the Clans' recently-lost cats. The ritual itself works, but there's something else going on with the spirits: they look twisted and agonized and angry - and the terrified cats quickly banish them again.

* Summoning is a somewhat common occurrence on ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', as it's an accepted magical way to find or get a hold of certain supernatural beings. While summoning rituals themselves are not botched by the characters, the act of summoning can still be extremely dangerous depending on just who or what is being summoned. Even extensive prep work may not make the summoning completely safe -- angels and demons can be summoned into circles of holy oil or devil's traps respectively to limit their movements and abilities, but a sufficiently clever or powerful opponent can find a way to break free. A [[IKnowYourTrueName name]] is also required for the summoning to work. Probably the most notable summoning in the show is [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Castiel's]] first appearance and EstablishingCharacterMoment, when Dean and Bobby, only having a name and not knowing what to expect, spend hours painting various wards and sigils on the walls of a barn and have multiple weapons available in preparation.

* Half of all TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu plots involve a cult conducting a horrible ritual to summon an EldritchAbomination to Earth and the players have to stop them.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has a whole suite of summoning spells, for [[ElementalEmbodiment elementals]], [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] and [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]] of [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils varying ranks]], all of which require a ritual of some kind. {{Necromancer}}s have an easier time summoning ghosts than sorcerers, who in turn are better with demons and elementals (in fact, Necromacy can't call elementals at all), and thaumaturges can summon a lot of different spirits, but can't control them. Oh, and Summon Elemental takes the form of a [[CelestialBureaucracy letter to the elemental in question, who can send a subordinate in their stead if said underling is up to the task.]] And then there's Pattern Weaving, whose spells are tailored to the spirits of [[EternalEngine Auto]][[GeniusLoci chthonia]], and is the only branch that can reliably summon minor gods.
* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'''s Eldritch Moon expansion the [[EldritchAbomination Eldrazi Titan]] Emrakul is summoned to Innistrad, with a fairly impressive [[http://www.mtgsalvation.com/cards/eldritch-moon/27248-coax-from-the-blind-eternities summoning circle]]. Controlling a titan isn't possible but there was no need to do so. Emrakul's mere presence will hideously corrupt and consume the entire world, which was the point. On the other hand Emrakul turns out to be less than happy about being tricked and [[spoiler:provides the heroes with a method for banishing her presence]].
* In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', Kheradruakh the Decapitator spent the past eight thousand years collecting skulls to perform a ritual to summon a section of the shadow-realm of Aelindrach into the Dark Eldar city of Commorragh. He finally succeeded in the dying daus of the 41st Millennium and now rules a realm of living shadow within the Dark City.

* In ''VideoGame/GrimGrimoire'', demon summoning is just a class taught to students in the WizardingSchool. You basically call low-level demons up with a rune inscribed with a pentagram.
** Special mention goes to Lilet's final plan, which is [[spoiler:Summoning the BigBad Demon Lord ''before'' he escapes his prison, letting him kill the ''other'' villain trying to summon him, and then tricking him into a FateWorseThanDeath.]]
* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' is a long-running series - which has guested a huge variety of consoles, and also includes the ''Persona'' sub-series - is based entirely around summoning demons --or, rather ''daemon'', entities that can be good, evil, or completely beyond human morality. A demon summoner can thus call upon Goetian demons alongside holy angels and even legendary heroes whose fame (or infamy) has given them a cult and a following. And like in its ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' origins, most of the summoning is done by [[MagiTek combining it with the latest technology and Demon Summoning Programs]]. In fact, the ceremony of summoning is so central to the games, the franchise has consistently used Seals of Solomon and pentagrams as ''brand logos''.
* Warlocks in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' can summon a variety of demons to do their bidding, and can even use a summoning ritual to summon other players to their location (with help).
* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', Sokolov tries a lot of bizarre and disgusting rituals in the hopes of summoning The Outsider to him. The Outsider is not impressed by these efforts and finds them vaguely insulting.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', [[BodyOfBodies The One Reborn]] is summoned by a group of [[{{Necromancer}} Chime Maiden]], ancient Pthumerians employed by the School of Mensis via airdrop from the [[WeirdMoon Paleblood Moon]].

* In ''VideoGame/CultistSimulator'' summoning rituals are the most commonly-used rituals. All summonings require some amount of Knock, the occult power of space and opening. Summonings can go wrong if the spirit resists, and there is a choice to either dismiss the spirit (which always works but means you still lose any resources consumed by the ritual) or attempt to regain control (which is not guaranteed, and can sometimes lead to bad consequences if the spirit doesn't submit).

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Master's plan in "The Daemons" is to do one of these and summon [[BigRedDevil the Devil]]. This turns out to be an [[StupidEvil absolutely terrible idea]].

* The Mara summoning in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', which would certainly not have gotten past the ESRB (or maybe it would have) if it had gone right. It was borderline anyway -- imagine getting attacked by a giant green blob who happens to have a glans for a... head (to be fair, this is easy to miss if you don't know what SMT Mara is ''[[GagPenis supposed]]'' to look like). Other summoning rituals were the Seraph summoning in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' (the Angels got it done ''right''), and Mekata attempt to summon minions from the Abyss in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' (which somehow ended up ''worse'' than the Mara ritual). Every fusion technically is this, as mentioned below, as you are tributing two or more existing entities to summon another, greater one.

* In the second volume of ''Comicbook/MsMarvel2014'' as last resort Bruno and Mike attempt to summon Loki based on advice they collected off the internet and doesn't fit into standard belief systems at all. It doesn't work. But they manage to [[DoubleSubversion attract his attention]] because they to choose a place Loki [[SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands keeps an eye on]] and the ''sheer ridiculousness of the attempt''.

* This is done in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' to bring forth the SealedEvilInACan using Konoka's power. Unlike most summoning rituals, which bring pain to the sacrifice/vessel, this ritual felt good, according to Konoka.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}!'', a group of alchemists, having been unsuccessful with the more accepted methods of seeking {{Immortality}}, perform an elaborate incantation (with magic circle) to summon a demon and ask it to grant them eternal life. The demon answers, and promptly chides them for wasting its time with such bibble-babble when it can read all their minds and just willing it to appear would have been sufficient.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''

* In "The Tale of Sir Lancelot" in Sir Thomas Malory's ''[[KingArthur Le Morte Darthur]]'' a hermit conjures up a fiend to tell him if a certain knight has been saved or damned.

* ''{{TabletopGame/Exalted}}'' has a whole suite of summoning spells, for [[ElementalEmbodiment elementals]], [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] and [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]] of [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils varying ranks]], all of which require a ritual of some kind. {{Necromancer}}s have an easier time summoning ghosts than sorcerers, who in turn are better with demons and elementals (in fact, Necromacy can't call elementals at all), and thaumaturges can summon a lot of different spirits, but can't control them. Oh, and Summon Elemental takes the form of a [[CelestialBureaucracy letter to the elemental in question, who can send a subordinate in their stead if said underling is up to the task.]] And then there's Pattern Weaving, whose spells are tailored to the spirits of [[EternalEngine Auto]][[GeniusLoci chthonia]], and is the only branch that can reliably summon minor gods.

* In TabletopGame/Warhammer40000, Kheradruakh the Decapitator spent the past eight thousand years collecting skulls to perform a ritual to summon a section of the shadow-realm of Aelindrach into the Dark Eldar city of Commorragh. He finally succeeded in the dying daus of the 41st Millennium and now rules a realm of living shadow within the Dark City.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', [[BodyofBodies The One Reborn]] is summoned by a group of [[{{Necromancer}} Chime Maiden]], ancient Pthumerians employed by the School of Mensis via airdrop from the [[WeirdMoon Paleblood Moon]].

* ''WebComic/EightBitTheater'' has a different take on the summoning ritual:

* The Mara summoning in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', which would certainly [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar not have gotten past the ESRB]] (or maybe it would have) if it had gone right. It was borderline anyway -- imagine getting attacked by a giant green blob who happens to have a glans for a... head (to be fair, this is easy to miss if you don't know what SMT Mara is ''[[GagPenis supposed]]'' to look like). Other summoning rituals were the Seraph summoning in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' (the Angels got it done ''right''), and Mekata attempt to summon minions from the Abyss in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' (which somehow ended up ''worse'' than the Mara ritual). Every fusion technically is this, as mentioned below, as you are tributing two or more existing entities to summon another, greater one.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard,'' of all shows, has a television special wherein Janja (the series regular hyena villain) and Ushari (snake villain) summon Scar from Hell, who has become a fiery demon with the VoiceOfTheLegion. [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar This is in a show meant for 5 and under.]]See it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed0FrRihYMI here.]]

* In ''[[Manga/AxisPowersHetalia Hetalia]]'', England gets mad at America for some ill-defined reason and decides to summon a "twisted creature of monstrous size and strength ... with the power to crush America" as revenge. [[GloriousMotherRussia What he gets is not exactly what he was hoping for]].

* In ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'', when faced with a berserk demon Magnus, Kitten, as a last resort, swipes Magnus' book and flips through it. Then upon finding something that seems reasonable he grabs a Dreadknight and a cauldron of Sororitas blood, then chants praises to the Grey Knights backwards in order to summon [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Kaldor]] [[BewareTheSillyOnes Draigo]]. Who defeats Magnus in about a millisecond before drifting off back to the Warp.

* Harry Dresden of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' should really know better than to do this; he rather lucked out in his second book, ''Fool Moon,'' when the demon he summoned got a bit overeager about Harry's eternal damnation.

* In the Creator/JohnBellairs novel ''[[Literature/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls The Letter, The Witch and the Ring]]'', the villain successfully masters the powers of the eponymous artifact and summons the demon Asmodai, but then (probably) falls victim to a LiteralGenie- she wishes to be young and beautiful and live a thousand years, and later the heroes see a young willow tree growing in an atypical place..

* Subverted in ''[[Literature/{{Nightwatch}} Day Watch]]''. A series of sinister events lead most of the characters to believe that Zavulon, the head of the Moscow Day Watch is willing to resurrect a powerful deceased dark mage/dragon Fafnir. It turns out, however, that he had a different plan and simply masked its stages as preaprations for the summoning ritual.

* In the ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' series, mages can summon up and form contracts with legendary spirits using a summoning circle, invocation, and an artifact related to said hero's legend. Of course a lot can, and inevitably does, go wrong. Messing up (or deliberately screwing with) the invocation might make your hero [[CameBackWrong come back wrong]]. Summon a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_de_Rais shining knight]] under the wrong class and you might end up with a [[Literature/{{Bluebeard}} dark, twisted, aspect of their legend]]. And even if you ''do'' manage to get everything right, it doesn't necessarily make the resulting spirit either [[DesignatedHero heroic]] or even [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder loyal]].

* The Summoning Ritual in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' and ''Literature/FateZero''. It requires a magic circle made of blood, a long incantation, and a catalyst for the Servant that they want to summon -- something closely connected that Servant. If it goes right, there is a reason it is also in the 'Screwing Up Summoning' above.

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' volume 1, they were fishing for Death and caught Dream.
** Dream claims they got lucky by missing Death, even as he provides them with a FateWorseThanDeath.
* In the second volume of ''Comicbook/MsMarvel2014'' as last resort Bruno and Mike attempt to summon Loki based on advice they collected off the internet and doesn't fit into standard belief systems at all. It doesn't work. But they manage to [[DoubleSubversion attract his attention]] because they to choose a place Loki [[SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands keeps an eye on]] and the ''shear ridiculousness of the attempt''.