History Main / WhereTheMagicWent

-->--'''Franchise/TouhouProject'''

* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'', ''Revelations II: The Marches''. The Marches are an other-dimensional realm where the original pagan deities and mythological creatures (like dragons and unicorns) came from. The Purity Crusade of Archangel Uriel either killed them or drove them out of reality and back to the Marches, where they exist today.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' and its sister game ''TabletopGame/{{Earthdawn}}'', when the cycle of magic ebbs, magical creatures either leave Earth to go to more magical realms (the Horrors), go into hibernation (dragons) or revert to mundane versions (elves, dwarfs, trolls and orks all became normal humans) until the magic returns. When it did return humans suddenly turned back into elves, dwarfs, etc., the dragons woke up, and some of the less powerful Horrors began finding their way back to Earth.

* ''Literature/GuardsGuards'': Dragons big enough to pose a threat to humanoids on the Literature/{{Disc|world}} seemingly went extinct ages ago, but in fact still exist in a nearby dimension. The plot of the book is set off when a cult conjures one as part of a plot to overthrow Patrician Vetinari in favor of a heroic knight that slays the dragon, [[spoiler:only for the dragon to figure out how to return from that world and kill the hero right back]].

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' campaign setting. In the distant past, the Earth and the otherdimensional world of Toril were closer together and Earth humans knew about the magic, deities, and fantastic monsters of Toril. Over time the two worlds drifted apart and the connections between them diminished, causing Earth humans to consider the truth about Toril to be just mythological stories and Toril being called the Forgotten Realms by those who remember the truth.

* ''Literature/{{Everworld}}'''s backstory is that, long ago, the gods worshipped by the Greeks, Norsemen, Aztecs, and a dozen other cultures created a new universe called Everworld and relocated there, bringing along all their supernatural creatures, as well as a smattering of human worshippers. Over time, other legendary figures also made their way to Everworld (such as [[Myth/ArthurianLegend King Arthur and Merlin]], as well as Ka-Anor, a god [[FantasyAliens worshipped by an alien civilization]]).

* ''ComicBook/{{The Sandman 1989}}'': In "A Midsummer Night's Dream", the Faerie Beings return to Earth one last time to view William Shakespeare's play of the same name, based on their own stories. Morpheus commands a design on a hill to open and serve as the portal between Earth and Faerie.

** ''Film/{{Thor}}'' uses Myth/{{Norse Mythology}}'s concept of there being nine worlds, and has the Norse gods and the Frost Giants living on the planets Asgard and Jotunheim, respectively -- our myths of them come from when the Asgardians repelled Jotunheim's invasion of Earth. Later films would go on to establish planets inhabited by Dwarves, Dark Elves, and Fire Giants.

* ''Series/{{The 10th Kingdom}}'' posits that Creator/TheBrothersGrimm were [[TheMultiverse Multiversal travelers]] who discovered a universe containing such people as [[FairyTaleFreeForAll Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Rumpelstiltskin]]. Upon returning to Earth, they wrote books of fairy tales, which were actually true accounts of the people they met in that world (which implies an AlternateHistory where none of these fairy tales were known on Earth until the Grimms wrote them down in the 1800's).

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' and it's sister game ''TabletopGame/{{Earthdawn}}'', when the cycle of magic ebbs, magical creatures either leave Earth to go to more magical realms (the Horrors), go into hibernation (dragons) or revert to mundane versions (elves, dwarfs, trolls and orks all became normal humans) until the magic returns. When it did return humans suddenly turned back into elves, dwarfs, etc., the dragons woke up, and some of the less powerful Horrors began finding their way back to Earth.

* Gensokyo, the main setting of the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' series, is a land where things that have been forgotten or have become "fantasy" in the regular world, such as youkai, lost items, and other such things, wind up. It is isolated from the regular world not only by the Boundary Between Reality and Fantasy set up by Gensokyo's creator, Yukari Yakumo, but by the Great Hakurei Barrier created in 1885.
* ''{{VideoGame/Valheim}}'' is set in the "10th world" (Myth/NorseMythology only has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_cosmology#Nine_Worlds 9]]), a kind of purgatory/prison for Odin's enemies along with other monsters like trolls and dragons which no longer exist in Midgard.

* The ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeriesS1E8TheMagicksOfMegasTu The Magicks of Megas Tu]]" reveals that the denizens of Megas Tu (an alternate dimension that runs on magic rather than traditional physics) visited Earth long ago, giving rise to all manner of stories about magical beings, before fleeing when the witch trials started up. In particular, the jolly Satyr-like guy named Lucien who befriends the Enterprise crew? That dude was the inspiration for [[SatanIsGood Satan]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeriesS1E8TheMagicksOfMegasTu The Magicks of Megas Tu]]" reveals that the denizens of Megas Tu (an alternate dimension that runs on magic rather than traditional physics) visited Earth long ago, giving rise to all manner of stories about magical beings, before fleeing when the witch trials started up. In particular, the jolly Satyr-like guy named Lucien who befriends the Enterprise crew? That dude was the inspiration for [[SatanIsGood Satan]].

* ''Film/{{Thor}}'' uses Myth/{{Norse Mythology}}'s concept of there being nine worlds, and has the Norse gods and the Frost Giants living on the planets Asgard and Jotunheim, respectively -- our myths of them come from when the Asgardians repelled Jotunheim's invasion of Earth. Later [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] films would go on to establish planets inhabited by Dwarves, Dark Elves, and Fire Giants.

* ''Film/{{Halloweentown}}'': The titular Halloweentown is a town in a dimension separate from the mortal world where magical creatures live, which includes witches, ogres, goblins, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and other various creatures. It was created by witches and warlocks after they left the mortal realm to keep themselves safe from the mortals who were frightened of them, and to [[HeWhoFightsMonsters keep themselves from turning hateful in turn]], during the Dark Ages. The portal between the realms only opens on Halloween [[spoiler: until the Cromwells open the portal permanently at the end of ''Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge'', after which point magic is slowly introduced to the mortal world]].
* ''Film/{{Thor}}'' uses Myth/{{Norse Mythology}}'s concept of there being nine worlds, and has the Norse gods and the Frost Giants living on the planets Asgard and Jotunheim, respectively - our myths of them come from when the Asgardians repelled Jotunheim's invasion of Earth. Later [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] films would go on to establish planets inhabited by Dwarves, Dark Elves, and Fire Giants.

But where did all that magical stuff ''go''? If you don't like the thought that everything magical simply died off, the handy answer is they went to another world - usually AnotherDimension, sometimes [[WizardsFromOuterSpace a distant planet]]. This is Where The Magic Went.

In either case, the important thing is that this world is populated by the magical beings told of in our ancient legends (or at least by those beings' descendants). Thus, not every MagicalLand qualifies - for example, [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]] is full of giants and centaurs and {{Talking Animal}}s, but it's never suggested that the Narnians were the inspirations for our world's legends (and ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' makes that impossible, as it shows Narnia didn't exist until the 19th Century).

[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlightOfDragons'': The green wizard Carolinus observes that mankind is developing mechanics, physics, and other sciences while moving away from magic and mysticism. He calls for a council of wizards, where he proposes creating an enclave on Earth where magic and mystical beings can live undetected by humans. Three of the four wizards concur, but the red wizard Ommadon nixes the idea as a "fool's paradise." It's not until Ommadon is defeated that this invisible enclave is created, where unicorns and fairies and wizards can exist unbothered by humans and their science.

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' campaign setting. In the distant past, the Earth and the otherdimensional world of Toril were closer together and Earth humans knew about the magic, deities and fantastic monsters of Toril. Over time the two worlds drifted apart and the connections between them diminished, causing Earth humans to consider the truth about Toril to be just mythological stories and Toril being called the Forgotten Realms by those who remember the truth.

* Gensokyo, the main setting of the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' series, is a land where things that have been forgotten or have become "fantasy" in the regular world, such as youkai, lost items and other such things, wind up. It is isolated from the regular world not only by the Boundary Between Reality and Fantasy set up by Gensokyo's creator, Yukari Yakumo, but by the Great Hakurei Barrier created in 1885.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode [[Recap/{{Star Trek The Animated Series S1 E8 The Magicks Of Megas Tu}} "The Magicks of Megas Tu"]] reveals that the denizens of Megas Tu (an alternate dimension that runs on magic rather than traditional physics) visited Earth long ago, giving rise to all manner of stories about magical beings, before fleeing when the witch trials started up. In particular, the jolly Satyr-like guy named Lucien who befriends the Enterprise crew? That dude was the inspiration for [[SatanIsGood Satan]].
[[/folder]]

Our legends tell of a time long ago, a TimeOfMyths, when trolls lurked under bridges, dragons flew through the air, every kingdom had a court wizard, and gods rained down thunderbolts from their flying chariots. But in our modern era, such fantastical things can't seem to be found (at least for those of us not in on the {{Masquerade}}). This has led many {{Fantasy}} writers to posit that our world was once teeming with magic and monsters, but at some point in history TheMagicGoesAway, leaving behind the mundane world we know today.