Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
— Opening lines of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Eleanor: Where am I, who are you, and what's going on?
Michael: Right. You, Eleanor Shellstrop, are dead. Your time on Earth has ended, and you are now the next phase of your existence in the universe.
Eleanor: ...cool!
Michael: Right. You, Eleanor Shellstrop, are dead. Your time on Earth has ended, and you are now the next phase of your existence in the universe.
Eleanor: ...cool!
— The first scene of The Good Place
"My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."
— Opening line of The Lovely Bones
"You've died. Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. This is Purgatory. You will never escape this place."
— Bosch, Brutal Orchestra
"Flesh. Bone. Bound together with the oddest magickal incantation. This wretched book is where it all began so long ago. Before time. Before humanity. I am Doctor Edward Roivas. I am a clinical psychologist. I am also dead. This is not my story, nor even the story of the Roivas family. It is the story of humanity."
— Opening narration of Eternal Darkness
