Death Tropes



Death is a major event in stories. No, now... it is a really big deal. Really. Except when it isn't.

Obviously, there will be lots of spoilers. Due to the nature of these tropes, the spoilers are unmarked to avoid having to highlight them constantly.

Related tropes and indices:


 * Afterlife Tropes
 * Indexitis
 * Injury Tropes
 * Rebirth and Reincarnation Tropes
 * Resurrection Tropes
 * Skeletal Tropes
 * Sorting Algorithm of Deadness
 * Sorting Algorithm of Mortality

Subcategories:
 * Apocalyptic Index
 * Choosing Death
 * Heroic Sacrifices
 * Dead Herring
 * Funeral Tropes
 * Last Words
 * Murder Tropes
 * Resurrection Tropes
 * Television Is Trying to Kill Us
 * This Index Will Kill You
 * Undead Index
 * Will and Inheritance Tropes

Tropes:

 * Accidental Murder
 * Acquitted Too Late
 * Afterlife Antechamber
 * Afterlife Express
 * Alas, Poor Scrappy
 * Alas Poor Villain
 * Alas, Poor Yorick
 * All Deaths Final
 * Almost-Dead Guy
 * And There Was Much Rejoicing
 * Antagonist in Mourning
 * Anyone Can Die
 * Sacrificial Lamb
 * Sacrificial Lion
 * Artifact of Death
 * Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence
 * As Long As There Is Evil
 * Assassin Outclassin'
 * Asshole Victim
 * Ate His Gun
 * Attending Your Own Funeral
 * Back for The Dead
 * Back From the Dead
 * Fossil Revival
 * Backup From Otherworld
 * Backup Twin
 * Balancing Death's Books
 * Bequeathed Power
 * Better Manhandle the Murder Weapon
 * Better to Die Than Be Killed
 * Big Guy Fatality Syndrome
 * Big Sleep
 * Birth-Death Juxtaposition
 * Bitter Almonds
 * Black Comedy
 * The Black Death
 * Black Dude Dies First
 * Black Spot
 * Bleed'Em and Weep
 * Blood From the Mouth
 * Blood On These Hands
 * Bloody Hilarious
 * Board to Death
 * Bodyguard Betrayal
 * Body of the Week
 * Bonding Over Missing Parents
 * Boom! Headshot!
 * Broken Faceplate
 * Bungled Suicide
 * Burial At Sea
 * Burial in Space
 * Burn the Witch
 * Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie
 * Bury Your Gays
 * Bus Crash
 * Butterfly of Death and Rebirth
 * Butter-Side Down
 * Came Back Strong
 * Came Back Wrong
 * Damaged Soul
 * Destination Host Unreachable
 * Inhuman Human
 * Monster From Beyond the Veil
 * Soulless Shell
 * The Can Kicked Him
 * Car Cushion
 * Cartwright Curse
 * Casualty in The Ring
 * Celestial Bureaucracy
 * Cement Shoes
 * Cessation of Existence
 * Chalk Outline
 * The Character Died With Him
 * Chess With Death
 * Chronically-Killed Actor
 * Chunky Salsa Rule
 * Circles of Hell
 * Climactic Battle Resurrection
 * C List Fodder
 * Cold Equation
 * Coming and Going
 * A Naked Shoulder to Cry On
 * Contractual Immortality
 * Convenient Terminal Illness
 * Conversation Casualty
 * The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much
 * The Corpse Stops Here
 * Coup De Grace
 * Cradling Your Kill
 * Cryonics Failure
 * Cruel and Unusual Death
 * Curiosity Killed the Cast
 * Cut the Safety Rope
 * Dateless Grave
 * Dead All Along
 * Dead Artists Are Better
 * Deader Than Dead
 * Dead Ex Machina
 * Deadfoot Leadfoot
 * Dead Guy, Junior
 * Dead Guy On Display
 * Dead Guy Puppet
 * Dead Hand Shot
 * Dead Hat Shot
 * The Dead Have Names
 * Deadly Closing Credits
 * Deadly Distant Finale
 * Deadly Euphemism
 * Deadly Fireworks Display
 * Deadly Hug
 * Deadly Nosebleed
 * Deadly Rotary Fan
 * Dead Man Switch
 * Dead Man Writing
 * Dead Man's Chest
 * Dead Partner
 * Dead Person Conversation
 * Dead Serious
 * Dead Sidekick
 * Dead Star Walking
 * Dead to Begin With
 * Death-Activated Superpower
 * Death Amnesia
 * Death As Comedy
 * Death By Adaptation
 * Death By Ambulance
 * Death By Cameo
 * Death By Childbirth
 * Death By Despair
 * Death By Disfigurement
 * Death By Falling Over
 * Death By Flashback
 * Death By Genre Savviness
 * Death By Gluttony
 * Death By Irony
 * Dead Line News
 * Death By Looking Up
 * Death By Materialism
 * Death By Mocking
 * Death By Newbery Medal
 * Death By Origin Story
 * Death By Pragmatism
 * Death By Racism
 * Death By Recognition
 * Death By Secret Identity
 * Death By Sex
 * Death By Transceiver
 * Death By Woman Scorned
 * Death Equals Emotion
 * Death Equals Redemption
 * Death in The Clouds
 * A Death in The Limelight
 * Death Is a Sad Thing
 * Death Is Cheap
 * Death Is Dramatic
 * Death Is Not Permanent
 * Death Is Such an Odd Thing
 * Death Montage
 * Death Notification
 * Death of the Hypotenuse
 * Death of the Old Gods
 * Death Row
 * Deaths Hourglass
 * Death Takes a Holiday
 * Death Wail
 * Decapitated Army
 * Decapitation Presentation
 * Decapitation Required
 * Deceased Parents Are the Best
 * Departure Means Death
 * Defiant to The End
 * Desert Skull
 * Did You Die?
 * Died Happily Ever After
 * Died in Your Arms Tonight
 * Died Standing Up
 * Die Laughing
 * Dies Wide Open
 * Dig Your Own Grave
 * Disappears Into Light
 * The Disembodied
 * Disney Death
 * Unexplained Recovery
 * Disney Villain Death
 * Disposable Pilot
 * Disposable Sex Worker
 * Disposing of a Body
 * Fed to Pigs
 * Distracted From Death
 * Divorce Requires Death
 * The Dog Bites Back
 * Doomed Appointment
 * Doom Magnet
 * Doomed By Canon
 * Doomed Contrarian
 * Do With Him As You Will
 * Dragged Off to Hell
 * Driven to Suicide
 * Dropped a Bridge On Him
 * Look Both Ways
 * Drop-Dead Gorgeous
 * Due to The Dead
 * Duel to The Death
 * Dwindling Party
 * Dying Alone
 * Dying As Yourself
 * Dying Declaration of Love
 * Dying Dream
 * Dying for Symbolism
 * Dying Moment of Awesome
 * Dying to Be Replaced
 * Eaten Alive
 * El Cid Ploy
 * Electrified Bathtub
 * Empathy Doll Shot
 * Empty Chair Memorial
 * Empty Piles of Clothing
 * Ending Memorial Service
 * Everybody Lives
 * Everybodys Dead Dave
 * Everything Fades
 * Exit Pursued By a Bear
 * Explosive Decompression
 * Thrown Out the Airlock
 * Explosive Stupidity
 * Face Death With Dignity
 * Faking the Dead
 * Death Faked for You
 * Fake Kill Scare
 * Family Unfriendly Death
 * Famous Last Words
 * Fatal Family Photo
 * Faux Death
 * Field of Blades
 * Final Solution
 * Finger in The Mail
 * Finish Him!
 * First-Episode Resurrection
 * First Law of Resurrection
 * Flatline Plotline
 * Fond Memories That Could Have Been
 * Friendly Target
 * The Fun in Funeral
 * Gas Chamber
 * Get It Over With
 * Go Into the Light
 * Goodnight Sweet Prince
 * A Good Way to Die
 * Go Out with a Smile
 * Gory Discretion Shot
 * Sound-Only Death
 * Grave Humor
 * Grave Marking Scene
 * Grave Robbing
 * Great Way to Go
 * Gutted Like a Fish
 * Half the Man He Used To Be
 * Happier Home Movie
 * He Had a Name
 * Hellish Copter
 * Her Heart Will Go On
 * The Hero Dies
 * Hero-Killer
 * He's Dead Jim
 * Flatline
 * He's Just Hiding
 * His Name Is
 * Hoist By His Own Petard
 * Hollywood Heart Attack
 * Hospital Surprise
 * How Dare You Die On Me!
 * Humanitys Wake
 * I Cannot Self Terminate
 * I Die Free
 * I Don't Want to Die
 * If We Get Through This
 * If You Die, I Call Your Stuff
 * I Let Gwen Stacy Die
 * I'm Cold... So Cold...
 * I'm Dying Please Take My MacGuffin
 * I'm Melting
 * Impaled With Extreme Prejudice
 * Implied Death Threat
 * Immortal Hero
 * Inferred Survival
 * Informal Eulogy
 * Interrogating the Dead
 * Eye Remember
 * Interrupted Suicide
 * In the Back
 * Incurable Cough of Death
 * Inverse Dialogue Death Rule
 * Involuntary Battle to The Death
 * Involuntary Suicide Mechanism
 * It Always Rains At Funerals
 * It Is Not Your Time
 * It's Always Sunny At Funerals
 * I Will Only Slow Youdown
 * I Wished You Were Dead
 * Jacob Marley Apparel
 * Joker Immunity
 * Jumping On a Grenade
 * Just Desserts
 * Karmic Death
 * Disney Villain Death
 * Noose Catch
 * The Killer Becomes the Killed
 * Killed Mid Sentence
 * Killed Off for Real
 * Kill Em All
 * Kill Him Already
 * Kill It Through Its Stomach
 * Kill One, and The Others Get Stronger
 * Kill the Cutie
 * Kill the Ones You Love
 * Kill the Poor
 * Kill Us Both
 * King in The Mountain
 * King On His Deathbed
 * Kiss of Death
 * Klingon Promotion
 * Last Breath Bullet
 * Last Day to Live
 * The Last Dance
 * Last Grasp At Life
 * Last Kiss
 * Last of His Kind
 * Last Request
 * Last Stand
 * Last Survivor Suicide
 * Leave Behind a Pistol
 * Leave No Survivors
 * Leave No Witnesses
 * Left for Dead
 * Legacy Immortality
 * Legally Dead
 * Let Them Die Happy
 * Libation for The Dead
 * Life Will Kill You
 * Lights Off, Somebody Dies
 * Like You Were Dying
 * Like You Would Really Do It
 * Literally Shattered Lives
 * Little Dead Riding Hood
 * The Living Dead
 * Living On Borrowed Time
 * Load Bearing Hero
 * Lonely Funeral
 * Losing the Team Spirit
 * Losing Your Head
 * Lunatic Loophole
 * Made of Plasticine
 * Make It Look Like an Accident
 * Hunting Accident
 * Make Sure He's Dead
 * Man in The Machine
 * Marked to Die
 * Matter of Life and Death
 * McLeaned
 * Meaningful Funeral
 * Men Are the Expendable Gender
 * Mentor Occupational Hazard
 * Mercy Kill
 * Miles to Go Before I Sleep
 * A Million Is a Statistic
 * Misplaced Sorrow
 * Mistaken for Dying
 * Moment of Silence
 * Monster Misogyny
 * More Expendable Than You
 * More Hero Than Thou
 * Mortal Wound Reveal
 * Murder By Cremation
 * Murder By Mistake
 * Murder Dot Com
 * Murder-Suicide
 * Mutual Kill
 * My Death Is Just the Beginning
 * My Life Flashed Before My Eyes
 * Near-Death Experience
 * Neck Snap
 * Necro Non Sequitur
 * Never Found the Body
 * Finally Found the Body
 * Never Got to Say Goodbye
 * Never One Murder
 * Never Say Die
 * Never Say Goodbye
 * Never Speak Ill of the Dead
 * Never Suicide
 * Night Swim Equals Death
 * Nobody Can Die
 * No Body Left Behind
 * No Dead Body Poops
 * No Longer With Us
 * No One Could Survive That
 * Nostalgia Heaven
 * Not Afraid to Die
 * Not Enough to Bury
 * Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You!
 * Not Quite Dead
 * Not Quite Saved Enough
 * Not So Invincible After All
 * The Nothing After Death
 * Nothing Left to Do But Die
 * Obi Wan Moment
 * Of Corpse He's Alive
 * Offing the Offspring
 * Off With His Head
 * Oh and X Dies
 * One Last Smoke
 * One-Way Trip
 * Only Mostly Dead
 * Opening a Can of Clones
 * Our Hero Is Dead
 * Out of Continues
 * Out With a Bang
 * Parting Words Regret
 * Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Death
 * Peaceful in Death
 * Personal Effects Reveal
 * Phone Call From the Dead
 * A Plague On Both Your Houses
 * Player Punch
 * Please Wake Up
 * Plotline Death
 * The Plot Reaper
 * Plot-Triggering Death
 * Pop Goes the Human
 * The Poppy
 * Population X and Counting
 * Posthumous Character
 * Posthumous Narration
 * Post-Mortem Comeback
 * Post-Mortem Conversion
 * The Power of Legacy
 * Premature Eulogy
 * Pretty Spry for A Dead Guy
 * The Problem With Fighting Death
 * Psychic-Assisted Suicide
 * Psychopomp
 * The Grim Reaper
 * Shinigami
 * Don't Fear the Reaper
 * Public Execution
 * Pummeling the Corpse
 * Rasputinian Death
 * Really Dead Montage
 * Redemption Equals Death
 * Red Shirt
 * Mauve Shirt
 * Refusing Paradise
 * Regularly-Scheduled Evil
 * Released to Elsewhere
 * Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated
 * Rescued From Purgatory
 * Respawn Point
 * Restrained Revenge
 * Resurrection Sickness
 * Retirony
 * Revival Loophole
 * Rewarded As a Traitor Deserves
 * Rise From Your Grave
 * Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies
 * Rube Goldberg Hates Your Guts
 * Say Your Prayers
 * Schrodingers Cat
 * The Scourge of God
 * Second Law of Metafictional Thermodynamics
 * Secretly Dying
 * "Seen It All" Suicide
 * Self-Destructive Charge
 * Self-Disposing Villain
 * Self-Sacrifice Scheme
 * Senseless Sacrifice
 * Serial Killer Killer
 * Shoot Him! He Has a Wallet!
 * Shoot the Messenger
 * Shoot the Shaggy Dog
 * Shot At Dawn
 * Shrine to The Fallen
 * Sickbed Slaying
 * Silent Credits
 * Silent Scapegoat
 * Slashed Throat
 * Sketchy Successor
 * Smoldering Shoes
 * Sniping the Cockpit
 * Snow Means Death
 * Sole Survivor
 * Someone Has to Die
 * Someone to Remember Him By
 * Sorry That I'm Dying
 * Spared By the Adaptation
 * Speak Ill of the Dead
 * Spontaneous Human Combustion
 * Staking the Loved One
 * Starts With a Suicide
 * Starts With Their Funeral
 * Staying Alive
 * Stay With Me Until I Die
 * Stripped to The Bone
 * Stuffed Into the Fridge
 * Stupid Sacrifice
 * Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome
 * Suicide Attack
 * Suicide By Cop
 * Suicide for Others' Happiness
 * Suicide Is Painless
 * Suicide, Not Accident
 * Suicide, Not Murder
 * Suicide Pact
 * Superpower Meltdown
 * Shapeshifter Swan Song
 * Surprisingly-Sudden Death
 * Survivor Guilt
 * Suspect Existence Failure
 * Tag-Team Suicide
 * Take a Moment To Catch Your Death
 * Take Care of the Kids
 * Taking the Bullet
 * Taking You With Me
 * Talking the Monster To Death
 * Talking to The Dead
 * Tears of Blood
 * Technicolor Death
 * Teenage Death Songs
 * Thanatos Gambit
 * That Poor Plant
 * That Was the Last Entry
 * The Worlds Expert On Getting Killed
 * These Hands Have Killed
 * They Died Because of You
 * They Killed Kenny Again
 * They Knew the Risks
 * This Is Not My Life to Take
 * Throw'em to The Wolves
 * Time-Delayed Death
 * To Absent Friends
 * Together in Death
 * Tonight Someone Dies
 * Tontine
 * Too Cool to Live
 * Too Dumb to Live
 * Too Good for This Sinful Earth
 * Too Happy to Live
 * Too Powerful to Live
 * Torso With a View
 * Touch of Death
 * Tragic Bromance
 * Tragic Keepsake
 * Traumatic C-Section
 * Trial By Friendly Fire
 * Turbine Blender
 * Undignified Death
 * Unexpected Inheritance
 * Unexpected Successor
 * Unwanted Revival
 * Vasquez Always Dies
 * Vertical Kidnapping
 * Viking Funeral
 * Villains Dying Grace
 * Vorpal Pillow
 * Waking Up At the Morgue
 * Walking Wasteland
 * Wall Slump
 * Wax Museum Morgue
 * We All Die Someday
 * We Hardly Knew Ye
 * We Will Have Euthanasia in The Future
 * Weapon Tombstone
 * Went to The Great X In The Sky
 * What a Drag
 * What Happened to The Pet?
 * What Is One Man's Life in Comparison?
 * Where There's a Will, There's A Sticky Note
 * White Shirt of Death
 * Who Dunnit to Me
 * Why Couldn't You Save Them?
 * Why Don't You Just Shoot Him
 * Why Won't You Die
 * Widower Hero
 * The Wild Hunt
 * Wring Every Last Drop Out of Him
 * You Are Worth Hell
 * You Are Already Dead
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness
 * You Kill It, You Bought It
 * Your Days Are Numbered
 * Your Head Asplode
 * You See, I'm Dying
 * You Shall Not Pass
 * Zipping Up the Bodybag