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{{trope}}
[[File:tumblr_lgoepuC9zv1qcupmyo1_500_6335tumblr lgoepuC9zv1qcupmyo1 500 6335.jpg|frame|*Sigh* Dear Diary...]]
 
 
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* The entirety of the illustrated novel ''Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection'' is treated this way. The book is framed as a journal that was being kept by a young doctor attempting to survive the [[Zombie Apocalypse]]. {{spoiler|It cuts off suddenly, mid journal entry, several days after the character reaches a supposedly safe haven. No explanation is given, and it is simply stated that the journal was recovered later, and no one knows what happens to the journal writer, or the other people from the safe haven.}}
** There is a [[Epileptic Trees|possible explanation.]] {{spoiler|The zombie plague was started by a totally-not-high-fructose-corn-syrup-honest food additive, with sufficient concentrations causing those who ate it to become the living dead. While the narrator is fairly strict about his diet, he has only one food he indulges in--[[Weaksauce Weakness|baked beans,]] which he always eats with aplomb. The moral of this story is to always check the ingredients list of the food you eat. ...seriously, the book was rather [[Anvilicious]] in that regard.}}
* [[Superman]] has one in the [[Elseworld|Elseworlds]]s ''Distant Fires''.
* Dan Turpin's internal monologue in ''[[Final Crisis]]''.
 
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== Fan Works ==
* ''[http://meganphntmgrl.livejournal.com/80785.html A Statement in the Ice]'', a one-shot [[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]/CthulhuMythos crossover which uses the concept that {{spoiler|Adrian}} called down a ''real'' [[Eldritch Abomination]] rather than had one customized.
* ''[http://featherfish.livejournal.com/196763.html#cutid1 The Baker Street Record]'', an epic [[Sherlock Holmes]] / ''[[House of Leaves]]'' crossover, is one giant [[Apocalyptic Log]], much like ''[[House of Leaves]]'' itself.
* In ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6562450/1/Subject_014 Subject 014]'', a Naruto Fanfiction, Anko is in an [[Abandoned Base]] and is reading one of these and the last entry sudden trails off the clipboard. Anko then checks the date. [[Oh Crap|the last entry was written seventeen minutes ago]]
{{quote|Anko: "Fuck!"}}
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* George Pal's version of ''[[The Time Machine]]'' in the form of the talking rings.
* In ''Overdrawn at the Memory Bank'' (which appeared on ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''), there's one of these for the process the heroine uses to try to save Fingal's mind.
* In ''The Killer Shrews'' (another ''MST3K'' episode), there is a [[Narm|Narmful]]ful scene where a scientist, having just been bitten by one of the title monsters, sits down at a typewriter and records the process of his body succumbing to the shrew's poisonous saliva.
** Based upon the real-life incident of herpetologist Karl P. Schmidt (see folder "Real Life", below).
* From ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'':
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* The 2001 ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' has this, explaining how the crash of Leo Davidson's ship turned the desolated planet into a simian dystopia.
* The original 1954 ''[[Gojira (film)|Gojira]]'' featured a reporter giving a blow-by-blow description of Gojira's destruction of Tokyo, ending with his description of the monster's attack on the tower he was broadcasting from.
* ''[[The Thing (film)|The Thing]]'' (1982). Helicopter pilot MacReady leaves an [[Apocalyptic Log]] to warn the eventual rescuers about the title monster.
** Incidentally, you end up being able to ''listen'' to this log in the unofficial 2002 video game sequel of the same name.
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film)|The Lord of the Rings]]'': In ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', the titular Fellowship go into the Mines of Moria, but find out that all the dwarves of Moria had died. Gandalf finds the log of the last siege by the orcs:
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* The heroes of Barry Hughart's ''[[Bridge of Birds]]'' find one of these carved into the wall of an ancient ruined city, describing the monster that ruined it.
* [[Stephen King]]'s ''The End of the Whole Mess'', found in the collection ''Nightmares & Dreamscapes''. Like ''[[Cloverfield]]'', this one is a variation in that the entire story is the Apocalyptic Log and the reader is the one discovering it.
** ''Survivor Type'' follows a similar tack, with the survivor of a shipwreck recording his time on a desert island where there's pretty much no local wild life or edible plants. He eventually resorts to [[Cannibal|cannibalizingcannibal]]izing ''[[Auto Cannibalism|his own body]]''. {{spoiler|"Lady fingers they taste like lady fingers."}}
** One of King's recent stories {{spoiler|''1922''}} turns out to be this. In somewhat Lovecraftian fashion, the writer apparently continues to write even as {{spoiler|the supernatural rats that have stalked him since he murdered his wife finally get around to devouring him}}. Of course, it's possible that he's just insane...
** King seems to like this trope. It's also in [[The Stand]], in the form of Stu and Harold's diaries.
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* [[Older Than Radio]] example: ''M.S. Found in a Bottle'' by [[Edgar Allan Poe]], also a [[Message in a Bottle]]. The protagonist states that he's writing the account for posterity, and that if he is about to die or suffer some other fate that would render him incapable of finishing the story, he will put it in the titular bottle and throw it in the sea. He apparently does so when he goes down a whirlpool on a ship full of [[The Voiceless]]...
* The ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[Discworld/A Hat Full of Sky|A Hat Full of Sky]]'' quotes a few passages from a book recording a wizard's attempts to contain and control a Hiver, a mind-controlling monster that gradually turns whatever creature it possesses into a pathological id. To drive the point home, the last few pages degenerate into "Those ''fools!'' I'll show them! [[They Called Me Mad|I'll show them]] ''[[They Called Me Mad|all!!!!!]]''" ranting, and finally completely incoherent random letters.
** ''[[Discworld/Thud|Thud!]]'' has the numerous, disjointed, seemingly-random-numbered notes left by the painter of ''The Battle of Koom Valley'', who slowly went mad (including thinking alternately that he was being chased by a giant chicken and that he ''was'' a giant chicken). The last one -- onlyone—only known to be so because it was found under his dead body -- readbody—read "It comes! ''It comes!!!''" He was found with his throat full of chicken feathers.
** In ''[[Discworld/Guards Guards|Guards! Guards!]]'' the Library's copy of ''The Summoning Of Dragons'' has been scorched...
* ''[[Frankenstein (novel)|Frankenstein]]'' may or may not be one of these, depending on whether or not you think the sea captain who narrates the [[Framing Story]] will rescue his ship from the Arctic ice.
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Oh heck, he's up to my neck
Oh dread, he's ''mmmmmfffff...'' }}
* [[Dan Simmons]] seems to really enjoy these. In ''[[Hyperion]]'' the [[Apocalyptic Log]] is subverted as we get to read the journals from the character as he goes insane from sickness and then as he gets better. In ''[[The Terror]]'' it's much nastier as the journal appears through out the book slowly becoming more and more hopeless until in the final entry {{spoiler|he tells us how he finally managed to kill the people who captured him as he dies of starvation, scurvy and freezing cold.}}
* ''[[The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'' has Dr Jekyll give the narrator his [[Apocalyptic Log]] in the final chapter.
* [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula (novel)|Dracula]]'' is assembled from several of these logs, with a few newspaper articles thrown in.
* W.J. Stuart's [[Novelization]] of ''[[Forbidden Planet]]'' has an excellent example of the [[Apocalyptic Log]], in which "Doc" Ostrow, having had a taste of the mental powers provided by the [[Upgrade Artifact]], suggests the answer to the question of how the incredibly advanced Krell [[Precursors]] could have been wiped out in an instant: by unleashing [[The Heartless|invincible monsters from their subconscious minds]]. As he feared, the [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|effects]] of the [[Upgrade Artifact]] killed him before he could explain any further.
* The heroes in [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings|Fellowship of the Ring]]'' are rather distressed when they discover a chronicle of Balin's doomed attempt to recover the mines of Moria in the Chamber of Mazarbul. The final recorded words are a hastily-scrawled "''They are coming.''"
* In the novel based on true events ''Mila 18'', one person decides to keep a log of his starving to death as a Jew in Nazi occupied Warsaw. He figures since he is starving, he might as well contribute to science with full logs of all the effects. That is not the only instance of [[Apocalyptic Log]], as other Jews also record the atrocities and their resistance for posterity. [[Downer Ending|This is not a happy book]].
* ''[[The Third World War]]: August 1985'' includes excerpts from the emergency logs of three communities during the war and pulls this twice. The first log ends when the building it is in is destroyed by a bombing raid (with a statement that the book was found in the ruins), but resumes with the backup copy describing the situation. The second, from an area in central Birmingham, ends with {{spoiler|the warning of Birmingham's imminent nuclear destruction being received, stopping mid-word. A statement follows that its charred remains were found in the destroyed building}}.
* A ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Expanded Universe]] novel features a Cyberman-obsessed researcher recording her experiences for future references as she is gradually converted into a Cyberman. Unusual, in that no one gets to discover it -- onceit—once she's converted, her original personality is wiped away and she no longer recognises the logic in recording it, and so destroys the recording.
* Australian novel ''Underground'' is essentially a set of memoirs written by Leo James -- washedJames—washed-up property developer and brother to the [[President Evil|tyrannical Australian Prime Minister]] -- during—during his imprisonment in the near-abandoned Parliament House. In these memoirs, he records the events that led to the permanent state of emergency, his unwanted travels up and down Australia's east coast, his capture and the weeks of torture and imprisonment that followed. The memoirs and the novel end with the moments before Leo's execution:
{{quote|I hear marching footsteps in the hall outside. Orders yelled. I think the fuckers are actually going to shoot me in ''here''. And God help them, they sound Australian.}}
* In the ''LOTR'' parody novel ''[[Bored of the Rings]]'', Tim Benzedrine leaves a note for the boggies the morning after they stay with him in which he enters a drug flashback ''while writing''.
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* In the last ''[[Empire From the Ashes]]'' book, Sean and friends find an ancient digital diary documenting the fall of society on that planet, {{spoiler|as the general populous went mad from listening to the dwindling hyperspace transmissions of the Fourth Imperium as a loose bio-weapon killed '''everything''' on '''every''' other world, turning against technology as the source of the disaster}}.
* ''[[Friday the 13th|Jason X: Planet of the Beast]]''. The space station crew managed to acquire a few of the logs of the ''Blackstar 13'' (a shuttle Jason had gone on a rampage in) before it crashed into a nearby planet. The last log was made by the ship's hiding and rambling cook, and ends with Jason bashing through the door, and horribly murdering him.
* ''[[The Stormlight Archive]]'' has an [[Apocalyptic Log]] in the form of {{spoiler|Dalinar's visions}}. Yes, an [[Apocalyptic Log]] {{spoiler|from God}}.
* In ''[[Ratmans Notebooks]]'' (since renamed to [[Willard]]), the titular character's diary has become this by the end of the story.
* ''[[Otherland]]'' uses this trope in a rather interesting way by having the narrative point of view occasionally shift to Martine Desroubin's subvocalized journal entries. The segments are thus effectively an apocalyptic log in the progress of being written. They're doubly intriguing because she is blind and is therefore writing solely from her own experiences and perspective. Later, her journals are recovered from Otherland and she spends time reading them to analyze her own [[Character Development]].
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* ''[[Star Trek]]''. Several episodes in several series feature the crew discovering the logs of the last folks to encounter the disease/NegativeSpaceWedgie/villain of the week.
** One especially notable case from ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'': in the episode "Contagion", the ''Enterprise'' downloads one of these from the USS ''Yamato''. Unfortunately, the log had hidden in it the computer virus that caused the Yamato to blow up.
** In at least two ''TNG'' episodes ("Time Squared", "Cause and Effect"), the ''Enterprise'' crew receive an [[Apocalyptic Log]] out of a [[Negative Space Wedgie]]...from themselves.
** Also nicely subverted in one episode where it turns out the person who made the log is still alive, and quite upset that the crew was watching her video diary.
** In the second pilot of [[Star Trek: The Original Series|the original series]], "Where No Man Has Gone Before", the crew discovered the log of the last people to encounter the [[A God Am I]] ray. It ends with the ship's captain giving a self-destruct order.
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** Also happens in "The Daedalus Variations". Sheppard & Co., aboard an empty Daedalus, find a video log left by the captain before the ship was abandoned.
* ''[[Stargate Universe]]'' uses a variation of this concept in the episode "Time" - the difference is the log is created by Eli in an alternate timeline then sent into the past through a wormhole.
** This wound up being recursive: at the end of the episode, Matt records a second [[Apocalyptic Log]] explaining what had been discovered the first time 'round, so that when the crew found it the next time, they'd have a leg up. At least two loops and logs were required to ensure the crew's survival, but for all the viewer knows, there were three, or [[Fridge Horror|three hundred]].
* ''[[The X-Files]]'' episode "Ice" shows the first and last videos of the sequence. At first the tidy, cheerful and well-lit scientists of an arctic research base report digging ice cores from record levels; the second is gloomy and shaky, with one dishevelled man saying "We're not... who we are... we're not... who we are..." before being attacked.
** The seventh season episode "X-Cops" starts with a homage to ''[[Cops (series)]]'' (where a cameraman follows a sheriff's deputy check up on some disturbance), when they are suddenly attacked by something that stays ''just'' out of the camera's view all the time.
* This happens in an episode of the ''[[Logan's Run]]'' series. The protagonists discover an ancient bunker from [[After the End|before the end]] holding a few [[Human Popsicle]] survivors (the best and brightest) from the ancient civilisation devasted by a plague. There is also an Apocalyptic Log from a man dying from the disease, but holding long enough {{spoiler|to reveal he discovered that one of the hibernated people is an imposter (and potentially a murderer).}}
* The [[Clip Show]] episode of ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' featured an [[Apocalyptic Log]] that the [[Teen Genius]] left in case they lost the [[Robot War]]. It provided a brief character summary and log of the fight, but most of it focused on the <s> merchandise toys</s> weapons and equipment they'd been using all season that the prospective finder of the log would find nearby, the general impression being "if you've found this, we lost our war of attrition. You are now one of the last humans alive. Here's what you have to work with- now take up our fight". An odd case of seeing the [[Apocalyptic Log]] as a caution of what might happen if they lose, rather than a means of figuring out how they lost.
* ''[[Jericho]]'' did this in the first episode with an answering machine. It's still a bit of a [[Tear Jerker]].
** Doubles as one heck of an ''[[Oh Crap]]'' moment, as we quickly find out that {{spoiler|the message originated in a totally different city than the one that the characters and viewers knew had just been nuked, meaning that the disaster was not just local.}}
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* Not a tabletop RPG, but a ''letter-writing'' RPG, the out of print [[Cosmic Horror Story|Lovecraftian]] game ''De Profundis'' was presented wholly as a collection of letters from someone gradually going insane after having a dream about a book that laid out the game's rules. Part of the supernatural insanity gripping the "author" involved writing down and sharing the game to try to spread the insanity.
* The ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' background book ''Xenology'' turns out to be one drawn-out example of this, written by an Inquisitor examining another's work at gathering and studying various alien beings in a hidden facility. {{spoiler|It turns out the "Inquisitor" who set up the facility is actually a Necron Lord who established it to study other organic races, and once he was finished, he lured the other Inquisitor to the facility to study ''him''.}}
** We never get to read it, but the galaxy-sized locust swarm that is the Tyranid race was named because of the [[Apocalyptic Log]] that was left behind, buried 1000 feet underground, on the planet Tyran. Most of the Tyranid Codexes -- combinationsCodexes—combinations of backstory and rulebook -- containrulebook—contain detached descriptions of Tyranid attacks that read like an encyclopedia entry based off an [[Apocalyptic Log]] as well.
** Similarly, the ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' background book ''Liber Chaotica'' is written as an in-character study of the Chaos Gods. As the book goes on, the author starts having more and more ominous visions and making less and less sense as he descends into madness. At least half of the quotes in the Necron, Tyranid, and Dark Eldar codexes fit this trope.
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons|Dungeons & Dragons]]''
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** The ''Tome of Strahd'' is something of a half-journal/half-manifesto written by [[Ravenloft|Count Strahd von Zarovich]], which details in his own words the night he made his pact with Death and sacrificed his younger brother in exchange for immortality and the love of his brother's fiancee. Said fiancee, consumed with grief, flung herself from the castle walls rather than live without her love. The Tome's final words reflect Strahd's anguish at seeing her being constantly reincarnated by the Dark Powers only to be lost to him time and time again.
** [[Dragonlance]] module DL12 ''Dragons of Faith''. A page from a ship's log tells of the destruction of the ship and the fate of its crew.
** Module DA1 ''Adventures in Blackmoor''. In the Comeback Inn the [[PC|PCs]]s find a parchment scroll written by Hepath Nun. It tells the story of how his adventuring party searched for, found and entered the Inn. It further tells of how they were trapped inside, couldn't find any way out and eventually went through the Gate in the cellar. Only Hepath Nun decided not to go, because he was too scared. The [[PC|PCs]]s find his body hanging from a chandelier near the scroll.
* ''[[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)]]''
** Adventure "The Warren". When the [[Player Character|Player Characters]]s enter a room sealed by rubble, they find a skeleton and a piece of paper with the last words of the victim. It describes how he heard cult members chanting, a bolt of lighting striking the house and finding the door blocked. His last words were that he'd been waiting for rescue for several hours.
** Also, in the adventure "Horror on the Orient Express," the ''player characters'' keep [[Apocalyptic Log|Apocalyptic Logs]] to allow replacement investigators to join a very long, detailed investigation fully up to speed.
** Supplement ''Cthulhu Companion'', adventure "The Mystery of Loch Feinn". Professor Gibbson's journal details his investigation of the Water Horse and his run-ins with the MacAllans - the Cthulhu cultists who eventually killed him.
** ''Fearful Passages'', adventure "Armored Angels". Professor Powell's notes give information on his plan to open a gate to the planet Yuggoth. The last page of his diary give a horrifying account of the invasion of Mi-Go and a Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath through the gate.
* ''[[Mage: The Awakening]]'' has one of these as a magic item detailed in the ''Grimoire of Grimoires'' supplement -- thesupplement—the Hildebrand Recording, an attempt at capturing a seance with a ghost on tape. The poor researcher got an [[Eldritch Abomination]] instead, which proceeded to toy with his psyche before ripping him to shreds. It's just as bad as you think it is.
* Many of the cards one can draw on the Forbidden Island in the ''Touch of Evil'' expansion "Something Wicked" detail an exploration party gradually succumbing to a lycanthrophy curse. Several other cards can ''inflict'' lycanthopy on the exploring player.
* The recent "Jihad" series of [[BattleTech]] sourcebooks feature a number of these, usually from victims of the Words frequent use of WMDs. Probably the most distressing are the {{spoiler|cries for help from Alarion; the population are dying from a bioweapon attack, but claim there are un-infected children}}.
* ''[[Normality]]'' can pretty much be described as [[Apocalyptic Log]] from start to finish, {{spoiler|insofar as it makes any sense at all.}} Extra points for {{spoiler|having the [[Author Avatar|''authors'']] die in-game}} halfway through though.
* ''[[Role Master]]'' campaign setting ''Shadow World'', supplement 'Norek: Intrigue in a City-State of Jaiman''. A powerful crystal inside a mine causes radiation poisoning in the miners. They think it's a plague and seal off the mine to protect the outside world. After the effects get worse, the miners seal themselves in their rooms to await death. One of the miners leaves a diary of the events that the [[PC|PCs]]s can find.
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'': a number were posted on a special Wizards of the Coast website to fit the storyline of Scars of Mirrodin block - Farris of the Anvil, Unctus of the Synod, Kessla of Temple Might, Ria of Bladehold, and - technically - Roxith, Thane of Rot, a full-time bad guy. The final scorecard: Farris fighting a hopeless battle in the Phyrexian Furnace layer, Ria having saved her home city once but without a great deal of hope for next time, Roxith torn to shreds, Kessla killed by her own bomb, and Unctus corrupted by Phyrexian oil.
* The free solo RPG Swords of the Skull Takers on 1km1kt.com is about the player creating an apocalyptic log, unless they win. Even then, Diabolic Victories can get even more disturbing.
* ''The Morrow Project'' adventure R-002 ''Project Damocles''. In the [[Backstory]], a group of scientists create an artificial intelligence but a nuclear holocaust begins while they're testing it. They try to escape the underground area where they're working but the AI (named Damocles) malfunctions and won't let them out. One of the project members, William Lezrow, records the events that led up to the disaster and the fate of each of the team members. The [[PC|PCs]]s can find it and read it as they explore the area.
 
 
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* Parodied in ''[[The Curse of Monkey Island]]'' with the plaques of the Plunder Island Naturalist Society.
{{quote|'''Guybrush:''' ''(reading the last plaque, found on the edge of a quicksand pit)'' "[[Quicksand Sucks|Quicksand]] pit. [[Quicksand Sucks|Quicksand]] pits of this type are common throughout Plunder Island's nature trails. Many an unwary traveler has found himself trapped and unable to esca- Someone, anyone, please, please help me, I'm sinking..."}}
* Much of ''[[Dead Space (series)|Dead Space]]'''s story is told through these. In the first game {{spoiler|the opening recording is ''also'' an [[Apocalyptic Log]], but you don't get to see the apocalyptic part until the end of the game.}}
* In the undersea lab level of ''[[Deus Ex]]'', at least one scientist attempts to send a message for help all the way to the last moment. The message, retained in text format, is notably filled with spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors, as would be expected. In several other points in the game, the last words of the dead are to be found on datacubes left beside their bodies, including in the Hong Kong Canal Road tunnel collapse, X51's underground section and the MJ12 base under {{spoiler|Hell's Kitchen}}.
** Likewise, the Antarctica level of ''[[Deus Ex: Invisible War|Deus Ex Invisible War]]'' is also strewn with Apocalyptic Logs.
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** Croc's is a close second for most unsettling... his doctor simply can't believe that he's cannibalistic like the rumor's say... well, at the end he escapes... she makes it out unscathed, but the scene she sees... [[An Arm and a Leg|isn't pretty]].
* The ''[[Fallout]]'' series is packed with these, most notably [[Evilutionary Biologist|The Master]]'s.
** Probably the best example in ''[[Fallout 3]]'' is in the [[H.P. Lovecraft|Dunwitch]] [[Shout-Out|Building]]. Something about the building is conducive to turning people into [[Our Ghouls Are Creepier|radiation ghouls]]. In the days after nuclear war, you can read the journals and track the progress of the building's residents as they lose higher brain functions and end up as violent, mindless [[Cannibal|cannibalscannibal]]s.
** The Keller Family Tapes one must collect in order to get the Experimental MIRV in ''[[Fallout]] 3'' detail how one family desperately tried to survive the coming war by finding a vault in the National Guard Depot to huddle in. One is even recorded as the bombs are falling. The last of the logs is from a member of the family who refuses to spend life inside the vault with his father. He decides to give them his part of the passcode and walk into a mushroom cloud. "Have a happy Holocaust!" There are also some holotapes in Little Lamplight that shed some light on him the city started up.
*** [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Diary_of_Candace_Keller There's a cut tape that provides an epilogue] for the Keller family's saga that can be obtained in the PC version through the console. It was originally meant to be found in the shelter that the other tapes are about trying to get to, and indicates that at the very least Dad and Candace survived. However, Candace complains that her father keeps leaving the shelter and going out into the bombed-out DC ruins to scavenge for useless junk and that everytime he does, he lets a little more radiation in...
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** ''Pathways'' in particular took this even further, as instead of reading the journals lying next to mangled corpses in order to progress, you can use a mysterious artifact to ''talk to them''. Needless to say, most people aren't very talkative after spending twenty or forty years trapped in their corpse as the Horror-spawned monstrosities that killed them shamble by and occasionally nibble on them in the darkness.
** ''[[Halo]] 3'', also by Bungie, includes something similar in the form of the Terminals, which contain reports, memos, and recordings made the Forerunner chronicling their war with the Flood.
** ''[[Halo]]'' first introduces the Flood by way of a video recording from the helmet cam of a (deceased) Marine. If you read the novelisation, though, you find out that the marine who's video the Chief watched wasn't dead at all -- heall—he'd been turned into a combat form, but had somehow retained his consciousness, turining it into an "[[And I Must Scream]]" scenario.
** ''Halo 3: ODST'' features 30 hidden Audio Logs littered about New Mombasa that reveal a subplot called "Sadie's Story," in which a girl attempts to reach her scientist father during the panic of the Covenant finding Earth. {{spoiler|It's best described as a [[Bittersweet Ending]].}}
** ''Halo CE Anniversary'' also had terminals added, telling backstory to the upcoming ''Halo 4''.
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** The remake of the first game for the Gamecube even has one written by one of the ''monsters''. {{spoiler|Lisa Trevor, the daughter of the architect of the Spencer Mansion, and the first test subject of the Mother virus. By the time you face her (and her diary ends) she is essentially a 45 year old woman with the personality of an insane 14 year old, that being the age at which she was infected. The final entries of her diary are broken, incoherent, desperate cries for her mother, whom she had become obsessed with and had murdered several years earlier, believing her to be an imposter and tearing off her face.}}
*** The monster's diary, combined with the letter written by {{spoiler|her mother}} and {{spoiler|her father}}'s journal, makes it a truly heartbreaking [[Tear Jerker]], made even moreso when you hear {{spoiler|her moan "Mo...ther..."}}
** Saving the game requires a typewriter and consumes a typewriter ribbon, meaning the player's save files are an [[Apocalyptic Log]].
** ''Resident Evil 4'' is different from the others in that the logs are generally written by your enemies, and usually detail either general orders or what plans they happen to have for you. Nevertheless, there is at least one "Oh crap the protagonist has killed us all" note to be found.
* In the beginning of ''[[Runescape]]'''s Stronghold of Security is a corpse. Looting it gets you a journal written by the explorer as he wandered through the place. It vaguely describes the monsters and atmosphere of each level, and at the end he writes that he has run out of food and needs to head back through the dungeon, and just prays the monsters don't get him. [[Fridge Logic|There are no monsters in the area where you find his corpse,]] and you can bypass most of the monsters by using the nearest ladders to go back up.
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** However, easily the most literal use of this trope is during the quest Ritual of the Mahjarrat where you have to go to a ruined plane called Kethsi and, after an extensive puzzle, find a bunker with a log sitting at a desk detailing how {{spoiler|The natives of this plane found the Stone of Jas and, upon using it for a few months, learned rather unfortunately that its use causes creatures known as the Dragonkin to appear and [[Disproportionate Retribution|destroy every living thing on the plane the stone was used on.]]}}
* In ''[[Seiken Densetsu 3]]'', the party stumbles upon the captain's log of a [[Ghost Ship]]. The last page is nothing but "death" (or "die") repeated over and over again, and one party member is cursed to become a ghost soon afterward.
* ''[[Silent Hill 4]]: The Room'' had a version of these in the red memo pages the main character collected in his scrapbook -- soscrapbook—so many red pages, in fact, that between [[Gotta Catch Them All|catching them all]] and traveling among different worlds, it felt more like a diabolical version of ''Myst'' than a ''Silent Hill'' sequel.
** The other games feature this to an extent, such as the scattered pages near the beginning of 2 (which are basically a tutorial on how to deal with enemies). However, it is often the ''absence'' of explanation as to [[Mind Screw|what on earth is going on that makes things creepier]].
** The final tutorial you find, though, greatly increases the creepiness: it's just the phrase "Run away!" [[Madness Mantra|repeated over and over]].
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** As well as the entire Peragus level before it, containing holographic recordings of the crew being systematically killed off by an assassin droid turning the station's automated systems against them.
*** "Mocking Query: Coorta? Coorta, are you dead yet?"
* In ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'', whilst out on a particular quest on Kashyyyk, you find the corpses of several Wookies -- allWookies—all murdered by the shape-shifting assassin you're looking for. Thankfully one of his victims was [[Genre Savvy]] enough to keep a diary of the systematic murder of an entire hunting party:
{{quote|We found Grarwwaar's body last night: what was left of it. If we do not leave the Shadowlands soon, I fear we will all become victims of the Faceless One.}}
** ''KOTOR'' enjoys this trope quite a bit. ''KOTOR 1'' let you find the journals of a Terentatek hunting party, each written shortly before the final fights of their owners, each written in a manner that suggests doom. At least one Sith student heading into a tomb left a datapad on how he or she was going to get around the traps and monsters left in there. A party going after a malfunctioning assassination droid with oversensitive hearing and using stealth belts takes a moment to log this and note with irritation that one of their number is clumsy. ''KOTOR 2'' had these in multiple places, from the holorecordings on Peragus to the journal left inside the Jekk' Jekk Tarr's ventilation system...It's hard to find a planet that doesn't have one of these.
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* In the fifth chapter of ''[[Eternal Darkness]]'', Max Roivas picks up three notes from his father, each more distressed than the last.
** Four if you count the envelope with the key. There's also Brother Andrew's diary entries in Paul's chapter and Private Jackson's letters in Peter's chapter.
* Either subverted or mis-handled in the casual game ''Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove'', in which you collect videotapes from some graduate students' [[Apocalyptic Log]]. {{spoiler|The video clips include footage of things the students couldn't possibly have filmed themselves, like the four of them driving off in their car. While this ''could'' be a [[Handwaved]] continuity error, it's later implied that the supernatural forces in Dire Grove have [[Unwitting Pawn|lured you there deliberately]], so those same forces might have doctored the tapes' contents.}}
* You find one right near the end in ''[[The Spirit Engine 2]]'', attempting to [[Fling a Light Into the Future]], warning not to use {{spoiler|the World Eye}}, as it will cause the user to become [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|insane]]. The villains find it as well, but they're too impatient to translate it all. {{spoiler|It's anybody's guess whether reading its warning would have changed their course though}}.
* Bones are scattered throughout the Crystal Desert in ''[[Guild Wars]]''. Examining some of them lets you read the last written entries by the person when they were alive. The desert really, ''really'' sucks, by the way....
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* At least one of the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' games does this, detailing {{spoiler|Shou Tucker}} cracking under the pressure of having to create {{spoiler|a chimera that can speak}}, while you may not see him or Nina in the game, knowing the adaptations and seeing what went on in his head is ''horrifying''.
* In the ''[[Starcraft]] 2'' mission "In Utter Darkness", the Protoss {{spoiler|create and seal one of these, along with the history of their species, into a temple as the last of their civilization is destroyed by the Xel'Naga hybrid-controlled Zerg Swarm. The mission is a prophetic one that takes place in an alternate future.}}
* The Steam game ''Alien Swarm'' has a number of [[Apocalyptic Log|pads]] lying about on the floor from a number of people showing how quickly the swarm progressed and took over the facility.
* Professor Windlenot's tape recorder in ''[[Shivers]]'' plays back an audio journal in which he discovers the [[Sealed Evil in a Can|Ixupi]] have been released from their vessels and are loose in the museum. The player hears how the professor is dying due to the Ixupi sucking out his life.
** Both of the two kids (who unwittingly released the Ixupi) leave behind notes too. The boy's notebook is instructive and helpful at first, but end in panicked scribbles about having to find some place to hide. Do some poking around near where you find it, and you'll find... his dessicated corpse, curled up inside one of the displays. Hiding didn't help, evidently.
* Parodied in the ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' official blog with [http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3692&p=1 A Week in the Life of the TF2 Team], where they depict themselves as insanely devoted to making new [[Nice Hat|Nice Hats]]s, to the detriment of everything else.
* The summer camp in ''Psychonauts'' has a history of the area display, complete with gradual decent into madness of the entire town. The display is matched with the rings of an ancient tree, making it a literal Apocalyptic Log.
* One of the secret Reports in ''[[Dissidia]] 012 Duodecim Final Fantasy'' is written by a {{spoiler|Lufenian}} scientist. It's a log of the events happening around his lab in {{spoiler|Cardia}}, including a few things about {{spoiler|Garland}}'s growth and {{spoiler|Cosmos}}. When disaster strikes, his final log is this:
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** Perhaps more notable is the rather chilling, {{spoiler|not to mention, literal}}, example revealed by SCP-093.
* ''[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Journal_of_Kith The Journal of Kith]'' chronicles one dwarf's ill-fated quest to re-discover [[Dwarf Fortress|the ruins of an (in)famous dwarven fortress]] -- [[Boatmurdered]].
* It is very common in ''[[The Slender Man Mythos]]'' for the stories to be told in an [[Apocalyptic Log]] format. But then, if you're writing about seeing [[Humanoid Abomination|Slendy]], that means [[Captain Obvious|you've seen him]], and if you've seen him, it means [[Paranoia Fuel|he let you]]...
** ''[[Everyman HYBRID]]'' has Doctor Corenthal's reports, which are left in bags for viewers to find. {{spoiler|The weirdest part is that the three patients he mentions have the same names as the main characters, despite the reports supposedly being written in the 1970s.}}
** The journal that set ''[[My Name Is Zytherys]]'' in motion seems to be one... though it's filling itself out [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|independently]] with the title character's own handwriting.
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