Decapitation Required: Difference between revisions

* The short story ''Dragon Reserve, Home Eight'' by [[Diana Wynne Jones]] features "hegs", people with superhuman abilities including being able to "mind read, kindle fire or move objects at a distance, heal or kill by use of mind alone, survive shooting, drowning, or suffocation..." By law, once discovered they are executed by beheading, which is the only thing they cannot survive.

* In the ''[[Keys to the Kingdom]]'' series, beheading is one of the few ways to surely kill Denizens.

* The [[Stock Ness Monster|Brollachian]] from ''[[Shadow Keep]]'' is a part ogre part octopus brute that feels no pain and can regenerate missing limbs and chunks of flesh. However, [[The Smart Guy|Maryld]] stated that he can be slain if beheaded, but the heroes never get the chance of trying this on it.

 

* Decapitation is one of the few ways to kill a vampire in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. They instantly turn to dust once their head isn't attached to their body. ''[[Angel]]'' brings up another caveat; vampires have a [[Healing Factor]] but their brain won't heal from some injuries, meaning they could be left brain-damaged for all eternity if something happened to it. This is mentioned, but [[Informed Attribute|it never comes up in the actual story.]]

 

* A specific remedy for vampires.

** In fact, it's a very popular folkloric cure for practically any kind of monster and, as a sort of bonus, works just as well on humans.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Death Tropes]]

[[Category:Head Tropes]]