Hearing Voices: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:kill them all by frealaf 2710.jpg|frame|link=http://frealaf.deviantart.com/art/Kill-them-all-81455162]]

'''Harley''': Sorry... The voices.

 

Whenever characters start hearing the [[Voice of the Legion]] whisper in their ear, or the [[Black Speech]] dancing on the wind, there's something bad in store for them... and it comes in two flavors! -- Insanity Berry and Evil Sauce.

 

 

'''Evil''' -- The evil version can come from a lot of sources. [[Demonic Possession]], nearby [[Our Ghosts Are Different|ghosts]], [[Artifact of Doom|Artifacts of Doom]] and [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|Tomes of Eldritch Lore]]. The Demon/Spirit/Artifact(s) possessing Bob may serve as the "evil" [[Good Angel, Bad Angel|shoulder angel]], and rather than (or in addition to) force(ing) him to do evil, tells him to. As Bob realizes [[Evil Feels Good]], the demon can then claim that it didn't make Bob do anything he didn't want to.

* Michael from ''The Republic of Trees'' suffers those near the end of the book. Though he refers to them as "demons", they all keep screaming at once, so he never hears them clearly enough to figure of what they want.

 

 

* Subverted in ''[[NCIS]]'' when they investigate a case of a naval officer that was diagnosed with schizophrenia after her husband was killed in action and she starts hearing voices in her room. It turns out the "voices" were from a radio transmitter planted in her air vents. She had vital information regarding the whereabouts of a large sum of stolen money, and the criminals who wanted it were trying to get her out of the picture by [[Gaslighting|having her declared insane]].

* "Skullcrusher Mountain" by [[Jonathan Coulton]]: "The voices that control me from inside my head say I shouldn't kill you... yet."

* "Absolutely Bill's Mood" by [[They Might Be Giants]]. Formerly the page quote.

 

 

=== Video Games ===

=== Film ===

 

* ''[[Poltergeist]]''. While Carol Anne is watching a TV set to a dead channel, the static starts to sound like whispering. This is apparently the sound of the ghosts on the "other side".

* ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]''. Picard keeps hearing the voice of the [[Voice of the Legion|Collective]] in his head.

 

* ''[[Harry Potter]]''

* In [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' [[Horus Heresy]] novel ''Fulgrim'', this is {{spoiler|how Chaos corrupts Fulgrim.}}

* Celmomas in ''The Second Apocalypse'' has a voice in his head. It's probably not a good voice considering what a creepy psychopath he is.

=== Professional Wrestling ===

 

* Former WWE Diva Victoria used a similar theme to Orton (All The Things She Said by Tatu) in her early career.

 

* In ''[[Solatorobo]]'', Red hears a voice {{spoiler|commanding him to destroy everything when The Order is given.}} Elh becomes his [[Living Emotional Crutch]] during that time, talking to him to keep him calm.

 

 

* The evil souls involved in the "Soul-Splice" in ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'' basically share a body with the character, and provide input on the character's actions, such as telling which direction to go to dodge an attack, or telling them to "Tear down creation, just to see if you can."

* ''[[Real Genius]]'': Chris (Val Kilmer), Mitch, and friends gas Kent and implant a transmitter in his molar. They then impersonate a booming voice of God only Kent can hear, and command him to {{spoiler|place a massive Jiffy Pop in Jerry's house. When the military test-fires the laser (which has been reprogrammed by the gang to target the house), the house fills to the bursting point with popcorn.}}

* The "Whisper People" in ''[[Knowing]]''.

 

=== Literature ===

 

* ''[[Lost]]'' has these for people who find themselves wandering alone in the jungle. They often herald the appearance of the Others or sometimes apparitions, like with {{spoiler|Libby}} in season 4. In Season 6 it's explained that they're {{spoiler|the dead on the island, trying to communicate with the living in order to move on.}}

 

=== Tabletop Games ===

* In ''[[A Hat in Time]]'', in the [[Show Within a Show| "Murder on the Owl Express" segment]], if Hat Kid [[Beneath Suspicion| names ''herself'' as the killer]], her motive is, "I had to do it, or the voices wouldn't stop!". Which is ironic, as [[Heroic Mime| she doesn't talk much in most of the game.]]

 

 

* ''[[Xkcd]]'': [http://xkcd.com/440/ Black Hat Man strikes again!]

* St. [[Joan of Arc]] thought her military campaign was a literal [[Mission from God]]. Dr Craig Taylor said in his recent book on the subject, it's a matter of personal belief or opinion whether Joan belongs in the Good or the Insanity sections—the evidence we've got from other similar cases favoring Insanity.

** The soldiers following her were by and large convinced this was an example of the Good variety. Their faith in her and her mission drove them to many victories as a result.

* These tropes can be thought of as the [[Theme Park Version]] of hearing voices, which for many is [[Truth in Television]]. People can hear evil voices that are abusive and disturbing, good voices that are helpful and supportive, neutral voices, or a mixture of these. Voices may give good or bad advice. Whether people actually listen to their voices depends on the individual and the type of voices. Whether people interpret their voices as coming from religious sources or not depends on the individual, and whether the people who hear them are insane or not depends on the individual. In [[Real Life]], hearing voices is generally unrelated to [[Split Personality]].

* A certain company has released a male's T-shirt that states "I only do what the voices in my wife's head tell her to tell me to do."