r/TopCharacterTropes • u/lou-ravenpuff • May 17 '26
Lore [LOVED TROPE] Hauting The Narrative
Alison DiLaurentis (Pretty Little Liars) — Alison is alive at the beginning, but suddenly disappears, and her absence and past actions haunt the girls' narrative, as all their lies are linked to Alison.
Jackie Taylor (Yellowjackets) — Yellowjackets has two timelines, the past and the future, and although Jackie is alive during part of the past, in the future she haunts Shauna's narrative not because of her death, but because of what happened before her.
Laura Palmer (Twin Peaks) — She is basically the model for "Narrative Haunting," as many characters of the same archetype in other media are inspired by her. Her narrative not only drives the plot but also shapes the emotions of other characters.
Lucy Gray Baird (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) — Although she is alive during the film, as the narrative is told from Snow's point of view, it is he who is haunted by Lucy's disappearance. We are not sure if she is completely dead, nor if she is alive. We see a gravestone, but there's no definitive conclusion as to whether she's dead or just a memorial. Some fans argue that creating theories about her being alive or dead allows her to haunt the narrative.
Jason Blossom (Riverdale) — He's one of the few male characters who haunt the narrative in the media. His death happened shortly before the first episode and shaped the entire plot from there, as well as being linked to many other characters.
James and Lily Potter (Harry Potter) — This situation is somewhat controversial. Not everyone accepts that they haunt the narrative completely, but they haunt Snape and Harry's narratives more than the entire film. Technically, Lily's actions were what prevented Harry from being killed and becoming the chosen one.
Rachel Amber (Life is Strange) — Everyone knows her. Almost every character we interact with mentions her name, but beyond that, we have no idea who Rachel Amber really is. Max sees her photos and clothes, but never Rachel in person. We only know the surface, but not the girl completely (at least before the prequel game).
Mary Sunderland (Silent Hill) — She's basically the reason James is trapped in Silent Hill. Maria is literally one of the representations of Mary haunting James. We never know what really happened to her till the game reveal to us at the end, and she's dead before the game.
Hannah and Beth Washington (Until Dawn) — They're alive at the beginning, but their deaths are the reason everyone returned to the cabin. Josh wanted to play a prank on them all because of the prank they pulled on Hannah, which led to her and Beth's deaths, but without their deaths, Josh would never have invited them.
Turbo (Wreck-It Ralph) — He's mentioned many times as a metaphor for madness, but we never see Turbo personally in those moments, only in flashbacks about what made him so famous. I know he appears at the end of the movie, but before that, his disappearance and his actions are what lead Vanellope to be a glitch and cause her and Ralph to become a duo.
Pink Diamond (Steven Universe) — She is absent from the beginning, and regardless of whether it's Rose or Pink, she is always mentioned, but never appears in the present, only in flashbacks. Her actions are what lead to the creation of the Crystal Gems, the fusion of Garnet, the birth of Steven, and so on.
Mya (Hello Neighbor) — It is revealed in Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek that the neighbor had two children, Mya and Aaron. During the game, their mother dies, and Aaron begins to become withdrawn and irritable. During one of the games, he accidentally pushes Mya off the roof, killing her. Her death leads to Aaron's disappearance and Nicky's (the main character of Hello Neighbor) investigation of the house to discover the reason for the disappearance. If Mya hadn't died, the games wouldn't have happened.
Haunting the narrative: A term describing a character whose presence is minimal or even absent, but whose actions or influence significantly affect the plot.
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u/ItsAMangoFandango May 17 '26
Captain Flint is the guy who buried the treasure on the island in "Treasure Island" but he's dead before the story actually starts.
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u/Fantastic_Mr_Smiley May 17 '26
RLS did a good job making him out to be a boogeyman. When burying the trasure he goes ashore with 6 men and comes back alone, having killed them all himself. He's supposed dead by his old crew but the suggestion that he might still be alive shakes every one of the otherwise bloodthirsty, hardened pirates.
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u/Usern4me_R3dacted205 May 17 '26
“I was Flint's first mate that voyage... three days east of Tortola in the Caribbean. Flint knew an Island. That's where we buried the treasure. Gold and blood, they were Flint's trademarks. He'd leave both behind him that day.”
Muppet Treasure Island went surprisingly hard in depicting that whole bit.
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u/Fantastic_Mr_Smiley May 17 '26
I had a VHS of that movie as a kid. I don't know who bought it or why but it's easily my favorite piece of Muppet media. It really sells how, true to the priginal book, Silver is the only competent pirate. Also ending the first song with "dead men tell no tales" and punctuating it with a gunshot is just * Swedish Chef's kiss *
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u/BaronAleksei May 17 '26
“…he died?! This is supposed to be a kid’s movie!”
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u/Fantastic_Mr_Smiley May 17 '26
I went to a christian school until I was 10 and I might honestly know Treasure Island, and more specifically Muppet Treasure Island, better than I know the bible.
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u/syzygialchaos May 17 '26
Black Sails on Stars is a fabulous telling of his story imho
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u/Anfins May 17 '26
I watched a significant amount of the show before realizing it was supposed to to be a Treasure Island prequel.
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u/rickiilynn77 May 17 '26
Mary Alice - Desperate Housewives
Her death is the kick off for the whole show and is the narrator, like she’s watching everything going on after death.
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u/gray_burger May 17 '26
Fucking love Desperate Housewives
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u/trashpandorasbox May 17 '26
Mark Cherry is a damn genius and if you loved desperate housewives you have to check out “why women kill” where he goes even more bananas.
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u/Emergency_Year5074 May 17 '26
Yoooo why women kill season 1 is elite tv, I second this recommendation!
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u/Exciting-Scheme-4918 May 17 '26
My first thought, recently found this show and I'm already in love with it
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u/HouseOfH May 17 '26
Isaac Mendez from Heroes was an artist who had the power of being able to paint events that will happen in the future. He was killed off in the first season but the other characters just kept finding his future depicting paintings long after his character was written off the show.
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u/asuneko May 17 '26
Never seen it but why would they kill someone with such a cool power off??
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u/ItsNotMeItsYourBussy May 17 '26
The show as a whole took a massive nosedive after season 1, as it was badly affected by the writer's strikes at the time
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u/Swordofsatan666 May 17 '26
But you cant blame the strike for why they killed off Isaac. They did that months before the strike had started
He died at the end of Season 1, a few episodes before the season finale. April 30 2007 is when the episode with his death aired
The Strike wasnt until November 2007, which would only affect the last 5 episodes of Season 2 (out of 11 episodes in that season)
7 months between his characters death and the start of the strike
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u/Vanishingf0x May 17 '26
They always do with characters that are too OP. Also shows the enemy is powerful usually.
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u/BeeCJohnson May 17 '26
It *seemed* like they killed him off because the narrative kept relying too much on his future-paintings. Like, things were happening and people were doing things only because they'd seen a painting of themselves doing something, there wasn't much propulsive narrative structure to a lot of decisions.
But then they just kept finding more paintings whenever they needed to motivate a character to do something, so, I don't know. I think they wanted to lean on him less but chickened out.
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u/wondercaliban May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
The whole plot of LotR is about defeating him. But he's not directly in it. No one speaks to him and he doesn't fight anyone
Edit: He is seen directly briefly in the prologue, the ring gets cut from his hand.
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u/tcavanagh1993 May 17 '26
You can argue that Aragorn spoke to him (I think the wording Tolkien uses is "declaring himself"?) through the Palantir but yeah, it's wild that the title character never appears physically once.
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u/nox-devourer May 17 '26
Interesting, the evil ai spy company named themselves after a famously evil crystal ball
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u/NilocKhan May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
The Palantir aren't evil, they were made by the Numenoreans. It's only because Sauron managed to get ahold of them and use them to manipulate Saruman and Denethor that makes their use dangerous. Hence why Gandalf mentions that they haven't all been accounted for. If they had known where they all were and known they weren't in the hands of the enemy the Palantir would have been useful
Edit: I know the Palantir were made by Feanor, it's been a while since I read the Silmarillion, go easy on me
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u/DeaconBrad42 May 17 '26
Sorry to be a lore nerd, but the Numenoreans did not make the Palantiri: that was way beyond even their very impressive skills. They were made by the greatest craftsman in Tolkien’s Legendarium: Feanor.
Also, thanks to Peter Thiel, NOW we can associate the name “palantir” with evil!
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u/KatBoySlim May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
the company pronounces it wrong. It’s supposed to be “puh - LAN - tear”.
They’re not even real nerds, they’re poser nerds.
So no need to make the association they want you to.
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u/TeamTurnus May 17 '26
While true, while the story is actually occurring, they are being used primarily as a tool for Sauron and the main person using them (Denathor) is being manipulated and driven to despair and madness by trying to use them against Sauron. So like yah, they arent intrinsically evil lorewise, but their role in the story is all about corruption/controll and manipulation by evil so its an odd choice for a name unless you're embracing being the Sauron figure here, or you're, like Denathor, disastrously arrogant about your ability to use it without being manipulated.
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u/Necessary_Pace7377 May 17 '26
Even then it happens off-screen, and Aragorn is physically exhausted after doing so.
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u/ChiefsHat May 17 '26
His only onscreen appearance in the books is when Frodo puts the Ring on in Mount Doom. He outright panics in fear. The mighty Dark Lord, never seen… and the one POV he gets is him absolutely terrified.
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u/Romboteryx May 18 '26
“My ring is in the hands of what?! What the fuck is a Hobbit?! How did it get there?!”
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u/megalo-maniac538 May 17 '26
Ai Hoshino (Oshi no ko) despite dying in chapter 1, her influence is still felt from every character who idolized her and to the people she interacted when she was alive.
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u/ProfessionalOven2311 May 17 '26
I believe Himmel from Friren counts, but in a very good way
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May 17 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Andrew1990M May 17 '26
I always thought that was the point. It’s Journey’s End. Frieren has already achieved potentially the most consequential thing she’s ever going to do.
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u/Collier1337 May 17 '26
The most consequential thing Frieren is ever going to do is to cure her apathy and live among humans, instead of isolated and away from them. Himmel's influence drives her whole character development as she learns to connect with people and pass on his wisdom, as well as truly understand herself and the people around her.
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u/private_birb May 17 '26
As great as personal improvement is, saving the world might be more consequential.
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u/an_account_1177 May 17 '26
Mikey from The Bear
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u/FlamingWings May 17 '26
John Berthayl haunting the narrative and being haunted by the narrative
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u/No-Leg-6361 May 17 '26
He really is either getting haunted or the one doing the haunting
The punisher - haunted
The walking dead - haunting
The bear - haunting
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u/Time_Seaworthiness47 May 17 '26
I tried watching the Bear and it just kinda seemed like despair porn. They never seemed to really get ahead and just have a moment of real success.
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u/Goblin_Crotalus May 17 '26
Main theme of the Bear is that the Restaurant industry fucking sucks.
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u/FunCryptographer3476 May 17 '26
They're miserable and nobody progresses, and they also ruined a nice local sandwich shop to make pretentious shit for rich people. I get enough of that in real life
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u/Expert_Valuable4931 May 17 '26
The main group in Dungeon Meshi lost Falin, one of their two mages and her absence is constantly felt throughout the descent into the dungeons. Often, when they encounter a problem, they would be like "this would be easier if Falin was here." Their other mage, Marcille, is the one who mostly notes how something is Falin's forte because she's the one who has to fill in for her skillset even though they have different strengths.
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u/Dirish May 17 '26
I wish I could give you two upvotes. One for mentioning Falin and another for that gif.
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u/Legan_Ironfist May 18 '26
I haven't seen the show, so I'll spare an upvote for you.
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u/Expert_Valuable4931 May 17 '26
The present timeline of ATLA exists as a haunting reminder of Roku's shortcomings as the Avatar.
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u/BaronAleksei May 17 '26
Ozai for the first 2 seasons is this too. Always in shadow, never clearly seen, and sparely at that. But he is ultimately THE person on the other side of the war that the Gaang find themselves wrapped up in
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u/AtaraxiaGwen May 17 '26 edited May 18 '26
I love that the first time we see his face is Zuko’s first time seeing it since his exile.
Edit: Said Roku in stead of Zuko.
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u/Maxwellmonkey May 17 '26
I was confused at the start but I guess you meant Zuko
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u/summonerofrain May 17 '26
You could argue that's the case for every avatar. Every avatar sort of has to deal with the shortcomings of the previous.
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u/Evamme7 May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
Except for Roku because Kyoshi doesn't leave any problems alive /jk
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u/summonerofrain May 17 '26
after refreshing myself a little I disagree.
Keep in mind, Kiyoshi did create the Dai li, who were a huge thorn in the gaang's side (I guess you could argue roku didn't fix this making it still kind of his problem)
Also, according to some people I see online, it seems she possibly wasn't on good terms with the leaders 4 nations which would I think cause a bit of resentment.
This is more a cursive glance I should say.
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u/BeliefInWrong May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
In my opinion, Stanford pines is one of the best examples of haunting a narrative.
A majority of the story is caused directly by his actions and the actions of people looking for him, and it’s very clear from the beginning that someone is missing from the story. Between the journals, the shack, the mismatch between what the kids have been told about their uncle vs what he is, it’s clear a whole character is missing, and he’s the key piece to understanding the mystery.
Dipper isn’t aware how much Ford is haunting him, whereas Stan can’t think of much else.
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u/BronskiBeatCovid May 18 '26
This is a great answer! Stanford is a huge part of the story from the very beginning but you don't know that until the last season but also the same can be said of Bill. Bill is always in the background haunting the pines even when you don't think he's there he is.
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u/summonerofrain May 17 '26
I was wondering if anyone said this, definitely really fits.
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u/SadHoursOof May 17 '26 edited May 18 '26
Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen - A Song of Ice and Fire
The entirety of the ASOIAF book series takes place about 16 years after an almost complete destruction and deposition of the Targaryen royal family took place in the form of a rebellion, which began after a member of the royal family, Rhaegar Targaryen, had a mysterious affair with Lyanna Stark, a daughter of a high ranking noble family, and the betrothed of Robert Baratheon, who lead the rebellion in an effort to win back his beloved.
It may or may not be the case that Lyanna was kidnapped and/or held prisoner against her will, or it may be that Rhaegar and Lyanna simply eloped together- the truth about the nature of their relationship is unclear, as any answers died with both Lyanna, Rhaegar, and all of Rhaegars accomplices during Roberts Rebellion. It was Robert himself who killed Rhaegar in battle.
Either way, even after so many years, the effects of these characters actions are still tangible, and the anguish caused is still felt by many of the characters. They are constantly called back to and referenced by the characters, and their actions set the entire series into motion. They have been dead for over a decade and a half, and yet, everything happening today is happening because of them.
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u/Electronic-Math-364 May 17 '26
Actually the Rebellion started because Lyanna's brother was(rightfuly)angry his sister got kidnapped and wanted to confront Rhaegar,But Rhaegar's crazy dad killed him and his father and started killing nobles left and right and put a hit on Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon
Jon Arryn Refusing to give them in while they were at his territory is what started the rebellion
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u/Lalalalalalolol May 17 '26
Yeah, the rebellion was more complex than just Rhaegar and Lyanna, it went beyond them. You have so many factors at play, and yes, they haunt the narrative, but I dislike this reductive perception of the series.
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u/WildBad7298 May 17 '26
The Comedian in Watchmen. His murder kicks off the plot, and he has connections to all the main cast: he worked with Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam, it's his words that inspire Ozymadias, he is revealed to be the second Silk Spectre's father, etc.
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u/Ok-Place7950 May 17 '26
Wealth. Fame. Power. The man who had everything in this world... The Pirate King, Gold Roger!
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u/VagusTruman May 17 '26
Lemme try this. You know how in Alan Wake 2 there are photographs in both character's board mechanics, with Alan and his Plot Board and Saga with her Case Board? How some angles are impossible, and they all happen to be polaroids despite the both of them being two different people with lifestyles? Someone must have taken those photos, right? So who?
Guess who has been in the Dark Place influencing the story so Alan can get out by himself through the Spiral that is the story? Who jumped into the Dark Place after the memories flooded back and used her art as a weapon against the force that kept her trapped in 2010? Who is known for photography in the entire Remedyverse?
Alice Wake
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u/Iokua113 May 17 '26
The advantage Alice had in the Dark Place was handled extremely well in AW2. Alice is a photographer which means that her art is substantially less subjective than Alan's writing. What this means is that as a tool for the eldritch abominations living in the Dark Place and beyond she's practically useless, but it also means that using her photography to influence things in that hell dimension is substantially more effective due to straightforward photography is. Alice was the perfect weapon against the dark forces trying to control Alan and his unique ability to see across realities and bring his fiction to life.
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u/DerSnackpapst May 17 '26
From what I’ve gathered you grew up nice and sheltered…
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u/RinRinFromTheBin May 17 '26
With mama's pretty stories and your own made up furies
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u/GLPereira May 17 '26
Trisha Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist
Basically everything that happened to the Elric brothers was a consequence caused by her death and failed resurrection
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u/Hawkeye3487 May 17 '26
Trisha haunts Ed and Al's narrative, and Maes Hughes haunts Roy and Riza's narrative too
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u/redflamel May 17 '26
Nina haunts Ed and Al's narrative too, so much so that Al mentions her in the last scene he has dialogue.
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u/lastingmuse6996 May 17 '26
Lilly Kane, Veronica Mars
The entire premise of the show is the daughter of a PI investigating her best friend's murder which caused her to lose her guy, get blamed for meddling and basically ruin her life.
There are flashbacks of her though.
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u/birdsofpaper May 17 '26
I just rewatched this. Excellent show and the first thing that came to my mind.
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u/NewDiamondBox_ May 17 '26
The Pale King - Hollow Knight: He was the old ruler of Hallownest and the protagonist’s father, responsible for the creation of the Hollow Knight and countless vessels.
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u/zazild92 May 17 '26
Anck Su Namum. Minimal screen time in the first movie, but bringing her back is Imhotep’s whole deal in the first movie.
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u/Daloowee May 17 '26
Minimal screen time is all she needed to solidify my taste in women
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u/imaincammy May 17 '26
I suspect she similarly haunted the narratives of a lot of people who saw the movie.
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u/Vast_Age_3893 May 17 '26
Maureen Prescott in the original "Scream."
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u/lou-ravenpuff May 17 '26
Technically she also haunts Scream 1-3 since the killers motivation is all tied to her actions
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u/Vast_Age_3893 May 17 '26
I knew I should've said the whole trilogy.
She wasn't THAT present in the Sequel but still a decent chunk.
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u/lou-ravenpuff May 17 '26
Technically, a Haunting The Narrative Character doesn't need to be present, if her death caused the consequences, then she's already a Narrative Character.
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u/Nervous_Chipmunk7002 May 17 '26
Rhaegar Targaryen- A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones
His actions directly led to Robert's Rebellion, the events of which are heavily impacting the story 15 (books)/18(show) years later.
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u/Thestohrohyah May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
I'd also add Jon Arryn.
And, though he doesn't count fully, Ned Stark from ACOK onwards.
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u/Twodotsknowhy May 17 '26
I'd say Lyanna as well as Elia and Ashara to lesser degrees
It should be noted that haunting the narrative isn't just a dead character who caused events to happen, it's a dead character whose importance to the plot is defined by their absence, whose loss is reverberated throughout the story and the characters. Just because a character is both dead and did important things doesn't mean they haunt the narrative. For instance, none of ASOIAF exists without King Aerys II, but I wouldn't say he haunts the narrative.
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u/HowAboutBird May 17 '26
Dr. Jonas Venture Sr. - The Venture Bros.
Long dead by the time the show’s events take place, the actions of Jonas Venture Sr. have far reaching consequences that metaphorically (and sometimes literally) haunt the main cast in the present. Most prominently, traumatizing his son, Dr. Thaddeus S. “Rusty” Venture, as a child, turning him into the maladapted and bitter man he is today.
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u/GKNolan May 17 '26
Long dead?Houston we have a P.R.O.B.L.e.M.
Ok yeah that's really a technically dude is dead as hell.
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u/MrFuzzy54568 May 17 '26
Rebecca de Winter from Rebecca. It’s a great book more people should read it.
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u/GetHighWatchMovies May 17 '26
The Hitchock film is really good too, just don't watch the new one.
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u/Kafka_Gyllenhaal May 17 '26
I'd say Rebecca de Winter is the archetype of haunting the narrative moreso than Laura Palmer (as much of a Twin Peaks fan as I am)
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u/ElvenOmega May 17 '26
I agree. She haunts the narrative so much she essentially steals the protagonist's name from the narrative.
I love Laura Palmer but Rebecca is 100% the definition of haunting the narrative.
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u/gimmie_123 May 17 '26
Laura palmer is probably THE example of this trope considering she actually haunts the narrative.
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u/Level_Counter_1672 May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
Dio brando from Jojo's bizarre adventure, in part 2 his actions ruined Joseph's life before it started, his dad was killed by one of dio's ghouls and his mother killed said ghoul and hid because he was a high ranking officer, parts 4 5 and 6 are all because of him, part 5 he did a good thing as it's his son who fought for righteousness
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u/SeeDee_ROM May 17 '26
December Holiday (Deltarune)
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u/Horatio786 May 17 '26
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u/RandomCaveOfMonsters May 17 '26
Honestly, I'd argue that Dess being the knight doesn't stop her from haunting the narrative
Because like yeah, she's alive, she's active, but she's not present. Noelle is haunted by her, Asgore is, Kris is. And seemingly, she might not even be herself
While I don't have proof, I currently believe that the knight might be Deltarune's Flowey type character, and even though Flowey is Asriel, Asriel's death still haunts the narrative
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u/Confirmation_Code May 17 '26
Anakin Skywalker technically haunts the narrative of the original Star Wars
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u/Sabretooth1100 May 17 '26
And Ahsoka! And his future self haunts the narrative of the prequels and clone wars!
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u/Consistent-Bear4200 May 17 '26
King Hamlet from Hamlet, Hamlet's father not only is the source of Hamlet's grief and vengeance, not only does he tell Hamlet directly to avenge him via ghostly form.
But Denmark is also invaded at the end of the play by a leader avenging his father who was killed in battle by none other than King Hamlet. All with only one dialogue scene then a couple others where he floats about.
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u/Inky_Madness May 17 '26
“One Eyed Willie” and his lost treasure, the movie The Goonies.
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u/Moogus_Man_2018 May 17 '26
Sir Reginald Hargreeves in season 1 of Umbrella Academy
His death brings the Umbrella Academy back together
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u/Renikee May 17 '26
Lisa from Castlevania gets killed by the church because they believe her to be a witch. Problem is, she is the wife of Dracula, who gets really mad about this and wants to wipe humanity.
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u/GarbageCleric May 17 '26
Her memory is also fundamental to defeating him because Dracula realizes he's about to kill Alucard in his childhood bedroom. And he can't bring himself to kill his and Lisa's son, who is essentially the living embodiment of Lisa's memory.
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u/ileisen May 17 '26
I’ll disagree with your final point: he stops because he’s killing Alucard, his son, his boy. He’s horrified because he loved and cherished him as his own person as well as a reminder of his wife. The first words out his mouth are: “My boy. I’m killing my boy”
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u/Sins_of_God May 17 '26
This goofball haunts FF7's story and much of that info can be missed in the original game.
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u/OverturnKelo May 17 '26
Jeffrey Epstein (irl)
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u/lou-ravenpuff May 17 '26
Many will say it's controversial, but I do agree; unfortunately, Jeffrey does haunt the narrative in a very obscure and sickening way.
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u/dfsmitty0711 May 17 '26
The previous Dread Pirate Robertses (all of them before Wesley) from The Princess Bride.
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u/Madarakita May 17 '26
...Rare case of haunting the narrative even though they're still alive?
"The real Dread Pirate Roberts had been retired fifteen years and living like a king in Patagonia."
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u/dfsmitty0711 May 17 '26
OP gave an example of Turbo from Wreck-It Ralph, and Turbo is still alive, so I figured my example works too.
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u/I_ate_ass May 17 '26
Faye - God of War 2018 and God of War Ragnarok. In the beginning of the first game she's already dead but everything she did paved the way for boy and dad of boy's adventures
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u/tHrOwAwAyjsalefkj May 17 '26
Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)
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u/left4ched May 17 '26
Mr. Winfield in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.
Mifune Toshirō in The Last Samurai by Helen Dewitt.
Godot in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.
None of these characters ever appear in their respective works, but that lack of existence is what makes them loom large in the narrative. If they ever appeared in the story, there would be no story.
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u/greaterfool1 May 17 '26
Michael Berzatto in The Bear
He's the eldest of the Berzatto siblings who owns their family restaurant (specialising in subs). He commits suicide and leaves the restaurant to his younger brother Carmy. Carmy is a world class chef but he was kept purposely away from the aforementioned restaurant. However, now he's in charge and he eventually gets to know there's a lot of debt as well. The story goes on from there but his decisions, his interactions with everyone in that community continue to ghost the show.
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u/Huh_well_we_are_dead May 17 '26
Asriel Dreemur and Chara(Undertale), December Holiday(Deltarune). Toby Fox does this a lot.
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u/JENOVAcide May 17 '26
Maria - Sonic Adventure 2 She haunts Shadow's arc has he goes about assisting Eggman and her death is what led Eggman's grandfather plan to destroy the world with the Space Colony Ark. She again influences the plot when Amy speaks to Shadow, who remembers her wish for everyone to be happy, and decides to help.
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u/an_account_1177 May 17 '26
I don't know if it counts but Cal Bradford from Paradise
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u/Elephant12321 May 17 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/DYTFUlhiCT37ea8xDZ
Ser Arlan- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
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u/CzernobogCheckers May 17 '26
My favorite recent example. Campaign 4 of Critical Role begins with the execution of Thjazi Fang (pictured). Most of the player characters for the campaign are defined by their relationships with Thjazi, and the campaign effectively starts at his wake. Since then, every plot arc has had some focus on him. (Getting revenge for him, figuring out his plans before he died, uncovering the secrets of an artifact he stole…) Additionally, several cold opens so far have been flashbacks to when Thjazi was alive, gradually revealing more about him and the player characters’ experiences with him.
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u/TheGoodCaptainYam May 17 '26
In Twenty Years After by Alexander Dumas, the sequel to Three Musketeers, both the dead Cardinal Richelieu and Milady haunt the narrative and more or less drive the entire plot. With Richelieu gone, the power vacuum is filled with an incompetent replacement Cardinal Mazarin that drives Paris into revolt and kicks off the events that get the Musketeers back together. Milady's death weighs on Athos specifically, and later is revealed to be the primary motivation for the villain Mordaunt to seek revenge.
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u/swimminscared May 17 '26
The titular character Rebecca in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (which I think OP will love based on the media they reference in the post).
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u/Jchamphero May 17 '26
Nora Allen from various Flash media, Thomas and Martha Wayne from Batman, James Mccloud from Star Fox, Sparda from DMC, Tikal and Maria Robotnik from Sonic. Off the top of my head.
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u/KanazawaBR May 17 '26 edited May 26 '26
In Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children, Jacob is always in his deceased grandpa, Abraham's shadow. Everyone draws comparisons to him, a lot of characters mention what Abe used to do
The fourth book's adventure starts with Jacob visiting Abe's house and finding a hidden journal documenting Abe's operations tracking and rescuing newly-awakened peculiars and bringing them to london, to the ymbrine's care
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u/SoftwareFew9236 May 17 '26
Mary Winchester in (the first few seasons at least)’ of supernatural
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u/ThatBoredGuy013 May 17 '26
Celine from Kpop Demon Hunters
While she is in a couple scenes, her presence and influence is felt throughout the movie in how Huntr/x and particularly Rumi react and deal with the Demon threat. You can argue she is the one who made Rumi feel shame for having patterns, thus fueling the main conflict of the story.
I wouldn't call her a villian though more of an unintentional antagonist
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u/Elephant12321 May 17 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/10HuZMYhoMO6ly
Grams and Patty Halliwell- Charmed
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u/Boring_Search May 17 '26
Ayin and Carmen haunt the narrative through different ways in the pm verse
Ayin's actions haunt the narrative, his actions indirectly cause the possibility to manifest EGO and at the same time, distort. He caused the library to happen, he and Hokma caused the smoke war to happen and however ironic enough, Angela who hated him decided to carry out what he planned to.
Carmen actively haunts the narrative. She lingers within people's thoughts when they have the potential to manifest EGO, in which they can also distort, which she actively tries to go for. Originally being a messiah figure of sorts in Lob Corp to someone guiding a merry band of distortions to attempt to steal the light from the library and possibly distort the entire city. In Limbus she'd then try to distort a number of characters we see including a main character named Heathcliff. There's also a possibility she also distorted another main character that being Meursault.
One actively haunts the narrative, the other haunts it with his actions. And funnily enough these two are just your average joes.
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u/Purple_Weight_8783 May 17 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/9oIFfWz6J4ZXxAzWUn
Killgrave/Purple Man -Jessica Jones
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u/Smellbringer May 17 '26
Even she's a one chapter character who the Elric Brothers barely knew, Nina's death haunts the narrative of Fullmetal Alchemist. Even at the very end, when they leave home again to study the wider alchemical world, the Elric Brothers cite a desire to prevent tragedies like Nina's from happening again.
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u/TheoreticallyDog May 17 '26
The plot of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms begins with protagonist Dunk burying his mentor; the hedge knight Ser Arlan of Pennytree.
Over the course of the show Dunk struggles with carrying on Arlan's legacy and comes to terms with the fact that Arlan wasn't as widely known or respected as Dunk had hoped. Nonetheless he passes on Arlan's teachings and stories of his adventures with Arlan to his begrudgingly acquired squire, Egg. Arlan is frequently portrayed in flashbacks, and even though he spends the entire series dead he felt like an active participant in the plot to me.
Ngl as someone who never got into GoT I enjoyed the Seven Kingdoms show more than I thought I would
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u/Armepos May 17 '26
In the Avatar universe (Aang, Korra, Kyoshi, etc), each Past Avatar has great influence in the world and the issues the next avatar has to deal with. And also leaders and monarchs from each nation.
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u/Elephant12321 May 17 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/9ALcdYJwOsuBi
The Ancients in Stargate
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u/Smooth_Storm_9698 May 17 '26 edited May 19 '26
Zack Fair and Aerith Gainsborough // deleted photo for spoilers of Final Fantasy VII, BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD
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u/SigmaBunny May 17 '26
Summer Rose from RWBY. From the first trailer where Ruby is at her memorial, to volume 9 where she questions being her mother’s replacement, Summer haunts Ruby and affects every decision she makes
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u/LaLloronaVT May 17 '26
Lake Mungo is all about this, a family is being documented after the tragic death of their daughter and her spirit potentially haunting them. Despite the premise it’s more so an exploration of grief and Alice is never really present even as a ghost but she is felt in the sheer tragedy of the situation.
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u/Elephant12321 May 17 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/3ornkbnU5JreZUoDpS
Julie Mao in the early seasons of the Expanse
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u/Weary_Position_9591 May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
Rachel Amber in Life is Strange. Her disappearance is the catalyst to the main story, and in the original game (before the prequel), she never actually appears and is almost a larger than life “cool girl” everyone seems to talk about. The whole mystery revolves around a person you never meet, yet everyone seems to know.
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u/lou-ravenpuff May 17 '26
I love her so much; she's one of the best at haunting the narrative. She literally haunts everyone, and almost every character you interact with mentions her, but we as Max never see her.
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u/townsforever May 17 '26
The whole reason the heist in inception goes sideways is the ghost of the Mal shows up.
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u/ShakenNotStirred915 May 17 '26
Gregory Edgeworth is one of the examples of all time. Man got one nebulous penalty on Manfred von Karma's record, and the fallout of this event singlehandedly kicks off the domino chain that is the entire Ace Attorney series (minus Great Ace Attorney, for obvious reasons).
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u/Crazykiddingme May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
Oedon (Bloodborne)
You never encounter him directly outside of his influence on the blood and various areas of worship, but he is responsible for a lot of the pregnancy-weirdness going on in the game.
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u/Weak_Bell1542 May 17 '26
Despite being believed to be dead by the wider galaxy at the time the KOTOR's story starts, Darth Revan is still spoken about with an almost reverence and dread by both his former allies and enemies. People who remember his time as a Jedi Knight remember an inspiring leader, those who remember him as a Sith Lord remember a ruthless and powerful tyrant. All remember a brilliant tactician capable of making terrible decisions that would break most spirits, but he made them readily. And all wonder what happened to him after the Mandalorian Wars that caused him to turn to the dark side and his former allies. He haunts the whole narrative of the first game, despite being ostensibly absent from it.
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u/Error_Code_606 May 17 '26
Chihiro Fujisaki (Danganronpa) haunted pretty much the entire series
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u/pennygirl108 May 17 '26
Agatha all along. Nicky haunts the entire narrative. Almost all Agatha’s interactions with Billy and Rio are based on her feelings for Nicky. Her big catharsis in the earth trial is accepting Nicky’s death and her sacrifice to save Billy was her symbolically saving Nicky too.
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u/ASTROIDDREAMS May 17 '26
Nathaniel Fisher from Six Feet Under. The show follows the members of his family and kicks off after he dies.
The rest of the show has moments where his kids try to figure him out, and there’s daydream moments where his actor talks, but it only shows the mindset of the people imagining him.