# Books/Movies Whose Main Characters are Dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449 "2006-02-21T06:23:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/1 "2006-02-21T06:23:12Z")
Fairly self explanatory title. The rule is that the character has to either be dead or be clearly narrating from death from the first chapter or first few minutes of the movie. For example, (I won’t put spoiler tags since it’s several years old and because) you learn in the first few seconds that Kevin Spacey’s character is going to die in _American Beauty_ even though he doesn’t die until the end of the film, so this qualifies. Of course most of Anne Rice’s schlock would be here, not just the 391 Eurotrash vampire novels but also _Servant of the Bones_, but I’m more interested in books and movies whose main characters are still human, if somewhat ghostly perhaps. The several adaptations of [Here Comes Mr. Jordan](http://imdb.com/title/tt0033712/) (_Heaven Can Wait_, _Down to Earth_, etc.) would qualify, as would count (man dies prematurely due to a glitch in heaven and is sent back in a billionaire’s body). _Topper_ and _Beetlejuice_ center on ghosts and would count, but I particularly prefer vehicles that don’t use ghosts somehow (though they do count for this). ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/2 "2006-02-21T06:36:22Z")
“Sunset Boulevard” starts with William Holden face down in a swimming pool, shot in the back. Originally, it started in the county morgue as all the corpses chit-chatted about how they ended up there. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/3 "2006-02-21T07:01:54Z")
“The Lovely Bones”. The murdered teenage main character narrates from heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/4 "2006-02-21T11:53:52Z")
How about **Meet Joe Black**? If you include vampires, you’ll have an awfully long list, including **Angel** (TV) and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s \*\*St. Germain \*\* vampire novels. ---
**Author:** ![Tevildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/5 "2006-02-21T12:06:53Z")
Do the likes of [Citizen Kane](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/) or [Rebecca](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032976/) count? [A Matter of Life and Death](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038733/) is probably one that should be on your list. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/6 "2006-02-21T12:14:08Z")
**Hey Nostradamus!** is told in four parts by four different people at 4 parts. The narrator during the first part is dead. She talks about how she died. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/7 "2006-02-21T12:16:14Z")
…it’s told in four parts by four people at four different times. Sorry 'bout that. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/8 "2006-02-21T12:29:19Z")
_Dracula_ by Stoker ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/9 "2006-02-21T13:16:44Z")
Do comic books count? [Deadman](http://www.toonopedia.com/deadman.htm) , [Casper](http://www.toonopedia.com/casper.htm) , [The Spectre](http://www.toonopedia.com/spectre.htm) , and [Spawn](http://www.toonopedia.com/spawn.htm) come to mind, off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/10 "2006-02-21T13:27:30Z")
I will mention my own “Curse of the Undead” (in **Vampires** edited by Jane Yolen and Martin H. Greenberg). I’m still proud of the opening line: “I knew something was wrong when I woke up inside the coffin.” There are many bad unpublished science fiction and fantasy stories where the twist is the main character is dead and in hell. There may also have been a **Twilight Zone** episode on that theme. In **12 Monkeys** , everyone Bruce Willis sees is dead. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/11 "2006-02-21T14:39:14Z")
[Weekend at Bernie’s](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098627/), anyone? I realize he doesn’t narrate, so I don’t know if this violates the “rule”. ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/12 "2006-02-21T14:44:51Z")
Don’t forget the **Topper** series of movies! ---
**Author:** ![mrunlucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@mrunlucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrunlucky)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/13 "2006-02-21T19:47:16Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There are many bad unpublished science fiction and fantasy stories where the twist is the main character is dead and in hell. There may also have been a **Twilight Zone** episode on that theme. These are the ones I can recall off hand, and I’m sure I’m missing some. “The Hunt”, about a dead hillbilly and his dog who can’t find their way home. “The Passerby”, about some dead Civil War soldiers. “Death Ship”, about three astronauts who find their own spaceship wreck on another planet. “A Nice Place to Visit”, about a criminal who believes he’s in Heaven because he can have anything he wishes for. “And When the Sky Was Opened”, about astronauts who return home, can’t remember anything about their trip, and one by one vanish into thin air. “The Hitch Hiker”, about a woman who, after being in a car accident, is pursued across the country by a mysterious hitch hiker she can’t seem to escape. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/14 "2006-02-21T20:11:13Z")
It’s been a long time since I read it, but at least some of “As I Lay Dying” is narrated by the dead matriarch. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![tiltypig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@tiltypig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiltypig)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/15 "2006-02-21T21:42:45Z")
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Why has nobody mentioned The Sixth Sense? ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/16 "2006-02-21T22:50:32Z")
Amy Tan’s _Saving Fish From Drowning_ is narrated by a ghost. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/17 "2006-02-21T23:00:14Z")
_ **The Others** _ - If you don’t see the ending coming from the first fifteen minutes or so, you haven’t been paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![metj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@metj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metj)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/18 "2006-02-21T23:08:00Z")
Sixth Sense ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/19 "2006-02-21T23:20:54Z")
[The Comic](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064179/) starts at the main character’s funeral, his disembodied voice then proceeds to narrate the story of his life and also make some snide comments about the few mourners that turned up. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449/20 "2006-02-22T00:50:53Z")
_American Beauty_ since someone beat me to _An Occurance at Owl Creek_ _Bridge_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-movies-whose-main-characters-are-dead/345449.md?page=2)