Necromancy (Fiction)

In fantasy and horror fiction, necromancers are often considered evil wizards and are sometimes said to have sold their soul to a demon or the Devil himself -- to worship demons and evil gods -- or to have been otherwise tainted by their evil practices. However, in some stories, necromancy is not inherently evil but instead simply another branch of mage.

In fiction, Necromancy is often not a form of divination but a discipline of "dark" or "black" magic used to raise the dead as "undead," typically as zombies under the necromancer's control, though the binding of ghosts and spirits is also common. Necromancers often become powerful undead creatures themselves; in modern fantasy fiction, the Dungeons & Dragons-derived term "lich" (originally a word meaning 'corpse') is often applied to such beings. Necromancers are, in rare cases, capable of raising the dead or restoring vitality to the living, though in some cases the life energy involved must be transferred from another living creature.

The short horror story The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs is considered a classic of the genre. In the X-Files television series 7, the episode Millennium deals extensively with the subject of necromancy.

Victor Frankenstein could be considered a necromancer, although he uses "scientific" rather than magical means.

In Brian Lumley's Necroscope series, the villains often perform a particularly gruesome form of necromancy.

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction, The Necromancer was a name applied to Sauron in The Hobbit, and Morgoth's magic is sometimes described as necromancy. Notable are the Barrow-wights as evil undead spirits, as well as the phantom that ensnared Gorlim in The Silmarillion and the army of the dead that helped Aragorn defeat Sauron's attacking forces. For full account of Necromancy in Middle-earth see the following links: http://m3ntos.ath.cx/Necromancy%20and%20Shadow%20World.htm (.htm version) http://m3ntos.ath.cx/Necromancy%20and%20Shadow%20World.doc (.doc version)

In Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels, the title character, Anita, is a powerful necromancer. She raises zombies for a living and can also use her control over the dead to aid her in the slaying (and dating!) of vampires.

In the anime and manga Shaman King there is a character named Faust VIII who is a necromancer. His main corpse is the skeleton form of his deceased love, Eliza. For his oversoul, he magically grafts skin, hair, and clothes to her walking corpse. He is a descendant of the infamous Dr. Faustus.

In the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix, necromancers use seven bells to raise and control dead spirits. Most of the necromancers are seen as evil because they use Free Magic (an unacceptable, destructive branch of magic) to raise the dead. The exception to this is the Abhorsen, who uses the bells and "good" magic, Charter Magic, to send back the dead that are raised by others into the river of Death.

The title of the Thai movie Jom kha mung wej translates to The Necromancer in the context of Vedic Occultism

In the animated series The Venture Bros., the character of Dr. Orpheus refers to himself as a necromancer. He alleges to have revived several celebrities from death (specifically David Blaine, Evel Knievel, and Ronald Reagan) and travels to Hell to look for two main character's souls.

In John Bellairs’ young adult novel, The House with a Clock in Its Walls, Lewis Barnavelt unwittingly manages to raise the evil spirit of one of the previous occupants of his home.

In Gordon R. Dickson's magnum opus The Childe Cycle the first book chronologically and the third book written was titled Necromancer (novel). The title is somewhat of a misnomer because it has nothing to do with traditional thoughts on necromancy. The lead character Paul Formain is a dead man reanimated by a person from the future for purposes of changing past events. The methods used owe more to the traditions of science, whereas necromancy is usually associated with magic.

In the movie Excalibur, Morgana, Arthur's sister, was alleged to have practiced Necromancy.

In David Edding's The Mallorean, one group of the Seers of Kell are the Necromancers. The aid of one necromencer is used later in 'The Seeress of Kell', when the group require to persuade a king that his late adviser was actually a Grolim in disguise, having gained the friendship of the king in order to postpone the group in their quest.

In Yu-Gi-Oh!, the protagonist, Yami Yugi, has a card called "Necromancy." It shows several corpses in a cemetery.

In the game Diablo II, "Necromancer" is a possible choice for character generation, the Necromancers in Diablo II are not typically viewed as evil. These characters can use bone and poison attacks, as well as summon several golems.

The Canadian rock Trio "RUSH" entitled one of their compositions on their "Caress of Steel" album: "The Necromancer." An example of a non-evil reference to necromancy is in Part III of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Here Gulliver gives the account of his time spent with the governor of the island of GLUBBDUBDRIB who is skilled in Necromancy. This Governor gives Gulliver the opportunity to question persons from antiquity, each of whom must answer him truthfully.

In an episode of Angel, Angel and Spike encounter a necromancer, whose ability to control the dead allows him to control the two of them (As vampires, they are technically dead).

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