Undead: Encyclopedia - Undead

Undead

Undead is a collective name for all types of supernatural entities who were once alive in the normal sense, died, and then continued to exist in the world of the living, in forms spiritual (as ghosts) or corporeal (as animated corpses). Undead of different varieties are featured in the legends of most cultures on earth and in many works of fiction, especially fantasy and horror fiction.

The term "undead" was first used in this sense by Bram Stoker, as the original title for his novel Dracula.

Undead - Examples of undead

Undead - Corporeal

Corporeal undead have an animated physical body that is otherwise biologically deceased.

• Zombies from the Voodoo tradition
• Draugrs from Norse mythology
• Orcs from Anglo-Saxon / European folklore
• Vampires of various cultures
• Hopping corpses of Chinese folklore
• Ghouls from Arab folklore
• Medieval revenants, stories of undead from medieval chroniclers.
• Wights

Undead - Incorporeal

Incorporeal undead have no tangible form, but exist in the world of the living as spirit entities.

• Ghosts, common in many cultures — all types of non-corporeal undead could be said to be variations of ghosts
• Will o' the wisps are sometimes said to be undead spirits in parts of Europe and North America
• Mylings of Scandinavian folklore
• Poltergeists, originally of German origin

Undead - Undead originating in fiction

• Corporeal:
  • Death knight
  • Frankenstein's Monster from the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  • Liches
  • Mohrg
  • Mummies in modern popular culture
  • Skeletons
  • Revenant, a sentient creature whose desire to complete a goal (usually to avenge its death) allows it to return from the grave as a creature vaguely resembling an intelligent zombie. Revenants exist primarily in role-playing games and horror movies. The Crow and Al Simmons, the protagonist of Spawn, are distinctive examples.
  • Zombie Ghouls, cannibalistic reanimated corpses from modern fiction (1954 to present)
• Semi-Corporeal:
  • Barrow-wights

In the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, a sequel to The Wolf Man, the corpse of the werewolf Larry Talbot is returned to life when the light of the full moon falls on it, making Talbot technically one of the undead for the remainder of the film and its three sequels.

Additionally a vast number of films have been made specifically concerning the undead, usually vampires, zombies, or mummies.

Undead - Creation of undead

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus introduced a new variant on the dead that walk again, the dead brought back to 'life' by science, though Frankenstein's creature also bears some similarity to a golem. Similar works include H.P. Lovecraft's short story Herbert West, Re-Animator and the Re-Animator film franchise that it inspired.

In both legend and popular culture, various different methods of creating undead creatures are discussed. Most involve the reanimation of a corpse, as in zombies, skeletons and ghouls. With ghosts, the spirit lives on after death, forming a intangible physical body that often mirrors the one the spirit had in life.

In some cases, especially with skeletons and zombies, the undead can be under control of a practitioner of magic. In other cases, like with zombies as shown in film and with vampires, the undead existence is passed on like a curse or disease. With liches, the powers of undead are sought after by the participant of a magical ritual that turns them from a living being to a lich. Ghosts are said to be kept in their undead state by willpower, either from a keen desire to remain with the living or from a wish to see something completed that they could not do during their lifetime.

Undead - Undead in games and popular culture

In some stories and settings, such as the Lorien Trust LARP, the word "unliving" is used as a preferential synonym. In reference to the political correctness movement, the undead are sometimes jokingly referred to as the "living-impaired". Vampires were sometimes likewise referred to as "Undead Americans" by characters in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spin-off Angel.

In Dungeons & Dragons and similar systems, clerics can attempt to "turn" undead by invoking their patron deities or channeling "positive energy" (other-dimensional life energy). This forces the undead creature away from the cleric; powerful clerics are capable of completely destroying weaker undead creatures with this ability. Although the act of turning away the undead relies primarily on power of faith, a holy symbol is usually required as a focus for the divine power being invoked. This is derived from the traditional notion that vampires could be repelled by the cross. Clerics of evil gods can rebuke and control the undead in a similar fashion, by means of necromancy.

In Warhammer Fantasy Battles the Undead are split in 2 parts. First there are the Vampire Counts armies, second are the Tomb Kings. Both armies have living skeletons in the list, but otherwise are entirely different, having separate backgrounds and units.

In many games, undead characters appear in many roles, be it a mindless horde of opponents (often zombies or skeletons), a thoughtful, plotting villain (often the case with vampires). Some games feature undead protagonists, such as Mortal Kombat, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, and Vampire: The Masquerade.

Zombies are a popular choce of enemies in survival horror games such as the "Resident Evil"/"Biohazard" series (created by a virus) or supenatural survival horror games like "Forbidden Siren" and "Silent Hill" Series'.

Undead (generally referred to as 'ReDeads') are also an enemy in the Legend of Zelda series.

In the Thief trilogy of games the undead are an ever-present threat that the player has to sometimes deal with.

In many games, such as Final Fantasy and D&D, undead can be damaged by using magical effects that heal normal living beings.

In the popular Warcraft series The Undead are one of the playable factions. In the MMORPG World of Warcraft, (the fourth game in the series) undead (aka The Forsaken) are a playable race in the horde faction.

In Castlevania A number of enemies are tiher Zombies, Skeletons or Vampires. On several occasions the player can play as a Vampire or summon the Undead

Undead - Defense against the undead

Undead creatures are often depicted as hostile towards the living. They are also often depicted as being resistant to normal attacks. They are often vulnerable to holy or blessed objects, such as holy water or crosses. Vampires are traditionally killed by a stake through the heart or decapitation, although various cultures have different means of dealing with them [1]. Zombies can be killed by decapitation or by being shot in the head. Incorporeal undead are difficult to defend against, as normal physical objects often pass through their bodies. Undead are also often depicted as vulnerable to sunlight, fire, or the destruction of the originator of the undead.

Undead - Undead in philosophy

Jacques Derrida used the myth of the undead as a means to deconstruct the binary opposition between life and death.

See also

• Monster
• Afterlife
• Maschalismos
• Death and death (personification)
• List of species in folklore and mythology
• List of species in folklore and mythology by type
• List of species in fantasy fiction

Category: Undead

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Undead", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki