Wojciech Gerson - Zjawa Barbary Radziwiłłówny

The undead are beings in

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

, or

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to

corporeal Corporeal may refer to: *Matter (corporeal, or actual, physical substance or matter), generally considered to be a substance (often a particle) that has rest mass and (usually) also volume *Body, of or relating to the body *Corporeal (Altar Linen) ...

forms of formerly-alive humans, such as

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

s, and

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

s, who have been reanimated by supernatural means, technology, or disease. In some cases (for example in

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

) the term also includes

incorporeal Incorporeality is "the state or quality of being incorporeal or bodiless; immateriality; incorporealism." Incorporeal (Greek: ἀσώματος) means "Not composed of matter; having no material existence." Incorporeality is a quality of souls, s ...

forms of the dead, such as

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

s. The undead are featured in the belief systems of most cultures, and appear in many works of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and

horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...

. The term is also occasionally used for real-life attempts to resurrect the dead with science and technology, from early experiments like

Robert E. Cornish Robert E. Cornish (December 21, 1903 – March 6, 1963) was an American biologist and writer, best known for his resuscitation experiments. Biography Cornish was a child prodigy graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with honors ...

's to future sciences such as "chemical brain preservation" and "

cryonics Cryonics (from el, κρύος ''kryos'' meaning 'cold') is the low-temperature freezing (usually at ) and storage of human remains, with the speculative hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticis ...

History

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

considered using the title, ''The Un-Dead'', for his novel ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' (1897), and use of the term in the novel is mostly responsible for the modern sense of the word. The word does appear in English before Stoker but with the more literal sense of "alive" or "not dead", for which citations can be found in the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

''. In one passage of ''Dracula'', ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...

'' is given as an "Eastern European" synonym for "un-dead". Stoker's use of the term "undead" refers only to

vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths ...

; the extension to other types of supernatural beings arose later. Most commonly, it is now taken to refer to supernatural beings who had at one point been alive and continue to display some aspects of life after death, but the usage is highly variable. Reanimation or the creation of zombies through non-supernatural means has become a trope since at least the 19th century. ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

'' (1818) used unspecified technological means, the influential '' I Am Legend'' (1954) blamed a germ, ''

The Return of the Living Dead ''The Return of the Living Dead'' is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon in his directorial debut, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Matthews and Don Calfa. The film tells the story of how a warehou ...

'' (1985) depicted a toxic gas, and ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

'' (2002) featured a bioweapon. The undead have become popular adversaries in fantasy and horror settings, featuring prominently in many

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

s and

strategy games A strategy game or strategic game is a game (e.g. a board game) in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decisio ...

Literature

up'' The_Dead_Lovers'',_ca._1470_(Strasbourg,_Musée_de_l'Œuvre_Notre-Dame.html" ;"title="Strasbourg.html" ;"title="The Dead Lovers'', ca. 1470 (Strasbourg">The Dead Lovers'', ca. 1470 (Strasbourg, Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame">Strasbourg.html" ;"title="The Dead Lovers'', ca. 1470 (Strasbourg">The Dead Lovers'', ca. 1470 (Strasbourg, Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame) In

's novel ''

'',

Van Helsing A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

describes the Un-Dead as the following: Other notable 19th-century stories about the avenging undead included

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

's ''

The Death of Halpin Frayser "The Death of Halpin Frayser" is a Gothic ghost story by Ambrose Bierce. It was first published in the San Francisco periodical ''The Wave'' on December 19, 1891 before appearing in the 1893 collection '' Can Such Things Be?'' Plot summary Halp ...

'', and various

Gothic Romanticism Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

tales by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

. Though their works could not be properly considered zombie fiction, the supernatural tales of Bierce and Poe would prove influential on later writers such as H. P. Lovecraft, by Lovecraft's own admission. In Russia, the undead was the theme of

Alexander Belyaev Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Беля́ев, ; – 6 January 1942) was a Soviet Russian writer of science fiction. His works from the 1920s and 1930s made him a highly regarded figure in Russia ...

's novel ''

Professor Dowell's Head ''Professor Dowell's Head'' is a 1925 science fiction and horror story (and later novel) by Russian author Alexander Belyaev. Plot Professor Dowell and his assistant surgeon Dr. Kern are working on medical problems including life support in s ...

'' (1925), in which a mad scientist performs experimental head transplants on bodies stolen from the

morgue A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

, and reanimates the corpses. Utagawa Yoshiiku Specter

List of undead forms

Physical corpses

Anchimayen The Anchimayen (in the Mapudungun language, also spelled "Anchimallén" or "Anchimalguén" in Spanish) is a mythical creature in Mapuche mythology. Anchimayens are described as little creatures that take the form of small children, and can transfor ...

* Ahkiyyini *

Draugr The draugr or draug ( non, draugr, plural ; modern is, draugur, fo, dreygur and Danish language, Danish, Swedish language, Swedish, and no, draug) is an undead creature from the Scandinavian saga literature and folktale. Commentators extend t ...

Drekavac Drekavac, (literally "the screamer" or "the screecher"Levi, Pavle (2007). ''Disintegration in frames: aesthetics and ideology in the Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav cinema''. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Presspage 181 .), also called drekalo, ...

Deildegast In Norwegian folklore, a deildegast is a type of ghost connected with the sanctity of boundary stones, and what happened to those who dared to move them. The deildegast-tradition was most prevalent in the southern parts of Norway and is also conn ...

Dhampir In Balkans folklore, dhampirs (sometimes spelled ''dhampyres'', ''dhamphirs'', or ''dhampyrs'') are creatures that are the result of a union between a vampire and a mortal human. This union was usually between male vampires and female mortal huma ...

Fext A Fext is a mythical undead creature in Slavic mythology. Its origins are found in the terrors of the Thirty Years' War (17th century) in central Europe. It is said that the Fext is invincible to bullets, except bullets made of glass. Some of the gr ...

Ghoul A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...

Gashadokuro Utagawa Kuniyoshi's , also known as ''Takiyasha_the_Witch_and_the_Skeleton_Spectre">Utagawa_Kuniyoshi's_,_also_known_as_''Takiyasha_the_Witch_and_the_Skeleton_Spectre'' _are_ Takiyasha_the_Witch_and_the_Skeleton_Spectre">Utagawa_Kuniyoshi's_,_als ...

Gjenganger A Gjenganger ( no, Gjenganger, ' or '; da, Genganger or '; sv, Gengångare) in Scandinavian folklore was a term for a revenant, the spirit or ghost of a deceased from the grave. Etymology ' has two parts; the prefix is related to "again" or "ag ...

Hone-onna is a yōkai depicted in the ''Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki'' (1779) by Toriyama Sekien. As its name implies, it depicts this yōkai as a woman in the form of bones. In Sekien's explanatory text in the ''Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki'' states that there i ...

Jiangshi A jiāngshī, also known as a Chinese hopping vampire, is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. The characters for "jiāngshī" are read goeng-si in Cantonese, cương thi in Vietnamese, kyonshī in Japanese, and gangsi ...

Kukudh The Kukudh ( Albanian definite form: Kukudhi) is an undead creature in Albanian mythology. Etymology Undetermined. Most probably a derivative of Albanian kuku ("mourn, lament."), as its synonym kukuvriq suggests. Alternatively from Greek κο ...

Lich In fantasy fiction, a lich (; from the Old English , meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature. Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's "The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932), had used ''lich'' as a general term fo ...

Langsuyar The langsuyar (), also lang suir or langsuir, is a female revenant in Malay and other mythologies in the Malay archipelago. The word is derived from the Malay word for eagle (''helang''). Description A langsuyar is a type of vampire which is ...

Mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...

Nachzehrer In German folklore, a nachzehrer is a sort of vampire. The word ''nachzehrer'' translates to "after (''nach'') living off (''zehren'')" likely alluding to their living after death or living off humans after death in addition to the choice of "nach ...

Qutrub A qutrub () in Arabian folklore is a type of jinn or demon, likened to an "Arabian 'werewolf'",Mythology in the Middle Ages: Heroic Tales of Monsters, Magic, and Might By Christopher R. Fee similar to a ghoul because it was said to haunt graveyards ...

Revenant In folklore, a revenant is an animated corpse that is believed to have been revived from death to haunt the living. The word ''revenant'' is derived from the Old French word, ''revenant'', the "returning" (see also the related French language, F ...

* Ro-langs *

Orek An Orek ( Turkish: ''Örek'', Azerbaijanese: ''Örək'', Tatar: ''Өрәк'' or ''Öräk'', Bashkort: ''Өрәк'') in Turkic folklore is an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The idea of Örek is present ...

* Skeleton (undead), Skeleton * Rusalka * Strzyga * Vampire * Vrykolakas * Vetala * Wight * Wiedergänger * Zombie * Zombie animal

Incorporeal spirits (Non-physical)

* Ayakashi (yōkai), Ayakashi * Banshee * Baykok * Bal-Bal * Bhoot (ghost), Bhoot * Dullahan * Dunnie * Funayūrei * Ghost, phantom, or spectre * Goryō * Hupia * Hitodama * Headless Horseman * Inugami * Ikiryō * The Death (personification), Grim Reaper * Jikininki * Korean Virgin Ghost * Kuntilanak (folklore), Kuntilanak * Kuchisake-onna * Lemures * Lietuvēns * Mavka * Moroi * Mononoke * Mogwai (Chinese culture), Mogwai * Myling * Noppera-bō * Onryō * Poltergeist * Pocong * Preta * Sluagh * Shade (mythology), Shade * Shiryō * Shikigami * Sayona * Strigoi * Shadow person * Umibōzu * Ubume * Vengeful ghost * Yūrei * Yuki-onna * Ghosts in European culture#Terminology, Wraith

History

Literature

List of undead forms

Physical corpses

Incorporeal spirits (Non-physical)

Mixed

See also

References

External links