Post by Dean Winchester on Apr 14, 2008 21:09:08 GMT -5
Necromancy is the act of conjuring the dead, also called, "operative spirits" or "spirits of divination," in order to gain knowledge of future events. The spirits are sought because they, being without physical bodies, are no longer limited by the earthly plane. Therefore, it is thought these spirits have access to information of the past and future, which is not available to the living. There are two noted kinds of necromancy: the raising of the corpse itself, and the most common kind, the conjuring or summoning of the spirit of the corpse.
The first traces of necromancy itself come from the classic Greek era and thus much of the history and terminology used within the art stems from that culture. The oldest mention of necromancy is the narrative of Ulysses' voyage to Hades (Odyssey, XI) and of his evocation of souls by means of the various rites indicated by Circe. In the Middle Ages, necromancy came to be more associated with black magic and demon-summoning in general, sometimes losing its earlier, more specialized meaning. It was condemned by the Catholic Church as "the agency of evil spirits," and in Elizabethan England was outlawed by the Witchcraft Act of 1604.
The word necromancy derives from the Greek nekrós, "dead", and manteía, "divination". Many consider it a dangerous and repugnant practice. Dangerous because it is alleged that when some spirits take control of the medium they are reluctant to release their control for some time.
In the Bible necromancy is mentioned chiefly in order to forbid it or to reprove those who have recourse to it. The Mosaic Law forbids necromancy, declares that to seek the truth from the dead is abhorred by God, and even makes it punishable by death. The Church does not deny that, with a special permission of God, the souls of the departed may appear to the living, and even manifest things unknown to the latter. But, understood as the art or science of evoking the dead, necromancy is held by theologians to be due to the agency of evil spirits, for the means taken are inadequate to produce the expected results
A zombie is a dead person that is brought back to life through a curse, whether it be voodoo or the previously discussed necromancy. Zombies are humans who have had their soul stolen by supernatural means and are forced to work for their “zombie master.”
Zombies are near-mindless, possessing little reasoning power, though many can perform “remembered behaviors” from their mortal existence. Some zombies have the appearance of the living, but their lack of free will and souls give them the appearance of mechanical robots
Some zombies display visible signs of desiccation, decay and emaciation on their face and body. They have black, expressionless faces that become more animated when they get hungry and engage in a feeding frenzy. They are normally encountered wearing whatever clothing they wore in their human life, prior to reanimation.
While not invulnerable to physical injury, zombies can suffer great damage to their bodies (including dismemberment) without being adversely affected. The zombie's strength level is at normal human-levels, but they are considerably slower that average humans, possessing poor agility and coordination. Although in some cases, it has been heard that zobies possess abilities such as speed that make them very difficult to hunt.
“There’s a hundred different legends about the walking dead, but they all have different methods for killing them. Some say setting them on fire, one said feeding their hearts to wild dogs- that’s my personal favorite- but who knows what’s real and what’s myth.” But, they all have one thing in common- silver.
One sure fire way to kill them is getting the zombie back in it's original resting place and then driving a silver stake through it's heart.
The first traces of necromancy itself come from the classic Greek era and thus much of the history and terminology used within the art stems from that culture. The oldest mention of necromancy is the narrative of Ulysses' voyage to Hades (Odyssey, XI) and of his evocation of souls by means of the various rites indicated by Circe. In the Middle Ages, necromancy came to be more associated with black magic and demon-summoning in general, sometimes losing its earlier, more specialized meaning. It was condemned by the Catholic Church as "the agency of evil spirits," and in Elizabethan England was outlawed by the Witchcraft Act of 1604.
The word necromancy derives from the Greek nekrós, "dead", and manteía, "divination". Many consider it a dangerous and repugnant practice. Dangerous because it is alleged that when some spirits take control of the medium they are reluctant to release their control for some time.
In the Bible necromancy is mentioned chiefly in order to forbid it or to reprove those who have recourse to it. The Mosaic Law forbids necromancy, declares that to seek the truth from the dead is abhorred by God, and even makes it punishable by death. The Church does not deny that, with a special permission of God, the souls of the departed may appear to the living, and even manifest things unknown to the latter. But, understood as the art or science of evoking the dead, necromancy is held by theologians to be due to the agency of evil spirits, for the means taken are inadequate to produce the expected results
A zombie is a dead person that is brought back to life through a curse, whether it be voodoo or the previously discussed necromancy. Zombies are humans who have had their soul stolen by supernatural means and are forced to work for their “zombie master.”
Zombies are near-mindless, possessing little reasoning power, though many can perform “remembered behaviors” from their mortal existence. Some zombies have the appearance of the living, but their lack of free will and souls give them the appearance of mechanical robots
Some zombies display visible signs of desiccation, decay and emaciation on their face and body. They have black, expressionless faces that become more animated when they get hungry and engage in a feeding frenzy. They are normally encountered wearing whatever clothing they wore in their human life, prior to reanimation.
While not invulnerable to physical injury, zombies can suffer great damage to their bodies (including dismemberment) without being adversely affected. The zombie's strength level is at normal human-levels, but they are considerably slower that average humans, possessing poor agility and coordination. Although in some cases, it has been heard that zobies possess abilities such as speed that make them very difficult to hunt.
“There’s a hundred different legends about the walking dead, but they all have different methods for killing them. Some say setting them on fire, one said feeding their hearts to wild dogs- that’s my personal favorite- but who knows what’s real and what’s myth.” But, they all have one thing in common- silver.
One sure fire way to kill them is getting the zombie back in it's original resting place and then driving a silver stake through it's heart.