The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a corpse reanimated by

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

forces, by the application of either the deceased's own life force or that of a supernatural being (such as a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

, or other evil spirit). The undead may be incorporeal (

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s) or

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 *Human body, Body, of or relating to the body *Corporeal ( ...

( mummies,

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 humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

s, skeletons, and zombies). 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 that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and

horror fiction Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defin ...

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

cryonics Cryonics (from ''kryos'', meaning "cold") is the low-temperature freezing (usually at ) and storage of human remains in the hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticism by the mainstream scien ...

." While the term usually refers to corporeal entities, in some cases (for example, in ''

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

''), the term also includes incorporeal forms of the dead, such as

History

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

considered using the title, ''The Undead'', for his novel ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'' (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 principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

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

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

'' is given as an "Eastern European" synonym for "un-dead". Stoker's use of the term "undead" refers only to vampires; the extension to other types of supernatural being arose later. Most commonly, it is now taken to refer to supernatural beings which 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 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

'' (1818) used unspecified technological means, the influential '' I Am Legend'' (1954) blamed a germ, '' Night of the Living Dead'' (1968) proposed radiation from a downed space probe, '' The Return of the Living Dead'' (1985) depicted a toxic gas, and '' Resident Evil'' (1996) 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, or abbreviated as 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 ...

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

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.

Literature

up'' 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 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 one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the ...

'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 ...

'', and various Gothic Romanticism tales by

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

. 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 Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

, by Lovecraft's own admission. In Russia, the undead was the theme of Alexander Belyaev's novel '' Professor Dowell's Head'' (1925), in which a mad scientist performs experimental head transplants on bodies stolen from the morgue, and reanimates the corpses. Utagawa Yoshiiku Specter

List of undead forms

Physical corpses

* Ahkiyyini * Anchimayen *

Chupacabra The chupacabra or ''chupacabras'' (, literally 'goat-sucker', from , 'sucks', and , 'goats') is a legendary creature, or cryptid, in the folklore of parts of the Americas. The name comes from the animal's purported vampirism the chupacabra is ...

* Deildegast * Dhampir *

Draugr The draugr or draug (; ; ; , ''drauv''; , ''dröger'') is a corporeal undead creature from the sagas and folktales of the Nordic countries, with varying ambiguous traits. In modern times, they are often portrayed as Norse mythology, Norse super ...

* Drekavac *

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 g ...

* Gashadokuro *

Ghoul In folklore, a ghoul (from , ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid, often associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. In the legends or tales in which they appear, a ghoul is far more ill-mannered and foul than go ...

* Gjenganger * Hone-onna * Jiangshi * Kukudh * Langsuyar *

Lich In fantasy fiction, a lich () is a type of undead creature with magical powers. Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's " The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932), had used ''lich'' as a general term for any corpse, animat ...

* Lugat *

Mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

* Nachzehrer * Orek *

Qutrub A qutrub () in Arabian folklore is a type of jinn or demon, likened to an "Arabian 'werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or esp ...

* Revenant * Ro-langs * Rusalka *

Skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

* Strzyga * Upiór *

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 humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

* Vetala * Vrykolakas * Wiedergänger *

Wight A wight is a being or thing. This general meaning is shared by cognate terms in Germanic languages, however the usage of the term varies greatly over time and between regions. In Old English, it could refer to anything in existence, with more s ...

* Wendigo * Wurdulac * Zombie * Zombie animal

Incorporeal spirits (Non-physical)

* Ayakashi * Bal-Bal * Banshee *

Baykok The baykok (or pau'guk, paguk, baguck; ''bakaak'' in the Ojibwe language and ''pakàk'' in the Algonquin language) is a malevolent spirit from the mythology of the Ojibway nation. In traditional culture The Baykok is a character from the Anishin ...

* Bhoot * Chang * Dullahan * Dunnie * Dybbuk * Funayūrei *

Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

, phantom, or spectre * Goryō * The Grim Reaper * Headless Horseman * Hitodama * Hortdan *

Hupia In Taíno people, Taíno culture, the hupia (also ''opia'', ''opi'a'', ''op'a'', ''operi'to'') is the spirit of a person who has died. In Taíno spiritual beliefs, hupias (ghost spirits of those who had died) were contrasted with goeiza, spirits ...

* Ikiryō * Inugami * Jikininki * Korean Virgin Ghost * Kuntilanak * Kuchisake-onna * La Llorona * Lemures * Lietuvēns * Mavka * Mhachkay *

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...

Mononoke are vengeful spirits (onryō), dead spirits (shiryō), live spirits (ikiryō), or spirits in Japanese classical literature and folk religion that were said to do things like possess individuals and make them suffer, cause disease, or even cause ...

* Moroi * Myling * Noppera-bō * Onryō * Penanggalan * Pocong *

Poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

* Pop * Preta * Pricolici * Sayona * Shade * Shadow person *

Shikigami (also read as ) is the term for a being from Japanese folklore. According to the Shinto scholar Inoue Nobutaka, it is thought to be some sort of , represented by a small ghost. The belief of ''shikigami'' originates from ''Onmyōdō''. Accord ...

* Shiryō * Sluagh * Strigoi * Ubume * Umibōzu * Vengeful ghost * Yuki-onna *

Yūrei are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western concept of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, (''yū''), meaning "faint" or "dim" and (''rei''), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include , meaning ruined or departed ...

* Wraith * Will-o'-the-wisp

Mixed

Dying-and-rising deity A dying-and-rising god, life–death–rebirth deity, or resurrection deity is a religious motif in which a god or goddess dies and is Resurrection, resurrected.Leeming, "Dying god" (2004)Miles 2009, 193 Examples of gods who die and late ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Paranormal terminology Demons