necromancer

A necromancer is a practitioner who seeks to contact, influence, or command the dead. The word derives from the Greek nekros, "dead body," and manteia, "divination." In historical and fictional contexts, necromancy covers a range of practices intended to gain information from spirits, summon revenants, or manipulate the dead for various purposes, including prophecy, healing, or harm.

Historically, necromancy appears in ancient Greco-Roman writings as rites to consult the dead, often at tombs or during nocturnal ceremonies. In medieval and early modern Europe, necromancers were described in legal and religious texts as practitioners of magic who sought contact with souls beyond the living world; such claims fueled persecution and witch trials in some places. Non-Western traditions also contain practices described as necromantic in colonial or ethnographic accounts, though many cultures distinguish between ritual communication with ancestors, shamans, or mediums and the specialized label of necromancy.

In modern fiction and popular culture, necromancers are typically depicted as masters of death magic who raise or control corpses, communicate with spirits, or siphon life energy. The portrayal varies by world: from villainous controllers of undead armies to morally ambiguous scholars seeking forbidden knowledge. Common motifs include summoning rites, spellcasting through bones or skulls, and pacts with spirits or demons.

Scholarly perspectives view necromancy as a mythic and cultural construct rather than a proven phenomenon. It is studied as folklore, religious and ritual history, and a literary trope used to explore themes of mortality, power, and taboo.