Josette being raised through Necromancy
Necromancy is a form of dark sorcery that dates back to ancient Greece that allows a witch to contact and communicate with, control and even raise the dead. When used as a magical practice, any form of magic of the witch's choosing can be used to practice necromancy; however, it is a distinct brand of sorcery and only very few instances has it particularly been referred to as such and not widely practiced.
Throughout the Vampire Diaries[]
In Age of Innocence, notably with the destruction of the Other Side, Bonnie believed that Alaric's attempt at raising Josette's spirit was necromancy. Unlike with previous forms of resurrection, Josette's spirit was no longer behind a Veil that they could lift and she'd magically appear.
Throughout the Originals[]
In When the Levee Breaks, Dahlia raised the corpse of Josephine LaRue and controlled her through her use of Kenning. The reanimation, however, was temporary and as her conversation continued with Niklaus Mikaelson, the fatal wound on her neck opened and she began to bleed out.
In City Beneath The Sea, according to Vincent, necromancy was another form of witchcraft that Davina would have access to if she agreed to become Regent — a direction connection to the Ancestors of the New Orleans witches. This form of sorcery or magical practice, however, seems to be looked down upon. This is exemplified by a coven known as the Kindred — witches obsessed with dark magic practicing necromancy and immortality spells — that were locked away in the Dowager Fauline Cottage.
Throughout Legacies[]
In Death Keeps Knocking On My Door, Despite the negative association and according to Dorian, necromancy is everywhere in occult literature and an old form of sorcery that dates back to ancient Greece.
At an unknown point in time the Necromancer became world renowned in this form of sorcery, claiming it took centuries, to raise the dead and create "zombies" or "puppets". However, his legacy was forgotten from the world due to Malivore.
In Life Was So Much Easier When I Only Cared About Myself, seemingly those that are reanimated by the Necromancer are still physically dead, as they have no heartbeats and they are mere puppets not in control of their own actions — their free will suppressed and dominated by that of the Necromancer.
In Facing Darkness is Kinda My Thing, empowered with dark magic, the Necromancer completely raised and severed his 'master-to-puppet' link with Rafael Waithe and Alyssa Chang.
In We're Not Worthy, the Necromancer explains to Alaric that there are limitations to necromancy. He can only technically raise a spirit to life if the spirit of the host is willing. Landon refused to be resurrected to prevent the Necromancer from getting the dark magic that was promised to him. With Landon unwilling, Rafael proposed to put his spirit into his body. Eventually, Landon agreed to be resurrected.
In Goodbyes Sure Do Suck, when Alaric bargained with the Necromancer to release Chad, Alyssa, Rafael, the magic that was keeping them alive was removed. Chad quickly died, appearing as if he had been dead for three months. Alyssa, however, decided to serve the Necromancer and he restored her to life. When Alaric confronted the Necromancer, the latter upheld his end of the bargain, hence the newfound dark magic that he possessed. He severed his connection to them, just like Alaric asked, no strings attached. Since the Necromancer followed his word to the letter, Alaric inadvertently doomed them all over again.
In Hold on Tight, the Necromancer used several Mystic Falls High School teachers as human sacrifices to consecrate several spaces within the school grounds, tether them to another dimension and prepared it to become a Repository Monstrum. Similarly, the Triad Spell to raise Malivore as well as several monsters used MG as a sacrifice, which would have eventually killed him, growing weaker with every monster raised.
In You're A Long Way From Home, while stuck in Limbo, Oscar explained that the Necromancer had convinced him that he shouldn't be afraid of dark magic and they could use it for good. Oscar became his acolyte and helped him begin to build his powers of necromancy. To reach his full potential, he would have to sacrifice something dear to him. The Necromancer killed Oscar in exchange for more power, believing that he would resurrect him, his Cordelia and his parents. He died believing his life was a small sacrifice because with that power, he could change the world.
Spells and Rituals[]
- Main article: Spells and Rituals
Practitioners[]
- Dahlia †
- Bonnie Bennett (Formerly)
- Davina Claire (Attempted)
- The Kindred
- The Necromancer
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Dorian states that Necromancy is a form of sorcery that dates back to ancient Greece. Coincidentally, this is also the birthplace of the Immortality Spell by Qetsiyah that brought about the schism between in the witches and Travelers.