History Main / TheUndead

* '''[[OurGhoulsAreCreepier Ghouls]]''': Originally deriving from Arabic folklore, but popularized by H.P. Lovecraft's stories and subsequent media, their depiction varies from animated corpses to living beings, but when undead, they usually are depicted as bestial and hyper-aggressive zombies. Intelligence and appearance vary; in the original folktales, these creatures could sometimes be mistaken for (and marry) humans, but recent interpretations have made them animalistic in behavior and more obviously corpselike in aspect. Unlike zombies, they generally retain some degree of free will. Some variations of ghouls tend to feast exclusively on the dead, but that doesn't mean they aren't willing to ''make'' a corpse to eat later.

* '''UndeadAbomination''': An EldritchAbomination that is undead in nature. They are far more bizarre, creepy, and powerful than any regular ghost or ghoul.

** '''{{Dullahan}}''': Headless knights who travel across the land on a steed who will visit those who are on the brink of death, and harvest their souls so they can be taken to the afterlife.

** '''TheGrimReaper''': The big guy himself, the most common representation of Death in Western folklore. Usually portrayed as an ImplacableMan, who resembles a [[DemBones skeleton]] wearing a BlackCloak and carrying a SinisterScythe. But [[ComicBook/TheSandman not]] [[Series/DeadLikeMe always]]. Is a very diligent worker, who truly [[DeathTakesAHoliday deserves some vacation time]] every now and then. He might ask you nicely to GoIntoTheLight or he might try to send you there [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} himself]]. Or he might just be a cool guy that fancies himself [[ChessWithDeath a nice game of chess]]. There are also variations that look similar to the Grim Reaper but aren't unique beings, yet still more dangerous and rare than your run-of-the-mill skeleton. He and his lesser servants may be formerly human, especially if YouKillItYouBoughtIt is in effect; other times they will just be {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of Death who have a lot in common with the Undead even though they aren't dead humans.

In other cases, including many traditional vampires and most zombies, the undead are actually animated by [[OurDemonsAreDifferent evil spirits or demonic entities]]. They may have access to the memory of the deceased person whose corpse they are wearing, but they are not truly the original person in question. These types are almost [[AlwaysChaoticEvil invariably evil]], and are much more likely to be [[HolyBurnsEvil vulnerable to religious symbols and sacred rituals]].

* '''[[OurGhostsAreDifferent Ghosts]]''': [[OurSoulsAreDifferent Disembodied]] [[OurSpiritsAreDifferent spirits]] of dead people, as opposed to reanimated corpses. They have little in common with other forms of undead, as ghosts tend to vary nearly as much as all the other types of undead put together. Depending on the genre, they can be anything from harmless pranksters to [[EldritchAbomination Lovecraftian horrors]]; you'll know which one yours is once he starts smearing things on the wall. If it's crayon, you're generally okay; if it's blood, you are so horribly screwed it's not even funny. Unless you [[TomatoInTheMirror realize]] that you're [[DeadAllAlong already one of them]]... but hey, most people who run into them know who they're [[Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} gonna call]]. Unlike most forms of undeath, ghosts can be friendly. They may return to protect a loved one, or reward someone who arranged their burial, or the like. Ghosts also come in many flavors. In a lot of works, various words for ghost, such as phantom, spectre, wraith, etc. usually mean different varieties of ghost.

** '''[[BlackKnight Undead Knights]]''': What liches are to sorcerers, these guys [[WarriorHeaven are to]] [[HellIsWar warriors]]. They rarely appear unless the undead are an organized army, and when they do, they function either as its generals, [[EliteMooks shock troopers]], [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking or both]]. They are nearly always found on horseback ([[HellishHorse either skeletal or pitch black]]), their weapon of choice often is a one-handed bastard sword with a skull on the hilt, and their armor is [[SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset richly decorated with skulls, bones, distorted faces, and other heraldry related to death]]. Their actual appearance varies between [[UndeathlyPallor a pale human]], a [[DemBones skeleton]], and completely spectral, relying on a [[AnimatedArmor possessed suit of armor]] instead. Popularized by Lord Soth of ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'', though the UrExample are probably the Nazgûl from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.

** '''[[RaisingTheSteaks Undead Animals]]''': Take everything previously mentioned about the undead, and now apply it to all forms of life. As it turns out, [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins not everything is better with penguins]].

* '''{{Flesh Golem}}s''': When a thrifty necromancer or mad scientist has a large number of spare parts left over from constructing their undead legions, you get a flesh golem. Similar to the next in that these are a reanimated assembly of body parts, flesh golems tend to represent a more... ''whimsical'' approach to anatomy. Parts need not be assembled in a humanoid form -- or in a logical way for that matter -- and they may not even all be from the same species. Designs tend to be rather freeform and range from [[BodyOfBodies haphazardly fused clumps of bodies]], to lumbering MultiArmedAndDangerous humanoids, to animalistic tangles of limbs.

** '''TheGrimReaper''': The big guy himself, the most common representation of Death in Western folklore. Usually portrayed as an ImplacableMan, who resembles a [[DemBones skeleton]] wearing a BlackCloak and carrying a SinisterScythe. But [[ComicBook/TheSandman not]] [[Series/DeadLikeMe always]]. [[AC:[[Literature/{{Discworld}} May speak in]] [[PaintingTheMedium all caps.]]]] Is a very diligent worker, who truly [[DeathTakesAHoliday deserves some vacation time]] every now and then. He might ask you nicely to GoIntoTheLight or he might try to send you there [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} himself]]. Or he might just be a cool guy that fancies himself [[ChessWithDeath a nice game of chess]]. There are also variations that look similar to the Grim Reaper but aren't unique beings, yet still more dangerous and rare than your run-of-the-mill skeleton. He and his lesser servants may be formerly human, especially if YouKillItYouBoughtIt is in effect; other times they will just be {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of Death who have a lot in common with the Undead even though they aren't dead humans.

* '''[[BlackKnight Death Knights]]''': What liches are to sorcerers, these guys [[WarriorHeaven are to]] [[HellIsWar warriors]]. They rarely appear unless the undead are an organized army, and when they do, they function either as its generals, [[EliteMooks shock troopers]], [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking or both]]. They are nearly always found on horseback ([[HellishHorse either skeletal or pitch black]]), their weapon of choice often is a one-handed bastard sword with a skull on the hilt, and their armor is [[SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset richly decorated with skulls, bones, distorted faces, and other heraldry related to death]]. Their actual appearance varies between [[UndeathlyPallor a pale human]], a [[DemBones skeleton]], and completely spectral, relying on a [[AnimatedArmor possessed suit of armor]] instead. Popularized by Lord Soth of ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'', though the UrExample are probably the Nazgûl from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.

* '''[[NaziZombies Undead Nazis]]''': These guys are the [[CannonFodder unlucky]] [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons soldiers]] of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany who were killed in action during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, only to be brought back to (un)life through the use of [[{{Ghostapo}} dark sorcery]] or [[StupidJetpackHitler super-science]].

* '''FleshGolem''': When a thrifty necromancer or mad scientist has a large number of spare parts left over from constructing their undead legions, you get a flesh golem. Similar to the next in that these are a reanimated assembly of body parts, flesh golems tend to represent a more... ''whimsical'' approach to anatomy. Parts need not be assembled in a humanoid form -- or in a logical way for that matter -- and they may not even all be from the same species. Designs tend to be rather freeform and range from [[BodyOfBodies haphazardly fused clumps of bodies]], to lumbering MultiArmedAndDangerous humanoids, to animalistic tangles of limbs.

** Popularized by ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, but again, [[OlderThanTheyThink dating back to Norse Oral tradition]], the Draugr is a related variety of undead. These, essentially, are the wights of particularly greedy, evil, or stong-willed individuals who manage to retain a greater amount of mental and physical ability. They are not bound to their grave or site of death, though many choose to use such places as a lair out of entitlement or convenience. They possess great magical abilities, including the power to raise their victims as wights. These are the prototype for the Lich and reflect certain aspects of the Revenant and Vampire of nearby cultures.[[index]]

** '''{{Dracolich}}''': A [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]] returned from the grave, and a frequent cause of adventurers [[OhCrap seriously contemplating their life choices]].

* '''{{Undead Child}}ren''': Take any one of the other kinds of undead mentioned here, but make it a [[DeathOfAChild deceased]], {{creepy|Child}}, [[EnfantTerrible evil little kid]]. Now they're ''twice'' as creepy, and rather hard to shoot at.
* '''[[NaziZombies Undead Nazis]]''': These guys are the [[CannonFodder unlucky]] [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons soldiers]] of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany who were killed in action during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, only to be brought back to (un)life through the use of [[{{Ghostapo}} dark sorcery]] or [[StupidJetpackHitler super-science]].
* '''[[GhostPirate Undead Pirates]]''': Not all [[{{Pirate}} maritime marauders]] who lived and died centuries ago during UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|OfPiracy}} are guaranteed to stay buried at sea. Sometimes, they'll just rise out of DavyJones' Locker to continue terrorizing people in the ocean, often sailing on literal {{ghost ship}}s such as the ''FlyingDutchman''. They bring a whole new meaning to the [[SkeletonMotif skull-and-crossed-swords symbol]] on the JollyRoger flag.

** '''UndeadAbomination''': An EldritchAbomination that is undead in nature. A non-euclidian entity that might not have been alive to begin with. Often worshipped as gods or may have even been gods before they became undead.

*** '''GhostlyAnimals''': Very similar to zomibifed animals but do not process a body, which can make them very dangerous. May be out for revenge.

* '''[[GhostPirate Undead Pirates]]''': Not all [[{{Pirate}} maritime marauders]] who lived and died centuries ago during UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|OfPiracy}} are guaranteed to stay buried at sea. Sometimes, they'll just rise out of DavyJones' Locker to continue terrorizing people in the ocean, often sailing on literal {{ghost ship}}s such as the ''FlyingDutchman''. They bring a whole new meaning to the skull-and-crossed-swords symbol on the Jolly Roger flag.

** '''GhostlyAnimals''': Very similar to zomibifed animals but do not process a body, which can make them very dangerous. May be out for revenge.

** GhostlyAnimals: Very similar to zomibifed animals but do not process a body, which can make them very dangerous. May be out for revenge.

* '''[[OurWightsAreDifferent Wights]]''': More or less the mummy's northerly cousin, associated with MedievalEuropeanFantasy. Tolkien popularized them as wights [[note]]more properly a barrow-wight, meaning a "barrow man", with "wight" being simply an antiquated word for "man"[[/note]] and established the modern interpretation, [[OlderThanTheyThink but they appear in Norse Oral tradition]] [[note]]as ''haugbui'', which is essentially old Norse for "barrow-dweller". -bui (pronounced "bwIgh") is related to wight etymologically[[/note]]. The first ''written'' appearances are OlderThanPrint, but these are only the first formal recordings of an oral tradition OlderThanDirt, probably a part of European folklore since the first kid dared another kid to spend the night next to a burial mound. The wight is an old, buried, usually desiccated or naturally mummified corpse[[note]]Some traditional stories also include reanimated drowning victims[[/note]] that rises up to guard its tomb or place of death from intruders. More eldritch and drier than a zombie, but fresher and much less powerful than a lich.[[/index]]

* GhostlyAnimals: Very similar to zomibifed animals but do not process a body, which can make them very dangerous. May be out for revenge.