The Undead: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"From every graveyard pour the hordes to strike before the dawn''
''A thousand years of death's carnage gathered 'fore the morn,''
''Their vengeance turned against mankind's unsuspecting head''
''There's no defense, there's no escape, you cannot kill the dead!"''
|Pagan Altar, "The March of the Dead"}}
Dead folks who, whether due to magic, [[Applied Phlebotinum]], [[Due to the Dead|lack of a funeral]], or just plain bloody-mindedness, do not rest in peace.
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* Death, AKA [[The Grim Reaper]]: The big guy himself, usually portrayed as [[Implacable Man]] in a [[Black Cloak]] carrying a [[Sinister Scythe]]. But [[The Sandman|not]] [[Dead Like Me|always]]. {{smallcaps| [[Discworld|MAY SPEAK IN]] [[Painting the Fourth Wall|ALL CAPS]]}}. Is a very diligent worker, who truly [[Death Takes a Holiday|deserves some vacation time]] every now and then. He might ask you nicely to [[Go Into the Light]] or he might try to send you there [[Castlevania|himself]]. Or he might just fancy [[Chess with Death|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-off the mill skeleton.
* [[Black Knight|Death Knights]]: What liches are to sorcerers, these guys [[Warrior Heaven|are to]] [[Hell Is War|warriors]]. They rarely appear unless the undead are an organized army and when they do they function either as its generals, [[Elite Mooks|shock troopers]] [[Authority Equals Asskicking|or both]]. They are nearly always found on horseback ([[Hellish Horse|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 [[Skeletons in the Coat Closet|richly decorated with skulls, bones, distorted faces and other heraldry related to death]]. Their actual appearance varies between [[Undeathly Pallor|a pale human]], a [[Dem Bones|skeleton]] and completely spectral, relying on a [[Animated Armour|possessed suit of armor]] instead. Popularized by Lord Soth of [[Dragonlance]], though the [[Ur Example]] is probably the Nazgul from [[The Lord of the Rings]].
* [[Frankenstein's Monster]]: Or anything else made from human corpses and brought back with technology. The original was big, a quick learner, and very, very pissed at his creator. The modern type is a bit more pitiable. Usually the stitches show, so you can tell them apart from zombies. The intelligence level varies. They seem to have universal [[Super Strength]], so don't challenge one to arm wrestling. Also note that, depending on the work, these may not be "technically" undead, and hence not vulnerable to holy power and tricks like the [[Trope Namer]] of [[Revive Kills Zombie]].
* [[Our Ghosts Are Different|Ghosts]]: Walking corpses without the corpses, most are understandably ticked off about this. Other than that, they have little in common, varying nearly as much as the rest of the undead put together. Depending on the genre, they can be anything from harmless pranksters to [[Eldritch Abomination|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 [[Tomato in the Mirror|realize]] that you're [[Dead All Along|already one of them]]...but hey, most people who run into them know who they're [[Ghostbusters|gonna call.]]
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* [[Mummy|Mummies]]: The mummy shambles towards the archaeologists who have defiled its tomb. Luckily for them, it doesn't move fast due to sleeping for three thousand years (although there are [[The Mummy Trilogy|exceptions]]). The classical depiction is wrapped in white bandages, and no one wants to see what's underneath them.
* [[Our Zombies Are Different|Revenants]]: Your standard resuscitated corpse, however, unlike a zombie this undead isn't quite so rotting and falling apart, fairly intelligent, and, most importantly, an individual, since they retain their memories from their previous lives. They tend to seek vengeance for past wrongs, especially if they were murdered. While conceptually very old, and the prototype from which many other undead derive, this trope has fallen out of favor for the horde of zombies and the bloodsucking vampire. Often [[Living on Borrowed Time]].
* [[Our Liches Are Different|Liches]]: Popularized in ''[[Dungeons
* [[Dem Bones|Skeletons]]: Zombies without meat, so to speak. Tend to be difficult to hurt because they are all bone, so blunt weapons (or magic, if available) are required or at least useful. Other versions are simply cannon fodder undead. Most of them aren't particularly smart (not having a brain and all). Only really common in out-and-out fantasy as they're a little too fantastic for sci-fi or horror; expect them to be magically reanimated soldiers for the [[Evil Sorcerer]] or [[Vain Sorceress]] that [[Perpetual Motion Monster|don't need to eat or sleep]], and stand guard over tombs for centuries if need be. Despite being fleshless, [[The Dead Have Eyes]].
* [[Undead Child
* [[Our Vampires Are Different|Vampires]]: Like zombies, only faster, stronger, and smarter. They suck blood, and may spend a lot of time angsting about it. Usually highly attractive, and both genders tend to be somewhat... [[Ho Yay|festive]]. Dislike [[Turn Undead|holy stuff]], [[Weakened by the Light|bright light]], and pointy sticks. [[Lost in Imitation|Originally]] they were not attractive, at all (even the original Dracula, well, [[Looks Like Orlok]], except when he was well fed, then he looked very good. Most of the novel he is quite handsome. After all Bram Stoker modeled him after a man he had a boycrush on. Sir Henry Irving. A handsome actor. Stoker wanted Irving to portray the count in his theater. Besides that look at Varney the Vampire, who looked like Lord Byron. ), and they also tended to have ruddy complexions (from all the blood) rather than [[Undeathly Pallor|pale ones]].
* [[Our Werewolves Are Different|Werewolves]]: They are ''occasionally'' considered undead in older myths, but generally modern werewolves are not undead, being people who ''survive'' a werewolf attack, as those who die usually do not return as werewolves.
** Sometimes they're just [[Discworld|lumped in the same category]] of 'creepy things', regardless of the level of truth to it. To quote one Ankh-Morporkian: "They're big and scary, come from [[
* [[Our Zombies Are Different|Zombies]]: Just ordinary, run-of-the-mill walking corpses. [[Zombie Gait|Slow]] (usually...), weak (comparatively...), mostly blind, ([[The Dead Have Eyes|unless they aren't]]) and stupid (at first...). [[Made of Plasticine|Surprisingly squishy]], but they don't really notice. [[Kill It with Fire|Burn 'em if you can]], and [[The Virus|don't get bitten]]. Made with [[Hollywood Voodoo]] in older works, and [[The Virus]] in newer ones. Some of them die quickly when burned. Others...[[Infernal Retaliation|don't]]. Know the characteristics of your local zombies to avoid embarrassing mistakes!
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[[Category:Immortality]]
[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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