Western New England University School of Law Digital Commons @ Western New England University School of Law Faculty Scholarship Faculty Publications 2010 On Death and Magic: Law, Necromancy and the Great Beyond Eric J. Gouvin Western New England University School of Law,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.wne.edu/facschol Part of the Other Law Commons Recommended Citation On Death and Magic: Law, Necromancy, and the Great Beyond, in Law and Magic: A Collection of Essays (Christine A. Corcos, ed., Carolina Academic Press 2010) This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Digital Commons @ Western New England University School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Western New England University School of Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. 14 On Death and Magic: Law, Necromancy, and the Great Beyond Eric J. Gouvin* Throughout history humans have been fascinated by the ultimate mystery of life and death. Beliefs about what lies beyond the grave are at the core of many religious prac tices and some magical practices as well. Magicians have long been involved with spirits, ghosts, and the dead, sometimes as trusted intermediaries between the world of the liv ing and the spirit realm and sometimes as mere entertainers.' The branch of magic that seeks communion with the dead is known as necromancy.2 This essay examines instances where the legal system encounters necromancy itself and other necromantic situations (i.e., interactions involving ghosts, the dead, or the spirit world).