revenant that has fulfilled its drive will eventually return to its grave and rest. Where the drive is in quest of a specific object, it is often best to just give the object to them. (After all, the irrational desire to possess it is what created the revenant in the first place.) Where a revenant is on a quest for blood, either for revenge or general anger, more drastic means must be used. To destroy a revenant, it must be totally obliterated. Certainly there are plenty of means to accomplish this â fire, acid, throwing them in volcanoes, and nuclear detonation all work, but rarely are these practical in the field. For that reason, experienced revenant hunters will either attempt to lure the target into some sort of holding cell or go for decapitation. Once decapitated, the creature can be bound in either chains or metal cable (rope is not strong enough), and then quickly transported to the nearest disposal facility, normally a crematorium.
DRAUGR
In most ancient and medieval societies, discussions of the undead were considered taboo and in some cases heresy. For that reason more than any other, few tales of ancient zombies have survived to the present day in any complete form. However, the Vikings are a notable exception, and many of their stories contain encounters with various forms of undead. While the stories of the zombie-like draugr must be read with a skeptical eye, the similarities between these creatures and revenants seem too close to be coincidental.
Sometimes called aptrgangr , meaning âafter-goer,â the draugr are literally walking corpses. While they tend to show few signs of decay, their skin is normally described as either âblack as deathâ or âcorpse-pale.â Draugr are also often described as giants or able to change their size at will. Some animate necrologists have argued that this could be the result of corpse bloating, but it is perhaps more likely a simple literary device to explain the strength and toughness of these creatures. Certainly there is no other corporeal undead that has ever shown such an ability.
In the sagas, the motivations of draugr are rarely explained, as they are often presented merely as a foil for the hero. That said, most have a tendency to haunt a specific area or continuously attack one family or village. Considering the commonality of blood feuds in medieval Norse society, it is easy to see these âhauntingsâ as the continuation of a feud from beyond the grave, an idea that fits well with the drive of most revenants.
There is one subvariety of draugr , the haugbui , or âmound-dweller,â that displays a very clear drive. These creatures always stay in, or very near to, their burial mound in order to guard their burial treasure. While it is nowhere stated in the sagas, it is likely that these haugbui were notably greedy or miserly individuals in life, persons who valued the accumulation of wealth above all other things. It is a sad but not uncommon formula still occasionally seen in modern revenants.
Despite their literary flourishes, the Norse were a practical people, and if they didnât always explain the origins or motivations of draugr , they were at least clear on how to dispose of them. Since normal weapons were mostly ineffective against draugr , the heroes of the sagas generally had to wrestle them into submission; a fine idea for your ancient Viking heroes, a particularly bad idea for any modern hunter. Once the draugr was subdued, the Vikings would cut the head off it, which seems to have caused temporary paralysis much as it does with modern revenants. The two pieces of the draugr would then be burned down to ashes and these ashes were then buried or tossed into the sea.
Complete incineration â it worked for the Vikings; it still works today.
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In the animate necrology community, the terms âreanimateâ and âreawakenâ have distinct meanings. A corpse reanimates