Analysis of available ecclesiastical court, judicial court and the various sorcerial records of the realms of Galantys shows that ‘research of family history’ is given as the principal reason behind the activities of roughly 43% of known necromantic practitioners. Such a figure is highly suspect, as many practitioners find it an innocuous excuse for work which they believe would be disapproved of by the authorities. It has been suggested that as many as 1 in 10 of these claims of ‘family history’ are false, most notably in the case of Garrick Watson, who was arrested by the reeve of the town of Lonsport whilst conducting ‘research into his family history’ on the site of the famously bloody Battle of Lonsport Bridge.
Yet even if we exclude those practitioners who claim descent from the entirety of the dead on both side of a conflict (and their horses), we find that we still have a number in the high thirties. On reflection, it should come as no surprise that family history research is far and away the most common reason given by necromantic practitioners. Interest into one’s heritage is a well recognised development as families and individuals become older, wealthier and have more free time. The latter two are also prerequisites for any research or magical dabblings, such as necromancy.
Mavis Carter thus makes an excellent case study. She had reached an age and status in her home town where she could develop and indulge this interest. Her activities came at the very beginning of the ‘heritage boom’ of two centuries ago, a boom encouraged by the Guild of Family Historians established by her daughter Kori. This boom ended with the forcible dismantlement of the Guild for what its detractors termed ‘foul necromancy,’ and even its apologists have termed ‘overenthusiastic research.’
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Yet the Guild helped to reduce some of the unwanted side-effects of amateur necromantic practitioners. Recent studies have found that roughly four in every five zombie outbreaks have a strong family connection between the initial resurrectee and their first victim. It would be no great stretch to suggest that an amateur necromantic practitioner had taken insufficient care in their work. Indeed, Mavis Carter herself overlooked the issue of what happened to the spirits once they were resurrected.
This oversight on the part of the practitioners often leads to their being found out by local authorities or neighbours, even if their errors have less deadly consequences than Sylvia Woodley, who was convinced that she was related to the vampire ballet dancer Nosferatutu and is buried at the crossroads with a stake through her heart and a clove of garlic in her (separated) head.
Irrespective of numbers, the case study of Mavis Carter represents an effective introduction to the less well known necromantic practices. The case neatly overlaps with other reasons for necromantic activity, regarding both the more personal desires of many amateurs, and to research work carried out on a more professional basis, such as may be seen in our second case study, Alberic Hasker.
