After completing my initial presentation of the four topics, I found myself less interested in continuing with zombies or the uncanny valley despite enjoying both topics. The main reason was that they felt heavily explored and widely discussed, making it difficult to identify a unique research direction.

While I still find them interesting, I wanted to explore something that felt more unique and would allow me to investigate an area I knew less about. During other student presentations, I became particularly interested in Lettie’s topic on tarot, divination, and their historical associations with dark magic and the occult. This ultimately led me towards the subject of necromancy. What initially attracted me to the topic was the common modern perception of necromancy as simply “raising the dead” in fantasy and video games

However, early research revealed that its historical origins are far more complex, focusing on communication with the dead, the pursuit of forbidden knowledge, religious beliefs, and society’s attitudes towards death. I am interested in exploring how necromancy has evolved from an ancient spiritual practice and accusation of dark magic into the popular fantasy concept that appears throughout modern media.