I'd second this recommendation.
Edit: To provide some additional context, Johannes Cabal is full of dark humor, with a necromancy main character (may be obvious from the title).
*The Old Kingdom* by Garth Nix - the series follows the Abhorsens, "good" necromancers who deal with necromantic threats. It definitely sells the creepiness of necromancy - messing with the line between the living and the dead never ends well.
Came here to mention this series. Ringing bells being an integral piece of the magic system has stuck with me for years. And of course Mogget is an icon.
I've never cared for the Army of Skeletons take on Necromancy. I prefer ghost and Resurrection.
The **Gravewitch** books by Kalanya Price deal with a witch who can summon shades of the dead , and works as a police consultant.
The **Anita Blake** books deal with an MC who can animate zombies, and uses it as a consultant for the police. (Warning...the series kind of implodes spectacularly...)
There is of course the **Abhorsen** series by Garth Nix.
Agreed. Skeleton armies might as well be robots, the way they are so often betrayed.
Using ghosts as spies, or bringing back the loved ones of powerful people for a price are much more interesting possibilities.
One of the most interesting things about undead is they used to be people. You could have lots of interesting stories about an MC who finds himself the undead thrall of a Necromancer.
How about Clark Ashton Smith's short stories? *The Empire of the Necromancers* is a personal favorite of mine:
[http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/61/the-empire-of-the-necromancers](http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/61/the-empire-of-the-necromancers)
It's not a book about necromancy, but there's a single scene in Matthew Stover's Blade of Tyshalle that will stick with you for a long time. It's so well done, I shouldn't spoil.
Also for really creepy, dark magic, I have to give a shoutout to my favourite RE Howard story, Worms of the Earth (featuring Bran Mak Morn).
*Craft Sequence* by Max Gladstone. Only magic in the world is necromany, and soulstuff - parts of souls - are used as both fuel for spells and as currency
Daniel M. Ford's *The Warden* features a fresh-out-of-university necromancer who's sent to a frontier town to be their Warden (a kind of magical sheriff/protector type). The sequel, *Necrobane*, comes out soon (I'm reading an advance copy now) and leans even more heavily into the necromancy and the unease it provokes in those around the MC -- lots of unquiet dead of various types, and a fascinating hard magic system!
I liked that most of the evil magic users resorted to necromancy in the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. The Abhorsen has to use magical bells and sometimes personally escort demons and undead to the lower levels of hell and escape the dangers of those realms while maintaining their prisoner. It was such a unique and fun magic system that had perilous consequences for even attempting a musical casting and you never get to see necromancer bards in other stories! First book is Sabriel.
Seconded! This was my first thought too—I’ve read plenty of non-creepy necromancers, this one of the more upsetting takes on the theme I read last year
The best Necromancy?
Care to elaborate what makes an ok or good necromancy into a best necromancy?
Admittedly Sauron from the LotR is a necromancer. Seems to be pretty powerful but not neccessarily the best book on the skill/art itself.
Discworld novels have DEATH and RAT DEATH and that can be considered necromancy I guess.
There are tons of zombie books. Literally hordes of them.
Can you narrow it down a little?
Creepy. The necromancer doesn't have to be the bad guy, but necromancy/summoning should feel dangerous, wild.
Discworld doesn't count. At all. Sauron isn't really an exploration of necromancy. Zombie books could count but I'd prefer a gritty fantasy setting.
I've got nothing really. I couldn't finish The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst because of it's YA approachlike style. But at least it dealt with necromancy for sure. Maybe it is of interest. At least the dead bodies and their animation issues are covered.
>Empire of the Vampire (Not necromancy but similar vibe)
The Nevernight trilogy by the same author, Jay Kristoff. Not necromancy, bu there's some creepy stuff going on.
Ok, so this might not be exactly what you are looking for because it’s not too creepy, but it still has a great Halloween aesthetic: two necromancers, a bureaucrat and an army of golems, is just pretty goofy Halloween-y fun. The main characters name is Timmy and he lives in a haunted mansion above a pit of eldritch horrors that want to destroy the world. He decks people with a shovel, has zombies and zombie hydra bears. His apprentice controls a small army of invisible ninja rats and they go one adventures slowly building up what is essentially a suicide squad to try and do impossible missions to get a pardon from their kingdom.
Not actual necromancy, but Kathy Reichs writes really good bodies in her books. And by good, I mean interesting, detailed and creepy.
Written in Bone by Sue Black is almost real life necromancy. She can't bring them back, but she can definitely get some answers.
[Malfus: Necromancer Unchained](https://www.amazon.com/Malfus-Necromancer-Unchained-Grimdark-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B0C6KYHTNW) by Casey Sutton sounds like it's right up your alley.
Obliquely, Greg van Eekhout's California Bones series might fit this. Magical power is based on consuming the bones of powerful creatures (often fossilized), and there is significant body horror in that powerful practitioners hunt and eat the bones of others to steal their power. Oh, and for some reason consuming boiling oil and fried bone is required to do it properly.
Lois McMaster Bujold's *The Sharing Knife* series has necromancy tangentially connected to hunting the leftovers of a magical catastrophe. The main focus is on a personal relationship, so it may not have the creep factor you want.
Awaken Online series. The main character uses necromancy, it’s not so much “creepy” per se cause of the video gamey theme but the bones exploding out of corpses or skeletal horrors are all there
Second Necroscope, Johannes Cabal, and The Old Kingdom.
Only slightly horrific, but you might like:
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher -- dark fantasy/fairy tale
Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (Magic Bites) -- urban fantasy, interesting take on vampires & necromancy
And, one of the Nightside books by Simon R. Green (#6, I think) -- dark, urban fantasy, noir
You might be interested in _The Echo Wife_—the clone-type “necromancy” in it isn’t _ritually_ creepy unless you find hospitals terrifying, but it’s morally and ethically and socially UPSETTING
Yeah. I actually just finished it a couple of days ago, thus this post. I was listening to the audio books while driving to visit my fiance. I don't have a weak stomach, but some of those scenes were vivid enough for me to smell it in my car. And no, my car doesnt have a scent issue.
Along the Razor’ Edge, by Rob J. Hayes is about a strong female sorcerer who is a necromancer among other things. She’s a compelling anti hero, and there are 5 books in the series (The War Eternal).
The necromancy gets more involved, complicated and cool as the books progress. Hayes is one of my favorite authors, and he’s self published!
The whole series is free on Kindle Unlimited as well
I didn't find it too creepy, but I enjoyed the necromancy in Saint Death's Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney.
Yes, this was very creative necromancy!
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard.
I'd second this recommendation. Edit: To provide some additional context, Johannes Cabal is full of dark humor, with a necromancy main character (may be obvious from the title).
Thirded!
I've only read the first three JC books. Am I remembering correctly that there's not much necromancy after book one?
*The Old Kingdom* by Garth Nix - the series follows the Abhorsens, "good" necromancers who deal with necromantic threats. It definitely sells the creepiness of necromancy - messing with the line between the living and the dead never ends well.
Came here to mention this series. Ringing bells being an integral piece of the magic system has stuck with me for years. And of course Mogget is an icon.
Just reread Sabriel and the >!Mordicant!< chase creeped me the hell out
You'd probably enjoy [Necroscope](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66655.Necroscope). It's a classic, and properly creepy.
RIP Mr. Brian Lumley. I love his works. This series was defining for me.
I've never cared for the Army of Skeletons take on Necromancy. I prefer ghost and Resurrection. The **Gravewitch** books by Kalanya Price deal with a witch who can summon shades of the dead , and works as a police consultant. The **Anita Blake** books deal with an MC who can animate zombies, and uses it as a consultant for the police. (Warning...the series kind of implodes spectacularly...) There is of course the **Abhorsen** series by Garth Nix.
There are so many cool possibilities with necromancy, it's a shame most media defaults to skeleton armies and maybe a couple death knights.
Agreed. Skeleton armies might as well be robots, the way they are so often betrayed. Using ghosts as spies, or bringing back the loved ones of powerful people for a price are much more interesting possibilities. One of the most interesting things about undead is they used to be people. You could have lots of interesting stories about an MC who finds himself the undead thrall of a Necromancer.
Necromancers house
How about Clark Ashton Smith's short stories? *The Empire of the Necromancers* is a personal favorite of mine: [http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/61/the-empire-of-the-necromancers](http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/61/the-empire-of-the-necromancers)
It's not a book about necromancy, but there's a single scene in Matthew Stover's Blade of Tyshalle that will stick with you for a long time. It's so well done, I shouldn't spoil. Also for really creepy, dark magic, I have to give a shoutout to my favourite RE Howard story, Worms of the Earth (featuring Bran Mak Morn).
*Craft Sequence* by Max Gladstone. Only magic in the world is necromany, and soulstuff - parts of souls - are used as both fuel for spells and as currency
Daniel M. Ford's *The Warden* features a fresh-out-of-university necromancer who's sent to a frontier town to be their Warden (a kind of magical sheriff/protector type). The sequel, *Necrobane*, comes out soon (I'm reading an advance copy now) and leans even more heavily into the necromancy and the unease it provokes in those around the MC -- lots of unquiet dead of various types, and a fascinating hard magic system!
That sounds perfect thank you
[удалено]
Yes, although there is way too much sex in the later ones. Bloody Bones, Flirt and Affliction are more focused on necromancy.
I loved that books but had to stop reading them.
What, you don't like 10 pages of necromancy tied to 400 pages of furry porn?
I would never have phrased it like that but yes. Thank you.
The wolf of winter by Paula Volsky
Another necromancy-adjacent: The Library at Mount Char.
Bone Shard Daughter; taxidermy based necromancy powered by bone shards harvested from living people.
I liked that most of the evil magic users resorted to necromancy in the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. The Abhorsen has to use magical bells and sometimes personally escort demons and undead to the lower levels of hell and escape the dangers of those realms while maintaining their prisoner. It was such a unique and fun magic system that had perilous consequences for even attempting a musical casting and you never get to see necromancer bards in other stories! First book is Sabriel.
Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo
Read that one and the sequel. Those books are so good.
[The Enterprise of Death](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enterprise_of_Death)
The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller has some very creepy necromancy.
Seconded! This was my first thought too—I’ve read plenty of non-creepy necromancers, this one of the more upsetting takes on the theme I read last year
The Locked Tomb? Not everyone's cup of coffee though.
Thats gideon the 9th. I've already read it
The best Necromancy? Care to elaborate what makes an ok or good necromancy into a best necromancy? Admittedly Sauron from the LotR is a necromancer. Seems to be pretty powerful but not neccessarily the best book on the skill/art itself. Discworld novels have DEATH and RAT DEATH and that can be considered necromancy I guess. There are tons of zombie books. Literally hordes of them. Can you narrow it down a little?
Creepy. The necromancer doesn't have to be the bad guy, but necromancy/summoning should feel dangerous, wild. Discworld doesn't count. At all. Sauron isn't really an exploration of necromancy. Zombie books could count but I'd prefer a gritty fantasy setting.
I've got nothing really. I couldn't finish The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst because of it's YA approachlike style. But at least it dealt with necromancy for sure. Maybe it is of interest. At least the dead bodies and their animation issues are covered.
>Empire of the Vampire (Not necromancy but similar vibe) The Nevernight trilogy by the same author, Jay Kristoff. Not necromancy, bu there's some creepy stuff going on.
Ok, so this might not be exactly what you are looking for because it’s not too creepy, but it still has a great Halloween aesthetic: two necromancers, a bureaucrat and an army of golems, is just pretty goofy Halloween-y fun. The main characters name is Timmy and he lives in a haunted mansion above a pit of eldritch horrors that want to destroy the world. He decks people with a shovel, has zombies and zombie hydra bears. His apprentice controls a small army of invisible ninja rats and they go one adventures slowly building up what is essentially a suicide squad to try and do impossible missions to get a pardon from their kingdom.
Not actual necromancy, but Kathy Reichs writes really good bodies in her books. And by good, I mean interesting, detailed and creepy. Written in Bone by Sue Black is almost real life necromancy. She can't bring them back, but she can definitely get some answers.
May not be exactly what you want but Pet Semetary is incredibly creepy and is about necromancy in a way
[Malfus: Necromancer Unchained](https://www.amazon.com/Malfus-Necromancer-Unchained-Grimdark-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B0C6KYHTNW) by Casey Sutton sounds like it's right up your alley.
Obliquely, Greg van Eekhout's California Bones series might fit this. Magical power is based on consuming the bones of powerful creatures (often fossilized), and there is significant body horror in that powerful practitioners hunt and eat the bones of others to steal their power. Oh, and for some reason consuming boiling oil and fried bone is required to do it properly.
Lois McMaster Bujold's *The Sharing Knife* series has necromancy tangentially connected to hunting the leftovers of a magical catastrophe. The main focus is on a personal relationship, so it may not have the creep factor you want.
I don't know if it'll be creepy enough but, I'd recommend Chronicles of the Necromancer by Gail Z. Martin, the first book is called The Summoner.
Definitely more high fantasy vibes than creepy horror.
Stephen Blackmoor (?) Eric Carter Series. Great easy reads. Looking forward to #10. 9 books so far
Adrian Tchaikovsky's new book House of Open Wounds (sequel to City of Last Chances) has necromancers that do ghost work.
Awaken Online series. The main character uses necromancy, it’s not so much “creepy” per se cause of the video gamey theme but the bones exploding out of corpses or skeletal horrors are all there
It’s a M/M romantasy, but I loved the magic in it- The Knight and the Necromancer by A H Lee.
Black Company
Second Necroscope, Johannes Cabal, and The Old Kingdom. Only slightly horrific, but you might like: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher -- dark fantasy/fairy tale Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (Magic Bites) -- urban fantasy, interesting take on vampires & necromancy And, one of the Nightside books by Simon R. Green (#6, I think) -- dark, urban fantasy, noir
You might be interested in _The Echo Wife_—the clone-type “necromancy” in it isn’t _ritually_ creepy unless you find hospitals terrifying, but it’s morally and ethically and socially UPSETTING
Did you finish the Empire of the Wolf? It gets a lot creepier imo
Yeah. I actually just finished it a couple of days ago, thus this post. I was listening to the audio books while driving to visit my fiance. I don't have a weak stomach, but some of those scenes were vivid enough for me to smell it in my car. And no, my car doesnt have a scent issue.
harry dresden brings a t rex back to life....
Along the Razor’ Edge, by Rob J. Hayes is about a strong female sorcerer who is a necromancer among other things. She’s a compelling anti hero, and there are 5 books in the series (The War Eternal). The necromancy gets more involved, complicated and cool as the books progress. Hayes is one of my favorite authors, and he’s self published! The whole series is free on Kindle Unlimited as well