# Is Contactiong The Dead a Bad ZIdea? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200 "2011-10-29T16:52:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/21 "2011-10-30T14:50:54Z")
The necromancer was The Witch of Endor? There are Ewok Zombies? Noooooooooooo!! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/22 "2011-10-30T16:51:10Z")
Serious answer: in folk tradition, contacting the dead is usually a bad idea. That is why attempts to do so were usually limited to “professionals” (a medium) or to known rituals (churchyard on Halloween). Punishments in folklore for other attempts to contact the dead include death and madness, though occasionally you learn useful secrets. Note that when the dead contact YOU, it’s a different story. They often have something to tell you. Just listen. By the way, the Bible story mentioned in the OP: tons of Christians believe that that wasn’t the dead speaking (rather a creative reading of the actual text), but a demon. So, if you contact the dead, you risk getting a demon instead. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/23 "2011-10-30T17:23:38Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Serious answer: in folk tradition, contacting the dead is usually a bad idea. That is why attempts to do so were usually limited to “professionals” (a medium) or to known rituals (churchyard on Halloween). Punishments in folklore for other attempts to contact the dead include death and madness, though occasionally you learn useful secrets. > > Note that when the dead contact YOU, it’s a different story. They often have something to tell you. Just listen. > > By the way, the Bible story mentioned in the OP: tons of Christians believe that that wasn’t the dead speaking (rather a creative reading of the actual text), but a demon. So, if you contact the dead, you risk getting a demon instead. As in _Hamlet_: the question of whether the ghost that appears to him really is his dead father, or something else impersonating him. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/24 "2011-10-30T18:13:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > As in _Hamlet_: the question of whether the ghost that appears to him really is his dead father, or something else impersonating him. The information was good, though, as we know because Claudius cops to murdering his brother several times in the play. I wasn’t aware there was a question about this, but I’m no Shakespeare scholar. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/25 "2011-11-01T12:55:22Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Better try contacting a spell checker. Nicely played. There is a vast and rich spiritual universe outside this world. When we leave it to enter this realm we lose conscious memory of it, although our subconscious drives reflect our original propensities. Some faiths refer to this forgetfulness as “the veil” for obvious reasons. It is worth noting that, just as a veil obscures the wearer’s vision, it also obscures one’s identity leaving lesser beings at the mercy of the the naturally ravenous drives of demons and such. In this way, minor spirits as well as those of other beings walk the earth cloaked equally as mere “humans.” Contacting the dead is considered “cheating” by those who have done their time, which is supposed to be blind and bound to the limitations of our physical forms. Those who ask are deemed desperate and weak-willed. If the requestor has obtained a position of power in this world, it is also deemed greedy and power-mad. Essentially, Saul was a spoiled brat whose spirit was so malignant he considered victory by cheat to be a worthy victory. He was ejected from the game as a result. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/26 "2011-11-01T13:45:38Z")
Yes, trying to contact the dead is a bad idea. Saul didn’t contact the dead, though, he was communicating with a demon. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/27 "2011-11-01T13:55:16Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > Saul didn’t contact the dead, though, he was communicating with a demon. Nitpick: A demon is the spirit of a giant, which is the offspring of a devil(fallen angel) and a human. So technically, demons are numbered among the dead. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/28 "2011-11-01T14:21:03Z")
A bad idea? It depends what’s on tv that night. I wouldn’t skip a Mythbusters rerun to contact the dead, but one of those goofy Ghost Hunters shows? Sure. Light some candles and disturb some eternal rest. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/29 "2011-11-01T14:51:19Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Should any of us attempt this at home?:eek: Sure, knock yourself out. Let us know how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/30 "2011-11-01T15:32:45Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Nitpick: A demon is the spirit of a giant, which is the offspring of a devil(fallen angel) and a human. So technically, demons are numbered among the dead. Where on Earth did you get this? Everyone knows that demons are chaotic evil and devils are lawful evil, but are otherwise of similar type/stature. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/31 "2011-11-01T15:44:58Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > Where on Earth did you get this? Everyone knows that demons are chaotic evil and devils are lawful evil, but are otherwise of similar type/stature. Book of Enoch. Predates the late Gygax & company by…well, a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/32 "2011-11-01T16:10:58Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Serious answer: in folk tradition, contacting the dead is usually a bad idea. That is why attempts to do so were usually limited to “professionals” (a medium) or to known rituals (churchyard on Halloween). Punishments in folklore for other attempts to contact the dead include death and madness, though occasionally you learn useful secrets. > > Note that when the dead contact YOU, it’s a different story. They often have something to tell you. Just listen. > > By the way, the Bible story mentioned in the OP: tons of Christians believe that that wasn’t the dead speaking (rather a creative reading of the actual text), but a demon. So, if you contact the dead, you risk getting a demon instead. On the other hand, conversing with the dead is the only way to become a bona fide hero. Jesus did it to [free the damned](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrowing_of_Hell). Odysseus went to get a prophecy. Hercules wrapped up Cerberus on his journey to hell. Aeneis foresaw the destiny of Rome when he spoke with his father in the underworld. Apparently, it’s so common that Wiki even [has a list for it](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_to_the_underworld#Mythological_characters). So there’s certainly precedent of heroes “conquering death” or otherwise demonstrating their fortitude by surviving the trip. > [@Morgyn](#): > > The information was good, though, as we know because Claudius cops to murdering his brother several times in the play. > > I wasn’t aware there was a question about this, but I’m no Shakespeare scholar. It’s not so much a question for the audience as it is the characters. At least at first. In the very beginning, the ghost can’t (doesn’t?) speak, so the guards keep asking each other what/who they think the ghost is. When the ghost first appears, Bernardo comments “In the same figure, like the king that’s dead.” Horatio then yells to it, “What art thou that usurp’st this time of night, together with that fair and warlike form in which the majesty of buried Denmark did sometimes march?” So they summon Hamlet, who asks more directly the question at hand: “Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn’d? Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell? Be thy intents wicked or charitable, thou comest in such a questionable shape?” It isn’t until Hamlet refuses to follow the ghost further and demands its speech that the ghost says “I am thy father’s spirit.” So the characters recognize the ghost right off the bat, but they certainly wonder whether it’s really the king or just “a goblin damn’d” impersonating him. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/33 "2011-11-01T17:23:06Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > On the other hand, conversing with the dead is the only way to become a bona fide hero. Or, from another perspective, only bona fide heroes can benefit from contact with the dead (or hanging out with the gods). If you’re the stuff of heroes, break all the rules you want. Otherwise, unless you’re a professional, leave the dead alone! The same applies to reckless driving and gunplay. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200/34 "2011-11-01T17:41:41Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > If you’re the stuff of heroes, break all the rules you want. But our boy Heracles performed this task as part of a trial by fire. So one might say he wasn’t quite a superhero yet- more like Luke, pre-Dagobah. So how’s **ralph** going to find out if he doesn’t give it a shot? I say he gets to conjurin’ already. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-contactiong-the-dead-a-bad-zidea/601200.md?page=1)