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Revenants [1] are reanimated corpses brought back to life by means of Witchcraft with the purpose to act as servants in more or less violent tasks.

Description

Witches are able to raise dead bodies and use them as if they were puppets to attack humans or accomplish other purposes. Unlike ghosts, these zombie-like creatures do not seem to have a conscience nor know how to talk, but move jerkily, hunting and eating human flesh or any other task assigned to them by the witch who raised them. These walking dead don't not retain memory of their past life, but are powered by black magic and return to their original state if the spell is halted or if the witch is killed. They may also be hampered by dismemberment, by burning them or distancing them with the heat of fire or blowing their brains out with a shotgun blast.

Enhanced Revenants

Subsequently, some Algonquian peoples have been the prey of some demonic magic when they have allied themselves with the Dark Lord. Unlike previously discussed Revenants, these deceased Native Americans brought back to life by an unknown magic seem to be aware of their actions, and even their movements are less mechanical and more similar to those of a regular human being. They have foam on their lips and organs such as the brain or guts out, probably because of the way they died. These revenants, probably raised by the Devil, appear to be more resistant than those raised by a witch.

History

Season One

During the planetary alignment of Saturn, the witch Rose Browning found herself forced to raise a handful of dead bodies from the mass grave where they were buried in the woods in order to attack John Alden and Cotton Mather, her captors, who were trying to extort from her information about the Grand Rite exploiting planetary influence that forces the witches to tell the truth. These corpses were completely deprived of their own volition, totally subject to the will of Rose and a simple rifle shot was enough to render them harmless, as well as burn or dismember them. (The Red Rose And The Briar)

Season Two

The corspe of Petrus the seer was used by Tituba to messing up with John Alden's mind, prompting him to wonder about his actions, since Petrus was murdered by John Alden. The witch gave voice and movement to the corpse, making it wander inside the hut, although it is unclear if this really happened or was only in the mind of John Alden.(III Met by Moonlight) Angry with Tituba for being disloyal to Mary Sibley, the Devil has raised a flock of dead crows prompting them to fly to the depths of the forest and brutally attacking the woman, blinding her with their beaks and claws.(The Witching Hour)

Season Three

French troops and Indian tribes, hired by the Devil to spread chaos and destruction, have ravaged entire towns and villages surrounding Salem. These Indigenous peoples are different from the revenant raised by Rose Browning. When John Alden tried to knock out one of them with several gunshots, the revenant got up unhurt. (After the Fall)

Gallery

Trivia

  • Adam Simon has established "Revenant" as canon term for zombies and zombie-like creatures in Salem during a video response on Twitter. Since he has always been a fan of westerns and zombies, he and Brannon Braga wanted to introduce Revenants from the beginning taking inspiration from the American landscape and supernatural, as it was the core of the show. [1]
  • A Revenant is a visible ghost or animated corpse that is believed to have returned from the grave to terrorize the living. The word revenant is derived from the Latin word Reveniens, "returning" (see also the related French verb Revenir, meaning "to come back").
  • Shane West (John Alden) said at the Comic-con that he enjoyed a lot shooting the scene in season one, since he is a fan of the series of horror films "Evil Dead" by Sam Raimi, precisely focused on Ashley J. "Ash" Williams, a man who hunts zombie-like creatures.

References

See Also

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