Revenant: In Fiction

In fantasy and horror fiction, as well as occasionally in film, a revenant is usually a human being that died violently, and is raised either by another source of magic, or by its own will, to fulfil revenge on its murderer. Usually the revenant is slightly less intelligent than it was in life, has missing memories, etc., and has unusual powers of regeneration, as well as immortality until the task is completed. Some examples of revenants in fiction and film are listed below.

The Crow – A cult classic in which the character, “Eric” returns from the dead to take revenge, for both the murder of his fiance, and his own murder.

Friday the 13th – Although the film never declares Jason Voorhees as being a revenant, he is still a prime example of the dead brought back to life, or risen from the grave, in order to wreak havoc among his “murderers”, i.e., irresponsible teens in general. At least in the sequels, –his psychotic mother is the antagonist in the first film.

Ghost Story, by Peter Straub – The female ghost and main antagonist is a revenant, as declared by the protagonist of the story. The revenant re-appears at will through time and space, in different roles, –Angie Maul, Anna Mostyn, and Ann-Veronica Moore, –in order to take vengeance, though in life she was known as Eva Galli. Weird, since her initials as a revenant are always A.M.

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, by Laurell K. Hamilton – Revenants are wild vampires who were killed violently by vampire attackers, rather than more gently and traditionally transformed in a period over three days.