Necromancy

In its historical sense, necromancy is divination by summoning the dead, who are questioned about the future or about hidden things. The word combines the Greek nekros, “dead”, and manteia. The Odyssey gives a famous account of it in Book XI, and the Bible tells how the witch of Endor called up Samuel at King Saul’s request. In the Middle Ages, confusion with the Latin niger, “black”, turned “nigromancy” into a synonym for black magic. The word has no connection with present-day mediumship.