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|Similar_entities = [[Zombie]], [[Magician (paranormal)|magician]], [[revenant]], [[Skeleton (undead)|skeleton]]
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In [[fantasy fiction]], a '''lich''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɪ|tʃ}};<ref>{{cite OED|lich|access-date=15 January 2020}} This entry includes only obsolete senses of "dead body".</ref> from the [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|līċ}}, meaning "corpse". Related to modern German ''leiche'' or modern Dutch ''lijk'', both meaning 'corpse') is a type of [[undead]] creature.
Various works of fantasy fiction, such as [[Clark Ashton Smith]]'s "[[The Empire of the Necromancers]]" ([[1932 in literature|1932]]), had used ''lich'' as a general term for any corpse, animated or inanimate, before the term's specific use in fantasy role-playing games. The more recent use of the term ''[[Lich (Dungeons & Dragons)|lich]]'' for a specific type of undead creature originates from the 1976 ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' [[role-playing game]] booklet ''[[Greyhawk (supplement)|Greyhawk]]'', written by [[Gary Gygax]] and [[Robert J. Kuntz|Rob Kuntz]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gygax |first=Gary |title=Grewhawk |publisher=TSR Rules |year=1976 |pages=35 |quote="LICHES: These skeletal monsters are of magical origin, each Lich formerly being a very powerful Magic-User or Magic-User/Cleric in life, and are now alive only by means of great spells and will because of being in some way disturbed."}}</ref>
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Often such a creature is the result of a willful transformation, as a powerful [[Magician (paranormal)|wizard]] skilled in [[necromancy]] who seeks eternal life uses rare substances in a magical ritual to become undead. Unlike [[zombie]]s, which are often depicted as mindless, liches are [[wikt:sapient|sapient]] [[revenant]]s, retaining their previous intelligence and magical abilities. Liches are often depicted as holding power over lesser mindless undead soldiers and servants.
A lich's most often depicted distinguishing feature from other undead in fantasy fiction is the method of achieving immortality; liches give up their souls to form "soul-artifacts" (called a "soul gem"
==Historical background==
''Lich'' is an archaic English word for "corpse"; the gate at the lowest end of the cemetery where the coffin and funerary procession usually entered was commonly referred to as the [[Lychgate|lich gate]]. This gate was quite often covered by a small roof where part of the funerary service could be carried out.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/lych-gate |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |website=britannica.com |access-date=11 October 2017
The literary lich developed from monsters found in earlier classic [[sword and sorcery]] fiction, which is filled with powerful [[Magic (supernatural)|sorcerers]] who use their magic to triumph over death. Many of [[Clark Ashton Smith|Clark Ashton Smith's]] short stories feature powerful wizards whose magic enables them to return from the dead. Several stories by [[Robert E. Howard]], such as the novella ''[[Skull-Face]]'' (1929) and the short story "Scarlet Tears", feature undying sorcerers who retain a semblance of life through mystical means, their bodies reduced to shriveled husks with which they manage to maintain inhuman mobility and active thought.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard |date=July 2007 |publisher=Cosmos Books |isbn=978-0-8095-6236-7 |edition=Vol 1 |pages=194–320}}</ref>
The term ''lich'', used as an archaic word for corpse (or body), is commonly used in these stories. [[Ambrose Bierce]]'s tale of possession "[[s:The Death of Halpin Frayser|The Death of Halpin Frayser]]" features the word in its introduction, referring to a corpse. [[H. P. Lovecraft]] also used the word in "[[The Thing on the Doorstep]]" (published 1937) where the narrator refers to the corpse of his friend possessed by a sorcerer.<ref>[http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/td.aspx Hplovecraft.com]</ref> Liches are sometimes depicted using a magical device called a ''[[amulet|phylactery]]'' to anchor their souls to the physical world so that if their body is destroyed they can rise again over and over, as long as the phylactery remains intact.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Kronzek, Allan Zola.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/821922969|title=The Sorcerer's Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter, Third Edition|date=2010|publisher=Broadway Books|others=Kronzek, Elizabeth, 1969-|isbn=978-0-307-88514-2|edition=3rd|location=New York|pages=131–132|oclc=821922969}}</ref> Other imagery surrounding [[Demilich (Dungeons & Dragons)|demiliches]], in particular that of a jeweled skull, is drawn from the early [[Fritz Leiber]] story "Thieves' House".<ref>[http://rpg.crg4.com/originsL.html D&D Monster Origins (L-M)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514002849/http://rpg.crg4.com/originsL.html |date=2011-05-14 }}</ref>
[[Gary Gygax]], one of the co-creators of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', said that he based the description of a lich included in the game on the short story "The Sword of the Sorcerer" (1969) by [[Gardner Fox]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3308636&postcount=63 |title=Morrus' D&D / 4th Edition / d20 News - View Single Post - The Lich (Origins) |date=2007-01-29 |publisher=[[EN World]] |access-date=2009-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?s=5c0a1b2c1eced259e4f2a6544db14a00&p=3813928&postcount=34 |title=Morrus' D&D / 4th Edition / d20 News - View Single Post - Gygaxian Monsters |date=2007-10-05 |publisher=EN World |access-date=2009-06-15}}</ref>
==In popular culture==
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* [[Acererak]] is the final boss of the classic ''Dungeons and Dragons'' adventure module ''[[Tomb of Horrors]]'';<ref name="acererak">{{Cite book |last=Strohm, Keith Francis |title=The Tomb of Horrors |date=2002 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |isbn=978-0-7869-6477-2 |location=Renton, WA |oclc=842270166}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-03-20|title=Dungeons & Dragons: Acererak, the Menacing Zombie Wizard, Explained|url=https://www.cbr.com/dungeons-dragons-acererak-zombie-wizard-explained/|access-date=2022-01-26|website=CBR|language=en-US}}</ref> Acererak was also featured as the guardian of the Copper Key in the book ''[[Ready Player One]]'' by [[Ernest Cline]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/books/ready-player-one-by-ernest-cline-review.html |title=A Future Wrapped in 1980s Culture |author=Janet Maslin |date=14 August 2011 |work=The New York Times |access-date=1 May 2012}}</ref>
* In the [[webcomic]] ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'', the main villain Xykon is a lich.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nicoll |first=James Davis |date=2020-06-10 |title=Five SFF Works Inspired by RPGs |url=https://www.tor.com/2020/06/10/five-sff-works-inspired-by-rpgs/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701203954/https://www.tor.com/2020/06/10/five-sff-works-inspired-by-rpgs/ |archive-date=2020-07-01 |access-date=2020-07-30 |website=[[TOR.com]]}}</ref>
*In the ''[[Harry Potter
===Film and television===
* In the ''[[Adventure Time]]'' television series, the main antagonist is an evil, powerful undead being known simply as "The Lich".<ref name="adventuretime">{{Cite web |last=Di Placido |first=Dani |date=2018-09-06 |title=The 3 Best Stories 'Adventure Time' Ever Told |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2018/09/06/the-3-best-stories-adventure-time-ever-told/#289ca5fe1fea |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109075246/https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2018/09/06/the-3-best-stories-adventure-time-ever-told/ |archive-date=2019-11-09 |access-date=2020-07-30 |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-12-22|title=Adventure Time: 10 Most Dangerous Villains Finn & Jake Fought Against|url=https://www.cbr.com/adventure-time-finn-jake-dangerous-villains/|access-date=2022-01-27|website=CBR|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Schindel|first=Dan|date=2018-08-31|title=An ode to Adventure Time, one of TV's most ambitious — and, yes, most adventurous — shows|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/8/31/17799830/adventure-time-series-finale-retrospective|access-date=2022-01-27|website=Vox|language=en}}</ref> He describes himself as an ancient, cosmic being who is the [[Personifications of death|manifestation of the inevitable death of all things]].
===Tabletop===
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{{Div col}}
* [[Lyke-Wake Dirge]]
* [[Koschei]]
* [[Mumm-Ra]]
* [[Nazgûl]]
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