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Misty could reach into that place between life and death and draw a soul back from the precipice, back to this side, back to life.
Cordelia Goode[src]

Resurgence (popularly known as Resurrection) is the powerful magical ability to ressurect the dead. It is considered more powerful than any of the Seven Wonders, and is oftentimes inaccessible even to some Supremes. The ability first appears in Coven, and also in Delicate.

Use[]

Resurgence is the rare ability to reach into that place between life and death and draw a soul back from the precipice.[1] It can restore the body of the deceased such as the skin of burnt corpses, fuse limbs not previously attached to the body and even heal pre-existing health conditions such as Madison's heart murmur. The power is useless if the body is in too many pieces. The most notable is Misty Day. Misty Day has the ability to resurrect the dead; she has also limited control over those she recently resurrect such as killing two crocodile poachers with their own kills.[2] Misty has also shown to restore the mind such as keeping Myrtle Snow, Madison Montgomery, and Joan Ramsey memories intact after being revived. This ability also afford her an affinity with death and corpses, such as when she was beckoned to Kyle Spencer after he was brought back claiming she could 'sense' him, and when she finds the charred corpse of Myrtle Snow, and the body of Joan Ramsey. Resurgence can also allow the user to self-resurrect upon death.

If a person is resurrected after a long period of time and suffer injuries, they could be healed through an earth-based formula made of "Louisiana swamp, Spanish moss, and alligator dung",[2] and merely reattach limbs before the resurrection, like she did with Madison and Myrtle.[4]

It is true that Marie Laveau could also raise the dead through Necromancy, but it must be noted that there is a distinction between Necromancy and Resurgence. Necromancy does not bring the dead back to life, it simply reanimates corpse and turns them into puppets for the caster. The state of the "risen dead" of Marie, were rotted corpses solely controlled by her. Misty's power of resurgence truly and effectively restores life to people.[8] It is also not to be confused with the Resurrection Spell which can be done by any witch that performs the ritual and incantation, often with undesirable results in accordance with the witch's power and adherence to the spell.[2]

Resurgence is also often confused with Vitalum Vitalis. However, the difference is that Vitalum Vitalis involves balancing the scales of life and death between the witch and whoever they are using their magic on; Life force can also be drained from someone else and into the witch.[1] The witch will feel dizziness from the strain of transferring some of their life force to another using Vitalum Vitalis, while they will feel no strain if using Resurgence.[3] Though it should be noted when Misty first used her power to resurrect a dead bird, she also fainted.[1] The distinct difference between Resurgence and Vitalum Vitalis is that Resurgence can only be performed on a dead being and fully heals it state. Vitalum Vitalis, on the other hand, can be used only on a recently deceased person or to someone who is still alive but in a near-death state.

Known Users[]

Gallery[]

Notes[]

  • Resurgence is featured in two seasons of American Horror Story: Coven and Apocalypse
  • Since one of the main function of this ability is to draw a soul back from the dead, it can be implied that it cannot be used on someone who is used by Soul Concealment Spell or died at the hands of the Antichrist, Michael Langdon, who has the ability to obliterate souls by burning them with hellfire. If there is no soul to draw back, then the ability will have no effect.
  • Resurgence is entirely different from Vitalum Vitalis, Resurrection Spell and Necromancy and considered to be the most powerful and risk-free ability to revive a deceased being.
  • The difference between Resurgence and Vitalum Vitalis is that Resurgence can reach into the afterlife effectively anchoring a soul back to its body (as long as the body is still majorly intact) while Vitalum Vitalis merely fills the body with the user's life force, therefore deceasing the possiblity of dying.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Episode: Bitchcraft
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Episode: Boy Parts
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Episode: Burn, Witch. Burn!
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Episode: The Axeman Cometh
  5. 5.0 5.1 Episode: The Sacred Taking
  6. 6.0 6.1 Episode: The Seven Wonders
  7. 7.0 7.1 Episode: Boy Wonder
  8. Episode: Fearful Pranks Ensue
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