Rudolf KleinpaulThinkers

The Afterlife (n.) began ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠with burial on islands and across rivers: the living did not feel safe from the dead until there was a sheet of water between them — hence 'here and in the Beyond'.

The Skeleton (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠our picture of the dead and stands for the fact that the dead themselves were slayers.

A Vampire (n.) was ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠originally every one of the dead, with a grudge against the living; the concept of evil spirits first arose from corpses.