The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Necromancy takes its name from a practice that has fascinated and frightened humanity for centuries, the art of communing with the dead to glimpse what hasn't happened yet. Claire Baxter built this fragrance around that exact tension: the boundary between the living and what lingers. Datura, known across traditions for its ties to ritual and altered states, anchors the concept. Add ceremonial incense and the weight of funeral florals, and the result is a perfume that doesn't ask permission to exist. Released in 2018 under Sixteen92's Forbidden Arts collection, Necromancy arrived with the kind of darkness the house is known for, a scent that commands attention through sheer presence alone.
What makes Necromancy work is its refusal to resolve cleanly. Datura's narcotic, almost medicinal bloom sits atop smoky incense and dark resin, creating an accord that feels both sacred and slightly wrong. The white florals don't soften it, they deepen the unsettling quality, like flowers placed on an altar. Oud and benzoin anchor everything into a base that lingers long after the initial impression fades. This isn't a fragrance that seduces you gently. It asserts a presence, holds it, and doesn't apologize.
The evolution
Necromancy opens like smoke curling from hot coals, not aggressive, but insistent. Incense and datura arrive together, the datura lending a green, slightly bitter edge that prevents the smoke from becoming pleasant or predictable. The white florals emerge with a presence that refuses to apologize for itself, arriving with a weight that is anything but delicate. They come through heavy, waxy, almost suffocating in the best possible way, commanding the composition with an authority that demands acknowledgment. The floral-smoke accord deepens as benzoin's resinous sweetness rounds the edges, adding a warm, almost medicinal quality to the evolving blend. Then comes the oud. Dark, wood-smoke, settling close to the skin like something that refuses to leave.
Cultural impact
Sixteen92 occupies a specific corner of the indie fragrance world, one where scent is approached as an experience rather than a commodity. Necromancy fits squarely into that tradition, a fragrance that refuses to play by conventional rules. Those who connect with it tend to connect deeply, drawn to its smoke and florals and the way it lingers like a half-remembered dream. The Forbidden Arts collection, of which Necromancy is a part, has become notable among collectors who seek something beyond mainstream perfumery, a set of fragrances that reward intention and close attention rather than passing acquaintance.
