World of the Dead

The World of the Dead, fictional world in The Amber Spyglass where people are said to go when they die. Will and Lyra come here after Lyra, held in an enchanted sleep in a cave by Mrs. Coulter, dreams of her friend Roger from Jordan College in the World of the Dead, and she wants to apologise to him. They also encounter Lee Scoresby and John Parry here. The dead people have miserable existences. The body and the dæmon are gone, and only the mind remains. To enter this world, Will and Lyra must leave their daemons behind. This realm is bleak and colourless, crowded with shadows of the deceased, who are tormented by the merciless Harpies. Will cuts a way out with the subtle knife. When the ghosts, or shadows, leave the World of the Dead, their atoms become part of all living things.

Suburbs

Will, Lyra and the Gallivespians arrive here on their way to the World of the Dead. It's a garbage-filled area that looks like a refuge camp. They are met by a customs-like officer dressed in a drab and tattered business suit, holding a pencil and papers clipped together. He prevents them for going further since they aren't yet dead -- they have to remain in the holding area (the suburbs). There is a shabby, smelly settlement there, and they spend the night with a family who have arrived too early and must wait until their deaths tell them it's time to die. Everything here seems to lack color and the landscape appears to fade away. This suburb is on the path to the river where they will be ferried to the World of the Dead.