The latter half of the poem contains numerous references associated with necromantic traditions, including the Witch of Endor, Tiresias, ancestral shades, and various methods of posthumous communication. Contemporary Nazilic sources appear to have treated such matters with unusual seriousness. Repeated references to excavation, refinement, preservation, and reconstruction have led researchers to propose that the Professor's true field of study was memory itself. Particularly the persistence of memory beyond bodily death. Whether the poem describes literal attempts to communicate with the deceased or an allegorical descent into the unconscious remains unresolved.

Several commentators have also noted striking similarities between descriptions of the Professor and the figure of Joseph Curwen, the infamous necromancer appearing in the Providence Fragments attributed to H. P. Lovecraft. Particular attention has been drawn to the poem's references to exhumation, the refinement of human remains into salts and essences, and the subsequent restoration of consciousness through ritual means. A small but persistent school of Nazilic historians has therefore suggested that Curwen may have been based upon an earlier Professor tradition, or alternatively, that later Nazilic writers deliberately incorporated Curwen into the mythology as a convenient mask through which certain teachings could be preserved. More speculative accounts go further still, proposing that Curwen himself should be regarded as a historical manifestation of the archetype.

Several accounts identify the Professor as one of the few archetypes willing to seek knowledge from sources regarded as dangerous, corrupting, or forbidden. The figure occupies a curious position within the mythology. The Professor, revered by some as a scholar of unparalleled courage, is regarded by others as venturing too far beneath the roots of the world.

The inspiration for this song was essentially fourfold:

First, H.P. Lovecraft's terrifying necromancer Joseph Curwen (from "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward") who masked his true identity in order to thwart suspicion from his fellow townsfolk. He has many secrets lurking in his underground catacombs where he performs acts of necromancy most foul, extracting the "salts" of the dead in order to raise them at will and learn the secrets of ancient eldritch deities.

Second, a poem by Rudyard Kipling titled "En-Dor" which was a warning against the rise of spiritualism and the cost of communion with the dead in the early 20th century.

Third, the biblical Saul who traveled in disguise to visit a witch at the city of Endor in order to summon Samuel from the dead and garner advice on defeating the Philistines, but who only prophesies doom for Saul. Saul dies later the next day in the battle of Gilboa.

Lastly, the story of Odysseus communing with the underworld where he enlists the help of Tiresias to have a chat with the dead and secure for himself a safe journey home.

They all seek communion with the dead for one purpose: to gain knowledge which only those who have crossed over between realms might possess.