Shadowlands

"Here she was, her spirit once again feeling whole, only to feel it suffer. To feel once more, only to feel abject pain. Cold. Hopelessness. Fear. There were others in the darkness. Things she didn't recognize, because nothing so terrible could exist in the world of the living. Claws tore at her, but she had no mouth with which to scream. Eyes looked at her, but she couldn't look back."

The Shadowlands are the plane of Death, the realm that the spirits of mortals travel to when they die. They are dark and nightmarish, filled with the souls of the deceased. The Shadowlands seem to appear as a shadowy version of the real world.

The exact origin of the Shadowlands is unknown, however they have existed since mortal life first began, spanning all worlds. Mortal souls seem to be drawn to the Shadowlands unconditionally, though many believe in a brighter afterlife in their future. Perception of the Shadowlands has varied, some describing it as a world of grey with swirling clouds, others unable to see in the constant dark.

Souls within the Shadowlands are capable of interacting with the material realm in certain ways. Uuna, the ghost of a Draenei child, was able to hear people from the material world and see the light of a Naaru. The moonlight at Lake Falathim in Ashenvale also seems to permit spirits to see into the material world. A soul called from the Shadowlands is also free to roam the material world, provided it is not immediately bound. Souls that gain power over other souls may potentially tear a hole into the material world.

The Shadowlands possess rather unique properties. One is capable of witnessing events from the past through the Shadowlands, which allowed adventurers of the Grand Alliance to discover the origins of humanity and the Vrykul, as well as witness the death of Edwin VanCleef and reveal the existence of his daughter, Vanessa. Furthermore, time may pass in a different fashion within the Shadowlands, as Salanar the Horseman described only mere days passing for him compared to the years that passed within the material world.

Icecrown serves as an anchor between Azeroth and the Shadowlands. During the holiday of the Day of the Dead, the Shadowlands draw closer to Azeroth.