"But Willett was too quick for him. Even as the dogs in the yard outside began to howl, and even as a chill wind sprang suddenly up from the bay, the doctor commenced the solemn and measured intonation of that which he had meant all along to recite. An eye for an eye - magic for magic - let the outcome shew how well the lesson of the abyss had been learned! So in a clear voice Marinus Bicknell Willett began the second of that pair of formulae whose first had raised the writer of those minuscules - the cryptic invocation whose heading was the Dragon's Tail, sign of the descending node..."

OGTHROD AI'F
GEB'L-EE'H
YOG-SOTHOTH
'NGAH'NG AI'Y
ZHRO!

"At the very first word from Willett's mouth the previously commenced formula of the patient stopped short. Unable to speak, the monster made wild motions with his arms until they too were arrested. When the awful name of Yog-Sothoth was uttered, the hideous change began. It was not merely a dissolution, but rather a transformation or recapitulation; and Willett shut his eyes lest he faint before the rest of the incantation could be pronounced.

But he did not faint, and that man of unholy centuries and forbidden secrets never troubled the world again. The madness out of time had subsided, and the case of Charles Dexter Ward was closed. Opening his eyes before staggering out of that room of horror, Dr. Willett saw that what he had kept in memory had not been kept amiss. There had, as he had predicted, been no need for acids. For like his accursed picture a year before, Joseph Curwen now lay scattered on the floor as a thin coating of fine bluish-grey dust." - from "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" by H.P. Lovecraft

So that's all it takes? It seems a little too easy. Those with access to the right books or even just the spell itself would be able to neutralize the resurrected with a few words. This could degenerate into a Mythos version of Monty Python's "Funniest Joke in the World" sketch, with WWII Allied troops shouting the phrase at advancing undead Nazis. -poof-

Once the de-resurrection phrase spread (and something that short would - among the Germans, the Russians after they had encountered the "resurrected casualties" & obtained the Gothic Necronomicon, perhaps Delta Green and Pisces depending on what intel the Allies shared), I can see it being used as a standard greeting, codeword, catch-phrase, etc. Modern age Investigators & DG Agents armed with dust-busters would shout the phrase before entering rooms, cemeteries, tunnels, the cultists' lair, etc.

Idea01: When raising the dead, the caster determines the de-resurrection phrase. It doesn't have to be the one listed above.

Idea02: There are several different resurrection spells, each with their own de-resurrection phrase.

Idea03: The de-resurrection phrase is keyed to specific astronomical or astrological configurations and changes over time.


Other thoughts & questions:

A) Do the resurrected actually have to *hear* the de-resurrection phrase in order to be returned to dust, or does it just need to be spoken in their presence?

If they have to hear it, then clever raised people will do things like wear earplugs, or headphones plugged into iPods/Discmen/Walkmen blasting tunes, or have loud noise-generating systems in place to drown out the de-resurrection phrase, or attempt to deafen themselves.

If the dead don't have to hear the phrase for it to be effective, then a caster could shout it in a combat situation (amid gunfire and explosions), and the dead would be returned to dust even if they couldn't hear the caster clearly, or at all, correct?

B) Does the caster have to actually speak the phrase, or will a recording do?

C) Does the caster have to be in the presence of the dead to return them to dust, or could the caster do this remotely via a PA system, a mic & a speaker in another room, radio, VoIP, etc?