Personifications of death

"Grim Reaper" redirects here. For other uses, see Grim Reaper (disambiguation).

A Western depiction of Death as a skeleton carrying a scythe.

Death as a sentient entity is a concept that has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In Western cultures, death is often given the name the "Grim Reaper", and shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe, and wearing a midnight black gown, robe or cloak with a hood, or sometimes a white burial shroud. Usually when portrayed in the black-hooded gown, his face is not to be seen, but is a mere shadow beneath the hood.

Hindu mythology

In the Hindu scriptures , the lord of death is called Yama, or Yamaraj (literally "the lord of death").

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Yamaraj rides a black buffalo and carries a rope lasso to carry the soul back to his abode called "Yamalok". It is his agents, the Yamaduts, who carry the souls back to Yamalok. Here, all the accounts of the person's good and bad deeds are stored and maintained by Chitragupta, which allow Yamaraj to decide where the soul has to reside in his next life, following the theory of reincarnation.

in embodied worldly existence. Yama is also mentioned in the Mahabharata as a great philosopher and devotee of Sri Krishna.

In Japan

In Kojiki, after giving birth to the fire-god Hinokagutsuchi, the goddess Izanami dies from wounds of its fire and enters the perpetual night realm called Yominokuni that the gods thereto retire. After Izanagi, her husband, failed in the attempt to reclaim her from the land of Yomi (the underworld, to which he travels and discovers his wife as not-so beautiful anymore), in a brief argument with Izanagi, she claimed to take 1000 lives every day signifying her position as the goddess of death.

Another popular death personification is Enma (Yama), also known as Enma Ou and Enma Daiou (Enma King, Enma Great King — translations of Yama Rājā). He originated as Yama in Hinduism, later became Yanluo in China, and Enma in Japan. He is from Chinese Buddhism, and before that, from India. Enma rules the underworld, which makes him similar to Hades, and he decides whether someone dead goes to heaven or to hell. A common saying parents use in Japan to scold children is that Enma will cut off their tongue in the afterlife if they lie.

There are also death gods called shinigami, which are closer to the Western tradition of the Grim Reaper. Shinigami (often plural) are common in modern Japanese arts and fiction, and essentially absent from traditional mythology.

In Slavic paganism

Old Slavic tribes viewed Death as a woman in white clothes, with a never-fading green sprout in her hand. The touch of the sprout would put a human to an everlasting sleep. This image survived Christianization well into the Middle Ages, only being replaced by the more traditional European image of a walking skeleton as late as in the 15th century.

In Abrahamic Mythology

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Death, a tarot card from the Tarot of Marseilles.

In the Holy Bible, the fourth horseman of Revelation 6 is called Death, and is pictured with the Jews and Hades following with him. The "Angel of the Lord" smites 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (II Kings xix. 35). When the Angel of Death passes through to smite the Egyptian first-born, God prevents "the destroyer" (shâchath) from entering houses with blood on the lintel and side posts (Ex. xii. 23). The "destroying angel" ("mal'ak ha-mashḥit") rages among the people in Jerusalem (II Sam. xxiv. 16). In I Chronicle xxi. 15 the "angel of the Lord" is seen by King David standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem." The biblical Book of Job (xxxiii. 22) uses the general term "destroyer" ("memitim"), which tradition has identified with "destroying angels" ("mal'ake Khabbalah") and Prov. xvi. 14 uses the term the "angels of death" ("mal'ake ha-mavet"). Azriel is sometimes referred as the angel of death, as well.

La mort du fossoyeur (Death of the grave-digger) by Carlos Schwabe is a visual compendium of Symbolist motifs.

The portrayal of the scythe originates from a Hellenistic etymological misconception relating the god Cronus with time. Cronus was a harvest deity who is often shown with a sickle, which he also uses to castrate his father Uranus. Etymologists from the Hellenistic period erroneously correlated Cronus with time due to the similarity with the prefix chrono-. From this mistake, Cronus was often depicted as Father Time, carrying a scythe, which is a harvesting tool related to the sickle. The characters of Father Time and the Grim Reaper frequently overlap, leading to the common portrayal of the Grim Reaper brandishing a scythe. As well the conception of the 'harvest' and the reaper reaping the weeds and grain in the field in a parable by Jesus, describing Final Judgement.

In Judaism

Form and functions

According to the Midrash, the angel of death was created by God on the first day. His dwelling is in Heaven, whence he reaches earth in eight flights, whereas pestilence reaches it in one. He has twelve wings. "Over all people have I surrendered thee the power," said God to the angel of death, "only not over this one which has received freedom from death through the Law". It is said of the angel of death that he is full of eyes. In the hour of death he stands at the head of the departing one with a drawn sword, to which clings a drop of gall. As soon as the dying man sees the angel, he is seized with a convulsion and opens his mouth, whereupon the angel throws the drop into it. This drop causes his death; he turns putrid, and his face becomes yellow. The expression "to taste of death" originated in the idea that death was caused by a drop of gall.

The soul escapes through the mouth, or, as is stated in another place, through the throat; therefore the angel of death stands at the head of the patient (Adolf Jellinek, l.c. ii. 94, Midr. Teh. to Ps. xi.). When the soul forsakes the body its voice goes from one end of the world to the other, but is not heard (Gen. R. vi. 7; Ex. R. v. 9; Pirḳe R. El. xxxiv.). The drawn sword of the angel of death, mentioned by the Chronicler (I. Chron. xxi. 15; comp. Job xv. 22; Enoch lxii. 11), indicates that the angel of death was figured as a warrior who kills off the children of men. "Man, on the day of his death, falls down before the angel of death like a beast before the slaughterer" (Grünhut, "Liḳḳuṭim", v. 102a). R. Samuel's father (c. 200) said: "The angel of death said to me, 'Only for the sake of the honor of mankind do I not tear off their necks as is done to slaughtered beasts'" ('Ab. Zarah 20b). In later representations the knife sometimes replaces the sword, and reference is also made to the cord of the angel of death, which indicates death by throttling. Moses says to God: "I fear the cord of the angel of death" (Grünhut, l.c. v. 103a et seq.). Of the four Jewish methods of execution three are named in connection with the angel of death: burning (by pouring hot lead down the victim's throat-- similar to the drop of gall), slaughtering (by beheading), and throttling. The angel of death administers the particular punishment which God has ordained for the commission of sin.

A peculiar mantle ("idra"-according to Levy, "Neuhebr. Wörterb." i. 32, a sword) belongs to the equipment of the angel of death (Eccl. R. iv. 7). The angel of death takes on the particular form which will best serve his purpose; e.g., he appears to a scholar in the form of a beggar imploring pity (M. Ḳ. 28a). "When pestilence rages in the town, walk not in the middle of the street, because the angel of death [i.e., pestilence] strides there; if peace reigns in the town, walk not on the edges of the road. When pestilence rages in the town, go not alone to the synagogue, because there the angel of death stores his tools. If the dogs howl, the angel of death has entered the city; if they make sport, the prophet Elijah has come" (B. Ḳ. 60b). The "destroyer" ("saṭan ha-mashḥit") in the daily prayer is the angel of death (Ber. 16b). Midr. Ma'ase Torah (compare Jellinek, "B. H." ii. 98) says: "There are six angels of death: Gabriel over kings; Ḳapẓiel over youths; Mashbir over animals; Mashḥit over children; Af and Ḥemah over man and beast."

Death and Satan

Drawing of Death bringing cholera, in Le Petit Journal

The angel of death, who is identified by some with Satan, immediately after his creation had a dispute with God as to the light of the Messiah (Pesiḳ. R. 161b). When Eve touched the tree of knowledge, she perceived the angel of death, and thought "Now I shall die, and God will create another wife for Adam". Adam also had a conversation with the angel of death (Böklen, "Die Verwandtschaft der Jüdisch-Christlichen mit der Parsischen Eschatologie," p. 12). The angel of death sits before the face of the dead (Jellinek, l.c. ii. 94). While Abraham was mourning for Sarah the angel appeared to him, which explains why "Abraham stood up from before his dead". Samael told Sarah that Abraham had sacrificed Isaac in spite of his wailing, and Sarah died of horror and grief. It was Moses who most often had dealings with the angel. At the rebellion of Korah, Moses saw him (Num. R. v. 7; Bacher, l.c. iii. 333; compare Sanh. 82a). It was the angel of death in the form of pestilence which snatched away 15,000 every year during the wandering in the wilderness (ib. 70). When Moses reached heaven, the angel told him something (Jellinek, l.c. i. 61).

When the angel of death came to Moses and said, "Give me thy soul," Moses called to him: "Where I sit thou hast no right to stand." And the angel retired ashamed, and reported the occurrence to God. Again, God commanded him to bring the soul of Moses. The angel went, and, not finding him, inquired of the sea, of the mountains, and of the valleys; but they knew nothing of him. Really, Moses did not die through the angel of death, but through God's kiss ("bi-neshiḳah"); i.e., God drew his soul out of his body (B. B. 17a; compare Abraham in Apocryphal and Rabbinical Literature, and parallel references in Böklen, l.c. p. 11). Legend seizes upon the story of Moses' struggle with the angel of death, and expands it at length (Tan., ed. Stettin, pp. 624 et seq.; Deut. R. ix., xi.; Grünhut, l.c. v. 102b, 169a). As Benaiah bound Ashmedai (Jew. Encyc. ii. 218a), so Moses binds the angel of death that he may bless Israel.

Solomon once noticed that the angel of death was grieved. When questioned as to the cause of his sorrow he answered: "I am requested to take your two beautiful scribes." Solomon at once charged the demons to convey his scribes to Luz, where the angel of death could not enter. When they were near the city, however, they both died. The angel laughed on the next day, whereupon Solomon asked the cause of his mirth. "Because," answered the angel, "thou didst send the youths thither, whence I was ordered to fetch them" (Suk. 53a). In the next world God will let the angel of death fight against Pharaoh, Sisera, and Sennacherib.

Scholars and the Angel of Death

Talmud teachers of the fourth century associate quite familiarly with him. When he appeared to one on the street, the teacher reproached him with rushing upon him as upon a beast; whereupon the angel called upon him at his house. To another he granted a respite of thirty days, that he might put his knowledge in order before entering the next world. To a third he had no access, because he could not interrupt the study of the Talmud. To a fourth he showed a rod of fire, whereby he is recognized as the angel of death (M. K. 28a). He often entered the house of Bibi and conversed with him (Ḥag. 4b). Often he resorts to strategy in order to interrupt and seize his victim (B. M. 86a; Mak. 10a).

The death of Joshua ben Levi in particular is surrounded with a web of fable. When the time came for him to die and the angel of death appeared to him, he demanded to be shown his place in paradise. When the angel had consented to this, he demanded the angel's knife, that the angel might not frighten him by the way. This request also was granted him, and Joshua sprang with the knife over the wall of paradise; the angel, who is not allowed to enter paradise, caught hold of the end of his garment. Joshua swore that he would not come out, and God declared that he should not leave paradise unless he was absolved from his oath; if not absolved, he was to remain. The angel of death then demanded back his knife, but Joshua refused. At this point a heavenly voice ("bat ḳol") rang out: "Give him back the knife, because the children of men have need of it" (Ket. 77b; Jellinek, l.c. ii. 48-51; Bacher, l.c. i. 192 et seq.).

Rabbinic views

The Rabbis found the angel of death mentioned in Psalms lxxxix. 45 (A. V. 48), where the Targum translates: "There is no man who lives and, seeing the angel of death, can deliver his soul from his hand". Eccl. viii. 4 is thus explained in Midrash Rabbah to the passage: "One may not escape the angel of death, nor say to him, 'Wait until I put my affairs in order,' or 'There is my son, my slave: take him in my stead.'" Where the angel of death appears there is no remedy (Talmud, Ned. 49a; Hul. 7b). If one who has sinned has confessed his fault, the angel of death may not touch him (Midrash Tanhuma, ed. Buber, 139). God protects from the angel of death (Midrash Genesis Rabbah lxviii.).

By acts of benevolence the anger of the angel of death is overcome; when one fails to perform such acts the angel of death will make his appearance (Derek Ereẓ Zuṭa, viii.). The angel of death receives his order from God (Ber. 62b). As soon as he has received permission to destroy, however, he makes no distinction between good and bad (B. Ḳ. 60a). In the city of Luz the angel of death has no power, and when the aged inhabitants are ready to die they go outside the city (Soṭah 46b; compare Sanh. 97a). A legend to the same effect existed in Ireland in the Middle Ages (Jew. Quart. Rev. vi. 336).

In Christianity

The medieval painting of Death playing chess from Täby Church in Sweden

Death is, either as a personification or an actual being, referenced occasionally in the New Testament. He is equated with the evil angel Samael. One such image is found in Acts 2:24 - "But God raised Him [Jesus] from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him." Later passages, however, are much more explicit. Romans 5 speaks of Death as having "reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses," and various passages in the Epistles speak of Christ's work on the Cross and His Resurrection as a confrontation with Death. Such verses include Rom. 6:9 and 2 Tim. 1:10.

Despite Jesus' victory over it, Death is still viewed as enduring in Scripture. 1 Cor. 15:26 asserts, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death," which implies that Death has not been destroyed once and for all. This assertion later proves true in the Book of Revelation.

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews declares that Satan "holds the power of Death" (Heb. 2:14). It is written that the Son became human that by his death he might destroy the devil; this is the head of the Beast referred to as, "One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed." (Rev. 13:3) If the head that was fatally wounded but healed refers to Death, this accords with 2 Tim. 1:10, which states that Jesus "has destroyed death," and the implication that death was yet to be destroyed in 1 Cor. 15:26. But it could alternately refer to the Devil separately, who was also said to have been destroyed, and yet has revived. That is, whether Death is the Devil or an agent of Satan is unclear.

The final destruction of Death is referenced by Paul in the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians; he says that after the general resurrection, the prophecies of Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14 - "He will swallow up death forever," and "Where, O death, is your sting?" (Septuagint), will be fulfilled. According to Paul, the power of Death lies in sin, which is made possible by the Law, but God "gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." That victory over Death is prophetically revealed in the Revelation of John, discussed below.

In the visions of John, Death is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Rev. 6:8 reads, "I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." In Rev. 20:13-14, in the vision of Judgment of the dead, it is written, "The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death." This describes the destruction of the last enemy. After this, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Rev. 21:4)

In Roman Catholicism, the archangel Michael is viewed as the good Angel of Death (as opposed to the evil Angel of Death, Samael) carrying the souls of the deceased to Heaven. There, he balances them in his scales (one of his symbols). He is said to give the dying souls the chance to redeem themselves before passing as well. In Mexico, a popular folk Catholic "cult" regards the Angel of Death as a saint, known as Santa Muerte, but this local cultus is not acknowledged by the Church.

In Islam

Whilst the preceding Abrahamic religions offered little detail on the passage of souls from one dimension into another, Islam provided detailed information. Previously the lack of scripture tended to categorise Death with the supernatural or evil, a natural consequence of humanity's fear over the unknown. However with the onset of Islam, the concept of death as a celebratory event as opposed to one to be dreaded became manifest. It is the passage of the everlasting soul into a closer dimension to its creator that is seen as a point of joy rather than misery, obvious mortal grief and sadness not withstanding. Indeed the Prophet Muhammed demonstrated that grief was an acceptable form of what makes us human, however prolonged mourning at the expense of the living is inappropriate, especially in the light of the transition from one world to the next.

Death is represented by one of Allah's angels in the Quran:

6:93: "If thou couldst see, when the wrong-doers reach the pangs of death and the angels stretch their hands out, saying: Deliver up your souls."

32:11: "Say: The Angel of Death, who hath charge concerning you, will gather you and afterward unto your Lord ye will be returned."

The irony of the Angel of Death refers to his involvement in the creation of life. In these verses the Angel of Death and his assistants are sent to take the soul of those destined to die. Who is the Angel of Death? When God wanted to create Adam, he sent one of the Angels of the Throne to bring some of the earth's clay to fashion Adam from it. When the angel came to earth to take the clay, the earth told him: "I beseech you by the One Who sent you not to take anything from me to make someone who will be punished one day." When the angel returned empty-handed, God asked him why he did not bring back any clay. The angel said: "The earth besought me by Your greatness not to take anything from it." Then God sent another angel, but the same thing happened, and then another, until God decided to send Azra'il, the Angel of Death. The earth spoke to him as it had spoken to the others, but Azra'il said: "Obedience to God is better than obedience to you, even if you beseech me by His greatness." And Azra'il took clay from the earth's east and its west, its north and its south, and brought it back to God. God poured some water of paradise on this clay and it became soft, and from it He created Adam.

He is mistakenly known by the name of "Izrail" (not to be confused with Israel, which is a name in Islam solely for Prophet Ya'qoob/Jacob), since the name Izrael isn't mentioned in the holy Quran nor Hadith, the English form of which is Azra'il. He is charged with the task of separating and returning from the bodies the souls of people who are to be recalled permanently from the physical world back to the primordial spiritual world. This is a process whose aspect varies depending on the nature and past deeds of the individual in question, and it is known that the Angel of death is also accompanied by helpers or associates.

Apart from the characteristics and responsibilities he has in common with other angels in Islam, little else concerning Angel of death can be derived from fundamental Muslim texts. Many references are made in various Muslim legends, however, some of which are included in books authored by Muslim poets and mystics. For instance, the following tale is related in the Naqshbandi order of Sufism on the practicalities of sweeping up human souls from the expanse of the earth:

The Prophet Abraham once asked Azra'il who has two eyes in the front of his head and two eyes in the back: "O Angel of Death! What do you do if one man dies in the east and another in the west, or if a land is stricken by the plague, or if two armies meet in the field?" The angel said: "O Messenger of God! the names of these people are inscribed on the lawh al-mahfuz: It is the 'Preserved Tablet' on which all human destinies are engraved. I gaze at it incessantly. It informs me of the moment when the lifetime of any living being on earth has come to an end, be it one of mankind or one of the beasts. There is also a tree next to me, called the Tree of Life. It is covered with myriads of tiny leaves, smaller than the leaves of the olive-tree and much more numerous. Whenever a person is born on earth, the tree sprouts a new leaf, and on this leaf is written the name of that person. It is by means of this tree that I know who is born and who is to die. When a person is going to die, his leaf begins to wilt and dry, and it falls from the tree onto the tablet. Then this person's name is erased from the Preserved Tablet. This event happens forty days before the actual death of that person. We are informed forty days in advance of his impending death. That person himself may not know it and may continue his life on earth full of hope and plans. However, we here in the heavens know and have that information. That is why God has said: 'Your sustenance has been written in the heavens and decreed for you,' and it includes the life-span. The moment we see in heaven that leaf wilting and dying we mix it into that person's provision, and from the fortieth day before his death he begins to consume his leaf from the Tree of Life without knowing it. Only forty days then remain of his life in this world, and after that there is no provision for him in it. Then I summon the spirits by God's leave, until they are present right before me, and the earth is flattened out and left like a dish before me, from which I partake as I wish, by God's order."

— , Naqshbandi.net)

Death in popular fiction

The character of Death has recurred many times in popular fiction. It has made appearances in many stories, from serious dramatic fiction to comedy, including playing roles in science fiction and fantasy stories.

Films

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Death as portrayed in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal

• In 1957, Swedish director Ingmar Bergman made The Seventh Seal, an influential (and heavily symbolic) movie depicting one of the most famous moments in the fictional portrayal of Death. In the movie, a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) returning from a crusade plays a game of chess with Death, with the knight's life depending upon the outcome of the game. American film critic Roger Ebert remarked that this image "[is] so perfect it has survived countless parodies." The influence of Bergman's depiction has been wide:
• The final act of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life has Death going into a house to pick up a group of people sitting down to dinner who were killed by the salmon mousse. He then takes them (and their cars) into the afterlife.
• In the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Last Action Hero, Bergman's Death is brought into the real world temporarily, played by Sir Ian McKellen.
• In Peter Jackson's 1996 film The Frighteners, death appears as an invisible Grim Reaper figure wielding a scythe, who murders people. It is later revealed this figure is not the real Death but rather the disguised ghost of an executed serial killer.
• In Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, the Grim Reaper is portrayed as a hilarious, unsportsmanlike, mildly sarcastic guy. He wears a black robe, has white skin, no hair, carries a scythe, and will escort anyone to any desired location (Hell, Heaven, and Earth) if he is beaten at a game. During the newsflashes which appear in the ending credits, it was written that the Grim Reaper won the Indy 500. He was quoted as saying, "I didn't know I could run that fast." He even started his own short-lived rock band.
• In the Adam Sandler movie Click, Sandler portrays Michael Newman that uses a remote to control aspects of his life. Death is represented by Morty (Christopher Walken) who takes Michael's father and afterwards Michael himself as he shows the importance of living life day by day.
• In the Brad Pitt movie Meet Joe Black, Pitt plays the role of Joe Black, the identity and body assumed by death.
• The Hogfather, a two part miniseries based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel of the same name, aired on Sky One in Christmas 2006. In it, Death has to become the Discworld equivalent of Father Christmas in order to save the world (with the help of his granddaughter, Susan).
• Death is also a prominent character in the upcoming Terry Pratchett film The Colour of Magic.
• In the film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a flying, skeletal, screeching Death is constantly chasing Baron Münchhausen in various stages and events throughout the plot, with the intent to take his soul.
• In the B-movie, Six-String Samurai, Death is portrayed at a heavy metal guitar-playing samurai who has ambitions of taking the vacated throne of Lost Vegas for himself. Death's costume resembles the outfit of Guns 'N Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash.
• In the film Dogma, Death is represented by Loki, who quit the job of The Angel Of Death and was banished to Wisconsin until the end of the world.
• In the film Pale Rider, it is implied that Clint Eastwood's character, the Preacher, is Death. A teenage girl prays for help, and shortly after the Preacher arrives on a pale horse and proceeds to wreak death on the antagonists.

Literature

In Book II of Paradise Lost by John Milton, Death, along with Sin, holds the keys to the locked Gates of Hell. After God and His angels defeat Lucifer (now Satan) and banish him and his followers to Hell, God commands Sin and Death to never unlock the gates. Satan, upon hearing that God has created a new world and new beings, Adam and Eve, sets out to cause their downfall. Arriving at the Gates of Hell, Satan converses with Sin and Death and learns of Death's creation. Sin is the daughter of Satan and became pregnant with Satan's child. The birth was extremely painful for Sin; so painful that she cried out "Death!" as the unnamed entity was born. The caves of Hell echoed back "Death" and her son became known as Death. Death then raped his mother who subsequently gave birth to monstrous dogs who bite and gnaw at her and travel to and fro her womb at will causing her immense pain. According to Sin, Death despises everything living and has the power to destroy anything except God. Sin warns that Death can destroy Satan and that the only reason she is spared (yet tortured) is that Death cannot exist without Sin. Satan nevertheless demands that the gates be opened. Death, unafraid of Satan, calls him a "false fugitive," commands him to retreat, and warns, "with one stroke of this Dart, strange horrors seize thee and pangs unfelt before." By promising Sin and Death a world where they, "shall dwell at ease," Satan persuades Sin and Death to open the gates to allow him passage through Chaos to Earth. When word reaches Sin and Death that Satan succeeds, they begin to construct a road connecting Hell to Earth. Satan, on his return from Earth, notes of the road being built and instructs Sin and Death to be his ambassadors on Earth.

Death is described as a, "shape had none distinguishable in member, joint, or limb, or substance...Black it stood as Night..and shook a dreadful Dart; what seemed his head the likeness of a Kingly Crown had on."

The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is presented as a spectre not unlike the Grim Reaper.

Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series of fantasy novels features a modernized Grim Reaper, who is the central character of On a Pale Horse, the first book in the series. In this personification, Death is an office held by a mortal. The mortal holding the office of Death is protected from aging, fire, disease and other dangers by the cloak he wears. When not wearing the cloak, the office holder is subject to any and all dangers and consequences just as any other mortal. The person holds the office of Death until they themselves die, usually because they become careless over time, and are themselves killed by someone they have come to collect. This person then takes over the office, and the cycle begins anew. Part way through the book, the character receives a scythe, which is revealed to be another part of his "uniform".

Death is the most prominent of the anthropomorphic personifications who figure as characters in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. He appears in all but one of the books in the series (see Death (Discworld)). Although to begin with, he was a vaguely malevolent figure (when Rincewind managed to avoid being taken, he gave a man a heart attack and killed a small fly, though this was later shown to be not Death himself, but Scrofula, one of his 'stand-ins') he developed into a being that takes not malice but interest in his job, and indeed believes that he must care for humanity ("What can the harvest hope for, if not the care of the Reaper Man?" —Death, Reaper Man). Notable features include the catch phrase "There is no justice, just me," and the emphasis put on his voice, being like "tombstones rolling" (exaggerated by his text being in all capitals). What makes the inclusion of Death so unique is that he is seen to be likable, if not only very droll. Terry Pratchett also plays on common concepts such as the legendary "game of chess," making them into comic features and providing an interesting take on the subject. This version of Death is also shown in the book Good Omens, where he is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, there is a children's story about three artifacts created by Death himself to give to three wizard brothers who quite cleverly avoided him by conjuring a bridge across a river he was sure they would die in. The gifts were a ploy to deceive the brothers, in an attempt to kill them as surely as if they had died in the river. The oldest brother asked for a wand that will win any duel for its owner. He received it, only to be killed in his sleep by someone else who wanted it. The second brother was given a stone with the power to recall the dead. He recalled his dead fiancée, who was unhappy because she did not belong in the mortal realm. He eventually killed himself to truly join her. The youngest did not trust Death and asked for a way to avoid Death for as long as he wanted. Death was extremely irritated that he had been cheated out of the same victim twice, but still handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility, which the youngest brother eventually gave to his son. Death then instantly claimed him, and the youngest brother greeted him as one would an old friend, dying quite willingly.

In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, Death himself narrates the story of Liesel, a girl living in Nazi Germany, and how she has avoided him, while others around her have not been so lucky.

Comics

Death as a teenage goth girl in The Sandman comics

• An atypical personification of Death appears in The Sandman, a series of comic books written by Neil Gaiman, in which Death, one of the Endless, is depicted as a woman. The image and attire of The Endless change to match with the human styles of their current periods, and as such she appears in current era in the guise of a Goth girl. Throughout the different periods she is always shown wearing an Ankh around her neck, symbolizing the idea that life and death are two sides of the same reality. This is further emphasized by the fact that this version is present in the first moment of a human's life, as well as its last. Gaiman's Death is cheerful and supportive, perhaps not only as a way of playing with audience expectations, but also to demystify death itself, which is seen as a moment of passage rather than a real ending. This Death takes a 24 hour day each century to walk amongst the living and likewise die just like the living. She takes no joy nor hatred in her job, but merely does because she must. She will live the longest of the Endless: "When the first living thing existed, I was there, waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job is finished. I'll put the chairs on tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave."

• Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa also created a personification of death for his stories starring the ghost Bug-a-Booo, Lady McDeath (original: Dona Morte) She is a more comedic version of the Grim Reaper, often having trouble bringing people to the afterlife. Mauricio even acknowledged he avoids turning McDeath an assassin, aggressive character.

• Nedor Comics had a superhero during the 1940s called The Grim Reaper.

• Marvel Comics also has a human supervillain called The Grim Reaper, and also uses Death as a cosmic being who embodies all things that have died.
• The title character in the webcomic Jack is the personification of wrath whose punishment is to be the Grim Reaper. In Jack, nearly all the characters are anthropomorphic animals. Jack himself is wizened green rabbit in a brown cloak.

• In Irregular Webcomic!, there is a different Death for every way of dying. They all work for the Head Death. The Deaths seen most often are Insanely Overpowered Fireballs, Choking on a Giant Frog, Inhaling Hatmaking Chemicals, and Wrestled to Death by Steve (The character Steve being a parody of Steve Irwin). Once, the Head Death fired Insanely Overpowered Fireballs, who humourously took up a job at the Nigerian Finance Ministry.

• The character of Death has been used frequently in Gary Larson's The Far Side comic strip. Death is seen doing a comedy routine, in a theater with his girlfriend Judy, and "as a child" (where he is putting mini gravestones into a sandbox).

Television

File:CharmedAngelOfDeath.jpg

Simon Templeman as the Angel of Death on the tv series Charmed.

• In Xena: Warrior Princess, Celesta is portrayed as the Goddess of Death. She makes two appearances in the series run. Celesta visits the dead and takes them to the underworld. When she is chained, her candle burns and death will be no more.
• In the anime and original manga series Sailor Moon, one of the warriors, 13-year old Sailor Saturn, is the warrior of death and destruction. Her powers are based on Saturn, the Roman god of harvest, and she carries a weapon known as the 'Silence Glaive', also referred to as 'the scythe of the goddess of death'. Emphasis is placed on death being necessary for rebirth throughout the Sailor Moon series.
• In the anime Gundam Wing and its OVA sequel, Endless Waltz, Duo Maxwell's Gundam mobile suit is known as Deathscythe and uses a scythe with a thermal energy blade to destroy enemy mobile suits.
• In the TV show Family Guy, Death is a recurring character (originally voiced by Norm Macdonald, later by Adam Corolla) who appears as a skeletal figure in a black cloak who carries a scythe. He is one of the less impressive incarnations, portrayed as a human-like slacker who lives with his mother. He is only trying to do his job and is tired of everyone calling him a villain.
• In the "Treehouse of Horror XIV" episode of The Simpsons, Homer Simpson becomes Death after killing his predecessor ("Doug") with a bowling ball.
• In the second season of Earthworm Jim during the Christmas special "For Whom the Jingle Bell Tolls" Jim visits the Personifications of Abstract Concepts Club in search of Santa Claus. There he finds Cupid, The Easter Bunny and Death, who complains how overexposed Santa is, and how underexposed he is. Princess What's-Her-Name points out that he starred in "some Swedish movie".
• As a main character, Death is known as Grim in the series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, in which he is voiced by Greg Eagles.
• In a 1959 episode of The Twilight Zone titled "One for the Angels", Death comes to take a pitch salesman. When the salesman refuses, Death chooses to take a young girl's life as an alternative. The salesman saves the girl's life by distracting Death with a sales pitch, a "pitch for the angels" (hence the title). After the girl is saved, Death leads the salesman into Heaven.
• In a 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone titled "The Hitch-Hiker", Death is portrayed as a hitch-hiker who follows a young woman on a cross-country road trip from New York to Los Angeles.
• In a 1962 episode of The Twilight Zone titled "Nothing in the Dark", Robert Redford plays the Grim Reaper disguised as a police officer, easing an elderly woman into death.
• In the British sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf, the Grim Reaper comes for Rimmer at the end of the last episode of Series VIII, "Only the Good...". Rimmer, however, escapes by kneeing Death in the groin.
• In an episode of the 2002 revival of The Twilight Zone titled "One Night at Mercy", Death (played by Jason Alexander) decides to quit because he feels his job is too depressing.
• In the television series Dead Like Me, death is administered by creatures known as "gravelings", and the souls of the departed are guided to the afterlife by teams of "grim reapers", former humans who act upon foreknowledge of each death and who snatch the souls moments before their appointment with death.
• The Grim Reaper appears in the sixth episode of South Park, where he kills Kenny McCormick instead of Stan's Grandpa.
• In the Happy Tree Friends Halloween episode, "Out of Sight, Out of Mime", Lumpy dresses as a Death. Lumpy is also seen dressed as Death for the HTF October 2005 and 2007 wallpapers.
• Death appears three times in the series Supernatural in the form of "reapers". The main characters encounter a reaper in three episodes. In the first, a reaper is controlled by a faith healer's wife. In the second encounter, a reaper disguises herself as a lost soul seeking the main characters' help. In the third Dean is in constant conflict with the "reaper" while he is in an "out-of-body" experience.
• In the TV Show Charmed, the Angel of Death is a recurring character. First appearing in season three to Prue Halliwell, he teaches her the necessity of death, and later in season seven turns Piper Halliwell into a fellow spirit of death when the Charmed Ones accidentally save someone who was supposed to die and thus and cause him to fall behind on his work. Finally appearing in an eighth season episode, Death is take the soul of Piper's husband Leo Wyatt, and out of fondness for the family gives Piper some forewarning. Death is a neutral being, and as such, sides with neither good beings like the Charmed Ones or the demons they destroy.
• In the Japanese anime and manga series "Bleach", the characters Ichigo and Rukia are depicted as Soul Reapers who send people to the Soul Society(the series´ Heaven) or to the Underworld.
• In the Japanese anime "YuYu Hakusho", the grim reaper is portrayed by Boton, who is very a-typical of the usual portrayal of death.
• In the British TV series Torchwood (a spin-off of long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who), a being described as being "Death" appears in the episode "Dead Man Walking". After cheating Death, a malevolent enitity tries to use undead Owen Harper as a conduit to the world of the living, and later tries to claim 13 souls to attain absolute power.
• In the 6th season of "Tales From The Crypt" at the beginning of the episode "The Assassin" the Crypt Keeper and "Death"(William Sadler reprising his role from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey) engage in a contest of "Winner Take All" rock, paper, scissors and Death wins. Death then chops off the Crypt Keeper's hand and they go to start the second round as the episode begins.(This is a parody of the ending of the Season 2 episode "Cutting Cards")
• The animated series Animaniacs included a segment entitled "Meatballs or Consequences" that featured a parody of Bergman's personification of Death from The Seventh Seal.
• In an episode of the television show Nip/Tuck the character of Julia McNamara (Joely Richardson) is visited, while under anesthesia by the angel of death who is disguised as her life coach Ava Moore (Famke Janssen)

Video games

• In the MMORPG,Guild Wars, there is a character class called the Dervish which wears a robe and hood and that carries a scythe.
• The Character "Morrigan" in the Darkstalkers series is a reference to the Celtic representation of death.
• Often featured in the Castlevania series as right hand man for Dracula. Features as a boss on many occasions. (See Death (Castlevania).)
• In the Maximo series, he works alongside the titular character, helping to avenge his death.
• Death appears in The Sims when your Sims are lacking adequate food, comfort, energy, etc., if they are killed by some of the various in-game phenomena, if they die of old age (only in The Sims 2), or if the player chooses to kill them through unsafe commands.
• A rock version of the Grim Reaper appears as the Grim Ripper, a playable guitarist in the Guitar Hero series which is the personification of Death metal.
• Death is one of the three Dark Gods of Mardias in Romancing SaGa. In the original SNES version, he does not have the scythe as seen in today's personifications. Instead, he carries a staff, but retains his skeletal appearance. In the remake of the game, Death has a centaur-like appearance, and wields the scythe he is commonly associated with.
• In the video game MediEvil and MediEvil Resurrection, Death appears as a narrator and character.
• In the Nintendo 64 game Conker's Bad Fur Day and its remake Conker: Live & Reloaded, a short, squeaky-voiced personification of death is known as Gregg the Grim Reaper.
• In the video game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, The Reaper is an enemy that appears when a player stays on any floor of Tartarus too long. The Reaper is level 99, but possible to defeat.
• Most, if not all Final Fantasy games feature a "Death" spell which summons a Grim Reaper to instantly kill an enemy (depending on their immunities).
• Death is a minor recurrent foe in the Gauntlet series of video games. while difficult to defeat, it leaves of its own accord after inflicting a set degree of suffering on the player. In some games, it has two incarnations: "Red Death", which drains health, or "Black Death", who drains experience.
• Reapers are a mid-to-high level class of monsters in Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra.
• In the Disciples series of computer games, the goddess Mortis of the Undead Hordes appears as a mildly feminized version of the classic Grim Reaper persona. In addition, the Grim Reaper is available in the first Disciples game as the subject of a powerful summoning spell. In Disciples II, that spell instead summons a uniquely-envisioned and slightly more powerful entity named Thanatos, while the Grim Reaper persona is now potentially available as a powerful magical unit.
• In MapleStory, Ergoth, who resembles classical depictions of the Grim Reaper serves as the powerful boss of the Guild Quest. There is also a pet called the "Jr. Reaper", which looks like a chibi Reaper.
• In the Nintendo Entertainment System game Ghoul School, the "Grim Reaper" haunts the Principal's Office. When killed, he releases his scythe which the player can pick up and use against future enemies.
• In the Xbox game, "Grabbed by the Ghoulies," the grim reaper sometimes appears if you have run out of time in an event or task. If he touches you with his "hand of death," then you die, and have to redo or retry the task.
• In the PlayStation Portable game titled Death, Jr. II: Root of Evil, Death makes a physical appearance in the game as the father of the protagonist, Death, Jr.
• In the PlayStation game series Twisted Metal, the character Mister Grimm is the personification of death, and is depicted as a fusion between a motorcycle racer and the traditional Grim Reaper. In the series, he rides an extremely fast motorcycle and is shown to be addicted to consuming the souls of the dead.
• In the PC adventure game Grim Fandango, you play the role of Manny Calavera, a grim reaper.
• In RuneScape, The Grim Reaper appears during most Halloween events.
• In the RPG Adventure Quest, when the player dies, a person with a scythe will appear.
• In the Nintendo DS games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Darkrai's appearance is similar to that of the Grim Reaper. Additionally, Dusknoir is the "Gripper" Pokémon, and the antenna on it head relays commands from the realm of the dead to bring people there.
• In the little known PC game Challengo, the Grim Reaper acts as a villain and is a boss at the last level.
• In the MMO Dofus a Grim Reaper with wings, known as Lord Crow, appears at the end of the Crow dungeon, in Lord Crows' library.

Poetry

• Swedish poet and composer Bellman usually personified death as Charon.

Music

• The Grim Reaper is referred to by Blue Öyster Cult in their 1976 hit "(Don't Fear) The Reaper".
• The Finnish metal band Children of Bodom has several times used the Grim Reaper in album artwork and music videos.
• Grim Reaper is the name of a British heavy metal band
• In the musical Elisabeth, Death falls in love with Elisabeth of Bavaria.
• In the 1974 concept album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis, Death visits the main character Rael when he is trapped in a pile of rubble. Death comes in a disguise he calls "The Supernatural Anesthetist."
• In the My Chemical Romance concept album, The Black Parade, the band appears as the Grim Reaper in the form of a "Black Parade".
• On Marilyn Manson's Holy Wood album, at the second half of the song In The Shadow of The Valley of Death, the lyrics are about Death (especially when personified as an angel).
• In Shakespear's Sister video for hit single 'Stay' band member Siobhan Fahey appears as The Angel of Death and attempts to take a young man in a coma to the Underworld.
• Slayer, an American thrash metal band, have a song entitled Angel of Death, which is about the Holocaust.
• In Pearl Jam video for the song Do the Evolution death is represented as a beautiful, black haired woman that dances and laughs as it follows mankind through all of its history.

Commercials

• A 1987 Australian AIDS prevention commercial featured the Grim Reaper ten-pin bowling.
• The Grimm Report CD reviews commercial with St. Louis' Ben Grimm, writer for inBox Magazine & DVD.

See also

• Psychopomp
• Death deity
• Shinigami
• Personification

Bibliography

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

• Bender, A. P. (1894). "Beliefs, Rites, and Customs of the Jews, Connected with Death, Burial, and Mourning". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 6 (2): 317–347. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Bender, A. P. (1894). "Beliefs, Rites, and Customs of the Jews, Connected with Death, Burial, and Mourning". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 6 (4): 664–671. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Böklen, Ernst (1902). Die Verwandtschaft der Jüdisch-Christlichen mit der Parsischen Eschatologie. Göttingen: Vendenhoeck & Ruprecht.
• Dillmann, August (1895). Handbuch der alttestamentlichen Theologie. Leipzig: S. Hirzel.
• Hamburger, R. B. T. i. 990-992:
• Joël, David (1881). Der Aberglaube und die Stellung des Judenthums zu Demselben. Breslau: F.W. Jungfer's Buch.
• Kohut, Alexander (1866). Ueber die Jüdische Angelologie und Dämonologie in Ihrer Abhängigkeit vom Parsismus. Leipzig: Brockhaus.
• Milton, John. Paradise Lost.
• Schwab, Moïse (1897). Vocabulaire de l'Angélologie d'Après les Manuscrits Hebreux de la Bibliothèque Nationale. Paris.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Stave, Erik (1898). Ueber den Einfluss des Parsismus auf das Judenthum. Haarlem: E. F. Bohn.
• Weber, F. W. (1897). Jüdische Theologie auf Grund des Talmud und verwandter Schriften, gemeinfasslich dargestellt. Leipzig: Dörffling & Franke.
• Winer, B. R. ii. 383-386;

External links

• Images of the Grim Reaper and other personifications of death
• A contemplative view of the Morrigan, the Celtic goddess of death
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Death, Angel of