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Best of Grim Reaper - CD
Review: Good band, but is a best of grim reaper
really necessary?
Grim Reaper was one of literally hundreds of bands to emerge from
the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal in the eighties. though the
band never saw any true success, their music was still excellent.
In the nineties, this compilation of their material was released.
How does it measure up? Read on and see.
PROS:
Grim Reaper never really had any hits, so this is obviously a
"best of", not a "greatest hits." The closest
thing the band had to a hit was See You In Hell, the title track
from their debut album (and that's only because it appeared on
Beavis And Butt-Head), and you'll find it here. There are several
other excellent tracks, too.
CONS:
The band only put out THREE albums in their career, two of which
are available on a single CD! That means for double the price
of this, you can own ALL of the band's material!
OVERALL:
Take my advice and just get the band's three albums. It's worth
the extra cash, and believe it or not, they're actually easier
to find than this is.
Review
We Need Another New Wave of British Heavy Metal!
If you are only going to buy one Grim Reaper CD, this is definitely
the one! It has many tracks from each of their three albums: 7
from See You in Hell, 6 from Fear No Evil, and 4 from Rock You
to Hell. The booklet is also very impressive. It includes liner
notes with the track lengths, original release dates for each
album, a listing of which tracks are on which albums, a five page
history of the band (well-written, although bogged down by a redundant
use of certain words), and two photos of the band. Not many greatest
hits compilations have this much info. All it needs are lyrics
and it would be complete.
Musically, these guys were awesome.
They were part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement
of the early/mid 1980s. I cannot believe I've missed out on them
for so long. I was a big fan of Judas Priest and the best of the
Brit New Wave, Iron Maiden, back in the 1980s. I had heard of
Grim Reaper but never bought any of their albums. Well, these
guys could rock with the best of them, including Priest, Accept,
and Maiden. These guys were serious rockers. Steve Grimmett's
voice is amazing and the Nick Bowcott's guitar work provides plenty
of power. Even a potentially trashy track like "Suck It and
See" sounds legit. Only the silly Twisted Sister-like intro
to "Final Scream" might be considered novelty. A boxed
set of their three albums (W.A.S.P. has such a set of three of
their albums) would be the only Grim Reaper buy better than this.
Even with all the tracks on this CD, I would buy such a set. In
the meantime, buy The Best of, and experience the "Wrath
of the Reaper."
Review: Beautiful melodies
I'm a big fan of all metal groups because I've had that headbanger
mindset my whole life. A lot of people overlook the gorgeous melodies
that Grim Reaper put into their songs. One may look at the song
titles that seem to all include the word hell and one might think
the band is too edgy for them. If you sit down and peel back the
tough cover from these tunes, you'll find some ultra sensitve
songsmiths underneath. I look at Grim Reaper as an angry sounding
Air Supply. In fact, if you're out on a date and things are getting
interesting, throw on a little reaper to send things over the
top. They are the Barry White of my generation. Sure, songs like
See you in hell may throw your date for little loop and probably
scare her a bit, but if you can convince her to stay, really listen
to these songs she'll feel the vibe. That is how I've won over
many a date, as if I needed music anyway. So if you aren't like
me and have trouble getting from the check at dinner to second
base, throw on some reaper and thank me later.
Wikipedia
"Grim Reaper" Fun Facts
Text is used under GNU Free Documentation License
Death, as a skeleton carrying a scythe, visiting a dying man.Death
has been personified as a figure or fictional character in mythology
and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. Because
the reality of death has had a substantial influence on the human
psyche and the development of civilization as a whole, the personification
of Death as a living, sentient entity is a concept that has existed
in many societies since the beginning of recorded history. In
the United States death is usually shown as a skeletal figure
wearing a midnight black gown with a hood, while in Europe he
is often depicted similarly, but dressed in white, which is the
traditional color worn at funerals in many places.
Examples of death personified are:
In modern-day European-based folklore,
Death is known as the "Grim Reaper" or "The grim
spectre of death".
In the Middle Ages, Death was imagined as decaying or mummified
human corpse, later becoming the familiar skeleton in a robe.
Conversely, Death is sometimes portrayed as a beautiful woman.
Death is sometimes portrayed in fiction and occultism as Azrael,
the angel of death (note that the name "Azrael" does
not appear in any versions of either the Bible or the Qur'an).
Father Time is sometimes said to be Death.
A psychopomp is a spirit, deity, or other being whose task is
to conduct the souls of the recently dead into the afterlife.
Death in mythological portrayals
Main article: death deity
Several mythologies had gods who embodied Death or aspects of
Death:
Ankou (Breton)
Izanami (Shinto)
Mictlantecuhtli (Aztec)
The Morrigan (Irish)
Mors (Roman)
Mot (Canaanite)
Hades (Greek)
Hel (Norse)
Odin (Norse)
Loki (Norse)
Osiris (Egyptian)
Anpu (Egyptian)
Shemal (Semitic)
Shinigami (Japanese)
Sielulintu, Kalma, Surma (Finnish)
Thanatos (Greek)
Hun-Came (Mayan)
Yama (Hindu)
Yanluo (Chinese)
Hindu mythology
In the Hindu scriptures known collectively as 'Vedas', the lord
of death is called Yama, or Yamaraja.
He rides a black buffalo and carries
a rope lasso to carry the soul back to his abode called 'Yama-loka'.
Here, all the accounts of the person's good and bad deeds are
stored which allow Yamaraja and his followers (called 'Yamadutas')
to decide where the soul has to reside in his next life, following
the theory of reincarnation. It is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam
that souls may experience re-birth in hellish, or heavenly worlds
before returning to this Earth again, if their actions have been
of a particularly selfless or pious nature in this lifetime. 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, 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 Raja). 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.
Death (angels) in religion
Death, a tarot card from the Tarot of Marseilles.In the Bible,
death is viewed as an under form of an angel sent from God, a
being deprived of all voluntary power. On some occasions this
described in terms fitting Azrael, and on others as fitting Samael.
The "angel of the Lord" smites 185,000 men in the Assyrian
camp (II Kings xix. 35). "The destroyer" kills the first-born
of the Egyptians (Ex. xii. 23), and the "destroying angel"
("mal'ak ha-mash?it") rages among the people in Jerusalem
(II Sam. xxiv. 15). 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").
Uriel is sometimes refered as the angel of death, too.
La mort du fossoyeur (Death of the grave-digger) by Carlos Schwabe
is a visual compendium of Symbolist motifs.
In Judaism
Form and functions
The angel of death was created by God on the first day (Tan. on
Gen. xxxix. 1). His dwelling is in heaven, whence he reaches earth
in eight flights, whereas pestilence reaches it in one (Ber. 4b).
He has twelve wings (Pir?e R. El. xiii). "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" (Tan. to Ex. xxxi. 18; ed. Stettin,
p. 315). 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 ('Ab. Zarah 20b; in detail, Jellinck, "B. H."
i. 150; on putrefaction see also Pesi?. 54b; for the eyes compare
Ezek. i. 18 and Rev. iv. 6). The expression "to taste of
death" originated in the idea that death was caused by a
drop of gall ("Jew. Quart. Rev." vi. 327).
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 (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; Pir?e 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, "Li??u?im", 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. ?. 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. ?. 60b). The "destroyer" ("sa?an
ha-mash?it") 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; ?ap?iel over youths; Mashbir over animals; Mash?it over
children; Af and ?emah over man and beast."
Death and Satan
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 (Pesi?. 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" (Pir?e R.
El. xiii., end; compare Targum Yer. to Gen. iii. 6, and Yal?.
i. § 25). 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"
(Gen. xxiii. 3; Gen. R. lviii. 5, misunderstood by the commentators).
Samuel told Sarah that Abraham had sacrificed Isaac in spite of
his wailing, and Sarah died of horror and grief (Pir?e R. El.
xxxii.). 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 (Sifre, Deut. 305). Really, Moses
did not die through the angel of death, but through God's kiss
("bi-neshi?ah"); 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 (Pesi?. 199, where
"lifne moto" [Deut. xxxiii. 1] is explained as meaning
"before the angel of death").
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 (Yal?., Isa. 428).
The teaching of God shields one from
the power of the angel of death. The children of Israel have accepted
the Torah only in order that the angel may have no power over
them ('Ab. Zarah 5a). Since death results only from sin, it can
not, of course, come to those who live in accordance with the
Torah. Although the sentence of mortality once pronounced could
never be recalled ('Ab. Zarah 5a), yet the angel of death may
not visit teachers of the Law; he is rather their friend (ib.
35b), and even imparts learning to them (Ber. 51a).
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 (?ag. 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 ?ol") 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 Ere? Zu?a,
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. ?. 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 (So?ah 46b;
compare Sanh. 97a). A legend to the same effect existed in Ireland
in the Middle Ages ("Jew. Quart. Rev." vi. 336).
In Christianity
Death is personified occasionally in the New Testament. The first
such reference is perhaps 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), perhaps equating the two. 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 personified
as 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 angel of death, 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
Catholic "cult" regards the personification of death
as a saint, known as Santa Muerte. The figure is uncanonized and
the Church refuses to acknowledge its existence.
In Islam
Death, as of one of Allah's angels, is spoken of in the Qur'an:
The angel of death, who has been charged
with you, will gather you; then to your Lord you will be returned.
(32:11).
He is traditionally known by the name of "Izrail" (not
to be confused with Israel, which is a name in Islam solely for
Prophet Ya'qoob/Jacob), the English form of which is Azrael. 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 some suggest
that Azrael 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 Azrael 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 in the
Masnavi, written by the well-known Maulana Rumi:
When the Almighty determined to create
mankind... He deputed the angel Gabriel to bring a handful of
earth for the purpose of forming Adam's body. But the Earth, being
apprehensive that the man so created would rebel against God and
draw down God's curse upon her, remonstrated with Gabriel, and
besought him to forbear... Then God deputed [the angel] Michael
on the same errand, and the Earth made similar excuses to him,
and he also... returned to heaven without taking a handful...
Then God sent the angel Israfil on the same errand, and he also
was diverted from the execution of it by a divine intimation...
At last God sent 'Izrail, the angel of death, who, being of sterner
disposition than the others, resolutely shut his ears to the Earth's
entreaties, and brought back the required handful of earth. The
Earth pressed him with the argument that God's command to bear
away a handful of her substance against her will did not override
the other divine command to take pity on suppliants; but 'Izrail
would not listen to her, remarking that, according to the canons
of theological interpretation, it was not allowable to have recourse
to analogical reasoning to evade a plain and categorical injunction.
He added, that in executing this injunction, painful though it
might be, he was to be regarded only as a spear in the hand of
the Almighty.
— Rumi , Masnavi, Book V (abridged
and translated by EH Whinfield, 1898)
Death as a fictional character
The character of Death is typically depicted in the West as wearing
a dark hooded cloak and wielding a scythe. In many icons of the
resurrection of Jesus, Death is portrayed as a skeleton who is
bound hand and foot lying amid other bones under the earth. In
Eastern Orthodox theology, Death is one of humanity's three enemies;
the other two are sin and the Devil. This figure of Death is also
known as the Grim Reaper. Death, in this guise, appears also on
one of the Tarot arcana. While in Germanic folklore, including
English, Death is male (der Tod), in Latin folklore it is female
(la muerte, la mort). In Mexico, death is sometimes referred upon
as La Calaca, a skull-like character that comes and takes people
away when they die.
The allegorical figure of Death appears
many times in the works of Albrecht Dürer and Terry Pratchett.
Pratchett's Death is substantially different in that he is, as
mentioned in the Discworld Compendium, "on our side"
against the ruthless Auditors, personifications of cosmic Law,
and he has an unexplained affection for kittens.
To contrast with the normally dark
and antagonistic classical depictions of Death, many comedies
portray him as a somewhat sympathetic character, an average Joe
who's simply doing a necessary and unpleasant job, such as the
film Death Takes A Holiday and the cartoon The Grim Adventures
of Billy and Mandy. A skateboarding company named Blind has a
logo that is supposed to resemble the Grim Reaper.
List of works using Death as a fictional character
Animaniacs
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey movie
Buttercup Festival (not Death, but a character with a cloak and
scythe)
The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale part of the Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer.
Castlevania video game series (where Death is a recurring boss).
Cat and Girl
Charmed which has used the names of several incarnations of Death,
from Azrael to Yama, for enemies; Death himself is also a recurring
character.
Children of Bodom Not a work but rather a band
Click (film)
Conker's Bad Fur Day video game (as Gregg, he hates cats, a clear
parody of Pratchett’s cat-loving death of the Discworld);
also seen in the remake, Conker: Live and Reloaded
Daria
Darkwing Duck cartoon (episode 147 - Dead Duck)
Death and Doctor hornbook, poem by Robert Burns
Dead Like Me television show
Death, Jr. video game/comic book
Death comic book, a spinoff from The Sandman
Death Knocks, a one-act play by Woody Allen
Death Note manga/movies
Death Takes a Holiday movie (1934)
Der müde Tod silent movie (1921)
Discworld novels - Death is a darksome meddler in the affairs
of humans, generally aiding the tradgedies that claim so many
lives. He can always be identified in the novels if not mentioned
by name, since he only speaks outside of quotation marks and in
all CAPITAL LETTERS.
The Doors
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Family Guy - A happless, emo Death is a recurring character in
the series, first voiced by Norm MacDonald and later by Adam Corolla.
In a nod to Adam Corolla's stint as host of "The Man Show",
his co-host, Jimmy Kimmel, voiced a one-line cameo of a canine
version of Death come to the Griffin house since he thought their
dog, Brian, was about to die. One of the common jokes in episodes
featuring the character is the act of "laughing at Death."
Feel the Magic: XY/XX
The Frighteners
The Gauntlet series
Good Omens a novel by Neil Gaiman And Terry Pratchett, in which
his character is quite similar to that of the Discworld novels.
Grave Digger Another band which has the Grim Reaper as its mascot
The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy an original Cartoon Network
cartoon in which death (who speaks with an apparently-Jamaican
accent and referred to by the other characters as "Grim")
is one of the main characters.
Grim Fandango video game.
Grim Tales From Down Below This is a "what if" comic
online about if Grim and Mandy had kids. It is by an artist known
as Bleedman
A Grolsch commercial from circa 2004 [1]
Incarnations of Immortality novels
Irregular Webcomic! features a death for each method of dying,
including Death of Insanely Overpowered fireballs, Death of Chocking
on a Giant Frog (formally Death of Being Covered in Custard and
Smothered by Licking Kittens) and Death of being Wrestled to Death
by Steve (Deceased; Wrestled to death by Steve) and Death of Being
Ground to Death by a Mars Rover Rock Abrasion Tool (who is more
annoyed than most each time a NASA Mission fails) under the control
of a Head Death.
JACK webcomic with the Grim Reaper as the main character)
La Dama del Alba (Lady of the Dawn) play
"Last Action Hero" movie
Liberty Meadows comic strip
Marvel Comics
The Meaning of Life movie (1983)
Meet Joe Black movie (1998 remake of Death Takes a Holiday)
Monster in My Pocket comic book (1991)
"Murder Most Horrid" (Episode Dead On Time)
"Paradise Lost" by John Milton
Dona Morte (Lady Death) of Monica's Gang
Preacher comic book in which Death appears as a "Wild West"
gunslinger known as the Saint of Killers
Red Dwarf (episode Only the Good...)
Riding the Bullet (Stephen King short story and 2004 movie)
RuneScape game. As part of the Halloween event in 2005, the Grim
Reaper would appear and reap the player with his scythe whenever
they died.
The Sandman comic book
Secret of Mana
The Seventh Seal (1957 movie)
Shadowgate video game
The Simpsons
The Sims games
South Park cartoon (episode 106 - "Death")
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles where Death is a bad guy in the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics and one of the Four Horsemen
of the Apocalypse.
The Twilight Zone
Warhammer 40,000 tabletop wargame features the C'tan Stargod "Nightbringer",
depicted as an immense cloak-wearing entity wielding a scythe,
said to be the one who instilled the fear of death in the races
of our galaxy
Watership Down features a psychopomp known as the Black rabbit
of Inlé (Inlé being the moon, which has fearful
connotations compared to Frith, the sun God) which acts like an
angel of death who "Serves lord Frith, but he does no more
than his appointed task."
EverQuest players could summon a pet resembling death. An NPC
that conjures up player bodies closely resembles Death.
Yu-Gi-Oh! a powerful monster in the trading card game and anime
is called "spirit reaper". It resembles the grim reaper.
Mighty Boosh In episode 3 series 1 (Bollo). Howard Moon is mistake
for a dying ape and is taken my death to a taxi firm full of grim
reapers.
???Brendandh 19:06, 5 September 2007 (UTC)
Death in popular fiction
The character of Death has recurred many times in popular fiction.
He has made appearances in many stories, from serious dramatic
fiction to comedy, including playing roles in science fiction
and fantasy stories.
Movies
Death as portrayed in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh SealDeath appears
in Woody Allen's Love and Death and Deconstructing Harry as well
as his play Death Knocks. Death Takes a Holiday was a 1934 film
directed by Mitchell Leisen, and written by Maxwell Anderson.
Death (Fredric March as Prince Sirki) decides to take a holiday
from his usual business to see how the mortals live. Complications
ensue as those who should have died do not. Death Takes a Holiday
was remade in the 1998 film Meet Joe Black, directed by Martin
Brest and starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. While Meet Joe
Black touches briefly on the consequences of a world where Death
is not doing his job, its focus is on Death's experience as a
human, and on the personal relationships within the family he
chooses to stay with.
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 plays a game of chess
with Death, with the knight's life depending upon the outcome
of the game. The concept of playing games with Death has been
used (and spoofed) many times since Bergman's movie. A 1968 short
film called The Dove deliberately spoofed this famous movie scene,
a young couple challenge Death to a game of badminton. Woody Allen
has written a short story in which Death loses a game of gin rummy
after clumsily entering a man's apartment and trying to cow him
into going quietly. Bob Burden's surrealist comic book, "The
Flaming Carrot", features a cover in which the title character
rejects Death's offer of playing chess and suggests instead lawn
darts. In The Sims, a player can sometimes win back a recently-deceased
Sim by challenging Death to rock-paper-scissors.
In the 1991 comedy Bill & Ted's
Bogus Journey, Death is played by William Sadler After the witless
protagonists are killed by their evil robot counterparts, Death
comes to collect them. Bill and Ted give Death a wedgie and run
away. Later, after they accidently get sent to Hell, the duo find
Death again. Death tells them that they can challenge him to a
contest, and if they win, they will be brought back to life. Bill
and Ted beat Death at Battleship, Clue, and Twister. Death stubbornly
demands a rematch after each loss. After he accepts his defeat
Death takes Bill and Ted to Heaven to find the greatest scientist
in the Universe: a pair of Martians known as "Station."
By the end of the movie, Bill and Ted find that Death isn't evil;
he's just an okay guy doing his job, and Death becomes the bass
player for their rock band, Wyld Stallyns.
In the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie
Last Action Hero, the character of Death from Bergman's Seventh
Seal is brought into the real world temporarily, played by Ian
McKellen. In the short-lived TV series Big Wolf on Campus the
main character goes on a frantic gaming spree in which he loses
several games to Death, a reverse-spoof of Bill and Ted, as well
as Ingmar Bergman. In Dogma, The Angel of Death, named Loki (played
by Matt Damon) is portrayed as an angel, banished forever in Wisconsin
with fellow angel Bartleby (Ben Affleck) by God for refusing to
kill anymore. The two angels try to take advantage of the plenary
indulgence loop-hole in order to get back into Heaven, unaware
that doing so would bring about the end of creation. Along the
way, Loki kills an entire boardroom of sinning corporate execs.
Flash cartoon Weebl & Bob parodied this concept in their episode
"Art". Death is portrayed by Monkey, and the characters
are sitting on a chessboard, while Weebl & Bob bemoan (naturally)
their lack of pie.
In Oliver Stone's 1991 film The Doors,
Jim Morrison is haunted by Death, appearing in several scenes
portrayed by Richard Rutowski. Death can be seen dancing behind
him in orgiastic concert scenes or appearing in the background
watching Morrison at bars, parties or on the street. In a scene
deleted from the theatrical release, Death bumps into Morrison
at an airport bar, heavily intoxicated and on his way to the ill-fated
Miami show in 1969, inquiring, "how's it going?" and
closing with a cryptic, "See you around, Jim."
In a number of comedy roles, the character
of Death has had a Swedish foreign accent, paying homage (sometimes
unintentionally) to his role in The Seventh Seal. In Monty Python's
The Meaning of Life, in which he is designed by Terry Gilliam
and voiced by John Cleese, he breaks up a dinner party - along
with its annoying hosts and guests - prematurely.
Death makes a few cameos in Tim Burton's
The Nightmare Before Christmas, most notably, sitting right behind
the Behemoth in the town meeting.
In the 2007 film A Prairie Home Companion,
Virginia Madsen plays "Dangerous Woman", also named
"Asphodel" (a flower sacred to Persephone that, and
as the character's name, sounds suspiciously like Azrael), who
may very well be the Angel of Death.
In the 2007 film Click, the Angel
of Death is portrayed as an eccentric technology enthusiast who
goes by the name of Morty (played by Christopher Walken), a pun
on the Latin word mortis, death. It is from him, in a Bed, Bath
and Beyond store, that protagonist Michael Newman (Adam Sandler)
receives a universal remote control, which has adverse effects
on Michael's life. Ultimately, Morty teaches Michael lessons concerning
family and work, as well as facing the consequences of his actions.
In the 2007 film Scoop, directed by
Woody Allen, the Grim Reaper is seen as the captain of a ship
which sails the recently deceased across the River Styx. Despite
the foreboding atmosphere, the mood on the ship is quite jovial
and one character is seen performing a magic act for the others'
enjoyment. The Reaper says no words and ignores the passengers.
He is also seen coming into the world of humans briefly to collect
a spirit who dove off the ship.
Television
Death in Family GuyThe UK Public Information Film The Spirit of
Dark and Lonely Water features a Grim Reaper-like character.
In the comedy Red Dwarf, Rimmer knees
Death in the groin, telling him that "only the good die young".
Death, naturally surprised, notes that "that's never happened
before." in a pained tone of voice.
As the Grim Reaper, Death stars in
an animated series on the Cartoon Network cable channel called
The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (formerly Grim and Evil).
In this cartoon, the grim reaper has a Jamaican accent and is
a comedic character. The Grim Reaper has also made several appearances
on The Simpsons, Animaniacs, South Park, Family Guy, and even
an early Mickey Mouse cartoon.
In the CBS television show Touched
by an Angel, Death was sympathetically portrayed as a recurring
character, played by John Dye. Andrew, one of many Angels of Death
in the series, detests the notion of being looked upon as the
Grim Reaper rather than an angel just sent from Heaven to do his
duty.
Sci-Fi's Dead Like Me portrays soul
collection as a widespread organization with many different divisions
and, most likely, thousands of "employees", each of
whom take souls from the living upon death.
The 1959 Twilight Zone episode "One
for the Angels" (the second episode in the series), Death
visits a storefront salesman to take his life. They agree that
the salesman should die only when he has pulled off a "pitch
for the angels," and only then will he go. When Death finds
out this is a trick, he decides to take the little girl next door
instead (who's just been hit by a truck), saying he's been "forced
to choose an alternative." The salesman manages to save the
girl's life by distracting Death with an irresisitable sales pitch
(the "pitch for the angels") and as per their agreement,
Death leads the salesman to Heaven.
The personification of Death made
another appearance on The Twilight Zone, in the 1962 episode "Nothing
in the Dark." The episode focuses on an elderly woman who
is convinced that Death is stalking her. She believes if she locks
herself indoors and never has any contact with others (thus avoiding
the touch of Death), she will stay alive indefinitely. When a
police officer, played by Robert Redford, is shot right outside
her front door, she feels she has no choice but to take him in
and tend to his wounds, despite her fears. While he heals, the
woman comes to trust the young man and explains why she is barracaded
in her home. As it turns out, Redford is indeed the personification
of Death. However, he is not an evil, villainous monster, but
merely somebody who guides people into the next world when it
is their time. As the woman comes to understand Death's role,
she willingly takes his hand so that he may escort her into the
afterlife.
The 2002 Twilight Zone episode "One
Night at Mercy" stars Jason Alexander as a suicidal Death.
In Charmed, The Angel of Death is
considered a neutral being and was featured many times, as in
Seasons 3, 4 (mentioned), 6, 7 (where Piper, a main character,
temporarily became one of the many angels of death), and 8.
In the 2007 episode of Supernatural
they battle a grim reaper brought on from a bonding spell.
On Medium, The Angel of Death is portrayed
as regular man, he is played by Kelsey Grammer
On Nip/Tuck, Julia McNamara sees Ava
Moore as the Angel of Death in an unconscious dream sequence.
On The Sopranos, Tony Soprano sees
Tony Blundetto as the Angel of Death in an unconscious dream sequence.
On Six Feet Under, Nathaniel Fisher
Sr. portrays the death in episode 48, and he says that he would
rather "be the Gream Ripper, but the folks at Marvel had
a copyright on it".
On the NBC series Scrubs, J.D. mentions
and sees Death as a co-worker at Sacred Heart Hospital, during
a few of his many fantasies.
From The Dance of Death (Totentanz) by Hans Holbein the Younger
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
subequently 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," (Book II, 700) commands him
to retreat, and warns, "with one stroke of this Dart, strange
horrors seize thee and pangs unfelt before." (Book II, 703-704)
By promising Sin and Death a world where they, "shall dwell
at ease," (Book II, 840-841) 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." (Book II, 667-673)
A female characterization of Death
appears briefly in Samuel Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality
series of fantasy novels features a modernised 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.
The character of Death is also a major
player in the humorous Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett, where
he is perhaps paradoxically seen as an ally of humanity, since
he is a part of the natural order of things and often finds himself
defending humanity against threats to that order. As a tongue-in-cheek
allusion to The Seventh Seal, he doesn't like chess, because he
cannot remember "HOW THE LITTLE HORSE-SHAPED ONES MOVE".
He speaks in a hollow yet heavy voice, often expressed in small
caps, and eschewing the use of quotation marks. Due to a rule
of Death having to appear personally to wizards who are going
to die, particularly the failed wizard Rincewind, Death sometimes
appears, having been snatched from some important business arrangement,
most notable being appearing with a drink and hors'douevres claiming
"I WAS AT A PARTY". He can also be summoned directly
via the Rite of Ash'Kente. Death's realm of influence is limited
to the Discworld-in one book, a reference is made to Death's professional
pride in his devotion to traditionalism in the use of a scythe,
when the Deaths of other worlds have invested in combine harvesters.
In the book Reaper Man, Death was temporarily deposed by the Auditors
of Reality, who claim to Azrael, Death of Universes, that by gaining
a personality he has become inefficient. During the time he spent
as "Bill Door," a farmhand, numerous other Deaths emerged-one
for trees, tortoises, etc. The Death of Humans, when he finally
emerged, was a cloaked figure on a skeletal horse, with curling
wisps of smoke instead of a face, wearing a crown. At the end
of the book, Death takes up his old position and draws all the
superfluous Deaths into him, save for the Death of Rats, who becomes
a recurring character, and the Death of Fleas, who does not. In
the book Mort, he finds his work boring and takes on an apprentice
(the titular) Mort, who promptly annoys his new master by failing
to kill a princess and creates a paradox, since reality insists
that she is dead in spite of her being alive. In Johnny and the
Dead, a character that can be assumed to be Death (as it speaks
in small caps) carries William Stickers away on a boat, Charon-style.
Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray
Mouser stories' Death is seen as the ruler of a gloomy realm,
who is, himself, always sad. In one story, Fafhrd and the Gray
Mouser have to steal Death's mask, and in others, Death tries
to take the famous pair, only to be thwarted by their sorcerous
mentors and their own uncanny good luck. He has quotas to meet,
designated by their roles in life, and when the quota includes
"two heroes," Fafhrd and the Mouser are first on his
list. Interestingly, Leiber's version of Death is aware that at
some point in the future, he himself is fated to die.
In Death and Dr Hornbook by Robert
Burns, death is portrayed as an emaciated, elderly, gruff, somewhat
blue-collar man exactly 6'2" in height.
Comics
Death as a female teenage goth in The Sandman comicsA different
personification of Death appears in The Sandman, a series of comic
books written by Neil Gaiman, in which Death, one of the Endless,
appears in the guise of a Goth girl wearing an Ankh around her
neck, to symbolize the idea that life and death are two sides
of the same reality. 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.
Irregular Webcomic! has Death as a
unifying "theme", or set of characters. Each very specific
manner of death has an assigned Death, some of whom are not very
busy. Death of Insanely Overpowered Fireballs, Death of Choking
On A Giant Frog, Head Death, and Death of Being Ground By A Mars
Rover Rock Abrasion Tool are some mentioned.
Jack has the main character, Jack,
become a Grim Reaper in the form of the sin Wrath as punishment
for his own sin.
Smax also features multiple Deaths
handling different circumstances. "Lionel" handles chess
games with peasants (and looks like the death in The Seventh Seal)
and "Dennis", a large imposing character, handles "awesome,
terrible death".
Liberty Meadows includes a Death that
looks like the one from Seventh Seal. Frank (the main character)
has drowned but is resuscitated by a frog. While in the underworld,
Frank escapes by making Death "look". Death hounds him
later, expecting a razor cut to kill him.
Marvel Universe In the Marvel Universe,
Death is a robed skeleton, and usually referred to as female,
though she can take either form. She is often courted by Thanos
of Titan who hopes to win her love by destroying the universe.
She is sister to Eternity, Oblivion and Infinity and was formed
with him at the start of this Universe when Galactus, sole survivor
of an older previous Universe, survived.
There is also a human supervillain,
the Grim Reaper, that has fought Vision and Scarlet Witch on different
occasions. He is the brother of Wonder Man.
Death Jr. In this comic based on the
Sony PSP game Death Jr., you get to see many images of Death as
well as his son, Death Jr., who the comic is centered around.
Dragon Ball This series of manga and
anime features Death in the form of Enma Daiou. As the human race
is nearly exterminated on at least three occasions and humans
subsequently regain their lives, Enma Daiou is swamped with billions
of restless souls whose (temporary) fate he must decide. Enma
is also mentioned in the manga/anime YuYu Hakusho, usually by
his son, Koenma. One of Koenma's agents, Botan, claims the title
of the Grim Reaper for herself quite whimsically.
Saint Seiya This series includes Thanathos
as one of the twin guardians of the body of Hades.
Deathnote This series is about Light
Yagami, who finds a death note which fell from the Shinigami (God
of Death) world. This Deathnote allows him to control who dies,
how, and when. When the note is bound to him, the note's original
Shinigami owner appears to him.
Bleach This series follows Shinigami,
who are samurai-like grim reapers. Their function is to guide
the souls trapped in the human world to the Soul Society, or in
some cases, hell.
Spectre in Monster in My Pocket #4,
is a red-cloaked Grim Reaper.
Chakan the Forever Man In the brief
comic series by Robert A. Kraus, a warrior-priest named Chakan
challenges a muscular Grim Reaper for eternal life. It was later
made into a videogame for the Sega Genesis and Game Gear. A game
for the Dreamcast was planned, but it was never executed.
Computer and video games
In the PC game The Sims, Death will come to collect the souls
of dead Sims; the player may have the option of challenging Death
to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors in exchange for the life of
the dead. In The Sims 2: University expansion pack the player
can bring the dead back to life with a special phone; however,
they will need to pay a certain price or the chosen sim will come
back as a zombie.
In the English release of Fire Emblem,
one of the characters,an assassin called Jaffar, is known by his
colleagues as the Angel of Death for his ability to kill in a
single blow.
In Grabbed By The Ghoulies for the
Xbox, if certain conditions for leaving a room are not met, the
Grim Reaper appears-Occasionally, the condition itself is that
you evade the Reaper for a certain time. Whatever background music
was playing is replaced by deadly silence, broken only by the
occasional toll of a bell, and the sounds of the Reaper himself.
He extends one hand as he chases you, and will kill you if he
touches you with it, but is indifferent as to the souls he takes-he
will happily destroy any Ghoulies in the room who would love nothing
more than to speed you on your way to joining him. Whenever he
takes a soul, be it yours or that of a Ghoulie, he flips his scythe
around and plays a guitar riff on the blade.
In Theme Hospital, when a 'bad' patient
dies, the Grim Reaper appears from a hole in the ground, takes
the person to Hell, then closes up again.
The Castlevania series of video games
portrays Death as the right hand man of Dracula, and must be defeated
in most incarnations of the series. He is said to be best friends
with Dracula, and is usually the boss right before the dark lord.
He is the last line of defense. Death appears in all but two of
the Castlevania games.
In Guilty Gear one Testament a gear,
seems to be the portrayal of a Gothic modern day Death, complete
with Bishounen looks, demonic assistant and Blood Scythe.
In Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening,
the level 2 boss Hell Vanguard (who also appears regularly as
a mid-level boss) resembles the Grim Reaper, in that he wields
a scythe and wears a black cloak over his skeletal body. Many
of his attacks are heralded by a bell toll.
In Final Fantasy VI, the final boss
Kefka appears as a destructive angel.
In Final Fantasy VII, the summon Hades
greatly resembles the Grim Reaper minus the trademark scythe,
waving his bony hands over a cauldron. Also in the Final Fantasy
series, the recurring Death spell manifests a reaper-like being.
Manny Calavera, from Grim Fandango,
is a travel agent to the afterlife.
Death also makes an appearance in
the games based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld. The second Discworld
adventure game directly centers around Death's dissatisfaction
with the manner in which he is usually received compared to the
service he renders-no longer satisfied to be seen as an evil being
bent upon stealing every living soul, he refuses to return to
his duties until Rincewind can find a way to give him a more positive
image.
In HeXen II, Death appears as the
'end boss' for Mazaera, the game's second continent (or segment).
The other three horseman of the Apocalypse, appear as 'end bosses'
for the game's other continents.
In the NetHack computer game, Death
is one of the Four horsemen of the Apocalypse, which the player
meets at the very end of the game.
The Grim Reaper appeared in the Nintendo
64 game Conker's Bad Fur Day (Gregg the Grim Reaper) who is very
short and comical and hates cats (because it's rumored that they
have 9 lives).
Death has appeared in the MediEvil
series of video games. In the very first game of the series, you
must collect lost souls for him, and he will get your character,
Sir Daniel Fortesque, across the water in the Pools of the Ancient
Dead. In the remake, MediEvil Resurrection, Dan visits him in
the level "Return to the Graveyard" and implores his
help against the evil wizard, Zarok.
In the PlayStation Portable game Death,
Jr. you play as the son of Death. While you don't get to see Death
himself, his son is essentially him only shorter.
In the Super Famicon/PlayStation 2
game Romancing SaGa, Death appears as one of the three gods of
evil. He lives in the netherworld and acts as the guardian of
souls. He also makes deals with anyone that reaches him.
In Mega Man X4, when going through
the third stage ("special weapon") after defeating all
the 8 Mavericks/Irregulars once again, either X or Zero (depending
on which character the player chose at the start) will face off
against their nemesis Sigma. Sigma will take on 3 forms, the first
picturing him hovering cloaked in a black cape and wielding a
beam scythe.
In "Yakusoku no Chi: Riviera"
("Riviera the Promised Land") for the Wonderswan Color
and Gameboy Advance, Death is the final Accursed. He resides within
Mireno Cemetery which is tied close to his character.
In Gauntlet Legends and its sequel
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, Death appears as an enemy that drains your
character's health or experience accompanied by the narrarator's
memorable saying "Use magic to kill Death!". He can
only be destroyed with magic and appears various times in the
game.
In the game Feel the Magic: XY/XX,
Death appears as an obstacle in the "Magic touch" level.
When he appears, the CPR you are performing is halted, and the
girl's health lowers slowly. Death must be poked several times
with the stylus to be scared off.
At Halloweentime 2005, RuneScape featured
The Grim Spectre of Death, who would rise from the earth when
a player died, casted a mysterious spell and them and proclaimed,
"(Player's name)'s soul is now claimed as my own!" This
addition was removed by the early days of November.
In the online Browser RPG Adventure
Quest, whenever you die, The Grim Reaper appears and resurrects
you, saying that his "Quota of souls has been filled".
He also appears when you actvate the Blade Of Awe's PowerWord
Die. He is also in the Void, and seen in some quests.
In Kingdom Hearts II, a Heartless
named Grim Reaper is fought in Port Royal (Although he can only
take damage when all of the cursed medallions are in the stone
chest).
In EverQuest, players that lose their
corpse will find it in a zone called ShadowRest. The Keeper of
Lost Things, the NPC that conjured up players bodies, is depicted
as a hooded figure that resembles Death. Also, higher level Necromancers
and Shadow Knights can summon a spectre that is a legless figure
with a skull and skeletal hands along with a scythe.
In Shadowgate On the NES when a player
dies, death comes and tells them that their adventure has ended,
whenever they fall down a pit, the game saids that death is waiting
to catch them at the bottom. Also, if the player smashes the wrong
mirror in the mirror room, he/she is sucked into space where the
Grim Reaper quickly embraces them.
In Secret of Mana, whenever one of
the three playable characters dies, they turn into a ghost and
the Grim Reaper appears over their head.
In the video game "Guitar Hero",
the ultimate unlockable rocker is a character by the name of "Grim
Ripper", a play on the word "Reaper. He is dressed in
the hooded black cloak customary to the Grim Reaper. He has two
large skeletal arm like appendages coming out of his back, and
instead of a guitar he plays his scythe, which has been stringed
up as a guitar.
In Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call,
there are four fiends in the the form of a hooded skeleton riding
a horse. These are loose adaptations of the four riders of the
apocalypse in the Christian Bible. They get their names from the
colour of the horse they ride, and they each have unique weapons:
The White Rider uses bow and arrows. The Red Rider uses a sword.
The Black Rider uses scales. The Pale Rider uses a scythe.
Music
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a popular Blue Öyster
Cult song.
"Grim Reaper of Love" is a song by The Turtles.
Grim Reaper: a Heavy Metal band from United Kingdom. They have
disbanded, but were popular in the 1980s.
Follow the Reaper is an album and song by the Finnish band Children
of Bodom; in addition, a rendition of the Grim Reaper, jokingly
nicknamed Roy by members of the band, is featured on the cover
of every Children of Bodom album.
The Grim Reaper is featured on two of English rapper Nik Ferreal's
albums "Existence Pimp" and "Life is..A game"
In Keane's music video for the song "Atlantic", a man
who wanders out of the ocean meets death.
In his song "Oncle Archibald" (Uncle Archibald), French
singer Georges Brassens relates the title chararcter's encounter
with a female version of the Grim Reaper. The song contains many
references to this classic portayal of Death (the scythe, the
hood, etc.).
"I Know The Reaper" is a song by Machinae Supremacy.
Other
A stylized version of the Grim Reaper has long been an unofficial
mascot for the monster truck Grave Digger. A Grim Reaper-like
character was it's respective superhero for the television show
Monster Wars, and since 2002 a character named "Grim",
depicted as a muscular Grim Reaper with a combination shovel-scythe,
has been the official mascot for the truck.
A figure resembling the Grim Reaper is sometimes used in various
WWE merchandise related to the Undertaker character
Death is a character used in Family Guy more then once. He still
lives with his mother and Peter Griffin even helps him to get
a date.
Death is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the role
playing game Rifts, published by Palladium Books. Within the setting
of Rifts he is worshipped by two separate cults: the Death Cult
in Africa and the Grim Reapers Cult of North America, both of
which have a considerable number of necromancers within their
respective congregations.
Bibliography
This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish
Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.
Winer, B. R. ii. 383-386;
Hamburger, R. B. T. i. 990-992:
A. Kohut, Ueber die Jüdische Angelologie und Dämonologie
in Ihrer Abhängigkeit vom Parsismus, Leipzig, 1866;
E. Stave, Ueber den Einfluss des Parsismus auf das Judenthum,
Haarlem. 1898;
E. Böklen, Die Verwandtschaft der Jüdisch-Christlichen
mit der Parsischen Eschatologie, Göttingen, 1902;
F. Weber, Jüdische Theologie, Leipsic, 1897;
A. Dillmann, Alttestamentliche Theologie, § 37, ib. 1895;
Moïse Schwab, Vocabulaire de l'Angélologie d'Après
les Manuscrits Hebreux de la Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris,
1897;
D. Joël, Der Aberglaube und die Stellung des Judenthums zu
Demselben, especially pp. 67-74, Breslau, 1881;
A. P. Bender, Beliefs, Rites, and Customs of the Jews Connected
with Death, Burial, and Mourning, in Jew. Quart. Rev. vi. 317,
664 et seq. K. L. B.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
personification of Death
See also
Afterlife
Angel
Bible
Death
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
God
Danse Macabre
Psychopomp
Saint Death
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