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Comic Books
"Hi there!"
— The Grim Reaper, Chick Tracts
"I'm not blessed, or merciful. I'm just me. I've got a job to do, and I do it. Listen: Even as we're talking, I'm there for old & young, innocent & guilty, those who die together & those who die alone. I'm in cars and boats and planes; In hospitals and forests and abattoirs. For some folk Death is release, and for others Death is an abominable, terrible thing. But in the end, I'm there for all of them. Rainie, in West Africa a small village is being massacred by mercenaries in pay of their own government. I'm there. In the farthest reaches of a distant galaxy, a planet is being torn apart by internal stresses. The planet was home to many crystalline intelligences, calm and fine and beautiful. I am there as well. 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."
— Death of the Endless, The Sandman (1989), "Facade"
"I find myself wondering about humanity. Their attitude to my sister's gift is so strange. Why do they fear the sunless lands? It is as natural to die as it is to be born. But they fear her. Dread her. Feebly they attempt to placate her. They do not love her."
— Dream of the Endless regarding his Sister, The Sandman (1989), "The Sound of Her Wings"
Fan Works
"Yin Wu Ch'ang Kuei," she breathed.
The Ghost of Impermanence was taller than Cologne remembered. Then again, it had been over half a century since their last encounter, and Cologne wasn't as tall as she used to be.
The Ghost's face was the same, though. Cold and dead, the woman might once have been beautiful. Her skin was both the color and texture of old rice paper, and her face, framed by tangled, matted locks of heavy black hair, was spider-webbed with a thin network of splotchy, broken blood veins bulging just under the surface of the skin. Milky, sightless eyes gazed at the ancient Amazon with unnerving accuracy. The Ghost smiled, revealing a mouth black with mold.
"It has been a long time, old one," she said in a thick, gurgling voice, as if her lungs were half full of murky water. "Yet once again, your encroaching death summons me to collect your soul. I am curious to see, will you escape my grasp this time?"
The Ghost of Impermanence was taller than Cologne remembered. Then again, it had been over half a century since their last encounter, and Cologne wasn't as tall as she used to be.
The Ghost's face was the same, though. Cold and dead, the woman might once have been beautiful. Her skin was both the color and texture of old rice paper, and her face, framed by tangled, matted locks of heavy black hair, was spider-webbed with a thin network of splotchy, broken blood veins bulging just under the surface of the skin. Milky, sightless eyes gazed at the ancient Amazon with unnerving accuracy. The Ghost smiled, revealing a mouth black with mold.
"It has been a long time, old one," she said in a thick, gurgling voice, as if her lungs were half full of murky water. "Yet once again, your encroaching death summons me to collect your soul. I am curious to see, will you escape my grasp this time?"
Film — Animated
The Wolf: Sorry to crash the party with your past lives, or your past deaths as I like to call them. I was there to witness ALL of them. Each. Frivolous. End. But you didn't even notice me, because "Puss in Boots laughs in the face of death"... right? But you're not laughing now.
Puss in Boots: You are no bounty hunter. You are-!
The Wolf: Death. And I don't mean it metaphorically, or rhetorically, or poetically, or theoretically, or any other fancy way. I'M DEATH. STRAIGHT UP. And I've come for you, Puss in Boots!
Film — Live-Action
It's a Mr. Death or something. He's come about the reaping. Honestly, I don't think we need any!
Death: When next we meet, the hour will strike for you and your friends.
Block: And you will reveal your secrets?
Death: I have no secrets.
Block: So you know nothing?
Death: I am unknowing.
Block: And you will reveal your secrets?
Death: I have no secrets.
Block: So you know nothing?
Death: I am unknowing.
Literature
Everything is simpler now.
I found something. I found someone. I found myself. You'd better hope I don't find you, though, because I can only drive you down a one-way street. The road no one wants to go down, though we must. I have become the shadow, that foreshadow cast back along all of our lives. You know it's coming. That I'm coming. Do what you can to be happy in the meantime. That's all this has ever boiled down to. The job suits me. I am happy. I am me. And eventually one day you and I will meet, as it was foretold.
Behold, a pale horse.
It's coming. And his name that sits on him... is mine.
I found something. I found someone. I found myself. You'd better hope I don't find you, though, because I can only drive you down a one-way street. The road no one wants to go down, though we must. I have become the shadow, that foreshadow cast back along all of our lives. You know it's coming. That I'm coming. Do what you can to be happy in the meantime. That's all this has ever boiled down to. The job suits me. I am happy. I am me. And eventually one day you and I will meet, as it was foretold.
Behold, a pale horse.
It's coming. And his name that sits on him... is mine.
— Afterlife, by Michael Marshall Smith
"And [The Duke] goes around killing people?" said Mort. He shook his head. "There's no justice."
Death sighed. No, he said. There's just me.
Death sighed. No, he said. There's just me.
— Mort
"Children are our hope for the future."
There is no hope for the future, said Death.
"What does it contain, then?"
Me.
"Besides you, I mean!"
Death gave him a puzzled look. I'm sorry?
There is no hope for the future, said Death.
"What does it contain, then?"
Me.
"Besides you, I mean!"
Death gave him a puzzled look. I'm sorry?
— Sourcery
"What'd he say? Who's the fella with the stick?"
"It's Death, Archchancellor," said the Bursar, patiently.
"Eh?"
"It's Death, sir. You know."
"Tell him we don't want any."
"It's Death, Archchancellor," said the Bursar, patiently.
"Eh?"
"It's Death, sir. You know."
"Tell him we don't want any."
— Eric
Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men?
The Death of Rats looked up from the feast of potato.
Squeak, he said.
Death waved a hand dismissively. Well, yes, obviously me, he said. I was just wondering if there was anyone else.
The Death of Rats looked up from the feast of potato.
Squeak, he said.
Death waved a hand dismissively. Well, yes, obviously me, he said. I was just wondering if there was anyone else.
There is in the world a very aged rioter and demagogue who breaks into the most refined retreats with the dreadful information that all men are brothers, and wherever this leveller went on his pale horse it was Father Brown's trade to follow.
And there was Another. He was in the square in Kumbolaland. And he was in the restaurants. And he was in the fish, and in the air, and in the barrels of weedkiller. He was on the roads, and in houses, and in palaces, and in hovels. There was nowhere that he was a stranger, and there was no getting away from him. He was doing what he did best, and what he was doing was what he was. He was not waiting. He was working.
Live-Action TV
That night, a man was killed by a speeding car and I was there to take his soul. The street on which he died turned into a flowing river of light, and he hesitated at its banks. I told him to take a deep breath as if it's the last one you will ever take, because sometimes in life, or in death I guess, you just never know.
— Georgia Lass, Dead Like Me, "Rest In Peace"
Dean: So, is this the part where... where you kill me?
Death: You have an inflated sense of your importance. To a thing like me, a thing like you, well... Think how you'd feel if a bacteria sat at your table and started to get snarky. This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Dean. Very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you.
Dean: Well, I gotta ask — how old are you?
Death: As old as God. Maybe older. Neither of us can remember anymore. Life, death, chicken, egg. Regardless, at the end, I'll reap him too.
Dean: God? You'll reap God?
Death: Oh, yes. God will die too, Dean.
Dean: ...Well, this is way above my pay grade.
Death: Just a bit.
Death: You have an inflated sense of your importance. To a thing like me, a thing like you, well... Think how you'd feel if a bacteria sat at your table and started to get snarky. This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Dean. Very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you.
Dean: Well, I gotta ask — how old are you?
Death: As old as God. Maybe older. Neither of us can remember anymore. Life, death, chicken, egg. Regardless, at the end, I'll reap him too.
Dean: God? You'll reap God?
Death: Oh, yes. God will die too, Dean.
Dean: ...Well, this is way above my pay grade.
Death: Just a bit.
— Supernatural, "Two Minutes to Midnight"
Nothing lasts forever. Well, I do.
— Death, Supernatural, "Appointment in Samarra"
Mythology and Religion
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
— Revelation 6:8
Music
Look behind you, he stands behind you
The Reaper shall return
Look beside you, he walks beside you
The Reaper has returned
The Reaper shall return
Look beside you, he walks beside you
The Reaper has returned
— Grave Digger, "The Reaper"
The churchbell of doom is tolling
The angel of death is near
The ghost with the cowl and the sickle
Spreading terror and fear
The angel of death is near
The ghost with the cowl and the sickle
Spreading terror and fear
— Running Wild, "Black Wings of Death"
Well, what is this, that you can't see?
With ice cold hands, taking hold of me?
When God is gone, and the Devil takes hold,
Who'll have mercy on my soul?
Well, he is Death! And none can tell,
If he'll open the door to Heaven or Hell...
With ice cold hands, taking hold of me?
When God is gone, and the Devil takes hold,
Who'll have mercy on my soul?
Well, he is Death! And none can tell,
If he'll open the door to Heaven or Hell...
— "O Death," American folk song
Poetry
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so
— John Donne, "Holy Sonnet X"
Tabletop Games
It was silent as the void, and to look upon it was to know terror. It drifted above us with slow, liquid grace, and its gaze caused madness and despair wherever it fell. Those it came near took their own lives rather than endure its hellish presence.
— Morilla, Harlequin Shadowseer, Warhammer 40,000
The Ankou is the Reaper itself - a thing of grave earth and rust, of rot and wormwood. Where its legend has filtered into human lore, it is depicted as a remorseless, lifeless monster that silently treads lightless country roads with ox-cart and scythe, coming upon its victims as suddenly as sickness, cutting their lives from them, and heaving them into its cart. And it is in this form that it will sometimes appear in a Malkavian's dreams or visions, if always fleetingly.
— Vampire: The Masquerade - Clanbook: Malkavian (Revised)
Video Games
I am the smile of the worm-cleansed skull. I am the regrets of those who remain, and the restlessness of those who are gone. I am the haunt of mausoleums, the god of graves and age, of dusk and dust. I am Myrkul, Lord of Bones, and you have slain my Chosen. But it is no matter. For I am Death. And I am not the end — I am a beginning.
— Myrkul, Baldur's Gate III
He was there from the beginning. A power that exist at the end of all things. He walked with our gods and shaped our deepest beliefs. An executioner at the gallows. A lone hunter on a pale horse. A soldier on the battlefield. A criminal in the shadows. Fields become burial grounds in his wake. Every great atrocity, every feeble passing, he stands witness. In our strife, in our revolutions and in our wars, he has left his mark. And in the end, his will be the last face you see.
All who live know my name and all who oppose me will know Death.
— Death, Darksiders II
Maximo: You're late, Grim.
Grim: I always show up... in the end.
Grim: I always show up... in the end.
Lamb: "All things linger... "
Wolf: "...in our shadow."
Semenovich: ...I keep raising and lowering the gate... You could bring a girl, for once...
Fedor: And what would you do with one if I brought her, Semenovich, eh? You're way too old for that stuff! By the way, you'd better lower the gate, or else a woman might actually come, the one dressed in black and bearing a scythe, hahahahahaha!
Web Comics
DAVE: yo terezi weve got a grim reaper too
DAVE: shit isnt that novel
DAVE: i mean i think even a civilization full of the laziest sons of bitches are gonna make up a myth figure for death
DAVE: like oooh watch OUT death is coming for you hes got like
DAVE: a SKULL and shit
DAVE: i basically have no fucking imagination that sounds badass to me
DAVE: wait wait no how about hes got a BLACK ROBE too
DAVE: and a fuckin scythe to fuckin slash at you with in case you didnt die all the way or whatever
DAVE: daaaaaamn now youre talking bro
DAVE: lets go ahead stick that in our culture forever
DAVE: shit isnt that novel
DAVE: i mean i think even a civilization full of the laziest sons of bitches are gonna make up a myth figure for death
DAVE: like oooh watch OUT death is coming for you hes got like
DAVE: a SKULL and shit
DAVE: i basically have no fucking imagination that sounds badass to me
DAVE: wait wait no how about hes got a BLACK ROBE too
DAVE: and a fuckin scythe to fuckin slash at you with in case you didnt die all the way or whatever
DAVE: daaaaaamn now youre talking bro
DAVE: lets go ahead stick that in our culture forever
— Dave Strider, Homestuck
Reaper: Well, if that's it, I got people dyin' to see me.
Sebastian: Actually, I was wondering why you look hwmph-mph?
(Beat Panel)
(Beat Panel)
Reaper: Well, Sebastian... I'm a sucker for the stereotype. Peace out.
Sebastian: Actually, I was wondering why you look hwmph-mph?
(Beat Panel)
(Beat Panel)
Reaper: Well, Sebastian... I'm a sucker for the stereotype. Peace out.
Western Animation
(Homer, as the Grim Reaper, at the Springfield War Memorial Baseball Stadium)
Bart: Aw, man. These seats suck.
Death!Homer: Leave everything to me. Pardon me! Coming through! Rest in peace! You're dead! Take a dirt nap! Feed the worms!
(kills everybody)
Bart: Dad, were all those people on the list?
Death!Homer: I dunno.
Bart: Aw, man. These seats suck.
Death!Homer: Leave everything to me. Pardon me! Coming through! Rest in peace! You're dead! Take a dirt nap! Feed the worms!
(kills everybody)
Bart: Dad, were all those people on the list?
Death!Homer: I dunno.
Peter: (nervously) Who are you?
Death: (sarcastic) I'm Calista Flockhart. Who the hell do you think I am? I'm Death. Which one of you is Peter Griffin?
Peter: (points to Chris) Um, he is.
Death: (sarcastic) I'm Calista Flockhart. Who the hell do you think I am? I'm Death. Which one of you is Peter Griffin?
Peter: (points to Chris) Um, he is.
Death: You know me. I've been with you for a while now, guiding you. You. Know. Me. We're old friends now. I am Death. And you people all took my treasure from me.
Saint-Germaine: You... you're Death! Death itself?
Death: MY. TREASURE! You gopping little shit! Dracula was going to bring death to this world on a scale unimagined, something I could never do. I am a spirit, a function of the world, I can't raise armies. I can't fight an entire world teeming with life and bleed it to death! But he could... and that was taken away. I am not a Vampire, as you understand it. Death is my meat. And you people broke him, and now I can't bring him back, because I'm not human. Why is it that only human hands can reach into Hell? Don't you think that's weirdly fucked up? I can't do it. But you could. In your greed, in your human need, you could and would do anything to bring him back.
Saint-Germaine: You... you're Death! Death itself?
Death: MY. TREASURE! You gopping little shit! Dracula was going to bring death to this world on a scale unimagined, something I could never do. I am a spirit, a function of the world, I can't raise armies. I can't fight an entire world teeming with life and bleed it to death! But he could... and that was taken away. I am not a Vampire, as you understand it. Death is my meat. And you people broke him, and now I can't bring him back, because I'm not human. Why is it that only human hands can reach into Hell? Don't you think that's weirdly fucked up? I can't do it. But you could. In your greed, in your human need, you could and would do anything to bring him back.
Real Life
Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
— J. Robert Oppenheimer quoting the Bhagavad Gita, after the Trinity nuclear test
Not a bad chap when you get to know him (and sooner or later, everyone gets to know him).
— Terry Pratchett on the Discworld's example
