Death

An illustration of Death as featured in the spellbook of Madame Leota

**Death** also known as the **Grim Reaper** or the **Angel of Death** is an entity from folklore featured in the Haunted Mansion.

## History

The Grim Reaper is the personification of death, most often being represented as a corpse garbed in a black-cloak who wields a scythe or staff.

### Alternate versions

#### Disney Kingdoms

In *Disney Kingdoms: Seekers of the Weird*, the Grim Reaper is represented by the malevolent character of **The Reaper King**. The Reaper King caused the bubonic plague which killed much of Europe before he was bound by the Wardens and imprisoned within the *Grandfather Coffin Clock* of the *Museum of the Weird*. He has a cult known as the Shadow Society which intends to free him, lead by the sorceress Despoina who seeks immortality from the Reaper King. However, when they free the being he kills them for having taken too long before being imprisoned again by the heroes.

#### Ghost Gallery

In this non-cannon backstory for the Haunted Mansion, the Grim Reaper is represented by the, "Angel of Death". In Abrahamic theology, this term typically refers to the archangel Azrael who functions as a psychopomp, the Destroying Angel who was sent by God to kill the first-born children of Egypt, or sometimes the archangel Michael who is the benevolent defender of the Jewish peoples.

In the Ghost Gallery, the Angel of Death makes a bargain with pianist Ludwig von Baroketch to Ludwig to compose a song known as, "The Screaming Song" or, "Grim Grinning Ghosts", made to be an homage to death in-return for a longer life. Ludwig however fails to complete the piece in time and is killed before being left as a Shadow Pianist ghost who haunts his piano from life.

#### Marvel Comics

In the comics, Death is personified as **Mistress Death**. She was courted by the mad titan Thanos who wished to impress her by using the six infinity gems to slaughter half of life in the universe. Death was fair to Thanos but ultimately ambivalent to him and his crusades. Death did however show affection for the superhuman mercenary Wade "Deadpool" Wilson though they could not be together as Deadpool's healing-factor made him unable to die.

## Appearances and allusions

### Haunted Mansion

There is an illustration of Death on page 1312 in Madame Leota's spellbook within the article dedicated to, "*A Spell to Bring to your Eyes and Ears one who is Bound in Limbo*". Death is shown with the number 13 and latin expression *Memento Mori*, roughly translating to, "Remember you will die".

Additionally, the song, "Grim Grinning Ghosts" or, "The Screaming Song" featured in this attraction and Phantom Manor take their title and chorus from a reference to the Grim Reaper. This is as the expression comes from William Shakespeare's poem *Venus and Adonis* (1593) in the quote, "*And, sighing it again, exclaims on Death. ‘Hard-favour’d tyrant, ugly, meagre, lean, Hateful divorce of love,’—thus chides she Death,— ‘**Grim-grinning ghost**, **earth’s worm**, what dost thou mean?*" where the term referred to Death.

### In other media

#### Film

##### The Nightmare Before Christmas

A depiction of the Grim Reaper appears as a citizen of Halloween Town in this film. It is unclear if this is the actual embodiment of demise or simply a Halloween Town representation of the Grim Reaper's iconography as is seemingly true with other residents of the town.

#### Shorts

##### The Haunted House

The Grim Reaper appeared in this 1929 Disney cartoon where they threw a party in a haunted house for several skeletons. When Mickey Mouse arrived in the house, Death forced him to play piano for them all to dance to.

#### Printed-materials

##### Disney Kingdoms

The Reaper King is a main-antagonist in Disney Kingdoms: Seekers of the Weird. He spends most the story bound within the Grandfather Coffin Clock as a McGuffin.

##### The Ghost Gallery

The Angel of Death appears in the backstory of the, "Shadow Pianist" Ludwig Von Baroketch where the song Grim Grinning Ghosts is identified as an homage to the reaper.

## Connections

### Blackbeard's Ghost

The spell featured on Death's page in Leota's spellbook is, "*Kree Kruh Vergo Gaba Kalto Kree*". This spell comes from the film Blackbeard's Ghost where it was used by the titular pirate Blackbeard's wife Aldetha Teach.

## Trivia

* Death's head in the Haunted Mansion is modelled after the, "Leering head" mould also used on Ezra, the Hatbox Ghost and the shrunken zombie heads in the Trader Sam bars.
* A removed live-performed character in the Haunted Mansion was known as the, "Phantom of the Haunted Mansion" and was modelled after the Grim Reaper.
* If the Grim Reaper truly exists in the Disney Parks mythos then that would make them a character appearing in every parks story in-which a mortal has died.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH5Bgv2UQts&t=1256s