1. Personification of Death
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2. The Grim Reaper
The Grim Reaper
In English, Death was given the name of the Grim Reaper from the 15th century on. He came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood. In some cases, the Grim Reaper can cause the victim’s death, leading to tales that he can be bribed, tricked or outwitted in order to retain one’s life. Other beliefs hold that he serves to sever the last ties between the soul and the body and to guide the deceased to the next world.

3. Thanatos
Ancient Greece found death to be inevitable. He is not represented as purely evil. Death’s name is Thanatos. He is the twin brother of Hypnos, the god of sleep. His job is to escort the dead to Hades. Can you think of a Marvel Comics and Movies character who may have been inspired by Thanatos?
Thanatos

4. Ankou
Ankou
In Celtic folklore, the Ankou is the spirit of the last person that died in the community. He drives a deathly wagon or cart with a creaking axle. The cart is piled high with corpses and a stop at a cabin means instant death for those inside.

5. dullahan
In Ireland, Death is depicted as a creature whose head is tucked under one arm. The head is said to have large eyes and a smile that could reach the head’s ears. The dullahan would ride a black horse or a carriage. The dullahan did not like being watched. If someone saw him, he would lash their eyes with a whip made from a spine.

6. Yama
Yama is the Hindu lord of death. He carries a rope lasso to carry the soul back home to Naraka. He also rides a black buffalo. AKA the king of justice. Justice is served equally to all whether they are alive or dead based on karma.

7. Santa muerta
Saint Death is a sacred figure. She is a skeletal folk saint celebrated in Mexico and the US in folk Catholicism. She is a reminder of people’s mortality.
Santa Muerta

8. The destroying angel
The Angel of the Lord
In the Bible, the “Angel of the Lord” kills over 100,000 Assyrians. The Angel of Death passes through Egypt to kill all first born sons, but God prevents the destroyer from entering houses with blood on the lintel and side posts.

9. Angel of death
According to Judaism, the Angel of Death was created by God on the first day. His dwelling is in heaven and he had 12 wings. He is full of eyes. In the hour of death, he stands at the head of the departing one with a sword drawn to which clings a drop of gall. As soon as the dying person sees Death, he/she is seized with a convulsion and opens his/her mouth. Death throws the drop in it which causes death. The soul then escapes through the mouth.
The Angel of Death

10. Remember This guy?
In a Christmas Carol, the Ghost of Christmas yet to come is also a representation of death.

11. Narrator of the book thief
In your reading of The Book Thief:
Death is the narrator
3rd person omniscient
How did you imagine Death?
Was Death a male or a female?

12. Pop culture Incarnations
** In modern culture there are many movies and books about people cheating death in some way. What does this say about our culture’s view of death?
In this movie, The Seventh Seal, Death appears to the knight and tells him it is his time. The knight challenges Death to a chess game for his life.

13. A Parody of The Seventh Seal
Sometimes we like to make fun of death. What does this say about our views of death?

14. Another story about cheating death
How would you personify Death?

15. Death with a pretty Face
Death as a comforting figure—someone we might pass by on the street.