| Skeletons | |
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Real Name |
Skeletons |
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First Appearance |
World Folklore |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
A skeleton is a type of physically manifested undead often found in fantasy, gothic, and horror fiction, as well as mythology, folklore, and various kinds of art. Most are human skeletons, but they can also be from any creature or race found on Earth or in the fantasy world.
Animated human skeletons have been used as a personification of death in Western culture since the Middle Ages, a personification perhaps influenced by the valley of the dry bones in the Book of Ezekiel.
The Grim Reaper is often depicted as a hooded skeleton holding a scythe (and occasionally an hourglass), which has been attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger (1538).
Death as one of the biblical horsemen of the Apocalypse has been depicted as a skeleton riding a horse. The Triumph of Death is a 1562 painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder depicting an army of skeletons raiding a town and slaughtering its occupants.
"The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was" is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale in which a boy named Hans joins a circle of dancing skeletons.
In Japanese folklore, Mekurabe are rolling skulls with eyeballs who menace Taira no Kiyomori. There is also the Gashadokuro, a type of modern Japanese yokai which takes the form of a giant skeleton.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All published appearances of Undead Skeletons published before January 1, 1929 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances include:
- The Bible
- The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was by the Brothers Grimm
- Thurnley Abbey (1908)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
There are numerous appearances of skeletons and characters inspired by skeletons in public domain comics especially in horror comics.
Some notable appearances include:
- Adventures into the Unknown #39
- Champion Comics #7
- Crackajack Funnies #28
- Hit Comics #7
- Big 3 #3
- Spitfire Comics #2
- America's Greatest Comics #1
- Master Comics #26
- Thrilling Comics #28
- Four Favorites #7
- Hangman Comics #4
- Jumbo Comics #45
- Whiz Comics #44
- Jumbo Comics #79
- Wonder Comics #7
- Boy Comics #29
- Sparkling Stars #26
- Feature Comics #118
- Crack Comics #54
- Crime & Punishment #8
- Dick Cole v1 #1
- Monte Hale Western #32
- True Crime Comics v1 #14
- Tim Holt #20
- Witches Tales #3
- Daredevil Comics #76
- Mysterious Adventures #4
- Voodoo Annual #1
- Haunted Thrills #1
- Blackhawk #53
- Web of Mystery #13
- City of the Living Dead
- 3-D Sheena, Jungle Queen #1
- Captain Jet #5
- Strange World of Your Dreams v1 #4
- Strange Fantasy #7
- Ghostly Weird Stories #120
- Dark Mysteries #14
- Tales of Horror #8
- Web of Evil #10
- Skeleton Hand #1
Notes[]
- The Skeleton Dance is a 1929 Silly Symphony animated short subject where four human skeletons dance and make music around a spooky graveyard. The short's copyright was renewed in 1957, and as a published work from 1929 it will enter the US public domain on January 1, 2025.