Death, as we all know, is someone everyone deals with everyday. When personified, Death is a figure whom is clad in black and controls the underworld and helps the passing of spirits trapped on this side, with the help of his Reapers. Though Death, like the Reapers, is neutral, he is often seen as a figure of evil and is at least seven foot in height and is a skeleton like figure carrying either a giant Scyth or dual swords/mini scyths. He is sometimes shown as riding a horse and in some picutres of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Death is one of the riders.
Other names for Death include the Grim Reaper, which is the more common name, and the Angel of Death, which would have the depiction of wings, though is more often associated with Reapers. There is also Devil of Death and the angel of dark and light, which are referenced in biblical texts.There is also a reference to 'Abaddon' (The Destroyer), an Angel who is known as the 'The Angel of the Abyss'. In Talmudic lore, he is characterized as archangel Samael.
In some cases, the Grim Reaper can actually cause the victim's death, leading to tales that he can be bribed, tricked, or outwitted in order to retain one's life, such as in the case of Sisyphus. Other beliefs hold that the Spectre of Death is only a psychopomp, serving to sever the last ties between the soul and the body and to guide the deceased to the next world without having any control over the fact of the victim's death. In many languages (including English), Death is personified in male form, while in others, it is perceived as a female character (for instance, in Slavic and Romance languages).
In common renditions of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the Ghost of Christmas Future is often depicted as the Grim Reaper, a silent figure that takes pleasure in the tourment of Scrooge, the protagonist.
In the new marvel superhero RPG game Deadpool, Death is characterised as a female figure who magically floats around and is wrapped in black cloth bandages and a black cloak. (And I highly recommend this game to any nutjobs out there looking to play a superhero who simple doesn't give a shit about anything and is funny as hell!!)
