| Typology Skeletal |
| Total Entries 44 |
| Representative Black Hand |
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Animate beings constructed from ossific material in their entirety (“Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness”) are a very common form of “The Undead” in video games, but much rarer in other media, to the point where, as an object of fear, they have become slightly camp. They’re cousins to the “Zombie” in spirit, but remain explicitly separated in the public consciousness by the lack of flesh and other juicy bits. A likely explanation for their ability to see and hear, not to mention move without any muscles, and indeed their status as “Perpetual Motion Monsters” is a necromancer used “Functional Magic” to raise and operate them. Thus, these creatures are firmly inhabitants of Fantasy works. You might know them as skeletons. We call ’em “Dem Bones”. And wouldn’t you know… There’s a skeleton inside you right now! … Of course you don’t actually count, ‘cuz you have flesh and organs over those bones. Anyway… There are human, non-human, and weirder variants, and in 99% of their appearances, they’re enemy “Mooks”. Their prevalence in “Role Playing Games” is owed to “Dungeons & Dragons”, which established them as the slaves of necromancers… A prominent variation are beings composed of just a skull without a body. In this case, their ability to attack may be a simple bite, supernatural scream, or through magic spells. They may or may not also have the power to defy gravity to compensate for the lack of legs. As trope examples indicate, there are a noticeably greater number of friendly talking skulls compared to the rare “Friendly Skeleton”… In Mexico, Dem Bones are called “Calacas” and are associated with the Day of the Dead holiday much the same way bunnies are associated with Easter, making them less common as stock spooky elements (they tend to be more comedic). It helps that said calacas are made of sugar and chocolate. See also “Skull for a Head” and “Stripped to the Bone”. May or may not be prone to dancing. A unique example is “The Grim Reaper”, so ubiquitous it’s its own trope. If the Skeleton is friendly and/or comical, it’s a “Friendly Skeleton”. See also “Bad with the Bone” if bones are used as “Improvised Weapons”, and “Ballistic Bone” if they’re used as “Abnormal Ammo”. A “Walking Ossuary” is when bits from multiple skeletons are assembled into a single chimeric whole… ~ Dem Bones – TV Tropes
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