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6[[quoteright:350:[[Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skeletons1_6883.jpg]]]]
7[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Pun}} They've got a bone to pick with you.]]]]
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9%% Caption reverted per discussion in Caption Repair thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900&page=150#comment-3731
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12->''"A walking skeleton, the basic frame of the human body, can inspire more fear in the common man than an excessively armed soldier or knight."''
13-->-- '''Jacob Deegan''', ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan''
14
15[[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness Animate beings constructed from ossific material in their entirety]] are a very common form of TheUndead 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 [[ZombieApocalypse 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 [[TheDeadHaveEyes ability to see and hear]], not to mention ''move'' without any muscles, and indeed their status as {{Perpetual Motion Monster}}s is a {{necromancer}} used FunctionalMagic to raise and operate them. Thus, these creatures are firmly inhabitants of {{Fantasy}} works. You might know them as skeletons. [[JustForFun/TvTropesWillRuinYourVocabulary We call 'em "Dem Bones".]]
16
17And wouldn't you know... [[MemeticMutation 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...
18
19There are human, [[NonHumanUndead non-human]], and [[OurMonstersAreWeird weirder]] variants, and in 99% of their appearances, they're enemy {{Mooks}}. Their prevalence in {{Role Playing Game}}s is owed to ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', which established them as the slaves of {{necromancer}}s. When they aren't Mooks, they're usually [[OurLichesAreDifferent liches]], which are much nastier, because they tend to be powerful mages. Skeletal spellcasters who are '''not''' liches are rare ([[OurLichesAreDifferent in cases where "skeletal spellcaster" isn't the outright ''definition'' of a lich, that is]]), but not nonexistent.
20
21Often enough, Dem Bones are reused in the same game ''à la'' UndergroundMonkey. Expect, in the spirit of a Zombie Minotaur, to find [[HybridMonster double-category monsters]], like a skeletal [[FossilRevival mammoth]] or [[{{Dracolich}} dragon]]. Many games have even tougher skeletons that are [[PaletteSwap colored red]]. This could be because the red ones are a little more skilled and [[BloodIsTheNewBlack covered in the blood of hapless adventurers who couldn't best them]].
22
23A prominent variation is a being composed of [[NothingButSkulls just a skull without a body]]. In this case, their ability to attack may be a simple bite, 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 FriendlySkeleton.
24
25In video games, skeletal foes will often [[BallisticBone attack by throwing bones]]. One cannot help but wonder where they get ''[[{{Pun}} dem]]'' [[{{Pun}} bones]] from. Some versions are difficult to harm with ordinary swords or arrows, but can be dealt with using blunt weapons or magic. But be warned: [[SlidingScaleOfUndeadRegeneration many have the ability]] to [[PullingThemselvesTogether pull themselves back together]] after you knock them apart.
26
27In UsefulNotes/{{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.
28
29See also SkullForAHead and StrippedToTheBone. May or may not be [[TheDeadCanDance prone to dancing]]. A unique example is TheGrimReaper, so ubiquitous it's its own trope. If the Skeleton is friendly and/or comical, it's a FriendlySkeleton. See also BadWithTheBone if bones are used as {{Improvised Weapon}}s, and BallisticBone if they're used as AbnormalAmmo. A WalkingOssuary is when bits from multiple skeletons are assembled into a single chimeric whole.
30
31If the [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot skeleton is really a robot]], see SkeleBot9000.
32----
33!!Example subpages:
34[[index]]
35* DemBones/VideoGames
36* DemBones/WesternAnimation
37[[/index]]
38!!Other examples
39[[foldercontrol]]
40
41[[folder:Advertisement]]
42* As Advertising/BonesCoffee would imply, every label has a depiction of at least one human skeleton on it. Apparently, they are all the same skeleton, aptly named "Bones."
43* An advertisement for Pillow Cube features a talking skeleton that is used to demonstrate how the product supports side sleepers better than a normal pillow.
44
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
48* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': In Episode 2 of the Black Swordsman Arc, "The Brand", the evil spirits attracted to Guts' [[MagneticPlotDevice Brand Of Sacrifice]] possess the skeletal corpses of warriors who died at an old battlefield and use them to attack. The Skull Knight also appears to be an armor-wearing undead skeleton, although since he is the most powerful known being opposing the Godhand, he is actually the closest thing the series has to a BigGood.
49* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': [[EvilOldFolks Barragan Luisenbarn]] turns into a skeleton dressed in a crown and robes upon [[SuperMode releasing his zanpakuto]], and his original form before becoming an Arrancar was a mighty [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Hollow]], possibly even a [[EvolutionaryLevels Vasto Lorde]] level, in the form of a similar skeleton. This is to symbolize [[spoiler: his power over old age and decay, which lets him rot ''other'' people into skeletons. The dead kind]].
50* ''Manga/BusterKeel'' has the skeletal army summoned by Jack Bone.
51* In ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'', walking skeletons are a type of monster that can be found in the titular dungeon. They occur when a dead body is possessed by a wandering spirit and, because the ghost inhabiting it isn't the right one, the flesh rots off.
52* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': [=SkullGreymon=] is giant, freakily shaped dinosaur skeleton that launches fish-looking rockets from its back. [=SkullGreymon=] is one of Greymon's evolutions and it returns in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''.
53* ''Manga/FairyTailZero'': The dragon skeleton of Blue Skull is an example of this. Once under the Sirius Orb's influence, it ultimately becomes a {{Dracolich}}.
54* Horohoro from ''Manga/GalaxyExpress999'' episode "The Skeleton's Song"; after having his heart broken by the woman he was in love with, he slowly lost one part of his body every time she betrayed him until he was reduced to a living skeleton with a hole in place of his ribcage.
55* ''Manga/TheKeeperWantsToBuildAZooInAnotherWorldSoHeTamesMonsters'': Two kids, Mensh and Gwena, accidentally awaken a bunch of murderous skeleton warriors, only to be saved by Merou, Ikuhara, and [[{{Hellhound}} Cerberus]]. According to Merou, they're [[MadeOfMagic manifestations of magic]] rather than [[AnimateDead animated human bodies]]. A Gashadokuro appears as well.
56* Docky from ''Anime/MidnightHorrorSchool'', while not a real skeleton, is a plastic skeleton. Also a majority of the school's faculty are living skeletons.
57* Morborgran of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', the massive, MultiArmedAndDangerous, skeletal demon member of the Canis Niger bounty hunters in the Magic World. He's actually a pretty friendly guy, though with a bit of a complex about his appearance.
58* ''Manga/OnePiece'': In the Thriller Bark arc, the Straw Hats meet Brook, who's eaten a Devil Fruit that lets him come back to life once. But due to the fog in the area he was in, he got lost on his way back to his mortal body. By the time he found it, it was nothing but bones. Although initially freaked out by his own appearance, he eventually adapted and grew a habit of making {{pun}}s about it. Constantly. He also came to discover that [[CursedWithAwesome being a skeleton has surprising advantages over being made of flesh]], such as making him a lot faster and lighter. He eventually joins the crew as their musician and second swordsman.
59* In ''Manga/RWBY2015'', the body of the Cephalopod looks like a giant horned skull.
60* Shiro from ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana''. His true form, though, is a {{bishonen}}.
61* Used by a [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant Faust VII]] in ''Manga/ShamanKing'', quite drastically - in his fight against the main character, he insisted it be held on a Western (Christian) graveyard, where the dead were not cremated, so he could use their skeletons to launch a mass attack at our protagonist. On top of it, he carried his deceased wife's skeleton under his clothes and used it as a secret weapon.
62* ''Anime/ShonenSarutobiSasuke'': As she keeps exhausting her powers against Sasuke during the final battle, Yakusha transforms from someone who at least appears human into a decrepit old woman and then into an animated skeleton that ultimately falls to pieces when she gets a dagger in the skull.
63* The title character from ''Manga/SkullFaceBooksellerHondaSan'' is drawn as a skeleton (an entire one, not just a SkullForAHead like the title indicates). [[StylizedForTheViewer He isn't literally a skeleton though]], he's a human in an entirely mundane setting.
64* Admiral Perry, the BigBad of ''Anime/SpaceDandy''. He first appears as a flaming skull with a body composed of stars, though later episodes show that he has bony arms as well.
65* Skeldon from ''Anime/TheUltraman'' is a skeletal carnivorous dinosaur kaiju.
66* Dokuro Skull of ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'' is this after having cast away her flesh to create New Hell.
67* In ''Manga/YuGiOh'' Ryuji Otogi used a few skeletal monsters in his ''Dungeon Dice Monsters'' game, including [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/The_13th_Buried The 13th Grave]] and [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Assailant Dark Assailant]]. (Unfortunately, the card game equivalents of these cards are pretty bad.)
68[[/folder]]
69
70[[folder:Arts]]
71* ''Art/GothicTimes'': The main visual {{motif}} of all the {{sculptures}} is bones, particularly, skulls. In "Shipping Leviathan -- Ark of Apocalypse", part of the ship's crew (as well as the scaffold) is made of human skeleton beings.
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Asian Animation]]
75* In the ''Animation/MotuPatlu'' episode "Bhoot Bangla", Motu and Patlu go to a mansion that is said to be haunted and, sure enough, among the things they find in it are walking, talking skeletons. [[spoiler:They're actually being controlled by Jon the Don in an attempt to scare the duo.]]
76[[/folder]]
77
78[[folder:Card Games]]
79* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', skeletons are closely tied to the "regenerate" mechanic. Most [[http://magiccards.info/query?q=t%3Askeleton&v=scan&s=cname creatures with the Skeleton creature type]] have an ability that allows them to keep fighting after they've been destroyed, a tradition that began in the very first expansion with [[http://magiccards.info/al/en/15.html Drudge Skeletons]]. (Ordinary undead minions that don't regenerate are typically classified as regular Zombies instead.) [[https://scryfall.com/card/isd/116/skeletal-grimace Skeletal Grimace]] has a ghoulcaller pointing out that everyone has a skeleton ''inside'' them already...and there's no real need to wait for someone to die first before controlling it. The card grants a minor power and toughness boost to the enchanted creature and a "regenerate" mechanic just like that of skeleton creatures'.
80* In ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'', there is the Wight archetype. Originally, this was nothing more than [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Skull_Servant Skull Servant]], a JokeItem at best, as it was weak and had no real function (aside from a few Fusion Monsters who were equally bad) but eventually, cards were introduced to make it playable, like [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/King_of_the_Skull_Servants King of the Skull Servants]], [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/The_Lady_in_Wight The Lady in Wight]], [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wightmare Wightmare]], and [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wightprince Wightprince]].
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Comic Books]]
84* Fairly common in pre-[[MediaNotes/TheComicsCode Comics Code]] horror, to the point where David Hajdu's ''The Horror! The Horror! Comic Books the Government Didn't Want You to Read!'' contains an entire essay on their usage and associated tropes. Hajdu's observation is that they typically appear to avenge their own deaths with as much poetic justice as possible.
85-->''Unlike the zombie, skeletons are neither "natural" (staggering like a living person) nor "unnatural" (staggering despite mortal wounds), but are abstractions from a body. They are, in fact, traditional allegorical images -- from the medieval memento mori. They are symbols sprung to life and strangely able to manipulate the material world. The uncanniness of the skeleton in this regard is not to be underestimated.''
86* In ''ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas'', the organization fights mobile skeletons so much it borders on a RunningGag.
87* ''ComicBook/BillAndTedsExcellentComicBook'': Death is a skeleton because Evan Dorkin didn't see any stills from the ''Franchise/BillAndTed'' movies until he was a third of the way through the comic and it was too late to redraw.
88* In ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'', Characters/{{Supergirl|TheCharacter}} suffers several nightmares where her enemy Superwoman, her parents and all deceased Kryptonians turn into walking, rag-wearing skeletons and try to drag her down into Hell.
89* Zigzagged with ComicBook/GhostRider, whose skeleton form is largely DependingOnTheArtist. In more than a few comics, [[ButterFace only the head is a burning skull and rest is normal]], see 1,000,000 BC Ghost Rider. Yet the majority of the time the [[LegacyCharacter riders]] e.g [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzFZh3ixEvwcgs4Cgss_F5YAs5EQPEX6xQ5A&usqp=CAU Johnny Blaze]] have their bodies become skeletons as well as revealed by ClothingDamage or the [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREgFllxcGfvWMMQEaEXBPQ8BCrsN5NxtfjMA&usqp=CAU Marvel Swimsuit Special]].
90* In the ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' story ''ComicBook/TheJungleLine'', the Man of Steel is attacked by the skeletons of some species of mammoth-like Kryptonian beast during one hallucination.
91* In ''Franchise/TheDCU'' event ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' event, black power rings re-animate dead characters, typically making them look like slightly-decayed versions of their former selves. The body of Boston Brand, aka ''Deadman'', however, had been dead so long that his Black Lantern version is little more than a skeleton with a black version of his costume stretched over it. In some stories (most notably, ''ComicBook/KingdomCome''), Deadman's ghostly form also appears significantly more skeletal than usual.
92* ''ComicBook/ConanTheBarbarian'': In "The Valley of the Howling Shadows" (The Savage Sword of Conan #118, November 1985), Conan and his followers meet a group of talking and walking skeletons. The skeletons are the nicest and friendliest characters in the entire story, but their dialogue creeps Conan out. They claim that Conan looks familiar to them, suspect that they have seen him before, and ask him whether he is related to them through their families. They also indicate that they would like to know him better. Conan retreats quickly. Notably, for most of the scene, the skeletons pay no attention to the other characters present.
93* ''ComicBook/TheCrawlingKing'' contains plenty of illustrations of living skeletons. From one of a frog riding a dog skeleton, to a story of a woman whose skeleton leaves her body.
94* In ''ComicBook/TheFurtherAdventuresOfIndianaJones'' #33-34, an EvilSorcerer raises a skeletal army of Viking warriors to kill Indy, or--at the very least--keep him occupied until the soccer's evil ritual is completed.
95* Mr. Bones, a man whose body is invisible except for his skeleton, has been a recurring ''ComicBook/InfinityInc'' villain, before his HeelFaceTurn, at which time he briefly joined Infinity Inc. Currently he's the morally grey Director of the [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction Department of Extranormal Operations]].
96* In the AlternateHistory of ''ComicBook/TheManhattanProjects'', the FreakLabAccident that killed physicist Harry Daghlian in our timeline instead turned him into [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy an irradiated skeleton stuck in a radiation suit]]. [[spoiler: It also wasn't an accident.]]
97* ''ComicBook/MrCrypt'' is a comedic example. He is a sentient skeleton who gets into various mishaps from dealing with vampires to running away from angry villagers to facing island natives.
98* ''ComicBook/PierreTombal'': In this BlackComedy comic book about a gravedigger at his local cemetery all dead bodies are living skeletons who spent their afterlife on the cemetery and are treated as residents. Usually they spent their activities underground.
99* In ''ComicBook/PrettyDeadly'', the entire story is being narrated by Bones Bunny, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a skeletal bunny]]. In addition, Death is a skeleton (not with a human skull, but rather an animal one).
100* In ''ComicBook/Seconds2014'', [[spoiler:the Seconds restaurant employs some walking, talking skeletons when reality starts to break apart]].
101* In one crossover, ComicBook/SavageDragon and ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} fought the undead skeletons of pirates while inside of a giant sea monster.
102* Similarly to Mr. Bones, ''ComicBook/TomStrong'' had a minor villain named Charlie Bones, a gangster with invisible flesh who was supposedly the first villain Tom fought after coming to the USA.
103* In ''ComicBook/TraggAndTheSkyGods'' #9, the {{Necromancer}} Ostellon, Master of the Living Bones reanimates the skeletons of the tribe that used to inhabit the caves that Tragg's tribe have just moved into and uses them to attack Keera
104* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
105** ''[[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]'':
106*** When [[Characters/WonderWomanAllies Artemis]], Diana's predecessor as the Amazon's champion, is "revived" by [[Characters/WonderWomanVillains Circe]] she comes back as a vengeful walking skeleton clad only in the scraps remaining of her armor.
107*** The henchmen the Adjudicator created as manifestations of his will modeled after the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse in ''ComicBook/JudgmentInInfinity'' were each skeletal figures wearing cloaks.
108** ''[[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]]'': When Hippolyta is confronted by her guilty conscience she faces a skeletal Diana accusing her of killing her by siphoning her power to Artemis in order to ensure Diana didn't win ComicBook/TheContest. This ''did'' end up getting Diana killed, which was precisely what Polly was trying to prevent after having a premonition that Wonder Woman would die.
109* ''ComicBook/YorickAndBones'': Yorick, one of the protagonists of the comic, is a magically-resurrected skeleton who was dug up by [[CanineCompanion Bones]].
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Fan Works]]
113* ''Fanfic/CrownsOfTheKingdom'' has the skeletons on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which come to life and attack the heroes.
114* The ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' story "Smurphony Of The Night" has Empath and Smurfette dealing with an army of Smurf skeletons brought to life in order to stop them from escaping Castle Smurfenstein.
115* Key antagonists in the battle on the Plains of Death in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached''. Paul loves them because destroying them doesn't compromise his {{Actual Pacifis|t}}m].
116* The vampiress Velanna from ''Fanfic/SixesAndSevens'' uses halberd-wielding skeletons reanimated from the bones of her meals in one of her attacks against van Helsing and Victoria.
117[[/folder]]
118
119[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
120* The Cauldron Born in ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron''. In the book, they were more like zombie bodybuilders.
121* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'', both La Muerte and the Spirits of the Dead are based on ''calacas'', skeleton figures which are decorated on The Day of the Dead, specifically the ones made out of candy. In particular, La Muerte’s overall design in particular is inspired by the iconic ''La Calavera Catrina'' of Mexican culture.
122* Similarly, in ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}},'' the inhabitants of the Land of the Dead are walking, talking, clothed skeletons with colorful facial markings like those found on sugar skulls. They can detach their bones from their bodies with no ill effects and their body parts can move independently even when not attached to their bodies.
123** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d when one of the customs officials in the Land of the Dead is allergic to Dante, the Mexican Hairless dog:
124--->'''Miguel''': But, Dante doesn't have any hair!\
125'''Skeleton''': And I don't have a nose, and yet here we are. ''[sneezes]''
126* ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride''. The inhabitants of the Underworld are either zombie-like or skeletal. Not that that makes them any less fun to hang around.
127* The B-17 segment of ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'' has the Loc-Nar reanimate dead crew of the B-17 as skeletons, melting away the flesh in the process, which have SuperStrength and crave human flesh. Its influence spreads to a DerelictGraveyard on an island, reanimating the pilots' bodies to corner the B-17's pilot in a BolivianArmyEnding.
128* A Gashadokuro appears in ''WesternAnimation/KuboAndTheTwoStrings''. It guards the Sword Unbreakable, [[spoiler: which is embedded in his skull, along with [[NeedleInAStackOfNeedles dozens of regular swords]]. Removing it causes the Gashadokuro to fall apart]].
129* ''WesternAnimation/TheLastUnicorn'': A talking, ''wise-cracking'' skeleton appears.
130* A lot of animate skeletons appear in ''WesternAnimation/MonsterMash2000''.
131* Jack Skellington, of ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' is, well, [[MeaningfulName a skeleton]]. [[DarkIsNotEvil He's the hero, so that's OK]].
132* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': Luigi gets chased by a horde Dry Bones shortly after he lands in the Dark Lands. And later, when Bowser reveals to his troops his plans to marry Peach, one Koopa soldier makes the unfortunate mistake of asking "What if she says no?" He gets roasted by Bowser's fire breath and [[StrippedToTheBone turned into a Dry Bones]] for his trouble.
133[[/folder]]
134
135[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
136* Extraordinarily common in early cinema. Sprightly, dancing and otherwise animated skeletons appear with great regularity in the trick films of Georges Méliès and his contemporaries.
137* ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad''. The Skeleton was later re-used in ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts''.
138* ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloInTheForeignLegion'': Lou hallucinates a talking skeleton while in the desert.
139* Most of the "Deadite" army in ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness''. [[spoiler:Evil Ash ends up this way (sans his eyes) after Ash sets him on fire.]]
140* Creator/TimBurton examples, which in addition to the aforementioned ''Corpse Bride'' and ''Nightmare Before Christmas'' shows the extent of his inspiration in GothicHorror and GermanExpressionism.
141** ''{{Film/Beetlejuice}}'' includes the charred ghost [[{{Anvilicious}} of a man who died in a house fire caused by his own smoking addiction]].
142** The [[SkullForAHead skull-headed]] HeadlessHorseman in ''Film/SleepyHollow1999''.
143** His adaptation of ''Literature/MissPeregrinesHomeForPeculiarChildren'' contains a scene featuring re-animated skeletons, in a {{homage}} to the works of Creator/RayHarryhausen, particularly ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts''.
144* In ''Film/DeathShip'', Nick lunges at Capt. Ashland, only to fall into a trap and find himself in a net holding the skeletal remains of the eponymous ship's former crew.
145* ''Film/{{Halloweentown}}'' has a wisecracking skeleton, Benny, drive the local taxi.
146* Many of the zombies that attack the Evers in ''Film/TheHauntedMansion2003''.
147* In a memorable film example, Creator/RayHarryhausen's animated skeletons make up half of a ChromaKey battle scene in ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts'', after they sprout from the earth where hydra teeth are sown. However in the original myths, they were instead flesh-and-blood warriors called ''[[http://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Spartoi.html spartoi]]''.
148* Such a skeleton appears at the climax of ''Film/HouseOnHauntedHill1959''. It's less elaborate than the above examples though, which is ultimately justified because [[spoiler: it's a ScoobyDooHoax, operated by Creator/VincentPrice's character]]. In theaters, it was originally set up to have a plastic skeleton on wires fly over the audience, but it posed a tempting target to kids with slingshots and other projectiles.
149* The ghostly skeletal army in Creator/PeterJackson's ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing''.
150* ''Film/LostInAHarem'': While in the palace cell, Harvey runs into a skeleton chained to the wall, which briefly talks to him and freaks him out.
151* ''Film/TheLostSkeletonOfCadavra'' has this. Of course, since it's an AffectionateParody of cheesy movies from TheFifties, there's probably a number of straight examples from that era that [[ParodyDisplacement no one really remembers.]]
152* In ''Film/TheMummy2017'', the titular {{Mummy}}, Princess Ahmanet, turns her victims into her skeletal followers with a KissOfDeath.
153* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'' features a skeletal T-rex, [[AnimateInanimateObject which was reanimated with the Egyptian tablet like everything else in the movie]].
154* In ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet3DreamWarriors'', Freddy's bones come to life when the characters try to give him a proper burial.
155* At the beginning of ''Film/{{The Phantom|1996}}'', one of the bad guys gets killed by a skeleton that comes to life and chokes him.
156* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'', the crew of the Black Pearl are revealed as being skeletons when exposed to moonlight, primarily to provide the most contrast from their normal appearance as ordinary (but immortal) people.
157* An army of skeletons appears at the end of big budget porno film ''Pirates XXX''.
158* ''Film/TheReturnOfTheLivingDead'' features a brief but memorable scene where a reanimated skeleton rises from a grave. It's never seen again after that. There is also Tarman, a prominently-featured zombie so decayed he's a skeleton held together with rotting muscle tissue and a thick black substance (hence the word “tar” in his name) ; unlike the skeleton, different Tarman zombies show up in two more films, albeit with designs of lesser quality compared to the original.
159* Parodied in ''Film/ScaryMovie2'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gShL8rAmd94 when Cindy is being chased by a skeleton]], only to be reprimanded by Brenda for being afraid. To illustrate her point, Brenda pulls the skeleton apart and reassembles him badly.
160-->'''Brenda:''' Cindy this is a skeleton. This is bones. Would you run from Creator/CalistaFlockhart?
161* The skeleton warriors from ''Film/SpyKids2IslandOfLostDreams'', a deliberate {{homage}} to the Harryhausen example above.
162* ''Film/TheThreeStooges'' encounter one of these in ''The Ghost Talks''.
163* In the prologue to ''Film/{{Wishmaster}}'', one of the Persians has his skeleton erupt out of his body and then go on a killing spree.
164* In ''Film/ZuWarriorsFromTheMagicMountain'', the titular mountain's entrance is guarded by flying skeletons of dead soldiers, achieved by some impressive wire-work effects.
165[[/folder]]
166
167[[folder:Fine Art]]
168* Medieval and early Renaissance artwork often featured images of skeletons dancing with the living, known as a ''danse macabre'' or "the triumph of death". Belgian painter Creator/PieterBruegelTheElder painted [[http://mikemonaco.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/bruegel-triumph-of-death-supersize.jpg a landscape]] with an army of skeletons attacking a country village.
169* José Guadalupe Posadas is the man who started the "calavera" trend in Mexico. What is often confused by people as Dia de los Muertos symbolism is actually a harsh social critique against the higher social classes that seem to not realize that they're going to die. Eventually this art form evolved and merged with Dia de los Muertos itself, portraying more than just rich skulls but also every Mexican out there.
170[[/folder]]
171
172[[folder:Food & Drink]]
173* During the Halloween season, Cheetos has their white cheddar flavored "Bag of Bones", whose four shapes are a straight bone, skull, rib cage, and hand/foot.
174* A skeleton could be assembled with 15 interlocking pieces of Fleer's "Mr. Bones" candy.
175[[/folder]]
176
177[[folder:Gamebooks]]
178* Skeletons are a reoccurring enemy type in the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' series of books, with notable villains such as Zanbar Bone (''Literature/CityOfThieves1983''), Razaak (''Literature/CryptOfTheSorcerer''), Chancellor Unthank (''Literature/NightOfTheNecromancer'') and Mencius (''Literature/{{Magehunter}}'') capable of summoning skeleton warriors as mooks to deal with the players.
179** Oddly enough, in their very first appearance in the very first book, ''Literature/TheWarlockOfFiretopMountain'', the skeletons are depicted as labourers building a boat for the titular warlock, with armed warrior-skeletons only appearing afterwards.
180** And in two pirate-themed adventures, ''Literature/DemonsOfTheDeep'' and ''Literature/{{Bloodbones}}'', you can actually summon skeleton warriors ''on your side'' to help you battle enemy pirates.
181[[/folder]]
182
183[[folder:Jokes]]
184* A skeleton walks into a bar and says "Give me a beer — and a mop."
185[[/folder]]
186
187[[folder:Literature]]
188* Horrorman and Horako from ''Literature/{{Anpanman}}''. Horrorman's a pretty nice guy (at least, [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor when he's on the heroes' side]]) and Horako's a sweet little girl... even though her imagination has a tendency to go over the top [[spoiler:and she's actually a sea princess]].
189* ''Literature/TheAsteriskWar'': Gustave Malraux, an EnemySummoner who specializes in beasts out of Myth/ClassicalMythology, uses "dragons' teeth" to summon the Spartoi as they were depicted in the film ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts''. [[spoiler:They're no match whatsoever for [[MasterSwordsman Kirin Toudou]], who has added techniques to deal with multiple enemies to her repertoire.]]
190* ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'' has Honorius, a powerful and [[AxCrazy murderously insane]] [[OurGeniesAreDifferent Afrit]]. [[spoiler:Instead of manifesting himself in a physical form like most magical creatures, Honorius' essence is instead infused into the skeleton of the long-dead magician president Gladstone. He basically acts as a "living" security system against people trying to pilfer the mage's tomb, who open it up only to see the skeleton spring up and brutally obliterate them.]]
191* The hermit's ghost in ''Literature/TheCastleOfOtranto''.
192* ''Literature/BruceCovillesBookOf Monsters'': The title character of ''Kokolimalayas, the Bone Man'' is a giant skeleton.
193* In "Literature/ClublandHeroes", one of the Splendid Six's adventures involves an army of skeletal warriors animated by a geas.
194* The Osteomechs from ''Literature/DarkWorldDetective''. They use advanced computers stored in their skulls and micro tractor/pressor beams as muscles. Strong as hell, but very light.
195* ''Literature/TheDeathMageWhoDoesntWantAFourthTime'': The appropriately named Bone Man is one of the first undead our protagonist creates, and while at first he's not much stronger than the average skeleton, in time he grows to be one of the deadlier fighters under Vandalieu's command. Funny thing is his skeleton was possessed by mice spirits who were given human-level sentience.
196* There's a "very old zombie" in Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/TheLastHero'' who is basically a skeleton. Additionally, Death uses a living horse because he hates having to keep wiring the skeletal one together.
197** Not to mention, Death (and by extension, the Death of Rats) is a skeleton. Thankfully, [[DontFearTheReaper he's a pretty nice chap.]]
198** And now there's Charlie, the Department of Necr- Post-Mortem Communications' resident skeleton, who's been there "forever".
199** In ''Literature/ReaperMan'', the New Death rides a skeletal horse. After Bill Door defeats this upstart and reclaims his position as Death, Miss Flitworth decides to keep it, because any hay it "eats" just falls through its ribs to the stable floor, making it cheap to feed.
200* In ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImQueenOfTheDead'', Francis starts terrorizing L.A. with his undead army of empowered skeletons.
201* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' is borderline - there's Bob the Skull, a spirit who lives inside a skull, but it is merely a casing, and Bob leaves it when he needs mobility. When a [[spoiler: Tyrannosaurus Rex]] skeleton was reanimated in book 7 "Dead Beat"; the higher quality a reanimated being, the more life-like they appear. (broadly)
202* Sid is a walking, talking skeleton in ''Literature/FamilySkeletonMysteries''.
203* Inverted in the ''Literature/FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser'' stories: "Lankhmar Ghouls" are perfectly normal, living, breathing humanoids who just happen to have invisible body tissues--except for their bones.
204* ''Literature/ForestKingdom'': In book 2 (''Blood and Honor''), early on, Jordan and his escorts are confronted by Bloody Bones, a Transient Being in the form of a nine-foot, bloody (and blood-drinking) skeleton. Luckily, the knight Gawaine has an AntiMagic axe that allows him to dispatch the monster, and they plan to dump the skull in a body of water some distance away to ensure he can't come back.
205* ''Literature/DeGriezelbus'': The driver of the Griezelbus is a skeleton named Beentjes. While initially he appeared to be a creation of Onnoval, he is later revealed to be his formerly living best friend.
206* One of the most infamous monsters encountered by Sun Wukong and company in ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' was the White Bone Demon, a living skeleton creature who impersonates innocent humans. Wukong sees through each disguise easily thanks to his powers, but Xuanzang is fooled and eventually banishes Wukong after one too many "innocents" are killed.
207* ''Literature/KingdomsDisdain'': Mad Crossbone's "bone boys". He and Cardinal achieve infamy by having them pull their chariot.
208* In the first book of ''Literature/TheKingdomKeepers'' series, one of Maleficent's tricks is bringing the fake T-Rex fossil at ''[[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Big Thunder Mountain Railroad]]'' to life in an attempt to do away with [[TheHero Finn]] and [[TheSmartGuy Philby]].
209* Bone constructs are everywhere in the Empire of necromancers of ''Literature/TheLockedTomb'' series, but are the Ninth House's specialty.
210* ''Literature/AMagesPower'': There are many skeletons in the sewers beneath Roalt and they are animated by a combination of ambient mana and lingering spiritual power. Dengel suggests that they are the remains of past adventurers, and stupid people on dares. Eric has to blow them up to stop them.
211* ''Literature/MermaidMoon'': Baroness Thyrla has [[ImmortalitySeeker prolonged her life by many years]] by stealing the remaining lifespans of other people, including her mother, her uncle, her husband, and all but one of her children. She keeps the bones of her victims in her bedroom, where they can speak and have limited movement. They act as her advisors.
212* ''Literature/NineGoblins'': The cervidians, magical creatures which resemble animate deer skeletons, are very similar to this. Except they're specifically noted to still be ALIVE somehow, the bones held together with a fine organic webbing. They're not actually evil, but are distinctly sinister and are drawn to magical disturbances.
213* In ''Literature/{{Overlord|2012}}'', main character Ainz Ooal Gown is a skeleton -- a [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich]], to be more exact. Well, to be even more exact, he is a regular guy permanently stuck in the body and world of his video game character, but that's beside the point. Of course, as a godlike {{Necromancer}} SorcerousOverlord, he also has legions of skeletal minions at his beck and call.
214* During the maybe-maybe not DreamSequence in ''Literature/PetSematary,'' the deadfall separating the sematery from Little God Swamp becomes a huge mass of writhing, tangled skeletons.
215* A number of animated skeletons, including a skeletal ''dragon'', appear in ''Literature/PillarsOfPentagarn'', the first D&D-based {{gamebook|s}}.
216* The Creator/AndreNorton novel ''Literature/QuagKeep'', which was based on ''Tabletopgame/DungeonsAndDragons''.
217* ''Literature/TheRifter'': The walls at the convent of Umbhra’ibaye are strung with bones who are issusha’im: women who’ve been stripped of their flesh but kept alive, with charms carved on the bones. This somehow gives them the power to see through time, seeing multiple possible futures as well as (maddeningly) the lives that they might have lived if they hadn’t been turned into issusha’im. The Payshmura use the issusha’im’s soothsaying to avert future events that they don’t want. It’s a FateWorseThanDeath, but at least it’s possible for them to take on flesh again, which is a considerable improvement, if they escape Umbhra’ibaye. Ji, a talking dog, is an issusha who took the body of a dog and is now a leader of the Fai’daum. She’s centuries old and has very powerful magic as well as soothsaying abilities. [[spoiler:Laurie was taken partway through the issusha-making process and they used the blood of her own baby to create the enchantment. She’s now part-flesh, part-walking skeleton. Understandably mentally unstable, she’s been using those enchantments herself, but only managing to create "hungry bones", monstrosities patched together from human and animal bones which thirst for blood.]]
218* ''Literature/RoysBedoys'': Maker dresses as a skeleton for Halloween in “Let’s Go Trick-or-Treating, Roys Bedoys!”.
219* In the first installment of ''Literature/SamhainIsland'' it is revealed that [[spoiler: Vanessa Vargas]] is a skeleton, more specifically the esteemed Santa Muerte.
220* From ''Literature/SkeletonKnightInAnotherWorld'', we have Arc, a gamer whose avatar is an armored knight who happens to be a skeleton.
221* Al Sarrantonio's ''Literature/{{Skeletons}}'' involves a post-apocalyptic story where all of the dead (including the newly and antique dead) rise as skeletons surrounded by ghostly flesh and clothing.
222* The titular character of the ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' books is a centuries old living skeleton. The secondary protagonist, when being introduced to the supernatural for the first time, actually points out that he has no muscles to move with or lungs to speak with and asks how he works. He is rather disgruntled and gives the simple answer [[AWizardDidIt "it's magic".]] Later on, she wonders if he can whistle without lungs (he can). He's also entirely unique, with ''how'' he ended up like that being a long running question. The answer is that [[spoiler: Skulduggery was naturally magically ambidextrous, with vast potential as a {{Necromancer}} as well as an Elemental. The necromancer who discovered that potential took the chance to install a failsafe in the RedRightHand of Skulduggery's arch-enemy so it wouldn't ''quite'' kill him, because he was curious to see what would happen. The answer was an extremely angry living skeleton turned necromancer better known as [[TheDreaded 'Lord Vile']]]].
223* The eponymous character of Creator/BruceCoville's "YoungAdult" novel ''[[Literature/MagicShop The Skull of Truth]]'' is completely immobile, but telepathic. He's also Yorick from ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. For real, yo.
224* ''Literature/SolomonKane'': In "Rattle of Bones", the skeleton of a murdered sorcerer returns to exact vengeance on the man who murdered him.
225* ''Literature/SweetAndBitterMagic'': Arwyn has an army of skeletal animals under her control who she uses while hunting down criminal witches. They are incredibly creepy and very frightening to Wren.
226* [[{{Necromancer}} Mary]] in ''Literature/TrashOfTheCountsFamily'' uses [[RaisingTheSteaks non-human]] bones to create MixAndMatchCritters for use in battle.
227* In ''Literature/UserUnfriendly'', one of the enemies the heroes face is a giant rat skeleton.
228* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' Literature/{{Ultramarines}} novel ''The Killing Ground'', Togandais has an animated skull -- with glowing eyes -- bringing him books in the library.
229* The Boneys in ''Literature/WarmBodies'' are zombie skeletons.
230* There are living skeletons in ''Literature/{{Xanth}}''. Some are the spirits of people who starved to death while their minds were trapped in the Gourd Realm. Others are their descendants. All of them need to acquire a part of a soul to spend much time in Xanth proper.
231[[/folder]]
232
233[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
234* ''Series/AllThat'' had Dead Spice in the "Spice Boys" skits. He was literally just a skeleton in clothing that never did or said anything, although he does move his arms a few times and it's implied he really is alive. At one point the fans are happy when they manage to steal one of his arms.
235* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
236** In "Tabula Rasa" a spell causes the Scooby Gang to lose their memories. Anya begins to try various spells in the hopes of reversing it, at one point conjuring up a skeletal swordsman which Giles fences with, all while shouting at Anya to 'try another book'.
237** In "Gone" after Buffy reveals to her friends that she's been turned invisible, she picks up a skull and works the jaw to mimic what she's saying.
238* Pierce hallucinates these during a MushroomSamba in the ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "[[Recap/CommunityS1E07IntroductionToStatistics Introduction to Statistics]]".
239-->'''Pierce:''' "Those floating Mexican skeletons are right! My life is over!"\
240'''Jeff:''' "Well, when we go to floating skeletons with our problems, we get what we pay for, don't we?"
241* In the fourth season finale of ''Series/GameOfThrones'', The Children, the Wights that attack [[spoiler: Bran & his party beyond the Wall]] have only their bones left.
242* ''Series/TheGoodies''. In one episode the Goodies are operating their own hospital. [[MadDoctor Graham]] gets a patient to step behind an X-Ray screen, which naturally displays his skeleton. The skeleton then walks out from the other side of the screen, causing Graham to flee in terror (this scene is included in TitleSequence).
243* ''Series/InLivingColor''. Creator/JimCarrey riffs how the cast of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' are getting too old for the movies. Captain Kirk calls for Bones to come to the bridge, only to find he really lives up to his name this time.
244-->'''Skeleton in a wheelchair:''' Dammit Jim, [[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder I'm a corpse not a doctor!]]
245* ''Series/IThinkYouShouldLeaveWithTimRobinson:'' "And it was also the night that the skeletons came to liiiiife!"[[note]]They'll pull your hair up, but not out.[[/note]]
246* One of Creator/JeffDunham's more popular characters is Achmed the Dead Terrorist, an incompetent terrorist who [[HoistByHisOwnPetard was blown up by his own bomb]]. This reduced him to little more than a cranky, complaining skeleton, with his only surviving human features being [[EyesAreUnbreakable angry yellow eyes]], BigOlEyebrows, a scraggly goatee, and a disheveled turban.
247* Geoff Peterson of ''Series/TheLateLateShowWithCraigFerguson'', clad in a suit, mohawk, and ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' name-tag.
248* For Halloween in 2006, ''Series/LateNightWithConanOBrien'' broadcast an already-aired episode in 'skelevision', with Conan, the band, the guests and ''the audience'' all appearing as skeletons operated by puppeteers.
249* In the ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' episode "The Tears of Uther Pendragon", [[spoiler: Morgana]] raises skeleton warriors to fight Arthur and the Knights of Camelot, who are already in battle against (human) invading forces.
250* ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': Season 1 gives us Bones, who was the first monster the Rangers fought. Season 3 gives us Rita Repulsa's halfwit brother Rito Revolto[[note]]One might say, [[{{Pun}} he was a real]] ''[[{{Pun}} bonehead]]''.[[/note]], who's based on Gasha Dokuro from ''Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger'', who's in turn based on an actual creature in Japanese folklore described in the Mythology and Religion folder.
251* ''Series/MonsterWarriors'': Von Steinhauer unleashes a gang of animate skeletons upon Capital City in "Last Ride of the Skeleton Crew" and "The Skeleton Crew Rides Again".
252* A segment from ''Mr. Wizard's World'' has him turn himself into a skeleton...[[spoiler:through what is called a Pepper's Ghost, an image created in a dark room by switching the lights over from himself onto a skeleton seen reflected on a large pane of glass.]]
253* Bonapart the skeleton from ''Owl/TV''.
254* ''Series/{{Readalong}}'': One of the characters introduced during the show's run was Mr. Bones, a skeleton who would sing songs in the style of "Dem Bones".
255* ''Series/StBearsDollsHospital'': In one episode, Nurse Penny found a living skeleton in a closet at the hospital, and assumed it was a patient that the staff had been ignoring. She became very concerned about the visiting inspector seeing it and assuming that the staff haven't been doing their job properly. When the inspector does see the skeleton, however, she clears up that the skeleton's a piece of teaching equipment.
256* In the episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E18HollywoodBabylon "Hollywood Babylon"]] of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', the monster for the horror movie being filmed is a skeleton in a suit holding a fraternity paddle surrounded by a chainsaw blade.
257* Zelda from the original ''Series/{{Svengoolie}}'' and Zalman T. Tombstone in ''Son of Svengoolie''. Both are floating skulls. Zelda had EightiesHair (despite being from the early 1970s).
258* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' examples:
259** One episode of ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' had a MonsterOfTheWeek named Seabozu, a skeletal dinosaur-like creature that accidentally ended up on Earth when a rocket passing through the [[PhantomZone Monster Graveyard]] brought it back. Unlike most, it was completely harmless as it only sought to return to its grave and eternal rest, so Science Patrol had to help it get back into space.
260** ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'' had Stegon, the animated skeleton of a sauropod-like kaiju from the Mesozoic that went on a rampage after its grave was disturbed by construction workers.
261** Mudon from ''Series/UltramanCosmos'' was an animated dinosaur skeleton that sought to reunite with its lost child after millions of years of separation.
262** ''Series/UltramanRB'': The first monster of the show is Grigrio Bone, a red skeletal kaiju. Unlike the other three mentioned above, this one ''is'' a hostile and dangerous monster.
263[[/folder]]
264
265[[folder:Manhwa]]
266* The title character from ''Manhwa/SkeletonSoldierCouldntProtectTheDungeon'' is a living skeleton who was brought back to life by a necromancer. One of the {{Driving Question}}s of the manhwa is who he was in life before being revived.
267[[/folder]]
268
269[[folder:Music]]
270* Music/{{Alice in Chains}}'s song "Them Bones".
271* The song "Spooky Scary Skeletons" by Music/AndrewGold, [[WatchItForTheMeme best known for its association with the "2spooky" meme]], is about how the eponymous skeletons will torment you. The song is a very good example of the [[DeadHorseTrope erosion]] of the skeleton as a source of horror.
272* Camille Saint Saens' well-known ''Danse Macabre'' (1874), a symphonic poem describing skeletons rising from their tomb to dance. Notable for having introduced the xylophone in European Music, to imitate the rattling of the bones.
273* The children's song "Ghost of John" describes the titular ghost as a skeleton:
274--> ♬ Have you seen the ghost of John?\
275Long white bones and the rest all gone\
276Ooooooooooooh\
277Wouldn't it be chilly with no skin? ♬
278* Chiodos' ''Bone Palace Ballet'' (and the [[UpdatedRerelease subsequent re-release]] ''[[UpdatedRerelease The Grand Coda]]'') features two of these on the cover.
279* A visual example in the video for Music/GratefulDead's "Touch of Grey", where the band are portrayed by skeletons up until near the end.
280* Another one with some dancing (and even ''moonwalking'') ones toward the end of the Jacksons' "Torture".
281* A skeleton does the "rap" in Music/{{Rush|Band}}'s "Roll the Bones".
282* Parts of Music/TheWhiteStripes' "Seven Nation Army" have some skeletons with helmets and shields.
283* The {{Trope Namer|s}} is the spiritual song [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dem_Bones "Dem Bones."]]
284* Music/CreatureFeature's song in ''American Gothic'' called 'Dem Bones' - no, it is not a joke.
285* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FufL80hJsP8 Bones]]" by Music/TheKillers.
286* Music/{{Megadeth}}'s mascot Vic Rattlehead is a skeleton who sees no evil (blindfolded), hears no evil (ears are closed with metal caps) and speaks no evil (mouth clamped shut).
287* ''Pet Sematary'' by Music/TheRamones mentions dancing skeletons and rattling bones as some of the many graveyard horrors the singer wishes to avoid becoming.
288* One interpretation of "Where Your Eyes Don't Go" by Music/TheyMightBeGiants is that it refers to ''your'' skeleton.
289* Averted by ''Music/TheAxisOfAwesome'' with "Skeleton Man" who is part man, part skeleton. Like everyone.
290--> '''[[OnlySaneMan Benny]]:''' Right and which part's the skeleton part?
291--> '''Jordan:''' [[ShapedLikeItself The skeleton part!]]
292--> '''Benny:''' What, you mean like inside him?!
293* The eponymous parade from the Music/MyChemicalRomance album ''Music/TheBlackParade'' contains some of these among their number, one of whom is featured in the album cover.
294[[/folder]]
295
296[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
297* Literature/TheBible had the story of [[Literature/BookOfEzekiel Ezekiel]] and the [[CavalryOfTheDead Valley of the Dry Bones that came to life]] and inspired the {{Trope Namer|s}} "Dry Bones"/"Dem Bones" song. The trope-naming song is based on a Biblical incident involving Ezekiel, who was told by God to create an army of these things with a prophecy. The Bible is surprisingly metal, in places. The bones are immediately [[MassResurrection given flesh and souls]] during their resurrections, [[UnbuiltTrope instead of being a literal skeleton army]] like [[Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts those]] created by Creator/RayHarryhausen.
298* The {{Gashadokuro}} from Myth/JapaneseMythology is [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever a super sized version of this]]. This monster is created from collecting the skeletons of people who have died ''en masse'' without getting a proper burial (usually from famine, disease, or warfare). It is known to bite the heads off humans it encounters and to be forewarned of by a ringing in the ears. They often grow up to 15 times larger than a man.
299** The Hone-onna[[note]]literally "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Bone Woman]]"[[/note]] creates a look of a beautiful woman, based on how she looked when she was alive, to [[TheVamp get close to her chosen lover]] and [[LifeDrain drain him of life]] so they can be together forever. The problem is [[GlamourFailure it only works on him]] and everyone else sees a man [[{{Squick}} flirting and caressing a rotting corpse]].
300** Another skeleton {{youkai}} is the Kyokotsu, a spectral skeleton formed from the spirits of those whose remains were simply thrown into wells instead of receiving a proper burial or committed suicide by throwing themselves into a well. They like to leap out of wells to scare people or place curses on them.
301** The Bakekujira is the animated skeleton of a ''[[RaisingTheSteaks whale]]'' feared as a harbinger of disaster for coastal villages, forever seeking vengeance against the humans that killed it.
302* The Pakahk from Cree mythology, similar to the Gashadokuro, are the animate bones of people who died from starvation. They have a chilling cackle, but sometimes they will help people with healing or hunting.
303* The Pauguk from Ojibway mythology, is a phantom with a skeletal appearance and eye sockets filled with balls of fire. It hunts people, often warriors, with invisible arrows or clubs.
304* Kokolimalayas from Modoc myth is the Bone Man, a giant skeleton who destroyed a village, drank of the river and left the earth barren, then went to sleep for a time. Eventually, after reawakening, he is destroyed by Nulwee, the boy who inadvertently revived him, and the rains return, allowing the people to return as well.
305[[/folder]]
306
307[[folder:Pinball]]
308* In ''VideoGame/ThreeDUltraPinballCreepNight'', the player must hit various animated skeletons to return them to their dungeon cells.
309* ''Pinball/BoneBusters'' is all about an army of animated skeletons attacking the city of Chicago, and the [[{{Expy}} oddly familiar]] [[Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} proton-beam-firing heroes]] who must stop them.
310* ''VideoGame/CrueBall'' has the Bad Bones, legless Skeletons that wander the playfield.
311* Skull the Bone Head in ''[[Pinball/NoFearDangerousSports No Fear: Dangerous Sports]]'', though his attacks are strictly verbal.
312* In ''VideoGame/PinballQuest,'' the main enemies of the first table are a set of animated skeletons.
313* Creator/WilliamsElectronics' ''Pinball/ScaredStiff'' has the "Boney Beast", a gigantic skeletal serpent that resides in the house of ''Creator/ElviraMistressOfTheDark''.
314-->'''Elvira:''' "This thing is huge... and ''ribbed!''"
315* The WizardMode of ''Pinball/TalesOfTheArabianNights'' begins by having the player fight through several skeletal warriors before facing the evil genie of the game.
316* ''Pinball/GunsNRosesJerseyJack'' portrays every member of [[Music/GunsNRoses the band]] as a living, clothed skeleton in the game's artwork. This alludes to the replacement cover for their album ''Music/AppetiteForDestruction'', which depicted the group as skulls.
317[[/folder]]
318
319[[folder:Roleplay]]
320* Fesxis from ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'' is an otherwordly being whose appearance is noted to be similar to a human skeleton with a doe skull. The actual composition of her body seems closer to chitin than bone.
321* Exploited in ''Roleplay/NanQuest''. [[spoiler:The Pilgrim]] looks like an example of this, but is actually just a squishy human wearing a costume -- ''precisely because'' it makes people assume they're an invincible skeleton. It ''works'', too -- players occasionally made suggestions that would have actually worked, such as [[spoiler:strangling him with his own noose]], only to be shot down by other players saying something to the effect of "He's a skeleton, are you crazy?"
322[[/folder]]
323
324[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
325* ''TabletopGame/CaptainBonesGold'' is a boardgame in which you have to acquire gold doubloons while avoiding having it stolen by Captain Bones, a skeletal pirate who lives inside a treasure chest.
326* ''TabletopGame/TheDarkEye'': Skeletons are a very common type of undead, routinely created by necromancers who want cheap, plentiful troops without having to put up with the decomposition, clumsiness and bad smell of zombies. They are quicker and more agile than the walking corpses, although they're vulnerable to blunt weapons as these can shatter their bones.
327* ''TabletopGame/DragonDice'': Skeletons are one of the basic undead troop types -- they move faster than zombies, but do less damage and are less capable of absorbing damage.
328* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
329** A variety of skeletons exist, displaying different levels of power and intelligence. They're usually the result of spellcasters using necromancy, but a few have been known to spontaneously awaken in places of evil. Usually. Of course, there are also liches and their variants (archlich, baelnorn, banelich, master lich).
330** The Basic Set of the first version of D&D had 4 kinds of golems, one of these was the Bone Golem which was a skeleton [[MultiArmedAndDangerous with 4 arms]].
331** The {{Dracolich}} is an undead evil dragon that has combines the powers of a dragon ''and'' a lich. While their description does not specifically say they ''have'' to be skeletal, most are depicted as such.
332** While most settings are full of undead, ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' is especially fond of this theme and has the remarkable collection of unusual bones. For example, there lived -- until she tried to raid a big temple of the god of wizardry, that is -- Tashara of the Seven Skulls, who seduced and tricked into becoming spellcasting flying skulls ([[MoreThanMindControl under her control]]) seven archmages, one after another. There's even [[http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Skullport one city]] ''openly ruled by'' floating skulls (no, not Tashara's seven). ''Realms'' is also the origin of the baelnorn and banelich.
333** ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'': The setting's "evil, schmevil" attitude (it subverts the AlwaysChaoticEvil trope ''hard'') means that a nation like Karrnath can have a ''significant portion of its army'' composed entirely of skeletons, and nobody thinks any differently about them because of it.
334** ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' has "mimirs", recording devices shaped like metallic skulls.
335** ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'': The original products had a number of variants of this trope, such as archer skeletons whose ammo turns into more skeletons, or giant skeletons (enlarged human bones) that toss fireballs from the green flames ablaze inside their ribcages. Arthaus's ''Van Richten's Guide to the Walking Dead'' has guidelines for customizing the Obedient Dead with all sorts of creepy abilities.
336** The Demilich is a lich who had decided to leave his/her phylactery and use astral projection to learn from other realms. All that's left is a weathered skull or skeletal hand that skill can dish out a world of hurt by [[YourSoulIsMine sucking the souls of anyone who bothers them]] or summoning Demiliches, six inch tall/long magic roaches with SkullForAHead. By the thousands.
337** Apart from the lich, ''D&D'' featured many other skeletal sentient undead, like the Death Knight (skeletal warrior), the Huecuva (skeletal divine spellcaster), or skeletal Ancient Dead (variant of the {{Mummy}} from the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' setting).
338** It should also be noted that, in 3rd edition anyway, just about ''anything'' with bones that isn't already dead can be turned into Dem Bones through application of the Skeleton template. This includes everything from normal humanoids, to dragons, to bizarre aberrations with bone structures such have never been seen by mortal eyes.
339* ''TabletopGame/{{Godforsaken}}'': Skeletons are the most common servants of Crumellia the necromancer. Some are human, many belong to the extinct sapients that once ruled Flevame, many more are animal, and quite a lot resemble nothing that ever lived [[WalkingOssuary and were likely created by Crumilia as macabre works of art from bits and pieces of other things]]. For the most part they are little more than mindless automatons.
340%%* ''TabletopGame/{{Gloomhaven}}'' has the Living Bones enemies.
341* ''TabletopGame/KingsOfWar'' uses skeletons in much the same role, in much the same army, alongside the slightly less expendable, slightly better-dressed skeletons known as Revenants.
342* ''TabletopGame/LEGOGames'': Skeletons are among the minifigures you can find in ''Monster 4''. You use them as wild cards; they act as one of the monsters you are placing in a row. The game's official description says the monsters play with the skeletons, implying sentience.
343* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' has these as a variation on the standard AnimateDead spell. The corpse's connective tissue and some of its flesh is transmuted into razor-edged metal plated around the bones (giving it damage resistance and a better attack) and it rips its way out of the rest of the flesh. It was invented by a member of a BlackMetal band whose bandmates promptly declared the spell to be metal as hell.
344* ''TabletopGame/MazesAndMinotaurs'': Skeletons serve as mooks.
345* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_qJ7esLZo Rattle Me Bones]]'', a game where you must remove accessories from a pirate's skeleton in a way that doesn't move its limbs too much, otherwise he'll '''RATTLE AND SHAKE!'''
346* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
347** Floating servo-skulls -- although they're robotic rather than undead.
348** Not to mention the Necrons. No really, don't mention them, they aren't this trope. They are [[SkeleBot9000 robots shaped like skeletons]] that function as [[SoulJar Soul Jars]] for an ancient alien race.
349* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': Skeletons are the basic grunt troops of the undead armies, serving the factions of [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampire Counts]] and [[{{Mummy}} Tomb Kings]]. The Vampire Counts use skeletons as expendable meat(bone?)shields, and that's about it. The Tomb Kings are an army of nothing but skeletons, with some mummies, animated statues and ancient, immortal priests to taste.
350[[/folder]]
351
352[[folder:Theme Parks]]
353* These are seen in several of these at attractions in Ride/DisneyThemeParks, including in ''[[Ride/TheHauntedMansion Phantom Manor]]'', ''Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', ''Ride/IndianaJonesAdventure'', and ''Ride/TheGreatMovieRide''. More cheerful versions are in the Mexico pavilion at EPCOT. The skeletons in the original ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' at Disneyland were real (arguably adding to their creepiness if you knew this), as replica skeletons at the time were not advanced enough to look realistic and old. They were obtained from a medical center and later received burials, with replicas taking their place in the ride. Supposedly, one real human skull still exists in the ride (attached to the headboard, above the skeletal pirate captain, in the grotto sequence), but Disney will neither confirm nor deny this.
354* Plenty of animated skeletons can be seen inside Ride/EuropaPark's HauntedHouse ride, "Geisterschloss".
355[[/folder]]
356
357[[folder:Toys]]
358* ''Franchise/{{LEGO}}'' features skeleton minifigures in various series, primarily in ''LEGO Castle'', ''VideoGame/LEGOTheLordOfTheRings'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}''.
359* ''Pose Skeleton'' created by Re-Ment is a series of miniature skeletons along with various accessories, they're far smaller than Revolectech Skeletons, however they're as flexible as the latter, capable of wielding LEGO weapons and they're so lightweighted that they can be lifted by ''Toys/{{Figma}}'' at ease.
360* ''Toys/{{Revoltech}}'' once made the action figures of Skeleton Warrior from ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts'', the Revoltect joints on them are perfect for making stop motion movie, exactly what Creator/RayHarryhausen made. ItMakesSenseInContext, certainly. The Takeya series also has Japanese skeleton and its brother, [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Skeleton Samurai]].
361* A majority of the characters in the ''Toys/TreasureX'' toyline are skeleton treasure hunters that need to be unearthed from a sandstone and pieced together, along with a buried treasure.
362* ''Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S.'' [[note]][[FunWithAcronyms Highly Articulated Character Kit System]][[/note]] series created by Boss Fight Studio features several skeletons warrior figures with Greek motif.
363[[/folder]]
364
365[[folder:Web Animation]]
366* ''WebAnimation/TheBlackCatsLair'': Skelly is a walking skeleton wearing only a bonnet.
367* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'':
368** The Master of the Dammed is a LeanAndMean living skeleton.
369** The Overlord of Evil's a living skeleton with CreepilyLongArms wearing tattered robes.
370* Tricky from ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' become a giant dragon-skeleton thing in ''Expurgation'', he also spawn an army of black skeletons who later sports his clown haircut. Tricky himself looks like one of these skeletons mook while in Auditor's hell except he wears the halo and has glowing eyes.
371* Lewis from ''WebAnimation/MysterySkullsAnimated'' is a suit wearing skeleton ghost with magenta fire for hair.
372* The ''[[WebAnimation/SockSeries Sock series]]'' features a gigantic skeletal hell being that walks on its two arms. In ''Empire of Sock'', we see there are multiple of them.
373* In ''WebAnimation/TrueTail'', Eldritch the Necromancer has an army of skeletons that are on green fire!
374[[/folder]]
375
376[[folder:Webcomics]]
377* ''Webcomic/TheBackOBeyond'': Baines is a lich (he seems to take offense at being called a skeleton) and a pirate.
378* The [[AfterTheEnd dead world]] in ''Webcomic/BetweenTwoWorlds'' is mostly inhabited by skeletal monsters.
379* ''Webcomic/BeyondTheCanopy'': Skeletons are the Baron's standard {{mooks}}. They're intelligent, and seem to have individual personalities.
380* ''Webcomic/BoyAndDog'': Subverted in a story one of Rowan's parents tells. It looks like the villagers are skeletons but [[MistakenForUndead they're actually just malnourished]].
381* ''Webcomic/{{Carnies}}'': Part of the cast.
382* ''Webcomic/ChampionsOfFaraus'': When Daryl and Skye encounter a Nekomata, it raises some nearby skeletons to go and fight them.
383* ''Webcomic/CharbyTheVampirate'': When K'ale gets arrested and imprisoned by King Samrick, his cellmate is a talking skeleton.
384%%* ''Webcomic/CobwebAndStripes'': Jacques is a side character. Unlike his [[WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}} animated appearance]], however, he's not a bodybuilder; he's the ghost of a circus performer.
385* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Grace encounters some skeleton [=NPCs=] during the "Fantasy Wasteland" storyline.
386* ''Webcomic/{{Endstone}}'': GraveRobbing [[http://endstone.net/comic/issue-1-page-32/ rouses one]].
387* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': A group of Martellus' knights are stripped to the bone by an attack which animates their remains to be loyal servants to the user.
388* ''Webcomic/{{Helvetica}}'''s entire cast is this, although [[DrivingQuestion none of them are sure why.]]
389* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': In the Alpha kids' void sessions, the Underlings -- normally living fantasy monsters -- take the form of animated skeletons that haunt the session's graveyard planets. After they're killed, the bones just reassemble, making them almost impossible to permanently kill.
390%%* ''Webcomic/KayAndP'': P.
391* ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'': Richard summons up some skeletons to aid in battle. What makes this really stand out is that [[http://lfgcomic.com/page/9 the skeletons were ''borrowed'' from a few enemy soldiers, while they were still alive]].
392* ''Webcomic/MonstersCanBeHeroesToo'': Coal's second quest is to go defeat a gang of skeletons. She recruits a skeleton named Shelly to join her party from them.
393* ''Webcomic/{{Nedroid}}'' has a skeleton whose name is unpronounceable by above worlders, but you can call him [[http://nedroid.com/2009/08/introducing-skeleton/ Ethan]]. (His ex does.)
394* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': The BigBad is a lich, Xykon. At one point, decoys of him are created by reanimating other powerful, free-willed forms of skeletal undead and sticking them in similar robes.
395->'''Monster in the Darkness:''' How did you get them to look exactly like Xykon?\
396'''Redcloak:''' I didn't. They're human skeletons, I put a blue robe on them and called it a night. Heck, I had to put those colored pendants on them just to tell them apart.
397* ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'' is set in an RPGMechanicsVerse and has both regular mindless skeleton minions and the Bone, skeletal undead who retain the minds and skills they had in life. Some of them are extremely unhappy about this.
398%%* ''Webcomic/ThePrincessPlanet'': Spoofed in [[http://www.theprincessplanet.com/?p=19 this]] strip.
399%%* ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'': Codename Montezuma's Skeleton.
400%%* ''[[http://skeletonscomic.blogspot.com Skeletons!]]'': The name kind of implies this.
401* ''Webcomic/TalkWithMonsters'', based on ''D&D'', features a hero that scoffs at having to fight skeletons, maintaining that skeletons are not dangerous--they're what you get when you take a normal guy and remove things. In the dungeon, however, he sees the error of his ways: "Gaah! Super-pointy elbows!"
402* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'''s Duane Adelier is a rare heroic example: a former rector and family man who died six years before the story begins and continues to inhabit his body via unknown means, which he hides with heavy clothing and [[LieToTheBeholder glamours]]. His mind and his formidable magical skill are intact but his body decomposes at the normal rate; his tongue and eyes are magical prostheses and he scavenges pieces from cadavers to [[AppendageAssimilation replace limbs]] that get too damaged. He strips the meat off those pieces for his own comfort: feeling them rot is ''really'' unpleasant for him.
403[[/folder]]
404
405[[folder:Web Original]]
406* Shows up a few times throughout the course of ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'':
407** Kravitz's skeletal form, which is supposedly what inspired TheGrimReaper mythos throughout the planar system [[spoiler:which includes our world, as well]].
408** The Red Robe is a spectral skeleton that stalks the Tres Horny Boys throughout their adventures, from "Petals to the Metal" to "The Suffering Game". [[spoiler:This is actually Barry Bluejeans's lich form, see below.]]
409** All liches have a spectral, skeletal form that appears when they are killed or otherwise removed from their bodies, such as via the Animus Bell. It is also visible in the Ethereal Plane. Edward and Lydia both show theirs off in "The Suffering Game", and [[spoiler:Lup]] is in hers when she returns in "Story and Song". [[spoiler:Barry's is shown throughout most of the series as the "Red Robe".]]
410** The skeletal pirates that the Tres Horny Boys, Davenport, and Kravitz, [[spoiler:Barry, and Lup]] team up to take down in the San Francisco Live Show.
411* On the virtual pets game ''Website/{{Neopets}}'', [[http://www.neopetshive.com/Hive/piratekiko.gif the old Pirate Kiko]] was one of these.
412* The review and comedy series, ''WebVideo/ProfessorShadow'' has the reoccurring character, Joe. A gun crazy skeleton with an immature sense of humor.
413* {{YouTube Poop}}er WebVideo/{{Ricesnot}} specializes in making videos about skeletons, especially the skeleton from the advertisement for the '80s board game "Rattle Me Bones".
414* ''Website/SCPFoundation'' has several skeletons, including the sad and scary case of [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-3114 SCP-3114]]. It's an animated skeleton and kills and skins any human or humanoid creature it comes into contact with and tries to wear it. When exposed to a simple border collie, 3114 [[PetTheDog was friendly to the dog and they played together for two hours]] before the dog was removed without incident. When exposed to an articulated skeleton for medical teaching, 3114 approaches and seems hopeful for a moment and then dejected when it realises the skeleton isn't alive. Finally, when it obtains a cadaver that fits perfectly and attempts to interact with a D-Class prisoner, it reacts with no hostility and even tries to hug him; when the (very disturbed) D-Class is recalled, 3114 stares at the door for a moment and then tears the skin off and kicks it into the corner and then lies down to "sleep" [[DespairEventHorizon for several days]] before returning to its old behaviour. [[TearJerker 3114 is just a confused and frustrated creature desperate to belong]].
415* The Website/{{Tumblr}} ‘Skeleton War’.
416* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnRrPqgKBS0 Skull Trumpet]]. [[MemeticMutation Doot doot!]]
417** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzFHdT7xao Now there's Doot Star]], an All-Stars remix with these trumpets.
418** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGjTHrZDGMc Doot]] [[Franchise/StarWars Wars]].
419* In Episode 5 of ''Podcast/{{Jemjammer}}'' (aptly titled "Ghost Ship"), The Kestrel encounters a ship crewed by animated skeletons.
420* ''Website/TheOnion'' depicts some [[StupidScientist Stupid Archaeologists]] believing that they have uncovered a [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/archaeological-dig-uncovers-ancient-race-of-skelet,932/ village of skeleton people]].
421* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsJ9BvpH7wI What is a Skeleton's favorite snack?]][[note]]Ribs! Spare Ribs! Fuck![[/note]]
422[[/folder]]
423
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