Grim Reaper tattoos as you probably have already guessed, represent a dark sided nature and are associated with death and destruction. We all eventually come to grips with our own mortality and the Grim Reaper symbolizes the journey that we will all take from the living to the dead. The myth of the Reaper dates back to the Middle Ages when plagues and famine would wipe out entire villages and communities. People were said to have seen this face of death as they transitioned from the mortal world. Images of the Grim Reaper were shown in popular art of the time, and many of those same designs are used in Grim Reaper tattoos today.

With the image of the Grim Reaper pretty much remaining unchanged since the dark ages, this skeleton man with a dark robe and hood over his head carrying a sickle is a very daunting and menacing design. Although, the man under the hood doesn’t always have to be a skeleton, sometimes the wearer will place pictures of his own face or close friends that have passed away underneath the robe, that also makes the Grim Reaper tattoo an in living memory design or even a memorial image for some people.

With all of the different images of death available, one seems to appear above them all, the Grim Reaper has stood the test of time as one of the only evil symbols to both recognize mortality and passage of life between the living and the dead.