Grim Reaper tattoos are often striking images that bring with them a lot of symbolism, so it’s no surprise that a lot of people have gotten them and plenty more who are interested in getting them. On this page you will find out that there is a lot more than meets the eye with these tattoos, as they have many meanings attached to them and they say a lot about the people who have these designs on their skin.
The Grim Reaper is a personification of death and most commonly appears as a shadowy skeleton cloaked in a black, billowing hooded mantle that covers its entire form. The vast majority of Grim Reaper designs are quite large and detailed, with every wrinkle of the robe showing and often quite a bit of intricate line work added to make the image look that much more menacing.

The idea of the Reaper has existed for centuries all over the globe in various cultures and is known by many names, including the Angel of Death. It represents the creature that comes for us when our lives are coming to an end. Some folks see it as the embodiment of everything that is dark in the world, while others simply see it as a visualization of death itself.

Carrying a scythe clutched in one boney hand, the Grim Reaper haunts those whose death is close by, allowing the reaper to carry them off to the after world. Obviously most people who get the Grim Reaper tattoo are not on death’s door, so they instead get it to show that they recognize that their day with come soon enough. Believe it or not, that does not necessarily make it a “grim” tattoo, as it is sometimes more of an acceptance of mortality rather than a fear of it.

The image of the Grim Reaper is most often daunting and dark, giving off the impression of something evil and fearless. Its associations with death make the image a dismal symbol of the end of one’s life to those who see it. Onlookers will often look at one of these images and see it as more of a monster than as a simple symbol of death.