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{{trope}}
[[File:skeletons 663.jpg|link=Jason and the Argonauts|frame|
{{quote|''"The dead make good soldiers. They can't disobey orders, never surrender, and don't stop fighting when a random body part falls off."''
[[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness|Beings made entirely of ossific material]] are a very common form of [[The Undead]] in video games, but much rarer in other media. They're a cousin to the [[Zombie Apocalypse|Zombie]] in spirit, but remain explicitly separated in the public consciousness by the lack of muscles and other juicy bits. This raises a [[Fridge Logic|troubling question]]: [[A Wizard Did It|where do the motor skills come from]]? And [[The Dead Have Eyes|how are they capable of seeing and hearing?]] What makes these [[Perpetual Motion Monster]]s keep going? In some depictions, even the connective tissue physically binding bones into a coherent whole is optional, making this creature firmly an inhabitant of [[Fantasy]] works. You might know them as '''Skeletons
▲{{quote|''"The dead make good soldiers. They can't disobey orders, never surrender, and don't stop fighting when a random body part falls off."'' |'''[[Larry Niven|Nevinyrral]]''', Necromancer's Handbook (as mentioned in ''[[Flavor Text]] for the ''[[Magic: The Gathering|Magic the Gathering]]'' card [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=202275 Drudge Skeletons]'')}}
There are human, [[Non-Human Undead|non-human]], and weirder variants, and in 99% of their appearances, they're enemy [[Mooks]]. Their prevalence in [[RPG]]s is owed to ''[[Dungeons
▲[[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness|Beings made entirely of ossific material]] are a very common form of [[The Undead]] in video games, but much rarer in other media. They're a cousin to the [[Zombie Apocalypse|Zombie]] in spirit, but remain explicitly separated in the public consciousness by the lack of muscles and other juicy bits. This raises a [[Fridge Logic|troubling question]]: [[A Wizard Did It|where do the motor skills come from]]? And [[The Dead Have Eyes|how are they capable of seeing and hearing?]] What makes these [[Perpetual Motion Monster]]s keep going? In some depictions, even the connective tissue physically binding bones into a coherent whole is optional, making this creature firmly an inhabitant of [[Fantasy]] works. You might know them as '''Skeletons.''' We call 'em "Dem Bones."
▲There are human, [[Non-Human Undead|non-human]], and weirder variants, and in 99% of their appearances, they're enemy [[Mooks]]. Their prevalence in [[RPG]]s is owed to ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'', which established them as the slaves of necromancers. When they aren't Mooks, they're usually liches, which are much nastier, because they tend to be powerful mages.
Often enough, Dem Bones are reused in the same game ''à la'' [[Underground Monkey]]. Expect, in the spirit of a Zombie Minotaur, to find [[Hybrid Monster|double-category monsters]], like a skeletal mammoth or dragon. Also for some odd reason, many games have even tougher skeletons that are [[Palette Swap|colored red]].
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A prominent variation is being composed of [[Nothing but Skulls|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 with the rare friendly skeleton.
In video games, skeletal foes will often [[Ballistic Bone|attack by throwing bones]]. One cannot help but wonder where they get ''[[
In [[Mexico]],
See also [[Stripped to the Bone]]. May or may not be [[The Dead Can Dance|prone to dancing]]. A unique example is [[The Grim Reaper]],
Not to be confused with [[Star Trek: The Original Series|Bones McCoy]], who has [[The McCoy|his own trope]] too. Also not to be confused with the [[Alice in Chains]] song "Them Bones" or the ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]'' Gamestop Preorder map. See also [[Bad with the Bone]] if bones are used as [[Improvised Weapon]]s, and [[Ballistic Bone]] if they're used as [[Abnormal Ammo]].
If the [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|skeleton is really a robot]], see [[Skele-Bot 9000]].
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==▼
▲== Anime ==
* Used by a [[Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant|Faust VII]] in ''[[Shaman King]]'', 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.
* ''[[One Piece]]'': 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 [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]s about it. Constantly.
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* Shiro from ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]''. His true form, though, is a [[Bishonen]].
* These show up in the second manga story of ''[[Berserk]]'', and are the remains of soldiers who died in battle against each other. They're animated by evil spirits that want Guts because of the [[Magnetic Plot Device|Brand of Sacrifice]] that he bears. It's implied that these aren't the only things that Guts has to face at night because of the Brand.
* The [[Gratuitous Japanese|Kotsuhizoku]] "Flybone Tribe" from ''[[Kyo Kara Maoh!]]'' are [[Winged Humanoid]] skeletons who don't seem to have much in the way of combat ability. They can't speak, but they do communicate in rattling noises. They are typically spies and messengers, and they are capable of [[Pulling Themselves Together]] in an emergency. [[Naive Newcomer|Yuuri]] attempted to bury one when it got smashed protecting him, and Conrad had to stop him before he actually killed it with his good intentions to honor its sacrifice.
== Card Games ==▼
* In ''[[Magic: The Gathering|Magic the Gathering]]'', 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.)▼
== Comic Books ==
* In one crossover, [[Savage Dragon]] and [[Hellboy (comics)|Hellboy]] fought the undead skeletons of pirates while inside of a giant sea monster.
* Mr. Bones, a man whose body is invisible except for his skeleton, has been a recurring ''[[Infinity, Inc.]]'' villain, before his [[Heel Face Turn]], at which time he briefly joined Infinity Inc.
* In DC's [[Blackest Night]] 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 [notably, [[Kingdom Come]]], Deadman's ghostly form also appears significantly more skeletal than usual.
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== Fan Works ==
* Key antagonists in the battle on the Plains of Death in ''[[With Strings Attached]]''. Paul loves them because destroying them doesn't compromise his [[Actual Pacifist|Actual Pacifism]].
== Film ==
* 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.
* In a memorable film example, [[Ray Harryhausen]]'s animated skeletons make up half of a [[Chroma Key]] battle scene in ''[[Jason and the Argonauts]]'', after they sprout from the earth where hydra teeth are sown. This depiction is likely to yet further [[Sadly Mythtaken|simplify the original story]] by letting Jason kill [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|apparently]] mindless [[Mooks]], since in the original myths, the dragon's teeth grow into the perfectly sentient warriors called ''[http://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Spartoi.html spartoi]'', none of whom Jason left alive.
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* An army of skeletons appears at the end of big budget porno film ''[[Pirates XXX]]''.
* In ''[[A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors]]'', Freddy's bones come to life when the characters try to give him a proper burial.
* In ''[[Beetlejuice]]'', a group of skeletons are seen working at the [[Celestial Bureaucracy|Afterlife Bureaucracy]].
== Fine Art ==
* 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 Pieter Breughel 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.
== Literature ==
* The Osteomechs from ''[[Dark World Detective]]''. They use advanced computers stored in their skulls and micro tractor/pressor beams as muscles. Strong as hell, but very light.
* There's a "very old zombie" in [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' book ''[[
** And now there's Charlie, the Department of Necr- Post-Mortem Communications' resident skeleton, who's been there "forever".
* The [[Andre Norton]] novel ''Quag Keep'', which was based on [[Dungeons
* The eponymous character of [[Bruce Coville]]'s "[[Young Adult]]" novel ''The Skull of Truth'' (part of the ''[[Magic Shop]]'' series) is completely immobile, but telepathic. He's also Yorick from ''[[Hamlet]]''. For real, yo.
* ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' 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)
* The titular character of the ''[[Skulduggery Pleasant]]'' 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 [[A Wizard Did It|"it's magic".]] Later on, she wonders if he can whistle without lungs (he can).
* There are living skeletons in ''[[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 aquire a part of a soul to spend much time in Xanth proper.
* In [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''[[Warhammer
* In the books of the ''[[Malazan Book of the Fallen]]'' series, there is an entire race called the T'lan Imass, who manage to be both skeletal and cool. Their ancestral enemy started an ice age to wipe them out, but they made themselves immortal and continued to beat their enemies for the next several millenia. Having won that war, they are now 125 millenia out of purpose, having plenty of combat experience and an inability to feel pain.
* A number of animated skeletons, including a skeletal ''dragon'', appear in ''Pillars of Pentagarn'', the first D ''[[Choose Your Own Adventure]]'' book.
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* [[The Bible]] had the story of Ezekiel and the 'dry bones' that came to life and inspired the 'Dry Bones'/'Dem Bonessong.
== Live
* ''[[The Goodies]]''. In one episode the Goodies are operating their own hospital. [[Mad Doctor|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 [[Title Sequence]]).
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', ''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'.
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== 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).
* The [[Trope Namer]] is the spiritual song [[wikipedia:Dem bones|"Dem Bones."]]
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== Mythology ==
* The Gashadokuro from [[Japanese Mythology]] is a super sized version of this. This monster is created from collecting the skeletons of people who have died of starvation. It is known to bite the heads off humans it encounters and to be forwarned by a ringing in the ears. They often grow up to 15 times larger than a man.
== Rock Opera ==
* In ''[[The Black Parade]]'', the eponymous parade contains some of these among their number.
== Tabletop
* ''[[Dungeons
** While most [[Dungeons
▲* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'': Skeletons are a kind of mindless undead animated by appropriately evil magic users. Usually. Of course, there are also liches and their variants (archlich, baelnorn, banelich, master lich).
** Apart from the lich, D&D featured many other skeletal sentient undead, like the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140318122826/http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd
▲** While most [[Dungeons and Dragons]] settings are full of undead, [[Forgotten Realms]] are 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 ([[More Than Mind Control|under her control]]) 7 archmages, one after another. There's even [http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Skullport one city] ''openly [[The Necrocracy|ruled by]]'' floating skulls (no, ''not'' Tashara's seven). Realms also are the origin of both baelnorn and banelich. Plus utility/guardian bony constructs - [[Helping Hands|Crawling Claws]]. There are several spells magically enhancing a common undead skeleton (Enlarge Skeleton, Empower Skeleton, Skeletal Spellcraft), spell that disguises the caster as a skeleton (Become Bones - makes non-bony tissues invisible and fools mindless undead into ignoring the caster) and even at least two spells temporarily creating ''fake'' undead skeletons - Shadow Skeleton (not entirely corporeal, but can be given arbitrary garb and has stunning touch) and Skeletal Bride (clothing not included, has featureless blob head, but is fully solid and can carry things, though not heavy).
▲** Apart from the lich, D&D featured many other skeletal sentient undead, like the [http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dreo/20071003a Death Knight] (skeletal warrior), the Huecuva (skeletal divine spellcaster), or skeletal Ancient Dead (variant of the [[Mummy]] from the [[Ravenloft]] setting).
** 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.
** The ''[[Planescape]]'' setting has "mimirs"; recording devices shaped like metallic skulls. The inspiration for Morte, below.
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* Skeletons are the basic grunt troops of the undead armies in the wargame/[[Tabletop Games|Tabletop RPG]] ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]''; serving the factions of [[Our Vampires Are Different|Vampire Counts]] and [[Mummy|Tomb Kings]].
** To specify. The Vampire Counts use Dem Bones as expendable meat(bone?)shields, and that would be about it. The Tomb Kings are a army of nothing but skeletons, with some mummies, animated statues and ancient, immortal priests to taste.
* ''[[Warhammer
** Floating servo-skulls—although they're robotic rather than undead.
** Not to mention the Necrons. No really, don't mention them.
▲* In ''[[Magic: The Gathering|Magic the Gathering]]'', 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.)
== Theme Parks ==
* These are seen in several of these at attractions in [[Disney Theme Parks]], including in ''[[The Haunted Mansion|Phantom Manor]]'' and ''Pirates of the Caribbean''. More cheerful versions are in the Mexico pavilion at EPCOT.
== Video Games ==
* Morte, your first ally in ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'', is a wise-cracking, floating skull. Inexplicably, he has unrotted eyes in his sockets, no doubt preserved through his sheer will to roll them at every opportunity.
** Being based on a ''[[Dungeons
* In ''[[Chrono Cross]]'', one of the early [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] you can meet is the disembodied skull of a clown looking for the rest of his body parts. Naturally, he asks you to help him find them all. He appears to have been getting around until then by hopping with his jaw. Later, you get to meet his family, who has been wondering what happened to him.
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' series has both the floating skulls - Bubbles - and skeleton swordsmen - Stalfos - as common monsters. The dungeon boss Stallord from ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
** Somewhat subverted in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages|The Legend of Zelda Oracle Games]]'', which featured skeleton pirates who were ''good guys''.
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]]'' has Stalkoblins, Stalizalfos and Stalmoblins, skeletons of Bokoblins, Lizalfos and Moblins (respectively) which appear at night. Plus the Stalnox, a Hinox skeleton.
* The ''[[Castlevania]]'' series is an obligatory mention here - there are dozens of varieties in each game, including a lot of simple [[Underground Monkey]] recolors. The red ones keep getting back up.
** Don't forget the laser-firing skeletons, the armor-wearing blade Masters, and the amusing skeletons in ''Aria of Sorrow'' that kick their skulls at you. There's even a medal-wearing champion runner Skeleton in ''Circle of the Moon'', the Skeleton Bartender who tosses drinks at you in ''Portrait of Ruin'', the Farmer Skeleton, the Waiter Skeleton, the [[Kamen Rider|Rider Kicking]] Skeleton, and the Ape skeleton that [[Donkey Kong|throws barrels at you]].
*** And the [[Schizo-Tech|Biker Skeletons in 1800]] in Castlevania 64.
*** You know what the skull-kicking skeletons are called? [[Alas, Poor Yorick|Yorick]]. Hahahahahahahaha.
*** In the original
* The '''protagonist''' in ''[[MediEvil (1998 video game)|Medievil]]'' is a reanimated skeleton. Unlike most skeletons in media, when he reanimates, his lower jaw falls off his skull, and he never gets it back. As a result, his speech is largely incomprehensible (though subtitled).
* ''[[Diablo]] II'', of course, with both enemy and summonable skellies.
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* ''[[Doom (series)|Doom]]'' and those [[Goddamned Bats|annoying flaming skulls]].
** And Revenants in ''Doom II''.
* ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]:''
** Dry Bones
** Of course, that's not counting the part where Bowser gets [[Stripped to the Bone]] and reanimated as a Skeleton. ''[[Mario Kart]] Wii'' calls this "Dry Bowser".
** There's also Kingfin in Super Mario Galaxy, a skeletal shark ([[Art Major Biology|Yeah, we know]]) with [[Glowing Eyelights of Undeath]]. That apparently summons robotic piranha fish.
** In ''[[Super Mario Odyssey]]'', the Tostarenans are residents of the Sand Kingdom. They are skeletons wearing ponchos and sombreros, based on the skull-shaped traditional figures and candies made during ''El Día de Muertos''. Unlike most examples of this trope, they are friendly (even if they ''do'' run the place like a gaudy "tourist trap").
* ''[[Devil May Cry]]'' has floating skulls as enemies.
* ''[[The Curse of Monkey Island]]'' and ''[[Escape from Monkey Island]]'' had the fearsome Murray, the demonic animated skeleton with plans to conquer the world, who would have been significantly more fearsome if he wasn't just a skull and unable to move around by himself. Still, with lines like this, it's no wonder "Murray the Mighty Demonic Skull" is [[Ensemble Darkhorse|so popular]]:
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* Non-human: ''[[Cave Story]]'' has hopping sandcroc skulls, sandcroc skulls with feet, sandcroc skulls carried by birds, and full sandcroc skeletons.
* ''[[Warcraft]] 3'' has several variants: a melee skeleton, an archer, a mage (without any spells, just a magic attack) and an orcish version (used in the campaign only). Frostwyrms are also basically skeleton dragons, and ghouls are half-way between skeleton and zombie. The [[Our Liches Are Different|Lich]] hero is also a skeleton, albeit much more powerful and with a free will (the above examples are mindless undead slaves). Death knights also use skeletal horses.
** Obviously, these types (minus the orc version) made it into ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' as common monsters, as well as NPC necromancers which can summon them. No such class skill exists, although the first Hero Class, the Deathknight, comes close with summoning Ghouls. Unlike the RTS, these can only be raised from humanoid corpses or using Corpse Dust which can be bought from vendors. Better not to think about that one too much.
** [[World of Warcraft]] actually has a surprising amount and diversity of Dem Bones, from typical meleeing mooks, to spellcasting mooks (often referred to as Bonecasters), to more elaborate skeleton mooks such as Bone Golems with their scythe hands, as well as many unique skeletons (including one rare mob who can return from the dead if not killed fast enough and is therefore rather hard to kill), and some Skeleton bosses, as well as Liches of course. The newly introduced Lord Marrowgar tops most of them, being a 10 to 25-man boss in the hardest raid so far (though an early one), and is basically a floating mass of bones with 4 heads armed with a massive bone axe.
** Similar to the ''Diablo''- example above, a Necromancer using the Raise Dead skill creates two humanoid skeletons from any sort of corpse. Even something like a Crypt Fiend (half-spider) or a wolf. In the Frozen Throne expansion, the Scourge shop sells staves that allow any Hero Unit to raise skeletons aswell.
** ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' also features some Dem Bones noncombat pets. To wit, the collector's edition pet Frosty, a baby Frostwyrm, and the Ghostly Skull.
** With some Noggenfogger Elixir and a bit of luck, you can become one too! <ref>If you do that you'll no longer need to breathe!</ref>
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* Also a nice supplemental unit in ''[[Dungeon Keeper]] II'', acquired by letting your POWs rot in jail. The cutscenes featuring skeletons reveal them to have retained their ligments so as not to fall apart, as well as a single eye. They also tend to have dreadlocks.
** Found in the first ''Dungeon Keeper'' too, acquired in the same way. No eyes or ligaments were visible on those skeletons, but then again, the graphics of the nineties didn't allow for such levels of detail.
* A great example is the Mysterious Lady from the
** "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDXSniYAND4#t=0m58s Thank you for coming back for me, my love. You will be mine forever.]"
* In ''[[Breath of Death VII]]'', the main character is a skeleton named ''Dem''.
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* ''[[Wario World|Wario World's]]'' [[Big Boo's Haunt|Horror Manor]] has enemies that are skeletal versions of the enemies from the first two levels.
* In ''[[Light Crusader]]'', the only way you can kill this type of enemy is the "Turn Undead" spell or kill the wizard controlling them.
* In ''[[
* One of the fighters in ''[[Killer Instinct]]'' was a skele-warrior ala Jason & The Argonauts named Spinal.
* ''[[Monster Rancher]] 2''. Dragon + Joker = Death Dragon
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* In the arcade game ''Warzaid'' the objective is to stop these from taking over the world.
* The Fiend tribe of demons in the ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' franchise, including the Four Horsemen (Red, Black, White, and [[The Grim Reaper|Pale Rider]]s,) Mother Harlot, [[That One Boss|Matador]], David the Violinist, and the Trumpeter of the Apocalypse. They're usually among the most difficult foes you will ever encounter in each game. ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' being what it is, you can also enlist them as allies against greater foes.
* In ''[[EverQuest]]'' they are everywhere - crawling out of the woodwork, wandering around in the woods, hanging out under the water waiting to grab your ankles as you swim by. Necromancers can even have them as pets. Heck, there's even a skeletal '''band''' in Paineel.
* In ''[[Skate|Skate 3]]'' Dem Bones is the name of a playable character model in free-skate mode. He is unlocked after completing half of the Hall Of Meat challenges in the career.
* Skeletal undead are seen in both the original ''[[Guild Wars]]'' campaign and the third campaign, ''Nightfall''. However, they are still garbed in the armor or clothes they wore in life, which can add or subtract from their horror.
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* One of the most common enemies in ''[[Serious Sam]]'' series is a kleer skeleton. ''II'' also has bone snakes.
* ''[[Raskulls]]''.
* ''[[
* ''[[Puyo Puyo]]'' features two playable characters, Oshare Bones and Skeleton T, who happen to be animated skeletons. Neither of them are terribly threatening.
* [[Kingdom of Loathing]] has pet skeletons, skletons, Spooky Pirate Skeletons, Misshapen Animal Skeletons... The list goes on.
* Freeware game ''[[
* Most undead in ''[[Adventure Quest]]'', ''[[Adventure Quest Worlds]]'' and ''[[Dragon Fable]]'' are of this kind.
* The [[Downloadable Content|DLC]] "Old World Blues" of ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' provides us with the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130426024236/http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Y-
* The skeletons in ''[[Minecraft]]'' [[Oh Crap|can fire arrows]], and [[It Got Worse|ride giant spiders!]]
* Skeletons are a common foe in the ''[[Ultima]]'' series, but only gained the ability to revive continuously in ''Ultima 8'' if the player did not kill them with the [[Turn Undead|Grant Peace spell]]. Taken to ridiculous heights in the horribly broken ''Ultima 9'', where a defeated skeleton would break into its component parts and could reform again if there were enough parts for a whole skeleton. Cue frantic body-part looting mid-battle in a game where inventory space was already at a premium, and the skeletons kept respawning whenever you returned to the area.
* ''Blood Omen: [[Legacy of Kain]]:'' Animated skeletons are encountered. Some of them walk in a fixed route and explode on contact with you. Others can [[Pulling Themselves Together|pull themselves together]] and need to be destroyed [[Ludicrous Gibs|more]] [[Kill It with Fire|thoroughly]].
* ''Montezuma's Revenge'' had rolling skulls as enemies.
* The skeletons in ''[[Dark Souls]]'' aren't that tough. However, nearby necromancers (which fortunately don't respawn if you rest at a bonfire) will revive them if they aren't slain with a Divine weapon. The ''giant'' skeletons are much tougher but fortunately don't revive immediately like their weaker cousins.
** And just when it seemed skeletons in video games just weren't scary anymore, the third game gave us [https://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/High+Lord+Wolnir High Lord Wolnir]...
* The original ''[[Golden Axe]]'' has an army of skeleton swordsmen. The first one appears as the boss of the second stage and the rest are [[Elite Mook|elite mooks]]. ''Golden Axe II'' also had skeleton warriors, while ''Golden Axe III'' has the Dead Frames, which are the reanimated skeletons of reptilian humanoids.
* ''[[Ragnarok Online]]'' has several [http://db.irowiki.org/db/search/?search=Skeleton&type=2 skeleton enemies].
* In ''[[Undertale]]'' there are Sans and Papyrus, skeleton brothers. Very friendly, too.
* Spoofed in [http://www.theprincessplanet.com/?p=19 this] ''[[The Princess Planet|Princess Planet]]'' strip.
* Codename Montezuma's Skeleton from ''[[Shortpacked]]''.
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* Lore Sjoberg's "Talk with Monsters" comic, 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!"
* ''[[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.)
== Web Original ==
* On the virtual pets game ''[[Neopets]]'', [http://www.neopetshive.com/Hive/piratekiko.gif the old Pirate Kiko] was one of these.
== Western Animation ==
* Skeletons were a common sight in [[The Golden Age of Animation|old cartoons]], usually dancing and living it up like undead party animals. Disney's [[Classic Disney Shorts|Silly Symphony]] ''The Skeleton Dance'' (1929) is the most obvious example, but Disney also made ''The Haunted House'' (also 1929) and ''The Mad Doctor'' (1933) with the same dancing skeleton characters.
** Fleischer had skeleton characters in numerous [[Betty Boop|Betty Boop and Bimbo]] shorts...
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* One episode of [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Disney's Aladdin]] TV show featured a big bad with skeleton minions. Aladdin and crew pulled off the standard "knock the minions together" knockout, only for the skeletons to [[Pulling Themselves Together|pull themselves]] [[Invincible Minor Minion|back together]] into ''new shapes''. Two got [[Grievous Harm with a Body|smashed together]] to form a centaur with four arms and two heads.
* In the ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' episode "The Phantom Brigade" a skeleton rises up from the floor to threaten Cobra Commander into giving up control of three spirits. The Commander is resonably freaked out and even the Joes who walk in on the scene can't believe what they're seeing.
* ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'' fought an army of skeletons in "Bustman's Holiday" and a crew of skeletal [[Ghost Pirate]]s in "Sea Fright". In both cases, these skeletons seemed to be incorporeal spirits rather than animated bones.
== Multiple Media ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Undead Index]]
[[Category:Skeletal Tropes]]
[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
[[Category:This Index Is Not an Example]]
▲[[Category:Dem Bones]]
[[Category:Our Monsters Are Different]]
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