The Grim Reaper

The Grim Reaper is a personification of death that was created in response to the Black Death, or the great plague that swept through Europe. "He" was often portrayed as a skeletal figure literally reaping through humans as your average peasant would reap through wheat.

This is the reasoning for the image of the sickle and the plague robes and so forth.

Believe what you will about the rest of the tangents that were asserted here.

people say the Grim Reaper, but is there just one or are there many, or is it just up to the person to say?

Was I on a tangent? ....I tend to rant, I know I talk a lot, no one can ever really shut me up, but I don't know if I am included in the "tangents" =)

Well here is a tangent for you =P

About the underworld, I like to say that "we all go where we believe we will" because once you enter the ethereal plane, there are very few rules. There are far more realms than you can ever imagine. And I'm sure one is your "heaven", your "underworld", or whatever it is you believe. Because realms are created by spiritual beings. Your prophets or saints, may have come across these realms, so it is a "truth" among many.

Base line is, you die, your spirit leaves, what you want to do from there is up to you and your state of mind. Your mind controls your perception, especially spiritually. So a sound mind will be able to enjoy the options and freedom of the spiritual world. But a troubled mind will be plagued by their fears, guilt, or regrets, which is a sort of "hell" for them. These are what I like to call "restless souls" or "scarred spirits" that wander around searching for "peace". Not to mention those who have harmed others in life that have crossed the veil will have the same freedom, even for revenge. So karma can become very real at that point.

This isn't really my "opinion". I never had nor have a firm "belief" concerning the afterlife. I don't read books or articles about the afterlife. Believe me or not, I don't care. But this is what I have observed and learned from an entire lifetime of experiencing the spirit world. This is why I chose against all other religions for my person. I was blessed/cursed with being extremely open to spirits. So I work with what the Mother gave me.

As for "many reaper". I think we have already established that the grim reaper is a symbol, a representation, or human-made image to represent the power of death.

I would say that the grim reaper popularized by pop culture films and novels is not real. I believe that there is a spirit that takes to you the after life realm. I don't believe that there are separate places like "heaven" or "hell". I doubt that spirits would be separated from the spirits they loved in the physical life. I believe that spirits that did wrong in the physical life will be punished for the bad things they have done, but after their punishment is over they will be completely equal as the other spirits. I do not think that problems will exist in the after life. No one will have problems with anyone. "heaven" and "hell" were made up by some religions so people would support them.

While the "Grim Reaper" was most likely made as another big personification of Death, there are real spirits and energy of Death.

While a lot of people choose to write off their existence as the personifications of and a theological need to explain death, sightings of Death are pretty widespread, and many spiritual practitioners, myself included, have had dealings with or encountered these "reapers". Sightings often involve seeing (not physically) a dark and looming figure and the sensation of Death's energy. The feelings of discomfort or fear could be attributed to the reaction of the individual and their views on death, but the sensation is usually described the same. Lot of cases don't even involve anyone close to or around the person dying, though a few believed they caught one passing by after taking a neighbor who died around the same time. In my experience, they operate like any other spirit. There are different roles for Reapers that could be assigned too, or each Reaper takes them on separately, but they may be sent to Reap someone, send messages, appear to someone they just notice and have an interest in, or even guide those they believe to be worthy of working with Death, so there's no "one reason" for a visit, though they take their work seriously, so their reasons are quite specific and important.

While they are seen as a mostly neutral force, there exists the capacity to do "good" or "evil" as there is any spirit. Take for instance what I call a Shade or Wraith(though I don't believe some would call that accurate, but such is the nature of terminology),either a Death Spirit gone rogue, so to speak,or possibly just a pissed off reaper, usually attacking necromancers who try to bind Death or screw with it the wrong way. They basically go advanced "Psi-vamp", using Death Essence to drain the target a fair amount which can cause a number of physical/mental problems and is not pretty. Why they wouldn't or couldn't just off them is beyond me, though it is possible this could be another type of spirit as, fortunately, I have not seen one. But in any case, anything has the capacity to change, and as Death is change, it is not excluded.

Personally, I'm quite fascinated with Death and the energy and spirits of it and still doing my best to better understand it's mechanics and workings. I feel it is a subject that doesn't get as much attention as it should and is far to often misjudged. I strongly recommend getting to know Death spiritually in the same respectful manner one would any other "path".

I'd say it's definitely a matter of belief. This is most certainly up to your specific religious views whether or not "he" exists.

The concept of Death coming for you is much older than the infamous Grim Reaper. Grim, meaning deathly or depressing; and reaper, meaning to gather or collect. He is a "personification" of Death. Death can be seen as a spirit or entity.

Grim Reaper was not originally designed after the Death in Chinese fables that would come for elder men and women that feared him, the stereotypical Grim Reaper, while functioning as death, was actually modeled (in appearance) after the guardian of Hell's gates, or that of an Underworld form of afterlife.
An example would be Charon or Uriel.

So like I said, this entirely up to your beliefs. No one can tell you not to believe he exists, and no can tell you to believe he exists.

While one can choose which if any personification they can choose to believe in, in spirituality, specifically necromancy, spirits and energy of Death are a pretty large staple, so while that may not make it "true", that could be applied to any topic in the supernatural.

Of course you'd have to check this, but I believe the Grim Reaper doesn't partake particularly in necromancy.

lol Not everything to do with "death" or "dying" is part of necromancy.

I'd have to say the Grim Reaper is the representation of death. He takes your soul from your body using his blade. He is not evil more of a messanger. He takes you to be judged. He wear a robe to show his placement and how he lives in the shadows of our lives. Some call him the angel of death but that's more of a religious view in my eyes. You can blame him all you want but I think something caused him his job of collection the souls to create the dead.

Not the Grim Reaper, I said Reapers, as in spirits of death, who like death energy, can be worked with as a part of necromancy.