Reapers

Reapers are mythological monsters that look and act like humans most of the year, but turn deadly on the nights of the equinoxes and solstices, killing everything they touch. Many people believe they are nothing more than stories, while others truly believe in reapers and take precautions to protect themselves during the times they may appear. Many people have told stories about almost being killed by reapers, but these stories are generally not well corroborated. They appear in many fictional horror stories.

Basic Information

Anatomy

According to myth, reapers appear human for most of the year. On the nights of the equinoxes and solstices (the time when the balance of opposites is most important), their skin turns translucent and their bones glow, giving them the appearance of blue skeletons. This glow has been connected with other bioluminescent organisms, many of which are said to live near reapers and are also considered omens of death.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Reapers are said to have a sense separate from humans, which helps them track their victims. Those who have told stories about running in with reapers have described this differently. Some said they seemed to smell their victims on the air. Others described an action akin to echolocation, and one person has even sworn to have seen a reaper holding its tongue out, as if tasting its victim on the air. Regardless, this tracking sense is the strongest. Reapers use this sense to track their specific target, but cannot see, or do not care about, other victims in their path. Therefore, if another person is nearby and in the direction of the target, a reaper will kill this innocent victim as well. For this reason, images of reapers have been used by several criminal organizations as a death threat.
Reapers kill with a single touch. Some stories claim that victims temporarily shake as if having consumed a nerve toxin. Others say that victims gasp for breath in their last moments, but most stories merely say that the victims instantly becomes stiff, their lives having fled them.
Reapers are corporeal, and cannot walk through walls. According to myth, they are also unable to open doors, windows, or even gates, unless their victim lies beyond them. If the victim does, even a locked vault cannot keep a reaper at bay. To reconcile this contradiction, some argue that reapers are incredibly strong, and able to break any lock or open any door, but if they encounter such a barrier, they pause and once again activate their tracking sense. If their victim does not lie beyond the barrier, there is no need to go through the door, and they turn away from it.