danse macabre

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun art Also known as Dance of Death, a conventional subject in art, literature and drama, or a particular work in that style, in which death (in the form of a putrid corpse, skeleton, personified Death i.e. the Grim Reaper, or similar) is shown leading people of all social ranks (high and low) to the grave. It shows that whatever people may have in life, death comes to everybody alike, irrespective of their age, status ,or wealth or power.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a medieval dance in which a skeleton representing death leads a procession of others to the grave