Almost as popular as Halloween candy, skeletons are a seasonal favourite. The bones that in life are used to protect your vital organs become associated with death, disease and the quickly passing nature of human life when taken from their fleshy shells.

The overriding purpose of the image of a skeleton is and always has been to raise fear of death, which is why you will find pictures of them on everything from bottles of poison and pirate flags to ancient city gates, and of course Halloween decorations around the world.