The mediaeval '
dance of death', in which a
skeleton representing
death leads a procession of all ages and classes to the
grave; an
allegorical representation of the power of death over all.
Danse Macabre is also an absolutely spiffing and decidedly spooky piece of music (opus 40, incidentally) by the French composer Carmille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) that makes clever yet restrained use of wooden percussion.
*Someone* let his creation out to feed and failed to properly dispose of the twisted husks it's inclined to leave in its wake....</me taps foot> I swear, this day or another, some unfortunate noder is going to put two and two together and get five an' 3/4s and I'll land m'self *another* cleaning job. Oooh, scones.