A Macabre is a grim work of art with a ghastly atmosphere. Macabre works of art or fiction tend to emphasize the details and symbols of death. Danse Macabre or the "Dance of Death" works of art tend to depict the dead or Death itself summoning representatives from all walks of life to dance along to the grave. They were created to remind people of the fragility of their lives and how vain the glories of earthly life are. It is believed to originate from illustrated sermon texts.
"An evil spirit with the same name as the Death appearing in medieval oratorios. It is truly Death itself, with the power to lead humans to death in an instant. It is depicted as a skeleton with a black cloak and a sickle to reap humans. It dances the feared "Dance of Death.""
He first appears as a boss enemy in Sector Bootes inside Mitra's Tower, where the protagonist needs to defeat him, after beating Norris and meeting Mastema. In Sector Carina, he becomes a normal enemy.
Shin Megami Tensei IV[]
"An evil spirit with the same name as the Death appearing in medieval oratorios. It is truly Death itself, with the power to lead humans to death in an instant. It is depicted as a skeleton with a black cloak and a sickle to reap humans. It dances the feared "Dance of Death.""
—Shin Megami Tensei IV compendium
Macabre first appears as part of the challenge quest Dance of the Dead as part of a Horde known as "Calamity Horde," and Flynn is tasked with defeating 5 of these hordes. After slaying 5 of these, the Fiend David will ambush Flynn with no warning and must be slain to clear the quest.
Later, Macabre appears as a regular encounter in the Shinjuku area, being found regularly in the Golden Gai and Kabuchiko-Cho areas. Macabre can teach Flynn the Blight and Poisma skills through its Demon Whisper.
Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse[]
Macabre appears in Shinjuku in the east entrance main street, Nicho and Kabuki-Cho passage areas. He can teach the Blight and Magaon skills through his Demon Whisper. Macabre receives a large bonus to ailment skills learned and a slight bonus to Physical attack skills.
Shin Megami Tensei V[]
"An evil spirit appearing in medieval oratorios as the grim reaper. It is truly Death itself, with the power to lead humans to their demise in an instant. It is depicted as a skeleton with a black cloak and a sickle to reap human souls in a single stroke. True to its name, it dances the feared Dance of Death, a reminder that all worldly things must someday meet their end."
—Shin Megami Tensei V lore
Macabre is a member of the Jaki race and first begins appearing in the Kanda region of Da'at: Chiyoda. Macabre appears as an ambush encounter, with them spawning into existence when the protagonist ventures into the vicinity of their hiding spot. They will not pursue the protagonist far from their ambush point.
Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker[]
"An evil spirit with the same name as the Death appearing in medieval oratorios. It is truly Death itself, with the power to lead people to their death in an instant. It is depicted as a skeleton with a black cloak and a sickle to reap humans. It dances the feared "Dance of Death"."
—Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker compendium
Macabre appears as one of the downloadable demons in the game. It can only be obtained by fusing Trumpeter and Tezcatlipoca.
Persona 5 Royal[]
"An evil spirit with the same name as the Death appearing in medieval oratorios. It is depicted as a skeleton with a black cloak and a sickle to reap humans. It dances the feared "Dance of Death.""
As a Shadow, it is known as "Dancer of Death." A pair of Macabre are the first enemies that the protagonist, Akechi and Kasumi will encounter during the Palace's proper exploration. In battle, Dancer of Death uses skills that can inflict Fear to its enemies. When Dancer of Death takes it turn and detects that at least one of its foes is having Fear, it is programmed to spend that turn smirking without doing anything else. On the next turn, Dancer of Death will always use Ghastly Wail, even if its foes no longer have Fear. Dancer of Death is innately immune to Fear and Despair, although Chaînés Hook can still inflict Fear to it.
The Shadow of Izou Amasaki will take the form of Macabre when confronted in Mementos during the "Fake-Man Show" request. During the fight, Shadow Amasaki will spend most of his turns using Summon to spawn in multiple Fused Ghosts, however once the enemy side has maxed out enemies, he will spend his turns either casting Masukukaja or using Death Scythe. After being defeated, he will drop the Eccentric Beltaccessory, which gives the wearer the skill Ailment Boost.