Afterpants: Afterlives (Gods of the dead)

Today's story trope is "Gods of the dead". This is the idea that there are entities which are tasked with managing the afterlife and making sure everyone goes where they are supposed to etc... The tvtrope page brings up an important point that these entities are not to be confused with "death gods" (who manage the actual process of death)

In some stories, they are one and the same, in others, the "death gods" are in service to the Gods of the dead.

Gods of the dead can range from 'big bads' to something akin to hotel managers. Most are depicted as grim, foreboding figures...many with mere arbitration on their minds.

To give you an idea of the diversity of these entities you've got anywhere from Disney's depiction of Hades, Leviathon (and don't forget Pinhead) from the Hellraiser franchise.

Anubis from Ancient Egyptian religious belief (and that's an interesting one...wherein Anubis is at once, psychopomp, judge and ruler of the dead. In some cases Anubis was believed to serve Osiris but regardless...a pretty unusual character!

I don't normally do this but here's the wikipedia link to 'gods of death'

Regardless...that's a LOT of deities that are supposed to be managing the underworld!

At Afterpants, we really feel this trope has merit. I mean, what's a dead person to do when they find themselves alone, in a completely alien world obviously everyone would need a psychopomp @ very least!