Spooky Season in Art: Skeletons, Spirits, and the Supernatural

Around the world, artists have turned to skeletons, spirits, and strange creatures to wrestle with life’s biggest mysteries and to provide social and political commentary. From medieval Europe to ancient China to ancient Peru and 19th-century Mexico, we can look at images and objects that seem spooky, eerie, or gruesome today. But were they always meant to be understood this way?