Man Arrested After Climbing Onto Hospital Roof Dressed as Grim Reaper, Staring at Patients

A hospital is usually the last place anyone wants to run into the Grim Reaper, but one Welsh man decided to show up as one anyway.

According to Collins Dictionary, the Grim Reaper is a fictional personification of death, typically depicted as a skeletal figure wearing a long black hooded cloak and carrying a scythe — a character no one expects to see looming over a hospital rooftop.

The Independent reported on Wednesday, August 5, that Leon Gillespie, 26, of Deganwy, was arrested after climbing onto the roof of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd Hospital in North Wales on June 6, dressed head to toe as the Grim Reaper and holding what looked like a scythe.

According to The New York Post, Gillespie stayed up there for roughly 50 minutes, silently staring down at staff and visitors without saying a word. Police and fire crews were called after reports of a hooded figure looming over the hospital grounds.

Gillespie was charged with causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises.

Authorities said the charge applied to anyone who, outside of seeking medical care, causes “a nuisance or disturbance” to hospital staff and refuses to leave when told to by police.

North Wales Pioneer reported that Gillespie pleaded guilty on July 15 and was fined £200, or roughly $269.

He offered no explanation in court for the stunt, though he did dispute the character’s identity, insisting his costume was meant to be a crow, not Death incarnate.

The appearance wasn’t his only run-in with the law this year: Gillespie also admitted to two unrelated theft charges, stealing cat food and litter from a pet store in March and food and drinks from a Sainsbury’s grocery store in May, according to The New York Post. He was ordered to pay roughly $336 for those offenses.