Conceptions of death are influenced by childhood experiences, including the death of loved ones and events surrounding them. The example of Little Hans is given. Childhood fantasies of death commonly connect it to sleep and this equation remains in the unconscious and is employed in the illusions which aid in the denial of death as a reality. Death can represent and be personified by both mother and father. The fear of death is an important clinical entity that ranges from the mild to severe and is not infrequently connected to time and bodily anxieties. The increased reality of death with age and experience is a psychological challenge which can have adaptive aspects.