Why Are Flags Flown at Half-Staff in Times of Mourning? - Mental Floss

Why Are Flags Flown at Half-Staff in Times of Mourning? - Mental Floss: Why would these sailors lower their flag to honor their departed captain?
According to one line of scholarly thinking, by lowering the Union Jack, the sailors were making room for the invisible flag of Death. This explanation jibes with the British tradition of flying a “half-staff” flag exactly one flag’s width lower than its normal position to underscore that Death’s flag is flapping above it.