Ankou

In the Celtic folklore of Brittany, a DEATH OMEN that comes to collect the souls of the dead. The ankou, or King of the Dead, is the last person to die in a parish during a year. For the following year, he or she assumes the duty of calling for the dead. Every parish in Brittany has its own ankou. The ankou is personifi ed as a tall, haggard fi gure with long white hair, or a skeleton with a revolving head capable of seeing everything everywhere. It drives a spectral cart, accompanied by two ghostly fi gures on foot, and stops at the house of one who is about to die. There, it either knocks on the door—making a sound sometimes heard by the living—or gives out a mournful wail like the Irish BANSHEE. Occasionally it is reported to be seen as an apparition entering the house. It takes away the dead, who are placed in the cart with the help of the two companion ghosts. The ankou is a powerful fi gure that dominates Breton folklore.