Ankou Personification

Another, lesser-known personification was Ankou, known in Breton mythology as well as in Cornish, Welsh and Norman folklore. Ankou appears in many tales gathered from oral tradition. As such his description does not always correspond from one tale to another. He is always described as a tall and thin figure clad in black Breton garments, sometimes with glowing eyes, wearing a large felt hat concealing his face, standing up in a creaking cart similar to the ones used during the Middle-Age to gather corpses, in which he gathers the souls of the dead, and wielding a scythe whose blade is turned outward for striking forward instead of reaping, which glows under the moonlight. No one living has ever seen his face, for to do so would be to die He is sometimes depicted as a man-shaped living shadow, sometimes as a …show more content…
However, his most common depiction is that of a tall and skinny ageless man, with long white hair, and a gaunt, haggard face, wearing a black cloak or cape. His cart is said to be drawn by two horses, one in perfect health and the other skinny and ill looking, although some speak of four horses, and others speak of just one gaunt-looking one. The Ankou is also said to be followed by two ghostly figures that walk next to his cart, leading his horses and helping him carry the dead souls in.
Ankou is said to roam around graveyards, watching over the dead souls residing here. When his cart is empty, he charges it with heavy stones, removing some whenever he takes a soul in. As such, it is believed that when the noise of a falling stone is heard during a funeral wake, it is the Ankou who is readying his