In Brittany, France Death is personified as Ankou. He drives a rickety wagon that can be heard for miles around. He is also followed by a very cold wind hat chills the bones. Ankou is a harvester of the dead. But Ankou is not death but a servant of death. Ankou is often believed to be the last person to die on New Year’s Eve and is condemned to wander the land gathering souls until the next year. In some versions, Ankou is the churchyard watcher who stands guardian over the cemetery. The last person who is buried at New Year Eve and must stand sentinel over the dead. When the year ends a new watcher is chosen. In another version. Ankou is a rich and cruel spirit who lives in a castle in the underworld decorated with a thousand candles when a candle goes out, a person dies. Sometimes the evil Ankou will blow out a candle which also extinguishes a life. Ankou’s passion was for Hunting and he usually pursued a lunar white stag( shades of the wild hunt). White animals were something sacrificed to Ankou. He was also said to ride a white horse. If one hears Ankou’s rickety cart it is best to hide. Since he would be looking for souls, Ankou is described as a skeleton wearing a black shroud and carrying a scythe. He has sometimes been connected to Father time.
