Before the Grim Reaper, there was the Ankou…
It is said that every graveyard in Brittany has its own Ankou. Not long ago, he was someone they knew. He was the last soul to die in the village that year. Doomed to dwell on this Earth a year longer, serving the graveyard as its guardian and collector of souls.
Staring At The Sea - Tales From the British Coast 