Introduction to A Glimpse of the Ankou
Back to the creepy town of Tucker’s Grove, but moving forward to a different time period, the 1950s.
In high school, my parents let me subscribe to various Time-Life libraries, the Nature Library, the Science Library, The Seafarers, The Old West, and especially The Enchanted World, twenty lavish hardcover volumes that showcased myths and legends from around the world. Every other month, a new book would arrive in the mail, and I would pore over it. They were beautifully designed and great to read. It was about as exciting as life got in small-town Wisconsin.
One volume of The Enchanted World featured the myths and manifestations of Death, and I was entranced (and horrified) by the French legend of the Ankou, a version of the Grim Reaper who could be seen only by someone destined to die in the next year. The narrative was accompanied by a chilling painting, and I just couldn’t get it out of my head.
I knew I needed to use it in a story someday.