Tide.
Death is looked for early in the morning—between twelve and two; but it is also looked for as the tide recedes.
The Wraith.
Before a death the wraith is often heard in the carpenter's shops selecting boards for the coffin. Linen for the shroud is said to be chosen with equal care by the provident spirit. But the rattling of board and tools may be considered a sign of rapidly approaching dissolution.
Death Struggle.[1]
They open the door during the death struggle to facilitate the departure of the spirit. A plate of salt is often laid on the dead body, which it is the custom to watch with candles.
Passing and Funeral Bell.
Old people remember when it was the custom for a man to walk alongside of a funeral ringing a bell (to drive away evil spirits); and when the earth began to be shovelled into the grave the church bells, which had been slowly tolling, rang out a loud violent peal; I believe with a view of warning the devil more effectually off the premises.—(R. Gordon.)
Omens of Death.
Some days before the death of Dr. Bethune, some time minister of the parish of Dornoch (1816), a large cormorant was observed sitting on the steeple of the cathedral church. The whole town took this as a sign that the incumbent was not long for this world. One of the same birds was seen flying and lighting on parts of the building in 1850. The vulgar predicted from this a similar event, and the result justified the saying, for the then clergyman sickened and died after a short illness.
- ↑ Same customs in Northumberland and Leicestershire. Moreton says salt is the emblem of immortality, and the candle is the Egyptian hieroglyphic for life. A light set on the head of a corpse is a Jewish custom.
