This is a dangerous world we live in. Death lurks behind every corner, just waiting to get its hands on us. Each day death takes its swing at you. Eventually, it will connect. The only hope I can offer is letting you know the omens that accompany death. Take each of these to heart and you will be able to fight off death for a considerable amount of time. Scoff at these omens and surely death will find you. And find you sooner than you desire.

Remember as you learn, for thee who mocks death, often laughs as their own lives are taken away. A man without fear shall be sorely mistaken. For death is not always the next great adventure. At times, death can be the end. The end of all that was, all that is, and all that will be. Let the Omens commence.

We shall begin with the embodiment of death. The Grave. Be wary when the dead are entombed, for if a coffin sounds hollow upon nailing it down, a death is sure to follow in your home. Lay your dead facing to the east, or suffer the wrath from the breath of their soul.

Within a Church, many omens have originated over the centuries. For he who bears witness to a candle on altar, blown out by the wind, or fading lights on the chancel or pulpit, shall be burdened with the passing of a clergyman or minister.

Insects sustain a tremendous burden of death. They carry its scent from home to home. Bringing death to all that cross their path. Be chary of the swarm of bees that enter your dwellings or settle upon the dead boughs of a tree, for the elders say, �death is soon to follow.� Crickets flee from the presence of death, if none can be found amongst you, death has come. Believe the fluttering insect, for he is on his �death watch�. When he ceases to tick, a life will desist.

The many animals that inhabit are daily lives, show us the course that death hath prepared. The white weasel will prophesize the death of a close relative. Whereas the white mole will bring about the death of some person. Alas, the mole is perhaps death�s servant. Shall you notice the mole under the washhouse our dairy, the mistress of your home will surely perish. See the molehill amongst the cabbages, the master will incur the same destiny. Death is presiding over your home when the screech owl can be heard. The barn owl brings conveys death when atop your home. Trust that an occupant will perish. While many will see a white crow as hope, its true work is to mark a home for death or disaster. The white pigeon also bears death upon its wings. As the same can be said for the white dog, the white hare, and the black fox. Look up, I beseech you, those doves that circle above warn you of serious illness or death.

Ah poor Wales beware the cuckoo sound. If your first toll hears upon leaves of green or grass, surely will you hear its cry again next year. Conversely, if its song is heard upon stone or earth, your life will end before next spell�s birth. Pigeon feather�s upon your sickness bed, will signify a horrendously painful end to life.

Recall that when thirteen dine, the first to rise, is the first to die. Don�t allow yourself to come to this end. Never set a table for that tragic number. Or you shall surely be sentenced to a lifetime of regret and guilt.

Birds have always had a mythological and folkloric significance. They are presumed to be messengers to the gods, death omens, souls of the dead, and carriers of souls of the dead. Tribal cultures see them as souls of the dead. In folklore, a bird flying into a home carried significant news, usually that of death. Jackdaws and swallows that flew down chimneys signified death. Sea Gulls embody the souls of those who drowned at sea. Birds in dreams are believed to represent spirits, angels, and the supernatural.

Never call the dead by name, unless you want them to come for you. If there is thunder in the middle of winter, the most important person in town will perish. If there is a dead body in the town on Sunday, a death in the same parish will occur almost immediately.

Time plays a hand in our deaths. Not that unnatural for it to do so. If a watch or a small clock is to fall on the floor, a death will occur in the same building. A clock that fails to strike at the hour is an omen of death. A town or church clock that fails to strike signifies that an important member of that institution will die. When two clocks strike at exactly the same moment, a married couple will die together.

If the town clock chimes when a funeral bell is tolling, another death will befall the town. When Church bells sound dull, another parish death is to follow. A long and thin cinder that falls from a fire represents a coffin. If a cinder comes out of the fire, the person that it lands closest to will die.

A mouse nibbling someone�s clothes foretells his/her death. White beetles in a house are often called �death bringers.� When two white lice are found in a person�s hair or on a person�s body, a family death can be expected.

Hear your dog, for if he shall howl upon the midnight hour, he knows that death is lurking. His shadow may not fall upon you; perhaps a relative will feel his chill.

Be wary of picking a flower growing from a grave. To kill that life from death, will surely bring it upon you. Shall you sense the aroma of earth, freshly-turned as though from a grave, death is wafting your way. The Yarrow of Glamorgan is known as �the death flower�. Bring it into your home and you may as well invite death to take your body then.

A wind called the Gwynt-Traed-y-Meirw, " wind blowing over the feet of the corpses," is to be felt by the relative of a person who is to die. If you shall tremble before a roaring fire or in the heat of summer, the people say, "The spirits are searching for your grave." A death upon the new moon will strip your family of all its luck.

Marks, generally dark or �black and blue�, that appear on someone�s body, especially the arms. These are called �the death pinch.� After they appear, a death in the family is sure to occur.

The Cychiraeth was a pitiful cry arising from the home of the dying that would carry to their place of final rest. The Cychiraeth was heard as a sad wail, a smothered shriek, or the sound as if a rushing of wings, like the flight of starlings. Shall the Cychiraeth sound upon the seashore a ship shall surely wreck. Traveling through a village, an epidemic will surely follow suit.

The Tolaeth only appears to one sense at a time. Heard, and not seen. Seen, and not heard. The Tolaeth forewarns with rapping, knocking, and heavy thumps. Shuffling feet, tramping about, the noise of people under heavy burden. The Tolaeth has appeared in both North and South Wales:

A tailor in Carnarvonshire was able to predict the deaths of customers. He claimed they were foretold by noises in his shop. Once while repairing the breeches of a hunter, he heard knocking upon his worktable. True to his senses, the hunter died a short time later.

A fisherman from St. Bride�s Bay swore he heard shuffling feet, doors opening, furniture moving, and manly grunting in the rooms below him. A week later, the man�s only son drowned and while the body was in the home, the noises could be heard. Once the body was removed, they ceased. Present Wales� residents still believe that the rappings in the timbers of the workshop are the doing of the Tolaeth and signify death.

In the village of Cardiff, a farmer experienced a death omen. He lived across from a carpenter�s shop. One night he saw a light burning in the building. Fearing that thieves were in the building, he dressed and went over. Inside he heard the sounds of coffin making. Upon entering the room, the farmer saw what looked like a Poacher and went to get the local policemen. When he returned both the light and poacher were gone. When the poacher learned that he was suspected of being in the building he talked to the townspeople. While he said he was in town that night, he never was in the carpenter�s shop. A few nights later, the poacher was shot in a field and his coffin and body were handled in that very shop.

Banshees come for the dead by night. Outside the person�s window they wail until he/she awakes and looks at them. The only way to survive a banshee attack is to ignore her screaming. It is not as easy as it appears, though.

The Coimimeadh are known as the co-walkers. They are the exact doubles of a person. You would be seeing a Coimimeadh if you saw yourself somewhere that you shouldn�t see an image of yourself. If seen in the morning there will be no harm, but at night you will perish.

Ann Ankou is the Walker of Death. He walks the streets of Brittany, France throughout the night. He is distinguishable as he always is seen a black coat, black hat, carrying a scythe, and followed by a cart pushed by two ghosts that collect the souls of the dead.

The Cu S�th (Faery Dogs)(pron. coo-shee) are generally located in the Ireland and Scottish Highlands. They keep watch on the hilltops, but if they are heard barking three times, it is a prediction of doom.

The Dullahan, Dallach�n, Gan Ceann (Without A Head) is a headless man that drives a black coach. His horse is also headless and they are said to collect the souls of the dead.

The Bean-Nighe (Washer at the Ford) is a little old lady wearing a black skirt. She has one nostril, one tooth, and red webbed feet. She commonly washes the bloodstained clothes of a person is about to die. If you catch her, she must reveal the name of the damned and grant three wishes.

The Church Grim is a ghostly black dog the size of a large retriever. Perhaps the most feared of all death omens. The Grim is what legends are made of. There are very few who have seen a grim and survived. Do not speak, stare, or touch the Grim as it invites death.

The Cwn Annwyn (Hounds of Annwyn or Hounds of Hell) are a Welsh pack of ghost dogs who are white with red ears and silver eyes. The Cwn Annwyn snort fire and hunt humans. Always seen with them is the figure of a man with antlers. The man carries a long hunting-pole.

The Dames Vertes (Green Ladies) are ghoulish forest spirits who lure travelers to their death. They are most commonly connected with the wind that smells of earth, death, and mold.

The Irish believe that a Raven nesting upon a roof is an omen that death will be found before the night ends. If you fail to chase the Raven away, the death will occur within half the time. Black birds resting on a windowsill also portend death if they take something or caw while there.

What follows is the lengthiest list of general death omens known to the wizarding world. Each omen must be taken seriously. They have all been proven, and it is as if death himself prepared this testament.

If you are falling in a dream and hit the ground, you will die in real life. If two people say the same thing at the same time, one of them will die before the year ends.

Three thumps in the night are soon followed by death.

When a candle gutters in a long length, it is indicative of a coffin. The middle person in a picture will perish before the other two.

Never be the last to see a dead person before burial, or you will suffer a murderous death.

A white cat with different colored eyes signifies the death of one of your own pets.

If a person in a coffin is seen with their arms crossed, evil spirits will haunt the person who sees it forever.

Do not travel out of town while there is a funeral going on or your journey will be troubled and not succeed.

The Three Knocks of Death. Shall you hear three raps upon the door; a dear friend of yours is no more.

If you leave a possession of yours with the dead, he will come back to haunt you.

Never breathe when passing a graveyard or the spirits will enter your body upon intake and possess your soul.

If you see an old woman washing clothes by a creek, you have seen death and she will come for you shortly.

When a black cat crosses your path, either kill the cat or suffer three years bad luck.

If you discover a firefly or lightning bug within your home, someone is going to die.

The scent of roses, when none are present, is a sure omen of death.

If you fail to hold your breath while entering a graveyard, you will never be buried and given peace.

A vision of yourself in a dream represents your death.

If, in a dream, you see a person that is dead and they ask you to go with them somewhere, do not! They are merely trying to lead you into death.

If someone dies that has a young child, you must have that child walk over the open grave. Or allow them to suffer a lifetime of haunted memories.

Do not look at a full moon more than twenty times in one night. If you do, your family will be cursed and someone will die.

If you dream of a birth, someone you know will die.

If rain shall enter upon an open grave, a member of the deceased�s family will soon join them.

If a sparrow alights upon a piano, someone in that home will die.

Two deaths in one family will be followed by a third.

Do not walk in a cemetery with open graves, without wearing a veil.

A bird in the house will be followed with death.

A chill up your spine means someone in the future has walked over your grave.

When a picture falls from the wall, someone will succumb to death.

Never rock a rocking chair without someone in it, or invite death to take a seat upon it.

If you spill salt, throw a pinch over your shoulder to keep death at bay. Do not take a picture of the dead, or they will haunt your family and bring death back with them.

If a clock that doesn�t work chimes all of a sudden, it is ringing for death.

Always leave your home the same way you came in, or suffer a most horrific death.

If a mirror breaks, and a piece of it lands upon the threshold of your house, the next person to enter will die.

When a bird pecks the window or crashes into it, there has been a death.

When a Robin Redbreast enters through a window, a death is on the way.

Never re-enter a cemetery to retrieve something forgotten, or you will bring death back out with you.

If you say the name Mary Worth 100 times into a mirror and she appears, you will die in short time.

Never kill an animal or its spirit will kill you.

If you embrace a loved pet the same day it dies, you will contract a fatal disease.

If you look into the eyes of the dead, that person will haunt you forever.

A rabid dog foretells a death in the family.

If a necklace bearing a cross breaks, you are soon to die.

If a white dove flies at your windshield, a member of your family will perish from a natural death.

When a dog howls, death is near.

If you sit in front of a fire and your shadow casts no head, it is a forewarning of your death.

If something red passes in front of the moon, someone close to you will die soon.

Shoes left on a table will invite death to tread upon you homestead.

If you step back three times from a grave, your death will come within three months.

If you River Dance at midnight, you will be beaten to death within a year. Hopscotch will lead to a brutal death.

A television left on after you fall asleep will lead to your life being both haunted and shortened.

An ant in the winter means the death of an entire family.

If you brush your hair 111 times or more in one day, you or someone close will die.

Grey hair before thirty will reduce your life by twenty years.

If bedclothes are washed in May, someone in your family will die before December.

If a Raven flies towards your home, you loved one is doomed to die. Unless you can keep it from landing on your house.

A widow can spread death if she does not wear a veil during mourning.

If you see an ambulance or a hearse, touch a button or you will be the next to ride within it.

The cry of a Curlew foretells death.

A single Snowdrop in a garden beckons death.

A vase with only red and white flowers means a death is to come.

Hawthorn in a home will bring about the mother of that house.

The Death Watch Beetle taps to foretell death in a house.

If you leave the eyes of a deceased person open, they will come out to bring someone back with them.

If a corpse is in a house, cover the mirrors. If you don�t a person who sees him or herself in one will die next.

A funeral on a Friday foretells another death in that family within the year.

A broom against a bed signifies the death of the person who sleeps there.

Never take ashes out of a stove after sundown or someone will die.

Count the cars of a passenger train and you will hear death.

Large drops of rain are born from death.

If a Rose bush blooms twice in one year, someone will perish.

A cow mooing after midnight has seen death.

If you prick your finger on a black thorn of a rose, you will die.

A tree blooming out of season portends death.

As does dreaming of a white horse.

If the coffee grounds in the bottom of a pot form a straight line, a funeral will soon come.

Dropping an umbrella on the floor means a murder will occur in that area.

Death will come if a diamond-shaped fold in clean linen appears.

A hat on a bed equals a death in the family.

Never hand scissors to someone unless you want him or her to suffer a painful death.

If a cow raises its head and sniffs the air, it is smelling death.

When both ends of a rainbow are contained within a body of water, someone wading within it will die a rapid death.

In Arcadian homes, a clicking sound, like the ticking of a clock or dripping of water, was a precursor of death.

Perhaps ending with the story of a man who cheated death will help protect you when that time comes. Take this story to heart, it could very well save your life.

Dewi of Cwmdygran cheated Death twice according to legend. Dewi made a deal with the Devil that if he should survive until his 100th birthday, he could have his soul. So the Devil told him that when Death approached his door and knocked for admission, he was to have a sack ready filled with old rags. Dewi would have to place the sack around one of his cravats. A hat was to be place on the mouth of the sack. Dewi then had to go into the cupboard and snore loudly. So when Death came and knocked, Dewi never answered the door and pretended to be asleep. Impatient, Death forced open the window, grabbed the sack figure and fled. Dewi cheated death once more with this method. The third time Death came, Dewi was 90. He had gone to bed and forgotten to put up the old sack. When Death entered, he took the real Dewi. The upside for Dewi was that at least he didn�t have to give the Devil his soul.

Our entire existence is one large omen of death. Look around and you will see it. Seek and you will find that death is waiting for you. Everyone�s death is predefined, but if you fail to heed its warnings, that day will come sooner than you like. Fear death, for he is merciless. He will distinguish amongst the wicked and the great. Death is always around us. Be careful next time you look over your shoulder. You may see someone you wish you hadn�t.