Ankou

Graveyard Watcher

Entry in A Dictionary of Ghost Lore
The Ankou or graveyard watcher is the ghost who guards cemeteries and stories of him are found throughout Europe. Whenever a new graveyard was created, it was customary to bury some unfortunate victim alive in the first grave so that a ghostly guardian was created. This ankou would then frighten off anyone - living or dead - who might come to disturb the peace of the departed. The graveyard watcher is said to be the cause of that involuntary shiver, that often causes a person to remark that "someone is walking over my grave."