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The Angel Crown: Appalachian death omen found in feather pillows [1]
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Date: 2025-09-13
At the Museum of Appalachia, in Clinton, Tennessee you can see an Angel Crown, also known as a Death Crown or Feather Crown. This unusual-looking object is a round, entangled swirl of feathers found inside a down pillow. Its significance comes from Appalachian folklore, where it's seen as a bad omen.
According to superstition, an Angel Crown found in someone's pillow foretells their imminent death — especially if they're already ill. People often destroyed the crown, hoping to save the sleeper. I'm glad I don't sleep on feather pillows, because I'd be way too creeped out if I found one of these after learning about their meaning in folklore.
The Angel Crowns on display at the Museum of Appalachia look both eerie and beautiful. The display says: "When a person died, there was sometimes found in their bed pillow a closely and mysteriously woven mass of feathers. It was called an Angel Crown, and it indicated that the deceased person had gone to heaven. If such an object was found in the pillow of a sick person, it meant that this person would soon die. In such an instance the crown was called an 'Angel of Death Crown' or simply a 'Death Crown.'"
See also: The myth of Ernest Shackleton
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