Who stalks the graveyard at night? A humble keeper on his rounds, or some occult entity traversing the land of death. Of all the works in the series that this artwork belong to, it is the most emblematic of its title, Beasts and Omens.

The goat-headed figure, crowned with long curled horns, draws on a long tradition of horned beings as guardians at the threshold to the underworld. They have been tied to the wild, the night, and especially those things that are forbidden, occult knowledge. The scythe he carries is itself and old emblem of the reaper and of cutting the time of life short. By drawing it thin and slight, it is clear that it is more of a tool than a weapon. In his other hand he subtly carries a lantern, faintly glowing with a small golden flicker, a guiding light in the darkness. It represents the kind of flame carried to lead souls along a path and watch over the dead at night.

This artwork too, was painted with Musou black, a deep, light absorbing pigment, to further cloak parts of the scene in the deepest shadows, cast by a bright moon. The yellow is the counterweight to the scene, and the moon itself echoes the theme even more to amplify it further.