It is said to have been a custom in Wales, certainly. I wonder if it is related to the similar custom of laying a corpse out with a small dish of salt on its chest ... albeit for other-world appetites.

I also wonder if the Rod Sterling Night Gallery episode was the same one as The Sin Eater in which Richard (John Boy Walton) Thomas appeared in the title role. I had some idea that Thomas wrote the episode as well ... and was interested because of his Welsh connections.

sian