Toby (the dog),

in Punchinello, wears a frill garnished with bells, to frighten away the devil from his master. This is a very old superstition. (See Passing Bell.)

The Chinese and other nations make a great noise at death to scare away evil spirits. “Keening” is probably based on the same superstition.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.