A harbinger is defined as a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another, or a forerunner of something.
Just like psychopomps, it's generally believed that harbingers don't actually cause people to die, although if they do appear, death is pretty much a given.
The belief that harbingers are terrifying or something to be feared has resulted more from their depiction in pop culture than from their original meaning in folklore and myths.
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