Short Story or Novel. Person devises a way to make a mirror cage and trap indefinitely a small death/ reaper entity.

[Steven]

I think I read the short story first, then later a novel based on the short story. Apparently, there are little entities (deaths/reapers) that appear when someone is dying and transport the person’s soul to the hereafter. The deaths/reapers are little red creatures with beaks/talons and are invisible and immaterial, but can be trapped in a mirror. Someone manages to trap deaths/reapers and prevents them from grabbing the deceased souls. It doesn’t prevent the soul from leaving the body and without a death/reaper to take the soul to the hereafter, the soul winds up arbitrarily in a random matrix-like simulation “heaven”. the deaths/reapers were actually benevolent, not malevolent, entities trying to help the souls.

[Kris]

Steven, around what year did you read this short story or novel?

What's the genre - e.g., fantasy for adults or teens?

Can you tell us more about the main character? Location?