I was directed to this ages and ages ago, by stultiloquentia (actually, she looked up from my computer and said something like, "if you weren't avoiding spoilers I'd make you read this right now - here, I'll bookmark"), and I can see why she was so fervent about it.

I agree with you that the epilogue is (besides trite and unnecessary and far too this-is-the-story-all-tied-up-with-strings) creepifying above all - I'm glad you've taken a crack at pointing that out.