And a dreadful thing from the cliff did spring,
and its wild bark thrill'd around,
His eyes had the glow of the fires below,
'twas the form of the spectre hound
One of the most chilling omens of death in English folklore is the large, spectral demon dog called Black Shuck. A death omen comes to collect souls and if you have the misfortune to see Black Shuck - expect death to come within a year.
Ghostly Black Dogs are distinguished from normal flesh and blood black dogs by their large yellow or red glowing eyes (sometimes only one), and their ability to appear out of thin air, or into and out of the ground. The demon dog is about the size of a calf and sometimes even appears headless !
When the Black Shuck comes to claim his victims his bone-chilling howls can be heard rising above the wind. His feet make no sound, but people can feel his hot breath on their necks.
A common place to see the Black Dog is at a boundary. He lurks where people move from one locality to another, roads, footpaths, old trackways, bridges, crossroads, gates, doors, stairs and corridors. He can be seen near graveyards and barrows, along Leylines, and running down Corpse Ways or Spirit Paths. Folklore tells us that these ancient paths used to run to churches and spirits would travel along them from graveyard to graveyard.
In the 1890s, a teenage boy rescued from the North Sea told how he had been forced to swim further and further from the shore by a huge dog that chased him through the waters, its teeth gnashing at his neck and shoulders. In the 1920s and 30s, fishermen off Sheringham told of hearing the hound's howling on stormy nights. And as recently as the 1970s, he was seen pounding over the beach at Yarmouth.
Black Shuck is not confined to Norfolk. Another location is along the Sussex Downs with its old burial mounds, once the principal means of travel before the weald was cleared of its inpenetrable forest. And once, on a summer afternoon in 1577, he made a fateful trip across the border into Suffolk and attacked the congregation of St Mary's Church in Bungay. As the dreadful dog flew from the church, sated with blood, he is said to have left deep scorch marks on the door.
In 1933 the door was cleaned and burn marks were there for all to see. They remain there to this day.
There are many names for this terrifying visitor. Galleytrot, Shug Monkey, the Hateful Thing, Hell beast, Skeff or Moddey Dhoo and in the south of England you will hear names like Yeth or Wish Hounds. In Yorkshire he is known as The Barguest.
The name Shuck seems to go back to Old English (at least pre-1000 BCE). The Old English epic poem Beowulf describes the monster Grendel and his mother. Grendel is called a Scucca (demon)- and Scucc would have been pronounced pretty much then as it is today. The poem also says of Grendel that him of eagum stod ligge gelicost leoht unfaeger , 'a fire-like, baleful light shone from his eyes', Sounds like the Black Shuck to me.
The origins of the Black Dog have been lost in the mists of time but most likely originated from the Vikings who feared the hound of their god Odin All-Father, and brought their tales and lore to England. The word Barguest comes from the German 'Bargeist' meaning 'spirit of the (funeral) bier'.
In the folklore of old Europe, the dog is seen as both the guardian and consumer of dead spirits, as in the 'Wild Hunt' where a pack of dogs with a master of the hunt flies through the sky looking for lost souls. He also turns up in Egypt, Siberia, and North America. According to the Vedic mythology of ancient India, the dead must pass by the four-eyed dogs of Yama, king of the dead, and Greek mythology tells of the dog Cerberos, popularly endowed with three heads, who watches the entrance to Hades and there is the Egyptian Anubis, with the head of a dog. The Celts have their legends also, of white, red-eared hounds. But the concept of the underworld watchdog reached its fullest and most complex expression among the Germanic peoples.
Whatever the origin of the Black Dog, beware of him, he is still to be found in the wild lonely places of North England today.
About The Author
Susanna Duffy is a Civil Celebrant, folklorist and storyteller who creates rites and ceremonies for the milestones of life www.funeral.yarralink.com
Alexis limo rentals ..If your writing muscle isn't in shape, writing a novel... Read More
Interested in breaking into writing or breaking into a new... Read More
Just about every marketer on the Internet claims to be... Read More
You're writing a story set in your local city, but... Read More
It's clich?, but true-a picture does paint a thousand words.... Read More
Your computer is a writing machine, a word processor, a... Read More
Want to write your book? But, need a blueprint on... Read More
WRITING THE PERSONAL STATEMENT TO GET INTO UK UNIVERSITYHOW DO... Read More
Balance your life ... Read More
SALE, SAIL Sale is either offering something for purchase... Read More
Many of us dream of writing a book. Why not.... Read More
You are the only one who knows what being a... Read More
The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea... Read More
Technology vendors often contribute bylined articles to trade journals. The... Read More
Editorial guidelines, also known as writer's guidelines, are the rules... Read More
Let's Discuss Publisher Ethics:If you are an ezine publisher or... Read More
There is a lot of confusion about recommendation letters.Recommendation letters... Read More
IntroductionSince our early days of elementary education we have been... Read More
People familiar with the Myers-Briggs Personality test know that the... Read More
Obtaining the skills for writing good business correpondence is important;... Read More
There are various forms of structure, including frameworks, work processes... Read More
A friend and I were talking the other day about... Read More
Have you ever wondered why some people can make millions... Read More
~TYPES~You Want Us to Write What? Understanding the Task AssignedWhich... Read More
If you're getting rejections from your submissions, please don't quit... Read More
car service from Midway Alsip ..If you have an online home based business you know... Read More
Working on my first humorous novel, I started with a... Read More
First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs... Read More
Wired Online has recently announced its plans to drop capitalization... Read More
Your computer is a writing machine, a word processor, a... Read More
What a wonderful resource the Internet is!Students find information to... Read More
Q. I'm staring at a blank screen with an equally... Read More
Or do you?Writers write. You shouldn't wait around for inspiration... Read More
A QUERY LETTER is written to an editor or agent... Read More
WRITING THE PERSONAL STATEMENT TO GET INTO UK UNIVERSITYHOW DO... Read More
In this article you will find tips on: How to... Read More
It is certainly true that we don't get a second... Read More
I owe the completion and success of my book to... Read More
The Big IdeaOkay. So youve figured out that you would... Read More
Before you even begin writing your novel, you need to... Read More
"If you want to change your life," Harry Beckwith wrote... Read More
Writing for the web is very different from writing for... Read More
Day after day, writers tend to sit for hours writing... Read More
People familiar with the Myers-Briggs Personality test know that the... Read More
Some writers complain that writing is arduous work requiring long... Read More
You may wonder why I have chosen this title of... Read More
----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute,... Read More
You know you've got writing talent. Others enjoy your work... Read More
Writer's forums are bustling with debate over whether or not... Read More
|| Graphology & Graphotherapy ||Everybody wants to know more about... Read More
Writing |