What Wikipedia Has To Say About Hell Hounds 

A hellhound is a demonic dog of Hell, found in mythology, folklore and fiction. Hellhounds typically have features such as an unnaturally large size, a black fur color, glowing eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, and sometimes even the ability to talk. They are often assigned to guard the entrance to the world of the dead or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting down lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure.

The most famous hellhound is probably Cerberus, the hound of Hades from Greek mythology. Hellhounds are also famous for appearing in Celtic mythology as part of the Wild Hunt. These hounds are given several different names in local folklore, but they display typical hellhound characteristics. The myth is common across Great Britain, and many names are given to the apparitions: Black Shuck of East Anglia (which has its roots in the Norse mythology rather than that of the Celts), Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man, Gwyllgi of Wales, and so on. See Barghest. The earliest mention of these myths are in both Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium (1190) and the Welsh myth cycle of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (ca. 10th-13th century)

Hellhounds are a common monstrous creature in fantasy fiction and horror fiction, though they sometimes appear in other genres such as detective novels.

* Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles

* Frank Belknap Long's Cthulhu Mythos-related "The Hounds of Tindalos"

* Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights-related "Wuthering Heights"

* The eighth episode of the second season of Supernatural featured hell-hounds, also several issues of Supernatural: Origins involves John Winchester hunting a hellhound.

* In the anime Getbackers, book 15 features a card named Hound in Hades.

* In the anime, OVA, and manga series of Hellsing, the vampire Alucard can summon a hellhound, although depictions suggest this being to be a projection of Alucard.

* Zuul ("The Gatekeeper") and Vinz Clortho ("The Keymaster"), the minions of Gozer in Ghostbusters.

* Two hellhounds, named Mohammed and Alvin, are featured in Christopher Moore's novel, A Dirty Job.

* In the pilot episode of the short-lived TV series Night Stalker, there are coyote-like animals that resemble hellhounds.

* Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series includes dog-like monsters called darkhounds which are associated with the Wild Hunt.

* The Chronicles of Riddick, the large dog like aliens in the prison on Crematoria are referred to as "Hellhounds".

* J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series includes a Cerberus-like hound called Fluffy as the first guardian of the Philosopher's Stone in the first book.

* In Good Omens, a novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Adam (the Antichrist) has a Hellhound named "Dog."

* In the game Dungeon Keeper, one of the creatures the player can recruit is the Hound, a dog-like monster which has two heads, breathes fire, and is able to walk through lava unharmed.

* In the Pokemon series, the Pokemon Houndour and Houndoom resemble hellhounds. Houndour is capable of evolving into Houndoom.

What Wikipedia Says About Cerberus 

In Greek mythology, Cerberus or Kerberos , Kerberos or Surbur's, the daemon or ker of Erebos) was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake for a tail and snakes down his back like a mane, whose analogs in other cultures are hellhounds. Other hell hounds included Orthus, his two-headed brother. Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead could enter, but none could exit (additionally, no living person was to come into Hades). Among his siblings are Chimera and the Hydra. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon. In Dante's Inferno, he is described as having a human head. This symbolizes the possibility of Cerberus being more human than animal.

Cerberus was overcome several times, with the aid of gods or supernatural talents:

* Heracles' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he did by wrestling it into submission.
* Orpheus used his musical skills to lull Cerberus to sleep.
* Hermes put him to sleep with water from the river Lethe.
* In Roman mythology, the Sybil of Cumae lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes in order to permit Aeneas fuller entry to the underworld.
* In a Roman tale, Psyche also lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes.
* In The Inferno, Cerberus punishes the gluttons and is passed by Virgil and Dante due to Virgil throwing into one of his mouths some of the putrid earth found in the Third Circle.

In the Greek Oracle of the Dead at Cumae in southern Italy, the recently excavated subterranean shrine was found to contain giant chains fixed to the wall for three large dogs before the entrance to the shrine of Hades and Persephone. The three dogs would have represented Cerberus in this ancient temple.

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Reader Feedback 

papawu The idea of Hell Hounds is kind of frightening since I am such a huge dog lover. I loved reaading Sherlock Holmes boos and one of my favorite stories was "The Hound of the Baskervilles." I admit I don't know much about the myths or legends about these creatures, but your lens sure helped me out.5 stars. Posted October 04, 2008

waynet I like the old greek myths and legends of the hellhound and any other creature too, I used to draw them all including Medusa and the Kracken, the stories of what went years before always have appealed to me in my own art. Great lens with lots of three headed stuff to adore! well done!! Posted June 01, 2008

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