The Legend
For centuries, inhabitants of East Anglia have told tales of a large black hellhound with malevolent flaming eyes (or in some variants of the legend a single eye) that are red or alternatively green. They are described as being 'like saucers'. According to reports, the beast varies in size and stature from that of simply a large dog to being the size of a horse.The legends of the Black Shuck roaming the Anglian countryside date back to the time of the Vikings. His name may derive from the Anglo-Saxon word scucca meaning "demon", or possibly from the local dialect word shucky meaning "shaggy" or "hairy". The legend may have been part of the inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Sometimes the Black Shuck is referred to as the Doom Dog. It is said that his appearance bodes ill to the beholder, although not always. More often than not, the Black Shuck terrifies his victims out of their wits, but then leaves them alone to continue living normal lives. Many other black dogs exhibit a similar trait. Sometimes the Black Shuck has appeared headless, and at other times he appears to float on a carpet of mist rather than run. According to folklore, the spectre often haunts graveyards, sideroads, crossroads, dark forests and it is told by locals, from the depthe of Beeston Bump, a hill close to Beeston Regis and Sheringham.
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Famous encounters
One of the most vivid reports of Black Shuck, though, is of his appearance at the churches of Bungay and Blythburgh in Suffolk. On the August 4, 1577, at Blythburgh, Black Shuck is said to have burst in through the church doors. He ran up the nave, past a large congregation, killing a man and boy and causing the church tower to collapse through the roof. As the dog left, he left scorch marks on the north door which can be seen at the church to this day.The encounter on the same day at Bungay is described in "A straunge and terrible Wunder" by the Reverend Abraham Fleming (1577):
"This black dog, or the divel in such a linenesse (God hee knoweth al who worketh all,) runing all along down the body of the church with great swiftnesse, and incredible haste, among the people, in a visible fourm and shape, passed between two persons, as they were kneeling uppon their knees, and occupied in prayer as it seemed, wrung the necks of them bothe at one instant clene backward, in somuch that even at a mome[n]t where they kneeled, they stra[n]gely dyed.
Other accounts attribute the event to lightning or the Devil. Indeed, the scorch marks on the door are referred to by the locals as "the devil's fingerprints". The event is remembered in this verse:
All down the church in midst of fire, the hellish monster flew, And, passing onward to the quire, he many people slew.
Also a large Black dog with red eyes was spotted on Black lane, Kilby in Leicestershire (date unknown) and was supposed to have saved a girl from being mugged by appearing and scaring the attacker away.
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Black Shuck in popular culture
A song about the Blythburgh animal entitled "Black Shuck" appears on the 2003 album Permission to Land by Lowestoft band The Darkness.A sinister dog known as "the Grim" is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which may derive indirectly from the legend of Black Shuck, via The Hound of the Baskervilles, though the name is likely to have been derived from stories of a creature similar to Black Shuck called the Church Grim.
The Glasgow based rock band, "Black Shuck" also derive their name from the mythical beast, though in part as a tribute to the aforementioned Darkness song.
The dog is the leader of a group of mythological characters in the 2000 AD series London Falling.
According to the children's book The Runton Werewolf by Ritchie Perry, Black Shuck is a Gronk, a race of friendly shapeshifting aliens, the ancestors of which were accidentally left behind on Earth when one of them suffered from stomach troubles.
The Black Dog of Bungay and Black Shuck both appear in "The Kettle Chronicles: The Black Dog", a novel by Steve Morgan, former vicar of Bungay, set in 1577.
The shagfoal appears in Alan Moore's 1996 novel "Voice of the Fire", set in Northampton, partly in pre-historic times.
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Black Shuck Blog Posts
- /PIMPS GAME
- "Black Shuck is a Persistent Browser-Based Game (PBBG) based loosely upon Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy" and various other incarnations of the afterlife in general. Different methods of game-play and world building are still in ...
- Everything Else Paranormal - Black Shuck
- Hi Feeling,I really enjoyed reading your thread.I have heard about a large black dog before in Liverpool.Every-one who saw it said it looked evil some even called the police and under the freedom of information act the police released ...
- Behind the Scenes: Howl of the Werewolf - The Hellhound Shuck
- Black Shuck (or Old Shuck) is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex coast, and is similar to the Barghest of Yorkshire folklore. The name Shuck either derives from the Anglo-Saxon for ...
- Everything Else Paranormal - Black Shuck
- just making a short comment to bookmark this thread, i'll read it later and then edit my comment.
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Black Shuck Links
- Norfolk Myth - Black Shuck - The Ghostly Hound
- Legend of Black Shuck the Hell Hound who roams the Norfolk area causing death and mayhem.
- Black Shuck - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Black Shuck or Old Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the Norfolk, Essex and Suffolk coastline. ...
- EDP24 Spooky Norfolk
- Black Shuck, the hell hound reputed to roam the East Anglian coastline, is said to bring death within the year to anyone who dares to look into his flaming ...
- Black Dogs
- Stories of phantom black dogs abound in Britain, almost every county has its own variant, from the Black Shuck of East Anglia to the Padfoot and Bogey Beast ...
- Black Shuck
- For hundreds of years Black Shuck, who is associated with death, has stalked the fens, coastlands and churchyards of eastern England. ...
- Black Shuck
- Known locally as black shuck in Cambridge, its favourite haunts where said to be along the banks of the river Ouse and amongst the flat landscape of the ...
- Black Shuck
- I have long been fascinated by the stories of Black Shuck in East Anglia. He is said to be a devil dog, black, shaggy haired and enormous with fiery red ...
- Black Shuck - supernatural thriller - Norfolk hell hound
- Black Shuck. A terrifying new supernatural thriller from author Piers Warren set in the little village of Blakeney on the North Norfolk Coast.
- Shuck and Hell Hound stories and reports from england, scotland ...
- Further Comments: This lane is a favoured haunt for the black shuck. The same lane is reportedly haunted by a ghostly horse and carriage. ...
Cryptozology bookmarks
- Cryptomundo.com for Bigfoot, Loch Ness, and More
- Cryptozoology.com
- Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
- The Cryptozoologist: Cryptozoology
- Cryptozoology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The Cryptid Zoo: A Menagerie of Cryptozoology
- AMERICAN MONSTERS
- Image-stabilized Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film (gif)
- The "Octosquid" discovered
- CFZ (Centre for Fortean Zoology) - cryptozoology, mystery animals
- List of legendary creatures - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Wikipedia: List of Cryptids
- Cryptozoology
- Photos of the Shope papillomavirus in rabbits
- List of cryptids - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Guestbook
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voodoomama
Greetings! Just stopped by to welcome you to the Art of Voodoo group and let you know how much I absolutely love your lenses! The cryptozoology is fantastic! Well written, fully fleshed out lens that deserves all that 5 stars can give! Posted August 15, 2007 |
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KonaGirl
Another very interesting lens by you. 5 stars. Aloha, June Posted July 27, 2007 |
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The-Monstery
Being an East Anglian myself, Black Shuck was one of the stories I grew up with (and was terrified by!). I keep going past Blythburgh church... Must go seek out those claw marks! Posted June 02, 2007 |
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Classic
This lens reminds me of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Book. Would be best suited for a Sci-Fi Club! However, very well written! Posted May 29, 2007 |
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