Phantom Black Dogs

Many Black Dogs are seen around country lanes and paths, quiet and lonely areas that you wouldn't wish to be walking around alone on a dark night. There are numerous pubs called "The Black Dog" around the UK.

Could these be the areas where Hellhounds have been seen on a regular basis?

Other areas include:
Graveyards, which is hardly surprising,
Areas close to stretches of water,
Urban roads and streets.

Black Dogs:
...vanish into thin air
...are harbingers of Doom
...have Eyes of Fire
...are usually silent though the rattling of chains or splashing noises have been heard.
...are Non-physical, preternatural entities of superficially canine appearance
...tend to appear along ley lines
...can be guardians especially of women walking alone at night.
...have been seen in Britain, North America, Australia, New South Wales
...can change size.

On 19th April, 1972 in Gorleston, Norfolk at 4.45am, coastguard, Graham Grant saw a very large black dog-like animal running along the beach. He stood watching it for a few minutes until suddenly it disappeared.

16 year old Mark Chester from Atlanta, Georgia and his friend, Jeff were out driving one evening in 1979 when he saw what looked like a black Labrador Retriever in front of him. As he watched, it trotted out in front of him. When it was three-quarters of the way across, it suddenly vanished. His friend saw it too. 15 years later, Mark could still recall the sighting and was adamant that what he'd seen was real.

1981, Irene Cole and her husband were driving along the Stanner Road in Herefordshire. They were a mile or so along when they saw a huge Black Dog sitting in the middle of the road. Her husband swerved to avoid it, and the Dog simply vanished from view.

The appearance of a Black Dog is considered to be a bad omen, often foretelling death or bad luck. To touch a Black Dog or threaten it in an aggressive manner is also bad news.

Many stories have related that close relatives or friends of the storyteller have died within hours of the sighting. Bad luck has also occurred in the form of electrical circuitry failure or explosions within houses or dwellings.

Black Dogs have also been seen just before an execution at Newgate Prison before it was rebuilt in 1783.

In 1927, Walter Gill's friend was walking down a road in Ramsey when he encountered a Black Dog. The dog was standing so he couldn't pass. Gill's friend made no attempt to push past it or touch it but waited. Eventually the Black Dog moved to one side allowing him to pass. Not long after that encounter, the father of Gill's friend died. Gill's friend was convinced that the Black Dog's appearance had been a warning.

In 1893, two men driving a cart along a Norfolk lane encountered a Black Dog. The driver of the cart drove it straight through the Dog with no respect or patience. As soon as the cart hit the dog, it disappeared in a huge ball of fire. It filled the air with a sulphurous stench. Soon after, the driver of the cart died.

A Dartmoor farmer and his wife who struck the Dog with a poker in 1972 was lucky to escape with their lives. The Dog vanished in a flash of light but their house's entire electrical circuitry was destroyed with a massive explosion.

Jersey's hellhound is described as a big, black dog with eyes the size of saucers. It is often seen roaming around the cliffs of Bouley Bay in the parish of Trinity dragging its chain.

Terrified walkers have reported the hellhound circles them at great speed and then disappears leaving them cowering in fear and shock.

Locals believe that the appearance of the dog indicates that a storm is coming. But it could also be a story invented by smugglers to keep people from their secret landings.

Why don't you take a visit to Jersey to find out for yourself?

Arthur Conan Doyle's, author of Sherlock Holmes - The Hound of the Baskervilles, inspiration for his classic tale came from a generation of sightings and lore concerning a black-furred phantom dog known as the Black Dog of Hergest.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stayed at a Baskerville Hall in Wales where he first heard tales of this chilling Hellhound. To protect the privacy of the Baskervilles and the legend of the Black Dog, Conan Doyle relocated the novel from Wales to Dartmoor.

In the 17th Century, Richard Cabell killed his wife by stabbing her after a pursuit to the Moors in Devon. The wife's loyal dog attacked Cabell and went for his throat. Cabell stabbed it but died as a result of his injuries. This dog is said to haunt the Cabell's to this day.

In the novel, a Hell Hound is thought to be the cause of death of Sir Charles Baskerville (he had a heart attack so could he have been attacked by the hell hound and frightened to death?)

The legend is that this hound is the killer of all the family males for centuries, in revenge for the misdeeds of Sir Hugo Baskerville; sounds of the hound are frequently heard on the moor on which the novel is set.

Through his brilliant deduction and investigative powers, the motive and killer is soon revealed. However, although a hound is not discovered to be the cause of death of Sir Charles Baskerville, one is, apparently, shot. Its hellish appearance is due to phosphorus.

Download a FREE copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles in pdf here.

Cerberus
The hound of Hades

Barguest in Yorkshire
This hell hound trots around the streets of Whitby, Yorkshire from dusk until dawn. It is described as a 'massive, shaggy-haired beast with black eyes that flash red like garnets.' It is said to be dangerous. The most recent sighting of this hound was in 1974 soon after the excavation of the bones of huge black dog a little way up the coast. His favourite haunt is the 199 steps that lead up to the Abbey. If you see him, he'll bar your way with vicious snarls...

Shriker
Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man
Dip
Black Dog of the Hanging Hills
Gytrash
Black Shuck in Norfolk
Padfoot in Staffordshire
Hooter in Warwickshire

'There is an old superstition that the first soul buried in a new graveyard must guard it for eternity. For centuries it was common practice to kill a large dog and bury it in a new graveyard, where it would protect the dead. The Black Dog is fiercely territorial and even protects the living.

In some countries the Black Dog is considered to be guardians of the underworld or manifestations of the Devil. Folklore insists that mischievous spirits take the form of black dogs. '

Source: 'A History of the Unexplained' by Brendan Kilmartin.

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They possess eyes of fire
They usually have rough, shaggy fur.
They have fiery, sulphurous breath
They are usually larger than the average canine, often equal to the size of a small horse or calf.
Their fur is often jet black though Dogs have been seen with White, Green and Blue fur.
Parts of their body can be missing i.e. head although the eyes are still present.

In the early 1900's a woman was walking home one night in the Midlands when she was approached by a Black Dog. At first she felt alarmed but when a group of labourers passed her, saying 'what they'd like to do to her' if the dog was not here, gratitude replaced fear. As soon as the men were out of sight, the dog disappeared.

A couple lived in Whitby and the husband worked in Filingdale. He travelled to work and back again on a motorbike. He also worked late at night.

One night, he was travelling home across the moors when he came across a huge black dog in the middle of the road. He described it as a dog with shaggy fur, pointed ears and red eyes.

He accelerated and never looked back. After returning home he and his wife talked long into the night about the dog. The following week, the husband was killed by a runaway lorry on a hill in Whitby...

On 4 August, 1577 in Bungay, Suffolk, a huge Black Dog materialised in the church of St Mary's. It ran amok within the church attacking and terrifying the parishioners. It tore the throats out of its victims and burnt one poor man alive.

On the same day, 10 miles away, what it is thought to be the same Black Dog appeared inside another church, the Holy Trinity Church at Blythburgh. Inside it created the same amount of devastation, killing 3 people.

The damage to the church was extensive which killed several more parishioners in the process. It left its mark when it finally retreated by gouging the church door with its claws. These marks can still be seen today.

Useful Links:
In Search of The Black Dog of Bungay
The Black Dog of Bungay - A brief history
The Black Dogs of Bungay

On the other end of the scale is the White Dogs and Fairy Hounds. These dogs have white fur and red ears as opposed to the Black Dog's jet-black fur. They also have ruby-red eyes.

Many eye-witness accounts have been made, in modern times, of these dogs gaining their own traditional names of Gallytrot of Suffolk, and Lamper, the Hebridean Death Dog. The Gallytrot chases everything that runs from it and Lamper runs around in circles to warn of an approaching death.

Physically & Bodily:
...they vanish into thin air.
...they possess shaggy fur.
...they have bright red eyes.
...body parts can be missing i.e. head.
...have been known to run in the sky or above the ground.
...seen along ley lines, Graveyards and Churches.

The White Dog of Dartmoor's Cator Common: Several years ago a woman was walking across the common when she came across a White Dog. She stretched out her hand to stroke it but the creature disappeared.

Just before World War 2 in Norfolk, a White Dog was often seen running across the road linking the villages of Little and Great Snoring. One motorist encountered it without warning and ran right through it.