By Kristi O’Toole

Old Shuck is the name given to a black dog being found primarily in the folk lores of the British Isle, often said to be associated with the Devil or a Hell-hound. Its appearance was regarded as a portent of death. It is generally supposed to be larger than a normal dog, and often has large, glowing eyes. It is often associated with electrical storms (such as Black Shuck’s appearance at Bungay, Suffolk), and also with crossroads, places of execution and ancient pathways. Throughout European mythology, dogs have been associated with death. Examples of this are the Garmr and Cerberus, who were in some way guardians of the underworld.

Black dogs are almost universally regarded as malevolent, and a few (such as the Barghest) are said to be directly harmful. Some, however, like the Gurt Dog in Somerset and the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills in Connecticut, are said to behave benevolently. Black Dogs have been reported from almost all the counties of England, the exceptions being Middlesex and Rutland. They’ve also been seen in Scotland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, and several North and South American Countries.

In appearance the phantoms vary from region to region, but it is not uncommon for them to be described as calf sized, with saucer eyes and a shaggy coat. Phantom dogs are not always black however, the one that is supposed to haunt the area around Cawthorpe and Haugham in Lincolnshire, is described as white, but still has saucer eyes and is as big as calf. The Cu Sith, the traditional fairy dog of Scotland is dark green in color, with a shaggy tail up its back. Black dogs are more often than not associated with a specific location such as an old track way or lane, this is sometimes reflected in the name of the route way, although not every ‘Black Dog Lane’ has a tradition of the haunting.

Black dogs are also seen as guardians of treasure, especially in Scotland. A black dog was said to guard treasure buried under a standing stone near Murthley in Perthshire, here we have an account of a black dog at an ancient site and as a guardian of treasure. Another belief is that there are ghostly black dogs, the size of large retrievers, about the fields at night, that these dogs are generally near gates and stiles, and are of such a forbidding aspect that no one dare venture to pass them, and that it means death to shout at them.

In Thornton, near Bradford, ‘Jim Craven Well’ was the haunt of the ghost of ‘Peggy wi’t Lantern’ and ‘Bloody Tongue’, a great dog with red eyes and a huge tail; the well is now gone. Meon Hill has both a phantom black dog and a ghostly pack of white hounds. The death of George Walton in very curious circumstances on 14th February 1945 was accompanied by a black dog being hung in a nearby tree. Walton had seen a black dog on nine occasions – the last time it changed into a headless black woman. His sister died shortly after. Although strongly contested, Walton’s death has many overtones of the ritual sacrifice of a ‘cunning man’. During the Second World War at Brook House, Snitterfield (which used to be the Bell Brook Inn) a big black dog was seen. It ran over the tilled earth of the garden without leaving footprints.
Very old people of Warwick used to say that the castle was haunted by a black dog. The tale has the hallmarks of a time-encrusted tall story. The local version claims it all started when an old retainer there, a woman called Moll Bloxham, sold milk and butter from the castle stores for her personal gain. One Christmas she overdid this, and the then Earl of Warwick, getting wind of it, stopped her source of supply. Furiously angry, she vowed she would ‘get them haunted’. She apparently succeeded and returned in the form of a big black dog. In due course the clergy were called in to exorcise the ghost with bell, book and candle, but for a time they were entirely unsuccessful. Then one day, so it was said, a huge black dog sprang from Caesar’s Tower into the river below, and so ended the ghost story. At Alveston, Charles Walton, a plow boy, met a phantom black dog on his way home on nine successive evenings. On the final occasion a headless lady in a silk gown rushed past him, and the following day he heard of his sister’s death.

There is little in the way of what to do if one sees a black dog, as generally nothing really can be done. By the time you’ve seen one, it’s supposedly already too late. Ways of warding off Black Dogs are also vague and nondescript. In Christian countries, simply wearing a cross or the picture of a saint is enough to keep the dog at bay. Other superstitions including carrying a coffin nail, sprinkling fresh water on the ground behind you as you walk, or having a pair of scissors (preferably iron) on your person. Also, avoid crossroads, moving bodies of water (like rivers and streams), and stay away from woods or long stretches of field.

Friend or foe we may never really know unless we are ourselves met by one of these black dogs; of course, we may then find it’s too late.

When Kristi isn’t writing for NewzBreaker, she writes supernatural suspense novels having three currently published. If you would like to check out any of her books they can be found online and at other major retailers like Books a Million and Amazon. Never one to rest, she also paints/designs shoes and items for the home. Check out her eBay store, Watered Down Vodka and her FB page.

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