Kingdom Of Shadows: Demon Dogs Of Doom.

We sure love our dogs don’t we? We raise them from pups, cherish them, adore them and make them an integral part of our families. I myself am guilty of this I love my Jack Russel Terrier, she’s sleeping next to me right now, But I digress. However looking back upon the folklore of most older cultures including England’s, dogs were not always considered man’s best friend. In ancient Greece, Cerberus the three headed hound of Hades was a vicious grotesque canine who’s job it was to keep the souls trapped in eternal darkness from escaping the underworld. In the folklore of Great Britian the canine was seen as a harbinger of doom and a stealer of souls.

The folklore of the giant black dog can be traced back centuries and has always been a manifestation of untold dread. Those unlucky enough to witness a manifestation of the black hounds of hell describe them in the terrifying manner: A giant coal black dog the size of a bull with glowing red eyes that seem to possess the ability to see into the deepest recesses of the human soul. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the creator of Sherlock Holmes details the depredations of the giant black hound of hell in his immortal tale of supernatural mystery, “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” The Baskerville family, an ancient and degenrate race of British noblemen, are the victims of one of these hounds of hell created by their debauchery and wantoness. Lucky for the last of the line, Sir Roderick Baskerville, the great Victorian era detective is able to put the mystery to rest and spare Roderick the death that would eventually come his way. Apart from fiction does the giant black hound of hell truly have a precedence in history or is it just mere folklore?

The spectral black dog was seen as a familiar, or a creature who carried out the bidding of his mistress or master who was a witch or a warlock. A curious tale of a phantom black dog comes from Newgate Prison, one of the oldest correctional facilities in Britain and if the stories are to be believed a place of cold cruelty. In 1596, a man named Scholler was arrested and found guilty of the all to familiar charge of witchcraft and worship of the Evil One, Satan. The day before Scholler was sent to swing on the gallows for his crime against God and country, Scholler’s fellow inmates decided to kill the convicted warlock not just to gain his powers but because Newgate Prison was famous for only feeding their inmates twice a week if they were lucky. The warlock’s fellow inmates seized him and murdered him then roasted his corpse over an open fire for the only meal they had had in days. When the guards discovered this unthinkable act they went to punish the inmates but instead were surprised by the inmates who lay in wait for them. The guards were killed and the prisoners escaped.

For days the escaped prisoners ran amock over the English countryside stealing whatever they could find and raping and murdering any unlucky woman who was unfortunate to cross their path. Although the prisoners were fairly confident of their escape from the cruelty of Newgate prison they never thought that the Warlock that filled their bellies would return in a terrifying way to exact his revenge. Before the sun rose above the horizon a great black dog with eyes that glowed like the fires of hell appeared before the prisoners and as the prisoners fled the giant beast hunted them down and made a quick meal of the escaped inmates. Those who witnessed the event declared they had never seen such a beast and most likely never would again because after the last inmate was gobbled up by the black creature it faded into nothingness.

In Tring, Hertfordshire a vicious black dog or Black Shuck as he is known, is said to haunt the crossroads where a chimney sweep was unjustly executed for a crime he did not committ. The apparition of the black dog is said to appear to any weary traveler who should walk through the crossroads at the hour the chimney sweep was ruthlessly executed. Those who have witnessed the phantom say that he first appears as a pair of giant red glowing eyes while an unearthly howl fills the air. The spectral hound then appears out of a puff of fire and smoke and falls upon the traveler only to dissappear before he makes a meal of the unfortunate wanderer.

Of all the legends concerning giant hounds of hell no tale can compare to attack by one of the beasts on an entire congregation at Bungay Church on August 4, 1577. The tale goes that on a beautiful sunday morning as the citizen’s of Bungay gathered in the local church for hymns and the hearing of the gospel a great of thunder sounded over the church and a flash of lightning flashed through the otherwise clear sky. The congregates were distracted from their worship when a horrible vision materialized near the altar of the church, a giant black dog with glowing eyes that flashed with the fires of hell. According to the historical record the great and horrible beast raced around the church letting out a roar that seemed to shake the very founadtions of the house of worship. Several parishioners were injured by the demonic creature and three were killed with a swap of the creatures giant paw. When the creature vanished from the church leaving the terrifed parishioners to their thoughts of what just happened the church goers believed that the creature was a manifestation of the devil come to purge their church of those unworthy to call themselves christians. Black scorch marks the size of giant paws can still be seen on the door and the altar of the church.

Although the majority of black dog stories have an air of the diabolical some tales of giant black dogs seem almost touching. Giant black dogs have been known to protect virginal young girls as they travel down lonely country roads and black dogs have also been known to protect noble families who are considered pure at heart. The giant black dog is not always a manifestation of the wicked one.

Great Britain certainly is a place of deep culture, lasting mystery and some of the greatest ghost stories known to mankind. Without the realm of the queen we may never have had such great spirits to investigate and such mysteries to ponder and read about on a lonely cold night as the rain falls and the wind blows. I hope you enjoyed Kingdom of shadows because I enjoyed writing it.

Rick E. Hale
t_seeker@hotmail.com