Black Dogs

Black Dogs : There have been countless reports of phantom like creatures of canine form, which have been termed, black dogs, devil dogs or hellhounds. Local names for these creatures from around the United Kingdom include:

Black Shuck – East Anglia

Skriker “howler” – Lancashire

Muckle Black Tyke – Scotland

Mauthe Doog – Isle of Man

Gwyllgi “dog of darkness” – Wales

Barguest – Yorkshire

Even though these creatures go by different names depending on their location throughout the British Isles they all share very well defined traits.

Allegedly they are as large as Labradors or Alsatians and are usually described as being black, often with shaggy coats. They are said to exude a distinctly sulphurous smell and their crimson eyes glow like fire. Although appearing to be solid they can apparently disappear at will, sometimes in a fiery explosion. It is said that anyone who touches one of these beasts usually dies shortly afterwards. Even the act of seeing a black dog is believed to be an omen of doom.

These beasts are said to frequent more restricted localities such as a specific country lane, churchyard or riverbank. They are not known for straying very far from their established territory that is often associated with ancient monuments, or ley lines marking out postulated channels of earth energy.

Some of the explanations for black dogs include the following:

-         hallucinations

-         the misidentification of normal dogs

-         mental projection

-         entities that share origins with nature spirits and other beings referred to by some investigators as elementals

cyclical (imprint) apparitions – namely a form of moving energy trace, possibly the preserved images of real dogs from the past that have been triggered by meteorological effects running like a 3d cine film.

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