[OVERVIEW]

The Black Dog was featured in the books of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I believe it's also featured in the movie but it's not a huge part of the movie. I haven't seen the movie so I'm not actually sure.

Also, I find the idea of Black Dogs very interesting. I'm not sure why. I love Urban Legends but this one in particular is very interesting to me.

[BLACK DOG]

So what is The Black Dog? It's a demonic entity found primarily in British folklore. The black dog is essentially a nocturnal apparition, in some cases a shapeshifter, and is often said to be associated with the Devil or described as a ghost or hellhound. 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 sometimes associated with electrical storms (such as Black Shuck's appearance at Bungay, Suffolk) and also with crossroads, places of execution and ancient pathways.

The origins of the black dog are difficult to discern. It is uncertain whether the creature originated in the Celtic or Germanic elements of British culture. Throughout European mythology, dogs have been associated with death. Examples of this are the Cŵn Annwn (Welsh), Garmr (Norse) and Cerberus (Greek), all of whom were in some way guardians of the Underworld. This association seems to be due to the scavenging habits of dogs. It is possible that the black dog is a survival of these beliefs.

Black dogs are generally regarded as sinister or malevolent, and a few (such as the Barghest and Shuck) are said to be directly harmful. Some black dogs, however, such as the Gurt Dog in Somerset and the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills in Connecticut, are said to behave benevolently. Some, known as guardian black dogs, guide travellers at night onto the right path or guard them from danger.

Even though most stories come from England, there have been reports of Black Dogs in Latin America and the United States.

[SIGHTINGS]

Black dogs have been reported from almost all the counties of England, the exceptions being Middlesex and Rutland.

I'm not going to go through every single sighting I've found because then we would be here all day. Just gonna put a few of the more interesting ones.

On Dartmoor in southern Devon, the notorious squire Richard Cabell was said to have been a huntsman who sold his soul to the Devil. When he died in 1677, black hounds are said to have appeared around his burial chamber. The ghostly huntsman is said to ride with black dogs; this tale inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write his well-known story The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Galley Hill in Luton, Bedfordshire, is said to have been haunted by a black dog ever since a storm set the gibbet alight sometime in the 18th century.

A black dog is said to haunt Ivelet Bridge near Ivelet in Swaledale, Yorkshire. The dog is allegedly headless, and leaps over the side of the bridge and into the water, although it can be heard barking at night. It is considered a death omen, and reports claim that anybody who has seen it died within a year. The last sighting was around a hundred years ago.

A Barghest (or Barguest) is said to roam the Snickelways and side roads of York, preying on passersby, and has also been seen near Clifford's Tower. To see the monstrous dog is said to be a warning of impending doom.

A man who lived in a village near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire would go each morning and night to milk his cows in a distant field. One night on his way there he encountered a sinister black dog, and every night thereafter until he brought a friend along with him. When the dog appeared again he attacked it using the yoke of his milk pails as a weapon, but when he did so the dog vanished and the man fell senseless to the ground. He was carried home alive but remained speechless and paralytic for the rest of his life.

Near the town of Lyme Regis in Dorset stood a farmhouse that was haunted by a black dog. This dog never caused any harm, but one night the master of the house in a drunken rage tried to attack it with an iron poker. The dog fled to the attic where it leaped out through the ceiling, and when the master struck the spot where the dog vanished he discovered a hidden cache of gold and silver. The dog was never again seen indoors, but to this day it is said to still to haunt a lane which leads to the house called Haye Lane (or Dog Lane). Dogs who stray in this area late at night have often mysteriously disappeared.

The Black Dog of Newgate has been said to haunt the Newgate Prison for over 400 years, appearing before executions. According to legend, in 1596 a scholar was sent to the prison for witchcraft, but was killed and eaten by starving prisoners before he was given a trial. The dog was said to appear soon after, and although the terrified men killed their guards and escaped, the beast is said to have hunted them down and killed them wherever they fled.

In the village of Northorpe in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire the churchyard was said to be haunted by a "Bargest". Some black dogs are said to be human beings with the power of shapeshifting. In another nearby village there lived an old man who was reputed to be a wizard. It was claimed that he would transform into a black dog and attack his neighbours' cattle.

In Norfolk, Suffolk and the northern parts of Essex, a black dog known as Black Shuck (also Old Shuck or Shock) is regarded as malevolent, with stories ranging from terrifying people (or killing them outright) to being a portent of death to themselves or a person close to the victim. There are tales that in 1577 it attacked the church in the market town of Bungay, killing two people and appearing on the same day at the church in the nearby village of Blythburgh, taking the lives of another three and leaving claw marks which remain today.

[TYPES OF BLACK DOGS]

Church Grim | The Church Grim guards a local Christian church and its attached churchyard from those who would profane them including thieves, vandals, witches, and warlocks. It was custom to bury a dog alive under the church as a sacrifice to the grim. Sometimes the grim will toll the bells at midnight before a death occurs. At funerals the presiding clergyman may see the dog looking out from the churchtower and determine from its "aspect" whether the soul of the departed was bound for Heaven or Hell.

Gabriel Hounds | Gabriel Hounds are dogs with human heads that fly high through the air, and are often heard but seldom seen. They sometimes hover over a house, and this is taken as a sign that death or misfortune will befall those who dwell within. They are also known as Gabriel Ratchets (ratchet being a hound that hunts by scent), and "sky yelpers", and like Yeth Hounds they are sometimes said to be the souls of unbaptised children.

Guardian Black Dogs | Guardian Black Dogs refer to those relatively rare black dogs that are neither omens of death nor causes of it. Instead they guide lost travellers and protect them from danger. Stories of this type became more widespread starting around the early 1900s. In different versions of one popular tale a man was journeying along a lonely forest road at night when a large black dog appeared at his side and remained there until the man left the forest. On his return journey through the wood the dog reappeared and did the same as before. Years later two convicted prisoners told the chaplain that they would have robbed and murdered the wayfarer in the forest that night but were intimidated by the presence of the black dog.

Gurt Dog | The Gurt Dog ("Great Dog") of Somerset is an example of a benevolent dog. It is said that mothers would allow their children to play unsupervised on the Quantock Hills because they believed the Gurt Dog would protect them. It would also accompany lone travellers in the area, acting as a protector and guide

Gytrash | The Gytrash (or Guytrash) is a black dog and death omen of Northern England that haunts solitary ways and also takes the form of a horse, mule and cow.

Hairy Jack | Author Ethel Rudkin claimed to have seen a Hairy Jack while researching for her folktales book. She formed the impression that black dogs in Lincolnshire were mainly of a gentle nature, and looked upon as a spiritual protector.

Padfoot | Padfoot, like many other types, were known to be a death omen. It can become invisible and visible at will. It is known to follow people with a light padding sound of its paws, then appearing again in front of them or at their side. It can utter a roar unlike the voice of any known animal, and sometimes the trailing of a chain can be heard along with the pad of its feet.

Muckle Black Dog | This black dog is found at the Witches' Sabbath I'm Scotland and is said to be the devil himself.