Black Dog

It has many names such as Hellhound, Gytrash, Padfoot and Perro Negro. The black dog is said to appear at night and its appearance has often been regarded as a sign of death. Not all black dog legends tell of a dog that’s is a sign of your soon death. This creature is said to be seen most in England but has been spotted elsewhere in Asia and the America’s.
Black dogs themselves are associated to areas such as crossroads, bridges, graves and gallows. Many think of demonic creatures and try to hit it when seen, others try to pet them. It all depends on the person.

One tale about a black dog, said to be the most famous one out of them all. It goes that in a place called Bungay on Sunday morning of August fourth, 1577. Not long before 9am during a heavy thunderstorm a black dog is said to enter a church running. This dog ran down the aisle, wrung two men kneeling in prayer and bit a man on the back of his neck. The same dog is said to have travelled to another church seven miles away in a place called Blythburgh, killing two men, a  boy and burning a persons hand.

In the US there is a story about a twin set of black dogs roaming the country sides of north-middle Tennessee near the county of Macon. The story goes that two black puppies were adopted by a cruel farmer so evil that the Devil wouldn’t let him in Hell, but gave him the job of hunting down unsuspecting travellers after the stroke of midnight. Some say the death is quick while others say days, months and even years later. Another story within that area is that there is a single black dog with multiple heads, and that it is actually the hound that guards the gates of Hell, Cerberus.

A sighting is said to usually be in a rural area while a person is walking alone, with a black dog appearing alongside and walking with them for some time before fading away.  Most sightings of black dogs are actually thought to be of as non-threatening and nothing to worry about, good news for those who see one. However, seeing a black dog for the first time means joy, second time sorrow, third time death, or so as I hear it.