A huge black dog with eyes that glow yellow or red, seeing this dog signals a death within the year. Also described as a dog the size of a horse with one burning eye in the center of its forehead.

The dog makes no sound, it does not chase and rarely attacks, it just appears silently and then disappears, after which the viewer may fall mentally or physically ill.

Simply viewing the dog is always an omen of great change, usually a death omen but not necessarily for the viewer. Attempting to touch or interact with the dog seems to increase the chances of injury or death for the viewer, as does having the ability to hear it howl.

If the dog appears to a group of people, some members of the group may be unable to see it and only those close to death will hear a sound, something like the howling wind or a crying baby.

At times the dog may appear as a guide for those who are lost and far from home, he may also act as guardian of the dead known as a Church Grim.

They mostly come out at night, mostly on deserted roads, crossroads, bridges and entrances. Black hounds that are also Church Grims are especially seen in cemeteries that are adjacent to churches and in church towers.

This creature may appear to be the size of a normal dog, may be shaggy, may have a braided tail, could appear wet as if it just came from the sea, and may be headless, but is always black or greenish black, always has at least one glowing eye (even when it appears to have no head), and is always completely silent - except for those whose time has come.

Black dogs are also associated with storms, and UFO sightings.

Also known as Shuck, Old Shuck, Black Shuck, Black Hound, Bungay Dog, Barguest, Cu Sith, and Black Angus.

See Also: Creatures by Type » Aliens

References

Clark, Jerome, & Coleman, Loren. Creatures of the Outer Edge. New York, NY: Warner, 1978.

Conway, DJ. Magickal Mystical Creatures. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1996.

Gutch, Eliza. County Folk-lore. London: Nutt, 1901.

Rose, Carol. Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins. New York: Norton, 1998.

Rye, Walter (ed.). The Norfolk Antiquarian Miscellany. Norwich: Samuel Miller and Company, 1877.