The Ghost Hound

In spite of a general folkloric association between ghosts and cemeteries, it is not very common for ghost sightings to originate from inside cemeteries. Happily, very few people actually die within cemeteries, and it seems to be more common or ghosts to cling to the places or circumstances of their death rather than linger alongside their mortal remains.

There are of course some exceptions, and a significant one is the ghostly black dog, sometimes known as the ‘Grim’. Strangely enough, stories of these creatures appearing in and guarding cemeteries and graveyards stretch from the UK to as far afield as the USA, where there is a particular link with slave cemeteries and black dogs in the South. Living visitors that remain in these cemeteries after sundown are chased away by the resident angry black ghost dog. Why a phantom dog should appear inside a human burial ground is uncertain. Evidently these hounds act as a sort of spiritual guardian, protecting the dead from disturbance by the living.

The American ghost hounds share some characteristics with the barghest, in that some of them are not only guardians of the dead but also portents of doom and even bringers of death in their own right. In some cemeteries, local folklore has it that any visitors should vacate the burial grounds before nightfall. If visitors are foolish to remain for as long as it takes the ghostly hound to circle the perimeter a mystical three times, they are sure to die before sunup.

For an interesting Australian variation of this tale, see ‘Modern Black Dogs’ below.

There is another branch of tales about ghostly dogs that in life were not dogs at all, but humans. These stories, many of them originating from Devon, Cornwall and the southwest of England, tell of people who in life were so nasty that in death their souls are forced to remain earthbound in the guise of phantom hounds.

The well-known story of the evil Lady Howard, which originates from Dartmoor, is an excellent example of this legend. Lady Howard was wicked in life, the story goes, and in death her tormented soul appears in the form of a large black dog. Every night this dog must run beside a coach made of bones (driven by the obligatory headless coachman) to Okehampton Castle, where she plucks one single blade of grass in her mouth and bears it back to her old home at Tavistock. According to legend, when every blade of grass has been removed from the castle grounds this way, her spirit will finally find peace. Unsurprisingly, poor Lady Howard has not yet managed to complete this task.

Black Dogs are not the only type of animal that evil souls assume the shape of. There are similar stories involving pigs and horses, among others. But the concept of the black dog as the embodiment of a dead sinner certainly adds an extra chill to the thought of walking the moors at night…

Along with the moors, cemeteries and graveyards, a particular favourite hunting ground of the ghostly black dog is the road. Haunted roads and paths are surprisingly common throughout the world, as evidenced by the wide distribution of the famous phantom hitchhiker urban legend. In addition to hitchhikers, roads seem to attract an astonishing number of spooks, devils, phantom vehicles, fairies, elementals and other denizens of the supernatural world. Given this, it is hardly surprising that black dogs so often prefer roads and pathways as their haunts.

Lonely tracks across dangerous moors, ancient footpaths, narrow alleyways and isolated crossroads seem to be the favourite haunts for ghost dogs. There are too many stories to count of encounters with ghostly dogs that appear to lonely travelers on the road. Why this should be so is uncertain: perhaps the dogs prey only on unwary travelers who are foolish enough to walk the paths alone at night.

Some have speculated that the monotony of travel brings on the correct half-relaxed state of mind to allow people to see the supernatural. There is another possibility: that ghostly dogs, as traditional guardians of the dead, lurk around places that have long been routes for mourning processions bearing a coffin between church and cemetery. Perhaps it is a strange form of comfort to mourners, knowing that the final journey taken by their loved one is guarded by such a fearsome but reliable beast.

Modern Black Dogs

The tale of the black dog is widely known and documented in folkloric texts. Many people who live in areas that are said to be haunted by these supernatural beasts are familiar with the local stories: particularly older people who are still in touch with traditional storytelling.

But far from being a dusty legend of the past, in some areas the legend of the black dog is alive and well. On a recent trip to the UK, I spoke with people who recall as children huddling in their beds at night in terror, hearing the phantom hoofbeats and high-pitched yelping of the Hunt passing overhead on the wings of a storm. Although most people recognize these noises as wind, hail and migratory geese, the stories are rarely told without raising a shiver.

It is not uncommon for people even now to claim sightings of black dogs. In some cases, it is easy to see where the legends come from. A number of years ago I was driving through Dartmoor during a very thick fog. It was extremely spooky, and when a big black animal shape suddenly lunged out of the fog at the car, I had a terrible fright. When my heart started to beat again I realized that I was not encountering a Shuck, as I had immediately thought, but was looking into the soft brown eyes of a shaggy black pony. The poor creature had been peacefully grazing behind its fence on the side of the road, until my car lights startled it.

Another possible logical explanation for stories of yelping hell-hounds is that occasionally fox-hunting dogs will become separated from the pack. These dogs can chase various erroneous scents for hours before finding their way home. The sound of their yelping floating across fields and moors at twilight might add some colour to local legends of the Hunt. In days past, dogs probably chased many a red deer. The occasional glimpse of a stag’s antlers, rearing over a hill in the twilight accompanied by the sounds of hunting dogs, may have frightened people and contributed greatly towards stories of the horned Herne and his pack of hellhounds.

Whether black dog sightings are genuine supernatural encounters; overreactions to migratory geese, cows or horses looming out of the fog; or even surprise meetings with real flesh-and-blood hunting or farm dogs in unexpected places, there is still evidence of the fact that the legends live on.

On notable story from Australia perhaps provides evidence of the persistence of the black dog legend beyond its native Europe. In Picton, NSW, there is a wonderful historical graveyard attached to the beautiful church of St Mark. Within the churchyard, the ghostly form of an enormous dog has been seen – even on one occasion chasing people out of the graveyard.

Local legend has it that a priest once buried his pet St Bernard in the graveyard, and perhaps it is the ghost of this animal that haunts the graves. However, some of the older gravestones also reveal family names that originated from Cornwall. Could there be some folkloric connection between the well-known black dog legends of Cornwall and Devon, and this mysterious ghost from rural Australia?

Whatever the truth behind the stories, there is no denying that the legend of the black dog has staying power in the hearts and minds of humans. There are certain places in the world –misty expanses of moorland, deserted rural roads, dark hedge-lined lanes, close medieval alleyways – where it is all too easy to hear the pad of huge paws, feel hot breath from behind, see the misty form of the massive beast in the shadows and hear it howling in the darkness overhead.

As long as there is fear of the unknown, the black dog stalks.