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Hellhounds Hunt at Night: The Legend of Black Shuck

  • etickle1
  • Mar 2, 2021
  • 3 min read

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia
Black Shuck

This legend in particular was one that I heard when I was quite young. Everybody knows of Bigfoot, Mothman, the Jersey Devil, etc.; but this creature in particular is one that is not well known internationally. To be perfectly honest, I’m surprised I remembered it. It was a brief documentary that had come on a children's network (though the name of the channel and the show has escaped my memory). This show talked about the more well known creatures and legends of the world in very simplified terms because… well. The show was for children. While the exact details of the show have been locked up in my subconscious somewhere, the story of this demon dog has stuck in my mind for more than a decade.


The dog, man’s best friend. It’s a wonder how such a well-loved creature could turn so dark. Much like its feline equivalent, black dogs are seen as bad luck. In English and Irish folklore, black dogs are seen as bad omens or even reincarnations of the devil himself. This is in part, because of the legend of Black Shuck. This creature is described as having long black fur and piercing red eyes.


The first known writings and tellings of this mysterious black dog date back to the 1100’s. An event known as “The Wild Hunt” took place. Huntsman with horrific features, riding horses as black as night and vicious hunting dogs, rode through the stormiest part of the year. They also served as a warning for people to stay indoors, less they be killed by the huntsmen. The stories that mention these demon dogs came more from Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridge areas of England. Though this demon dog was not always associated with these huntsmen.



Image Courtesy of Wikipedia
Newspaper from 1577 Describing Attack

A few centuries later, in 1577, a horrifying account was written about such a creature attacking a church in modern-day Suffolk. A prayer session turned deadly as two lives were taken by this hellhound. The retellings of the event claim that the dog had passed by two people in prayer (the genders and ages vary depending on where you read), and took their necks in its jaws and snapped them in half with a single blow. Some also believe that the appearance of this demon dog is what caused the steeple of the church to catch fire in the storm. This burned steeple is actually still viewable in the church today (pictured below).



Burned Steeple Door


Not many sightings came after that. There were a handful of children who claimed to have seen such a creature in the 1900’s, but nothing worth noting. There are a few scientific reasonings behind this supposed creature as well. Some claim that it was larger breeds of dogs that inspired such stories. Not only that but some even think the dog wasn’t black at all. Shrouded in the darkness of night, the dog was actually white. A dog with albinism, which is a genetic mutation that causes a lack of pigmentation. Animals with this particular mutation tend to have red eyes. Due to the lack of pigmentation, this makes it easier for blood veins to be seen. Or perhaps that it was a black dog, but the light reflecting off of the retina appearing red. Have you ever wondered why when taking a picture of your dog with a flash, the eyes appear red? This is actually due to a reflective layer behind the retina. The light is reflecting off of this and appears red because this is actually a view of the very back of your furry friends eyes. This phenomena also happens with humans, but is more noticeable in dogs.


Image Courtesy of Google
Red Eye Flash
Image Courtesy of Pintrest
Chihuahua with Albinism
















What do you think? Could the demon dog be real? Or was it just a trick of the light?



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