British Isles: Black Dogs

A black dog is a name given in England to ghosts that appear as large black dogs.

British folk tales describe these apparitions as larger than normal dogs that have glowing eyes and are harbingers of doom.

These ghosts are seen at night and are often associated with the Devil or Hellhounds. It is often mentioned if one witnesses this phenomenon they or a close relative will die within the year.

Black dog appearances are often related to electrical storms, crossroads or water.

Some trace the origin of these tales back to Celtic and Germanic elements in British culture.

As mentioned above black dogs are associated with death. Most stories mention these creatures are malevolent in nature.

Almost every county in England has legends that are told about black dogs. Because there are so many only one is shared here.

Black Shuck

East Anglia—Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex—call their black dog, Black Shuck, Old Shuck, or simply Shuck.

Like most black dogs Shuck is malevolent in nature, this ghost is said to terrify its victims. This huge dog is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia.

The name Shuck is from an old English word that means demon.

This ghost is a harbinger of death—but in some cases it can also be more companionable.

There are many accounts of Shuck appearing in the region. These dogs are huge with flaming eyes of the color of red or green. In some tales it is stated Shuck actually has only one eye in the center of its head.

Some tales state Shuck is as large as a calf or even a horse. Others state that this dog is headless or appears shrouded in a misty cloud.

In 1901, W. A. Dutt wrote an account of one such creature.

He is in the form of a dog, and prowls along dark lanes and lonesome field footpaths. When heard its howls makes ones blood run cold. Its footfalls make no sound.

When seen it has one fiery eye. If encountered this creature will bring the worst of luck. It is said you will meet your death shortly afterwards.

The most famous report of a sighting of Black Shuck occurred at churches in Bungay and Blythburgh in Suffolk.

On August 4, 1577, at Blythburgh, Black Shuck burst through the doors of Holy Trinity Church to a clap of thunder.

He ran up the nave, past a large congregation killing a man and a boy and causing the church steeple to collapse through the roof.

As the mysterious dog left scorch marks appeared on the door. These marks can still be seen today.

Scorch marks on door.

On the same day, witnesses at St. Mary’s Church in Bungay saw a black dog running swiftly among people that were kneeling and praying.

In May of 2014, a large dog’s remains were excavated at Leiston Abbey and have been linked to Black Shuck. 

Here is a brief video about Black Shuck.

Ghost Watches Over Family Pets

Recently, a California resident, Craig Scher noticed something odd on one of his home surveillance cameras. Scher was at work one Friday morning as he watched a live stream of a “doggie camera” at his home from his cell phone.

He spotted a bright flash of light that reminded him of his mother, Doreen who died four years ago. Craig mentions this was not just a trick of shadow and light for if this were the case he would have seen it in this room in the past.

The figure that he watched for over 20 minutes reminded him of his mother because it was standing in a pose his mother often took—left hand on her left hip and right arm against right leg.

Scher also noticed the figure had messy hair. He states his mother after waking up in the morning often did not care what her hair looked like. In the ghostly image he saw the figure had hair sticking out everywhere.

Scher’s wife also saw the image and agrees it looks just like her mother-in-law.

Craig feels his mother’s ghost returned because her favorite dog “Angel” had died just two weeks before she appeared. He feels her ghost now watches over the rest of the family pets.

Ghost Ship: Kaz ll

Kaz ll

A modern ghost ship mystery involves the disappearance of the 3-man crew aboard the Kaz ll. This mystery is often compared to the mystery that surrounds the ghost ship the Mary Celeste, which I write about here.

On April 20 in 2007 the sea was a bit choppy in northern Australia near the Great Barrier Reef but this was not something the 3-man experienced crew aboard the catamaran Kaz ll would have found challenging.

The owner of this sailing vessel Derek Batten had 25 years of nautical experience. Two of his neighbors, brothers—Peter and James Tunstead accompanied him. These two men had been sailing since their teen years and were savvy when it came to boat navigation and safety.

When the police boarded the drifting Kaz ll on the 20^th they felt as if they had walked into an episode of The Twilight Zone. The vessel was unmanned.

The ship’s engines were running, there was food on the table and drying dishes at the sink and a laptop was on.

A videotape camera found onboard was used just 90 minutes before the crew inexplicitly vanished into thin air. It shows two of the men just before sunrise on deck, the sea was calm and the men’s behavior was casual.

When the authorities went onboard there was no sign of an impending disaster or any signs of violence—the only thing found amiss was a torn sail--so the police concluded there was no foul play. So why was the Kaz ll abandoned and where were the crew?

Police boat approaching the adrift
Kaz ll

The answers to these two questions remain unsolved. At the time some speculated that a freak wave might have swept the crew overboard or maybe one man fell in by accident and the other two met the same tragic fate while trying to rescue the first.

Some even speculated that drug runners or pirates forced the 3-man crew to abandon the ship. Others stated it was an insurance scam the 3 men cooked up. But all of this is just speculation and the fates of Batten and the Tunstead brothers remain an intriguing mystery.

Rings on Her Fingers

This traditional ghost tale is about a grave robber who digs up a female corpse in order to steal her jewelry.

This modern version, which is often shared with children, is based upon an old English/Irish folktale entitled, The Thievish Sexton.

I share another ghost story in this subset entitled The Golden Arm, here.

A classic popular American version is, The First Snowfall Ghost, which I share here and another English version is The Cripplegate Ghost, which I share here.

All of these versions have the basis premise that a body is dug up in order to rob it of its jewelry. These stories never end well for the “robber” normally pays in some way at the end.

Most versions have the robber having to cut off fingers to steal the jewelry at which point the corpse wakes up—having been mistaken for dead and then buried alive.

In Rings on Her Fingers these traditional elements are included. Alvin Schwartz shares this story in his book, Scary Stories to tell in the Dark. A recording of this story is below.

Here is a shortened version of the story:

Florence Wynsham took ill and fell into a coma. The doctors could do nothing for her and to the grief of her husband she died. He had her buried in a small cemetery at the edge of town—making sure she wore her golden promise and wedding rings

In the middle of the following night a gravedigger entered this cemetery with the express purpose to steal her jewelry.  He carried a lantern and shovel with him.

The dirt around her grave was fresh and soft so it did not take him long to hit the top of her wooden coffin with his shovel. He quickly pried the lid off.

In the moonlight he spotted the sparkling golden rings. He tried to remove them but they were stuck. He decided the only way to retrieve the rings was to cut fingers off the corpse.

He took out his pocketknife and sliced the first finger with it. To his horror the finger started to bleed. He heard a rustling sound and the corpse began to stir.

Suddenly, she sat straight up in the coffin. Terrified, the grave robber dropped his lantern. Now only darkness surrounded him. He felt ten cold fingers encircle his neck.

He screamed and scrambled out of the grave. He blindly ran not caring about the direction as long as it took him away from the coffin.

As he quickened his steps he dared not look back. In the pitch darkness he did not realize he was headed for a steep cliff. He stumbled and fell over this cliff.

He hit the rocks below. The knife he still held pierced his heart as he hit the bottom and he died.

The following is the recording of Alvin Schwartz’ version.