Black Dogs Folklore
I have a black dog at the moment and had a previous black dog… but they are far different than the myths of black dogs in main stream media.
From old English tales there are numerous folklores surrounding black dogs. It has woven its way into the modern zeitgeist as hounds of hell, shadow dogs or purveyors of death, to the devil himself. They are equated with evil in horror movies and novels. The 1902 “Hound of Baskerville” by Conan Doyle feeds on the folktales of evil black hounds that plague England. Though, the black dog in literature as a evil creature dates back further to Goethe’s time in “Faust” where the devil appears as a black dog and follows Faust home. In more recent times, we see a black dog in the Omen movies as the caretaker for Damien, the evil child. Neil Gaiman’s story “Black Dog” deals with the English myths of Black Shuck whose appearance is a harbinger of death. Recent animated series Castlevania delves into the tenant of Dracula turning into a black dog (from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula), by using black dogs as part of his night creatures, the army that destroys the village. There is also the legend by American truckers that if you see a black dog with glowing eyes, there is serious crash impending and you need to pull over immediately. The podcast Lore by Aaron Mahnke tackles the black dog in his 136th episode “The Third Time” discussing folklore throughout history as only he can. There are also references in Supernatural, Harry Potter,
As much as I love my black dog, if he turns into a large hound with glowing eyes, I will run the other way.
If you want a deep dive into the Lore of black dogs, listen to :