in various parts of the country.
Unexplained Mysteries (theunexplainedmysteries.com/phantom-dogs.html) discovered different names for the black dogs that bring death and disaster in different counties. Among the fearful names are Bogey Beast, Lancashire; Black Shuck, East Anglia; Cu Sith, Highlands (dark green in color, rather than black); Gurt Dog, Somerset; Hairy Jack, Lincolnshire; Mauthe Dog, Scotland; and Padfoot, Yorkshire.
It would seem after some study of the Hell Hound that its most common name is the Black Shuck, a truly massive dog that bodes no one any good. The Vikings brought the legends of the giant black dog to Anglia. As if the Vikings suddenly appearing on the beach one morning with their savage war cries that firmly announced their intent to raid one’s village were not terrible enough, the sea wolves left warnings of the Black Shuck behind them to keep the villagers in a state of constant fear. This gigantic dog had glowing red or green eyes, and anyone who saw it was doomed to bad luck or death. “Shuck” likely comes from the Old Norse word “scucca,” a hairy demon.
It is my own opinion that the Black Shuck is another manifestation of Fenrir, the large and terrible wolf, who is the eldest child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. Fenrir is so strong and so threatening to the other Norse gods that they bound him with chains, which he easily broke. Finally, mountain elves created a magic chain which has managed to keep Fenrir imprisoned. All who know of Fenrir fear him, for on the day of Ragnarok, when the final destiny of the Norse gods will be decided, Fenrir will shatter the magic chain and join the giants in their battle against the gods. The Black Shuck, then, inspired the Vikings to become as wolves when they attacked others and to leave behind warnings to all people that the image of Fenrir is to be feared.
Black dogs go by many names, including Bogey Beast, Black Shuck, and Hairy Jack (iStock).
On January 14, 1971, a large, black dog received the blame when six hogs and three dogs were found slain, mutilated, and partially eaten at two farms a short distance east of Waterloo, Iowa.
The tracks found at the scene of the slaughter puzzled authorities. Some experts insisted that the prints were those of a large mountain lion that had somehow found its way to Iowa.
Later three lawmen reported that they had sighted and trailed a large black dog that they believed had been responsible for killing the nine farm animals, but the savage animal had easily escaped the hunt. “He was an extraordinarily big dog, and pretty fast, too,” said Walt Berryhill, a La Porte City police dispatcher. “We saw him jump over fences.”
Then, just as suddenly as they had begun, the attacks of the great black dog ceased. After a month had gone by, the black large dog with the voracious appetite had ceased to sample any more plump Iowa livestock. Could the monster have found its way back into the dimension from whence it had come?
Farmers in the Midwest often encounter unidentifiable footprints left by unknown animals that have mauled their livestock—then disappeared without a trace. The fact that so many farmers find their dogs slain with necks and backs broken may be an example of the creatures’ powerful ability to defend itself, rather than a quest for fresh meat.
According to Leslie Danielle Ferrymen, an unidentified animal found dead in Galveston Island on September 1, 2008, is believed to be one of the Campeche Beasts, a pack of large black dogs that are said to date back to the time of Jean Lafitte (c. 1776–c. 1826), the notorious pirate. Residents of the small island have been hearing “chilling animal cries” since 1891, with sightings of a monstrous animal with glowing red eyes that apparently mated with a Doberman and a Rottweiler before it died.
Leslie Danielle Ferrymen is a paranormal investigator from Franklin, Tennessee, who heads up The Franklin Ghost and Paranormal Investigation Team. Ms. Ferryman is active in pursuing real urban legends and finding out what truth lies hidden in the stories told. Her 15-member group has investigated many haunted locations all over the United States since its founding in 2006. Her account below originally appeared in Haunted America Tours and is reprinted with the permission of Leslie Danielle Ferrymen.
A pack of twelve dogs from hell is said to have been born in the eye of a hurricane during Pirate King Jean Lafitte’s time on the Island. The Voodoo Queen who performed the ritual that spawned the dogs is said to have died as the last evil pup was born, thus infusing her eternal black powers into the pack. The pups were cross bred from a large Spanish or European black wolf and an evil bitch dog that Lafitte owned.
Some tell the story that the twelve black dogs were bred for hunting down unsuspecting thieves, travelers, and interlopers. Other tales tell that the evil Pirate King claimed the hounds have brought home to him each night multiple heads, hands, and human penises. These bloody trophies came from the people who tried to steal his treasure, his belongings, or his woman.
Jean Lafitte was a privateer in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. (He often spelled his [name] Laffite.) Lafitte is believed to have been born either in France or the French colony of Saint-Domingue. By 1805 he operated a warehouse in New Orleans to help disperse the goods smuggled by his brother Pierre Lafitte. After the United States government passed the Embargo Act of 1807, the Lafittes moved their operations to an island in Barataria Bay. By 1810, their new port was very successful.
The Pirate King is said by some to have been involved with the powerful forces of black magic and Voodoo-Hoodoo practices. After being run out of New Orleans around 1817, Lafitte relocated to the island of Galveston, Texas, establishing a “kingdom” he named “Campeche.” In Galveston, Lafitte either purchased or set his claim to a lavishly furnished mansion used by French pirate Louis-Michel Aury, which he named “Maison Rouge.” The building’s upper level was converted into a fortress where a cannon commanding Galveston harbor was placed.
Around 1820, Lafitte reportedly married Madeline Regaud, possibly the widow or daughter of a French colonist who had died during an ill-fated expedition to Galveston. In 1821, the schooner USS Enterprise was sent to Galveston to remove Lafitte from the Gulf after the captain of one of the pirates attacked an American merchant ship. Lafitte agreed to leave the island without a fight, and in 1821 or 1822 departed on his flagship, the Pride, burning his fortress and settlements and reportedly taking immense amounts of treasure with him. All that remains of Maison Rouge is the foundation, located at 1417 Avenue A near the Galveston wharf.
While Lafitte and his brother Pierre were engaged in running the Galveston operation, Lafitte demanded that a voodoo queen give him an army of dogs to guard his Island retreat. He reportedly maintained several stashes of plundered gold and jewelry in the vast system of marshes, swamps, and bayous located around Barrataria Bay. Other rumors suggest that Lafitte’s treasure sank with his ship, the Pride, either near Galveston or in the Gulf of Mexico during an 1826 hurricane. It is most commonly said
