Characterised
by their sable-hued pelage, blazing red eyes, spectral nature, and their
traditional association with disaster and death, the zooform phenomena known as Black Dogs have been
extensively documented. Equally mysterious, but far less familiar, are their
pallid counterparts, the White Dogs and fairy hounds. Nevertheless, these
canine phantoms are by no means rare.
One of
Great Britain's most famous White Dogs is Gally-trot, reported in the North
Country and Suffolk, which resembles a bullock-sized dog with a white shaggy
coat. Gally-trot earns its name from its tendency to chase after anyone who
runs away from it, and from its fearsome demeanour ('Gally' translates as 'to
frighten'). What may be the same apparition has also been recorded specifically
from a marshy pool near Burgh, in Suffolk, called Bath Slough.
During the
years leading up to World War II, a White Dog was often seen racing across the
road linking the Norfolk villages of Great and Little Snoring, and on one
occasion an unsuspecting motorist drove directly through it! Equally intangible
is the white hound of Cator Common, Dartmoor, which, in one particularly
memorable modern-day instance, abruptly disappeared in full view of a lady who
had stretched out her hand to stroke it.
Even more
extraordinary, as brought to my notice by cryptozoologist Jan Williams, is the White
Dog reported from Leek Brook in Staffordshire. Just like its Black Dog
equivalent, East Anglia's Old Shuck, this particular White Dog has no head!
Another Black Dog trait mirrored by certain White Dogs is their association
with chains - as demonstrated by the white hound of Bunbury, Cheshire, which is
normally observed dragging a length of chain behind it.
A few Black
Dogs have actually materialised inside churches, and there is at least one White
Dog on file with a similar claim to fame. Resembling a ghostly white hound,
this preternatural beast reputedly appears inside the church at Pluckley, Kent
- not too surprising a locality, perhaps, as Pluckley is popularly deemed 'the
most haunted village in England'.
Mystery
beast investigator Neil Arnold has publicised a fascinating but hitherto
little-known, present-day sighting of a White Dog. One evening during the early
1950s, a soldier based at an army camp inside Richmond Park was returning to
the camp after visiting London when he noticed that the park's deer seemed
unusually disturbed. Suddenly, several deer raced by him in a state of great
panic, and when he looked behind them he was amazed to see a huge, pure-white
hound, of hideous appearance with immense teeth, chasing after them. However,
it was no normal, corporeal dog. Instead of running across the ground, this
uncanny entity was racing through the air, at a height of about 1 ft above the ground!
Although
most reports of White Dogs emanate from Great Britain, there are varied
traditions elsewhere too. For instance: Lamper, the Hebridean death dog, is
white, and runs round in circles to warn of an impending death. Werewolf lore
has it that the loup-garou (French werewolf) can assume the guise of a White
Dog. And in Romania, gypsies claim that many cemeteries here are occupied by
white spirit wolves, which guard the living by discovering and destroying any
vampires that may arise within these graveyards.
In his
book Animal Ghosts (1913), veteran
ghost investigator Elliott O'Donnell recalled how an acquaintance called
Rappaport had encountered a pack of spectral hounds one winter's night on the
slope of Russia's Ural Mountains. Headed towards a lake, Rappaport had been
riding aboard a horse-drawn coach when a fierce pack of wolves had begun
pursuing it. Despite his success in shooting some of them, however, Rappaport
and the coach driver, Ivan, feared that they would soon be overwhelmed by the
savage, snarling horde. Then, without any warning, the air was filled with a
loud baying sound. Racing towards their coach was another canine pack. However,
this one was composed not of wolves but of enormous white hounds. At the sight
of these weird beasts, the wolves turned tail and fled:
"On came the hounds - more beautiful dogs I had
never seen; as they swept by, more than one brushed against my knees, though I
could feel nothing save intense cold. When they were about twenty yards ahead
of us, they slowed down, and maintained that distance in front of us till we
arrived on the shores of the lake. There they halted, and throwing back their
heads, bayed as if in farewell, and suddenly vanished. We knew then that they
were no earthly hounds, but spirit ones, sent by a merciful Providence to save
us from a cruel death."
Lancashire's
gabriel hounds are phantom dogs that race through the air, rather like the
Richmond Park beast, and are sometimes said to be luminous white in colour, but
are readily distinguished from 'normal' canine spectres (white or otherwise) by
having human heads.
Another
pack of ghostly White Dogs has been reported near Wellington in Somerset, whose
open-mouthed members allegedly emit flame from between their jaws as they race
along. This case has been investigated by renowned British folklorist Ruth L.
Tongue, who has linked it to the longstanding British tradition of fairy
hounds.
Also known
as hounds of the hill, fairy hounds are said to be the hunting dogs of the
Little People, who dwell in hollow hills. And according to Welsh mythology, a
pack of these ethereal creatures, known as the Cwn Annwn, was also owned by Arawn, King of Annwn - the Celtic
Otherworld. Resembling large white hounds with long slim legs, they are
characterised by their ruby-red ears and eyes.
Researching
Somerset fairy hounds, Ruth Tongue noted a modern sighting near Priddy. The
eyewitness was a man who had seen two huge dogs, taller than Irish wolfhounds
but with a rough white coat and red ears, walking by him, on the other side of
the road, making no noise. According to local lore, he had been very lucky,
because if they had walked by him on the same side of the road, or had uttered
any sound, he would have surely died.
In her
book Forgotten Folk-Tales of the English
Counties (1970), Tongue included a story recalled in 1917 by a Mrs Foden of
Long Mynd, and also known in Cheshire, with a similar variant in Irish folklore. It concerns a labourer's young assistant
who was going home from work late one night when he saw a huge dog, larger than
a calf, with a rough white coat and red ears, lying in some bushes. Thinking at
first that it was a foot-sore foxhound, he collected some soothing dock leaves
to wrap around its feet. After collecting them and calling the dog to him,
however, he realised that it was "...one of the fairy hounds from the hill
who bring death or ill-luck".
Although
badly frightened, the boy boldly bandaged the animal's paws, then wished it
good night before continuing his journey home. Nothing untoward happened to
him, but one dark evening in November he was going back home along that same
road when a huge demonic goat-like beast confronted him, with glowing green
eyes. Transfixed with fear, the boy was certain that he would be killed - when
suddenly a huge White Dog with red ears appeared from nowhere and ferociously
attacked the goat-beast, enabling the boy to escape. Click here for my own detailed retelling of this
folktale in an earlier ShukerNature post.
Of course,
such tales as this could be dismissed as nothing more than charming but wholly
fictitious folklore...except for the fact that such animals are still being
reported today. Each year at sunrise on Midsummer Day, a ghostly priest
reputedly enters West Kennet Long Barrow, a Neolithic tomb overlooking Silbury
Hill in Wiltshire, and is followed by a spectral White Dog with red ears. A
similar beast with fiery eyes is said to appear each evening at midnight in a
Neolithic burial chamber called the Devil's Den, at Fyfield, also in Wiltshire.
Old
traditions die hard, and those featuring White Dogs and fairy hounds are no
exception.
Do you have any idea how to track one? Or their movement patterns at all? I'm not sure what I saw but it was nearly a year ago in spring time i do believe. It seems to me to be a fairy hound but it was at a distance in a field but I saw it 3 times but each time it was just as it was running behind a hill or behind some trees. It appeared to be close to the size of a horse but definitely didn't run like one which was what made me think it was something else and then i realized it ran like a dog and looked like a huge dog
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interesting account, but in view of their dread reputation as harbingers of doom I wouldn't recommend tracking or even going near such an entity, if that is indeed what it is. Some things are best kept at a distance.
DeleteI have far too much interest in things unknown to just leave it at that. I rarely ever see things like this so I simply must pursue it
DeleteLuke, as scary as it is. But here in Philippines, we had the hounds sighting. Walking along a car crash, all passengers are dead, it seems to be floating and there are footage of it.
DeleteI saw one of these in Porthtowan, Cornwall about 3 months agoyesterdat I randomly read a ghosts of Cornwall book and the dog was mentioned as it killed a dragon in folklore!
DeleteEveryone thought I was going msd
And know I'm really curious into the research of it
I share the same sentinment luke, in my country here in Philippones. We had a sighting of this hounds, walking along the road near a car crash in tagaytay, all passengers are dead. These guys are caught on cam
ReplyDeleteBe very careful, there are other beings that are very real and far more deadly. What you saw could be something like a dogman...by the sounds of its height. Do some research, and be wise. Sometimes, its best to leave it be.
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm of indigenous decent. So is my niece. One night in nth qld of Australia, my neice & her bf were assaulted at a party they attended.. Her bf was assaulted badly and they fled into the bushes forest in fear they may get followed and assaulted again. Anyway she told me. Two large white dogs appeared with wings? And followed them home.. I've been researching mythology.. Bible ..these were protector dogs..curious whether there are any stories ..myths of dogs with wings.. ?
ReplyDeleteHi Bonnie, thanks for your fascinating account - a pair of winged White Dogs is something new to me, definitely. Having said that, there are a few winged dogs in various mythology. The Amirani, an epic poem in the culture of Georgia in the Caucasus region includes mention of a dog with wings, and Persian mythology has the senmurv. Although White Dogs and fairy hounds are most often associated with doom, they will indeed sometimes act as protectors - elsewhere on ShukerNature, I retell a little-known English folktale in which this occurs. You can read it here: http://karlshuker.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/fairy-hound-and-pooka-crypto-folktale.html All the best, Karl
DeleteNiece had two walk her home.. They had wings tho..
ReplyDeleteSee also here for winged dogs in traditional Armenian lore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aralez_%28mythology%29
DeleteI have never seen a fairyhound walking around, but I have woken to one on my chest staring at me. Blood red eyes, snout was nearly 10 inches long with k9 teeth about 3 inches long. It was not big though as its front paws were on my shoulders and its back on my thighs (im 6 foot tall). It scared the crap out of me, but just stared into my eyes. It was trying to warn me about something, but I never figured out what it was.
ReplyDeleteJust yesterday I went to walk my dog. As soon as I left my block my dog started freaking out and whimpering and trying to pull us both into the block. I looked up and I saw this massive, muscular dog with red eyes looking straight at me from a few metres away. It started to growl and then disappeared.
ReplyDeleteI was lying in bed tonight with my husband, and I heard a whistle in the wind outside. It is winter here and tonight it is raining. I decided to check the doors and windows and make sure they are all locked tight. I have heard this whistling before near the side door at night and it didn't feel like it was just the wind.
ReplyDeleteAs I walked up to the door on the side of house in the den, I saw in my peripheral vision a woman sitting in the place I normally sit. I worship Hekate and had recently received a small bronze statue of her. The statue was sitting on a table in front of where the woman sat.
I also saw a large white dog sitting on the floor near her. This dog was three times as big as any dog I've ever seen and pure white with long hair.
As soon as I turned to look at them directly, they vanished. I didn't feel afraid or scared. I felt like they were both there to protect us. I started searching for folklore and myths to understand what I may have seen.
As i type this now, just moments after the occurrence, I can hear the whistling in the wind. I can't help but feel that there is something out there. But I know the woman and the dog will keep me, my husband, and my children safe.
I typed a whole comment and I think it disappeared. 🤔
ReplyDeleteI've seen 2 white hound dog ghosts ..I was driving along in my car circa 1988 in Hampshire, UK. They ran across in front of me & disappeared into thin air. Magical ✨
ReplyDeleteI saw one in my driveway. I drove up into my driveway late at night. My headlights were on and I clearly saw a strange looking animal. It was a cross between a goat and a dog with white fur and long legs. It stared at me then ran off and disappeared. I live in the city, not a rural area and my house is fenced in.
DeleteWhen my sister was still very young we lived in Cheshire in a semi detached house backing onto some bushes, then a broad field and trees in the distance. My sister, who was less than five, started talking about old doggie Whimpusha (she never spelled it so I'm going off memory of her pronunciation). She said he lived in the bushes at the back. Whatever it was, it was real to her and she was really fond of it. Once we caught her crouched in conversation with it. Odd thing was, none of the rest of us saw it, not even a possible glimpse through the bushes. Querying the neighbours came to the same result. My Dad, who could never leave anything alone, began to whack the bushes with a stout stick, only stopping when my Mum advised him it was distressing my sister. "Don't! You'll make old doggy Whimpusha leave"! My Dad than asked her to draw it, examined the results of her childish scrawling, and declared it was some kind of ferret. We moved out not long after and as we all grew, I asked my sister what old doggy Whimpusha was. She thought about it and said, "He was a dog, very small and white and used to murmur at me"! It was probably a ferret like animal. Still, it was a strange do!
ReplyDelete