Old Shuck, The Hell Hound

The Demon Hound

Many of our generation have read the Harry Potter series and are familiar with such characters as Sirius Black. Sirius turns into a large shaggy black dog. This is part of a fairly common myth in Britain, the only thing that needs to be added is eyes that are on fire or glow. With that you have Old Shuck, the ghost dog. The description is used many times over the years, take for example The Hound of Baskerville. Other names it goes by include; Grim, Padfoot (used in Harry Potter), Skeff, Shriker and Wish Hound.

                There are several different legends surrounding this ghostly canine or rather outcomes since it has been sighted many times throughout the ages. This massive dog ranges in size from that of just a large dog to the size of a small horse. With alternatively red or green glowing saucer eyes beast is sometimes considered a hell hound. Sometimes he doesn’t even appear so you only know he is there by his hot breath. He haunts many different places ranging from dense forests and crossroads, to churches and graveyards. The area in particular within Britain that he is said to exist in is region known as East Anglia. While some few regard this terrifying creature as something that protects others view it as a stark omen of your doom.

                Originally Shuck was regarded as an omen of death. If you heard the beat howl you were advised to cover your eyes and hide. If you actually saw it then you or someone dear to you would die by the end of the year. One early sighting said that he ran the length of a church yard at incredible speed and in passing wrung the necks of two kneeling parishioners before fading again into nothing. While this encounter was truly violent some people regard Shuck as a guardian for travelers who would warn away wrong does.

                The oldest written description of old shuck is from 1805 but other verbal tales could point back even further than this, as far back as the late 1500s potentially. While many regard this demon dog with horror it’s rare that he actually attacks the person who sees him and then usually it’s in response to the viewer doing something. The most common action for Shuck to take is to do nothing but walk along and be seen, though on some occasions he does interact positively with the viewer. The cases that include Shuck interacting with the viewer are mostly from the 1800’s cases that are newer even current have him behaving extremely passively.

                Whether Shuck good or evil is debatable. I think it would be more appropriate to say that he simply is and it depends from situation to situation how he will behave. If he is a marker of death it may be a warning rather than a sentence. Something to tell you to get your affairs in order. I personally love the idea of a giant flame eyed dog guarding over me while I travel. Whatever Shucks  actions and motives may be this is one myth that has persisted for a long time and will probably continue for many years to come.

Source: http://www.hiddenea.com/shuckland/introduction.htm