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Ghosts & Monsters

A Paranormal Field Guide

Hell hound attacking
All About Hell Hounds

All About Hell Hounds

October 20, 2013 Jacob 'Jake' Rice

Hell hounds have a long history in folklore from around the world. In some cases, the spectral animal is thought to be an earthly manifestation of the Devil himself. We have our doubts about that and they do not deserve their horrible reputation. On the TV show – Supernatural – they’re horrible creatures. In real life, not so much.

Let’s find out why.

Hell Hound Origins

Hell hounds have been in folk stories before biblical times. Anglo-Saxons first mentioned them by the phrase, Black Shuck. Originally, they were thought to be the Devil, but that idea changed. Now, hell hounds are defined as spectral beings indicating demonic possession, an upcoming death or a disaster in the near future. They are usually seen as familiars for witches during the Dark Ages.

Other Names for Hell Hounds

They have different names based on the region. In the United States and Canada, hell hound is the common name. In Europe, phantom black dog is used. It’s interesting to note, there isn’t a common term for ‘hell hound’ in Asia that I could find in regular use.

Hell Hound Manifestations

Today, hell hounds are thought to be animal apparitions and not indicative of demons. These dogs are usually found along lonely roadsides or the woods. They have been seen in cities. Most are black or dark grey like charcoal. Their eyes can be red, yellow or green. They range in size, from a Great Dane to calf.

In most cases, a hell hound simply watches humans. They’ve never harmed anyone, but, they can be death omens. Allegedly, a hell hound appears at the scene of auto accidents to signal a human’s death. Hell hounds have also protected travelers as they go on isolated stretches of road.

It is common for a hell hound to cross into oncoming traffic. The driver will feel the impact and hear the dog’s howl, but he won’t find a body. You would think this would lead to a few driver deaths, but it hasn’t happened.

Protecting Yourself from Hell Hounds

You don’t need to take any special precautions. Hell hounds are shy phantoms and they avoid most contact with humans. Some people have shot silver bullets at them, but the bullets pass through them without injuring it. It’s an apparition after all. A common folk tale states you shouldn’t look directly into a hell hound’s eyes. It will put a curse on you and you will die in one year. This last statement is purely fiction.

Famous Hell Hounds

Black Shuck in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Devon counties, in England.

The Black Dog of Riverview Cemetery in West Virginia.

Cerebrus of Greek legend.

Fenris of Norse mythology (okay, he’s more like a demigod).

Jacob 'Jake' Rice

Jacob Rice began investigating and writing about the paranormal in 2007. He has published 3 books on ghost hunting, ghost stories and paranormal protection. His podcast, Ghostly Activities, dives into these topics even more. You can also watch his ghost hunts on the Ghostly Activities YouTube channel. He lives in Olympia, Washington.

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3 thoughts on “All About Hell Hounds”

  1. Dez j says:
    November 24, 2021 at 9:15 am

    I just woke up from the strangest dream, i entered my room my parents made and then four or five hellhounds came out of this blocked doggy door idk how to explain it but they came out and were supper friendly to me. When I was looking at how to put them back the papers on my wall started to blink with light like a clue in a game. I said oh here it is and I read the paper on how to put them back and the words were not English. I put them back and as soon as they left I woke up

  2. Adam M says:
    December 13, 2020 at 2:28 pm

    I saw a hell hound to, when I was 12 maybe 11 I saw a white ash red eye dog kind of look like a pitbull but hug standing sideways I was at home looking through a window with my sister who called me to look at what she was looking at so we both looked at it and we had two other dog also pitbull and they didn’t notice the hell hound standing right behind them so for some after that my memory goes dark

  3. Ian Mitchell says:
    May 20, 2019 at 3:34 pm

    I had a very demonic/spiritual experience when I was either in 10th or 11th grade(I graduated high school in 2012). I was outside at night listening to my iPod and I saw what appeared to be the black silhouette of a dog. It vanished then reappeared several times. The third and last time it turned it’s head (it was standing sideways) and in a split second it’s head went from a regular dog to the most demonic looking wolf. I firmly believe that what I saw/witnessed was a hellhound.

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