In East Anglia, there stalks a midnight cur, referred to as hellhound, as doom dog, as Black Shuck. According to folklore, this spectral mutt is said to frequent graveyards, crossroads, side roads and dark forests. Basically, anywhere with insufficient lighting. One of his most celebrated appearances came in 1577, when he burst in through the doors of the church at Blythburgh. He ran the length of the nave, killed a man and a boy as they and the attendant congregation looked on agape, and set the church steeple to collapse. His exit was, perhaps, the most remarkable of all (and a sign of a demonic entity with a full understanding of showmanship). Like a streak of lightning, he stole from the church, leaving scorch marks on the wooden doors. Those marks are there to this day.

 

 

Sit, Booboo, sit. Good dog.