Over thousands of years, people have created countless legends about creepy, mythical creatures. One of the most terrifying is the Black Shuck, a huge black dog with ‘hellish’ red saucer-like eyes that supposedly roams East Anglia.
Now a new study aims to solve the mystery of this creature, also known as the “Black Shuck.”
In the new BBC series Myth countryResearchers embark on an overnight expedition into the Norfolk countryside in hopes of capturing the infamous hellhound on film. But does this mysterious creature really exist, and what could explain the numerous sightings over the centuries?
According to historian and anthropologist Dr. David Waldron of Federation University in Australia dates stories of black dogs in the British Isles to the 9th century. Interestingly enough, similar stories are appearing across the country and Europe as a whole.
Eyewitness accounts of Black Shuck are often difficult to interpret. Many describe a “clear sense of injustice” when encountering the creature. One of the earliest documents, describing ‘coal-black’ dogs with ‘eyes like saucers’, dates from 1127 in the Peterborough Chronicle, a historical manuscript.
However, scholars suggest that the legend of Black Shuck rose to fame on 4 August 1577 at Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, East Suffolk.
During a violent storm, a black “devil dog” allegedly burst into the church, killing a man and a boy and causing the spire to collapse. Locals believe that claw marks on the church doors, known as ‘the devil’s fingerprints’, were left by the beast.
On the same day another meeting was reported at Bungay Church, later described by Rev. Abraham Fleming. According to the text, a black dog passed between two people, breaking their necks.
Dr. Jonathan Woolley, environmental anthropologist and graduate of the University of Cambridge, claims that Black Shuck ‘absolutely exists’ and plays an important role in the way people perceive the eerie landscape of East Anglia. However, the exact nature of its existence remains a mystery.
One leading theory among scientists suggests that Black Shuck could be an undiscovered wild dog species that has thus far escaped scientific observation. Dr. However, Woolley rejects this idea, arguing that a stray dog is unlikely to be responsible for such “complex and supernatural” phenomena.
Dr. Waldron finds it interesting that Abraham Fleming’s account mentions two sightings of the hellhound on the same day in different locations.
As a devout priest, Fleming may have intended his story as a “call to arms against sin.” His account uses a long-standing myth of black dogs as harbingers of doom, a belief that has permeated European folklore for centuries.
Remarkably, many sightings have been reported in the 450 years since the church incidents, and encounters continue to this day. A memorable account from 1973 comes from Keith Florey, who said a dog chased him down Old Barrack Road in Woodbridge while he was riding his motorcycle.
More recently, retired newsboy Nigel Thorpe reported seeing a large dog with ‘glowing’ eyes leaping towards him on a deserted road in Great Yarmouth.
While researching his book, Dr. Waldron with numerous individuals who claimed to have encountered the devil dog.
According to him, these conversations often reflected deep religious experiences. While he acknowledges that telling such stories is a “delicate task,” Waldron believes these observations could be the result of cases of mistaken identity.
