Black Shuck

 

 

ORIGIN

The countrysides of East Anglia.

 

FIRST SIGHTED/RECORDED

They were first recorded in England in 1577, this was also the first supposed sighting. Werewolf tales however, have been around much longer so it is possible that at some point, some of the tales may have clashed or had a wrong origin. It is also possible that the animal may have been around a lot longer than we are led to believe.

 

APPEARANCE

They are most commonly thought to have shaggy black fur, sharp teeth and bright red eyes (in some accounts, he has a single eye and in others, his eyes are green). His size may also vary depending on who you ask. He can be from the size of a large dog to the size of a horse. In 1877, Walter Rye wrote that the Shuck was "the most curious of our local apparitions, as they are no doubt varieties of the same animal". They are classified as Cryptid, which is an animal whose existence has been suggested but not recognised by a scientific consensus. In some rare accounts, he is either headless or seen floating on a carpet of mist.

 

GENDER

Generally referred to as either male or unknown.

 

ALSO KNOWN AS

Old Shuck, Old Shock or just Shuck. Other variations of the name include Yeth (Devon), Pooka (Ireland) and Barguest (Yorkshire).

 

REPELLED BY

There is not anything specific that he is recorded as being repelled by. There are however tales of him being linked to or being the Devil himself. If this is the case then holy artefacts could possibly work. If his is linked to a Werewolf then there could be a chance that he has a weakness to silver.

 

MAGICAL POWERS/SKILLS

No magical powers are recorded. If he is supernatural then there is a chance that he has a heightened strength to go with it.

 

HISTORY/ABOUT

It is a ghostly black dog that is said to roam wild on the coastlines and in the countryside's of East Anglia. All across the British Isles, there are many tales of black dogs, with him being possibly one of the most famous ones. His name is thought to have derived from scucca, an Old English word that means "demon". It is also possible that the name came the local dialect word for shucky which means either "shaggy" or "hairy". In 1577, there was an alleged sighting at Bungay and Blythburgh. It has become somewhat of a famous account as this is the point (or so believed) when the sinister dogs became apart of the iconography of that area. Dr Simon Sherwood believes that the earliest surviving description of the animal is in an account of an incident that happened in Peterborough Abbey, recorded in the Peterborough Chronicle around 1127. This is one of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

 

CAN BE FOUND

Although it is said to roam in the countryside's, it is possible that they may hide out in deep forests or woodlands in order to conceal themselves. Luckily for them, England is known for its woodlands so it has no shortage of hiding places. He is also said to haunt side roads, cross roads, graveyards and coastlines.

 

TALES

Most of the folklore originates around the areas of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and the Cambridgeshire Fens. Although some are regarded as companions to men, most times they are held as an omen of death. It is said that his appearance bodes ill to the eyes of the beholder. An example of this came from the Malden and Dengue areas of Essex, where sightings of him meant almost immediate death. Some tales tell of him not physically harming his victims but terrifying them to the point of illness and even death. W.A. Dutt gives a description of him in his 1901 book "Highways & Byways in East Anglia". It is because of his description that he is commonly known as "Old Snarleyow", a description of a dog found in Fredrick Marryat's 1837 novel "Snarleyyow" or "The Dog Fiend". It is thought that Conan Doyle based "Hound Of The Baskervilles" after hearing one of the legends. In contrast to the previous tales, there are however benign ones which say that he accompanied women on the way home so as to protect them. They have even been known to help lost travellers find their way.

 

ANY SIGHTINGS?

Over the years there have been many "sightings" of the animal, to many to list here as they are all very similar. Most of them occur around people taking walks at night or walking through some of the local churches. Whether or not these are real is for you to decide. The pictures that circulate on the internet are primarily fakes or too hard to give a real answer too. In some cases, some peoples tales appear to be genuine so it is possible that someone may have seen something.

 

SIMILAR CREATURES

Werewolves