Shock! the Black Dog of Bungay: A Case Study in Local Folklore

Product Information

Others were Catharine Parr Traill, who concentrated on children's literature, and Susanna Moodie, who emigrated to Canada and wrote Roughing it in the Bush (1852) as a warning to others. The novelist Sir H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925) was born nearby in Bradenham and presented St. Mary's Church with a wooden panel, displayed behind the altar. Religious writer Margaret Barber (1869–1901), author of the posthumously published best-selling book of meditations, The Roadmender, settled in Bungay. The original church that the monks built now lies in ruins, a replacement being built in 1858. If you go and look at the cornerstones of the old charnel house you may see what looks like large teeth marks. It is said that the wolf-hound has been trying to bite its way through the wall for centuries, trying to get to the bones of the monks that rested inside. Although the bones are no longer present, locals still avoid the ruins at night. When the shadows are long, it’s just possible that there could be an enormous hound with a thirst for Christian blood hiding nearby. Local accounts attribute the event to the Devil - The scorch marks on the door of Blythburgh Church are referred to by the locals as "the devil’s fingerprints" which can be seen at the church to this day.

In Guernsey is Bodu or tchen Bodu ( tchen being dog in Dgèrnésiais). His appearance, usually in the Clos du Valle, foretells death of the viewer or someone close to him. [41] Capelthwaite [ edit ]Rose, Carol (2001). Giants, Monsters, and Dragons. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-32211-4. The encounter on the same day at St Mary's Church, Bungay was described in A Straunge and Terrible Wunder by Abraham Fleming in 1577:

Ritson, Joseph (1831). Fairy Tales, Now First Collected: To which are prefixed two dissertations: 1. On Pygmies. 2. On Fairies. Elibron Classics [facsimile], 2007. ISBN 1-4021-4753-8. See pp.137–139 ("The Mauthe Doog"). Barber, Sally and Barber, Chips (1988, 1990). Dark and Dastardly Dartmoor. Obelisk Publications. ISBN 0-946651-26-4. In actuality, sightings of hellhounds or other demonic figures and acts are often inspired by fearsome weather phenomena. For example, the sightings in Bungay are often attributed to massive thunderstorms that caused buildings to collapse. Lightning strikes might burn wooden structures or at least cause a few stones to fall from stone churches — which could be seen as the devil’s work. Witnesses said that around 20 to 30 of these hellish beings stayed in the area through Lent all the way to Easter, a period of about 50 days. McNab, Chris "Mythical Monsters: The scariest creatures from legends, books, and movies" in Scholastic Publishing 2006, pp. 8–9.

The Explanations Behind The Myths

The festival was established in 2022 to reclaim the legend, and the date, for the town of Bungay and will run for 3 days in August. There will be a varied programme of events including a carnival parade and an art display Guiley, Rosemary Ellen (2000, 2007) [1992]. The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits (3rd ed.). Facts on File. ISBN 0816067376. Varner, Gary R. Creatures in the mist: little people, wild men and spirit beings around the world: a study in comparative mythology in Algora Publishing 2007, pp. 114–115. Simpson, Jacqueline (1994). Penguin Book of Scandinavian Folktales. 15. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0140175806.