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Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

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Black Shuck and his Kin from across the Isles

Willie Sled's Dog

Location: Brigham (Yorkshire) - Brigham Lane, at a crossroads
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The crossroads was home to a phantom white hound known as Willie Sled's dog, named after a local sandpit worker.


Brighton Beach.

Large White Dog

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Beach
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Last dog sighting unknown, tall man seen in Spring 1977
Further Comments: Reportedly the size of a small horse, this phantom dog will follow lonely walkers on the beach for short distances before vanishing. A witness reported seeing a tall man in old fashioned clothing and a tall hat walking along the sidewalk during the night in 1977 - the figure vanished into the mist.

Morphing Shuck

Location: Bristol (Somerset) - Dead end lane in Hallen Bristol, next to the M49 bridge
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1908 and December 2004
Further Comments: The large black dog seen here in 1908 was seen to climb out from a hedge, before transforming into a donkey and standing on its hind legs. A very similar creature was seen in 2004, as it passed through a car, shaking the occupant.

Shaggy Dog

Location: Broadwindsor (Dorset) - Common Water Lane
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This road is another haunt of the black shuck in Dorset.

Black Dog

Location: Broomfield (Shropshire) - General area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A gentleman who committed suicide in the village is said to have returned in the form of a large black dog.

Cwn Annwn

Location: Buckholt (Gwent) - Road through the area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1961 onwards (hound), face sighting possibly mid twentieth century
Further Comments: A driver passing through Buckholt in 1961 reported seeing a large black hound, believed to be Cwn Annwn, a spectral hound of Annwn, although some people believe it to be a ghostly donkey. More recently, although no date has been mentioned, the hound has been seen in a nearby cottage which is also haunted by two phantom people (one short, one headless). Finally, a witness encountered the face of a beautiful woman along the road. The witness apologised and stepped to one side before realising that there was no one else present.

Leaping Dog

Location: Buckhurst Hill (Essex) - Area around local graveyard
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Summer 1989
Further Comments: After scaring three teenagers walking through the graveyard, this shuck went on to unnerve a passing motorist as the creature leapt over the churchyard wall and landed on the bonnet of a car.

Horseman

Location: Bunbury (Cheshire) - College Lane
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghostly man on horseback is said to cross the lane before vanishing.

Strange Hound

Location: Bunbury (Cheshire) - School Lane
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom dog has been spotted in an area near the school.


Bungay castle, Suffolk.

Shuck

Location: Bungay (Suffolk) - Bungay castle
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Believed by some to be the headquarters of Old Shuck, the ruined castle is still avoided at night.


St Mary's church, Bungay.

Lightning Dog

Location: Bungay (Suffolk) - St Mary's church
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 04 August 1577
Further Comments: Appearing on 4 August 1577, the same date as the Blythburgh report, a black dog entered the church during a storm and killed several people. Some believe the dog still patrols the area.

White Shuck

Location: Burgh (Suffolk) - Bath Slough, a boggy pool near the town
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A white dog the size of a bullock frequented this area.


Burgh Castle, Norfolk.

Old Scarfe

Location: Burgh Castle (Norfolk) - Ruined Castle
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The shuck is known locally as Old Scarfe, named after the Baron Rudolf Scarfe who was a thirteenth century villain who lived near the castle. Old Scarfe haunts the castle grounds and the Yarmouth Road, his single eye glowing red and yellow.


One of the waterways which runs through Burnley.

Trash

Location: Burnley (Lancashire) - General area, though near the church a favourite haunt
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local name for their version of the shuck, Trash was said to be very hairy, with feet that created splashing noises no matter what surface it stepped on. Death would follow a sighting.

Ghostly Black Dog

Location: Burwell (Cambridgeshire) - Burwell to Snailwell - path southeast, by a belt of trees leading to the A11
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Another shuck legend, though details are sketchy.

Patting the Fading Dog

Location: Buxton (Norfolk) - Churchyard
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1930
Further Comments: While passing the church, a man saw a large black dog. He reached out to pat the hound's head, but the creature disappeared into thin air. The man later learnt that his brother had died at the exact moment he saw the dog.

Black Dog

Location: Cadley (Wiltshire) - Fields between village and Marlborough
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A black dog may haunt this area.

Black Dog

Location: Caldbeck (Cumbria) - Lane leading to Branthwaite
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Very little is known about the hound that is said to have frequented this area, other than appearing black and large.


Arbury Road, Cambridge.

Unlucky Shuck

Location: Cambridge (Cambridgeshire) - Arbury Road
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This road, and area, are said to be frequented by a shuck that brings ill luck to all that see it.

Robin

Location: Carrigaholt (County Clare) - Road between Carrigaholt and Ross (R487?)
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The phantom hound which haunts the road connecting these two locations was thought to be the ghost of Robin of Ross in animal form.

Powerful Dog

Location: Carrigaline (County Cork) - Lanes in the area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to have made its home in the ruins of a big house, this hound left its dwelling at midnight. Most witnesses were said to have been drunk men, although on one occasion several sober gentlemen chased the creature and had it cornered - the dog vanished in front of their eyes.


An old postcard of Peveril Castle in Derbyshire.

Black Dog

Location: Castleton (Derbyshire) - Peveril Castle
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A shuck is said to walk the area near the castle, while a phantasmic knight stands motionless on the ramparts. Author Wayne Anthony reports that an old lady and a phantom horse have also been reported in the area.

Sitting Hound

Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith (Derbyshire) - Horderns Road area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Nineteenth century?
Further Comments: A phantom dog was once a common sight here, as it sat on the corner of the road near a railway bridge waiting for an owner which never came.

Fiery Eyed Hound

Location: Chapmanslade (Wiltshire) - A36, Black Dog Woods
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: As the name of the location suggests, this wooded area is home to a black dog whose eyes glow as red as hot coals. To see him means death within the year. One story says the hound once belonged to a man killed in a duel; the dog tore out the throat of the surviving fighter.

Great Dane

Location: Cheriton Bishop (Devon) - Cheriton Cross, A30
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This dog leapt out in front of an incoming car - the driver thought he hit the creature but could not find any evidence of an accident when he stopped.

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