Werewolf. Church Grim. The Swedish Kyrkogrim are said to be the spirits of animals sacrificed by early Christians at the building of a new church.[2] In parts of Europe, including Britain and Scandinavia, it was believed that the first man buried in a new churchyard had to guard it against the Devil. To save a human soul from the duty, a completely black dog would be buried alive on the north side of the churchyard, creating a guardian spirit, the church grim, in order to protect the church.[3] The Scandinavian and Nordic Kyrkogrim or Kirkonväki can also occasionally appear as pale-skinned 'ghosts', said to be the spirits of the folk who lived in the proximity of the church that they now 'guard'. William Henderson in his Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties (p.274) attributes it to a foundation sacrifice and points out that the Kirkogrim of Sweden appears in the form of a lamb which, in the early days in Christianity in Sweden, was buried under the altar.
Fiction[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] Black Shuck. Artist's impression of the Black Shuck. Commonly described features include large red eyes, bared teeth and shaggy black fur.[1] The name Shuck may derive from the Old English word scucca meaning "demon", or possibly from the local dialect word shucky meaning "shaggy" or "hairy".[4] Black Shuck is one of many ghostly black dogs recorded across the British Isles.[5] Sometimes recorded as an omen of death, sometimes a more companionable animal, it is classified as a cryptid, and there are varying accounts of the animal's appearance.[4][6] Writing in 1877, Walter Rye stated that Shuck was "the most curious of our local apparitions, as they are no doubt varieties of the same animal.[7] Its alleged appearance in 1577 at Bungay and Blythburgh is a particularly famous account of the beast, and images of black sinister dogs have become part of the iconography of the area.[1] Folklore[edit] Appearance in Bungay and Blythburgh[edit] Title page of Rev.
See also[edit] References[edit] Black dog (ghost) The origins of the black dog are difficult to discern. It is impossible to ascertain whether the creature originated in the Celtic or Germanic elements in British culture. Throughout European mythology, dogs have been associated with death. Examples of this are the Cŵn Annwn,[5] Garmr[6] and Cerberus,[7] all of whom were in some way guardians of the underworld. This association seems to be due to the scavenging habits of dogs.[8] It is possible that the black dog is a survival of these beliefs.
Black dogs are almost universally regarded as malevolent, and a few (such as the Barghest) are said to be directly harmful. Black Dogs have been reported from almost all the counties of England, the exceptions being Middlesex and Rutland.[11] On Dartmoor, the notorious squire Cabell was said to have been a huntsman who sold his soul to the Devil. The yeth hound, also called the yell hound, is a black dog found in Devon folklore. "For he was speechless, ghastly, wan Like him of whom the Story ran. Hellhound. A hellhound is a supernatural dog in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the oft-seen dragon. Features that have been attributed to hellhounds include black fur, glowing red - or sometimes yellow - eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, foul odor, and sometimes even the ability to talk. Certain European legends state that if someone stares into a hellhound's eyes three times or more, that person will surely die.
In cultures that associate the afterlife with fire, hellhounds may have fire-based abilities and appearance. They are often assigned to guard the entrances to the world of the dead, such as graveyards and burial grounds, or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure. In European legends, seeing a hellhound or hearing it howl may be an omen or even a cause of death. Barghest[edit] Fenris magical legendary creatures. ... Fenris Pheeds Home | More Fenris articles & pheeds In Norse mythology , Fenris was a wolf who was the son of Loki and the giantess Angerboda .
The Aesir learned that Fenris was prophesied to be responsible (along with his family, the rest of Loki and Angerboda's spawn) for the destruction of the world. Fenris was locked in a cage, fed by Tyr , the only god willing to do so. The gods, once Fenris had become full-grown, decided to trick him into allowing himself to be chained by insinuating that he wouldn't be able to free himself.
Fenris agreed to be chained to prove he could break out; he was correct, he was able to break the chains that bound him. Fenris will remain bound until Ragnarok when he will join forces with those opposing Odin and will devour him. Alternative: Fenrir, Fenrisulfr, Fenrisúlfr Also called Fenris Wolf, Fenrir. Fenris Ulf is one of the White Witch's servants, an enormous wolf, in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. This article is from Wikipedia .