Black Shuck
Black Shuck is the Norfolk name given to one of many different huge, spectral hounds which are common in the folklore of the British Isles. Also called by such names as Padfoot, Skriker, and Black Shag, these enormous black hounds haunt lonely places such as heaths, remote crossroads, graveyards, and even abandoned towers and castles. They are hideous and terrifying in appearance, often being as large as a horse, covered in thick, matted black hair, and sporting luminous green or red eyes from which flames flicker. They are almost always seen after dark.
Several other variants of the Black Shuck are described in British folklore, including a headless type and one which is seen running atop a moving layer of mist rather than the ground. Sometimes, the Black Shuck is accompanied by a tall, headless woman, or transforms into a headless woman on the ninth night it is seen by a particular traveler.
The Shuck is a deadly beast. On some occasions, it attacks humans, snapping their necks in its powerful jaws as easily as a mortal hound breaks the neck of a hare. At other times it is the foreboding sign of impending death in the family, particularly if the person who sees it fails to avoid encounters with the beast on subsequent nights. Sometimes, the hound produces a blast of searing hellfire when it vanishes, slaying nearby people or setting fire to buildings.
All that said, the Shuck and his international brothers are not always a threat to the traveler … the Gurt Dog of the Quantock Hills (and others like him) is said to watch over lone wanderers and children, and others are content to watch and follow, vanishing when confronted.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- In a fantasy game, the Black Shuck has many uses. It could be a spirit of vengeance which is tied to a specific locale, such as a ruined wizard's tower, a temple where the priests were slaughtered by a mad nobleman, or the empty heath surrounding a town cursed for the dreadful deeds of its past inhabitants. It could also be a demonic assassin sent by a lord of devils or another otherworldly being to kill specific enemies.
- The hound could be simply a dangerous combatant, using its bite and the blast of fire when it dematerializes to kill its target. On the other hand, it could have more esoteric and sinister powers. By appearing to its victim, it places a curse on the unfortunate. This curse causes the target to die at midnight after a certain number of days unless they find a way to force the hound to materialize and are able to defeat it in combat.
- In a modern game, the Black Shuck is more likely to be a solitary menace, rather than the result of a magical curse or the servant of otherworldly powers. Its methods of attack remain the same, but it is probably the spirit of a malevolent person of great greed and violence who has returned to haunt the scene of their past villainies. Finding clues to this person's life — who perhaps lived hundreds of years before — will become crucial to finding the best way to laying the murderous spirit to rest.
- The dog might turn out to be a force for good - or at least an enemy of evil - like the Hounds of the Wild Hunt it may come forth to search out evil souls and drag them to Hell. Of course the soul it has chosen to hunt may turn out to be a bad guy the characters need alive to help them against the enemy of the moment.
- Or the dog might turn out to be an ordinary large black mastiff which has been daubed with phosphorescent paint to simulate the legend, as in The Hound of the Baskervilles.
- And keep in mind that even though the Hound of the Baskervilles was not supernatural, it was still a dangerous creature and terrifying to meet at night on the fog-enshrouded moors.
