hellhound

Goddess Hel and the hound Garmr by Johannes Gehrts, 1889

A hellhound is a dog of Hell, found in mythology, folklore and fiction. Hellhounds typically have features such as black fur color, glowing red or some times glowing yellow eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, foul odor, and sometimes even the ability to talk. Some people say they have seen the dog with a by-stander they believe for this person to be a messenger of the devil. Hellhounds are often associated with fire, and may have fire-based abilities and appearances, hellhounds appear out of nowhere suddenly and have been known to vanish in a blink of an eye. They are often assigned to guard the entrances to the world of the dead, such as graveyards and Indian burial grounds, or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting down lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure. As legend goes, if one happened to see the hellhound three times directly in the eyes, he or she will die an abrupt and unseen death.

Examples from folklore

The most famous hellhound is probably Cerberus, the hound of Hades from Greek mythology. Hellhounds are also famous for appearing in Celtic mythology as a part of the Wild Hunt. These hounds are given several different names in local folklore, but they display typical hellhound characteristics. The myth is common across Great Britain, and many names are given to the apparitions: Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man, Gwyllgi of Wales, and so on. See Barghest. The earliest mention of these myths are in both Walter Map's De Nugis Curianium (1190) and the Welsh myth cycle of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (ca. 10th-13th century)

In Southern Mexican and Central American folklore, the Cadejo is a big black dog that haunts naughty young men who walk late at night on rural roads. The term is also common in American blues music, such as in Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on my Trail".

It is said that once you have come into contact with a Hellhound you are "not to speak of it for one year and one day." ^[1] Else you shall come to death.

Fiction

Hellhounds are a common monstrous creatue in fantasy fiction and horror fiction, though they sometimes appear in other genres such as detective novels, or other uses.

• Arthur Conan Doyle's The hound of the Baskervilles
• Hellhounds feature in Rick Riordan's series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
• Hellhounds are the pets of Harpies in Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Series.
• In Piers Anthony's 'On A Pale Horse", Satan sends hellhounds to attack Zane (Death) and bring him back to hell. The hounds are immortal but are dispatched by Death's magical scythe.
• Frank Belknap Long's Cthulhu Mythos-related 'The Hounds of Tindalos"
• Hellhounds appear numerous times in The Omen.

See also

• Black dog (ghost)
• Black Shuck
• Cerberus
• Fenrir
• Garmr
• Warg
• Barghest

External links

• Hellhounds, Werewolves and the Germanic Underworld

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