Black Shuck

"O, such howls! Say the Anglians in horror. It haunts the skies. Guthrum shat himself upon hearing the howl of the Black Shuck and left for Wincestre, cock between his legs. he nibbles you long so you die slowly hearing him chew."

―Description of the Black Shuck.

The Black Shuck

The Black Shuck was a legendary ghostly black dog said to roam the countryside in the kingdom of East Anglia, England during the 9th century.

According to folklore in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, the phantom dog was rumored to stalk the surrounding woods, unlit roads, and churchyards late at night. By most accounts, it was a shaggy canine with fiery red eyes, varying in size from that of a large dog to a calf or horse. Its appearance was often considered an omen of death for the viewer within a year of sighting it, though some tales suggested that it could be amiable.

History

During the Viking expansion into England, talk spread among local hunters of a large black dog frequenting the old Roman ruins near Needham Lake. One hunter took it upon themselves to stalk the beast and kill it, only to be hunted in turn by the animal and devoured. The Viking leader Guthrum also encountered the creature once, but left for Winchester upon hearing its howl.

In the 870s, the Viking shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan found the warning note left by the late hunter and entered the ruins to complete the unfinished job. She fought the dog and eventually brought it down, looting its head as a trophy.

Gallery

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  Concept art
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  Wallace's sketch of the dog

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla