Black Shuck
Posted 1st August 2008 at 07:15 AM by Carnivorous_Bean
Updated 1st August 2008 at 07:22 AM by Carnivorous_Bean (Formatting misery)
Updated 1st August 2008 at 07:22 AM by Carnivorous_Bean (Formatting misery)
[font=Courier New]This is an entry for //www.enworld.org/forum/blog.php?b=431]Jürgen's Mythological Creatures Contest.
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.
Sources
http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/bdogfl.htm
http://www.norfolkcoast.co.uk/myths/ml_blackshuck.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Shuck
http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegend...of-bungay.html
Game and Story Use
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.
Sources
http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/bdogfl.htm
http://www.norfolkcoast.co.uk/myths/ml_blackshuck.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Shuck
http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegend...of-bungay.html
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.
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Comments
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Looks good. Though you should probably clean up your Wiki entry a bit, since the Wiki uses different formatting code (click on the "edit" function on other pages to see some examples).Posted 1st August 2008 at 07:27 AM by Jürgen Hubert
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