Monsters You Never Heard Of Read Online Free PDF Page A

dog appears, a member of the family dies.
    As a rule, one would not care to meet one of these black dogs. But there are a few stories in which mysterious blacks dogs guarded travelers.
    There was a tale told at the beginning of this century about a man named Johnnie Greenwood. One night he had to ride through a wood about a mile long to get to where he was going. At the entrance to the wood a large black dog joined him. It just trotted along by his side. He had no idea where it came from.
    Even when it got so dark that he could no longer see the dog, Johnnie knew it was there because he could hear its footsteps. But when he came out of the woods the dog was gone.
    That same night Johnnie returned the same way he had come. At the entrance to the wood the dog joined him again. As before, he didn't touch it or speak to it. When he got out of the woods the dog was once again gone.
    Years later, two prisoners condemned to be hanged confessed that they had intended to rob and murder Johnnie that night in the wood. But when they saw the dog, they decided that both Johnnie and the dog would be too much to handle, so they left him alone.
    As we have seen, phantom dogs can be dangerous, helpful, or just frightening. But no sane person would ever want to meet a whole pack of phantom hounds. For these would most likely be the feared creatures known as the Wish Hounds or the Devil's Dogs.
    The Wish Hounds, or the Devil's Dogs, are part of one of the oldest and most persistent of all European legends the Wild Hunt. The legend runs like this: On certain nights a phantom huntsman, leading a pack of phantom hounds, can be heard, and sometimes seen, racing across the desolate countryside.
    In one form or another this legend is told throughout Europe. Often the huntsman is said to be the Devil or some demon. Sometimes he is supposed to be a particularly evil person condemned to ride until Judgment Day without a rest. The dogs are usually described as being black with glowing red eyes. In some versions of the tale, however, the dogs are described as being headless.
    According to the legend, anyone unlucky enough to see the Wild Hunt will be torn to pieces by the dogs or otherwise killed. Failing that, the unlucky soul is sure to die within a year.
    Belief in the Wish Hounds remained strong until the end of the last century. In England in the 1870s a body was found on the banks of the River Yealm. An inquest was held to find the cause of death. When no obvious cause could be found, the jury wanted to say that the man was "struck down by the phantom hunt" or met "death by supernatural agency." With some difficulty the jury was persuaded to return a more ordinary verdict of "accidental death."
    In recent years, belief in the Wild Hunt appears to have weakened. But up until the 1950s, at least, there were still people who said they could hear the barking and yelping of the phantom hounds on dark and stormy nights.
    People didn't want to go out and see if the huntsman and his pack were really out there. They knew too many stories about what was supposed to have happened to those who did see the Wild Hunt.
    But from time to time there was a story about someone who escaped the demon hunter and his phantom hounds.
    About a century ago a tale of a poor but very lucky herdsman was told in the west of England.
    The herdsman was riding home one night. In the distance he heard the baying of the Devil's Dogs. He knew he had several miles to go before he reached the safety of his home. He rode as fast as he could, but the phantom pack was gaining on him. When he turned around he could see them coming up behind him. The hunter had horns and a tail, just as the Devil is usually pictured. The dogs were black and snorted fire. The noise they made was horrible.
    There was no shelter, no place where the herdsman could hide. Then suddenly he had a thought. He stopped his horse, jumped off and fell to his knees in prayer. The dogs that were just about to pounce on him