Hell Hounds:

Do They Exist Outside of Nightmares and Folktales?

Nightmares can sometimes be great material for storytelling. They’re the type of things most people run from. I’d be a liar if I said some of them didn’t terrify me, but I’ve learned to embrace them and use them in my storytelling. In one instance, the Old Hag makes an appearance in Volume II of The Hunted: Brighton Falls. The main character wakes up to a demon on his chest strangling him. I’m still not sure if the Old Hag thing that happened to me was a nightmare or reality. It felt so real— to the point that I was tasting blood in my mouth. My throat hurt the next day, either from being strangled or trying to shout, but that is a story for another time. I’m here to talk about the hounds of hell.

Hell Hounds or Black Dogs have always been in folktales, mythology, horror stories, and nightmares. They are indeed a thing of nightmares, and that’s partly why I’m here. Not only do they make an appearance in my upcoming comic book titled The Hunted, but I experienced an intense nightmare involving them the other night. It’s been playing over and over in my head. Keep in mind here that I wasn’t watching anything in relation to horror, and I had taken a week off from working on my next book so there wasn’t anything to trigger this nightmare. 

I was dreaming a normal dream about ghost hunting, when like most people, my dream rapidly changed, like when you’re watching cable TV scrolling through the channels in hopes of finding something good to watch. I went from walking in a dark cold forest to running for my life down a street with an old house that looked like the Creels house also known as Vecna’s lair from Stranger Things fenced in all by itself at the end of the street. The Creel home is an old Gothic Victorian mansion that was built in Rome, Georgia in 1882. I raced through the thick fog, and could feel myself struggling  to breathe. The houses lined each side of the road appeared to be empty, though it was hard to determine considering the fog. 

I didn’t have time to think about that as I heard thunderous growling behind me. I turned back and there it was. A large, snarling, black dog with red eyes. This thing was nearly the same height as me when it was on all fours, so I imagine it would be towering over me standing on its back legs. I turned away from the large and unruly beast to make my way toward the mansion. What was once gorgeous and the focal point of the town is now an overgrown yard of weeds, dead trees, and pieces of the fence scattered throughout. The inside wasn’t any better.  

While it might be restored and lived-in today, the version of it here was the one that was unlived in. It was unkempt with missing floor boards, broken windows, spider webs, and smelled like an animal of some sort made it its residence or bathroom recently. The winding styled staircase had broken boards, which made it hard to run up them without tripping in typical horror movie fashion. As most of my dreams are, this was fast. I made my way deeper into the house, but the hound was gaining on me, and if this isn’t weird enough, I pulled out my red bladed lightsaber. I had no idea how this thing was going to attack, so I set myself into an ‘on guard’ fencing positioning. To be ‘on guard’ is to set your feet, body, legs, and weapon in a defensive position. You keep your stance in a ready position by keeping your lead foot pointed at the attacker, your rear foot at 90 degrees, and your upper body turned with your shoulder facing front. When the opponent makes its move and you’re positioned this way, you’re ready to parry, dodge, and hopefully counter the attack.

Before the fight started, the hallway changed into an arena (you know, all mansions come with built-in arenas for random nightmare lightsaber duels versus hell hounds). The hound disarmed me quickly, but I was able to grab hold of its neck and wouldn’t let go. Clawing and snapping its teeth at me with ferocious intensity, it was able to loosen my grip just enough to turn around and get its massive jaw around my neck. It was biting down, but I was still choking it. It was down to the strength of its teeth and jaw, and my choke hold. I woke to a snapping sound. Not sure if that meant I won, or if the hound won.

Tales and Myths

After this nightmare, I needed to learn more about hell hounds. The first thing I found was that they are sometimes considered a death mark or bad omen. So if you’re reading this and I’m dead, this is likely why, which means hell hounds most certainly exist. While they’re always linked to evil, bad, and negative stories, I found something interesting on this website: https://www.smitizen.com/article/what-is-a-hellhound-a-guide-to-the-demonic-dog-of-mythology.html They found some interpretations of the hounds of hell being more like spirit guides, helping souls crossover. So rather than being guardians at the gates of hell, or delivering an earth eviction notice, they just want to take you on a final walk to make sure you get where you’re supposed to go. That is much more comforting. Unlike most mythological stories about them. 

There are many popular named hell hounds in various mythologies. I won’t discuss them all especially considering how similar they are across the board, but I’d like to briefly discuss one because it is part of a mythology I love dearly, and it shows up in a video game called Skyrim that I’ve logged hundreds of hours into over the course of its existence. In Norse Mythology, there is a hell hound named Garmr. Garmr, or Garm, is a guardian at Hel’s gate. Stories of Garmr are usually found in the company of Fenrir, Skol, and Hati, as they’re each largely involved in Ragnarok. Garmr is a large monstrous beast with bloodstained fur. He is tasked with guarding the gates of Hel. Why does Hel need a guardian, and one so ferocious and terrifying as Garmr? He’s there to prevent the dead from attempting an escape, and also to bar anyone from entering the underworld. His appearance isn’t the only thing that can scare off trespassers or escapees. His ferocious growl echoes throughout the underworld adding to the horror of Hel itself. During Ragnarok, Garmr breaks his chains and leaves the underworld to join the chaos that ends the world. He faces off in a fight to the death with the one handed god of war, Tyr. Both the Tyr and Garmr die in this battle.

The Haunting of Ivelet Bridge in Swaledale, Yorkshire

My saving grace is it appeared in a nightmare, and not while I was out wandering the world, so I will believe I’m safe until I actually see one. It could all just be superstitions and ghost stories too. If you’ve seen a hound of hell, please do share your story with me. I’d love to hear about real life encounters as opposed to the myths; even though the myths and legends are extremely fun to learn about.