When Death appears as a dog in a fairy tale, the time of horror must have arrived

It was discovered late at night on a long route home either in the Scottish Highlands or on a sandy coast. Make your choice. The discovery was made by a man (separately in each country) whose name has certainly been lost to time.

As the dog lay on a sandbar, he appeared to be wet from salt water. Who has tried it? Our observer/survivor was so unsettled by the size of the animal that he turned his gaze elsewhere and headed off, perhaps to the nearest pub.

Green is “generally associated with bad luck and is also the color most commonly associated with fairies, magic and the supernatural,” explained Mark Norman in his book Black Dog Folklore.

Additionally, stories say that the dog's bark is so loud that it can be heard far out to sea, although it can seemingly hunt in complete silence. The person who hears the barking must quickly move away from the sound before the third bark so that they do not fall dead from fright. So how do you get far enough away from that loud barking that can be heard for miles?

If you forget the sea for a while, there is a mountain in Scotland that also has its share of folklore. At approximately 3,500 feet, Schiehallion or Sidh Chailleann is the site of many reports of sightings of the dreaded Cù Sith. The shape is very reminiscent of Steptoe Butte in Whitman County, and one can only imagine the stories that originated there, including one that says the dreaded pooches live in rocky caves.

Sometime in the sixth century or so, Christianity came along, and big scary dogs didn't quite fit into the narrative like they did in the time of the fairies. So what to do now? A quick-thinking church said: Let's make these dogs tools of Satan himself. This lent itself to the setting of the Hounds of Hell, now complete with red, glowing eyes.

As if the gates of hell needed to be guarded.

Powell, of Pullman, retired as public information officer for the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman. This column reflects his thoughts and no longer represents WSU. He can be contacted at [email protected].