Hellhounds & Other Dogs You Don’t Want to Meet at Night

Welcome back to The Breed Files! What exactly is a hellhound? In this episode, we dig into the folklore behind these supernatural dogs, exploring what defines a hellhound, where the stories come from, and the common themes that appear across different cultures. Then we meet some fascinating canine creatures from folklore, including the fairy hounds of Celtic tradition, the Cu Sith, and Japan’s mysterious Okuri-inu. Are these spectral dogs omens of death, supernatural guardians, or something a little more complicated?

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellhound
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Hound-of-the-Baskervilles
• https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Creatures/Cerberus/cerberus.html
• https://norse-mythology.org/garm/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_dog_(folklore)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B9-s%C3%ACth
• https://folklorescotland.com/cu-sith-%EF%BF%BC/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Compa%C3%B1a
• https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Urco
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C5%B5n_Annwn
• https://yokai.com/okuriinu/?srsltid=AfmBOorGigpLtTlaQq2WUbG8xhRGntEkOi4vZSynLUpT0DLipLVGjgIK
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dkai
• https://yokai.com/yosuzume/?srsltid=AU7gw4W-Bc2YayiFHyFfZjdVxks9ylNiZ4KZjvuYhhrNdqCbqmZAHE5c