What Are Hellhounds? - 7 Types of Hellhound From Great Britain & The Rest of Europe 

Guide Greek mythology: Cerebus 1:09 Wales: Cwn Annwn 1:35 English coastline: Black shuck 1:54 Yorkshire: Barghest 2:47 Northern England: Gytrash 3:20 Scandanavia & English folklore: Church Grimm 3:51 Norse mythology: Garm 4:15

There’s a unique type of Hell Hound I know, they’re called “Chihuahuas”. They're tiny, but have horrifically oversized heads with overly long fangs. They appear almost hairless and they have a tendency to violently react to anyone who approaches them.

Who´s a good infernal boy? Who´s a good infernal boy?! You are! Yes you are!

Fun fact about Cerberus, his name translates to "Spot". So Hades called his guard dog Spot

“Footprints?” “Footprints.” “A man or a woman’s?” “Mr Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!” 😨

The Japanese demons known as Inugami (Dog God/Spirit) and Okuri-Inu/Okuri-Okami (the Sending-Away dog/wolf) seem like versions of hellhounds. The Okuri-Inu in particular seems very similar to the Black Shuck, Gytrash, or Barghast, as the Okuri hunts down people in the mountains at night and its presence keeps other dangerous demons and animals away, but it can be used to keep someone safe, provided you don't trip as the Okuri follows you. The Inugami, meanwhile seems a bit like a mix of the Shuck with the Shuck's headlessness being switched as the Inugami is usually portrayed as a flying dog head with-out a body, who protects the family the dog once served while also having the aggression of the Gytrash or the Barghest if it feels you have not been punished for something you did.

I'm surprised you didnt mention Surma. Hes a two headed hound or wolf who accompanies Kalma, goddess of the dead in Finnish mythology. He guards their underworld too but is also Kalma's faithful companion

There is one in US called "The Black Dog of Hanging Hills" in Connecticut. It's smaller than the average myth, but their were famous incidents into the 70's and people still claim to see occasionally today. According to the legend, to see the Black Dog the first time results in joy while a second sighting is a warning. Seeing the Black Dog a third time is said to be a death omen. At least six deaths have been blamed on third meetings with the Black Dog.

There's something wonderful about the belief that the Black Shuck or any seemingly vicious creature would accompany lone women at night to protect them. Because personally, as a woman, I have to say there are few things in this world that make me feel safer when I'm alone than having a _gigantic dog_ on my side.

Excellent Video as always though I'm a little bummed you didn't mention the Cù-Sith of Scottish Myth. A huge green though sometimes white hound with a braided tail that roamed the country who's howl was a death omen like a Banshee's cries. Either way, keep up the good work M&FE love your videos!!!

Well hellhounds are metal artists best friends?

Everybody gangsta till you hear “FETCH ME THEIR SOULS”

Cwn Annwn is a mythological Welsh hellhound, and so is Gwyllgi. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Anyone from Wales here? (I'm Welsh.)

I’ve had an encounter with a hell hound. It was in a dark garden but it’s by a lot of trees. The people I was with also witnessed it. It was a big black dog looking figure and it’s eyes were red. Two people ran I stayed with one. Just as he was about to shoot (because it started to walk towards us) it just vanished. Weirdest thing ever. We were so spooked nobody wanted to talk about it. Still don’t. I’m the only one who will.

Once again you have prolonged my love for all mythology and strive to never stop learning more and more ❤❤❤ thank you for your amazing content I can't get enough of it

another brilliant video thank you!❤

There’s a kind of hell hound in a Costa Rican legend called The Cadejo (Kadeho). It mostly accompanies people traveling late at night in lonely roads.

In the Mesoamerican 'Aztec' Myth, the Xoloitzcuintle was considered our Hell Hound, in some ways he was pictured as a kind spirit who guided the souls of the dead to the after life, he was friends with the 'alebrijes' who were other creatures that helped you in the afterlife, and usually every person has an Alebrije of there own. It's so rare that almost every culture had a similar hellhound story, and thats when you wonder, how could the myths be so similar yet they were cultures so diferent apart.

There is a Hellhound Culture in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and in the U.S. called Loupgarou, known for changing into a werewolf. The Hellhounds are also traced to the Crossroads at midnight based on a Lwa named Met Kalfou.

i like that one story by that one guy called _THE HOUND_ and i think that counts as something beyond a hell hound, but that's my favorite type...

I love how there are many similarities in mythology from around the world. Also anyone else crazy enough to want a hellhound as a pet

There's a Welsh hellhound I stumbled across when researching for a story of mine, called the Gwyllgi. It's sometimes called the Black Hound of Destiny, and it seems to be another neutral or benign hellhound -- and actually, seeing it is sometimes considered a good omen rather than bad. Further, people still claim to see it today, especially around northern Wales.

I actually just finished reading a paranormal romance book called "The Darkest Torment," and the heroine in the book learns that she is the immortal alpha of hellhounds.

There is a hound in yorkshire that haunted a person as they walked home, the person would hear the sound of padding feet behind them and turn around to see a black dog, earning its name paddfoot.

The black shuck sounds interesting. Garm? I never heard of this doggy, interesting.

Inigami- a Japanese dog spirit that serves as sort of a witches familiar. Some times it's said to haunt a particular house or place after its master has passed away.

This was great! I'd love to see a video going more in depth about Church Grims. From the research and stories I've heard, they were a mix of human and animal remains that were buried together to create a guardian spirit for a church.. Well that's what I've heard anyway. Keep up the great work! 💖

There is also the Cu Sith (coo she) of Scottish mythology. It has shaggy green fur and its name means Hound of the Fairies. Some stories say that, if you hear it howl three times, you will die. There are other stories of the Cu Sith protecting travellers from harm.

I have dreamt about hell hounds. All I remember is one for sure is running beside them away from sometime they weren't trying to hurt me we were just running. I know I have had a few dreams them and the grim ripper. As always another amazing video 😊😊 can't wait for your book to come out 😉

I don't know if you could consider this a Hellhound, but in my home country Honduras, there is the legend of the Cadejo. I would argue it to be true since a couple members of my family have encountered it, but I have no proof to say for sure. Anyway, the Cadejo somewhat similar to the Gytrash, it appears to people at night to lead them stray. Now here comes the difference, the Cadejo is a term refered to two different dogs, one is described as being black with glowing red eyes while the other is white with glowing yellow eyes, both of them ar regular sized dogs, the size of a small dog you could say really. One of them, I don't remember which one it is, but one appears to you and moves between your legs to gain your trust, forming like and 8 around them, once your attention is drawn to it, you are to believe you are following your path, but in reality the dog is leading you somewhere else. It is commonly said that if nobody pulls you out of it, it leds you to your death since nobody knows what happens to the people led by this one. The other dog on the other hand might appear to you before you meet the first, or while you are following it. This one protects you and fights the "evil" dog giving you time to come out of your trance, or to someone to help you, which happened to my relatives, someone was drawn to the sound of dogs fighting in the middle of the night and rescued them in one case, in the other they noticed they were following the dog and dragged them away from it. One can tell when the dog or dogs will appear because of their howling, it is said when you walk in the night and hear the howl of a dog nearby, but there is no dog around, it is the Cadejo announcing itself, from that moment on you will hear the howlings farther and farther each time, but it will be the dog coming closer and closer to you, when you hear it the farthest its when the dog is riht next to you. I really hope you read this because I would love to see a legend from my country in one of your videos.

“They’re kinda like man’s best friend, except sometimes they may try to kill you” so, basically just a Chihuahua

Could you do a video about "Bayard" aka "Ros Beiaard of Dendermonde" it's a horse from Belgian folklore. This is a legend from my home town so I would appreciate it if more people knew about it.

Hi from Romania! Love your videos! Keep it up!

I actually saw a black shuck in a grave yard at night, i went to a 'haunted' church in the middle of nowhere with some friends at work, the site has been a place of worship for over 2000 years. I was joking around knocking on the church door asking if anyone was there and just being a fool, i was in no way scared and do not believe in the supernatural. As we were walking around the boundary of the graveyard i saw something red out of the corner of my eye, i turned around and saw it laying on all fours behind the hedge next to me. Once it realised i had seen it, it then stood up, it was massive, the size of a great dane at least, huge glowing red eyes, very skinny with long black long fur and a long tail. The face was something between a wolf and a dog, it was standing about 2 meters away from me. It made no noise when it moved and there was no steam coming from its breath, unlike ours. I in no way believe in the supernatural, am a very rational person and have lived in the countryside all my life. I have had a shotgun licence since i was 18 and been shooting air rifles since i was 8, I've been shooting at night 100's of times and have seen every animal the English country side has to offer, i would of thought i was very qualified to identify any animal. I have never seen anything even remotely similar to what i saw that night, it was an amazing experience.

I was watching an episode of Supernatural with hellhounds in it and your video's notification appeared on my screen. What a coincidence lol

I have never actually considered Cerberus to be a hellhound. I mean personally just from all the descriptions of him and what I've been shown a hellhound to me the two just never clicked.

For a good look at a variety of Hell Hounds read the anthology Must Love Hell Hounds. I loved it.

Cerberus translated means Spot so the guardian to the underworlds name is Spot

Here's another type: My Grandma's dog. That monster won't stop running around, bark annoyingly, salivating or stop biting your feet. And because grandma doesn't trim him all that often he has nasty nails which are REALLY annoying when he starts clinging to you. And he has a secret weapon of "puppy eyes" which makes him go off easy. If you meet that type of creature, kill it when no-one's looking.

In Indian mythology the most wrathful form of Lord Shiva is Kal Bhairav who's accompanied by a dog of war called" shwan" Would be nice if I could do a video on same

Considering you focused on Britain, you neglected the Capelthwaite, the Padfoot, the Skriker, and the Mauthe Doog to name but four. Also there's the Dip from the Catalan region of Spain, oude rode ogen (old red eyes) from Belgium, and the rongeur d'os (gnawner of bones) from France.

I would have been suspicious to believe in hell hounds. Except about two years ago, my husband and I were watching tv in our room at night. And we heard what sounded like a wolf-like howl in our house. We both just looked at each other to see if we both heard it. (We were too frightened to leave our room). It was about two or three howls and then nothing. At that time, our little dog was very sick with liver cancer. What’s weird is she didn’t react to the sounds. But my husband and I had a bad feeling that it was a sign that our beloved dog would soon pass away... She passed away a few days after that😞

"im the black dog and when I bite i wont let go" thanks for covering this subject man

Hellhound: NOW YOU ARE MINE *laughing evilly*

I wasn't paying much attention, that is until he said "torn them to pieces".

Thank you for making these videos helping me explore my historical and mythology career

Yes there is another hellhounf I encountered when I was a child. For me it was called Dover, but I followed the legend through the world of the occult and came to a few names Dagon and Korundus ( fuzzy on the last one, Mesopotamian origins) The demon haunted my dreams when I was 4 and only for a few short weeks but in that time it was like something from an omen child movie. The one vivid dream I clearly remember was when one night in my dream Dover was hunting and killing my friends that lived in the apartment complex . The parents were talking about a real life Freddy Krueger after it killed my last friend making it 6 in a week. I saw the shadow of the dog step in front of my door and the shadow stretched just like in the Freddy movie. My door swung open and it stood there. It had the head of a Doberman pincher and the body of one of the demon dogs from Ghostbusters. Spikes came in from both the floor and the ceiling. Then the distance stretched between the doorway and my bed plus my bed was floating in the air above the floor. Dover barked and lunged towards me. Now my stepfather had heard me screaming and came into my bedroom. He said that I was floating in the air 4ft above the bed and just as Dover reached me in the dream my stepfather said he snatched me from floating in the air. Good thing he had cause when I awoke I dropped suddenly, if he hadn't caught me my head would've hit the corner if the nightstand and possibly killed me. After that I had a few sleepwalking episodes. One was into a fire that had started behind the apartments from the dry bush. My stepfather heard after the fire started someone saw me sleepwalking straight into the blaze. He soaked a shirt and slung it around his face running into the fire. He found me standing in the middle of the fire some 25ft into the blazing fire. He threw the wet shirt over my face slung me over his back and ran back out. Not a single hair was out of place nor did I have any burns or smoke inhalation problems. It took 5 years for my stepfather to get his eyebrows back. My mom tried calling a priest to possibly consider an exorcism (this was the early 80's so they still considered it) but when he arrived I had contracted the mumps, measles and chicken pox all at the same time so he couldn't tell either way if I needed an exorcism or a big bowl of chicken soup. So we took the poltergeist solution. We moved. Later on I learned that the hellhound I had encountered was called a Cheops, and not only that it was a vessal of Dagon, another alias of Thoth the self made god or in real life Sargon the Great. Also my parents were very strict on what type of TV I watched and it wasn't until I was almost 7 that I saw my first horror movie aliens ( I swear for at least a year I thought those damn facehuggers were under my bed)

I saw one, it was in the woods with red eyes, I fell sick that following week and was hospitalized for a week. I was dehydrated, my crohn's flared severely, I was malnourished and had to get a blood transfusion. Make no mistake I thought of them as folklore stories not to take seriously, now I wonder what lies out there that is a folklore legend, that is real. One nurse I told had a look of horror on her face, she said her great grandmother saw one before her death, the nurses mother heard the story through her mother which she told her children and warned them not to look directly at one.

You didn't mention Surma from Finnish mythology. Surma was said to be a huge dog/wolf that graded the gates of the underworld. There were a number of other canine entities (notably a very deadly one said to only come out during eclipses) in Finnish mythology but Surma was the one that came to mind just now.

One myth that stems from England is of a spirit dog who protects graveyards. It was believed that the first thing buried in a graveyard was charged with protecting it and helping those buried there to cross over, so people started burying a dog first, creating one of the many "black dog" myths

No Chihuahua's???

Another mythic hound from England is Moddey Dhoo, who is described as a black dog that either heralds the death of someone or acts as a sort of soul reaper. Also, in Irish lore, there are tales of the Hound of Ulster, which is just name that acts as a reference to the hero Cuchulain. Also, in Irish lore, the Kelpie had the ability to change itself into a big black dog and human, usually a man, dressed all in black.

Inferno doggos!

Watching this as I am searching for an explanation to what I saw what I was 16… it was shortly after I stopped going to church, I got up to get some water and in my bedroom I felt something with thick and very soft hair brush across my calves as it ran past… it was about 2:10am. I got into bed slowly because I knew whatever it was, was under my bed. I lay down and the moment I closed my eyes they opened sharply…. But the thing is, I had no control over myself. I didn’t feel anything - no fear, confusion - nothing. I had no thoughts, as if all that had been turned off. I remember I sat up straight in my bed, just staring dead ahead for what felt like 20 minutes. Then I moved in one fluent motion so my legs were dangling off the edge of the bed, my feed touched the floor, I sat there for a further what felt like 20 minutes. Suddenly, I calmly looked under my bed and saw these two great big yellow eyes staring at me. I didn’t feel anything still, it was like I was forced to look into it’s eyes. The pupil was strange, it was moving like it was all ripply, flowing… suddenly it was like a switch was flicked and I could feel again. The fear I felt was so terrifying the only way I can describe it is like “feeling pure evil in your soul”. This thing growled at me, then started to charge toward me. I pushed with all my strength on my feet, I swung backward and hit my head on the wall behind me. I was frozen with fear. Petrified. Thoughts swimming through my head what it would do next… is this how I die? Then my mum came in…. I don’t even remember screaming I was so terrified.

I just got my myth ology douse for today❤️thank you🙌🏻

In some parts of South America, like Venezuela which is where I'm from, there's a similar creature that people talk about. It's called El Perro Negro, which translates to "The black dog" and now that I watched this video it is interesting to see that so many other cultures have similar types of stories. People described it as a black dog the size of a horse with bright red eyes, and it would only appear at night. I've heard stories from my family saying that he doesn't bother good people but terrorizes those who do wrong. But of course, what the black dog does changes depending on who tells the story and where they are from.

I love hell hounds, they are either protective or deadly, depending on how we look at it and they are super mysterious, amazing; too bad they don't exisist. But this is an amazing video.

It's amazing how so many different types of cultures have a version of a hell hound

Houndour & Houndoom from Pokémon are close to being a Hellhound!!!

Just found this channel and this is my first video but im already obsessed

Loona is my favorite Hellhound.

The black Shuck, the benign version that walks woman safely home sounds like part of what ended up in the Doberman breed.

love this channel!

Me and my girlfriend saw something like this while driving home last night on an unpaved road we had never driven before, maybe a half mile before the next intersection, we saw this very large dog-like creature on the road just as my headlights lit it up this thing it took off like a rocket crossing the road and down a long driveway of what looked to me like an abandoned house. I have never in my life seen anything like it. We both got the heebee jeebees. Things like animals crossing don't usually scare me. But this thing did. I grew up on a farm and had lots of dogs and saw lots of wolves in our fields. But this thing was like a black cheetah on meth. This happened in southern Ontario Canada. I just wanted to share my experience.

The only hell hounds I know are fluffy from cod zombies, and Loona from helluva boss

What a great topic! Your video is brilliant!

How many mythological cats are out there?

Thanks for this video. I'm working on a story in which a demon slayer is "gifted" an amulet that allows her control of a pair of hellhounds, and I appreciate the folklore you shared. Should help give depth to my version of the creatures which are more than one dimensional killing machines as most of the noted characters, including the hellhounds, will be represented in shades of grey.

How about talking about psychopomps?

Went thru some dark times in my life and I know for a fact I had a hell hound following me and protecting me and you could even smell it when it was near it smelled of rotten eggs, sulfur, and a fireworks smell after they were shot off. I'll never forget that smell and that feeling of that dog being near.

3:50 Nargacuga

They forgot the hellhound from Belgium named Kludde. He stalks lonely travellers at night and jumped on their backs they have to carry his massive weight until they got home. Also a shapeshifter he can transform in to a goat, cat, raven or a human like creature with a black hood. He will hide in places surrounded by water.

I owned one those before, but to expensive to maintain... Hahahaha

Hellhounds have always been one of my favorite mythical creatures. That was an excellent and intriguing video.

Loonie, Loonie, Loona. 🐺

Great video, thanks for the information 👍

Thank you for the information ! Also ur voice I could hear it for daaaays

Very cool and thank you for sharing with us 👍👍👍👍

+1 Hellhound: Loona from Helluva Boss.

Robert Johnson born in Mississippi is considered by some the Father of Blues. Legend has it he sold his to the devil at a crossroad in the Mississippi delta to learn how to play the guitar. His track "Crossroads Blues" was supposedly inspired by this encounter with the devil. Eric Clapton's cover of this track was quite popular. To avoid paying his debt to the devil Johnson was said to always be on the run, one step ahead of the devil. However, he was always being pursued by the devil's dogs. He wrote "Hellhound on My Trail." This track is in the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. The US' National Public Radio includes "Hellhound on My Trail" as one of its 100 most important American works in the 20th century. Johnson influenced many artists including Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, etc. The "Hellhound on My Trail" /"Crossroads" I think was the inspiration for the TV episode "No Rest for the Wicked" on Supernatural, where one of the main characters is to be taken to hell. He was to meet Lilith at a certain crossroads for his descent. He had already sold his sold his soul in a prior episode so this meeting was a "contractual obligation." The episode starts with a dream of these vicious hellhounds in hot pursuit through some dark and creepy woods. In the movie "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" there is a Robert Johnson character who meets the main guys at a crossroads, and unless you knew who Robert Johnson was, and most people don't, the scene at the crossroads or his character would not have meant much. I think he may have mentioned the hounds of hell being after him, but I can't remember.

I have a houndog mix, but I've experience such and such effects , can't asure if his good or evil , but i know he misses me everytime we're apart, ect ect ect ×/

"...for some reason a white cat". There are some folklore in spotted areas that sees the white cat as bad luck instead of the black cat, which is more commonly seen as bad luck.

Yay Hellhounds!I tried petting 1 then it jumped me later on in the day,it stole my 20

I’ve heard a story about God’s or Goddesses using the hellhound. Anyone else, just to compare notes. Just stumbled on your videos today, and I’m hooked! Thank you!

I've heard this name in Percy Jackson & the lightning thief movie 2010 helhounds protects the great palace of Lord Hades(Pluto) some believes that they have 2 heads with 4 eyes & they are brother of cerberus the 3 headed hound protect the gateway of underworld

I love the Idea that the hell hound was in all consumed in darkness, the Idea of the black shuck leading Women and children to safety is just a beautiful thing to imagine! The vid was also very international. And very inspiring to me as I'm a writer, and this gives me so many ideas for books!! Love you vids!🐺📖

I’d have one as a pet but idk how you’d go about feeding it, a cow? A soul? A cows soul? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I seriously love your channel. Good stuff.

“...Video’s about mans best friend...” I don’t “say” this often, lol

Very informative as usual did not know there were several types of them.

Loona is a Hellhound🐺

Black shuck - a hell hound in English folklore that accompanies lone women and makes sure they get to their destination safely. Damn England you could use that right now

How’s the animation going that you talked about?

I think the Black Shuck and the Church Grim are the most interesting types of hellhounds. Cerberus and Garm are pretty cool too.

Furries: there is another

In latin america, specifically here in El Salvador, we have a pair of hellhounds known as The Cadejos, they look like stray dogs one has white fur and glowing blue eyes and the other is black with glowing red eyes, it is said that the bad Cadejo guides drunk and bad men in the nights to troubles or even death and is the good Cadejo that saves those who are in the bad path and protects women too, if the black Cadejo is guiding you you pray for the white Cadejo to rescue you, it is a story for those drunk men or people that goes out to late at night cause they appear even in the town too

Wut about Fenrir? I mean, they’re wolf

4:03 That explains why Vicar Amelia and the Cleric Beast like "Yeaaaargh" ing so much.

Helluva boss

I love this channel