Dogs are one of our favourite pets. These cuddly, adorable and the sweetest canines can never terrorize us (except to the people who are petrified of them . . Yeah! I am one of them 😉 ) But, according to mythology there are few canines that are sure to chill your spine and freeze your blood at the mere sight of them. Dogs and hounds are sacred and otherworldly in many cultures and prevalent in many myths, particularly those regarding the gods of the wild places. They are guardians of the way between; bounding through the forest on the hunt, they cross through the boundary between the worlds.Hence the saying that these canines can see ghosts and entities and warn their owners and residents of evil entities nearer to them.
They are as follows:
1. Cerberus: The three-headed guardian at the gates of Hades, Cerberus prevents passage beyond the River Styx–both keeping the dead in the underworld, and keeping the living out (he has a taste only for living flesh). The monstrous offspring of the half-woman, half-snake Echidna and the fire-breathing giant Typhon, who strikes fear even into the hearts of the gods, Cerberus is reminiscent of a serpent, called a “great worm” in Dante’s Inferno and often said to have a man of serpents, he tail of a serpent, and the claws of a lion. The three heads of the dog look at once into the past, the present, and the future. Like all dogs, Cerberus is fiercely loyal to his companion, Hades.
In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone, we do a “tamed” version of this three-headed beast by the name of “Fluffy” who guards the trap door on the third corridor of the castle.
2. Mauthe Doog:
This ghostly canine is a calf-sized black dog which haunts Peel Castle on the Isle of Man. Guards saw the spectre so often, they eventually grew less fearful. But, according to lore, one drunk soldier went down a passage in the castle confront the ghost dog. He came back too terrified to speak and died three days later. The passage was sealed and never used again. Mauthe Doog sightings continued.
3. CwnAnnwn:
In Welsh folklore, CŵnAnnwn are the white spectral hounds of Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld, engaged in the Wild Hunt with dark King GwynNudd of the TylwythTeg, hounding human souls and guiding them on, wet-nosed psychopomps; to hear the wailing of Gwyn’s hounds was an omen of imminent death in the family. The group hunts from Christmas to Twelfth Night while the wind howls fiercely, accompanied by the crone Mallt-y-Nos, “Matilda of the Night,” the Night Mallt who drives the hounds ever on with her shrieking and wailing.
4. Okuri-Inu:
The demon dog of Japanese mythology is a good news/bad news monster. The good news: his ferocity keeps other demons away while he’s following you. The bad news: If you stumble while walking, he’s going to eat you up. But all isn’t lost. You can fool the demon if you pretend you stopped on purpose to take a rest by saying, “This is exhausting,” or “Sure, am glad I stopped on purpose and went face first into the ground so I could check out this mud puddle”. When arrive at your destination, you should leave food out as thanks for not mauling you, then the demon leaves you alone forever. Probably.
5. Cadejo:
Similar to the Okuri-Inu, the cadejo of Central American folklore might help or eat you. The legend speaks of two demons, a black cadejo and a white cadejo. One protects travelers from harm and theft. The other leads to bad decisions and danger and stands on two legs and throw punches like a man. Unfortunately, legends disagree on which cadejo is which, and turning your back or speaking to either makes you go crazy. So the upside of meeting one is pretty small.
Original Source: Dogtime
By: Archa Dave
