Known according to ancient texts as Black Shuck, a name believed to come from an Old English word meaning “black demon”, the 2 meter tall beast appeared as a bringer of death in many ancient tales more than 500 years ago. During the 16th century, “Black Shuck” was feared by the inhabitants of what is now the United Kingdom due to the number of brutal deaths committed by a “giant hellhound with fiery reddish eyes.”
Now, more than 500 years after legends told of the hellhound, archaeologists appear to have discovered the remains of Black Shuck in the ruins of Leiston Abbey in Suffolk, in an unmarked grave thirty inches deep between several ceramic pieces surrounding the body.
According to initial calculations, the remains belong to a “male dog” at least two meters tall and weighing around 90 kilos.
The remains of Leiston Abbey
Is it possible that these remains belong to the legendary bringer of terror who wreaked havoc on the population of East Anglia?
‘The story of Black Shuck has to have its origins somewhere and, who knows, it could have its origins in the dog that was buried here’
Brendon Wilkins, Project Manager at Dig Ventures
It is still an enigma why the remains of the feared Black Shuch rest beneath sacred ground, despite all the atrocities that the monster dog had committed in the past.
Local folklore claims that the Black Shuck made its appearance during a brutal storm on 4 August 1577 at Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, nearly seven miles from Leiston in Suffok. The fearful villagers found refuge inside the church, but despite the huge wooden doors guarding it, the Black Shuck managed to enter.
According to Reverend Abraham Fleming’s book, A Strange and Terrible Miracle:
This black dog, or the devil in such likeness (God knows all, who works all), running through the whole body of the church with great speed and incredible haste, among the people, in a visible form and figure, passed between two people, while they were kneeling and engaged in prayer, it seemed, twisted both their necks in an instant completely backwards, so much so that even at the moment they knelt, they strangely died.
Radiocarbon tests seem to indicate that the remains of the beast correspond to the time when Black Shuck terrorized the population of East Anglia. It seems that not all legends are just legends, and although many believe that mythology is far from reality, this time, science has proven that this is not the case. The only question that remains is, what else is considered mythology, when in fact it is the ultimate reality?
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