The archive

Meetings upon the road

These first records differ in place, behaviour and available evidence. Each will be updated as further historical sources are found and checked.

14 records

Norfolk and Suffolk form the heart of the inquiry. The adjoining counties are admitted where the evidence leads.

14 records shown

02
Journal account 1829; further notice 1850Overstrand, Beeston and East Norfolk, Norfolk

Old Shock beneath the churchyard wall

Amelia Opie recorded a rough, shaggy presence walking at twilight between two Norfolk churches. A later notice preserves Shuck's Lane and several other East Norfolk meetings.

Record type
Historical report
Source status
1829 journal account and 1850 notice inspected
Reported behaviour
Tangible and uncanny; no attack described
Identification
Called Old Shock in 1829 and Shuck in 1850
Open record
07
Recounted in the late 1930s; meeting date unstatedWigborough Road near Salcott crossroads, Essex

The hound beside the cart

William Fell knew the marsh country and was not easily put about. Yet one night near Salcott, a black hound came beside the cart and kept there for half a mile.

Record type
Later retelling
Source status
Extended quotation recovered; original page sought
Reported behaviour
Following and formidable; no attack reported
Identification
Black hound placed within the Shuck country
Open record
08
Early autumn 1938; published June 1980Pirnhow Street, Ditchingham, South Norfolk

The dog that vanished level with him

The road was still, the hour was ten, and Ernest Whiteland had a mile and a half to walk. A shaggy black dog came steadily towards him, then ceased to be there.

Record type
Later retelling
Source status
Detailed quotation recovered; magazine page sought
Reported behaviour
Quiet approach; sudden fear after the disappearance
Identification
Named Black Shuck by Whiteland's companions
Open record
10
Traditional encounters; in print by 1958Peddars Way through the western Brecks to Holme-next-the-Sea, West Norfolk and Breckland

The hound upon the old road

Peddars Way runs through the dry western country and comes down to the sea at Holme, close by Hunstanton. Here the record is not one man's night, but an old warning repeated along the road: the black hound may stand before the traveller and require the way.

Record type
Route tradition
Source status
Route tradition; original 1958 passage sought
Reported behaviour
Obstruction and warning; no single meeting recovered
Identification
Named Black Shuck in the printed route tradition
Open record
11
Set before the Reformation; published 1963Littleport mere and the Bulldog Bridge tradition, Cambridgeshire

The dog buried with honour

A great black dog is said to have defended a young woman beside the mere. Both dog and attacker died, and the dog alone was given an honourable burial.

Record type
Place tradition
Source status
Book and chapter identified; original passage sought
Reported behaviour
Protective; killed in the struggle
Identification
Fen black-dog tradition; Shuck identity possible, not settled
Open record
12
Reports in 1970; named account 19 April 1972Great Yarmouth and Gorleston beaches, East Norfolk coast

The hound upon the sands

A 1970 beach report is often repeated without its newspaper. A named coastguard account from 1972 can be traced further, and the two must not be made into one event.

Record type
Modern sighting
Source status
1972 newspaper identified; 1970 report still sought
Reported behaviour
Observed at a distance; no approach or attack
Identification
Large black hound; later placed in the Shuck record
Open record
14
In print by 1952; meetings undatedBetween Middleton and Boxford, near Sudbury, North-west Essex and south-west Suffolk

The hound across the Stour boundary

A black dog was said to run from Middleton in Essex towards Boxford in Suffolk. The old notice gives him a course across the county edge, but no traveller, night or single meeting.

Record type
Route tradition
Source status
1952 scholarly notice identified; original page sought
Reported behaviour
Running route; no approach or attack recorded
Identification
Black dog in 1952; named Shuck by later collectors
Open record