The Barghest. Beware the Ghost Dog, He is a Hound from Hell!

In quite a few of today's better horror films and stories, there are a number of large black dogs snarling, growling and prowling about, ready to pounce on their victims with a crazed look in their eyes. They are usually referred to as hell hounds or something of the like and their purpose is pretty simple. They exist either to drag a person's soul (or body) back to hell, to tear a person to shreds to release their soul to hell or simply to terrify a person so much that it warns them in no uncertain terms to back off what ever they were doing that ticked off what ever evil forces the dogs were working for so they stop. They stop immediately, and usually leave town if they are smart, and take up a new liking for cats!

The scary thing is, these dogs are not just a figment of modern day writers and film-makers. The tales of these dogs are rooted in legend and folklore, and as with anything else that is handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation, there just might be some substance behind this legend.

The stories originated in Britain and the hounds were called the Barghest.In olden times the word for ghost was pronounced "guest" in Northern England and the word "Bar" put together with it could have made the origin of the word "town ghost" but perhaps that wasn't the original meaning at all. We will never know, but whatever the original meaning of the word, most stories of the Barghest tell of a very large black dog with red eyes and very large, sharp teeth.

Some tales have likened the Barghest to a werewolf in ferocity and strength, others say it comes as a harbinger of death, merely to warn of impending doom. Others say they are simply evil and will kill at will simply for the sport of it. Some say they will steal your babies and small children from their cradles at night to take them to their lair to eat as a midnight snack.

One must be very wary of the Barghest. They are difficult to hunt and almost impossible to capture because thy also have the capability of shapshifting. According to legend, they have been known to be able to transform into cats, trolls, elves, ravens, rabbits and even human form.

We Have a Winner!!

Congratulations to BARBARA! She's the winner of the EMF reader in our latest contest. Be sure to keep your eyes open for upcoming contests and remember, entries are also accepted through facebook.

Ghost Story from Virginia

Ashley - Sterling, Virginia - 2001-2003

In early 2001, my parents and I started renting a two-story house that wasn't more than 40 years old. We never knew about the previous owners or any history on the house. We were only told that the old owners moved out in a hurry. There were two sheds in the backyard that were full of old stuff that was left by the previous owners, so they really did leave in a hurry.

Odd things didn't start happening until after we lived there for a few months. There were four bedrooms upstairs and I had one that was on the end of the upstairs. That room was always freezing and it had a heavy feeling to it -- like whenever you walked into the room it felt like you were walking into a freezer and you were weighted down by something. After being sick a few times in that room, I moved to the bedroom adjacent to it. That room never got cold or had any weird feelings to it.

I used to be a cheerleader and play soccer, I had many trophies of all the years I did sports -- I had them all lined up on a dresser right next to my closet. One day, when I got home from school all my trophies were laying on the ground in a row. The house was empty all day and my door was closed the entire time I was at school. A lot of stuff happened in the closet of my room also. I would have toys that made noises be turned off and on, the switches would actually be switched to off when I put them away and then they would turn on in the middle of the night. And we had an attic that my father went into once since we lived there. There were no animals in the attic, just cobwebs and our winter stuff. But at night we would hear bumping sounds, sort of like someone knocking on the attic floor, but with carpet on the floor of the attic.

One day I was telling my friend about it, so we started knocking on the ceiling of my room. It was a simple "knock knock" and not two minutes later we heard a "knock knock" back. It scared us to the point where I would sleep in the living room for a little while. And my parents said that they couldn't hear anything, not us knocking or the knock back. Soon we decided to move closer to my new high school. The last month we were there I was sitting upstairs in the family room when I kept getting the feeling of being poked in the leg, stomach, sides, and arms. It was my muscles twitching -- like someone was poking me. Ever since moving out of that house I've had minor encounters with different things, but nothing compared to what went on in that house. I could never get any information on that house from anywhere, but I am continuing to look to this day.

This great story comes to The Shadow Watchers from ghostvillage.com They're celebrating their tenth year of getting great paranormal information to a huge audience of readers and we than them for it. Make sure you check out their website.

Great Halloween Fun

Here's the latest news from Troy Taylor, the Editor of Bump in the Night Ghost Report which is published by Troy Taylor & American Hauntings.
Main Website at http://www.americanhauntings.org If you have the time, this sounds like a blast!

SPOOKAPALOOZA! THE BIGGEST EVENT OF THE HALLOWEEN SEASON!

Spookapalooza 2009 Our Last Houdini Séance!

October 31, 2009 -- Decatur, Illinois

Haunted Lincoln Theater



Doors Open at 7:30 PM

Event Begins at 9:00 PM

No One Admitted after 9:00 PM!

Tickets only $10 for General Admission!
Limited Spots Remaining for the Late Night Ghost Hunt and Stage Seating during the Séance!


Join Host Troy Taylor, Illusionist James L. Clark & Medium Ken Berg for the Biggest and Most Chilling Halloween Event of 2009! You'll be riveted to your seat at one of the most terrifying events of the season as we hold our final Houdini séance within the haunted confines of the legendary Lincoln Theater! Be chilled by a theatrical re-creation of a Victorian séance, which will have you wondering if it's real, or merely an illusion! Be unsettled by a Live Radio Show from a 1936 Houdini Séance and then pushed over the edge as a real-life spirit communication begins to try and reason the spirit of famed magician Harry Houdini! He always maintained that if it was possible to make contact from the other side, he would do so -- and will be finally make contact at the Lincoln Theater on the 83rd anniversary of his death?

The Banshee, Mourning Spirit of the Irish

The Banshee (or "bean-shide" if you know Gaelic) is a female fairy of sorts, of Irish decent, that comes to warn others of Irish decent of their impending death. According to Celtic lore, the Banshee could only be seen at night in one of the forms of the Goddess; a beautiful young woman, a proper matron or a shriveled old hag.

Tradition states that the Banshee could visit and cry only for members of the five major Irish clans, that being the O'Connors, the O'Gradys, the O'Briens, the O'Neils and the Kavenaughs. Since those days, centuries of interbreeding between those clans has made the Banshee and her wailing cry fair game for anyone with even a bit of Irish in their blood.

The Banshee usually appears as hooded figure outside a person's window and her cry is so shrill it can shatter glass. Occasionally, there have been reports of the Banshee appearing in human form to bring predictions of doom to members of a royal Irish family. Such was the case with King James I of Scotland. In 1437 , He was approached by an Irish Banshee in the form of a normal human woman who told him of his murder (and also told him that the Earl of Atholl was at the root of the deed).
Everything she said turned out to be true, but this was not a surprise to the King's court. In those days, the Irish respected the cry of the Banshee.

Keep in mind, a Banshee can warn of the death of a relative or a loved one to come as well, not just of the person who hears the cry. I have heard people in my own family say they have heard the Banshee cry. I am of Celtic descent being Scotts and Irish. I believe them. Have you ever had that feeling when you knew death was near? You could just feel that someone near you was going to die? That's a bit of "the site". That doesn't mean you are a Banshee, but it does mean that on a dark and quiet night you might hear one crying for you.