If you could travel through time and visit places from all different eras of history, there are some places that would be lovely to visit and others that you’d definitely want to avoid. 17th century English prisons definitely fall into the latter category.
These institutions were notorious for their horrible living conditions, so it comes as no surprise that one of worst of these prisons, Newgate Prison, spawned some really dark folktales.
TheBlack Dog of Newgate is a spectre that supposedly haunted this building. He was a very large wild dog, with ‘saucer-like’ eyes that shone like lamps, and carried iron chains around his neck. Illustrations of this creature from the 17th century sometimes depict the creature with snakes coming out of his head, like Medusa, but this might be an artistic choice and not intended to be taken literally.
In the 17th century, a man named Luke Hutton published a pamphlet about this creature, claiming that the story was told to him by a strange, very thin man. This booklet is written like the author is trying to warn the reader about this dangerous supernatural creature, yet it does contain a disclaimer that the story is most likely fiction, with the remark that in reality there is only one black dog in the prison, and it is a statue. I wonder if the monster was originally intended as a metaphor for the harsh treatment of the inmates that the prison was so infamous for?
In any case, the black dog nevertheless gained a position among the local folktales and cryptids. I have seen claims that the story of the monster actually predates the booklet I mentioned, but there doesn’t seem to be a source on this statement, or any source older than the pamphlet.
The story goes like this: a peculiar man was (correctly) accused of sorcery and sentenced to a cell in the Newgate prison complex. Unfortunately for him, this happened during a time of great famine. During an uprising, some starving inmates overpowered him and, because the guards did not care enough about the prisoners to interfere, managed to kill the man and eat his corpse. But with his dying breath, the sorcerer cast a powerful curse on his assailants.
After he was slain and eaten, a large black dog was sometimes seen on the prison grounds. This monster was assumed by some to be the spirit of the victim, and it stalked the prison at night. The creature was formidable and hunted down all the inmates who were responsible for the sorcerer’s death, gruesomely killing every single one of them until none were left.
Though the prison was demolished over a century ago, there is still an urban legend about a shapeless black shadow that roams the Amen Court area.
Sources: Hutton, L., 1638, The discovery of a London monster, called, the blacke dogg of New-gate profitable for all readers to take heed by, London. Which you can read here. (Andthis internet page for that last part about the urban legend) (Source for both images: Luke Hutton, 1638)
Title:Pagan Portals: Gods and Goddesses of Wales — A Practical Introduction to Welsh Deities and Their Stories Publisher: Moon Books Author: Halo Quin Pages:120pp Price: $10.95 (paperback) Release Date: 1 July 2019
Rhiannon. Pryderi. Pwyll. Arianrhod. Taliesin. Ceridwen. Annwn. In this brief – but informative – primer, Quin explores the primary texts which preserved the tales of the Welsh Gods and Goddesses; analyzes what we can learn about the Deities from these texts; and offers suggestions for meditation, journeywork, and offerings in their honor.
Title:Pagan Portals: Gods and Goddesses of Wales — A Practical Introduction to Welsh Deities and Their Stories Publisher: Moon Books Author: Halo Quin Pages:120pp Price: $10.95 (paperback) Release Date: 1 July 2019
Rhiannon. Pryderi. Pwyll. Arianrhod. Taliesin. Ceridwen. Annwn. In this brief – but informative – primer, Quin explores the primary texts which preserved the tales of the Welsh Gods and Goddesses; analyzes what we can learn about the Deities from these texts; and offers suggestions for meditation, journeywork, and offerings in their honor.
camelot r/relationships: my [39m] aunt and dear friend [46f] is having an affair behind my uncle’s [47m] back (they’re married) with another guy [42m], who also happens to be my best friend, and two of my brothers [38m, 22m] want to expose him but i know that if they do all hell is going to break loose. my best friend is a really great guy by the way, he’s always helped my brothers and i and there’s nobody i trust more. i couldn’t bear to see him or my aunt get into a row with my beloved uncle, who happens to trust ME more than anything. my brother says that regardless of my support he’s going to tell my uncle anyways. what should i do?
edit 1: stop telling me to ‘tell the truth’ i told you that my friend is a really great guy and i really love my aunt and i don’t want them to get in trouble. my brothers are already evil anyways and i know they’re just doing this for the drama just like the time they killed this other guy we know (long story)
[UPDATE] my brothers told…
okay so the last time i came here i told you about the situation with my uncle, aunt, and my friend, but my brothers ended up exposing them anyways regardless of my advice. during the raiding party my best friend killed like 10 people getting out of my aunt’s room, but other than that everyone’s doing a. okay!! at least for now…
my uncle tells me that he needs to punish my aunt for her crime of adultery and i think that what he’s doing is really unreasonable (burning her at the stake) but he says that he has to. i told him that i wouldn’t take part in that at all so he told me that he’d take two of my two other brothers [34m, 28m], as well as the brother from the first post [38m] to be on watch instead because they wouldn’t say no to him. this is all getting too out of hand…i hope my aunt will be okay but i don’t know how to get her out of this
edit 1: my brothers can’t say no to my uncle because he’s the king. duh
edit 2: okay sorry for not mentioning he was the king before i don’t see how that changes the situation
edit 3: for all of you asking, i haven’t seen my best friend in a while since the incident with my brothers. i wonder he’s doing alright, i’m really worried about him and i couldn’t bear to fight him if it came down to him or my uncle. i hope that my brothers don’t hurt him!!!
edit 4: yes i have a lot of brothers it’s not that hard to keep track of them
[UPDATE 2] I’M GOING TO SET THIS ENTIRE KINGDOM ON FIRE
![bestiarium:The Black Dog of Newgate [English folktales]If you could travel through time and visit pl](https://64.media.tumblr.com/956d5bd7110e0d8973c68f0a154943cf/9fdae68e98310b6e-39/s500x750/8bbb8e74ed0645156ab7ed8eebcf008eefc5953c.jpg "bestiarium:The Black Dog of Newgate [English folktales]If you could travel through time and visit pl")
![bestiarium:The Black Dog of Newgate [English folktales]If you could travel through time and visit pl](https://64.media.tumblr.com/74794baf66a081cc3c032ff07407b61d/9fdae68e98310b6e-17/s1280x1920/a49a4f18f10f107b7bc3f6a8e145ffba1b6778f0.jpg "bestiarium:The Black Dog of Newgate [English folktales]If you could travel through time and visit pl")
