In honor of the festivities, I thought I would take some time to share a few ghost stories from my neck of the woods. And to keep in line with my topic, all of these stories are doggie related.
So grab a cup of hot chocolate, turn off the lights, and settle back in your desk chair. Prepare to meet a few of the Creepy Canines of East Tennessee.
Some of the most common spirit dogs in the area seem to actually have their roots across the pond in the British Isles, where a common legend is that of a vicious black dog. This creature is known by several names, including Old Shuck. Fans of the Harry Potter will recognize him as the Grim that is eluded to in book three of the series.
And any Harry Potter fan can tell you that you never want to see a Grim. You see, no matter what name the specter is known by, the main function of the black dog is a death omen. Someone who sees the dog had better get their will in order fast, because death will visit in a very short time. According to some legends, the curse of the dog can be overcome if the witness keeps silent and tells no one about the encounter for a year and a day. If they break their silence one day too soon, death follows in less than a week.
Because most of the original settlers in the East Tennessee area were of Scott-Irish decent, it's no wonder that a few of their ghosts seem to crossed the Atlantic with them. The black dog is no exception. Local legends of black, demonic dogs dot the countryside. One of the more famous black phantoms lives in Kingston, a small town about 40 minutes from my house. The Tennessee version of the Grim is not strictly a death omen, like his Old World cousins. But he is an omen of misfortune, bringing bad luck, even death, to those that see him.
Black dogs are not limited to small towns either, not by a long shot. My ala marter, the University of Tennessee in downtown Knoxville (3rd largest city in the state), also has a resident phantom. This creature is usually seen hanging out around an area known as the Hill, one of the oldest parts of the campus. In his book Mysterious Knoxville, author Charles Edwin Price tells about two UT policemen who had a run in with the creature while on patrol late one night. Hearing howling on the Hill, the officers drove over to investigate. Soon they spotted an enormous black dog sitting on the grounds completely ignoring them. The officers approached the animal, intending to frighten the animal on its way. Suddenly, the dog wheeled on them, barring huge fangs. Its eyes glowed red of their own accord.
