THE CAMPFIRE · FOLKLORE · 1577 · SUFFOLK, ENGLAND
Black Shuck
In 1577, during a thunderstorm, a huge black dog burst into a church full of people in Suffolk, England. Two people died. You can still see its claw marks on the door of another church nearby.
An English legend, first recorded in a pamphlet by Abraham Fleming (1577)
The CampfireThe openingFree
On the east coast of England, in the flat, misty country of Norfolk and Suffolk, there's a creature people have talked about for hundreds of years. They call him Black Shuck.
He's a dog. A huge black dog, as big as a calf, with a shaggy coat and eyes like burning coals. Some people say he only has one eye, in the middle of his head, glowing red or green.
He walks the lonely lanes at night. The coast roads. The churchyards. The marshes.
They say if you see him, you'll die within the year.
They say if you hear him howl, you should not turn around.
Here's the thing about Black Shuck that's different from most monster stories.
There's a document.
On the morning of Sunday, August 4th, 1577, the people of Bungay, a little market town in Suffolk, were in church. St. Mary's Church. It was a dark morning. A huge storm came in. The rain came down so hard it was like night. Thunder shook the walls. Lightning lit up the windows.
The congregation was praying.
And then the doors of the church burst open.
The fire is still burning
The rest of this story is sealed.
You just heard how it starts. The ending, and the card that tells you how to deliver it, open with The Campfire: every story in this room, read right here on any device.
The Campfire
$9.99
- Every story in this room
- Every telling card
- New stories as they are added
All Access
$69
- The Campfire
- All 20 volumes, all 127 files
- True Crime case dossiers
Or start with the free one: Count Off.