For hundreds of years there have been numerous tales of black dogs. Many tales claim they are hell hounds while others swear, they are guardians or harbingers. I’ve had two encounters with them. My first encounter nearly scared me to death. I was home alone with my elderly little daschund, Lucy. I was walking out of my room into the small hallway heading to the living room. I saw this large black dog charging at me full speed. There was no sound, but its mouth was open in a snarl. It stopped my heart, took my breath away and knocked me into the wall. All I could think was a neighborhood dog got into the house and was going after my little Lucy. Nothing was there, just the sound of my heart slamming against my chest as I gasped for air. Lucy was fine, I was fine, the house was fine, so what was that all about. To this day I have no idea why it appeared to me.
My second encounter made a little more sense to me. I had taken a gig doing mini Tarot readings at a local haunted attraction. It was an old pig farm and slaughterhouse that encompassed several acres with multiple areas. It is reputed to actually be haunted. My first night I made a pact with whatever resided there that I would stay in my little area and not enter their area or interfere in anyway. I pulled out my crucifixes, holy water, protection candles and incense and said my prayers. A large bonfire was set up in the middle of the vendor area outside of the entrance area. The bonfire was never left unattended and was an unofficial meeting area for employees. Needless to say, I heard some stories, and yes, I saw and heard a few things. I was brave enough to return the second night. After setting up and saying my prayers I wandered to the fire to warm up. I was talking to the young lady I called the fire keeper and it had just gotten dark. We started hearing a knocking noise and I could see movement out of the corner of my eye. She told me she called that spirit George and that he loves attention. A few minutes later I saw a black shadow fly very fast along the fence line in front of me and turn toward the ticket booth. There was a large welcome display set up with a 20 ft skeleton marking the entrance to the ticket line/booth. The shadow darted up around the skeleton and we watched it rock back and forth praying it wouldn’t fall. We looked at each other asking “did you see that?” She then responded, “they know you’re here.” A few moments later I heard a vicious growl behind me. I turned around to see the biggest scariest black beast I have ever seen in my life. Nothing on this earth even comes close to this animal. I’m 5’2″ and it was chest high. It was solid black and the coat almost shined. If you crossed a rottweiler, a mastiff, a silverback gorilla and the hulk, you’d be close. So of course it’s charging straight for me. I’m thinking how I never guessed that I would die at a haunted house. My brain just registered huge, black, muscles, teeth, slobber, chains and spikes, the face of death. It runs past me so close I can feel it brush against me. Growling and barking straight into the fire. Even though I thought death was upon me, I wasn’t afraid. As I looked into the fire trying to process what had just happened, I was filled with a sense of comfort. The beast was there to protect me. I truly feel that it drew the line with the other spirits telling them that I was off limits. I finished out the season with no problems. I said my prayers upon arrival every night and expressed my gratitude for the protection.
