Hellhound
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A hellhound is a demonic dog of Hell, found in mythology or in fiction. Hellhounds typically have features such as an unnaturally large size, a black fur color, glowing eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, and sometimes even the ability to talk. They are often assigned to guard the entrance to the world of the dead or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting down lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure.
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[edit] Examples from folklore
The most famous hellhound is probably Cerberus, the hound of Hades from Greek mythology. Hellhounds are also famous for appearing in Celtic mythology as part of the Wild Hunt. These hounds are given several different names in local folklore, but they display typical hellhound characteristics. The myth is common across Great Britain, and many names are given to the apparitions: Black Shuck of East Anglia (which has its roots in the Mythology of the Vikings rather than of the Celts), Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man, Gwyllgi of Wales, and so on. See Barghest. The earliest mention of these myths are in both Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium (1190) and the Welsh myth cycle of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (ca. 10th-13th century).l
[edit] Fiction
Hellhounds are a common monstrous creature in fantasy fiction and horror fiction, though they sometimes appear in other genres such as detective novels.
- Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles
- Frank Belknap Long's Cthulhu Mythos-related "The Hounds of Tindalos"
- The eighth episode of the second season of Supernatural featured hell-hounds.
- In the anime Getbackers, book 15 features a card named as Hound in Hades.
- In the anime, OVA and tv series of hellsing Alucard can summon a hellhound called Baskerville.
- Zuul ("The Gatekeeper") and Vinz Clortho ("The Keymaster"), the minions of Gozer in Ghostbusters.
- Two hellhounds, by the name of Mohammed and Alvin, are featured in Christopher Moore's novel, A Dirty Job.
- In the pilot episode of the short lived tv series Night Stalker, there are coyote like animals that resemble hellhounds.
[edit] Games
Hellhounds are also a common foe in fantasy role-playing and video games including:
- Adventure Quest
- Doom RPG
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Final Fantasy XII (Hellhounds are beasts encountered in Golmore Jungle)
- RuneScape
- Shadowrun
- Zork
- Guild Wars
- Heroes of Might and Magic V
- Shadowgate
- Buffy the vampire slayer in the episode "The Prom"
[edit] Trivia
- The term is also common in African American blues music, such as in Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on my Trail".
- Fluffy from the first Harry Potter book is considered to be a hellhound and is based on Cerberus, a mythological 3-headed dog that guarded the Greek underworld.
- The Pokémon Houndour and Houndoom are based on hellhounds.
[edit] See also
[edit] External link
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