August 21, 2025 • 13 mins
Dive into a captivating collection of ghostly tales where the spirits come not from the human realm, but from our beloved animal companions. Each chapter reveals spine-tingling stories of hauntings featuring dogs, cats, birds, jungle creatures, and more. Join Allyson Hester as she guides you through these eerie encounters that blend the supernatural with the animal kingdom.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Part four of chapter two of Animal Ghosts. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
This reading by Alison Hester of Athens, Georgia. Animal Ghosts
by Elliot o'donald, Part four of chapter two National Ghosts
(00:23):
in the form of Dogs. One of the most notorious
dog ghosts is the Guiligi. In Wales, this apparition, which
is of a particularly terrifying appearance, chiefly haunts the lane
leading from Moisead to Lee'sworny cross Ways. Belief in a
spectral dog, however, is common all over the British Isles.
(00:47):
The apparition does not belong to any one breed, but
appears equally often as a hound, setter, terrier, shepherd dog,
Newfoundland and retriever. In Lancashire, it is called the trash
or Striker. Trash because the sound of its tread is
thought to resemble a person walking along a miry, sloppy
(01:08):
road with heavy shoes. Striker because it is said to
utter a curious screech, which may be taken as a
warning of the approaching death of some relative or friend.
When followed, the phantom retreats, glaring at its pursuer and
either sinks into the ground with a harrowing shriek or
disappears in some equally mysterious manner. In Norfolk. In Cambridgeshire,
(01:32):
this specter is named Shuck, the local name for shag,
and is reported to haunt churchyards and other dreary spots.
In the parish of Overstrand. There used to be a
lane called Shuck's Lane named after this Phanfasm round about
leads The specter dog is called Padfoot and is about
(01:53):
the size of a donkey, with shaggy hair and large
eyes like saucers. My friend mister Barker me there was
at one time a ghost in the Hebrides called the Lamper,
which was like a very big white dog with no tail.
It ran sometimes straight ahead, but usually in circles, and
(02:13):
to see it was a prognostication of death. Mister Barker,
going home by the sea coast, saw a lamper in
the hedge. He struck at it and his stick passed
right through it. The lamper rushed away, whining and howling alternately,
and disappeared. Mister Barker was so scared that he ran
(02:33):
all the way home. On the morrow he learned of
his father's death. In Northumberland, Durham and various parts of Yorkshire,
the ghost dog, which is firmly believed in is styled Barguest,
Bargeist or Boguest, whilst in Lancolnshire it is termed Bogart.
(02:56):
Its most common form in these countries is a large
black dog with flaming eyes, and its appearance is a
certain prognostication of death. According to tradition, there was once
a bar guest in a glen between Darlington and Houghton
near Throstlenest. Another haunted a piece of waste land above
(03:18):
a spring called Oxwells between Raghorn and Headingley Hill near Leeds.
On the death of any person of local importance in
the neighborhood, the creature would come forth, followed by all
other dogs, barking and howling. Another form of this animal
specter is the capelthwhite, which according to common report, had
(03:40):
the power of appearing in the form of any quadruped
but usually chose that of a large black dog. The
Mauthe Doug, one of the most famous canine apparitions is
that of the mauthe Doug once said, and I believe
still said, to haunt Peel Castle, Isle of Man. Its
(04:01):
favorite place, so I am told, was the guard chamber,
where it used to crouch by the fireside. The sentry,
so the story runs, got so accustomed to seeing it
that they ceased to be afraid. But as they believed
it to be of an evil origin, waiting for an
opportunity to seize them, they were very particular what they
said or did, and refrained from swearing. In its presence.
(04:25):
The mathed Doug used to come out and return by
passage through the church, by which the sentry on duty
had to go deliver the keys every night to the captain.
These men, however, were far too nervous to go alone,
and were invariably accompanied by one of the retainers. On
one occasion, however, one of the sentinels, and a fit
(04:46):
of drunken bravado, swore he was afraid of nothing and
insisted on going alone. His comrades tried to dissuade him,
upon which he became abusive, cursed the mall dug and
said he would well strike it. An hour later, he returned,
absolutely mad with horror and speechless, nor could he even
(05:08):
make signs whereby his friends could understand what had happened
to him. He died soon after, his features distorted in
violent agony. After this, the apparition was never seen again.
As to what class of spirits this specter dog belongs,
that is impossible to say. At the most we can
(05:29):
only surmise, and I should think the chances of its
being the actual phantasm of some dead dog or an
elemental are about equal. It is probably sometimes the one
and sometimes the other. And its origin is very possibly
like that of the banshee spectral hounds. As with the
specter dog, so with packs of hounds, stories of them
(05:52):
come from all parts of the country. Gervasi of Tilbury
states that as long ago as the thirteenth century, a
pack of spectral hounds was frequently witnessed all nights when
the moon was full, scampering across forests and downs. In
the twelfth century, the pack was known as the Hurlathing
and haunted chiefly the banks of the wy Roby. In
(06:17):
his Traditions of Lancashire, Hardwick in his Traditions, Superstitions and Folklore.
Homerton in his Isles of Locke all wart Sikes in
his British Goblins, Sir Walter Scott and others all refer
to them. In the North of England, they are known
as Gabriel's Hounds, in Devon as the whisk yesk Yeth
(06:43):
or heath Hounds, in Wales as the quinn Owen or
sign e Weyber, in Cornwall as the Devil and his
Dandy dogs, and in the neighborhood of Leeds as the
gabble Wretchets. They are common all over the continent. In appearance,
they are usually described as monstrous human headed dogs, black
(07:06):
with fiery eyes and teeth, and sprinkled all over with blood.
They make a great howling noise which is very shrill
and mournful, and appear to be in hot pursuit of
some unseen query. When they approach a house, it may
be taken as a certain sign that someone in the
house will die very shortly. According to Mister Roby, a
(07:28):
specter huntsman known by the name of Gabriel Ratchet's, accompanied
by a pack of phantom hounds, is said to hunt
a milk white dough round the Eagle's Crag and the
veil of Todd Morden every all hollows eve. These hounds
were also seen in Norfolk. A famous ecclesiast, when on
(07:48):
his way to the coast, was forced to spend the
night in the King's linn inn owing to a violent snowstorm.
Retiring to bed shortly after supper, he tried to forget
his disappointment in reading a volume of sermons he had
brought at a second hand shop and bury Saint Edmund's.
I think I can use this one, he said to himself.
(08:10):
It will do nicely for the people of AILI sham.
They are so steeped in hypocrisy that nothing short of
violent denunciation will bring it home to them. This, I think, however,
will pierce even their skins. A sudden noise made him
spring up. Hounds, he exclaimed, and at this time of night,
(08:30):
good Heavens. He fled to the window, and there, careering
through the yard, baying as they ran, were at least
fifty luminous white hounds. Instead of leaping the stone wall,
they passed right through it, and the bishop then realized
that they were Gabriel hounds. The following evening he received
(08:52):
tidings of his sons, his only son's death. I have
heard that the Yeth Hounds were seen not so long
long ago in a perish in Yorkshire by an old
poacher called Barnes. Barnes was walking in the fields one
night when he suddenly heard the baying of the hounds
and the horse shouts of the huntsman. The next moment,
(09:14):
the whole pack hove in view and tore past him
so close that he received a cut from the whip
on his leg. To his surprise, however, it did not
hurt him, it only felt icy cold. He then knew
that he had seen the Yeth Hounds a spectral pack
of hounds in Russia. A gentleman of the name of Rapaport,
(09:38):
whom I once met in Southampton, told me of an
experience he had once with a spectral pack of hounds
on the slope of Urals. It was about half past
eleven one winter's night, he said, and I was driving
through a thick forest when my coachman suddenly leaned back
in his seat and called out, do you hear that?
(09:59):
I listened, and from afar came a plaintive whining sound.
It's not vulki, is it, I asked. I'm afraid. So, Master,
the coachman replied, they're coming on after us, but there
are some way off still. I said, that is so,
he responded, but wolves run quick, and our horses are tired.
(10:20):
If we can reach the lake first, we shall be
all right. But should they overtake us before we get there?
And he shrugged his shoulders suggestively, not another word, I cried, Drive, Drive,
as if for the devil himself. I have my rifle
ready and will shoot the first wolf that shows itself.
Very good, Master, he answered, I will do everything that
(10:43):
can be done to save your skin and mine. He
cracked his whip and away flew the horses at breakneck speed.
But fast as they went, they could not outstrip the
sound of the howling, which gradually drew nearer and nearer,
until around the curve we had just passed, shot into
view a huge, gaunt wolf. I raised my rifle and fired.
(11:06):
The beast fell, but another one instantly took its place,
and then another and another, till the whole pack came
into sight, and close behind us was an ocean of white, tossing,
foam flecked jaws and red gleaming eyes. I emptied my
rifle into them as fast as I could pull the trigger,
but it only checked them momentarily. A few snaps, and
(11:29):
of their wounded brethren there was nothing left but a
pile of glistening bones. Then high away, and they were
once again in red hot pursuit. At last, our pace slackened,
and still I could see no signs of the lake.
A great gray shape, followed by others, then rushed by
us and tried to reach the horse's flanks with their sharp,
(11:51):
gleaming teeth. A few more seconds and I knew we
should be both fighting back to back, the last great
fight for existence. Indeed, I had ceased firing and was
already beginning to strike out furiously with the butt end
of my rifle, when a new sound arrested my attention,
the baying of dogs. Dogs. I screamed, dogs, Ivan, that
(12:16):
was the coachman's name, dogs, and in my mad joy,
I brained two wolves in as many blows. The next moment,
a large pack of enormous white hounds came racing down
on us. The wolves did not wait to dispute the field.
They all turned tail and with loud howls of terror,
(12:37):
rushed off in the direction they had come on came
the hounds, more beautiful dogs I had never seen. As
they swept by, more than one brushed my knees, though
I could feel nothing save and tense cold. When they
were about twenty yards ahead of us, they slowed down
and maintained that distance in front of us till we
(12:57):
arrived on the shores of the lake. There they halted, and,
throwing back their heads, bayed as if in farewell, and
suddenly vanished. We knew then that they were no earthly hounds,
but spirit ones sent by a merciful providence to save
us from a cruel death. End of Chapter two
Part four of chapter two of Animal Ghosts. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
This reading by Alison Hester of Athens, Georgia. Animal Ghosts
by Elliot o'donald, Part four of chapter two National Ghosts
(00:23):
in the form of Dogs. One of the most notorious
dog ghosts is the Guiligi. In Wales, this apparition, which
is of a particularly terrifying appearance, chiefly haunts the lane
leading from Moisead to Lee'sworny cross Ways. Belief in a
spectral dog, however, is common all over the British Isles.
(00:47):
The apparition does not belong to any one breed, but
appears equally often as a hound, setter, terrier, shepherd dog,
Newfoundland and retriever. In Lancashire, it is called the trash
or Striker. Trash because the sound of its tread is
thought to resemble a person walking along a miry, sloppy
(01:08):
road with heavy shoes. Striker because it is said to
utter a curious screech, which may be taken as a
warning of the approaching death of some relative or friend.
When followed, the phantom retreats, glaring at its pursuer and
either sinks into the ground with a harrowing shriek or
disappears in some equally mysterious manner. In Norfolk. In Cambridgeshire,
(01:32):
this specter is named Shuck, the local name for shag,
and is reported to haunt churchyards and other dreary spots.
In the parish of Overstrand. There used to be a
lane called Shuck's Lane named after this Phanfasm round about
leads The specter dog is called Padfoot and is about
(01:53):
the size of a donkey, with shaggy hair and large
eyes like saucers. My friend mister Barker me there was
at one time a ghost in the Hebrides called the Lamper,
which was like a very big white dog with no tail.
It ran sometimes straight ahead, but usually in circles, and
(02:13):
to see it was a prognostication of death. Mister Barker,
going home by the sea coast, saw a lamper in
the hedge. He struck at it and his stick passed
right through it. The lamper rushed away, whining and howling alternately,
and disappeared. Mister Barker was so scared that he ran
(02:33):
all the way home. On the morrow he learned of
his father's death. In Northumberland, Durham and various parts of Yorkshire,
the ghost dog, which is firmly believed in is styled Barguest,
Bargeist or Boguest, whilst in Lancolnshire it is termed Bogart.
(02:56):
Its most common form in these countries is a large
black dog with flaming eyes, and its appearance is a
certain prognostication of death. According to tradition, there was once
a bar guest in a glen between Darlington and Houghton
near Throstlenest. Another haunted a piece of waste land above
(03:18):
a spring called Oxwells between Raghorn and Headingley Hill near Leeds.
On the death of any person of local importance in
the neighborhood, the creature would come forth, followed by all
other dogs, barking and howling. Another form of this animal
specter is the capelthwhite, which according to common report, had
(03:40):
the power of appearing in the form of any quadruped
but usually chose that of a large black dog. The
Mauthe Doug, one of the most famous canine apparitions is
that of the mauthe Doug once said, and I believe
still said, to haunt Peel Castle, Isle of Man. Its
(04:01):
favorite place, so I am told, was the guard chamber,
where it used to crouch by the fireside. The sentry,
so the story runs, got so accustomed to seeing it
that they ceased to be afraid. But as they believed
it to be of an evil origin, waiting for an
opportunity to seize them, they were very particular what they
said or did, and refrained from swearing. In its presence.
(04:25):
The mathed Doug used to come out and return by
passage through the church, by which the sentry on duty
had to go deliver the keys every night to the captain.
These men, however, were far too nervous to go alone,
and were invariably accompanied by one of the retainers. On
one occasion, however, one of the sentinels, and a fit
(04:46):
of drunken bravado, swore he was afraid of nothing and
insisted on going alone. His comrades tried to dissuade him,
upon which he became abusive, cursed the mall dug and
said he would well strike it. An hour later, he returned,
absolutely mad with horror and speechless, nor could he even
(05:08):
make signs whereby his friends could understand what had happened
to him. He died soon after, his features distorted in
violent agony. After this, the apparition was never seen again.
As to what class of spirits this specter dog belongs,
that is impossible to say. At the most we can
(05:29):
only surmise, and I should think the chances of its
being the actual phantasm of some dead dog or an
elemental are about equal. It is probably sometimes the one
and sometimes the other. And its origin is very possibly
like that of the banshee spectral hounds. As with the
specter dog, so with packs of hounds, stories of them
(05:52):
come from all parts of the country. Gervasi of Tilbury
states that as long ago as the thirteenth century, a
pack of spectral hounds was frequently witnessed all nights when
the moon was full, scampering across forests and downs. In
the twelfth century, the pack was known as the Hurlathing
and haunted chiefly the banks of the wy Roby. In
(06:17):
his Traditions of Lancashire, Hardwick in his Traditions, Superstitions and Folklore.
Homerton in his Isles of Locke all wart Sikes in
his British Goblins, Sir Walter Scott and others all refer
to them. In the North of England, they are known
as Gabriel's Hounds, in Devon as the whisk yesk Yeth
(06:43):
or heath Hounds, in Wales as the quinn Owen or
sign e Weyber, in Cornwall as the Devil and his
Dandy dogs, and in the neighborhood of Leeds as the
gabble Wretchets. They are common all over the continent. In appearance,
they are usually described as monstrous human headed dogs, black
(07:06):
with fiery eyes and teeth, and sprinkled all over with blood.
They make a great howling noise which is very shrill
and mournful, and appear to be in hot pursuit of
some unseen query. When they approach a house, it may
be taken as a certain sign that someone in the
house will die very shortly. According to Mister Roby, a
(07:28):
specter huntsman known by the name of Gabriel Ratchet's, accompanied
by a pack of phantom hounds, is said to hunt
a milk white dough round the Eagle's Crag and the
veil of Todd Morden every all hollows eve. These hounds
were also seen in Norfolk. A famous ecclesiast, when on
(07:48):
his way to the coast, was forced to spend the
night in the King's linn inn owing to a violent snowstorm.
Retiring to bed shortly after supper, he tried to forget
his disappointment in reading a volume of sermons he had
brought at a second hand shop and bury Saint Edmund's.
I think I can use this one, he said to himself.
(08:10):
It will do nicely for the people of AILI sham.
They are so steeped in hypocrisy that nothing short of
violent denunciation will bring it home to them. This, I think, however,
will pierce even their skins. A sudden noise made him
spring up. Hounds, he exclaimed, and at this time of night,
(08:30):
good Heavens. He fled to the window, and there, careering
through the yard, baying as they ran, were at least
fifty luminous white hounds. Instead of leaping the stone wall,
they passed right through it, and the bishop then realized
that they were Gabriel hounds. The following evening he received
(08:52):
tidings of his sons, his only son's death. I have
heard that the Yeth Hounds were seen not so long
long ago in a perish in Yorkshire by an old
poacher called Barnes. Barnes was walking in the fields one
night when he suddenly heard the baying of the hounds
and the horse shouts of the huntsman. The next moment,
(09:14):
the whole pack hove in view and tore past him
so close that he received a cut from the whip
on his leg. To his surprise, however, it did not
hurt him, it only felt icy cold. He then knew
that he had seen the Yeth Hounds a spectral pack
of hounds in Russia. A gentleman of the name of Rapaport,
(09:38):
whom I once met in Southampton, told me of an
experience he had once with a spectral pack of hounds
on the slope of Urals. It was about half past
eleven one winter's night, he said, and I was driving
through a thick forest when my coachman suddenly leaned back
in his seat and called out, do you hear that?
(09:59):
I listened, and from afar came a plaintive whining sound.
It's not vulki, is it, I asked. I'm afraid. So, Master,
the coachman replied, they're coming on after us, but there
are some way off still. I said, that is so,
he responded, but wolves run quick, and our horses are tired.
(10:20):
If we can reach the lake first, we shall be
all right. But should they overtake us before we get there?
And he shrugged his shoulders suggestively, not another word, I cried, Drive, Drive,
as if for the devil himself. I have my rifle
ready and will shoot the first wolf that shows itself.
Very good, Master, he answered, I will do everything that
(10:43):
can be done to save your skin and mine. He
cracked his whip and away flew the horses at breakneck speed.
But fast as they went, they could not outstrip the
sound of the howling, which gradually drew nearer and nearer,
until around the curve we had just passed, shot into
view a huge, gaunt wolf. I raised my rifle and fired.
(11:06):
The beast fell, but another one instantly took its place,
and then another and another, till the whole pack came
into sight, and close behind us was an ocean of white, tossing,
foam flecked jaws and red gleaming eyes. I emptied my
rifle into them as fast as I could pull the trigger,
but it only checked them momentarily. A few snaps, and
(11:29):
of their wounded brethren there was nothing left but a
pile of glistening bones. Then high away, and they were
once again in red hot pursuit. At last, our pace slackened,
and still I could see no signs of the lake.
A great gray shape, followed by others, then rushed by
us and tried to reach the horse's flanks with their sharp,
(11:51):
gleaming teeth. A few more seconds and I knew we
should be both fighting back to back, the last great
fight for existence. Indeed, I had ceased firing and was
already beginning to strike out furiously with the butt end
of my rifle, when a new sound arrested my attention,
the baying of dogs. Dogs. I screamed, dogs, Ivan, that
(12:16):
was the coachman's name, dogs, and in my mad joy,
I brained two wolves in as many blows. The next moment,
a large pack of enormous white hounds came racing down
on us. The wolves did not wait to dispute the field.
They all turned tail and with loud howls of terror,
(12:37):
rushed off in the direction they had come on came
the hounds, more beautiful dogs I had never seen. As
they swept by, more than one brushed my knees, though
I could feel nothing save and tense cold. When they
were about twenty yards ahead of us, they slowed down
and maintained that distance in front of us till we
(12:57):
arrived on the shores of the lake. There they halted, and,
throwing back their heads, bayed as if in farewell, and
suddenly vanished. We knew then that they were no earthly hounds,
but spirit ones sent by a merciful providence to save
us from a cruel death. End of Chapter two
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