The Black Dog of Newgate
London legend tells of a black dog that haunted the old Newgate Prison, seen on the walls before executions.
What was reported
Newgate was London's most notorious prison for 700 years. A story printed in a 1596 pamphlet told that during a famine in the 1200s, starving prisoners turned on a newly arrived scholar accused of witchcraft. Soon after, a great black dog began to stalk the prison at night, and the guilty men, terrified, broke out and fled, but the dog followed them wherever they went.
For centuries afterwards, a dark shape on the wall or a black dog in the passages was said to appear before an execution.
Explanations offered
Black dog legends are told all over Britain, from Black Shuck in East Anglia to the Moddey Dhoo on the Isle of Man. The Newgate story was spread by a pamphlet written partly as entertainment. The prison was demolished in 1904, and the Old Bailey stands on its site.
- When
- Legend from the 1500s
- Where
- Site of Newgate Prison, City of London, England
- Witnesses
- London tradition and pamphlets
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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