Black Shuck
During a violent storm, a black dog is said to have run through two Suffolk churches, leaving scorch marks on a door.
What was reported
The coast of East Anglia has long had stories of Black Shuck, a large black dog with glowing eyes seen on lonely roads. The most famous account comes from a pamphlet by Abraham Fleming about a storm on 4 August 1577.
It says that during a service at Bungay, a black dog ran through the church in the storm, and that the same morning at Blythburgh it appeared again; marks on the church door there are still pointed out as its claw marks.
Explanations offered
Historians think the events were a severe thunderstorm and lightning strikes on both churches, which could explain the damage, the burns and the terror; the dog was the way people made sense of it. The scorch marks may come from the lightning.
- When
- 4 August 1577
- Where
- Bungay and Blythburgh, Suffolk, England
- Witnesses
- Churchgoers, according to a pamphlet
- 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.