Hellhounds | Three Ravens Bestiary #17
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Show notes
For this week's Bonus Episode we're padding through mists on silent paws and peering, with eyes of flame, at the history and folklore of Hellhounds!
With so much to talk about, there's no mucking around: we dive straight into prehistory, discussing how humankind's domestication of the dog set the stage for conceptions of the Hellhound. From our earliest rock art through to the very first toys and statues, dogs were with us.
From vengeful Ancient Mesopotamian afterlife creatures like the Shadu and Sharru to the role the Jackal (and Jackal-headed deity Anubis) played in Ancient Egyptian belief, via Classical notions about dogs and Hellhounds like Cerberus, it's startling how consistent beliefs about these 'Not Dog' monsters have remained.
And descriptions of Demon Dogs across time have been wild and absurd. But, from Roman notions of the 'Duties of a Dog' through to Medieval and Renaissance attitudes to the fae and 'Other,' we, as a species, kept it nice and weird, trying to define the paranormal pooch as uncanny and terrifying, even though individual Hellhounds are often quite nice to people!
From England's most famous example in the shape of Black Shuck to monsters with dog bodies and human heads, canine boggarts that grow to the height of houses to talking Hellhounds that just want to snuggle in your pocket, we're embracing it all.
So, join with us beneath the light of the moon, and let our howls float on the breeze, singing of doom and portents.
For in this episode, we look into the dark mirrors of our minds, and see what is reflected there. Not 'man's best friend' but something else with fur, four legs, a tail, and its own agenda that we simply cannot understand.
Therefore, we howl.
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Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.
Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’
We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.
Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.
Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…
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