Barghest

Barghest, Bargtjest, or Bargest is the name given in the north of England, especially in Yorkshire, to a mythical monstrous goblin-dog with huge teeth and claws.

Etymology

The derivation of the word barghest is disputed. Ghost in the north of England was once pronounced guest, and the name is thought to be burh-ghest, town-ghost. Others explain it as German Berg-geist, mountain demon, or Bar-geist, bear-demon, in allusion to its alleged appearance at times as a bear. The barghest has a kinsman in the Rongeur d'Os of Norman folklore.

Behaviour

The barghest is essentially a nocturnal spectre, and its appearance is regarded as a portent of death. Its Welsh form is confined to the sea-coast parishes, and on the Norfolk coast the creature is supposed to be amphibious, *coming out of the sea by night and travelling about the lonely lanes.

Stories, Art, and Popular Culture

The barghest in literature

Comic book publisher Barghest Entertainment takes its name from the legendary demon-dog. Among its titles are Pizzaface and Friend Force. It plans to expand into the True Crime arena.
The image of the barghest is invoked, under the moniker of "the Grim," in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In this story, the character of Sirius Black — nicknamed Padfoot — has the ability to transform into a dog matching the description of the barghest. The main character's sighting of the dog is claimed to presage his imminent death.
When arriving at England aboard the ship "Demeter", Dracula shapeshifts to a big and ferocious dark dog very much like the Barghest.
The image of the barghest is also used in The Hound of the Baskervilles, a Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The barghest is mentioned in passing in Roald Dahl's The Witches as always being male.
The barghest is depicted as a shapeshifting beast in Sojourn (it is based on Dungeons & Dragons lore, in which a Barghest is a goblin/wolf hybrid capable of shapeshifting into one of the two as well as its hybrid form), written by R.A. Salvatore.
A barghest is featured in Icewind Dale II, where it is portrayed as a demonic, dog-like creature of remarkable intellect that nevertheless very much enjoys eating humans.
In the World of Darkness roleplaying game Wraith: the Oblivion, a barghest is a wraith whose corpus has been altered into the shape of a dog-like creature. Hierarchy officers use barghests as bloodhounds when hunting for renegade wraiths.
In the World of Darkness role playing game book Antagonists, the barghest is associated with the Beast of Bethlehem, from the William Butler Yeats poem "The Second Coming".

The barghest in film

The classic made for TV movie Devil Dog: Hound of Hell features a barghest named Lucky, and is now available on DVD.
The upcoming film The Wrath features a barghest as the enforcer of an ancient curse.
The dogs at the cemetery in The Omen are similar to the barghest.
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry sees a large black dog prior to learning of his Godfather's escape from Azkaban, and once more in tea leaves in his Divination class.

References, Sources, and Bibliography

Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (1880); Notes and Queries, first series, ii. 51;
Joseph Ritson, Fairy Tales (Lond. 1831), p. 58;
Lancashire Folklore (1867);
Joseph Lucas, Studies in Nidderdale (Pateley Bridge, 1882).

Mythicpedia

Beastiary of Mythological Monsters