A "hell hound" is traditionally seen as a black dog with red or yellow glowing eyes. Seeing one usually is seen as bad omen for the individual or loved ones. If it's seen more than three times, it's said that you yourself are going to meet some form of disaster. Most folk superstitions surrounding hell hounds use means of protection and blessings to ward off such beings. In my own interpretation, they're just shadows or what I like to call spiritual vermin.
If the dog isn't black with glowing eyes, than you have yourself a normal dog spirit, perhaps even an animal guide. It depends on how you feel around this spirit. Spirits can shape shift into animals too to make themselves seem more or less frightening, depending on the person's feelings toward that specific type of animal.
from what ive researched, if you have noticed a hell hound, which has noticed you, then you should never speak about it to anyone for a year and a half, or face death the next day. A Hell Hound is a supernatural dog, found in mythology, folklore and fiction. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon. Features that have been attributed to hellhounds include black fur, glowing red or sometimes glowing yellow eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, foul odor, and sometimes even the ability to talk. In cultures that associates the afterlife with fire, hellhounds may have fire-based abilities and appearance. They are often assigned to guard the entrances to the World of The Dead, such as graveyards and burial grounds, or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting down lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure. In European legends, seeing a hellhound or hearing it howl may be either an omen or a cause of imminent death.
Some supernatural dogs, such as the Welsh Cwn Annwn, were actually believed to be benign. However, seeing them was still considered an omen of death. But of course this is all folklore, I for one would never wish to see a black demon dog.
How to get rid of such a creature is not that simple of a question and if it can be gotten rid of all depends on several factors including whether it is a Hell Hound or Ghost Dog and how the spirit was attracted. There have been some really good descriptions given in the previous posts. What I would ask would be what are the circumstances surrounding the sightings of this dog and is it you or someone else? In some traditions the ghost dog is protective and as mentioned previously in other descriptions it is a hell hound associated with the devil or an impending death or disaster. Some Celtic families have ghost dogs instead of banshees to herald the death of a family member.
Re: Hell Hounds/Ghost dogs By: Zebrah
Post # 7 Nov 26, 2011
This thread has been moved to Misc Topics from General Info.
Re: Hell Hounds/Ghost dogs By: magiwoman01
Post # 8 Nov 26, 2011
I really hope that the hell hound is a creature that's on the physical plane, if not someone's gotta alert animal control.