Barghest

In Northern English folklore, the Barghest or Barguest is a mythical monstrous black dog with large teeth and claws, though in other cases the name can refer to a ghost or household elf, especially in Northumberland and Durham, such as the Cauld Lad of Hylton.

"Ghost" in Northern England was pronounced "guest," and the origin is thought to be of the combination burh-ghest, "town-ghost." Others explain it as cognate to German Berg-geist, "mountain demon" or Bär-geist, "bear-demon". Another mooted derivation is Bier-Geist, the "spirit of the funeral bier".

One notable case is said to frequent a remote gorge named Troller's Gill in England. A ballad entitled "The Legend of the Troller's Gill" can be found in William Hone's Everyday Book (1830). It recounts the tale of a man who ventures forth "to the horrid gill of the limestone hill" in order to summon and confront the Barghest in an act of ritual magic. The man's lifeless body is discovered soon after with inhuman marks upon his breast. There is also a story of a Barghest entering the city of York occasionally where, according to legend, it preys on lone travellers in the city's narrow Snickelways. Whitby is also associated with the spectre.

In the 1870s a shapeshifting Barghest was said to live near Darlington and was said to take the form of a headless man (who would vanish in flames), a headless lady, a white cat, a rabbit, a dog, or a black dog. Another was said to live in an "uncannie-looking" dale between Darlington and Houghton near Throstlenest, and yet another haunted an area of wasteland between Wreghorn and Headingley Hill near Leeds.

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