The Black Dog of West Peak: Harbinger of Death.

"If a man shall meet the Black Dog once, it shall be for joy; and if twice, it shall be for sorrow; and the third time, he shall die."

-Local Saying -Berlin, Conneticut.

The tale is told in the hill country of Meriden, Southington, and Berlin of a black dog that can be a harbinger of death. It is said to appear with no sound as if out of nowhere. It leaves no track, even in dust and snow, Some have seen it open it's mouth to bark but no sound comes out. How many have seen it is unknown, but many claim to have. Those that have seen it a second time, have experienced tragedy. It is believed that no one has lived to tell of having seen the dog a third time.



Deep in Berlin, Connecticut, U.S.A., is a horseshoe shaped, mountainous ridge called the Hanging Hills. The Hanging Hills are made of basalt trap(p) rock, into which erosion has cut dramatically steep cliffs with abrupt, overhanging ledges which are sometimes over 700 feet in height. There are a series of primary peaks that define the bleak profile of the hills, and it is on the West Peak where the dog is most often encountered.



Likely the most famous story of a death involving having seen The Black Dog of West Peak three times, is that told by geologist W.H.C. Pynchon, which was published in The Connecticut Magazine in 1898. At some point when Pynchon was a student at Harvard, he rented a horse and wagon and took off for West Peak in search of rock specimens. Along the way he spotted a black dog. The black dog followed him throughout his entire trip to West Peak and most of the way home. Pynchon describes the dog as having “vanished in the woods”, he whistled and called out but the dog did not return.

Three years later, Pynchon returned with friend and fellow geologist Herbert Marshall. In the story, Pynchon recounts how he could not remember what compelled him to visit West Peak again in the dead of winter. Oddly, while sitting in front of the fire at the hotel, Pynchon learned for the first time that Marshall knew about the black dog. Marshall had been all over the region and had heard the folktale. Then Marshall confessed that he had seen The Black Dog three times himself, but believed it to be only superstition, and laughed it off.

They left the next morning to climb the peak. Reaching the beginning of their climb, they left the dead weight of their lunch behind, intending to eat it when they got down. They were initially rebuffed by too much snow, so they moved to the southern face and started up. Pynchon describes the climbe as an ordeal and a struggle, but they both pushed through.

As they neared the top and moved in to the shadow of the sharp cliffs, their hearts sinking as they clawed their way up through cold drifting snow, Marshall suddenly stopped and pointed upwards. Pynchon immediately followed Marshall's hand and found himself staring at the Black Dog. Pynchon saw the dog throw his head back and open his maw, steam issued forth but no sound; Pynchon then turned to Marshall, who was white as a ghost.

Marshall said, “I did not believe it before. I believe it now; and it is the third time.”

And with that, the rock that Marshall was standing on gave way, and he plunged to his death. Pynchon, struggled down West Peak to his friend, but Marshall was dead. Pynchon was in shock, torn battered and bruised; and he had seen The Black Dog of West Peak twice.

Since then at least 6 deaths have been directly attributed to having seen the black dog. That conundrum and its attending stories I would like to get into later, if the interest develops.

Especially I hope that other members that have any experience with The Black Dog of West Peak, or any other black dogs, will ring in with their tales as well, if they wish.

Thanks for reading, ATS.

The Black Dog

reply to post by Bybyots


Fantastic thanks for sharing! Im gunna have a smoke. blare some toons. And get into some folklore m/ Right on brother. Thank you so much.



Cheers

very interesting. You know what really struck me in this artical. Was no mention of glowing eyes. Usually when people see these things they say they see glowing red eyes and such but i never did. I saw this thing twice and i was with 3 other people. But i live in Canada BC which is no where near there. Lol if i see it for a third time and die well. At least this folktale will hold water.

Defenently some of the best black dog evidence you have found my friend. My experience seeing the alien shapeshifter. No tracks, No sound. Im learning tho that. The being i saw was a demon. But it was a good demon. Im digging up scriptures on demons too and the one i saw is the king !@#$ of demons. Powerful, Technology demon masters.

Take a look i got a quote for you.

en.wikipedia.org...

or the Charmed character, see Barbas (Charmed). For the bishop and saint, see Barbatus of Benevento. For other persons named Barba, see Barba (disambiguation). Portal icon Occult portal In demonology, Barbas is a demon described in the Ars Goetia. He is described as the Great President of Hell governing thirty-six legions of demons. He answers truly on hidden or secret things, causes and heals diseases, teaches mechanical arts, and changes men into other shapes. He is depicted as a great lion that, under the conjurer's request, changes shape into a man. The name Barbas also comes from the Latin "barba", beard, hellebore (a plant used in witchcraft, especially to invoke demons), and also a male name.[citation needed] Other spelling: Marbas

i think you might find this interesting.

Interesting story. I dont believe that I will die at the hands( or paws) of a black hellish dog. There was bound to be trouble hiking in the type of environment that you depicted anyway. Morale of the story for me would be dont always believe in what you see

reply to post by TheQuantumForcesThatBe


thats true my friend but i have the rare opportunity to tell you these guys are real tho they wont rip you apart if you spot one. They will test you ! just keep that in mind. They will use emotion to see if you resist and understand. You may not believe what i am saying. But you can at least keep this in mind if you do see one. So that you pass its test and learn more secrets. Just some advice

Very interesting thread, well written with story sources as well. S+F

I live fairly close to the location and thankfully have never seen one, and believe it or not this is the first time I have heard this tale!

reply to post by Darkphoenix77


lol, stumbling upon here might of not of been a wise choice for you.

But let me ask you. So close to a den full of aliens. Would you go there and ask the demon lord for his secrets?

PS locations like this example skin walker ranch usually go on lock down. So if you want an alien experience bro. You better get there stat before fences go up.

And yo guys. Im being honest. And i bet you these guys are trying to teach us stuff My avatar is the black dog i saw and the craft i saw. The craft is artistically toned but the design is what it looked like.


I just wanted to throw this is, out of all the aliens i had to of seen. I had to see the most badass one. haha. But yee bro they wont hurt you. Just don't be dumb.

Originally posted by CrypticSouthpaw
reply to post by Darkphoenix77

 

lol, stumbling upon here might of not of been a wise choice for you.

But let me ask you. So close to a den full of aliens. Would you go there and ask the demon lord for his secrets?

PS locations like this example skin walker ranch usually go on lock down. So if you want an alien experience bro. You better get there stat before fences go up.

And yo guys. Im being honest. And i bet you these guys are trying to teach us stuff My avatar is the black dog i saw and the craft i saw. The craft is artistically toned but the design is what it looked like.

edit on 21-2-2013 by CrypticSouthpaw because: (no reason given)

Well having had my own unique paranormal scared s**tless moment I would say that some things are better left unknown and in the realm of legend.

reply to post by Darkphoenix77


Yeah that is true. But emotion is a language. And being scared is a misinterpretation eventually tho humanity will have a higher awareness of fear and love and such things that have overwhelming presence will have no real grounds for a threat. But a test to see how well you can flex and understand communication with other species with emotion and interpreting external forces. Such things are the governing body of consciousness. Which means if you show them that they will show you much much more. But such journeys are those that are like those of the shaman. It requires durability and focus and melting into the world completely. Something i have not taken under my belt yet. I am preparing before i embark and gain more knowledge then i know now. For only those that past the tests can know their secrets. Once they see humanity has moved towards this direction of understanding they will expose themselves and chase the beings that are overseeing humanities cultivation. These beings are neutral in every sense of the word. acomplishing both moral evil and good. But such are things of the wise no?

Originally posted by CrypticSouthpaw
reply to post by Darkphoenix77

 

Yeah that is true. But emotion is a language. And being scared is a misinterpretation eventually tho humanity will have a higher awareness of fear and love and such things that have overwhelming presence will have no real grounds for a threat. But a test to see how well you can flex and understand communication with other species with emotion and interpreting external forces. Such things are the governing body of consciousness. Which means if you show them that they will show you much much more. But such journeys are those that are like those of the shaman. It requires durability and focus and melting into the world completely. Something i have not taken under my belt yet. I am preparing before i embark and gain more knowledge then i know now. For only those that past the tests can know their secrets. Once they see humanity has moved towards this direction of understanding they will expose themselves and chase the beings that are overseeing humanities cultivation. These beings are neutral in every sense of the word. acomplishing both moral evil and good. But such are things of the wise no?

I agree with most of what you post but can assure you that the entity I briefly had contact with was not neutral in any sense of the word. At least that was the impression I was left with.....and yes such things are beyond my expertise, so yes I agree, for those more knowledgable than I.