Yesterday’s post about hellhounds represents the kind of research a writer does when s/he plans to use a legendary monster, magical helper, or mythical place in a story. First, determine what is known about the place creature and how the beliefs about it change from place to place. In my case, I want to know what makes a hellhound a hellhound and whether or not it’s different in the American South.
Basically, I think stories simply work better when they use attributes that generally fit the legends about the place, creature, or phenomenon because this matches the story to what people have heard and/or believe about the thing being described.
Naturally, authors are free to make up whatever they want, but the descriptions fall flat then they don’t link up to the readers’ general expectations about the critters or places. What I cannot forgive is the use of real places or real groups of people that don’t coincide with actual facts. For example, traditional witchcraft and Wicca are real, so the reality of these groups in a story needs to mesh with their beliefs and methods, not made-up stuff that doesn’t match the real world of these groups’ practices.
What’s real in the real world needs to stay real in the story. What’s mythical or folkloric in the real world needs to stay true to the parameters of the legends. Doing this makes for a better story and one that sounds true enough that readers think it could have happened.
–Malcolm
“A hellhound is a mythological hound that embodies a guardian or a servant of hell, the devil, or the underworld. Hellhounds occur in mythologies around the world, with the best-known examples being Cerberus from Greek mythology, Garmr from Norse mythology, the black dogs of English folklore, and the fairy hounds of Celtic mythology. Physical characteristics vary, but they are commonly black, anomalously overgrown, supernaturally strong, and often have red eyes or are accompanied by flames.” – Wikipedia
In Greek mythology, Cerberus guards the gates of hell and is called the hound of Hades. Typically, the hound is portrayed with three heads as is the dog guarding the depths of Hogwarts as shown in the Harry Potter film. The hound guards Hades’s gate to keep people from getting out.
Wolves, and their supernatural cousins, the hellhounds, are a universal theme in myths, legends, and ghost stories. “The Omen,” a supernatural horror film released in 1976 to both mixed reviews and commercial success focuses on the nasty big dog. It’s fair to say that the hound of the Baskervilles fits neatly into the hellhound category.
Malcolm's Round Table 