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In Search of
The Black Dog of Bungay
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Placed: 4-12-03
Placed By: WWW (Formerly known as Chuck Straub and Molly)
Location: Scotland Connecticut, Windham County
Rated: Easy
Rated easy to find but about a 2 mile round trip hike,
half of which is uphill.
From the intersection of routes 6 and 97 in Hampton, go
south on route 97, (Pudding Hill Road) 3 ½ miles. You will cross the
Hampton, Scotland town line and come to the Rock Spring Wildlife Refuge on
the left. There is a wooden sign and a small parking area along the side of
route 97. If you come to The James Spignesi Wildlife Area, you just passed
it. If you are coming from route 14 east in Scotland, take route 97 North
1.5 miles and the Rock Spring Wildlife Refuge is on the right. Going to the
box is mostly downhill, which means coming back is almost all uphill. It is
a hair over 1 mile to the letterbox. This is the same starting point as the
Rock Springs Wildlife Refuge Letterboxes and the
Tennessee State stamp
letterbox. After parking, go on the one trail entering the refuge. You
quickly come to a bulletin board on the left. There is a guest book there.
Sign in if you wish. Just past the bulletin board take the trail going left.
Same trail as the Tennessee State Stamp letterbox. Follow the white blazed
trees and do not get off this trail until you come to a T. At this T, your
trail is at a wide dirt road that runs north to south. Remember this spot.
This is an important turn to return your car later. Unlike the Tennessee
box, here you go south, right, and downhill. The trail marks become a white
over red blaze. Pass the white over blue trail at 70 degrees. You will come
to the four corners of white trail and white over red trails. Go on the
white trail headed 190 degrees. Go through a stone wall. You will come to
pass through another stone wall. Stop here. The stone wall runs east to
west. Go east to the large tree. You can’t miss it. It grew along the side
of the wall but grew so wide, that it broke down the stone wall, knocking
over the rocks. The tree measures over 14 feet in circumference near it’s
base. From this tree, take 6 steps along the walls north side. Search the
base of the wall for a flat rock standing up, blocking a cavern in the wall
that hides the In Search of The Black Dog of Bungay letterbox. Go back to
the trail and go back to the parking area the way you came.
In Search of The Black Dog of Bungay
In 1577, an apparition of the devil in the disguise of a
Black Dog appeared in the churches of Bungay and Blythburgh England. On
Sunday, August 4th, 1577, a terrifying thunderstorm occurred with darkness,
rain, hail, thunder and lightning. Storms were always greatly feared during
that time. Many houses were built of timber and thatch and a lightening
strike could quickly cause a fire. As the people knelt in fear, praying for
mercy, there suddenly appeared a great black Hell Hound. It began tearing
around the Church, attacking many of the congregation with its teeth and
claws. An old verse records:
'All down the church in midst of fire, the hellish
monster flew
And, passing onward to the quire, he many people slew'
It is said that the dog passed between two people kneeling
at prayer, touching them and killing them instantly, and caused another man
to shrivel up, severely burned. Although there is no official record of
injuries caused, the Churchwardens account book mentions that two men in the
belfry were killed. Then as suddenly as the black devil dog appeared, it ran
off, departing for Blythburgh Church about twelve miles away where it killed
and mauled more people. ... "placing himself uppon a maine balke or beam,
whereon some ye Rood did stand, sodainly he gave a swinge downe through ye
church, and there also, as before, slew two men and a lad, and burned
the hand of another person that was there among the rest of the company, of
whom divers were blasted." Large chunks of masonry fell on the
congregation killing three as the black devil dog leaped down from the roof
and ran out the great north door of the church. The Holy Trinity Church at
Blythburgh still stands and the north door, still has the scorch marks on it
that were caused by the Black Dog .St Mary's Church still exists and
attracts many visitors who come to see where this strange event took place
but whereas the door in Blythburgh Church still retains the scorch marks of
the Devils claws there is no similar evidence surviving in Bungay. The
popularity of the legend has resulted in an image of the Black Dog being
incorporated into the Town of Bungay’s coat of arms and there are
depiction's of him on buildings around the town. A weather vane in Bungay
Market in Suffolk depicts a black dog and a flash of lighting. Its name also
lives on in the Black Dog Running Club, Black Dog Marathon, Black Dog
Antiques and the Black Dogs is the name of Bungay Town Football (Soccer)
Club.
More information on The Black Dog of Bungay and Blythburgh can be found
at:
http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~simon/homepage/Bungay.htm
http://www.bungay-suffolk.co.uk/history/black-dog.htm
http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~simon/homepage/Blythburgh.htm
Before you set out, please read the waiver
of responsibility and disclaimer.
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