The Black Dog of Peel

A chiller for Christmas.
The legend of the Moddey Dhoo at Peel Castle on the Isle of Man goes back many centuries. It is said that a large black shaggy dog appears to those who are near to death, to help them on their way to the other world.

Our tale concerns Sir John Stanley, the custodian of the castle, and ‘King of Mann’. He was awarded the title and wardenship after playing a major part, and being wounded, in Henry IV’s victory at the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403).

Sir John never fully recovered from the wounds, and was prone to bouts of fever and, some say, hallucinations. However, the December of 1412 found him alone, on the road back to his home at Peel, completely lost in a snowstorm—a perfect setting for the appearance of the Ghost Dog.