Here's another interesting footnote or two on barghest

In the world of the science fiction-fantasy game Mechwarrior there is a vaguely canine robot named the Barghest.

One of the many names attributed to the mythical beast is Black Shuck. Bob Trubshaw has an interesting essay on this motif of English folklore and its likely Scandanavian origins. An interesting excerpt:

One other snippet of speculation more strongly suggests Scandiavian associations. As I have noted, black dogs appear under a variety of regional names. One such is 'barguest', prevalent in parts of Yorkshire. Peter Jennings reports that Sir Walter Scott suggested that this appelation came from the German bargeist, 'spirit of the (funeral) bier'. Now that really does fit in exceptionally well with the 'guardian of the corpse ways' concept.

Last edited by Alex Williams; 12/13/2005 3:36 PM.