Hell causes wild horror in the minds of most people. Getting to Hell is easy. There, the souls of sinners are met by demons who prepare their own punishment for each. But demons are not the first to meet the souls of sinners. Cerberus awaits the sinners behind the bridge leading to this terrible place. A three-headed dog standing at the gates to Hell. He guards the passage to the world of pain and suffering. But he does not protect him from those who enter, but he stands guard so as not to release the souls who have not served their punishment. And behind the gates, souls are greeted by the infernal packs, subject exclusively to Lucifer.
But these dogs are hardly worth fearing. Although they are angry, they cannot bring harm to the living. They don't even leave the boundaries of Hell. There are more sinister creatures to hunt for the souls of sinners. For example, Grimm is a terrible creature called upon to hunt the souls of those who have committed the mortal sin of murder. They let him follow in the footsteps of the sinner so that he would not give him peace for a minute and kept him in constant fear until his death. He appears in dreams, breathing heavily in the back of his head. Flames burst from his mouth, and at that moment when he takes the soul of the one for whom he was sent, he flares up with a bright flame, and disappears with the soul in his teeth.
Have you ever met a huge dog, black as pitch, with burning eyes on a deserted road? Not? Then you are lucky. His step is heavy, and his gaze devastates the soul. He appears as a harbinger of death. He will not attack you, he will not chase you. He just looks into your eyes and you will immediately understand everything. He is usually sent after liars. So that those who lied, before death, for the first time in their lives, realize the truth of life.
And who is sent for the souls of thieves? Hell Dog Dundee. One of the most dangerous among all types of hellhounds. He will not drive the sinner, he will not kill him. He will only haunt him all his life and bite off a small piece of his soul. Usually from the soul of the one for whom Dundee was sent, by the end of earthly life nothing remains. The rest ends up on the table by the same Hellhounds who meet sinners behind the gates to hell.
And so we got to the most terrible creature. He has no earthly name. It cannot be seen by a mere mortal. You can only feel his breath. All over the world he is simply called "Black Dog". Those nations of the world who gave him a name were afraid to pronounce it. He is the only one who does not obey anyone. He is death itself for those who made the deal to sell the immortal soul. Those who see him when he sold his soul. And that means the time of reckoning has come. You cannot hide from him, you cannot deceive him, you cannot kill. He does not know pity and mercy. He does not come for a soul, he comes to destroy a sinful soul.
These are the hell hounds in various mythologies. They appear in different guises and have different habits. But one thing unites them - they come to punish sinners.
Have you ever met people who are chased by hellhounds? Or maybe you met them yourself. Let us know in the comments what you think about these legends. I will be glad to talk with you, and maybe even argue.