Hellhound

For other uses, see Hellhound (disambiguation).

In mythology, a hellhound is a demonic dog of Hell, referring especially to Cerberus, the hound of Hades from Greek mythology. They also appear in the mythology of the British Isles as part of the Wild Hunt.

The mythical spectral hounds said to haunt parts of the United Kingdom are also referred to as 'hellhounds'. The myth is common across the UK, and many names are given to the apparitions: Black Shuck of East Anglia, Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man, Gwyllgi of Wales, and so on. See Barghest. The earliest mention of these myths are in both Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium (1190) and the Welsh myth cycle of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (ca. 10th-13th century).

Hellhounds are a common monstrous creature in fantasy fiction, such as the titular creatures of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles and Frank Belknap Long's Cthulhu Mythos-related "The Hounds of Tindalos". They are also a common foe in fantasy role-playing and video games, including Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowrun, RuneScape , Adventure Quest, and the Zork series.