Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: North America

Black Dogs / Cryptozoology / Hauntings

Solebury Mountain

A phantom wolf supposedly haunts this ridge south of New Hope. Information on the wolf is scarce (read non-existent) but I find it interesting that a number of sightings were reported in the last few years of the so-called Yardley Yeti, which despite the name was a dog-like creature, from the region around New Hope.

Apparitions / Black Dogs / Hauntings / Men in Black / Road Ghosts / UFOs

Mount Misery and Sweet Hollow Road

The Mount Misery area and the nearby Sweet Hollow Road has developed a reputation for being the source of strange experiences and hauntings. Given the number and variety of these reports I suspect many could be categorized as modern myths or urban legends, but as always I would love to hear from anybody who has had genuine experiences here.

Folklore / Werewolves

The Werewolf of Northumberland

On the Paul farm not far from Snyderstown in Northumberland County there lived an old hermit. The man had the local reputation of being a “woolfmann”, or werewolf. In the 1850s, the daughter, May, befriended the old hermit, who would often sit on a log and watch her tend the sheep.

Black Dogs / Hauntings

Lock Haven Dogs

A number of phantom black hounds have been reported in the large hilltop cemetery at the end of Akeley Lane near Lock Haven University in Lock Haven, Clinton County. I’m not sure whether these dogs could have any relevance to a black, smoky form seen moving through the halls of Sloan Hall, the university art building adjacent to the cemetery.

Black Dogs / Hauntings

Boogie Dog

Charles J. Adams III cites the story of ghostly activity at the Stroud Mall in Stroudsburg, Monroe County, part of which was the appearance of what appeared to be a lion-headed dog. The sound of a whimpering dog was sometimes heard even when the phantom was not seen. The mall was formerly an old mill.

Black Dogs / Hauntings

Adamstown Black Dog

Tucked in the northern corner of Lancaster County, the tiny village of Adamstown boasts at least four ghosts. One of these is a small black dog, who appears seemingly at random and follows pedestrians before vanishing as mysteriously as it came.

Cryptozoology

Aguas Buenas Creature

On 9 March 1996 Ovidio Mendez reported seeing a strange creature whilst he was burying a mutilated chicken. It was described as walking on two feet and being gray coloured. It had clawed hands, fangs and red slanted eyes.

The map shows Aguas Buenas and not the exact location of the sighting.

Black Dogs / Folklore / Hauntings

Red Dog Fox

The Brandywine Creek State Park in northern Delaware near Wilmington is home to appearances of a large dog or fox which is often seen to rise up into the apparition of Gil Thoreau, an outdoorsman. Not much information is known on this creature.

Black Dogs / Folklore / Hauntings

Snarly Yow

"Snarly Yow" is the name given to a phantom hound which haunted a section of the National Pike near Turner’s Gap (Frederick County). The hound was first mentioned by Madeleine V. Dahlgren in 1882. Her book South Mountain Magic details no less than a dozen sightings of the beast. One account is from a Daniel Mesick, whose father kicked at a huge dog near Dame’s Quarter.

Black Dogs / Folklore / Hauntings

Blue Dog of Rose Hill, Frederick

It could be just another variant of an urban legend or a wholly separate story, but the city Frederick (Frederick County) has its own Blue Dog of Rose Hill. The grounds of Rose Hill Manor off Route 355 in the northern part of the city are also haunted by a phantom blue dog. This blue dog was the pet of a previous owner of the manor.