The Talking Devil Dog of Pittsburgh

 The Talking Devil Dog of Pittsburgh

By Cole Herrold

When it comes to Fortean phenomenon, there is an almost geographical grid in which such entities seem locked. Cryptids are reported in the woodlands and murky lakes and pollutant-free skies; ghosts are home to antediluvian structures or locations that have a great history to them; Aliens prefer the picturesque farming communities or locations where human interaction is lessened, the faerie kind and their ilk much like the cryptids tend to spend their days in nature and avoid humans at all cost. Yet on occasion, there are cases that seem to break these artificial ley lines, and when these cases occur, they are the most unique and sometimes most downright disturbing cases on the books. The most famous case when one mentions highly populated areas and the unknown is Spring-Heeled Jack this malevolent fire vomiting fiend would bound around London in the mid-1800s and would later be reported elsewhere, such as America. In January 1909, during Phenomenon Week, the Jersey Devil frequented the streets of many a New Jersey and Pennsylvania town but perhaps one of the weirdest encounters during this flap of sightings was on Thursday the 21st  when the creature was seen in the backyard of a Mrs. White in Philadelphia where it’s alligator skinned dragon-like visage spewed flames at a woman folding her clothes before her husband beat the creature with a clothes prop resulting in it clamoring over a fence and almost getting clipped by a motorist driving down 16th street where the creature was still breathing fire. Almost half a year before the Jersey Devil was causing terror in Philly on the opposite side of the state, an altogether different kind of Devil was reported, but unlike the Jersey Devil, this creature had the unique capacity that we rarely see in more animalistic mystery beings as this creature bizarrely enough could talk.

On July 29, 1908, there was a heavy amount of Police Officers in the area of Lincoln Ave, in Pittsburgh. The reason for this was that over the course of several weeks, there had been many petty thefts that were plaguing the area. The police, exhausted by the constant reports of missing objects and shady individuals, began to flood Lincoln Ave for the sole purpose of putting a stop to these kleptomaniacal individuals. On the day in question, a pair of the boys in blue were on their way to the avenue and had decided to take a quick detour through one of the city parks. As they were wandering through the concrete divided greenery, they happened to notice a small black dog whit short hair walking towards them. As they met the animal halfway there, the three seemed to stop, and as the animal looked up to the men of the law, it opened its mouth and said, “Good Morning!”. The voice seemed to talk as if to initiate a pleasant chat, but the men seemed to be confused as to where the voice seemed to come from as it sounded so close, and yet while there were people around, nobody was as close as the voice was. Looking once more at the dog, the two wondered whether they were being duped and felt that perhaps this was some act of ventriloquism from some hidden perpetrator or some other hoax. The pair were still debating this back and forth until the dog spoke once more as it aggressively wagged its tail. "I speak for myself," it said in an offended tone and then began to trot away. The men realizing then that this was not some gimmick or parlor trick, then began to run after the cordial canine and sought to capture the curious critter. The dog was not far off as the men came up from behind the creature, and just as one of the officers bent to pick up the animal, it sidestepped to avoid being manhandled and growled out, "Don't touch me." This command was ignored, and as the officers continued to chase the creature one eventually did manage to grab hold the animal's leg. As the officer enclosed his fingers around the canine's slender leg, a strange thing happened an intense pain shot into his hand. This pain caused him to drop his quarry, and looking down, he noticed that there imprinted on his hand was the burned impression of the dog's leg. The burn-in that matter of seconds went extremely deep and was exceptionally raw. The men stopped their pursuit after this and watched as the animal once more ran off, and as it did, it began to turn into a vibrant green mist. They watched as this vaporous varmint slowly dissipated until nothing was left. The officers began to tend to the wound caused by the caustic creature and, after bandaging the wound tightly, continued to their route; the pair were debating on whether they should keep the story to themselves, but after seeing another officer on their way to Lincoln Ave they felt that they had to tell someone. So, after telling the officer and showing him the wound, word of the devilish dog spread like wildfire and was eventually covered in the New York World. One would think that this would be the end of the tale of the Talking Devil Dog of Pittsburgh, but there is an important epilogue to this case. This case would be mentioned rather briefly and heavily debated in the 1932 book Wild Talents by the infamous founder of Fortean studies, Charles Fort. In his book, Charles Fort heavily dismissed the case of the Talking Devil Dog and said that the reason for this was the overall lack of similar accounts as he states that he was aware that the phenomenon of dogs “speaking” was common and that he had seen one such dog who would say “thank you” when given candies but that this phenomenon combined with some sort of illuminated or spectral leaving was not in any of his files and therefore unlikely to be real. He would say further on this “if say, sometimes in the year 1847 a New Orleans Newspaper told of a cat who said: "Well, is it warm enough for you?" and instantly disappeared sulphurously, as should everybody who says that; and if I had a clipping, dated sometime in 1930, telling of a mouse who squeaked "I was along the way, and thought I'd drop-in" and vanished along a trail of purple sparklets and something similar from the St. Helena Guardian, August 17, 1905; and something like that from the Madras Mail, year 1879- Id consider the story of the polite dog no marvel, and Id admit him to our fold”. For many Forteans, this would be the nail in the coffin for this case, but some researchers have kept the account alive such as Patty A. Wilson in her book Totally Bizarre Pennsylvania. Yet now that we're 90 years further down since Fort wrote those words in Wild Talents and with the now countless Fortean cases collected since that time, are there any cases that are similar and would if Fort was still alive might cause him to reconsider? I think the answer is yes.

The very first case I had not heard of until Rob Morphy, Marc Storrs, and Chris Carnicelli brought the case to the limelight in their Cryptonaut Podcast episode “The Radiant Raccoon, LSD, and the Nobel Laureate” in this incredible case Chemist and Nobel Prize winner Kary Mullis encountered late one night a bizarre bright green glowing raccoon who upon seeing the scientist cordially said, “Good Evening Doctor." This case I mention for two reasons, the most notable being that in this case, the animal talks and also that there is a green seemingly supernatural feature associated with it, but that's about it when it comes to connections. Needless to say, however, while these similarities are small, they are interesting. Another talking animal case that also is important to note is the Millville Insanity Bird; this colossal creature also spoke to the person who saw it inquiring as to where his trash can was and, upon not getting a response, proceeded to attack the witness. The Millville Insanity Bird, much like the Talking Devil Dog, also has a curious body chemistry or at least build for while the devil dog can burn those who touch it and also turn to a green vapor the Millville Insanity Bird's body when hacked at by Dan was described as a wooden like substance that appeared to break into splinters. The creature's eye, which was removed, was also described much like a lightbulb, and the creature, much like the Devil Dog, proceeded to leave in an altogether bizarre manner as it ballooned up and floated away. The final and perhaps most interesting of all these cases of talking animals is Gef the Mongoose. Gef was a spectral mongoose reported on the Isle of Man that was exceptionally vocal and did a variety of poltergeist-like activities around the house. The entity was seen on a few occasions, and even footprints and teeth marks were found and made into plaster casts. So, such seemingly supernatural talking creatures have occurred since Fort wrote about the case in 1932.

Aside from the talking angle, there are reports of phantom hounds such as Black Shuck, who have features that one would associate with the Talking Devil Dog. While most cases of phantom hounds, hellhounds, and black dogs do not involve the capacity for speech, they do often have a feature that is seen in the case in Pittsburgh, and that is the ability to burn people or objects that touch them. One of the most famous examples of this can be seen today and was caused by the infamous Black Shuck. On August 4, 1577, at Blythburgh, the spectral hound killed several members of a congregation at the church thereupon unleashing such carnage, the creature clawed the North door of the building and, upon doing so, left scorch marks as though its claws or feet were hot or on fire. This is almost exactly what was reported in the Talking Devil Dog case, and so perhaps this entity is one of Black Shuck's relatives or perhaps if such an action is possible for these entities' offspring. 

The Talking Devil Dog of Pittsburgh is a case that really needs to be re-brought to the attention of the Fortean community as now that the years have gone by and there are many similar cases, it might be worth another look. However, while there are similar cases, there's still the problem with just what the creature could be, and in all reality, there are only a few possible answers. The first and most likely is a demon or some type of supernatural entity; the fact that the black dog figure is often associated with the infernal kingdoms is something we have to keep in mind, and with such cases, these creatures often do things that typical dogs cannot and often leave people injured or cause disasters. The fact that not only does this creature talk but also that it disappears in a mist is something we currently have to attribute to the supernatural realm, and with all the legends and lore connecting black dogs, burning paws, and demonology, it's almost the easiest answer for this mystery. 

While it's clear that this creature is not a cryptid and more than likely not an extraterrestrial, there are other possibilities for it than a demonic entity. While unlikely, the next possible category to put this entity in would be the Faeries. In Faerie Lore and taxonomy, there are several fae that are associated with dogs and black dogs in particular. The Cu Sith or Faerie Hound, for example, is a faerie that behaves very much like the traditional black dog of folklore, as hearing its bark three times can cause the hearer's demise. These dogs typically appear as bright green in color, but in some tales, they appear as a motley of colors or strictly black. Another faerie associated with the black dog is the Phooka, also spelled Puca or Phouka; this shape-shifting fae is a trickster that, much like the Kelpie, will often change into the form of a horse to lure people into riding it, however, unlike the Kelpie the Phooka will not kill those who ride it but will take the individual on a wild hair raising ride instead. Phooka, much like Brownies, will occasionally work for families, and while tricksters can be pleasant and helpful. Phookas, aside from black horses, are also known to transform into black-haired men, black goats, black cats, black hares, and of course, and most important for this discussion, black dogs. However, Phooka's are traditionally associated with nature and wild places, so if the Talking Devil Dog was one, why would it be walking down a potentially crime-filled street?

In this case, there are not too many other possibilities for just what the creature could be. This is both simpler and more confounding as the possibilities are by far some of the hardest to swallow when it comes to Fortean studies. A Bigfoot is one thing as primates, and hairy hominids like the Australopithecines did exist, but faeries and demons are figures that we have very little evidence for aside from anecdotal tales and a few images from videos and pictures that are entirely up for interpretation. As far as I know, there are no other talking dog cases outside of classic faerie interactions and certainly nothing, at least that I'm aware of in modern times, but I'm hopeful that maybe somewhere trapped in some attic or basement is a journal where some other individual had a bizarre encounter with a member of man’s best friend who also was gifted with the ability to speak in a totally different way of the traditional phrase we tell our four-legged buddies every day. 

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Faerie, Demon, Supernatural Entity

Location: Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Sighted: July 26, 1908

Works Cited:

Charles Fort: The Man who Invented the Supernatural By Jim Steinmeyer

Totally Bizarre Pennsylvania By Patty A. Wilson

Wild Talents By Charles Fort 

Cryptonaut Podcast Episode #225: “The Radiant Raccoon, LSD, and the Nobel Laureate”