The Headless Dog of the Susquehanna Valley
By Cole Herrold
Now it isn’t often that I stumble across a
legend or entity that occurred literally in my general area that I hadn’t heard
about before, yet I recently got a book entitled The Headless Dog: and Other
Extraordinary Far-Fetched True Tales of Central Pennsylvania By Beverley A
Conrad and Gregory T Burgess. The title caught me instantly as I tend to investigate
Central Pennsylvania more than any other part of the state mainly because of
how close to home it is. I also strive to point out that Central PA is just as active
in phenomena as say Westmoreland County or Lancaster County which are known
for areas like Gettysburg and the Chestnut Ridge. Central PA has a ton of
incidents and events that are associated with major phenomena Williamsport was
for example one of the way-stops of the Jersey Devil during the 1909 flap. Williamsport
a couple months back was the site also of several square UFOs. Harrisburg the
state capital was hit with a major UFO flap over the course of several days and
sightings of UFOs are reported all over the state to this day. Northumberland
County where I live is home to a variety of legends many of which I have
covered previously like the Ghost Werewolf of Northumberland, the
Northumberland Mystery Beasts, and the Susquehanna River Monster. Sunbury where
I grew up also was a major Fortean landmark as UFOs were reported in the area
during the 70s, bigfoot sightings were reported in the wooded game areas
outside the city limits, a case of Spontaneous Human Combustion occurred on
Race St, A large home located by the Mansion hospice and nursing center was an
incredibly haunted location involving violent poltergeists who harassed the
crew of Herrold and Son Masonry as well as the resident and were so violent
that they pushed the owner of the home down the stairs crippling him. The most
famous haunted location in Sunbury however would have to be the Edison Hotel
and its resident ghosts. Needless to say, the area is seething with phenomena
yet very few focus on the area as a Fortean hotspot.
Now with all that said in the area of
Snyder County which lies just north of Selinsgrove there is an area known as
the Bloody Triangle. This area starts at the High Hill of Penn Township a
mountain ridge that runs along RT 204 to Fair Oaks and from this location it
connects to the ridge south of it. This area forms a wedge-shaped valley which
leads to the triangle title. This area is home to several strange reports often
associated with the ghosts of Native Americans many who feel cursed the area or
put some sort of spell on the land. Yet of all the apparitions and phenomena
associated with the area the one that intrigues me the most to the point I’m planning
an investigation into the case is that of the Headless Dog. The origin of this
dog is unknown it simply seems to of just materialized to haunt the area.
Something that is common in ghost canine reports, particularly of the shuck or
hellhound variety as these entities tend to manifest in areas known for tragedy
or high strangeness. Reports of this canine are few and far in between however
reports do occur one of the oldest accounts comes from Foster Kreamer who told
local historians about his experiences with the dog. Foster experienced the dog
back when he was a boy at the Fisher’s School House which was west of Rolling
Green Park. He and another boy were standing at the front of the building by
the main doors when suddenly a huge coal-black dog without a head manifested in
between them. The spectral animal did not make any noise but simply began to
walk through the doorway and into the school. Kreamer’s fellow schoolmate ran
terrified away from the building to his home which was within reasonable
running distance. Kreamer realizing that such a run for him was impractical
proceeded to bravely enter the school whereupon he did not see any evidence of
the animal. Kreamer walked around the building and searched for some other
verification and asked the teachers and students if any of them had seen something
strange or a big black dog yet all of them responded in the negative. This
sighting happened many years ago and by 2017 the old school was then an Ice Cream
Parlor and as far as what was known no one had reported seeing the dog.
The headless dog is reported in other
locations within the Bloody Triangle however and one of the more recent
reports is also one of the more violent ones. In the area around Fair Oaks, there is a crossroads that is north of the Village of Salem and it is here
that the Ghost Dog is said to frequently haunt. Motorists and those who choose
to walk or bike the area often report seeing the headless dog crossing the road
and ascending the bank of High Hill which is a 70-80 degree climb. In the area
around this location, there is also an old oak tree that the Ghost Dog is said
to manifest in. The dog in these situations typically is violent and will shake
the branches and make terrifying noises. Maria Stahl was one such person to experience
this side of the ghost dog's behavior. Maria was an elderly woman who lived in a
house that would later be owned by Mrs. William Bingaman and was returning
home from a visit with friend Hiram Smith. The steps to her house led her past
the old oak tree and as she passed under the branches she suddenly felt a heavy
weight fall on top of her. Unable to get a good look at what this being was she
was even more terrified but what she could make out was that the creature was
awkward in appearance and that it had furry hands or paws that were now tightly
wrapped around her throat. This black shapeless entity continued to hold on to
the woman until she managed to get to the border of her property. The woman finally
losing strength and out of breath collapsed and touched the gate of her house.
Wherein the beast removed itself from her back and throat and disappeared. The
woman could not describe the creature clearly but knew the legend of the ghost
dog and felt that it was just what she experienced. For some reason, she felt
that if she could not have made it home that she would have been killed by her
supernatural assassin.
Another sighting that occurred in the
area of the oak revolved around a man bicycling at night. As he reached the
area of the tree and the hill he suddenly saw that there in the center of the
road was a colossal black dog that was preventing him from going any further.
The man saw that this spectral dog was different from the legend as in this
case it did have a head but was nonetheless terrified. The dog however did
not harass him and instead proceeded to continue across the road and up the
nearby hill without making a sound even as it entered the leaf-littered hill.
Now, this is all that has been reported
seemingly about the ghost as attempting to find any further information on the
apparition has been fruitless. This might be a very localized story and so a
huge thanks to Gregory Burgess and Beverly Conrad to collecting the sightings. Oft
times these localized ghost stories are more urban legends than anything else and
are told to entertain or to deal with boredom in places where not much happens.
The Headless Dog stories can be interpreted in a variety of ways the first
account could very easily be a true encounter there’s not much outside of an
outright fictional story to explain that case. The case of Maria Stahl however
could be explained away as a natural animal attack or even a child in a costume
pulling some sort of shenanigans. A large cat could easily have dropped on her
back and with her flailing the animal could have held on for dear life or a
child could have dropped down to scare the old woman. Granted the latter if
true is extremely malicious and dangerous. These explanations are justified as
possibilities as Maria did not get a good look at the creature and because of
that it honestly could be just about anything. Then when we get to the bicycler
we could just be dealing with a large dog crossing the road and a person
associating a legend with it as there’s nothing exactly supernatural with what
he witnessed outside the quietness of the animal.
Now while I may seem to be dismissing most
of this phenomenon there is that first case which clearly seems to indicate
something Fortean. Classically headless dogs are associated with a few
different Fortean phenomena that sort of overlapped. The first is the faerie
hound these large dogs were reported in Celtic countries and these dogs typically were believed
to be omens of death and that hearing their baying three times no matter how
close or how far away you are is enough for them to kill you. Not all faerie
dogs were malicious however and some served faerie folks in the same way humans
would earth-oriented hounds. The other type of phenomenon is the hellhound or
shuck these entities traditionally were savage killers of people either by
supernatural means such as appearing three times or as in a case where one
attacked members of a congregation, physically with its teeth and claws. These
entities can burn victims and there are even scorch claw marks on an old church
door claimed to have been caused by one. These legends extend and mirror those
of black dogs which again are omens of death yet they are not as violent as the
case of the Black Dog of Hanging Hills of Connecticut which states that if you
see the dog once it actually gives you good luck and is always described as being
playful and not malicious in the slightest.
Now I bring these three options up as they
tend to fit the appearance of the ghost reported. If the Maria Stahl sightings
are accurate then the first two types are also possibilities of just what type
of creature this would be. This area of Pennsylvania is filled with Irish and German
descendants and often it does appear that phenomena from other countries like
fae folk or family ghosts will follow those they attach themselves to and in
doing so will haunt the area. An interesting point to these sightings is that
this dog haunts both crossroads and an old oak tree so while it does seem to
have some mobility in its reach it is very much localized to certain points
something we see in Hellhound reports. Yet the Kreamer and bicyclist sightings
could fit in that what was witnessed was just a ghost dog. Often in cases of
headless ghosts, there are reports of ghosts such as say Anne Boleyn who will
alternate in appearance from headless to having their head and so perhaps this
is the case with this dog if all the sightings are authentic and not misidentified.
Ghost animal cases are so difficult to peg
down because they mesh into all sorts of other phenomena outside of just ghosts.
Witches are said to take the forms of animals that are almost spectral in their
ability, familiars are said to appear as animals, then there are faerie animals, there are ghosts of humans who now appear as animals, there are ghost animals, and then there are supernatural animals either demonic or heavenly that cause and do all sorts of
different actions. Needless to say, trying to rationalize the phenomena becomes
difficult when there are so many other similar and identical types of entities
out there. My personal thoughts on this is based on historical cases that this
is something more than a traditional ghost yet without a back story I can't be certain.
The roads of PA are desolate and dangerous and its entirely possible some pet was
killed along the road and it now haunts the location. Yet until someone comes
forward with an origin to explain this hound haunting we're left to mere
speculation.
Quick Facts:
Species/Potential Species: Ghost Animal,
Paranormal Entity, Faerie
Location: Bloody Triangle area of Monroe
Township, Penn Township, Fair Oaks, Snyder County, Pennsylvania
Sighted: Unspecified
Works Cited:
The Headless Dog and Other Far-Fetched
Extraordinary Tales By Beverly Conrad and Gregory Burgess
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