Black Shuck: The ghostly dog who haunts Manchester Cathedral

Over the decades, there have been repeated rumours of strange going ons within the historic walls of Manchester Cathedral, and the spirit of a ghostly dog roaming the corridors. 

Now, here at Proper Manchester, we love a good haunting story – whether it be paranormal sightings in an old Liverpool hotel or the haunting of the infamous Blackpool Pleasure Beach Ghost Train, we’re all over it like a rash.

So, when the ghostly rumours of Manchester Cathedral were brought to our attention, we got stuck straight in. But first, let’s start with the basics: Grade 1 listed and dating back to 1421, Manchester Cathedral is a vast Medieval, Gothic structure complete with crypts and stunning stained glass. It’s a truly astonishing building, regardless of your religious status and, in it’s 600-year life, it has welcomed millions of visitors from all over the world. 

Dom Crossley / Wikimedia Commons

However, putting the beautiful interior and rich history to one side, there’s something a little more sinister about the Manchester city centre building – according to a number of people, the it is actually haunted.

Now, there are many great ghost stories from this ancient cathedral, for example; a man was once said to be praying in the building after all other churchgoers had gone home. Mid-prayer, however, he was shocked to see his sister, Fanny, standing at the top of the cathedral as he believed that she was many miles away. Assuming his sister had come to Manchester to surprise him, the man rose to his feet and called out to her, only to see her vanish before his eyes. The following morning, he was informed that Fanny had passed away the previous evening. Anyone scared yet?

However, there’s one story that is told more than others, and that’s the tale of an old demonic dog known commonly as Black Shuck.

edwin.11 / Flickr

Now, Black Shuck is a whole new story in itself – Black Shuck is the generic name for a giant black greyhound type dog that would haunt villages back in the day and basically cause a whole load of havoc. One town legend from 1577 says this giant hellhound killed two people who were kneeling in prayer after knocking down the church doors amid a flash of lightning. Spooky stuff, I know. 

The first known written text describing a Black Shuck in England goes all the way back to 1127 in the town of Peterborough, with witnesses said that around twenty to thirty of these hellish hounds lurked in the area through Lent all the way to Easter, a period of about fifty days.

And they weren’t mistaking it for a wild pack of actual, real-life dogs – anyone who has claimed to have witnessed a Black Shuck described it as a large dog with black, mangy fur and much larger-than-normal, with some even as big as a horse. Some report Black Shucks to have also been foaming at the mouth, just incase you weren’t spooked yet.

ed_needs_a_bicycle / Flickr

But while the Black Shuck is believed by many to be a creature of the underworld and a sign of impending death, you need not worry – legend has it that Manchester Cathedral’s own Black Shuck was actually exorcised under the bridge crossing the River Irwell a couple of decades ago. 

And I think the exorcism worked because today, the Manchester Cathedral is quite the opposite of it’s ghostly, demonic dog adorned state – today, the cathedral stands as a place of solace for people from all walks of life. Just this year, it launched a ‘listening post’, an initiative that aims to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health and loneliness. How lovely is that?

So yeah, try not to stress too much about getting chomped by a demonic dog from the underworld when you’re next walking by.