Snarly Yow, Maryland.
By Andy Hagerty
The Snarly Yow is a mysterious giant black dog, who has been sighted at various spots on South Mountain, Maryland. His territory appears to be at a pass in where the old National road cuts across a brook and canyon. Although his appearance is similar to the “black Shuck” of the UK, this hounds appears to not have a connection to the imminent death associated with many other hounds. Eye witnesses claim his coat changes from white to black. One sighting described Snarly as a white headless dog which dragged a chain.
Snarly Yow sightings date back to the an Inn nearby built by 1790, The common tale was that Snarly would suddenly appear, spook the horses and disappear as the rider was thrown from the horse. |
Many of these sightings were committed to paper in 1882 by Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren in a book called “South Mountain Magic”. One eye witness account of Snarly is recounted here:
“ One night about ten o'clock, as he was returning from the village of Boonsboro', whither he had gone to make some little purchases for
his family, he encountered the Black Dog.
It was clear starlight, and the ungainly form of the beast could be distinctly traced. It was black, and bigger than any dog he had ever seen; and,
as he came nearer, the object intercepted him, and stood guarding the road in such a way as to forbid his crossing. So, to use his own expression, he "fit
him." That is, nothing daunted, he fought at him.But, to his confusion, as the creature was attacked, it "grew longer" and presently seemed to extend
across the road, making no noise, but showing a very wide and very ugly-looking red mouth; while, all the time the thick and heavy blows rained down
upon it, the sinewy arm of the woodsman met with no resistance, but rather seemed to beat the air.
Presently the still lengthening shadow passed onward, and then the man, not a little flurried at the strange nature of the vision, went home; — nor did he
receive the least bodily harm from this ominous combat.”
“ One night about ten o'clock, as he was returning from the village of Boonsboro', whither he had gone to make some little purchases for
his family, he encountered the Black Dog.
It was clear starlight, and the ungainly form of the beast could be distinctly traced. It was black, and bigger than any dog he had ever seen; and,
as he came nearer, the object intercepted him, and stood guarding the road in such a way as to forbid his crossing. So, to use his own expression, he "fit
him." That is, nothing daunted, he fought at him.But, to his confusion, as the creature was attacked, it "grew longer" and presently seemed to extend
across the road, making no noise, but showing a very wide and very ugly-looking red mouth; while, all the time the thick and heavy blows rained down
upon it, the sinewy arm of the woodsman met with no resistance, but rather seemed to beat the air.
Presently the still lengthening shadow passed onward, and then the man, not a little flurried at the strange nature of the vision, went home; — nor did he
receive the least bodily harm from this ominous combat.”
There were also many in the 20th Century, apparently due to The Snarly Yow's fondness for chasing cars. The common current story is the hound attempt to block cars on the road. He will appear so lifelike that drivers on the National Road (Rt 40) will actually think they hit a dog. When they stop and see what happened Snarly will be there with teeth barred, then just disappear.
A producer for a local cable company was in the area shooting footage for a show about local legends. He had several unexplained things happen in this area. In his words “In the first, I and other crew members who were preparing to begin an early morning shoot at the inn were startled by a strange noise that sounded like the howl of a werewolf echoing throughout the top of the mountain. It was a sound I had never heard before or since.”
A producer for a local cable company was in the area shooting footage for a show about local legends. He had several unexplained things happen in this area. In his words “In the first, I and other crew members who were preparing to begin an early morning shoot at the inn were startled by a strange noise that sounded like the howl of a werewolf echoing throughout the top of the mountain. It was a sound I had never heard before or since.”
There is a civil war plaque located on the road near Boonsboro, MD for the battle of south mountain. Also on that display is a sidebar that reads:
"Beware of the “Snarly Yow.” Legend has it that the shadow of a black dog used to prowl the heights of South Mountain. One night, a huntsman, famous as a sure shot, encountered the beast. He aimed and fired his rifle. The shot went right through the animal with no effect. He fired again and again, each shot passing through the shadowy beast. Finally overcome with dread, the huntsman fled." |