| Encounter: |
One harvest-time afternoon
in the early 20th century, Mr. C. Skillings, then 12 years old, was
staying with his grandparents at Manor Farm (TM154908). As he approached
the top field with an empty wagon, the horse shied, and he saw "an
extremely large and rough-looking black dog", running fast towards the
end of the meadow. It appeared to him "frightening and unreal", with a
large head and open, foaming jaws. The dog passed through a closed gate
and vanished, terrifying the witness. When he described the experience
to his grandfather, he was told that it had been "the Old Black Dog of
Bungay", that there would be a death in the family, and that he would be
unlucky for the rest of his life. He took it be be a true omen, since
his other grandparents died soon afterwards, and he was indeed unlucky
at various times. He never went through that particular field alone
again. |