The Demon Dog of Valle Crucis

The Informant

The informant (AW) lives in North Carolina and recalls a personal memorate encounter with this cryptid.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/HfwPEA4b2EKGPWYg6

There was no fencing around the cemetery, simply along the road.

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Outside of a small town called Valle Crucis (Valley of the Cross) up in the mountains of North Carolina is an old church along the 194 highway with a graveyard inhabiting an alleged “demon dog.” One evening, when the informant was traveling from his brother’s college to Valle Crucis, he passed by the church’s cemetery, and as his father was driving past the church, he gazed out and noticed a large shape blurring through the cemetery. At first, he mistook it for a black bear but thought it was strange for a bear to be in a cemetery at that hour, but as they got closer, he realized it was a large, black dog roaming through the headstones of the graveyard. Later, he encountered in a local newspaper discussing the Demon Dog of Valle Crucis as large as a man with smouldering eyes smoking with the fire of hell. His personal memorate assures at least the existence of a dog that could be mistaken for a “hellhound,” though he does not report anything about its “demon” nature.

Analysis

This particular memorate is interesting as the informant maintains his stance on superstitions instead of correcting for his cognitive dissonance. Despite the encounter and having made the connection between his encounter and the subsequent urban legend reported in the news, he comfortably reaffirms that he does not believe it was a demonic dog and has no answer for what it was. When I asked the informant if the “dog” was large enough to be mistaken for a bear, he responded “yeah, but you know, black bears aren’t that big.” As the informant does not actively believe superstitions, even an encounter with a supposed cryptid did not change his mind, and while he comfortably lives admittedly not knowing what he saw, he is certain that it’s probably not a hellhound but rather just a large dog that happens to be roaming a cemetery. That is a fair point as the origins of why this creature became a reported cryptid is likely not only due to its unusually large size but also its location of sighting being a church cemetery, lending itself to more soul and divine related superstitious interpretations by a fairly religious population. Ironically enough, belief in such a demonic entity on what should be a holy resting ground would also suggest that the church and by extension God is failing to protect the souls resting in the hallowed grounds from demonic invasion. This cryptid is a good example of how the folk are more likely to ascribe superstitious traits to strange coincidences when contextualized by a meaningful location such as a church cemetery.

Ned Kelly (1854 – 1880)

The Informant

R.F. born and raised in Australia provides the following narrative of a bandit well known in Australia pop culture and folklore.

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Ned Kelly was a legendary (and one of the last) outlaw bush ranger in Australia with a long history of crime and banditry. His most famous heist was planned on a police train where his gang would derail the train and kill all survivors as revenge against the authority and enable further heists on banks with the police were out of the picture.

Conceived and wore a suit of bullet proof armor into battle.

Image

(The alleged armor made in an improvised bush forge with metal taken from farming equipment, circa 1879)

In the shootout that followed, he was the last one standing with police reporting Ned Kelly’s durability, comparing him to the devil or a ghost, surviving multiple gun shots and seemingly unkillable.

After the last stand, Ned Kelly was brought to trial for execution.

The judge after sentencing Kelly to death by hanging: “May God have mercy on your soul.”

Ned Kelly: “I will see you there where I go.”

Kelly’s mother told him to “die like a Kelly” before his hanging.

“Ah well, I suppose it’s come to this. Such is life.” – Last words at the gallows.

The judge died 12 days later.

Analysis

This urban legend euhemerizes a likely real figure in history by exaggerating his last stand to legendary proportions. It’s particularly interesting that a criminal is being glorified and continues the theme of opposing authority in Australia as exemplified in the ScoMo urban legend. While Australia is sometimes referred to as the wild west of the commonwealth [citation needed], it’s not exactly surprising to see outlaws romanticized in a way similar to America’s Western’s, take Bonnie and Clyde for one cross-cultural example. In a sense, these outlaw figures are also antiheroes representing anti-establishmentarianism, embellished by their spirit of independence and comparable to the trickster who exists on the liminal space between good and evil. Even as the authority figure of the judge sentenced Ned Kelly to death after his valorous last stand, his last legendary deed was taking the judge with him in a single sentence. These traits akin to the trickster likely won the bushranger popularity amongst the folk in Australia.

Australian ScoMo Prime Minister

The Informant

R.F. was born and raised in Australia and is politically active and involved with his local democracy as well as the nation’s news.

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A long-standing “rumor,” since it technically can’t be proven, but everyone says it happened. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison (ScoMo) shat himself in a Macca’s (McDonald’s) in Engadine. According to the informant, ScoMo went to watch his favorte rugby team play, and after they left, he went to a Maccas where he [allegedly] shit himself.

Analysis

This particular urban legend stands out to me as it was not the only urban legend Australia has on their prime ministers, the other being that one simply disappeared into the ocean one day never to be seen again. Although most embarrassing folk narratives about political leaders come from people of other nations, recent years have seen a rise in counterhegemonic distrust of authority and those in power. This is particularly reflected by these Australian urban legends, which combined with the laidback culture of Australia as illustrated by the dropbears and other quirky and humorous Australian slang, culminates into this urban legend regarding Prime Minister ScoMo having the reputation of having defecated into his own undergarments while at a public fast food restaurant.

The Devil’s Tramping Ground

The Informant

The informant (AW) lives in an adjacent county to the Harper’s Crossroad in North Carolina in Bear’s Creek where this legend is reported to be.

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A circle that looks like it has been scorched with a burning fire in a park. Nothing grows in this ring, and allegedly, Satan paces around it at night while in contemplation of his evil plans. Objects left in the ring will disappear, and dogs always bark and yowl when they’re nearby, often expressing distress or anxiety and a desire to leave the vicinity. Some say that it was an ancient meeting place for Native Americans.

Analysis

As North Carolina is a fairly Christian state, it’s not surprising that a superstitious area associated with Satan would be Native Americans as settlers displaced them over time. The informant also reported that their state’s history education lacked any details about its history with the indigenous people, but upon further research, I found that there was, of course, violent conflicts between the settlers and the natives. The superstition associating dark magic and satanic phenomenons with “ancient” Native American significance likely reflects a general xenophobic attitude toward the unfamiliar outgroup from the occupants of this colonized land. Just as it’s common for ghost haunting stories to take place on slave plantations and indigenous cemeteries, this likely explains why the largely Christian population associated this location with both the Native Americans and satan.

Not here to fuck spiders

The Informant

RF is an Australian young adult born and raised in New South Wales.

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[subject] [copula] “not here to fuck spiders…”

Use

Its meaning is akin to “not here to fuck around,” said sarcastically as a response to being asked what the purpose of presence is.

Person A: Oy, you here to be an ass or what?

Person B: Well, I’m not here to fuck spiders, am I?

Analysis

The phrase reveals two things about Australian culture, one being the prevalence of spiders in not only the Indigenous people but the English speaking settlers thanks to their prevalent natural presence that contributes to the wild reputation of Australian wildlife. The other insight this phrase offers about Australian culture is the casual, crass sense of humor, especially noted by snarky, dry sarcasm which may extend from the nation’s origins as exiles of the British who are also known for their dry sarcasm.