The Club Dog

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In many towns along the Ruhr river, as well as in other areas of Westphalia, people may chance upon a large dog, which is called the Knüppelruen (“Club Dog”) because of the large club it wears around its neck. However, the dog harms no one as long as no one bothers it. In the city of Schwerte, there is also a dog of this type who runs through all the streets from ten o’clock in the evening until the break of dawn. Once, several people were busy threshing grain at night in the vicinity of the Mowing Route. Suddenly, they heard something rustling in front of the door, as if the Club Dog was slowly walking past. One of the threshers, who was relying on the fact that the lower barn door was locked, called out through the keyhole: “Club Dog, where are you going?”

But then the animal became enraged. Its fur bristled and it became larger, and quickly grew to such a size that it was able to put its front paws on the top of the barn door almost immediately. And when everyone inside ran away in panic and fled into a chamber on the upper floor of the house, the animal became larger still and put its feet into the window of the chamber and looked through the window panes with glowing eyes. But when it saw the fear of the inhabitants, it did not harm anyone but left in peace after a while.

Source: Temme - Westphälische Sagen und Geschichten, p. 121f

caption Note: This story was published in the book Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles: Commentaries on German folklore. Get the book for further context and explanatory commentary!