| Dogs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dogs | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Canis |
| Notable appearances: | Cujo The Lost Boys |
Dogs are four-legged canines that go "bow wow". Some also go "arf arf". Others merely howl or whine and sometimes even growl. There are many different breeds of dogs and, along with cats, are one of the most popular types of household pets. Dogs are smaller, more docile versions of their canine cousins, wolves, which by far are the most popular breed of animal featured in the horror genre, mostly due to the latter's connection to werewolves.
In fiction[]
Dogs don't always get the dirt end of the stick when it comes to their contributions to the genre however. After all, one of the most famous dogs of all time, Cujo, is practically a household name. Cujo is a large adult Saint Bernard that went rabid after being bitten by a bat and went on a killing spree, attacking first his master, then members of the Trenton family including Donna and Tad Trenton before finally being felled by first a baseball bat and then a bullet to the head.
Dogs sometimes have supernatural origins as well. One of the more obscure, and yet notable of such canines is Zoltan, a vampire dog featured in the 1978 Albert Band film Zoltan, Hound of Dracula. Zoltan was once the pet of an 18th century innkeeper named Nalder, who saved a woman from being bitten by the vampire lord Dracula while he was in the form of a bat. Out of revenge, Dracula turned Zoltan into a vampire dog.
Another breed of supernatural canine are Hellhounds. These beasties are literally demonic animals from Hell in service to a more powerful demon or even to Satan himself. Hellhounds make notable appearances in the CW Network television series Supernatural. One Hellhound was even responsible for killing one of the main characters, Dean Winchester, though Dean was eventually resurrected. Two of Dean's fellow demon hunters, Ellen and Jo Harvelle heroically sacrificed themselves in order to destroy a pack of Hellhounds that were converging upon a small town.
Somewhere in the Arklay Mountains outside of Raccoon City, a clan destine entity known as the Umbrella Corporation created a bio-weapon dubbed the T-Virus. The virus escaped, causing severe mutations in several animal test subjects, as well as other humans and animals in the surrounding area. A pack of guard dogs were likewise affected, mutating into monstrously rabid undead creatures called Cerberuses. [1]
In the 2002 film Resident Evil, the scientific research company known as the Hive kept Doberman Pincers as guard dogs in their underground facility. When the deadly T-Virus was released, all those infected died and were reanimated as flesh-eating zombies, including the dogs. A former security agent named Alice encountered the bloody, skinless zombie dogs in the kennels and had to dispatch several of them just to escape. [2]
Saint from Tomb of Dracula.
In the "Murder House" storyline from American Horror Story, there was a small white dog named Hallie. Vivien Harmon purchased Hallie as a coping mechanism after suffering through a traumatic miscarriage. Vivien, her husband Ben and daughter Violet brought the dog with them when they relocated from Boston to Los Angeles, California. During the drive on the L.A. freeway, Violet complained that she had to go to the bathroom, but Ben said there was no place to pull over. Violet countered that they would do it if the dog had to go. The family moved into a renovated mansion at 1119 Westchester Place. A neighbor named Adelaide Langdon, who suffered from Downs' Syndrome, asked Vivien Harmon twice if she could pet her dog, to which Vivian said "No". Adelaide ignored her and tried to pet the dog anyway, and Hallie snapped at her. A short while later, the ghost of Hayden McClaine, who was a former lover of Ben Harmon stalked and tried to kill Vivien. She made it appear as if she had put Hallie in the microwave and set her to cook, but the dog actually turned up safe and sound. All three members of the Harmon family died soon after. Hallie was adopted by the Harmons' realtor, Marcy. She kept the dog for several years, but had to put it down in 2015.
A hound dog named Saint appeared in issues of the original Tomb of Dracula comic book series in the 1970s. Saint was a brown-haired hound dog owned by Quincy Harker, who was an invalid vampire hunter from London, England. Harker trained Saint to be an attack dog, specifically with a nose for targeting vampires. Saint became Harker's able-bodied ally in his ongoing crusade to destroy the lord of all vampires, Dracula.
With the death of Quincy Harker, it may be assumed that ownership of Saint went to Quincy's closest ally, Rachel van Helsing. Van Helsing would eventually die as well years later. What became of Saint during the intervening years is unknown.
Dog characters[]
In film[]
- 30 Days of Night: Dogs do not always have the best of luck in horror films. John and Ally Riis owned a kennel of sled dogs that were brutally massacred by a mysterious stranger as part of his continued efforts to cut off all means of travel in and out of the town of Barrow, Alaska. [3]
- Color Out of Space: The Gardner family own an Alaskan Husky. The dog ultimately ends up falling into a well and is consumed by some malefic alien force.
- Eight Legged Freaks: A woman named Aunt Gladys owned a Pug named Bruiser in her home in Prosperity, Arizona in the 2002 film Eight Legged Freaks. The dog found a hole in the basement of her home, which led into an underground warren occupied by giant mutant spiders. Unfortunately, the dog was killed. Gladys went looking for it and was captured and cocooned by the spiders, but managed to survive. [4]
- Halloween: A young girl named Lindsey Wallace owned a golden retriever named Lester. Lester was loud and annoyed Lindsey's babysitter Annie Brackett. Lester caught the scent of psychopath Michel Myers and began barking. Michael waited for the dog to come outside, and then killed it. [5]
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers: The Carruthers family owned a dog named Sunday. Sunday usually slept in Jamie Lloyd's bedroom.
- House of 1000 Corpses: Deputy Steve Naish nursed a childhood fear of dogs, which he confessed to his superior, Sheriff George Wydell.
- Jack Attack: A family dog named Oscar eats a roasted pumpkin seed, which causes a gourd to grow within him at an alarmingly fast rate until it expands his stomach to the point of exploding.
- Nightmare on Elm Street, A (2010): The character of Kris Fowles owned a pet dog named Rufus. While having a nightmare, she ran from her house and found Rufus' slashed remains near some bushes. As she turned screaming, she saw the dream demon Freddy Krueger brandishing blood-stained metal claws intoning, "I was just petting him". As this was just an element of Kris' nightmare, it is likely that Rufus did not die in reality. Unless dogs actually do dream, in which case he's probably f--cked.
- Resident Evil: In the 2002 film Resident Evil, the scientific research company known as the Hive kept Doberman Pincers as guard dogs in their underground facility. When the deadly T-Virus was released, all those infected died and were reanimated as flesh-eating zombies, including the dogs. A former security agent named Alice encountered the bloody, skinless zombie dogs in the kennels and had to dispatch several of them just to escape.
- She-Wolf of London: At the turn of the century, stories of strange animal attacks circulated around the parks in London. A young boy was murdered and one Scotland Yard investigator even suspected that a werewolf might be responsible. The caretakers of the Allenby estate owned several German Shepherd guard dogs, one of which was named Rolf. Phyllis Allenby often complained that the dogs would keep her up at night with their persistent howling.
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (2003): Old Monty Hewitt kept a mangy small-breed dog as a pet. The animal usually sat on his lap, which was often as Monty was confined to a wheelchair.
- Werewolf of London: Wealthy socialite (and nosy busybody) Miss Ettie Coombes brought a dog to the home of her nephew-in-law Doctor Wilfred Glendon, who was hosting a function for the Botanical Society. When a man named Doctor Yogami approached, the dog began growling and snarling, instinctively sensing that Yogami was a werewolf.
- Wolf Creek 2: Serial killer Mick Taylor kept at least two Rottweilers in his dungeon hideaway. When one of his torture victims, Paul Hammersmith, escaped into the lower tunnels of his abode, Mick sent his dogs after him. Paul managed to kill one on his own, and the other was killed when Paul accidentally sprang one of Mick's booby traps.
In television[]
- "Staired in Horror": A Louisiana sheriff had a German Shepherd K9 unit named Gator. He had Gator pursue a fleeing criminal to an old plantation house. The dog nearly became a victim of a cursed staircase that aged him, but managed to retreat just in time.
- "The Enormous Radio": Irene listens to her newly acquired giant radio and hears the sound of a neighbor's dog barking over it.
- "Resurrection": Victor Frankenstein's pet dog dies when Victor is a child and he gets his first lesson into the nature of life and death.
- The Walking Dead: A gathering of fourteen starving survivors, shambled down a highway in rural Virginia. A pack of wild dogs emerged, most of which were doberman pincers and began snarling and bared their fangs. The group, never one to shy away from a fight, killed the dogs and then ate them. To their credit, they were REALLY hungry. [6]
- Z Nation: Zunami: Citizen Z's dog at Antarctica base.
In comics[]
- Hellblazer 25: A man whose brain is affected by microwaves stabs out his dog's eyes with a fork. Effing jerk.
- Tomb of Dracula 59: Quincy Harker's hound dog, Saint.
- Vampblade 3: Mrs. Carva has a pet Pomeranian named Pipsie.
Dogs of note[]
- A dog named Jed played a dog that was attacked, killed and assimilated by an alien life form in the 1982 John Carpenter movie The Thing. Jed is the same animal who played White Fang in the 1991 film of the same name.
- A rather heroic dog of note is Nanook, a Siberian Husky owned by Sam Emerson in the 1987 vampire film The Lost Boys. In one pivotal scene, Nanook saved Sam from being attacked by a vampire by pouncing on him, topalling the undead fiend into a bathtub filled with garlic and holy water. In contrast to the heroic Nanook, there was also Thorn - the evil dog owned by the lead vampire Max. Thorn chased Sam's mother, Lucy Emerson down the street to her home.
- In the 2000 film Ginger Snaps, a Golden Retriever named Baxter became the victim of a werewolf known as the Beast of Bailey Downs.
- In the 2006 film Dracula's Curse by Leigh Scott, a dog named Rajah played an animal named Curtis. Rajah also played Toto in the 2011 miniseries The Witches of Oz.
See also[]
External Links[]
References[]
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