Freybug Explained

Freybug is a monstrous Black Dog that is stated to come from medieval English folklore, specifically from Norfolk. Like most supernatural black dogs, it was roughly the size of a calf, and wandered country roads terrifying travelers.

The English martyr Laurence Saunders mentioned Fray-bugs in his letters to his wife in 1555.^[1] The word Fray-bug is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “an object of fear; a bogy, spectre.” The similar word “fray-boggart” was a word for a scarecrow. Popular Antiquities of Great Britain, by John Brand, referenced Saunders' letters and suggested that the Fray-bug was a Black Dog similar to the Barghest.^[2] Carol Rose seems to have drawn on Brand’s work for her description of the Freybug.

Resources

• Book: Matthews, John . The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: the Ultimate a-Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic . Sterling . New York . 2005 . 1-4027-3543-X . 220 .
• Book: Rose, Carol . Giants, Monsters, and Dragons . W.W. Norton & Company . New York . 2001 . 0-393-32211-4 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Richmond. Leigh. The Fathers of the English Church: Or, A Selection from the Writings of the Reformers and Early Protestant Divines of the Church of England, Volume 6. 1810. John Hatchard. London. 643, 655.
2. Book: Brand. John. Brand's Popular Antiquities of Great Britain: Faiths and Folklore; a Dictionary of National Beliefs, Superstitions and Popular Customs, Past and Current, with Their Classical and Foreign Analogues, Described and Illustrated. 1905. Reeves and Turner. 28.