The god Dagon is first found in extant records as far back as 2500 BC. There were records of him found in Mari and Syria in ancient Mesopotamia. He is also seen in the inscriptions of Assyria and Babylonia where he is described as a protector god or warrior god. Expeditions have uncovered a temple of Dagon in the city of Ugarit an ancient port city in northern Syria.
Dagan is also seen in the 12th century B.C. Philistines (seen below), which we would know as Isreal today. The Canaanites who were Aegean people that settled on the southern coast of the area had a pagan god named Dagon. He was considered a fertility god who eventually became an important Semitic god.
In the Hebrew Semitic dialect dag, means fish, and Dagan or Dagon means little fish. Some linguists interpret the name as meaning grain in the ancient language of the Canaanites thus the references to both grain and fish he is often associated with. He might be the first instance of the merman as he is described as having a human head or torso and fish body.
Dagon was also known as a warring god though. He had orchestrated a great war against the Hebrews and their God, Adonai.
Dagon is often seen in horror movies and series. Also, notably covered by HP Lovecraft:
Tritone’s love of horror and mystery began at a young age. Growing up in the 80’s he got to see some of the greatest horror movies play out in the best of venues, the drive-in theater. That’s when his obsession with the genre really began—but it wasn’t just the movies, it was the games, the books, the comics, and the lore behind it all that really ignited his obsession. Tritone is a published author and continues to write and write about horror whenever possible.
The original dating of the chair is unknown, however, in the early 1950s, the Glatzel family came into possession of it.
Name
The Devil’s Rocking Chair
Physical Description
The chair is simple in style having a columned back, rounded arm ends, and two beige cushions for seating comfort.
Origin
Who built the chair and where it originally came from is still unknown to this day, but its origin began when an American family, the Glatzel, came into owning the rocking chair.
What started as begin a simple household piece of furniture soon became the center of a tragedy for the Glatzel family, and became one of America’s most notorious exorcisms. The youngest member of the family, David Glatzel, was believed to be possessed by a demon in the summer of 1980. He claimed to be having nightmares of a man with black eyes, thin animal-like face, jagged teeth, pointed ears, horns, and hooves was visiting him. After seeing him visibly shaken by these nightmares the family noticed his behavior change, he was becoming more withdraw and quiet. Hoping to get David out of this “depression” the family sent him to live with his sister and her fiancée, Debbie and Arne Johnson. This however led to more nightmares about the dark-eyed man coming for David’s soul. Scratches and cruises began appearing on the boy’s body while he was sleeping, unexplainable noises began in the attic, and soon after David reported seeing the beast while awake now.
This beast-like man seemed to only be seen sitting in the family’s rocking chair by David, the family would see the chair rocking back and forth on its own. Fearing the worst, the Glatzel family called a priest to bless the house, which seemed to make things much worse. The unexplained sounds in the attic were growing stronger, David’s visions increased, as well as the boy hissing and speaking in tongues to his family members. During the night he had strange seizures every 30 to 45 minutes which caused the family to watch him constantly though-out the night. The rocking chair was now moving about the house on its own, disappearing and appearing in different rooms or places, even levitating on numerous occasions.
The Glatzel’s now fully believed the Devil was battling to steal their son’s soul, the family turned to Ed and Lorrain Warren who began regularly visiting the home. Multiple exorcisms were performed on David, who was sitting in the rocking chair. There were many witnesses to the rocking chair moving on its own, jerking, and even levitating on numerous occasions during these exorcisms. During the final exorcism, David was freed of the demon, however, Arne Johnson was said to be takin over by the demon. David showed signs of improvement and his behavior was becoming regular again. Johnson had started to show similar behavior changes as David once did. He ended up killing his landlord, Alan Bono, with a pocketknife and stood trial 8 months later. His plea was not guilty due to demonic possession was the first time in American legal history; however, it didn’t work to his favor. The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and served 5 years out of the 10- to 20-year sentence.
Since the 1980s tragic events, the chair sat in storage and causing problems within the Glatzel family. Anyone who sat in the chair was stricken with sciatica or abnormal back problems, some were lesser cases others required surgery. Today the Devil’s Rocking Chair is at Zak Bagan’s The Haunted Museum, where it is displayed as safely as it can be. The museum workers have reported large numbers of experiences within its walls; terrifying some and attaching others closer in.
First witnessed in 1887, but there is no real knowledge of how long the Dogman has been around. It’s said that the hieroglyphs of the Egyptian god of the underworld, Anubis could possibly be an ancient explanation of the Dogman. Whether or not the Dogman existed thousands of years ago in Ancient Egypt, or if it was truly their depiction of the entity of the underworld, it will never be known.
Name
The Dogman, also known as the Wisconsin Werewolf and the Beast of Bray Road.
Physical Description
The basic description of these creatures shows them as being seven feet tall, with blue or amber eyes, a half-man and half-dog humanoid, that is said to be bipedal. Dogman, however, describes a group of more than one type of cryptozoological beings that are large and described as looking like upright canids. There are reportedly two types of Dogman, one which is called a K9-Type and the other which is a Type-3.
Its howl is said to sound like a human scream.
K9-Type
The basic K9-Tupe is described simply as looking like an upright canine. They are characterized specifically by their canine legs, with hocks and stifle joints. Some of them have disproportionately large heads, while others have more hyena-like appearances. The most visual appearance is when they are described as looking like the black Werewolf from the Van Helsing movie, but by far the most comical are when they are described as a large timber wolf that ambulates bipedally. This version of the Dogman accounts for over 90% of the sightings that have occurred and are more prone to aggression than Type-3.
Type-3
The basic Type-3 is described as looking like a sasquatch, or bigfoot, with a muzzle–instead of having the flat face of a bigfoot. Eyewitness accounts report that these particular creatures have claws on the tips of their fingers and toes, instead of fingernails and toenails. Like the K-9 Type Dogman, the Type-3 Dogman does not always look the same. They are characterized by their hominid-style legs, with ankles and knees that are the same as humans or sasquatch.
Origin
Originating from the folklore of Michigan–Wexford County, Michigan to be exact. This creature was unknown to most of the modern world until very late in the twentieth century but was said to have been stalking the area around the Manistee River since the days of the Odawa tribes.
First allegedly encountered in 1887 by two lumberjacks who reported having seen a creature that had the head of a dog and the body of a man.
Authentic sources aside from the song made by Steve Cook have not been documented due to the claim of the whole thing being a hoax.
Mythology and Lore
According to most legends, the Michigan Dogman appears every ten years. Sightings have occurred in several locations throughout Michigan, but primarily within the northwestern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula.
1938 Paris, Michigan, Robert Fortney was attacked by five wild dogs one of which he said walked on two legs and reports of similar creatures also came from Allegan County in the 1950s, then again in 1967 in the Manistee and Cross Village.
One night in 1961, a night watchman was patrolling a manufacturing plant in Big Rapids, Michigan when he saw a peculiar creature–he believed this creature to be a person until it got close enough to see that it had doglike features. He was just about to pull his gun to shoot the creature when he remembered that he had his camera with him. Any photographic evidence remains an unsolved mystery, however, as the photos were never analyzed.
Modern Pop-Culture References
The Cook song
In 1987, disc jockey Steve Cook recorded a song about the creature as well as alleged sightings, which is when the creature gained much of its popularity. He recorded and aired a song called, “The Legend,” on the station he jockeyed for at WTCM-FM in Traverse City, Michigan, which he introduced as an April Fool’s Day joke. He said he based the songs on mythology and legends from all over North America and had never heard of a dogman in Michigan before recording.
I made it up completely from my own imagination as an April Fools’ prank for the radio and stumbled my way to a legend that goes back all the way to Native American times.
Steve Cook, Skeptoid.com, Wag the Dogman
Apparently, Cook maintains his skepticism about whether or not the dogman really exists though.
I’m tremendously skeptical because I’ve sort of seen the way folklore becomes built from the creation of this song to what it’s turned into … but I do believe people who think they saw something really did see something. I also think the Dogman provides them with an avenue to explain what they couldn’t explain for themselves.
Steve Cook, Skeptoid.com, Wag the Dogman
Oddly enough after airing the song as a fun April Fool’s prank, he received numerous calls from listeners who claimed they had encountered a similar creature, and in the weeks following it became the most-requested song on the station. In the years since, Cook has received more than one hundred reports of the creature’s existence and in March of 2010, it was featured in an episode of MonsterQuest.
The Legend of the Michigan Dogman by Steve Cook
Linda S. Godfrey, in her book The Beast of Bray Road, compares the Manistee sightings to a similar creature sighted in Wisconsin known as the Beast of Bray Road.
Georgia-based author and artist, Mary has been a horror aficionado since the mid-2000s. Originally a hobby artist and writer, she found her niche in the horror industry in late 2019 and hasn’t looked back since. Mary’s evolution into a horror expert allowed her to express herself truly for the first time in her life. Now, she prides herself on indulging in the stuff of nightmares.
Mary also moonlights as a content creator across multiple social media platforms—breaking down horror tropes on YouTube, as well as playing horror games and broadcasting live digital art sessions on Twitch.
Francis Kinloch created this passage is 1776 known as Kinloch’s court, in 1796 and 1810 fire claimed most of the neighborhood leading to a rebuild of the area. In 1811 the court was reopened to the public and still stands today.
Name & Location
Originally known as Cow’s Alley and later renamed to Kinloch’s Court, then later changed to Philadelphia Alley after fires tore through the city. It is now known by locals of Downtown Charleston, SC as Dueler’s Alley.
Physical Description
This beautiful alley strip is canopy covered and a cobblestone walkway lined with beautiful planets and doorways. The buildings have high walls adorned with windows and flower boxes. There was even a path to a local church’s graveyard at one end.
Origin
This passageway gained the name Dueler’s Alley because gentleman settled their disputes with the traditional 21 paced pistols duels in this perfectly spaced alleyway. One of the most famous duels was between Dr. Joseph Brown Ladd and Ralph Isaacs in 1786, leading to the tale of the Whistling Doctor who died proving his love and devotion. Many other young men lost their lives here in the alley trying to prove their honor, take out a rival, or in a drunken rage. This has led to a wide range of haunting stories, though none more famous than the Whistling Doctor himself.
Mythology and Lore
In 1783 a young doctor, Joseph Ladd, and his beloved, Amanda, came to Charleston hoping to establish themselves and escape poisonous gossip surrounding their relationship. He quickly established himself in the town as the prominent new doctor that had an undying love for whistling, poetry, and his dear Amanda. As his career grew, he had less time for friends and social calls, a resentment grew between him and Ralph Isaacs, one of his first friends in Charleston. Isaac became over-whelmed with jealously toward the doctor, in 1786 things reached their boiling point after a show. Isaac accused Ladd of begin infatuated with an actress from the production and threatened to tear him from his love Amanda. In Charleston at this time dueling was the only way Ladd could reclaim his honor, integrity, and prove his undying love for Amanda; so he challenged Isaac. As the duel began the two men took their paces, Ladd missed Isaac and was shot. After ten days of suffering, Ladd finally succumbed to his injuries and pasted at the age of 22 years old. Today he is reported to come to the alley and have a stroll down while whistling his beloved’s favorite tune. It’s reported before you see his spirit an unexplained mist rolls through the alley, and sounds of gunshots ring out as he pulls you to safety. Other spirits of fallen dueler’s have been said to haunt the alley as well, some seeking harm on the travelers within its high walls. It is unknown how many ghosts roam the alley to this day, but many locals enjoy the search for any of them.
Is there anything we missed about Dueler’s Alley? Let us know in the comments section below!
There is no set year of discovery for the Dybbuk Box as Jewish tails have mentioned it many times through-out various text and from various years. In 1914 a Yiddish play, The Dybbuk, embodied the tail of how the box came into existence, and horror culture has used it ever since. The famous eBay box was auctioned in 2003 which led to the widespread story we all know today surrounding this box.
Name
Dybbuk Box also spelled Dibbuk
Physical Description
The Dybbuk is said to be a disembodied malicious demon that possesses a living person’s soul to gain domain in the mortal world. The box that held the Dybbuk is an old-style wooden wine box that contained various bottles and jars of wine and trinkets.
Origin
The Dybbuk Box comes from Jewish lore and dates back to the horror story from the Holocaust. There are many tails of these “cursed boxes” through-out time, but the most famous and well-known tale came in 2003. The owner of a furniture shop in Portland Oregon, Kevin Mannis, listed the box on eBay with a fantastic horror story to go with it.
The famed story of Mannis’s box entails a 103-year-old Grandma bringing the box to America while escaping the Holocaust. When she pasted in 2001 the family sold the box among other things at a yard sale to help with the costs of laying her to rest. Mannis was very interested in the box and was instructed to never open it. Once the box was at his furniture shop strange things began to happen and even caused an employee to quit. The light bulbs would flash and shatter, strange smells, nightmares, doors slamming and moving, as well as a general dark feeling seeming to follow the box. He opened the box to investigate, he found two wheat pennies, two small locks of hair, a statue engraved with Hebrew letters, dried rosebuds, a golden wine cup, and a black cast iron candlestick holder. He gave the box to his mother who died shortly after from a stroke, then the box was giving to other Mannis’s family members who all returned it report the same paranormal experiences he had.
In 2003 the box hit eBay after Mannis couldn’t bare keeping it any longer, Jason Haxton eventually won rights to the box in 2004 with a winning bid of $280. He soon fell victim to the unnerving wrath of the box which lead him to seek help from a Jewish Rabbi to reseal the box and burying it. Haxton recovered his box for a cameo on Ghost Adventures and later went on to publish a book about his experience with the Dybbuk Box. Now many Dybbuk Boxes are flooding the eBay and Etsy markets with a wide range of prices and tales going along with their demons; however, not all of these boxes are REAL demon holding Jewish boxes many people have found fakes as they become an “in trend” item.
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