Hello lovelies!
We have already talked about the Ghost Dog in another post, but there is one particular little spectre which deserves a post of its own: the Church Grim. With its highly specific task of protecting the church graveyard they were buried in, this is an old creature you again don't see much in fiction anymore.
Like a lot of old folklore, when the use and signifance fades, the stories fade with it. So, I will be giving this good dog some more attention than they are currently getting. Hopefully, the appreciation for what they do for our deceased loved ones will
General Description:
In theory, a church grim could take the form of any dog, since it's simply the dog buried before the graveyard was opened, meant to protect the souls of those to be laid to rest there. However, more often than not, the church grim is described as big, black dog, with glowing red eyes, like many other ghost dogs.
This could either be because the church grim developped a more devilish reputation alongside its protective one, or the dog being buried there was deliberately always a large, black dog. Although, another possibility is that the dog grew to be have a more intimidating presence, because of its duty and the ghostly energies around it.
Hell Hound:
While it wasn't its original manifestation at all, old folk believes can morph and change the more their society does. With the growing influence of the church over even smaller communities, the concept of a ghost dog roaming the church yard took less of a protective image, and turned into a more devilish one.
If you want to use this one, the description is the first thing to consider. The church grim already shows up as a large, black dog, with red eyes, so this appearance can be maximised for intimidation.However, the best way to show the church grim as something akin to a hell hound, is giving it a violent, dangerous nature, and make him despise anything divine.
Since it would be in service of things outside the faith, it may claim the souls in the church yard for itself or for hell, instead of heaven, becoming something similar to an infestation. It will also attack church goers and damage religious iconography out of hatred. This makes it treat the church yard as a den, and allows it to bring terror the locals.
Protector:
This is the original purpose for the church grim, as well as the one which makes the most sense. A church and its graveyrard is considered holy ground, it would be difficult for something devilish to enter it without having had permission first. In this case, the dog was placed there deliberately, as a protector of the grounds and the souls that lay there.
It can still retain its intimidating presence, but it won't hurt any church goers or grave visitors. Only people with malicious or opportunistic intentions will receive a more violent greeting. This not only includes infernal or fae creatures, but also people like grave robbers or thieves, since they too are causing harm to the grounds.
However, most of the time, the dog will appear quite peaceful and patrolling. Whether it interacts with anyone outside of a guarding or protective manner is up to you. It's possible the church grim just walks past anyone safe or non-malicious, or that it happily accepts pats and reassurances they are doing a good job. Just how much it remains a dog, rather than a spirit, depends on the character purpose you want to give it.
I hope you enjoyed this post dedicated to this good boy! It would be nice if it got a little more appreciation for all it has to deal with, maybe some extra pats.
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Goodbye, lovelies!
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