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Cŵn Annwn
The spectral hounds of Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld. Pure white with red ears, they hunt souls for the Wild Hunt. Their baying sounds louder as they get farther away—when they sound close, they're actually distant.
Ancient - Present
Wales
2000+ witnesses
The Cŵn Annwn are the fairy hounds of Welsh mythology.
The Legend
According to Welsh folklore:
Cŵn Annwn means:
- “Hounds of Annwn”
- Annwn is the Otherworld
- Spectral hunting pack
- Led by Arawn or Gwyn ap Nudd
- Hunt human souls
Appearance
Described as:
- Pure white fur
- Red ears
- Otherwise wolf-like
- Sometimes ghostly
- Beautiful yet terrifying
The Reversed Sound
Their strange property:
- Sound distant when near
- Sound close when far
- Baying in the night
- Confuses travelers
- Disorienting effect
Their Hunt
They ride:
- With the Wild Hunt
- Through autumn skies
- Particularly Samhain
- Hunting the doomed
- Collecting souls
Who They Hunt
Their prey:
- Damned souls
- Oath-breakers
- Those who died in sin
- Wandering spirits
- The marked for death
Hearing Them
If you hear the hounds:
- Don’t look up
- Stay indoors
- Pray
- May pass you by
- Or claim you
Modern Wales
Stories continue:
- In rural areas
- On moors and mountains
- Strange howling heard
- No dogs visible
- The old ways remembered