May 9, 2012
No, the wording of this post-heading is not a typo on my part! Rather, it’s the slightly-altered title of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous and acclaimed novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles – which took a significant degree of inspiration from the legends of one of Britain’s most infamous of all cryptids: the phantom black dog.
So, what’s my reason for bringing this up today? If you’re a fan of Sherlock Holmes, doubtless you’ll know that not long ago the BBC did something that some fans of the Holmes genre viewed as absolute heresy, but which I thought was an excellent idea: they updated the old tales of the late 19th Century to modern-day England – with Benedict Cumberpatch taking the starring role as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson.
And, this coming weekend (CHECK YOUR LISTINGS!) there will be a U.S. airing of The Hounds of Baskerville, which, as well as a slight name change, also alters certain aspects of the story to keep it in line with its 21st Century setting.
Whether a fan of Holmes or of ghostly black dogs, you really should tune in! And – yes, it’s a bit of a spoiler alert – if you can’t wait until the weekend, you can find a review of the episode right here.
About Nick Redfern
Punk music fan, Tennents Super and Carlsberg Special Brew beer fan, horror film fan, chocolate fan, like to wear black clothes, like to stay up late. Work as a writer.
Filed under Books, Cryptid Canids, Cryptofiction, Cryptozoology, Folklore, Lair of the Beasts, Television