I wrote this when I was very angry at the world. Someday I might meet a black hound on a dark night… and we’ll both go hunting together. Black Dogs, Black Hounds, The Hounds of Hell, Dogs of Hell, Gabriel Hounds, Yell Hounds, Barghest, Black Dog of the Hanging Hills, Gurt Dog or the Hounds of Herne the Hunter… by whatever name, they are a common feature in the folklore of the British Isles. The Black Hounds of Cŵn Annwn are the spectral hounds of Annwn, the otherworld of Welsh myth. Early Christians came to dub these mythical creatures as "The Hounds of Hell" or "Dogs of Hell" and erroneously theorized they were therefore owned by Satan. However, the Annwn of medieval Welsh tradition is an otherworldly paradise and not a hell or abode of dead souls. The Black Hounds are a nocturnal apparition, and their appearance was regarded as a portent of death. They are supposed to hunt on specific nights in the autumn and winter when it is believed that "the howling of these huge dogs foretold death to anyone who heard them".