Jawnomicon

Cù Sìth

Also called Cù Sith, Cu Sith, Cu Sidhe, Coo Shee.

In Scottish Highland folklore, the Cù Sìth is a huge, otherworldly fairy hound whose triple bark can be heard for miles and whose third and final bay is a death omen for whoever hears it.

At a glance

Tradition
Scottish folkloreBritish folklore
Region
Scottish Highlands (place of origin)
Kind
British black dog
Trait family
The Threshold-Keepers

Near this figure

Traits

Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.

Behaviour

  • Shelter before omen completes
    why

    Folk protections against the Cù Sìth vary across tellings but recur around the idea of enclosed, human-made shelter: reaching a house, byre, or other solid structure before the third bark fades is commonly cited as the surest defense.

Sight and sound

  • Roar audible for miles
    why

    whose triple bark can be heard for miles

  • Silent flight
    why

    It is said to move silently despite its size, padding across the moors with a great, soundless stride that belies its bulk.

Omens

  • Portent sound precedes death
    why

    Its most distinctive trait is its bark: the Cù Sìth is said to bay three times, and each bay carries progressively farther, audible for great distances across the hills.

Utility powers

  • Stealth movement
    why

    It is said to move silently despite its size, padding across the moors with a great, soundless stride that belies its bulk.

Curses

  • Death omen
    why

    the baying itself is widely described as an omen of death for whoever hears it.

  • Child stealing
    why

    lest the Cù Sìth carry them off to a fairy mound (a sìthean) to supply milk for the children of the fairies (the daoine sìth).

Roles

Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.