Apparently, festivals celebrating local cryptids are becoming quite the thing in the US, with eight in Virginia alone. Here, we have the Black Shuck Festival in Bungay, Suffolk (see FT424:14-15, 429:66-68), which, since 2022, has marked the anniversary of 4 August 1577, when the Devil in the form of a huge black dog with eyes glowing like coals burst into St Mary’s church during a storm, killed two people and brought the church steeple crashing down, before going on to commit similar mayhem in nearby Blythburgh (see FT195:30-35, 251:-22-23).
Taking place in the town centre, with events in the church and the Fisher Theatre, the Black Shuck Festival manages to be a cheerful combination of town carnival, music festival and pagan ritual, a vibe I recall of old from East…