In Claire Fayer’s fourth novel, Storm Hound, one of the dogs from the Wild Hunt falls to earth and lands near Abergavenny. In a special blog post, marking the publication of this new fantasy adventure, Claire explores the legend of The Hunt.
The Wild Hunt
I am Storm of Odin, he said, Stormhound of the Wild Hunt, follower of Odin One-Eye, also known as Arawn of the Otherworld. I run with thunder and lighting and all creatures tremble when I pass.
The dogs didn’t look very impressed.
You have gravy on your nose, the old dog said.
Imagine, if you will, that you are standing on top of a mountain in the rain. Night is falling. (I have no idea why you’d want to climb a mountain in the rain, especially when it’s getting dark, but I’m sure you have a good reason.) Thunder rumbles close by, and then the sky is split with a flash of silver lightning. In that moment, as you gaze upward, your rain-filled eyes can just about make out shapes racing through the clouds. Horses and dogs. The next time the wind howls, it sounds like the ring of hunting horns.
Be very careful climbing back down that mountain. To see the Wild Hunt, according to legend, means that disaster and death is coming.
The Wild Hunt of Odin. Peter Nicolai Arbo, National Gallery of Norway
The Wild Hunt appears in many guises across northern European mythology. In most traditions, the Hunt represents chaos, the forces of the supernatural world. It is a presage of disaster. At the very least, the person who sees the Hunt is likely to die.
One of the things I like most about the legend is its ambiguity. A glimpse of riders hurtling across the sky. No one really knows who they are or what they are doing. The various legends can’t even agree about who leads the Hunt. In Germanic folklore, it is Odin, in some areas of England it’s Herne the Hunter or King Arthur. Here’s an extract from the Peterborough Chronicles, referring to a sighting of the Wild Hunt in 1127.
Many men both saw and heard a great number of huntsmen hunting. The huntsmen… rode on black horses, and on black he-goats, and their hounds were jet black, with eyes like saucers and horrible.
Meanwhile, in Wales, you’ll find the Hounds of Annwn – the hunting hounds of the magical Otherworld, ruled by King Arawn. This is how they appear to Pwyll of Dyfed in the Mabinogi.
As he listened out for the cry of the pack he heard the cry of another pack, with a different bark, coming to meet his own… Of all the hunting dogs he had seen in this world, he had never seen dogs the same colour as those. The colouring they had was a dazzling bright white and with red ears. As bright was the dazzling whiteness as the brightness of the red.
I could have picked just one of these legends to use in Storm Hound, but one of the big themes of the book is that life is messy and you can’t put everything neatly into categories. In the end, I thought it was more fitting to use a combination of them all.
So, if you’re standing on top of Mount Skirrid in the rain, look out for the dogs. Some will be black, some will be white, all will be fierce. And if you see one a bit smaller than the others, struggling to keep up, say hello to him for me. That will be Storm.
Huge thanks to Claire for preparing this blog post for us. To mark the release of Storm Hound, the worms have made a short book trailer. Click here to see their creation.
See the banner below for more details about where you can read more from Claire during the week.
More about Storm Hound…
Storm of Odin is the youngest stormhound of the Wild Hunt that haunts lightning-filled skies. He has longed for the time when he will be able to join his brothers and sisters but on his very first hunt he finds he can’t keep up and falls to earth, landing on the A40 just outside Abergavenny.
Enter 12-year-old Jessica Price, who finds and adopts a cute puppy from an animal rescue centre. And suddenly, a number of strange people seem very interested in her and her new pet, Storm. People who seem to know a lot about magic . . .
In Claire Fayers’ electrifying adventure Storm Hound, Jessica starts to see that there’s something different about her beloved dog and will need to work out which of her new friends she can trust.
Storm Hound is officially published on Thursday 21st February, and can be purchased from your local bookshop. Visit Claire Fayers’ website, and do follow her on Twitter.