Author: Haniya Javed

“The Grim. The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen- the worst omen – of death.” -Sybill Trelawney discussing the Grim with Harry Potter. Popular in Scandinavian and English folklore, the “church grim” or “kirk grim” is a guardian spirit of the church and the surrounding churchyard. Most often appearing in the form of a big fierce black dog with razor sharp teeth, glowing eyes and shaggy unkempt fur; the grim protects the church from anyone or anything that wishes to harm it. According to Yorkshire tradition and other forms of lore, the grim may appear as a lamb, horse, rooster, or even a raven. In olden times it was believed that the first person to be buried in the church graveyard would protect the region from the devil and would also be responsible for helping the other spirits move on and cross over to the realm of the dead for all eternity. Now people wanted to avoid this fate for themselves and for their loved ones; so when a church was founded, a dog was first buried there who would later show up as the grim and protect both the living and the dead from evil. Although the story surrounding it is inherently thought to be a good one; coming across a church grim was still thought to be a bad omen, one bringing death and...