Grim Sacrifices
A dogged column on using folklore in tabletop RPGs
A teenager is wandering through a church graveyard at night. A foolish thing to do, the result of a dare and misplaced bravado. Ancient graves throw long shadows. Dead leaves crunch like brittle bones underfoot. Thick storm clouds threaten lightning and rain. The teenager knows it must be midnight soon, then they can leave—
The church bell tolls. The teenager’s heart leaps; they look around, ready to be caught trespassing by a priest or groundskeeper. Instead, they hear a padding sound drawing near, a low growl building. An enormous black dog, red eyes glowing, emerges from the darkness.
The churchyard’s protector has arrived.
I. Church Grims
Part of a long line of spectral black dogs, the English church grim is unusual in that its presence is a positive. Despite being a giant ghost dog with glowing red eyes, this canine actually serves as the guardian spirit of a churchyard or graveyard1. After all, this is medieval England. There’s not just graverobbers and vandals to worry about—the Devil himself might send his witches and warlocks to profane the dead!
Still, just because this canine spirit is a force for good, doesn’t mean you want to see it. Like the rest of its spectral pack, the church grim is an omen of death, appearing alongside stormy weather. It’s even known to signal an imminent death by ringing the church’s bell at midnight (by knocking it? By pulling the rope with its teeth?).
This kind of story isn’t limited to the British either. Scandinavian folklore, for example, also has animal revenants guarding its graveyards. Known as the kyrkogrim (Swedish) or kirkegrim (Danish), these spirits aren’t limited to dogs. Stories tell of lamb spirits in Sweden and a ‘grave-sow’ in Denmark for example2.
Whether kyrkogrim, kirkegrim, or church grim, however, these sorts of spirits don’t come from nowhere. You could even make your own—assuming you’re okay with a little animal sacrifice.
II. A Grim Business
Well, I say animal sacrifice, but luckily that might be overstated.
According to some 19th-century folklorists3, church grims weren’t a natural phenomenon—they were man-made. These folklorists believed that, once upon a time, the custom had been to bury a dog alive under the cornerstone of a church. This ritual sacrifice would ensure the ghost of the dog would serve as the church’s future guardian.
This idea is linked to the folk belief that, when a new churchyard was opened, the first person buried there would be required to guard it against the Devil. To prevent a human soul from having to do so, a black dog would always be buried first. This is admittedly a nicer method than the previous one, though it is still asking man’s best friend to take one for the team.
This possibility, that of a substitute burial, carries us to Part 3 of churchyard sacrifices—the human kind.
III. Foundation Sacrifice
The idea of burying someone under a building to act as its protector isn’t just limited to animals, of course. Stories of humans being sacrificed to become protective spirits can be found in many cultures throughout history, travelling far beyond the British Isles.
As Amelia Soth puts it for JSTOR Daily:
“Foundation sacrifice refers to the practice of burying a human being in the foundation of a new building as an attempt to ensure that it stands. Building a structure was an affront to the spirits and deities of the land. To appease them, you had to offer a sacrifice. In turn, the sacrificed person was transformed by death. They became a protective spirit, bound to guard the building that had become their tomb, an idea that some scholars have argued is the root of our modern haunted-house tales.”4
But just because there are stories of something happening, doesn’t necessarily mean it did. Modern humans definitely unearth the occasional skeleton, human or otherwise, when excavating old buildings, but are these evidence of sacrifice or just ancient accidents (or ancient murders)?
That’s an easier question to ask than answer, but the evidence looks like it’s leaning towards the latter, at least more often than not. In real life, however, people did often bury ‘substitute’ sacrifices beneath new buildings, giving up something literally or symbolically precious. These included empty coffins, animal skulls, bottles of wine, and (of course) treasure.
Using Church Grims in Your Game
So now you know the story, how can you use it in your game?
I. Graveyard Encounter
Player characters in role-playing games are not historically known for their respect for the sanctity of the dead—or the places where they’re buried. Church grims offer an interesting encounter for any party engaged in a little light grave robbery, whether they be fantasy knaves or 1920s detectives.
If the church grim is immune to physical harm, the encounter becomes a puzzle too, not just another fight. Can you distract a ghost dog the same way you would a real dog? Is there something the party could do to get the grim onside?
Alternatively, perhaps the spirit can be temporarily put down, but will return the following night if its sacrificed skeleton isn’t dug up and destroyed first. If the grim guards the entrance to a larger dungeon, there’s a big incentive to not have to fight past it every time the party comes and goes.
II. The Graveyard Watch
In John Campbell’s Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland5, he briefly mentions the concept of the faire chlaidh—the “graveyard watch”. Put simply, it’s the belief that the last person to be buried in a graveyard is charged with keeping watch until the next funeral occurs.
This might be a fun way to keep a deceased NPC around for a little while longer, their ghost lingering to guard their grave and give the party closure. It might also be a plot hook, if we consider someone unlucky enough to be the last person buried in an abandoned graveyard. This ancient ghost denied their chance to move on can easily act as either a threat or ally in a tomb-raiding adventure.
Alternatively, perhaps this aged spirit is the last (un)living possessor of a piece of important or secret knowledge. It’s an easy way to explain why someone has remained behind as a ghost beyond a hand-wavey ‘unfinished business’, and the trek to track them down might be a quest in its own right. The only question is: what if the ghost wants to end his vigil? Who are the party willing to assign to the graveyard watch in his place?
Church Grim Statistics (Old-School)
AC: 14
HD: 4* (18 hp)
Attacks: +3 to hit » 2 x claw (1d3) or 1 x bite (1d8) or 1 x omen
Save As: Fighter 4
Morale: 12▶ Mundane damage immunity: Can only be harmed by magical attacks.
▶ Undead: Make no noise, until they attack. Immune to mind-affecting spells. Immune to effects that affect living creatures.
~~~
▶ Omen of Death: Marks someone it sees for death (save versus death). Foes receive +4 to hit the marked and inflict +4 damage; reaction checks involving the marked suffer a -4 penalty. The curse lasts until 1d3 sunrises from the marking unless lifted pre-emptively with magic.Note: If a church grim is slain, it arises at the next midnight. This can only be prevented by finding the corpse of the animal sacrifice that created the grim and destroying it (e.g. with fire).
And that’s it for the church grim!
Mythoi will be back again soon with another piece of fantastical folklore!
Penny for your thoughts: Have you ever faced off against a spectral black dog in a role-playing game?
~ A.C. Luke
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Briggs, Katharine Mary. An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books, 1976.
Henderson, William. Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders. W. Satchell, Peyton, and Co., 1879.
Henderson, William. Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders. W. Satchell, Peyton, and Co., 1879.
Soth, Amelia. “There’s Someone Buried under the Floor!” JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
Campbell, John Gregorson. Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. James MacLehose and Sons, 1900.