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Overview
A hunter returning unsuccessfully from woods and bogs encounters a white-shrouded corpse beside a graveyard where two roads meet. It approaches without touching the ground, keeping roughly a foot above it while the cloth flutters behind. When it attacks, the hunter’s dog grips its bare calves and wrestles with it. The man flees rather than helping his animal.
The struggle lasts until cockcrow, when the corpse falls motionless and the dog follows its owner home. The rest of the tale concerns the dog’s lasting hostility toward the man who deserted it; the man’s mother interprets this as resentment, and the family eventually kills the animal after a later attack. The narrator does not describe the corpse entering or possessing the dog. Its floating approach, exposed calves and dawn collapse are the supernatural figure’s specific features; the dog’s subsequent behaviour remains a separate part of the moral ending.
Origins & earliest records
Ralston, Russian Fairy Tales, hosted Hurst edition: The Dog and the Corpse, pp. 317–318; note 411; source note: Afanasief VI, pp. 321–322.
Records & interpretation
Complete English tale and source footnote supply the described corpse actions and ending. No causal mechanism is added beyond the narrator’s statements.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Russian Fairy Tales: The Dog and the Corpse, pp. 317–318; note 411
Source note: Afanasief VI, pp. 321–322. Complete English narrative; original Russian not independently collated.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary historical translationRalston: The Dog and the Corpse, pp. 317–318; note 411Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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