Barge
French name for 'phantom dog' - similar to the English Barghest/Shuck and part of the British Isles black dog tradition. Named from Old French 'burgh-guest' (town ghost) or Bahr-Geist (funeral bier spirit). The French term encompasses spectral hounds that appear as death omens, with glowing eyes, roaming at night near old roads, churches, crossroads. If one crosses your path, expect misfortune or death within the year. Some say it's the ghost of a murdered person or unbaptized child. The black dog ghost tradition spans all England (Shuck, Black Shuck, Padfoot, Skriker, Gytrash) and Wales (Gwyl