--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A hound it was, an enormous coal-black…" description: "\"A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/284/arthur-conan-doyle-273_animal_a-hound-it-was-an-enormous-coal-black-ho_534490.jpg" --- # A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such… ![“A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could…” quote by Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/284/arthur-conan-doyle-273_animal_a-hound-it-was-an-enormous-coal-black-ho_534490.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/284/arthur-conan-doyle-273_animal_a-hound-it-was-an-enormous-coal-black-ho_534490.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/284/arthur-conan-doyle-273_animal_a-hound-it-was-an-enormous-coal-black-ho_534490.jpg) > “A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog.” [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a terrifying, supernatural hound of fire, embodying primal fear and the horror of confronting an unknowable, monstrous force. **In simple terms:** A fiery, monstrous hound embodies deep fear. Key Takeaway Confront and understand primal fears. Themes fear supernatural monsters psychology Mood eerie intense dramatic Type literary mythic psychological When to use this quote - horror literature analysis - psychotherapy for trauma - creative storytelling - film monster design Key Concepts mythic symbolism human imagination nightmare imagery Questions to Reflect On - What does the hound represent in human psyche? - How can confronting imagined monsters aid real‑world courage? A Different Perspective Such vivid horror may be exaggerated, reducing practical relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black Hound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-hound-4482233/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Broke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broke/) [Broke up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broke-up/) [Coal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coal/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Delirious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delirious/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Enormous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Flames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flames/) [Fog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fog/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Glare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glare/) [Hound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hound/) [Hound Hound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hound-hound-4482234/) [Hound Mortal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hound-mortal-4482232/) [Hounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hounds/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) [Mouths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouths/) [Muzzle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muzzle/) [Open mouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-mouth/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [“A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/a-hound-it-was-an-enormous-coal-black-hound-but-not-such-a-hound-as-2/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Muzzle control has to be a religion. 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It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. 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