Hellhound

Hellhound
Powers and Abilities	Enhanced senses Invulnerability
Vulnerabilities	Salt Angel blade Demon-killing knife
Appearance	Invisible to humans unless near death or wearing glasses scorched with holy fire. They are canine in appearance with glowing red eyes.
Episode(s)	2.08 Crossroad Blues 3.15 Time Is on My Side 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked 5.10 Abandon All Hope... 5.20 The Devil You Know 6.04 Weekend at Bobby's 6.10 Caged Heat 8.14 Trial and Error 9.21 King of the Damned 11.15 Beyond the Mat

Hellhound A demonic dog of hell, usually referring to Cerberus, the dog of Hades from Greek Mythology. The ghostly hounds are said to haunt parts of the United Kingdom and many names are given to the apparitions: Black Shuck of East Anglia, Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man, Gwyllgi of Wales. Hellhounds are a common creature in fantasy fiction, such as in Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and Frank Belknap Long's "The Hounds of Tinadalos". They are also a common enemy in role-playing and video games, including "Dungeons & Dragons", "Shadowrun", "RuneScape", "Adventure Quest" and the "Zork" series. – Pad of Definitions (2.08 Crossroad Blues), Official Website

History

Right after God said 'let there be light.' He made a whole bunch of things. Posies, koalas, hellhounds. He wanted the Creator's best friend, but the hounds were too vicious. So He planned on having them put down, until along came our favorite fallen angel. He rescued one of the hounds, a pregnant bitch named Ramsey. – Crowley, 12.15 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell

Hellhounds were one of the first things created by God to act as companions to Himself. However, when the hounds proved to be too vicious He had them destroyed, except for one which was pregnant and rescued by Lucifer. Ramsey became the offshoot Alpha of every hellhound that roams Hell and earth.

Characteristics

Hellhound depicted in lore.

Hellhounds are aggressive, violent dogs that can and do serve demons. They commonly appear to kill a person who has made a deal with a crossroads demon allowing the person's soul to be harvested by Hell. In the days proceeding the end of a person's time, they will appear to the victim in dreams as well as become visible to the person whose soul they are to take. If a person is killed by a hellhound, regardless if they have made a demonic deal, they will be dragged to Hell.

Hellhounds are also used to hunt down renegade demons and drag them back to Hell.

On the earthly plane hellhounds are usually invisible to humans. Their vision is desaturated of color, with motion blur around the periphery.

Powers and abilities

• Enhanced senses – It is said once they have the scent of a person they won't stop until they catch them.
• Invisibility – Hellhounds are invisible to humans until that person is near death or looking through an object scorched with holy fire, such as a pair of glasses.
• Invulnerability – Hellhounds are capable of surviving attacks from conventional weapons such as guns.
• Super strength and speed – Hellhounds have tremendous strength and speed, and are capable of easily running down and killing humans and demons.

Weaknesses

• Angel blade – Hellhounds can be harmed and killed by an angel blade.
• Barriers – They can be kept at bay with goofer dust, devil's shoestring, and salt.
• The Colt – Like demons, the Colt is effective against hellhounds.
• Demon-killing knife – As with demons, the knife is capable of killing hellhounds.
• Explosives – Ellen and Jo Harvelle were able to kill hellhounds with an improvised explosive containing salt and iron nails.
• Holy fire – Lenses that have been scorched through fire burning from holy oil, can allow a hellhound to be seen through them.
• Nephilim – Upon returning from the Garden of Eden, Jack Kline was able to disintegrate the hellhounds placed by Ruby to guard the Occultum.

Episodes

2.08 Crossroad Blues

Hellhound POV from Dean's dream in 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked.

People who have made a deal with the crossroads demon are pursued and attacked by hellhounds. It kills two, but leaves the last alone when Dean makes a deal with the demon to trade the man's life for the demon's freedom.

3.15 Time Is on My Side

Despite using devil's shoestring to keep them at bay, Bela is taken by hellhounds when her deal is up.

3.16 No Rest for the Wicked

Hellhounds come for Dean when his deal is up. One kills him and drags him to Hell.

5.10 Abandon All Hope

Meg appears with hellhounds who attack on her command. After fatally injuring Jo, she and Ellen kill the hellhounds using bombs containing Salt and Iron nails. One is also apparently killed by Dean with the Colt though it is unclear.

5.20 The Devil You Know

Demons track Crowley and send a hellhound after him. Dean tries desperately to hold the hound off, when suddenly Crowley reappears with his own, apparently much bigger hellhound. They escape while the hellhounds fight it out.

6.04 Weekend at Bobby's

Bobby traps Crowley in a devil's trap made with blacklight paint. He plans to leave Crowley in the trap until he gives him his soul back, but Crowley has brought his hellhound along. The hellhound growls in Bobby's face and Bobby is forced to release Crowley or become "Alpo."

6.10 Caged Heat

A group of hellhounds guard Crowley's monster prison. Meg kills them with Castiel's angel blade.

Dean comes face to face with a hellhound for the first trial.

8.14 Trial and Error

Kevin Tran learns from the demon tablet that as the first of three tests one must endure before being able to close the Gates of Hell, the person seeking to do so must kill a hellhound and bathe in its blood. In order to do so, Sam and Dean try to track down someone who's deal is about to come due and come upon the Cassity family who struck oil where there should be none.

As Carl Granville, Margot Cassity and Ellie's deals are up, Crowley sends a hellhound to kill them. As Sam and Dean mistakenly believe it is after Alice Cassity, the hellhound kills Carl with no problems and then kills Margo the next night, though Sam tries and fails to save her by shooting it. As the hellhound goes after Ellie, Dean, wearing glasses scorched with Holy Fire which allows him to see the hellhound, faces off against it with Ruby's knife, but the hellhound is too quick for him and knocks him to the ground, knocking the glasses and knife away. However, before it can kill him, Sam shoots it and gets the knife. As the hound tries to bite him, Sam cuts it open lengthwise, killing it. Dean and Sam later make a hex bag for Ellie and tell her to go on the run so that Crowley can't find her and send another hellhound to collect on their deal.

9.21 King of the Damned

When Sam and Dean are sent to retrieve the First Blade from a cemetery, they are confronted and chased by a hellhound. Once they've barricaded themselves in a mausoleum, Dean places a call to Crowley, who had believed the hellhound was collected prior to Sam and Dean's arrival. Dean places Crowley on speakerphone and has him call of the hellhound, which was revealed to be named Juliet.

11.15 Beyond the Mat

When Gunner Lawless kills Duke, it causes hellhounds to be released to collect his soul. While Sam and Dean try to give him weapons to defend himself, he refuses, telling them he deserves what he has coming for the lives he took and tells Sam and Dean to get out of there. As Sam and Dean flee, Gunner stares down the door as it breaks open and a hellhound comes charging at him.

12.15 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell

Two demons release Ramsey, a vicious hellhound rescued by Lucifer when God ordered the extermination of the hellhound species. Ramsey goes on to attack a man Marcus and his girlfriend Gwen Hernandez who happened to trespass into his her den. Ramsey brutally mauls Marcus, and when turning her attention to Gwen is hit with an axe by Gwen sending her retreating.

Realizing they are dealing with a hellhound, Sam and Dean go to speak with Gwen, Ramsey is able to sneak into the house and when Gwen throws the Winchesters out of her home, she soon watches invisible claws gouge the floor, and screams as Ramsey barks and snarls at her, chasing her from the room. She tries to barricade herself in another room, but Ramsey barges in and pins her to the floor, clawing beside her head as she screams. Sam and Dean hear Gwen's screams and enter, shooting at Ramsey. Dean hits her, causing Ramsey to yelp in pain, and jump through the window making her escape. Explaining that she was attacked by a hellhound, Sam and Dean place a call to Crowley telling him that one of his hellhounds has gone rogue. Crowely learns that Ramsey has escaped, and orders the kennel guards killed before teleporting to Sam and Dean's location. He explains to Sam and Dean the origins of hellhounds and how Ramsey was the last surviving hellhound when God saw them to be to vicious.

The four go hunting for Ramsey at the camp grounds where Marcus was killed. While Dean and Crowley look for Ramsey's den, Sam and Gwen wait in the Impala. Dean and Crowely find the den, which is empty except for Marcus' body. Ramsey soon attacks the Impala, and in the fight Sam's hellhound glasses get knocked off, but is able to impale Ramsey with an angel blade, killing her.

12.21 There's Something About Mary

Crowley loans out a hellhound to Mr. Ketch, who uses it to track down and maul Eileen Leahy in South Carolina, to ensure the death can be placed on the supernatural and not the British Men of Letters.

Later at the BMOL Mobile Command, Ketch is showing off the hellhound to Lady Bevell, asking it to sit for her and feeding it a treat of raw meat. When Lady Bevell questions how Ketch knows the hellhound sat for him, Ketch simply tells her what else is he going to do, as he is not going to say "bad dog" as the hellhound can be very unpleasant.

Ruby's hellhound guards about to be obliterated.

15.06 Golden Time

Eileen Leahy's ghost reveals that the hellhound dragged her soul to Hell when it killed her.

15.13 Destiny's Child

Outside of a church where Ruby hid the Occultum, the Winchesters, Jack, and Castiel are confronted by two hellhounds left by the demon to protect the Occultum. Barricading themselves in the church, Sam attempts to hold the door closed while the others find the Occultum. Later, as the hellhounds break in, Jack returns from the Occultum in an orb of light which releases waves of energy. The energy waves make the hellhounds briefly visible and disintegrates them.

Trivia

• Crowley's hellhound is known in fandom as Growley.
• 8.14 Trial and Error is the first episode where a hellhound is seen. Until then, they were invisible. Sometimes the hellhounds point of view was seen, which showed the world as very desaturated.

• 

  From Jim Michaels: "Anytime we have a Hellhound in an episode of Supernatural, this is the size we imagine they are!"

• 

  Senior compositor Steve McLeod takes a hellhound for a walk; pic provided via Steve's twitter.