"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy"
Hamlet, Shakespeare

Before modern times there was no knowledge of electricity.

No grids, no earthing, no towns and cities with many lightning conductors to neutralise the electrical forces in the atmosphere above.

Powerful natural electrical energies were free and unfettered.

Unusual electrical events in the atmosphere would be more common and more extreme.

Man's response to these events was to believe in the supernatural and construct mythology in order to satisfy his need to understand the world around him.

In this article I want to develop the case that observations of ball lightning are the source for much of this mythology.

Myths of Black Dogs including Black Shuck the spectral black dog of East Anglia, England. Also Fairies, Witches, fire breathing Dragons and many others

They can be explained as creative explanations of genuine observations of a type of ball lightning that seems to be unrecognised.