With their forlorn howls and blazing red eyes, the legendary phantom Black Dogs have long haunted the hills on Dartmoor.

The ghostly presence of the so-called Yell Hounds has even crept on to the pages of some of the country's finest pieces of literature.

From Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles set on the Devon moor, to Padfoot in Harry Potter, time and again supernatural stories have been woven around the massive mythical dogs.

With numerous reported sightings of the wolf-like creatures in the UK and Europe, it was perhaps only a matter of time before a proper study into their alleged existence was launched.

Richard Freeman, zoological director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology in Bideford, Devon, said Black Dogs have also been spotted roaming around South America.

He said: "I would welcome support for a thorough investigation into their existence.

"If one could be captured on film or filmed with a thermal camera it might give us a clue as to the nature of these creatures."

A report in this month's Countryfile magazine details the legend of more than a dozen Black Dogs including Devon's Yell Hound, the Lean Dog of Tring, the Padfoot of Wakefield and the Gwyligi of Wales.

Dr Simon Sherwood, senior lecturer in psychology, director of the Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes at the University of Northampton, said: "I receive accounts from people looking for information about similar sightings and have come across my website.

"I have probably collected about 50 or 60 accounts from around the world over the past ten years or so."

Abbot's Way on Dartmoor, an ancient road which runs into Cornwall, is said to be the favourite coursing ground of he Yell Hounds – many believe the word Yell is a simple shortening of Yelling.

Among other names, the dogs are known as the Hounds of Hell, Gabriel Hounds, Gabriel Ratchets, Gobble-ratches and Whisht Hounds.

On Dartmoor the Black Dogs are also known as Whisht Hounds, while Yeth (meaning heath) is the name they are given in the north of the county.

It's generally believed the dogs represent the souls of unbaptised babies who have died.

Areas favoured by the Whisht Hounds are the Dewer Stone – a huge pile of rocks overlooking Shaugh Prior and Bickleigh Vale, not far from Plymouth – and the ancient Wistman's Wood.

According to myth, the only way to survive the glare of the hounds is to lie flat on your face with arms and legs crossed and repeat the Lord's Prayer until they have passed.