Bungay is best known for the legend of the Black Dog, which terrorised its residents one stormy night in 1577.
Now, it seems, the devilish hound has left an ominous legacy for the town.
Newly-released figures from the 2021 census show that Bungay has the highest number of Satanists in England and Wales.
The data shows that 70 people in the town and the surrounding - and apparently inaptly named - 'Saints' villages identify as followers of Satan.
This equates to around one per cent of the population.
The country's next highest headcount of Satanists is in the Brondesbury area of north London, which has a larger population than Bungay and just 20 people who identify as such.
Satanism is an ill-defined belief system based on following Satan, or the devil, and it has few public representatives or advocates.
A Church of Satan was set up in the 1960s in San Francisco - it says its members are atheists who do not worship the devil - and it has a UK branch.
But the group declined to discuss whether it had members in Bungay or why Satanism might be so prominent here.
One theory among locals is that it might be linked to the Black Dog legend, which in recent years has been used to promote the Suffolk town.
Many businesses and ventures in the area now reference the tale, including the Bungay Black Shuck festival, which launched last year.
James Mayhew, one of the organisers, wondered if the town's association with the macabre story had either attracted people interested in Satanism, or had prompted some locals to become interested.
"There is a real fascination here for story and myth," he said.
"Bungay is a hive of creative activity, from book illustrators and writers like myself to painters.
"So I don't think it's unusual for creative people to explore the local folklore. And much of it is dark, not least Black Shuck of course, but many other ghostly and spooky tales, in Bungay and throughout the region.
"Or it could be that people here are simply fed up with other religions."
Others have a more sceptical explanation: that the town has a healthy sense of humour and that those who declared themselves Satanists are simply pranksters.
Betty Warnes, a member of the Friends of St Mary's Church, said Bungay had 'a lot of jokers'.
"I would have thought it would be a windup but nothing surprises me.
"There is a rumour of ley lines [alignments between landmarks which some say have mystical significance] and dancing around the druid stone naked in the town. Nothing that I have seen, however."
BLACK DOG, NOT BLACK SHUCK
While many East Anglian communities claim a link to the legend of a ghostly, black dog which roams surrounding countryside, few have as strong an association as Bungay.
Historical accounts describe an event on August 4, 1577, when a black dog - said to have been the devil in disguise - descended on the town's church, St Mary's, during a storm and attacked praying parishioners.
While in other places, the beast is known as Black Shuck, in Bungay it has traditionally simply been known as the Black Dog.
But the Black Shuck Festival organiser, Stuart Pearson Wright, wants the Black Shuck name to become associated with Bungay.
Speaking at the festival in August he said: "I wanted to start an annual festival and create a massive bronze sculpture of the black shuck and mount it in the centre of town.
"We wanted to claim the black shuck as Bungay's own, the shuck is an iconic name."
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