Monday Exposure: Haunted barking within York Minster

Does a ghostly dog bark within the York Minster?

During our visit to York last spring, I ventured into the crypts below the Minster. It was just before closing time, and I wanted to speed through an historical exhibit while Kate took Jackson outside to play. At one point, I heard the sound of a barking dog. The sound was neither near nor far; it came from some middle distance, but was not particularly distinct. I exchanged glances with a man touring the exhibit with his family. It was an odd sound, but we both shrugged. Probably just a dog that somehow had gotten into the cathedral above.

I didn't give it any more thought until a week ago, when I started looking around for a few ghostly tales. York has a reputation as one of the most haunted places in the U.K., so I figured it would be a good place to search. And I came across this:

          A story about the building of York Minster recounts a stonemason who worked at the site with his dog.
          Some other masons didn't like the dog and its owner. One evening, they captured the dog and bricked it
          up within the walls. The dog barked frantically. Alone and in the dark, the dog bayed into the night. His
          master did not find him.

          To this day the dog howls for his master, who never comes.

As I left the Minster a little while later, I asked a guard at the desk about hearing a dog. He gave me an odd look but didn't respond. I'm not saying I believe the ghost dog story, but  .  .  .