ORIGINS The fear of Friday the 13th has a long history, and black cats have always been associated with the day as a bad omen. The superstition revolving around this day may have started in the Middle Ages and is of course associated with Christianity. At Jesus’s last supper there were 13 apostles on the […]
Cats in 20th Century History (Cats in War)
February 20, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Throughout both World War I and World War II cats in war exhibited bravery in extreme situations. Serving on battleships and in the trenches, cats proved their heroism in dire circumstances by doing what they were best at, being mousers, mascots, and affectionate companions. During WWI, the British employed more than 500,000 cats […]
Myths and Superstitions: Halloween and Black Cats
October 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment
The assimilation of Pagan and Christian rites would come in the form of Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival and precursor of today’s Halloween. Halloween and black cats have been bound together because of the cats’ pagan ties which originated in Ancient Egypt. Samhain celebrated the end of summer harvest, marking the beginning of the […]
Cats in Film–The Tomb of Ligeia (1965, Vincent Price)
September 5, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Early films sometimes based on 19th century novels, featured vicious felines that were latent killers. The 1965 film The Tomb of Ligeia, based on one of Poe’s short stories, revolves around the main character, Ligeia’s, desire to be immortal. At the beginning of the film, a black cat jumps on Ligeia’s coffin and Ligeia opens […]
Cats in the Enlightenment (Part 8 – Katterfelto the Conjurer)
November 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The evil mantle that the cat had procured through history from the Greeks and early Christians was exploited and manipulated into a source of individual profit for a Prussian magician, Katterfelto (1743-1799). In order to entice crowds to his show, he used a “Famous Moroccan Black Cat” in his act, which he advertised as “evil”. […]
Myths and Superstitions: Cats and Death
October 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The following is an excerpt from The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland by Steve Roud. In many areas of Britain and Ireland, when a death occurred in a house, the family cats and dogs would be removed immediately: The household companions of dog and cat were rigidly excluded from the […]
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