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)
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 […]
Cats in Film–The Tomb of Ligeia (1965, Vincent Price)
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)
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”. […]