Halloween Experts

Of all the symbols of Halloween, the one whose history is most steeped in superstition is the black cat. For thousands of years, the cat has inspired both awe and fear in peoples around the globe. They have been attributed with both divine and nefarious powers. They have been worshipped and adored by some societies, and shunned and persecuted by others. What is it that makes cats, and in particular, black cats, such controversial creatures?

All cats are primarily nocturnal. Housecat or lion, they nap frequently during the day and are active at night. Their have excellent night vision. Ancient man had a great fear of the night, and cats’ affinity to it made them suspect. Darkness came to be equated with evil, and therefore, in some cultures, so did cats. Naturally, a black cat was doubly evil. Who has not seen a cat who appears to be staring intently at something unseen, or batting at thin air? Thus the myth was born that cats can see spirits and ghosts, which certainly must be a wicked activity. Similarly, a cat’s unpredictable behavior, and stalking poses inspired suspicion and fear.

In ancient Egypt, cats were held to be regal and divine. The Egyptian Goddess Bast, or Bastet, took the form of a cat. To kill a cat was punishable by death. The death of a housecat put the entire household in public morning. It was tradition to shave one’s eyebrows off to signify mourning for a cat. Just as the Pharaohs, cats were frequently mummified, to ensure their happy afterlife.

The faith of ancient European cultures was closely associated with nature, and cats were revered, as were all animals, and sometimes considered messengers to and from the spirit world. With the advent of Christianity and the regulations imposed by the church, the old faith, too, came to be feared by some, and associated with darkness. Witches, who, practiced the old ways, were condemned by their Christian neighbors. Cats were often kept by witches for the same reasons that anyone else had a cat: for companionship. Some Christians, however, believed that the cat was either possessed by the witch for mysterious and wicked purposes, or that the witch had the ability to transform into a cat. During the witch trials of the middle ages, cats were often tortured and killed along with witches.

* Superstition is a belief or practice, usually considered irrational, resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown. Here is a list of some cat superstitions from around the world:

– Cats can predict the weather, especially rain, by variously washing their ears, paws, sneezing, looking out the window, or clawing at the curtains. In Norse mythology, Odin’s dog was associated with the wind and cats with the rain, which is probably the origin of describing a severe rainstorm as “raining cats and dogs”.

– Finding a single white hair on a black cat brings good luck.

– A Scottish proverb advises that finding a strange black cat on your porch will bring prosperity.

– The French believed that black cats could find buried treasure.

– Irish superstition says that to kill a cat brings 17 years of bad luck.

– An old American tradition holds that it is unlucky to see a white cat at night.

– In North America, it’s bad luck if a black cat crosses your path and good luck if a white cat crosses your path. In Britain and Ireland, it’s the opposite.

– In some parts of England, it is good luck to own a black cat, but bad luck to meet one by accident.

– In France, it is bad luck to cross a stream carrying a cat.

(Honestly, we have to believe that last one. We tried to give a cat a bath once.)