Ghost and ghouls, tombstones and skulls, pumpkins and skeletons… and, of course, black cats. All these spooky symbols (black cats especially) have undeniably become staples of Halloween.
But where did this special connection between black cats and the spookiest night of the year come from?
It’s hard to pinpoint an exact moment or place where the association between black cats, witchcraft, and supernatural powers first began. What is clear, though, is that by the 13th century, fear of cats — especially black ones —was real. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX issued a papal bull called Vox in Rama, to persecute any heretical rituals that involved black cats. While the bull didn’t specifically call for harming or killing them, it sowed a deep mistrust among the population. Anyone who owned a black cat, or had some kind of relationship with one, quickly became suspect: black cats could be a witch’s familiar, a messenger from the Devil… or even a witch in cat shape! They became something you didn’t want to be around or to come across at any point: it could bring you bad luck, or make you suspect of witchcraft!
This connection between witches, the devil and black cats only grew stronger over time. Between the 14th and 17th centuries (especially in places like England, Germany and Scotland), the connection got so intense that just owning a cat could be seen as a direct and undeniably evidence of witchcraft or a deal with the devil.
However, if by that time people already feared cats and linked them to witches, that means it must be some kind of earlier association, right? So, where does the idea that black cats are tied to witches and dark magic actually come from?
Many experts point to Samhain and Halloween night. Around that time of year, the ancient Celtic people believed that the spirits of the dead could walk among the living, and that certain animals — like cats — could freely wander between both worlds. For them, black cats had a kind of magical power, as we can see just looking at some myths and figures from their folklore: the Cat Sith, Cailleach and her black cats or Grimalkin are just some of the most telling examples of how cats were powerful creatures or were connected to hidden knowledge.
Because of this mystical nature, people tended to feel a bit uneasy around cats. However, they were also respected and admired as protectors of the home and defenders against the evil spirits. A cat could be an interesting ally, but better not to mess with them.
As Christianity spread, though, these beliefs started to be seen as pagan and heretical, and anything connected to them was considered dangerous and linked — in one way or another — to the devil.Around the 8th century most part of the ancient Celtic beliefs had been replaced or absorbed by Christianity, but that idea of cats being a special creature held on and carried through to modern times. Stories like Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat kept the image of the black cat as something tied to witches and the supernatural alive in popular culture, sealing it as an essential part of Halloween night.
Courtesy of The New York Public Library Digital Collection
Thank you so much Tania for writing such interesting articles! If you follow us on social media you’ve probably seen her in some of the videos. She is now working on something very cool for Stars in the Trash.
The latest from Valhalla Cats and things I found interesting this week:
- If you like hidden object games and cats, don’t miss Catcelona! A nice, cozy and entertaining video game that mixes Barcelona’s architecture and hidden cats.
- This is one of the biggest books on felines I have ever seen! 🐱‘Monograph of the Felidae or Family of Cats’ by Daniel Giraud Elliot was published in 1883. Inside there are over 40 hand-coloured lithographic plates of cats, big and small.
Have a wonderful day,
Jose
