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Black cats are a quintessential symbol of Halloween. Unfortunately, their association with Spooky Season is tied to their reputation for bringing bad luck. How many of us have heard that it is an ill omen for a black cat to cross your path? Of course, it is just a matter of genetics that makes one cat black and another ginger or white. Why did black cats get such a bad rap? The history of this myth goes back hundreds if not thousands of years.
Faeries and Familiars
It is hard to pin down a precise origin of the black cat legend. Folklore from numerous places and times likely contributed. In Celtic myth, a fairy called the Cat Sith or King of Cats appears as a black cat with a white chest [9]. Like many fairies, he may bless you if shown respect, but you had better not cross him.
In Scotland, a tale is told about a man who saw a funeral procession of cat carrying the body of a black cat with a white chest while yowling “The King of Cats is dead!” Well, this was quite the spectacle, so the man went home and told his family what he had seen. When he finished his story, the man’s own tuxedo cat leapt to his feet and shouted, “Then that makes me the King of Cats!” The new Cat Sith flew up the chimney, and his humans never saw him again. [9]
The Irish tell a darker version of this story. A man lived in a cottage in a village in Ireland. All his neighbors were careful to keep the fae folk happy. To this end, they left out milk for the Cat Sith once a week. But not this man, oh no. He thought it was a bunch of hogwash. His neighbors insisted that the Cat Sith kept their crops safe and prevented unwanted spirits from interfering with the land, but he would have none of it. In fact, he decided to prove them wrong. [9]
One night, he set out a cut of poisoned milk. Later, he heard a knock at the door, but when he opened, there was no late caller. There was a black cat with a white chest dying on his doorstep. The man just went down to the pub to ask whose cat it was. Well, after a few pints, he started telling everyone the whole story. Suddenly, the black-and-white cat that lived in the pub stood up and announced, “Then that makes me the King of Cats!” The new Cat Sith then ran at the cat-king-killer and attacked him. The Cat Sith drove the man out of town, and he was never seen nor heard from again. [9]
According to legend, the Cat Sith would steal the souls of the recently deceased by walking over their graves. As such, cats–especially black cats–used to be chased out of graveyards in case they were the Cat Sith trying to steal someone’s soul. [9]
Witchcraft and the Medieval Era
Medieval Europe was fertile ground for negative folklore about black cats. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX declared that black cats are an incarnation of the devil [12]. Christians across the continent took the message to heart, rounding up black cats and burning them alive at village festivals as “punishment” [12]. Western Christianity continued to view cats as emissaries of Satan for hundreds of years. So many black cats were killed during the Medieval era that domestic cats were nearly extinct in parts of Europe by the 1300s [12]. It’s thought that the loss of so many cats may actually have contributed to the spread of bubonic plague [4]. No cats means lots and lots of rats. Tragically, the people of Medieval Europe had no idea what good luck the cats were to have around.
Over time, it wasn’t as common to believe that black cats were literally the devil, but rather that they did the work of the devil through witchcraft. One version of the superstition held that black cats were more likely to be the familiars of witches [3, 6, 12]. A familiar is an animal which aids in the performance of magic or carries out magical tasks. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that cats, especially those with black pelts, helped witches to carry out evil spells, spy on their victims, and communicate with the devil [4, 11]. Some people even thought that black cats could become a witch themselves if they served as a witch’s familiar for seven years [12].
The other incarnation of this belief was that black cats were witches in disguise [3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12]. According to one Welsh folktale, a popular inn owned by two sisters had trouble with a thief stealing the valuables of travelers [8]. The lodgers couldn’t explain how the thefts occurred because their rooms were still locked in the morning, yet their money was gone [8]. Word of this mystery reached a retired army officer named Huw Llwyd, and he went to stay at the inn himself to solve it [8]. At night, he kept his sword in bed and pretended to sleep, until he saw two cats slink down the partition between his room and the next [8].
The cats played with Huw’s clothes until one of them found the pocket where he kept his purse. The cat stuck their paw in, but Huw sprang forward and sliced the paw off. Both cats screamed and disappeared into the night. The next morning, one of the innkeepers was absent. Huw inquired after her, but her sister said she was indisposed. Huw refused to leave until he bid her goodbye. Of course, he found that the “indisposed” sister was missing her right hand, as he had expected. Huw ran the witches out of town. [8]
Another gruesome legend, this one from Lincolnshire, England, tells of a father and son who came upon a black cat. Suspecting it of being a witch, they pelted it with stones. The next day, they saw the witch in her human form. She had bandages on her face. She died soon thereafter. [3]
Bad Luck and Bad Omens
In North America, it is still a common maxim that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck. Scholars think that Norman and Germanic peoples originated this saying [4]. They believed that spotting a black cat was an omen of death [4]. The Norse goddess Hel, who was associated with death, included black cats among her symbols [3]. Later European folklore evolved to say that a black cat crossing your path by moonlight meant an outbreak of disease and death was coming [6].
In 16th century Italy, a black cat laying on someone’s sickbed was thought to herald their death [11]. In parts of Wales, an old proverb cautions “Na chadw byth yn nghyleh dy dŷ/Na cheiliog gwyn na chath ddu,” or “Never keep about thy house/A white rooster or black cat” [8]. And of course, vestiges of belief in witchcraft alone have sometimes given black cats a reputation for being evil or bad luck in the Western world [3].
When Black Cats Are Good Luck
Cats are an integral part of folklore all over the world. Books and movies have spotlighted the notion that black cats are bad luck, but many cultures still believe just the opposite. Even within a country, opinions may differ. In Wales, although one proverb cautions against ever keeping a black cat, another traditional saying promises that having a black cat in the house brings good luck and drives away fevers [8].
A black cat, I’ve heard it said,
Can charm all ill away,
And keep the house wherein she dwells
From fever’s deadly sway.
Welsh folk-lore by Elias Owen (1896)
Japan holds cats in high regard in general. The Japanese say that black cats specifically bring a certain kind of luck. Owning a black cat will bring suitors to a woman’s door [4]. Simply encountering a black cat may bring luck in love [11]. Lucky Maneki Neko or “beckoning cat” statues are sometimes black. Black Maneko Neko are believed to ward off evil and illness.
Additionally, some sailors believe that black cats are extra lucky to have onboard a ship [6, 11]. Fishermen’s wives sometimes kept black cats to ensure their husbands returned home safely [6]. In Scotland, a black cat appearing at your door or on your porch is said to bring prosperity [11]. And in a variety of places, dreaming of a black cat or finding a single white hair in one’s pelt is good luck [11]. So it really depends who you ask whether black cats bring bad luck or good. Unfortunately, it is the black cats themselves who may be the recipients of their reputed curse.
Are Black Cats in Danger at Halloween?
Rumor has it that Halloween is not a good time to be a black cat. Expert opinion on the matter is mixed, however. For a long time, some animal shelters have refused to adopt out black cats during October/near Halloween [1, 2, 5, 10]. There are two reasons for this. One is that they fear the animals will be ritualistically killed or tortured for a sick Halloween “prank” [1, 2, 5, 10]. The other is that people might adopt a black cat in a flurry of seasonal spirit, then abandon their kitty when Spooky Season is over [1, 10].
Without a doubt, there are people who hurt animals just because they can. Whether black cats are at high risk around Halloween, it’s hard to say for certain. Part of that fear is clearly rooted in misunderstanding. Halloween is celebrated by neo-pagans as Samhain, an old Gaelic festival of the dead. Combined with the vestiges of the Satanic Panic, we’re left with the belief that witches and Satanists sacrifice black cats at Halloween in arcane rituals [1, 2, 5]. Real witches and Satanists aren’t about that sort of thing. It wouldn’t be surprising for a neo-pagan to engage in ritual magic on Samhain, but they won’t be killing any black cats in the process.
What about those who engage in the sadly ordinary forms of animal cruelty? Are black cats “an easy target for Halloween pranksters who commit violent acts against unsuspecting kitties,” as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals tells us [10]? They certainly can be. But so are cats of other colors, and puppies, and gerbils, and whatever other innocent animals they might get their hands on. It doesn’t have to be Halloween for people like that to engage in such unconscionable behavior, either. It happens all the time. Fortunately, a lot of animal shelters have measures in place to prevent people from adopting an animal just so they can torture it. It still happens sometimes, but not as often as it might. Animal shelters don’t make you fill out all that paperwork for the fun of it.
According to Francis Battista, cofounder of Best Friends Animal Society, “There is no evidence that black cats are at special risk of abuse if adopted around Halloween” [1]. What about the second problem, though? Do people actually adopt black cats as nothing more than Halloween decorations? There doesn’t seem to be any data on this. It would be a hard thing to study, after all. Who would want to admit to that? These days, more shelters are accepting whatever small risk there might be of this and relinquishing their bans on October black cat adoptions so that more black cats can find loving homes [1].
Are Black Cats Less Likely to Be Adopted?
The more opportunities black cats have to be adopted, the better, because there is some data to suggest that black cats may have a harder time finding homes. Lepper et al studied cat and dog adoptions at the Sacramento County Department of Animal Care and Regulation for 20 months [7]. They analyzed six factors they thought might contribute to adoption rates: breed, coat color, age, sex (including intact or sterilized), hair length, and reason for impoundment [7]. Among their findings, the data indicated that coat color in cats made a difference in how often they were adopted. The researchers set tabby cats as the baseline [7]. Black cats were only adopted 59% as often as tabbies!
This supports the common maxim that black cats are less likely to be adopted than other colors. However, brown cats were in the same boat, adopted 56% as often as tabbies [7]. And black-and-white cats, which I’ve always heard are less adoptable, too, were not adopted at a statistically different rate than tabbies [7]. White, color-point, and gray cats were adopted more often, if you were curious [7]. Additionally, a 2013 study at Colorado State University concluded that it takes 4-6 days longer for black cats to be adopted than cats of any other color [12].
The observations of shelter workers count for something in their own right. They tend to report that black and black-and-white cats stay in the shelter longer and are euthanized more often. However, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals claims that it’s all a myth [10]. They say that the only reason there are more black cats in shelters is because there are more black cats in the population [10]. Black coat color comes from a dominant gene, making it a very common color in domestic cats.
Still, shelter staff have their own say on the matter. “There definitely is a preference for other colors in my opinion. We have adopted out more than 10,000 cats and time and time again, black cats are always overlooked,” explains Samantha Shelton, president of Furkids no-kill shelter in Georgia, USA [10]. Whatever the truth about their adoption rate, black cats need loving homes just like all other kitties. Some shelters have special adoption days for black cats and dogs, sometimes on Black Friday or perhaps August 17, National Black Cat Appreciation Day in the US! So adopt, don’t shop, and give a black cat a forever haunt.
Works Cited
- Becker, M. (2012, October 26). Are black cats in greater danger around Halloween? VetStreet. http://www.vetstreet.com/dr-marty-becker/are-black-cats-in-greater-danger-around-halloween
- Boks, E. (2010, October 6). The truth about black cats and Halloween. The Daily Courier. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20120322011039/http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=74&SubsectionID=114&ArticleID=86024
- Brasch, R. and Brasch, L. (2006). How did it begin? The origins of our curious customs and superstitions. MJF Books: New York [2014 Reprint].
- Crass, C. (2018, November 13). Black cat stigma. Animal Welfare League NSW. https://www.awlnsw.com.au/halloween-is-almost-here/
- Crump, M. (2011, October 25). Humane society refuses black cat adoption during Halloween season. The Daily Toreador. Retrieved from https://archive.ph/20120905073302/http://www.dailytoreador.com/news/article_9bcbeea6-ff85-11e0-8a42-0019bb30f31a.html
- D’Andrea, A. (2018, August 14). Black cats: The good, the bad, and the misunderstood. The Animal Foundation. https://animalfoundation.com/whats-going-on/blog/black-cats-good-bad-and-misunderstood
- Lepper, M., Kass, P. H., and Hart, L. A. (2002). Prediction of adoption versus euthanasia among dogs and cats in a California animal shelter. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 5(1), 29-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327604JAWS0501_3
- Owen, E. (1896). Welsh folk-lore: A collection of the folk-tales and legends of North Wales. Woodall, Minshall, and Co. p. 224-226, 321, 340-342. Retrieved from https://www.library.wales/digital-exhibitions-space/digital-exhibitions/europeana-rise-of-literacy/history-books/welsh-folk-lore-a-collection-of-the-folk-tales-and-legends-of-north-wales
- Reid, S. (2020, December 13). How Irish folklore inspired the black cat superstition. Irish Central. https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/black-cat-folklore
- Rodriguez, R. (2014, October 31). To be a black cat on Halloween. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2014/10/31/living/black-cats-irpt/index.html
- Syufy, F. (2020, January 2). Myths and superstitions about black cats. The Spruce Pets. https://www.thesprucepets.com/black-cat-folklore-554444
- Turner, B. (n.d.). Why are black cats considered unlucky? HowStuffWorks. https://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/why-are-black-cats-considered-unlucky.htm
Published October 10th, 2021
Updated June 14th, 2023
