With Halloween just around the corner, house fronts begin to be filled with spooky decorations, and children eagerly picking out their costumes to go trick or treating and celebrate the eerie holiday.
I'm sure some will lean towards embodying a wicked witch, sporting props such as broomsticks and cauldrons, but is there something missing?
A scary black cat, of course!
The dark-furred felines are a modern symbol widely associated with Halloween, giving them an unwarranted spooky reputation.
This reputation of bringing bad fortune grew as a result of their close connections to witchcraft and also the devil; legends spread across medieval Europe claiming that the devil would give black cats to witches as an ‘animal familiar’, a demonic assistant to help witches with their mystic endeavours.
There was also a wide spread idea that witches could turn into their animal familiar, stemming from the fact that many accused of witchcraft had cats as pets; some people believed this transforming nature of witches was so they could hide their identity and cast spells behind a cloak of secrecy.
The feared partnership of witches and cats became more specific towards black cats, perhaps due to the practicality provided to the cats through their darkened fur, making them harder to spot at night and giving them an advantage at hunting.
However, as trick or treating became a holiday tradition in the United States black cats transitioned into being a layer of protection from any ‘evil spirits’ that may come knocking at your door.
