http://www.care2.com/greenliving/black-cat-balderdash.html
Black Cat Balderdash
Knock at our door on Halloween prepared to be greeted by Bombalurina, Grizabella, Jennyanydots, the most Magical Mr. Mistoffelees, Mungojerrie, Old Deuternonomy, Macavity, Rumpleteazer, Rum Tum Tugger, Skimbleshanks, or - depending on our whim each year - any other Jellicle that prowled on and offstage during Andrew Lloyd Weber’s delightful musical Cats. No flimsy, disposable approximation for the Garey girls; we go all out with homesewn, faux fur costumes and artfully applied makeup to recreate our favorite characters, and with little prompting, my daughter treats our visitors to her Broadway-worthy version of “Memory.”
Accompanying Amanda is a veritable orchestra of angry, hostile and thoroughly disgusted musicians, their caterwauling emanating from a room deep within the house. Each has a distinct musical howl, yet they all have one thing in common - they are black cats from throughout our neighborhood, here to spend an evening in secure seclusion because October 31st is the most dangerous night of the year for their kind.
In a society driven by statistics, I am unable to provide an absolute number, but based on personal experience and reports from cat-fancying friends and acquaintances, there is a marked increase in the maiming, disappearance and even destruction of black cats this time of year. Coincidence? Perhaps. Occult rituals? Possibly, in some cultures so inclined. Cruelty? A definite probability. Stupidity, superstition and outright ignorance? Unfortunately, even in this age of enlightenment, a very real and horrible likelihood.
As a species, Felis domesticus once was held in highest esteem in Egypt, then considered the civilized world. In fact, the most commonly held superstition - the fear of a black cat crossing one’s path - is comparatively modern and antithetical to the honor and reverence shown toward felines when history records they were initially domesticated around 3000 B.C.
Europe during the Middle Ages was fraught with a dread of cats, particularly in England, and especially directed toward black felines. Distrust and fear were fed by their innate independence, stealth and nocturnal behavior, coupled with an inexplicable and sudden overpopulation in major cities. Strays were often fed by reclusive elderly ladies, and when witch hysteria struck Europe, and many of these homeless women were accused of espousing the dark arts, their cat companions (especially black ones) were deemed guilty of witchery by association.
One popular British feline urban legend illustrates the thinking of the day. In Lincolnshire in the 1560s, a man and his son were startled one moonless night when a small creature darted across their path into a crawl space. Casting stones into the opening, they saw an injured black cat scurry out and limp into the adjacent home of a woman suspected by the town of being a witch. Next day, the two encountered the woman, her face bruised, arm swathed in bandages. And she now walked with a limp. Rumors arose. Gossip ensued and from that day forward, all black cats in Lincolnshire were suspected of being witches in night-disguise.
Many societies in the late Middle Ages strove to drive cats into extinction. As the witch scare mounted to paranoia, many innocent women and their harmless pets were burned at the stake. A baby born with eyes too bright, a face too canny, a personality too precocious, was actually killed for fear that it hosted a spirit that would eventually become a witch by day, a black cat by night. In France, thousands of cats were burned monthly until King Louis XIII, in the 1630s, halted the shameful practice. Given the number of centuries in which black cats were slaughtered throughout Europe, it is surprising that the gene for the color black was not deleted from the species . . . Unless the cat does possess nine lives.
Of significant historical irony is that felines may well have saved humanity from extinction. Bubonic Plague, a disease spread by flea-riddled rats and also referred to as the Black Death, was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. The plague was thought to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe’s population, reducing the global census from an approximate 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in 1400. The Great Plague of London of 1665-66 was the last major outbreak of Black Death in England, killed an estimated 100,000 people or 20% of London’s population. With no pharmaceutical cure or preventative available, it is now acknowledged that spread of the disease was halted by elimination of the vector source thanks to natural means - the predatory nature of starving, ordinary alley cats.
Still, superstitions persisted and, in time, crossed the pond to America. The notion of witches transforming themselves into black cats in order to prowl streets unobserved became a central belief in New England during the Salem witch hunts. Thus, an animal once looked on with Egyptian approbation became a creature dreaded, reviled, despised and maligned. Fortunately, once the idiocy of this practice was acknowledged, cats regained their rightful place in millions of American hearts, hearths and homes, yet their autumnal mystique continues to this day.
Next page: Warnings! Samhain, All Hallows’ Eve, and El Dia de Los Muertos - things you should know.
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21 comments
add your comment »Hi Starlite,
I read the article and it actually says that it is inconclusive as to whether or not black cats (or any cats for that matter) are more at risk at Hallowe'en. So I think that describing Janets article as perpetuating an urban myth is stretching it just a little...:)
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somehow i missed this article too! i love black cats. all of ours are either black or black and white.
GREAT article and so informative, too.
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Molly, Raven and Midge thank you for speaking out on behalf of black cats, and ALL cats everywhere. They speak to me, but are often misunderstood by others, and so far haven't learned how to use the keyboard. If they could type, they'd say: "Please everyone if you are able, give a good home to a cat in need, adopt a shelter pet. If can't adopt, then support your animal shelter with kind donations or volunteer your time. Blessings to you
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I can't wait until I'm on my own. I have always liked cats especially black ones. My favorite one was my best friend's cat Midnight. She was a very aloof cat, but I guess we had a mutual respect for each other. When I came over she would rub against my legs and allow me to pet her for a few seconds, she didn't let many people do that. I already have my kitten in my head, a black cat named Sabriel.
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My mom has a wonderful black cat called Nim. It was Nimue to start with (after wizard Merlin's lover and pupil), but when we realized he was a boy, it got shortened to Nim, which fits him perfectly somehow. He truly believes he is my mom's boyfriend. The fact that she has a husband is irrelevant because he is, of course, actually and completely HIS.
He just appeared in our yard one day, a matted fluffy little ball of black. He had a few interesting episodes in his youth, because he loved to crawl anywhere he could fit. One day we hadn't seen him for about twenty minutes (which was unusual, as he followed by mom everywhere), so we started looking for him and eventually found the poor thing shivering in the FREEZER, which he must have wandered into while my mom or I had it open! But he was fine and didn't even sulk. Then a few days later, as my mom was leaving for work, he decided to follow her, and accidentally got his paw shut in the door! We took him to the vet, who gave us some antibiotics. Nim, of course, did not hold this wound against my mother at all. As the wound healed, he began to suck on his paw. We thought perhaps it make it hurt less. Now, several years later, he still sucks his thumb to show he is happy, though usually this is reserved to when my mother is paying attention to him, sometimes I'm lucky enough for him to do it while I pet him. The combined sound of the loud purring and the sucking re quite strange yet strangely soothing.
Keep cats in on 31
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If not already amazed by all I learned while researching the unusual, albeit legitimate, terror some people experience over seemingly innocuous things, I just discovered that there actually is a psychiatric term for those who genuinely fear Halloween - Samhainophobia. Perhaps this is a good time to quote a bit from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1933 inaugural speech when he said "...So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Take heed, Washington, because President Roosevelt was talking about America's national economy in advance of the Great Depression.
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I wish people would take heed to this artical it is very serious. Just last year I went to work on a house I was rehabing the morning after haloween and found a black Kitten hanging by it's color from the ornimantal iron work of the porch. it was tired hungry and thursty from strugling to hang on with it's feet all night to keep from strangling. The cat imediantly took to me once it was rescued. Renamed flea bit do to it's infestation it has become quite a good cat. Please look out for all Cats this and every week. People can be so crul.
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Black cats have so long been associated with witches and witchcraft that during October, the month of Halloween, they are favorite icons used for costumes, home decor, and party themes.
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While I am a dog-person (former AF K-9 handler), over the years I have owned (or been owned) by a few cats. Presently, I have a 17-month-old black cat which goes by "(My) Precious" (much thnx to L.O.T.R.). As I live in public housing, I'm not allowed to keep my Siberian Husky "Lady" with me, I was fortunate to get a black purring fur-ball a year ago. Precious is my house-mate and has been a great enjoyment since we moved into our apartment.
As for going outside, Precious has her own harness & leash; all in black, only items that are different are the chrome D-ring, snap plunger, & the chest ring... kind of reminds me of Paladin's attire (all black except for the silver knight on his holster).
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Uh oh, I left two words and a comma out in my earlier comment and it changed the meaning of a sentence. I meant to say "...Santeria, other religions and cults...", so I'm sorry if I misunderstood or upset any people who practice the rituals of their choice. Please do not leave any rooster, canary or goat bits and pieces on my doorstep!
And one more really obvious thing - did anybody notice that Janet summed up her entire main point in one word in the title of her story? BALDERDASH! That means "nonsense" and I think that was exactly what she proved, that for a very long time, dim bulbs demonstrate their stupidity by casting stones - a practice that appears to continue to this very day. Janet - you "glow", girl!
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