The gracious black cat immediately came up to me. And he would not leave me alone.
No, he did not want to…
In Western history, black cats have often been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens and friends of witches. In Sweden, as in most of Europe, a black cat is considered a symbol of bad luck, especially if one crosses paths with a person, which is believed to be an omen of misfortune and death.
But the folklore surrounding black cats varies from culture to culture. According to Wikipedia, The Scots believe that a strange black cat’s arrival to the home signifies prosperity. In Celtic mythology, a fairy known as the Cat Sìth takes the form of a black cat. Black cats are also considered good luck in the rest of Britain and Japan. A belief I would like to argue for, is that a lady who owns a black cat will have many suitors…
I find black cats extremely attractive to the eye…but sometimes they have a menacing look, don’t they? My students were always treated to Edgar Allan Poe’s short horror story The Black Cat. Read it if you haven’t already – it is a classic.
For more facts about folklore and superstition about black cats, click here.
As the owner of a handsome black devil, thank you for posting this 🙂
Hi Alexis – how lucky you are to have one of those…black beauties! Thank you for commenting and keep writing and travelling and loving life!
Hi Leya! I do feel lucky to have him, especially since he brought the firm a new client last night haha. Definitely a great addition to the family and the team.
Thanks!
I love black cats! I had one who lived for about sixteen years and he was the sweetest cat ever.
Great that you love them too! I went a bit sad reading in one of the comments that black cats were the last ones to find a new home at rescue centers…
Yes, and I’ve heard that they have to limit who adopts them around Halloween, too. So sad.
No……that is terrible.
I have the sweetest black kitty. They are awesome.
You really have! I watched Oliver’s vlogs – and he is a darling!
Thanks so much.
Gorgeous photos of the cat, Ann Christine. I always believed black cats to be lucky. I remember that when I was a bridesmaid as a child, a black cat came and sat on the bride’s long white veil which was trailing on the ground. It made for a lovely photo. 🙂
Wow, that must have been very special! I hope the bride also thought it positive!
Yes she did, as I think in England, black cats are considered to be good omen.
Black cats are certainly spooky
But beautiful!
I wouldn’t be without my Egyptian black cat 🙂 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastet#/media/File:Bastet_Istanbul_museum.JPG Love your black cat photos but it’s a bit too late for me to read a horror story. I am easily scared by horror stories!
You would not be scred by this short story. It is among the very first horror stories ever written…and we do not have the same sense of horror nowadays as they had hundreds of years ago!
Okay, I will check it out in daylight. 😀
Very nice shots of the cat in the sunshine, Leya. Its fur looks like its shining and glowing 😀 I have to agree with you that black cats do have a menacing look about them – like a face that seems to find you suspicious. In Chinese culture, black cats are symbolic of hard times and poverty, not overly positive. I don’t like it when a black cat, or black cats in general, quietly and stealthy siddle up to me and scare me. They can move very quietly 😀
They do move quietly – but they never scare me. I’m sure they are quite harmless. I had my own black cat as a child. When I started school after the summer vacation, he followed me on the road..and never came back. A childhood memory with many tears
Well, as the saying goes, a cat has nine lives. Your childhood cat-friend probably is nearer than you think today 😉
Det er meget interessante oplysninger, og en smuk kat.
Kattens hale, der svinger over et fuglebad?..er hører hjemme i en god krimi 🙂 🙂
Hehe…ni är duktiga på krim i Danmark!
Jeg elsker krim 🙂
Beck er enestående!
Jeg overvejer at gå i Wallanders fodspor. Altså en vandretur i Ystad 🙂
Det är samma skrock här. Så till den milda grad att svarta katter är alltid de sista att bli adopterade från katt-hemmen. Sorgligt.
Oj…det var sorgligt. Jag hade gärna haft en svart katt igen – hade en när jag var liten. Nu säger hunden Nej Tack😉
Vilka fina bilder, alltså, det går ju inte att låta bli att bli alldeles löjligt fånig på rösten när man ser såna här bilder på en så söt katt. Inte helt lätt heller att få till så bra bilder på en svart katt.
Den ville bara inte sluta kela, och solen sken starkt på den. Jag håller med om att det brukar vara jättesvårt. Den här blev det många överexponerade bilder på i den starka solen. Tack för att du tycker att de blev både ok och mer!