Pluto is nefariously known as the Roman god of the underworld. It is also the name of the mutilated black cat in Edgar Allen Poe’s poem. The black cat is a symbol of darkness in the even darker poem.

Then there’s Salem, Massachusetts, the location where the infamous Salem Witch Trials occurred in its small town suffocated with paranoia and witchcraft. Salem is also the name of the black cat in “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Are you starting to see a pattern?

The cats’ commonality is that their names hold hellish histories associated with witchcraft and malevolence. However, these are just a few of the black cats that have been brutally misportrayed.

Although literature and film have long painted black cats as spooky and omens of evil, the furry little critters are the exact opposite. 

Some students at WJPS are on the cats’ side too.

WJPS senior Alvin Zeng exclaimed, “Black cats are just cats that are black. I don’t believe in superstitions, period!”

WJPS senior, Eltzy Galindo supplemented the argument with, “They aren’t bad luck, but if people think they are bad luck they will bring it to themselves.” 

It’s time black cats stop getting the short end of the yarn and receive more positive attention in the media. So next time you come across a black cat, consider walking right by it and don’t bother fearfully walking across the street.

“The eyes of an old black cat” by Patrick Feller is licensed under CC BY 2.0