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Why are Spiders and Black Cats Associated with Halloween?
28 Plays1 year ago
Happy October boos & ghouls! 👻
Light the jack-o'-lantern and put on your costume because it’s the most frightful time of the year - Halloween! 🎃 And that means it’s also time for Lauren & Felicia’s annual Halloween history lesson. This week, they dig into why black cats and spiders are associated with All Hallows’ Eve. We see them everywhere from decorations to party favors (remember those little plastic spider rings?!) to haunted houses and of course treats. But are their origins more tricks? Naturally, it all started with witches for these creepy crawlies and frightening felines. Listen to hear more about why these animals and insects as iconography are so foundational in our favorite holiday. 🕷️🐈⬛
PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast
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Transcript
Introduction & October Spooky Theme
00:00:12
Speaker
Welcome to the Sinister Sisters podcast. I'm Lauren. I'm Felicia. We're best friends. And we like spooky stuff. And it's October. That was my spooky voice. I loved it. I like that we unintentionally started off October with missing an episode last week, but that's just how we're doing things. We're so spooky. We disappeared. Yes, we're ghosting everyone. We're ghosts.
Post-COVID Exhaustion and Life Reflection
00:00:43
Speaker
Lauren and I were just having like a friend chat about just how exhausted we are with the daily existence and like the daily tasks that adults are supposed to do every day and how we just can't imagine how we can keep going on like this with laundry and finding something to eat and taking the dog out and
00:01:06
Speaker
Having a job. Can you pinpoint why it was easier pre-COVID? Was it because we were young and unafraid? I think I had more energy however many years ago probably.
00:01:20
Speaker
That's my guess. I mean, I don't know. That's my only guess because I remember and I've gotten better, but I will say like when everything went back to happening after COVID, I definitely had difficulty doing more than one thing a day. Like it was hard to do more than one thing a day.
00:01:41
Speaker
And now I am doing more than one thing a day, but it feels sort of forced upon me. And I feel so exhausted. Like no matter how much sleep I get, I feel like I am still tired. I agree. And I don't know. I don't know what's happening. I also like it's so interesting to me because it's like I definitely was working harder pre-COVID and I was also making way less money. So I'm just like, why is now so hard? It's interesting.
00:02:09
Speaker
Yeah, I think I was I don't know if I was working harder. I feel like what I need to learn how to do is this is such a cliche, but like figure out how to like simplify my life and work smarter. Yes, I feel like I am just I don't know. Maybe it's just like this time of the year because everything in the fall is always like kind of crazy. But I feel like I'm like working myself to death. And I think that is not right.
00:02:36
Speaker
It's not right. It's not right. It's really not.
Embracing Spooky Season & Halloween Movies
00:02:40
Speaker
Okay. I know we started with complaining, but now we're going to migrate into the beautiful spooky things we're looking forward to. Oh, thank you for taking me out of bed. You can even cut all that. I'm so sorry. Go ahead. No.
00:02:51
Speaker
No, not at all. I think it's the reality, and we were sort of explaining ourselves. We were just defensive, but we are getting ready for spooky season, obviously. I feel like it's finally a reasonable temperature here in Dallas, and I was thinking maybe we just talk about our must-watch Halloween season movies maybe. I feel like for me, it's always the Addams family.
00:03:17
Speaker
I have to watch it every year. That's like number one on my list. Adam's family and Adam's family values. Those are the number one. Can't watch one without the other. No. I actually have recently been like, I don't know if it'll be this year. And I don't actually know that I'll ever be able to convince him. Maybe I should wait until I have a baby. And then wouldn't it be hilarious to do the Debbie and Fester costumes? I just think they're so funny.
00:03:46
Speaker
Those are, that's a really good one. I've seen, I've seen that one before and it's, it's, it's a crowd pleaser for sure. Right? Right? Yeah. I think they're really good.
00:03:55
Speaker
Let's see, what do I always? Every year I definitely always watch for the nostalgia. I always watch Halloween town. Oh, yes, that was just my favorite. And I kind of actually last year watched a bunch of the Disney Channel original Halloween movies. I definitely got a lot of joy out of that. And were there any that you like that's not on your normal rotation that you would like? I have to watch that. I like that I should watch.
00:04:22
Speaker
I last year I watched my mom's on my mom's on a date with a vampire and a fancy with a Megaplex. Yes. Oh, what the one of my top Disney Channel original movies of all time is Don't Look Under the Bed.
00:04:39
Speaker
that's so scary that yes that they ever made so I definitely like to watch some of those because it's just you know it's very very enjoyable for me then I usually you know I'm trying to spend time checking out some of the newer stuff that's coming out and I mean I was so out of the loop and I know I've said this before but so out of the
Upcoming Horror Films Debate
00:04:58
Speaker
loop just like
00:04:58
Speaker
this last year, really, on what's going on. But I did want to go see The Exorcist when that comes out, and I wanted to go see... Which I think... Did it already come out? Oh, was that today? I was just thinking, I was like... It might have come out on the 3rd, actually. I know it's, yeah, it's coming up if it hasn't. It actually looks pretty good.
00:05:22
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I thought it looks exciting. And then I was thinking... Oh, Friday. Oh, Friday? Okay, great. Okay, I want to go this weekend, I think. And then I also want to go see... Actually, I don't know how much I want to see this. I might wait for a Dakota VOD, but the Haunting and Venice movie. Yes. And what's the other... There's another one. Is there a Mike Flanagan coming out this year? Or is that next year? There is a Mike Flanagan, but when is it coming out? I don't know. It looked good to me. It looked kind of like...
00:05:50
Speaker
Yeah, I kind of I don't know what it is, which is terrible. I was just about to say like, ask me what it's about. Oh, fall at the House of Usher. Yes, yes, yes. The wealthy.
00:06:02
Speaker
The wealthy people. Oh, I didn't realize so. It's based on Edgar Allen Poe Works. Yes. Yes. That's very cool. So I don't know when that comes out, but I'm sure it's this month. October 12th. Excellent. Excellent. Because the mic playing and stuff, like I know we're both big fans, but the best.
Grocery Shopping Struggles & Costco Reliance
00:06:22
Speaker
Never seen a thing he did that I didn't love. I agree. My little brother just hit a rewatch of Midnight Mass and he's been like texting me all the things. So good. It's so good.
00:06:32
Speaker
But yeah, I guess that's, I mean, I'm sure there's more things I'm not thinking about. I usually always watch Hocus Pocus, just like any of those kind of movies. I got to watch The Little Vampire too. Do you like The Little Vampire? Just so good. I had the biggest crush on what's his name, Rudolph? Yes. Wait, have I shown you the picture of James at 17 years old that looks like Rudolph?
00:06:53
Speaker
Uh, no, but it's all making sense now. It truly is the funniest thing in the world. I have to find it because I kept it on my phone for a long time because it truly cracks me up so bad because he like, I don't know. But I feel like me in high school, like I looked young, but not like so young verse now. Like James is someone that looked like he was 15.
00:07:17
Speaker
even when he was 18, like one of those. Oh my gosh, like he just looks like a baby. Okay, well, I'm looking forward to seeing that for sure. I'll find it. Oh, I did watch, I posted on Instagram last week or something, but I did watch Dream Warriors
00:07:32
Speaker
Nice. Wait, did you have the VHS? Yeah, it's so good. It's a little bit like it definitely once in a while, we'll just kind of have that like gray line across it. So it's not a perfect condition, but it's totally fine. It's the charm. Yeah, it's the charm. It's the VHS warm fuzzies. I love that.
00:07:55
Speaker
Well, amazing. Also, I need to do my Trader Joe's run. Oh, same. I got a card of pumpkin. Lauren, I have nothing in this house. Going back to the beginning of this episode where I was complaining about my life, I have nothing in this house. No food.
00:08:09
Speaker
There is no food here. There is no food here. And there hasn't been food here in weeks. I don't know how we're even surviving right now. But really what we need to do is make our Costco run. So I'm going to try to make that happen this weekend so we can live again.
00:08:27
Speaker
I just went for the first time or I got a membership. I went, I did a whole big run and it is horrifying what's in my house. I have like 12 things of tomato soup. I could stock you. Oh, it's incredible. I mean that's a really good lifetime and it lasted us so long and then like
00:08:45
Speaker
I guess once you experience Costco, it's hard to go to the casual grocery store. And so we just haven't gone. And we just have been running out of things and just continuing on somehow. I don't know. I mean, because what are you going to do? I get like one thing of pasta? No. A box of mac and cheese? I want 20. Anyways. All right.
Spiders & Halloween: Connection and Lore
00:09:06
Speaker
Let's get to it. That's too fit. It all in your apartment. Sorry. I'm impressed. I was just thinking about it. I was like, you actually don't really have a ton of space for 20 boxes of mac and cheese.
00:09:15
Speaker
I'll find a space. I'll find a space. I'll throw that. I mean, I don't know. I don't know what I do. But let's just let's do our stories. So we're both we're both doing familiars. Yeah, we're doing creatures associated with Halloween. Yes. So I texted Felicia because I was inspired. But I'm because you knew I didn't have an idea. Let's be real.
00:09:42
Speaker
I didn't say that. I just said, this is what I'm doing. Maybe you could do something along those lines. And I said, thank you. Thank you.
00:09:54
Speaker
I'm covering spiders. Mine is a little bit geared toward why they're connected to Halloween. At least that's where I'm going to start. Then I'm going to talk about some spider superstitions that are really interesting. We'll see where it takes us. This might be the same for yours. It seems like it really started because they're connected to witches.
00:10:18
Speaker
Spiders, along with cats, bats, rats, all those things are believed to be familiars or companions of witches during the Middle Ages and witches were obviously thought to be most powerful during Halloween time.
00:10:34
Speaker
And so that's sort of like, it seems like how spiders and Halloween started to become linked. I think it also makes sense that like, you know, all of these like spooky locations that we think of at Halloween time, haunted houses or you know, old houses, graveyards, dungeons, creepy caves, like all of them have spider webs and spiders.
00:10:58
Speaker
So it definitely seems like it goes with that. Spiders themselves really prefer darkness. They prefer places where there are other insects, so it's not busy places, these more deserted areas. It feels very spooky and related to Halloween. I did do a little bit of research too. I think it's very cool. There are a lot of countries around the world that consider
00:11:23
Speaker
spider's mythical creatures just due to their web making, which it is crazy. Like I will say yes. Anytime you look at a spider making a spider web or just the aftermath of it, like especially if it's like dewy, like it's a piece of art. Gorgeous. Yeah. And it's like, that's like nature's art. It's like how is something that intricate exist in the forest? Like it's wild.
00:11:51
Speaker
And like truly no reason. I mean, I'm sure, yes, to catch the insects and all of it. But it's like for it to have that design, it always makes me think of snowflakes too, where it's just like, why did this evolve this way? Or why did they start making them so beautiful?
00:12:06
Speaker
And why do all spiders make the same shape web? That's weird. It is strange. They all evolved to be like, this is the best way of creating a web. That's so weird. That's crazy. It's interesting. And there are very different, I will say, there are very different spiders, very different, you know, webs breed to breed, I think, but they do have like very similar designs, definitely.
00:12:30
Speaker
So, you know, as I was kind of going down this path, so like in folklore, spiders are often described as storytellers, oracles of fate, wealth, and sometimes death. I was trying to be like, what are the spiders I know that are these things? And then I was like, Charlotte's web. I guess she's like sort of a sort of a storyteller. Eragon. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Oh, wait, you know, what's the one? What's the one in the peach?
00:12:57
Speaker
Oh yeah, James and the Giant Peach. Yeah. Is there a spider in there? Yeah, she's like definitely a mythical spider. She's cool. They're all so cool in that movie. Anyway, so there are a bunch of superstitions as I hinted at. So spiders in your house is supposedly a sign of a happy home, which to me feels a little bit like the wedding thing of like, if it rains on your wedding, it's good luck where I'm just like, that's just someone making a sad thing better. Better somehow. Yeah, totally.
00:13:27
Speaker
There's another one that claims that if you see a spider in your home during Halloween, that it's actually the spirit of a loved one watching over you.
00:13:37
Speaker
Which I love. I've never heard that before. Yeah, I know. And for, oh, there's like, there's one about like if a white spider set up its home above your bed, you'll have good luck. However, if a black spider has decided to move in, then you'll be in for some misfortune. I don't know that I've ever seen a white spider. Have you seen a white spider? No, but we do. I was getting ready to say we have these like very pale yellow spiders here. And I don't know why.
00:14:08
Speaker
They're in our backyard and I've seen them over a couple of summers and then once in a while I'll find one in the house and I'm like, what are you doing here? Get out of my house. Oh my God. They're very pale in color, which I've never seen spires like that except for at this apartment. It's very strange. That is strange. It feels like, yeah, you can't see them. It feels scary or something.
00:14:30
Speaker
There's also, I like this one, if a spider falls into a candlelit lamp and it's consumed by the flame, witches are nearby. Is that happening? Just walking in. They're walking in. Who has seen that? It's enough. People have seen it and that it's a superstition. That's insane. I really should look more
Spiders in Horror and Pop Culture
00:14:50
Speaker
into spider suicide. That's what I'm sure. That's what it sounds like, right? I don't know.
00:14:56
Speaker
They'd feel the heat. Maybe that's why witches have to be nearby. Oh, baby. Pull them into the fire. It's a very specific one. All spiders except tarantulas are omens of good luck. The larger the spider, the bigger the rewards. It's like all of these are kind of good luck vibe. If you step on a spider, you'll bring on rain. Never heard that in my life either. Yeah.
00:15:24
Speaker
One superstition is taking a spider with syrup will cure a fever. That I will not do. Yes. You mean it? No. Just a spoonful of syrup with a little spider in it. No, who's doing that? Who's doing that? I would love to know. I actually really, really would. Who believes these wives' tales? Maybe someone. I don't know. Over time, obviously, spiders have stayed linked Halloween. I think probably because they're scary. Halloween is scary.
00:15:54
Speaker
They make amazing decorations at Halloween time. Arachnophobia, as we all know, is a phobia of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions. I love this theory. There's a theory that arachnophobia is thought to be the result of evolution in early
00:16:14
Speaker
In early times, people coming into contact with venomous spiders was more common. Yeah, totally. One way of us getting away from them is just a deep fear so that you stay away from these poisonous spiders. It's like an evolutionary instinct. It's like how animals know they're predators. Yes, exactly.
00:16:40
Speaker
And so maybe, yeah, maybe Fear of Spiders developed as a survival instinct. I did. Can we have a very sidebar about that guy that we did this? I was literally waiting. I was like, is she going to tell it or am I going to have to bring it up? Is she going to tell the story? No, you tell it. You tell it.
00:16:56
Speaker
Well, okay. So first off, our very first horror theater event of all time was amazing. It was a warehouse in Brooklyn. We were like truly flying by the seat of our pants, maybe more than we ever had. 23, 22, I don't even know, just babies. Like right out of college. Like let's do a massive event in a warehouse in Brooklyn.
00:17:17
Speaker
with like five different plays and playwrights and directors and casts and live bands. And live bands, like what was going on? See, that's what I'm saying. How can I not cook dinner anymore? I don't get it. We used to be truly so powerful. So this first one, this first one we had,
00:17:42
Speaker
Yeah. So first off, this whole event began because the night before he called us and was like, I'll see you guys, or he told, like sent an email, like I'll see you guys at 2 PM. And like everything we had ever said was like, we must get there at 10 AM. Like sharp. We have so much crap. We have so much loaded. Felicia's mom is truly decorating. Yeah. My mom decorating. Oh my God. So good.
00:18:05
Speaker
I mean, we were teching theater, which was intense. We had lighting to set up, sound to set up, but we did truly, I think... Actually, I think her brother was there that year too, right? Yeah, he tried to help too. The whole Lobo family was decorating a giant warehouse. With no team. No team, just the fam.
00:18:27
Speaker
It was incredible. But so first off, it started off with us having a panic of like, can we not get into space? We get into the space. We're decorating. We're having a great time. Everything's going like relatively smoothly, except that Felicity and I keep panicking that no one's coming. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:18:42
Speaker
but it undefined, but the owner of the theater, I don't even really know what happened. He walked in and was terrified. Yeah, well, he walked in and my mom is mid-hanging up a little plastic spider, and he has a full panic attack. Serious one. I thought he was kidding at birth. I don't know what you thought. Me too. No, I thought so too. Yeah. I was like, for that spider? He ran out of the room. He hid in the bathroom. I'm sorry. I'm taking over. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. Go.
00:19:10
Speaker
And then I kind of looked at everybody and we were kind of like, okay. And then I knocked on the door, I said, hey, I just want to check in. Are you okay? And he was like, and he's like literally hyperventilating saying he has a huge fear of spiders. And I was like, oh, we're throwing a Halloween party. Could have been great for you to mention that. Meanwhile, all of our decorations are spiders almost. Oh my God. I don't even really remember what we did. We just left them up. We took them down. No, I think we took them down. All of them?
00:19:41
Speaker
Wow. Like 100 spiders. Oh, my God. It was insane. I don't know. We're good people, honestly. Yeah. Well, I mean, he couldn't come into space. He literally was crazy. That was insane. But anyways, I do feel like that is like a big like that is debilitating. I think like that kind of year. Yeah. I'm really glad I don't have anything like that, to be honest. I don't either, which I'm just like,
00:20:07
Speaker
That would be so terrible. Anyway, so that was our hilarious real experience with arachnophobia. I don't like spiders, but I'm definitely not that bad. But I will say it's pretty cool to see if you go and look at how they have been in horror movies over the years. I would say starting in the 50s with them.
00:20:36
Speaker
is one of those giant spider movies, Tarantula in 1955 as well. Are these just giant spiders? Either they're these giants or mutants or sometimes it's related to people's fear of atomic radiation or nuclear testing and all of that. But obviously there are other movies too where it's just a bunch of small ones that also can be scary. I also wanted to mention
00:21:12
Speaker
I always get scared every time, which is the, you know, the holiday that was like establishing the change of the seasons, the end of the summer, beginning of the fall. And so I think too, you know, it makes sense that as spiders like don't want to be in the, or like as the weather gets colder, spiders will come into your house more and seek refuge inside. You're seeing them more around Halloween. So, you know, it makes sense that they're, they're coming inside. You're associating them more with that time of year.
00:21:26
Speaker
you know halloween has its roots in the celtic holiday of.
00:21:42
Speaker
We also tend to see spider webs more in the autumn because that's when spiders are fully grown and out searching for a mate. So I think that also makes sense. We see more spider webs around Halloween time. We see more spiders.
00:21:56
Speaker
I will say too in my research, I was reading a little bit about, I found this like one article that was talking about how bad fake spider webs are for the environment. Like if you put them on your house's decoration, yes, because they were talking about, you know, it can be really dangerous to wildlife and animals because like birds or chipmunks or squirrels can sometimes get stuck in the web. And then they will just like, if people don't catch it soon enough, they can just like,
00:22:24
Speaker
suffer and die, which is super sad, and bugs too. I know. So anyway, it made me think a little bit because this is the first year that
00:22:34
Speaker
I have like a house to decorate and we're trying to decide what to put on the outside, which is very exciting. And hopefully something that like we don't have to buy a ton this year, but then we can like scale up each year. That's my goal. Yeah, that's great. Well, but anyway, all the photos. Yeah. I mean, maybe not spiderwebs. I don't know. We'll have to be careful. That's terrible.
00:22:56
Speaker
Yes, and then I really we already kind of touched on this so maybe I won't go into it too much but I was thinking about my favorite spiders from horror movies or movies.
00:23:06
Speaker
But I do love Aragog from Harry Potter, of course. We have Sheila in Lord of the Rings. I couldn't really think of, do you know, I feel like I can't think of any movies that have that like classic horror movie, like a bunch of little spiders all over you. But oh, maybe we'll find some pictures for the Instagram post. I just I feel like there are a bunch. I wish I could think
Black Cat Superstitions & Cultural Impact
00:23:30
Speaker
of one right now. Right. I'm like, I know that happens all the time. It's got to be like in a Saw movie or something.
00:23:36
Speaker
Yeah, probably. Oh, that's coming out too at some point. Oh, yeah. I had a goal of watching all the Saw movies like last year, and I never actually did that. I should do that. I should try again this year. In honor of the new one. Yeah. Because it wasn't the new one last year too, Spyro. Yeah, the one with Chris Rock. I felt sad for him. I couldn't take him seriously. I was laughing the whole way through the movie. Oh, no.
00:24:04
Speaker
But anyway, I'll try to find a spider movie and get back to everyone, but that's pretty much it on the connection between spiders and Halloween. That's great. That's great. Good job. Thank you. Okay. I'm going to take us to another creature here, and that is the iconic, the mysterious, the lucky or unlucky, depending on where you live, black cat. Ooh. I love it. I don't know.
00:24:35
Speaker
We're not really cat people here. I know, so that's kind of the true issue. I was trying to Google all this cat stuff, and I guess I'm more normally Googling dog stuff. My TikTok and Instagram feed is pretty much exclusively dog content. I did have one black cat growing up, weirdly enough, but only when I was very young.
00:24:57
Speaker
Yeah, I think it like ran away or something when I was like, I don't know in kindergarten. So I wasn't, I don't have a lot of memories of this cat. And it was like an indoor outdoor cat. One of those. Yeah. But anyways, I've never really been a cat person past that experience. I got scratched by a cat once and I kind of was really mad about a decade. Yeah.
00:25:17
Speaker
I've kind of moved on. I will cat-sit our friend Zach's cat. That's very sweet. I didn't know that either. Look at you. Look at me. But it's funny because I was trying to Google the Black Cat stuff. And I didn't realize how many websites and YouTube channels were dedicated to content about cats in general. Yes. It's kind of a lot. New to you.
00:25:43
Speaker
New to me, but good for you, cat lovers. You have a lot of content to take in on the internet. But all right, so here we go. So I don't know about you, but since we're both from the Northeast general fish area, I'm assuming that you've heard throughout your life that seeing a black cat is bad luck.
00:26:06
Speaker
or something of the sort. Yes. Yeah. My mom growing up always when any cats, when she's driving, if she sees a cat anywhere, she puts an X on the windshield. She's done that my whole life. What? Yeah. I don't know. What does that mean? It's just the thing she does. I think it's just crossing out the bad luck. I guess. I like that. Deflecting. Yeah. Or maybe it's like the thing where it's like,
00:26:31
Speaker
I'm holding up a cross for our exorcism. Lauren can see it, you can't see it. Yes, yes. That's something like that. I don't know. But yeah, so that's kind of started with this association of black cats and witches, which goes back a very, very long time. Abril, you mentioned in ancient Egypt, cats were
00:26:56
Speaker
companions and also sort of worshiped. And cats were very important in their society and people were even like buried with their cats or if their cats passed later, the cat would be buried with their owner. But the first day, like they wore stuff too, right? Little outfits, little cats with little outfits. Yeah, little crowns. I don't know. Little crowns. Little staff. Yes, I think I've seen that.
00:27:26
Speaker
But in terms of witchcraft, the first place that seems to really come up is associated in Greek mythology with Hecate. So there's somebody I don't remember who that cursed one of their servants to become a black cat as a punishment. And that servant, now black cats, eventually became the companion of Hecate, who was
00:27:52
Speaker
sort of a goddess of magic, witchcraft, etc. So that kind of ancient story, I think started the bubbling of that situation. And then it basically got really solidified into our culture and medieval times. So black cats, there was actually I think it's
00:28:18
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Pope Gregory the, what's the 1x? Is that 4? 9? No. 9? 1x is 9. That sounds better than 4. I think so. So Pope Gregory the 9th.
00:28:29
Speaker
in the Middle Ages declared that black cats were the incarnation of the devil. Damn, that just... I mean, it's a pretty intense statement. And in other parts of Europe, like Scotland, it became this thing where they believed black cats were actually shape-shifting witches. And so it really became associated with witches and witchcraft. And there was this intense
00:28:57
Speaker
public distrust of black cats to the point that people started killing them because they believed that they were the devil. And so there was this huge... Yeah. They're being told. I know they're being told. It's so sad though. But all these cats were basically purged from cities in Europe.
00:29:19
Speaker
And people think that that is one of the reasons that the bubonic plague was able to spread as quickly as it did in this time period, which another week, another talking about the bubonic plague. But because the cats that would typically be around
00:29:36
Speaker
to keep the rat population down had been murdered by the population. That makes so much sense. Isn't that crazy? Yeah. So all these freaking rats carrying this disease and passing around and no cats to keep them under control because cats obviously love to hunt mice and rats. And so they had been used for this also in our history, particularly on ships. So sailors
00:30:01
Speaker
took black cats on board for a few reasons. One, to hunt the mice. Two, for companionship. And there's even, and I actually saw, it's funny that you mentioned the black cat thing anyway.
00:30:16
Speaker
this past week, I was on Instagram and I scrolled past this post of all of these cat passports from the day where these cats like they had like their little picture, their little name and their paw prints, because they were being used on these ships and transported back and forth across the sea. And so they wanted to keep track of the cats.
00:30:38
Speaker
It's so cute. I'll see if I can find one of those little passport photos for you because they're like a photo of them and they're like, oh my God, they're so cute. It kills me. I love that. Yeah. Then also in North America, so European colonizers and they came over to North America, brought those beliefs with them against this very hardcore Christian belief against
Personal Reflections on Black Cats
00:31:07
Speaker
Satanism and black cats and witches. And so we also solidified a lot of that cultural view of black cats during the Salem witch trials and all that shenanigans. So it became a thing where if you saw a black cat, it was considered bad luck or witches were nearby, or maybe it was a witch coming to get you.
00:31:32
Speaker
There are other cultures, though, where black cats are considered good luck or a nice thing. So particularly in Japan, all cats are considered lucky, a symbol of wealth and prosperity. And black cats in particular are supposed to be a symbol of protection as well.
00:31:54
Speaker
So, oh, and one more. Are you in Japan? Apparently, women in Japan, there is this thing about if they have a black cat, they will attract more suitors and have a prosperous love life if they keep a black cat in their house. All right. All right. Soul tree. Yeah. Soul tree.
00:32:15
Speaker
But yeah, and I do and I'm going to talk about some movies here in a second as well. But I think I've always basically said if I see a black cat, I say I basically do what you were talking about earlier with the spiders thing, where I'm like, oh, good luck for me, because I just kind of turned it around because I've always been told it was bad luck. Good luck. So I've always kind of done that. And but I've always liked the imagery of black cats because I've always loved all the Halloween imagery and black cats are so
00:32:43
Speaker
so closely associated with Halloween decor and all that. But there's something about them that really is so mysterious and their coats being so dark, like the way they can move in the night and then you just can maybe catch a glimpse of their eyes, their eyes like catch the light.
00:33:00
Speaker
There's something about that that is just so spooky and alluring at the same time. And I honestly wish I liked cats more than I do because I also have always liked the idea of black cats being the female familiar, the female companion, I think is really beautiful and my companion is a fluffy little white dog. But there is something about that where I could just picture a witch with these long nails,
00:33:29
Speaker
like petting this beautiful black cat. And there's something about that that I'm like, I want to be that image. But I also, I just do it with Toby, basically. Yes. Yeah. I agree. I think Rufus is my familiar. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So now I'm gonna hit you with a few of the best black cats in movie history. So the first one, the number one, the sexiest cat of all time, Thackeray Banks from Hocus Pocus.
00:33:58
Speaker
Hot. Am I wrong? Why did I have a crush on a cat? I don't know. Why? It's that voice and that terrible English-ish accent.
00:34:08
Speaker
Yes. And then when he has at the end, he has a little ponytail and I'm like, oh my God, so spicy. Look at that pony. He loves his sister. He loves his sister. Oh my God, so good. And then of course we have Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Another icon. Another icon. Super funny, especially in the 90s sitcom. But there's also those two cats have to be in common, which they are people being turned into cats.
00:34:37
Speaker
as a punishment or having been attacked by a witch. So that came up in that early folklore as well. And then we have some cartoon cats that I also love. So Luna from Sailor Moon.
00:34:53
Speaker
just absolutely love, like I love the Sailor Moon universe and animation style. And there's something about the cats and that with the little half crescent moon on their foreheads. That is so beautiful magical. Yes. And then another fave is, is Gigi, right? I think that's how you say it. I kind of forget because I haven't seen the movie a long time from Kiki's delivery service, which
00:35:18
Speaker
Oh my gosh, it was a movie that I kind of forget about, but I watched it so much as a kid. And it's not something that I've returned to a lot as an adult, and now I guess I probably should. But I kind of want to watch it again.
00:35:32
Speaker
But yeah, so those are four iconic felines. And I love that. I was trying to think if I had any, but those were the two that came to me initially. I don't know. Salem and banks. Yeah. Well, they're the best. They're the best. It's really what more do you need. Does magical Mr. Mistoffelees count?
00:35:58
Speaker
Yes, magical Mr. Mistoffelees always counts. Because if there ever, ever was there ever a cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees.
00:36:11
Speaker
Alicia, if you don't do a production of Cats with your high schoolers that I can come attend, I'm gonna be kidding. Oh my god, they would die. I got to show it to them because if most of them probably don't know it. And like, I feel like every time there was a substitute when I was in high school, I had to watch in my theater class, I had to watch the 80s film production Cats. So I think my kids should have to do the same thing. I agree. I think you have to do like a weird like already version of it.
00:36:39
Speaker
Oh my God, I would die. That'd be so sick. It's like rap but with cats. It's rap but with cats. Oh no, they're all super angsty. Oh gosh. But yeah, that's a little bit about black cats and that's a little bit about spooky spiders.
Episode Wrap-Up & Listener Engagement
00:36:54
Speaker
And I think that's a pretty good way to start the month. Don't you think? I agree. I'm ready for spooky season, baby. Yes.
00:37:03
Speaker
So we've done this the last couple of years, I guess. What is time? I barely know. But we've covered a lot of these kind of Halloween-y topics, history of Halloween topics. So if you have some more that we haven't hit yet, please send them to us. Yeah. So we always need ideas. Maybe we'll post a little ask on Instagram. Good idea. Good idea. Let's do that. Cool. I'm ready, everyone. We hope you have some sweet, sweet nightmares. Bye.