Some cultures thought that black cats were evil in the Middle Ages. Others did not. In Ancient Egypt the goddess Bastet, often shown as a black cat, was a fierce, and protective mother.
Generally, in the Dark Ages—black cats crossing your path signified bad luck—but they were considered good luck by the Celts of Ireland and England.
Certainly it is true that the myth black cats are malevolent has a long history in Europe. Even the Ancient Greeks said the goddess of witchcraft, Hecate, had an evil best friend that was a black cat.
Cast as a witches familiars by the medieval Pope Gregory IX, he is known to have outlined how black cats were used in satanic rituals in a papal bull (or decree) in 1233. While in the 16th century, fake news about black cats was also prevalent. They were depicted as devils and considered part of a religion called Luciferianism.
History.com reported that Cerridwen Fallingstar, a modern Wiccan priestess, explained that a black cat crossing one’s path could have been seen as being sent by a witch, by the ignorant.
While she is also unsure why black cats, in particular, were associated with pagans and witches in the Middle Ages, she thinks “the relationship between witches and black cats, in particular, is probably imaginary, but it is possible that black cats make better mousers, since they cannot be seen at night and therefore have a hunting advantage … Witches do tend towards the practical.” (We are unsure if she was kidding about being practical).
Cats and the Black Death
In the 1990s an urban myth spread that cats were killed in the Dark Ages, as they were thought to be spreaders of the Black Death and plague. In the 90s it was considered ironic that mousers were decimated when they could have been preying on the vermin that carried the Yersinia pestis, black death disease, like mice and rats. This has since been disproven as well.
Research from Snopes.com has uncovered what has been termed a “modern internet-based fabrication,” according to Historian Mike Dash.
August 17th is Black Cat Awareness Day!
Sources
Why Black Cats Are Associated With Halloween and Bad Luck. (2025, October 30). History: A&E Television Networks. https://www.history.com/articles/black-cats-superstitions
Did Mass Cat Killings Help Spread the Black Death in the Middle Ages?: The idea originated with a 13th-century pope who accused devil-worshippers of kissing cats’ hindquarters. (2023, November 8). Snopes, Inc. https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/11/08/cats-mass-killings-plague/
Black Cat. (2026, August 23). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cat
Bastet. (2026, March 9). The Paganista. https://www.thepaganista.com/blog/isis-zzgn2
Cats, Bastet and the Worship of Feline Gods. (2026). ARCE: American Research Center in Egypt. https://arce.org/resource/cats-bastet-and-worship-feline-gods/
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