Scaredy Cats: A Devilish History of Felines in Horror

For horror fans, cat lovers, and culture vultures, an entertaining deep dive into cats in the horror genre

From malevolent black cats to faithful familiars, felines have fascinated humanity since we first encountered them thousands of years ago. Throughout history, cats have been deified and hunted, reviled and revered, and we've used scary stories to cope with these dichotomies. Our relationship to cats has been defined by our fear or adoration of them, historically marking those who care for them as being in league with something sinister. Now that cats are omnipresent in our lives and social media feeds, the mystique around them has slipped away—but our fervent admiration has not.

Scaredy Cats examines our evolving relationship with cats, as well as their established place in the dark corners of our imagination, through in-depth analyses of some of their most notable appearances across horror film, literature, and visual art, including Pet Sematary, Alien, Cat People, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Ju-On: The Grudge, and Coraline. From villain to protector, felines are employed in a wide-ranging set of roles that showcase their ephemeral nature and reflect our collective anxieties. Through this lens, Scaredy Cats illustrates how our cat companions of all shapes and sizes have haunted our imaginations and stories since we first met them.