By Olivia Chhlang | Reporter
Superstitious students might feel uncomfortable when a black cat crosses their path on campus, but even if bad luck can be passed along, it certainly isn’t from those furry felines.
Dr. Hugh Riley, senior lecturer for the department of psychology and neuroscience, explained the concept behind the superstition.
“One thought is that superstition is an attempt to make something relatively unpredictable into something more predictable,” Riley said. “The general idea is that unpredictability is less safe and makes us more vulnerable.”
According to Riley, superstition does not have to be related to something bad.
“It’s an attempt to recreate a prior set of circumstances that went well to hopefully duplicate the same outcome,” Riley explained. “For example, a baseball pitcher always approaches the mound the same way or a bowler always needs to wear their ‘lucky bowling shirt.’”
In the same way, people who may see a black cat may avoid the path the cat has taken because they want to lower the chances of attaining bad luck, and if no bad luck comes their way, they will continue to avoid black cats when they see them.
According to History, this connection between black cats and bad luck can be traced back to the 13th century in a decree issued by Pope Gregory IX stating that black cats were the incarnation of the devil.
April Plemons, founder and director of non-profit rescue Long Way Home Adoptables, said that even in the 21st century, this belief still sticks with people.
At an adoption event Plemons hosted, one employee handled all the animals except for the black cats. The employee didn’t want to touch their crates in case he got “hexed or cursed.”
Especially around Halloween, Plemons said some older shelters and rescues implement a 30-day ban on adopting black cats in fear that they would be used in rituals and sacrifices.
Mount Vernon junior Madison Pham also held this belief about black cats until she got her own black cat Ruby, a two-year-old Bombay she rescued off the street.
“I totally decline all those stereotypes and stigmas about black cats now,” Pham said. “They are not what people say they are. Once you have a cat, you realize how much better they are than dogs.”
An entire population of black cats can’t be stereotyped, Pham said, because each cat has a different personality.
“Ruby greets me at the door, and he rubs his body and tail around my legs,” Pham said. “He meows whenever he sees you. He plays a lot too, just like dogs do.”
Plemons said through her work she’s noticed that the black cat superstition has no supporting evidence. Because of this, shelters have started to lean into the mystical ideas about black cats.
Shows like “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Wednesday” and movies like “Hocus Pocus” are used by shelters to advertise the benefits of adopting a black cat.
“Instead of trying to avoid the people that have this outdated ideology, we’re seeing a lot more people leaning into it,” Plemons said. “If you’re cool and witchy and new-age, you’ve got to have a black cat.”
