The Cat: Deity or Demon?

This titular beast has ever occupied a polarised place in history. In ancient Egypt, the cat was revered, the biological embodiment of Bastet, the feline-faced deity its denizens worshipped. Since the days of the pyramids, the cat has veered between the utilitarian – incomparable at keeping at bay the diaspora of rodents that ever follow humanity – and the demonic. By medieval times, the deified cat had been rebranded as a “witch’s familiar”, the furry animal that followed closely at the heels of whatever elderly lady kept it at her fireside, the black cat being particularly suspect. Indeed, so many of these coal-hued beasties were put to death alongside their owners, that the genetic line almost died out and totally black cats are a rarity today. And seeing one is supposed to be lucky or unlucky, I’m never sure which. Today, the cat occupies a spectrum between glamorous fashion accessory and cuddly domestic pet. But no matter how many socializations we project upon the beast, the cat will ever retain an element of gothic nous. You see, the cat prefers to prowl the nocturnal hours and sleep the daylight shift, an ever-suspect social trait. While cartoonists create ever more Mogs and Bagpusses, the cat will always retain an air of the feral and mysterious, a hint of enchantment, and the whispers of an arcane world where secrets await discovery.

Traitors 3, the perfect gothic thriller

Traitors 3 has just kicked off with a glorious bang, a wondrous start to 2025. All the gothic memes and themes are present; the perilous journey that three competitors fail to survive, sibling rivalry (a fabulous addendum by the producers) and the castle, in this case a hokum, nineteenth-century, mock-baronial pile nestling in the sumptuous Scottish Highlands. Ah yes, Ardross Castle is all turrets and battlements on the outside, and the inside a trove of deer antlers, suits of armour, button-leather Ottomans, memento mori both sculpted and painted and framed in gilt: what’s not to love? And the high priestess? With her midnight-black hair and death-pale face, Claudia Winkleman adds a glittering dash of medieval nous. Add moonlight – sorry, floodlight, cloaked and hooded figures, a round table and numerous references to murder and banishment, and you’ve got the perfect mix for weeks of intrigue, treachery and the most shocking of revelations.
In fact, the only missing gothic trope is the presence of a cat – more about that in a further post.