Black Cats: Beware!

 What would you do if a black cat walked across your path? Would that be good... or bad?

With hallowe'en soon upon us, perhaps, for the safety of all, we should concern ourselves with such topics. Black cats have featured in stories for over 2,000 years! In Celtic folklore, it was believed that black cats turned into fairies and back. In Great Britain, as in Egypt and Japan, having a black cat would bring you luck and good fortune. In the English midlands they make the ideal wedding gift that will bring luck and happiness to the bride. In Japan, it is believed that a single woman who owns a black cat will attract more suitors. On the other hand, in Europe, in the Middle Ages, they decided that black cats were evil and foreboding; that they were really witches or demons. Many black cats were destroyed. People caught with a black cat were severely punished. When European settlers took over North America they declared that if a black cat crossed your path it would bring bad luck.