Edgar Poe

Edgar Allan Poe, the father of American horror fiction, first published his macabre short story "The Black Cat" in the August 19, 1843 edition of The Saturday Evening Post. The frightening tale of a murderer tormented by guilt over his terrible deeds is a classic. The narrator's admission that much of his bad behavior and deranged thinking is the result of demon alcohol is possibly autobiographical, as Poe himself struggled with alcoholism throughout his life. This short work is part of Applewood's "American Roots," series, tactile mementos of American passions by some of America's most famous writers and thinkers.

The Black Cat

Edgar Allan Poe

Romy

Demon

I think it's an interesting short story, playing on the horror but saying it's only some "mere" events, as if it can happen to everyone. It also plays on the supernatural side of the horror, which was well-used.

"The Black Cat" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's most memorable stories. The tale centers around a black cat and the subsequent deterioration of a man. The story is often linked with "The Tell-Tale Heart" because of the profound psychological elements these two works share. Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Black Cat," first published in the August 19, 1843, issue of the Saturday Evening Post, is a chilling story written through the eyes of a man awaiting death for the murder of his wife. For over 170 years the narrator of this story has captivated critics and readers with his allusions to ethos, pathos, and logos--as he says that he places "before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment" an unsettling account of the events surrounding the murder of his wife and his abuse of the family pets. The narrator declares that he will state his case candidly, all the while creating nothing more than a pretense of frankness and objectivity. He titillates readers with details about the horrendous murder of his wife and his first cat--if, in fact, any cats were actually killed in the making of this story. He also may leave readers wondering about his purpose for writing. The story cannot save him from the noose. He has no progeny and mentions no living relatives who might care about his guilt or innocence, so the story serves little purpose for the writer, leaving readers to wonder who might be the intended audience and what might be the story's point. Readers return to this story, perhaps, because of the narrator's ability to lure audiences into believing large parts of the tale. when the narrator confesses his guilt in the opening and offers incriminating information, readers may at first think the narrator offers a confidential and unique version of his predicament. However, when the narrator later blames the cat for everything that has gone wrong or when he begins to contradict himself, readers will question narrator reliability. It is true that readers often encounter unreliable narrators in literature, but the dissembling in this story actually points to an important aspect of Poe's work as the numerous inconsistencies and deceptions direct readers away from the story and toward an assessment of the narrator and his behavior.

 by Edgar Allan Poe is a mesmerizing short story that caught my attention from the very first page!

As a first-time reader of Poe's works, I found it long overdue and thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrative, delivered through a chilling first-person confession, immersed me into a world of suspense, thrill and unease. 

Poe's skillful use of symbolism addded depth to the story - since the black cat was a representation of guilt and moral corruption. With its gripping storytelling and psychological exploration, 

 receives a well-earned five-star rating from myself and is highly recommended for those seeking a thrilling and thought-provoking read.

Atli 💗🧚🏽‍♀️

"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe is a mesmerizing short story that caught my attention from the very first page!

As a first-time reader of Poe's works, I found it long overdue and thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrative, delivered through a chilling first-person confession, immersed me into a world of suspense, thrill and unease. 

Poe's skillful use of symbolism addded depth to the story - since the black cat was a representation of guilt and moral corruption. With its gripping storytelling and psychological exploration, "The Black Cat" receives a well-earned five-star rating from myself and is highly recommended for those seeking a thrilling and thought-provoking read.

Gabi🌸🌷

Sage

yeah i hated this book. i listened to the narration by NELSON OLMSTED and it made me shiver and jump on the train! in public! read it. you'll hate yourself. and the main character. but it's ok, we all need to be shaken up a little sometimes.

Trish

I've come to accept that horror and true crime are not my preferred genres and any novel that includes graphic murder scenes just isn't my cup of tea. 

This story features an unpredictable drunk who slaughters pets and spouses alike. Hard for me to be anything but appalled. I guess the two stars is to show my appreciation for Poe's violent imagination. Other than that, nothing I'd want to read again... unfortunately there's three more Poe short stories on my American Narratives course syllabus. They just had to focus on the American goth era this summer *palm hits forehead*.

Azaura A

Amina Madadi (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ)

Sophie Dowse 

This story genuinely left me with my mouth wide open. I'm still trying to mentally process what I've just read, but in summary it was a masterpiece. The complete confusion and guilt that the characters face, along with the horrifying violence shown is simply jaw dropping, and I'm sure this story will stay on my mind for many days to come.

Sage Lee

Meriem💫

Diana Platgalve

Madness, darkness, alcohol infused rage, and death. All combined in Poe's "The Black cat."
It's actually pretty accurate, how Poe was able to describe the rage, that wakes up in people after the rejection, experiencing it way more deeply when intoxicated. You do bad because it is bad, your cognitive abilities are so weakened that it is hard to control the rage; but when intoxication fades, you know that crime committed while being slave to it...was wrong.

Rita Santos

"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe is narrated in the first person, which leads to the fact that we cannot fully trust the narrator. The narrator tries to rationalize his actions to the reader. He begins by presenting an image of a happy marriage, of a good man who loved animals, and who blamed alcohol for his wickedness. At the beginning of the story he still feels remorse for what he has done, however, throughout the story we can see this change, "this feeling soon gave place to irritation".
	Poe shows us one of the possible results of society's alienation, by writing about a narrator who, as he changes his family environment for the tavern, eventually becomes an alcoholic and, as he suffers the consequences of alcoholism, somehow "loses" his morality and commits crimes. 
From this narration we can see his self-perception of his actions. The narrator's alcoholism, in a way, makes him free to manifest his perversity. We can contrast this work with transcendentalist principles by showing the narrator's lack of reason and morality, demonstrating that it is unreliable to trust our "inner-self" because we all have perversity in us.

Diptyalina Barman

Did anyone know that a synonym for VOMIT/BARF is CAT ?! 
but POE is mad GENIUS!

Danni’s Badass Books

⭐ 3.5 Stars ⭐ 

This made me rather uncomfortable. 

The writing was good, but the animal cruelty just didn't sit well with me so I didn't particularly enjoy reading, hence the rating.

It is disturbing, but if you like that sort of stuff go ahead and read this as it's only a short book.

Ilse

This book is good in the sense that it very effectively managed to disturb me and as a deep lover of cats (and animals in general) I hated reading the animal cruelty bits, which was almost the entire thing. The entire story escalates so quickly that I just cannot follow the logic as to how it does so (and rather not delve deeper into it to discover). Definitely hammered hom that I’m not one for disturbing horror stories and as such I’m going to stay well clear of Poe in the future

Bad Girl Bex

Would actually prefer to have given this a 3.5* rating (a 7/10 if the voting system was better) because it's not quite a 4, but definitely more than a 3. The dark rumblings of insanity and rage and hatred and evil, all about throughout the tale. We know that the protagonist is going to come to his own self-wrought downfall, but I wanted so desperately for the black cat to get its revenge on the abuse and murder of poor Pluto. I can read about all manner of despicable things being enacted upon humans of all ages, genders, walks of life and temperament. But reading about the abuse and torture of an innocent animal breaks my heart, makes me cry and I struggle to work through such content. Thankfully this miserable wretch was hoist by his own petard and ended up being punished, imprisoned for his crime of uxoricide. But I still feel that he deserved to have more agonies wrought upon him for daring to lay a finger on the heads of any of the household pets he eventually abused. I hope consumption set in, combined with insanity and he died in agony, both of the soul and the physical body. Good story though

razan 

all I'm saying is that I should've read this gem of a story many many years ago 
  wow

noha

" I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others."

Wow! Poe is literally the master of horror.

Animal cruelty is a terrible thing, and honestly some descriptions made me feel uncomfortable. The same thing would happen to you especially if you're a cat lover. Um, but I do like the story and I'd absolutely recommend it! yeah, I think everyone should read some of Poe's short stories.

Ps: it has the elements of the Tell-tale Heart; the narrator isn't in a stable state of mind.

Carla Aquino

Short and sweet!! I did keep thinking if Poe ever thought to murder his sickly wife while writing this though, which is kind of creepy.

Carolina Lopes

A tale of a man's descent into madness as he succumbs to his illness, portrayed by the horrifying actions which he takes (yet with no sign of remorse, as he always blames his surroundings for making him do terrible deeds). An amazing short story

The Black Cat

Reviews