The (, plural ), in Irish (), is a

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

creature from

Celtic mythology Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed ...

, said to resemble a large

black cat A black cat is a Cat, domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific Purebred, breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden iris (anatomy), irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Bl ...

with a white spot on its chest that walks on its hind legs. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. The legends surrounding this creature are more common in

Scottish folklore Scottish folklore (Scottish Gaelic: ''Beul-aithris na h-Alba'') encompasses the folklore of the Scottish people from their earliest records until today. Folkloristics, Folklorists, both academic and amateur, have published a variety of works focu ...

, but a few occur in Irish. Some common folklore suggested that the was not a fairy, but a

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

that could transform into a cat nine times. The may have been inspired by the

Scottish wildcat The Scottish wildcat is a European wildcat (''Felis silvestris silvestris'') population in Scotland. It was once widely distributed across Great Britain, but the population has declined drastically since the turn of the 20th century due to habi ...

itself. Furthermore, it is also possible that the legends of the were inspired by

Kellas cat The Kellas cat is a large black Felidae, cat found in Scotland. It is an interspecific hybrid between the Scottish wildcat (''Felis silvestris silvestris'' syn. ''Felis silvestris grampia'') and the domestic cat (''Felis catus''). Once thought t ...

s, which are a distinctive

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

between Scottish wildcats and

domestic cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small Domestication, domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have sh ...

s found only in Scotland (the Scottish wildcat is a population of the

European wildcat The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Great Britain, Turkey and the Caucasus. Its fur is brownish to grey with stripes on the forehead and on the sides and has a bushy tail with a bl ...

, which is now absent from elsewhere in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

Appearance

The is all black with the exception of a white spot on its chest. It is described as being as large as a dog and chooses to display itself with its back arched and bristles erect. When the thinks no humans are watching, it walks on its hind legs, which is how many stories of a being discovered happen. Around humans, the will try and appear bigger by arching its back and fur stand on end as a way to show dominance.

The King of the Cats

In the English folk tale " The King of the Cats", a man comes home to tell his wife and cat, Old Tom, that he saw nine black cats with white spots on their chests carrying a coffin with a crown on it. One of the nine cats says to the man "Tell Tom Tildrum that Tim Toldrum is dead." Old Tom then exclaims, "What?! Old Tim dead! Then I'm the King o' the Cats!" The cat then climbs up the chimney and is never seen again.

Rituals

The were believed to steal the souls of the recently dead and haven't gone to the land of the dead. This would happen by a crossing over a new dead body. Before morgues were common, these were bodies keep in a room in the home or in the barn until the body could be buried so people could pay their respects to the body. To avoid the soul being taken during this period, people would stay to watch the body in a vigil called the Late Wake or Fèill Fhadalach in

Irish Gaelic Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigeno ...

. People would distract the away from the body with things like music, games, dance, or catnip. It was also suggested not to light a fire near the body as was attracted to the heat. Around

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...

, it was custom to leave out a saucer of milk for them. If you did, your household would receive good luck for the year. If you didn't, the would return the favor and dry up the milk of the house's cows.

Witches

Some people believed that the was a witch or demon in the guise of an animal, and that had no connection to fairies. If the witches have changed nine times, they will be stuck as a for the rest of their life. One story where the is a witch is

Summoning

The demonic called Big Ears could be summoned (Gaelic ) to appear and grant any wish to those who took part in the ceremony. The ceremony required practitioners to burn the bodies of cats over the course of four days and nights.

References