Watch Your Blind Spot: Demon Cat On the Loose?

It's late at night, perhaps early morning--in the concrete tunnels beneath the U.S. Capitol. You can barely hear the rain outside, your lamp casting shadows on the wall. It always smells damp, down here--mildew and rat feces, oil and earth. You take a swig from your flask, American whiskey. As you swallow you hear something behind you, small, quick footsteps padded by something dense--fur? Pawprints? You swing the lantern, almost stumbling as you catch sight of the infamous black cat, swelling to the size of a tiger, charging you, knocking you to the ground! Before you fall asleep that night, you wonder what bad news the demon cat brings. You wonder what will happen in the morning...

If you've lived in DC long enough (and spend your time near the Hill), chances are that you've come across the long-standing story about the "demon cat" of DC, seen at both the White House and the U.S. Capitol Building. This supposedly devilish cat has been an object of fascination (and terror) since the mid-1800s, when it was first spotted by night watchmen in the basement crypt intended for George Washington's body.

Legend has it that sightings of the demon cat in the White House foreshadowed horrific events, including the assassinations of both presidents Lincoln and Kennedy, in addition to the 1929 Stock Market Crash. When startled, the cat can swell to 10 feet by 10 feet, before supposedly exploding or pouncing on the victim. Its eyes can glow like headlights, nearly blinding the viewer. In one instance, the demon cat is said to have given a watchman a heart attack, killing him out of fear.

Folklore claims that the demon cat was initially conscripted into service as a rat catcher in the mid-1800s, when cats were introduced to the basement tunnels to control the overwhelming amount of rodents. After death, perhaps the cat decided to stay, wandering from space to space.

Some historians do not believe in the demon cat, and claim that the entire concept was invented by drunken watchmen given jobs by their uncles and fathers in Congress. Some say that the demon cat was invented by a drunken guard who woke up on the floor to a cat licking his face. From his inhibited vantage point, perhaps he saw the cat as ten feet tall.

Whatever you choose to believe about the demon cat, it's a fun bit of long-lasting folklore that demonstrates the seemingly timeless mental connection between black cats, bad luck, and being afraid of the dark.