howard phillips lovecraft the cats of ulthar

In Ulthar, before ever the burgesses forbade the killing of cats, there dwelt an old cottar and his wife who delighted to trap and slay the cats of their neighbours. TUESDAY TERROR! The Cats of Ulthar by HP Lovecraft The next morning, the cats have returned to their owners well-fed, but the cotter and his wife have vanished.As the world continues to fill up with ever more horrifying technological devices designed to keep cats from… er… generously fertilising other people’s flower beds, Tommy & Tuppence have asked me to share their favourite horror story with you all – as a friendly warning – for this week’s… The townspeople suspect both the old couple and the wanderers, but the innkeeper's son Atal witnesses the felines circling the property of the cotter. The caravan leaves Ulthar that night, shortly before the townspeople notice that all of their cats have gone missing. Menes spends time meditating prior to unleashing a prayer that affects the shapes and movements of the clouds in the sky, granting all the cats of Ulthar sentience.

After being unable to find his kitten on the third day of his stay, Menes hears the stories of the old cotter and his wife, and decides to take action. They bring with them an orphan named Menes who, having lost his family to a plague, has only a small, black kitten to keep him company. One night a caravan of travelers from a distant land arrives and passes through the village. The people of the town are too afraid of the couple to speak against these acts, so they instead focus their efforts on keeping their felines from approaching the cotter's house. The tale begins with the introduction of an old cotter and his wife who delight in trapping and violently killing any cats who venture onto their property. Upon witnessing the result, the local politicians pass a law forbidding the killing of cats.Īn unnamed narrator, while gazing upon his pet cat, begins to reminisce about a law in the town of Ulthar which forbids the killing of cats and relates the story of how this law came to be.

Upon hearing of the couple's violent acts towards cats, Menes invokes a prayer before leaving town that causes the local felines to swarm the cat-killers' house and devour them. When a caravan of wanderers passes through the city, the kitten of an orphan (Menes) traveling with the band disappears. As the narrative goes, the city is home to an old couple who enjoy capturing and killing the townspeople's cats. In the tale, an unnamed narrator relates the story of how a law forbidding the killing of cats came to be in a town called Ulthar. Lovecraft is a short story written by American fantasy author H.

Howard phillips lovecraft the cats of ulthar