Иιɢʜᴛᴍᴀᴢᴇ

It’s Monday ! ~ Friday 13th and Superstition

I wanted to post that Friday, but of course health decided that I had to wait until today to be able to sit at my desk to write about.. SUPERSTITIONS !
No matter our opinion and how we behave when facing a black cat or a ladder, a lot of games are based on those superstitions, most of times (if not always) going for the horror style which I tend to avoid as I like to sleep. Yup.
I did hear some scary local stories and even played a few games with an horror tag, but over years and the help of Internet allowing me to have friends coming from everywhere, I eventually decided that superstitions are bullshit, if they weren’t, maybe everybody would think the same of identical things, but it’s not the case. For some people Friday 13th is bad luck for others it’s good luck, some don’t even know what the hell a ladder has to do with superstitions and the black cats are suffering a lot from that “witch cat” syndrome but I’ll come to speak a little more about that later.


Games around myths, folklore and superstitions

If none come to mind instantly, I remind you that zombies and vampires are a myth and I seriously believe that our decaying brain eating fellows are too present in games nowadays.

  • The Cat Lady
    The Cat Lady

    Cats have 9 lives

  • The Walking Dead
    The Walking Dead

    Undeads

  • Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure
    Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure

    Cats are assholes

  • Lost Legends: The Weeping Woman Collector's Edition
    Lost Legends: The Weeping Woman Collector's Edition

    Día de Muertos

  • Eternal Journey: New Atlantis
    Eternal Journey: New Atlantis

    Lost city of Atlantide

I didn’t list many of them, to be honest we could spend days listing that sort of games, HOG and horror games often taking their material directly from legends and other tales.

Black Cats

⚠ This part is a little personal and cat related. If you dislike cats and.. Well cats, just skip that part ,) !

In 2013, I checked the shelters websites as I wanted to adopt a cat. Suddenly the cutest one on Earth popped on my screen and that’s how I got to adopt my first BLACK cat, Plume. That’s also when I heard about the problems related to black cats in shelters.

Plume faking being part of the table Plume faking being part of the table

When I came to pick her up, the family who hosted her while she was getting old enough for adoption explained to me that they were amazed how fast Plume got a new owner.
Because of superstitions (black cats bringing bad lucks, black cats being witch cats, etc.) people still adopt then less than any other cats. Worse, during days such as Friday 13th or Halloween in North America, people kill the black cats they find.

So, personal message to all the cats owners or people who wants to adopt a cat. Protect your black kitten, they are endangered by people who truly believe in in superstition, up to kill the poor guys wandering outside during bad luck or witch days.
As for those who want to adopt a cat, don’t forget that black cats are just that, black cats, they are as nice as other cats, except that when they shed on your black clothes, you don’t have to clean everything instantly.


What games did you play that was Friday 13th themed or based on superstitions, myths or local legends ? Do you have one favorite game to recommend ? Do you own a cat ? Were you aware that black cat were less adopted than others and even endangered because of the color of their fur ? I can’t wait to heard about you (and your cats, please end pics) !!!

robilar5500

You make it sound like people are in the streets hunting black cats lol. That is definitely not the case. Outside of the random psycho killing cats in general every couple years, I’ve literally heard of nobody going around killing black cats because of superstition. Haven’t seen it. Never has even been implied that this happens. Must be more an old world thing. The shelter thing is likely though. That’s where we got our black cat, and he had been there for quite a while prior to that.

Also, Friday the 13th was the day the Templars were rounded up (the ones that were caught). Bad luck for them I guess. Not sure why that has carried forward from then to now though lol.

GiseIIe

Actually… this happens also here in Italy. You just need one free crazy cat-killer to ruin it for everyone else.

Иιɢʜᴛᴍᴀᴢᴇ

The problem is there are no real statistics to know if more black cats are killed during that time of the year or not. Unfortunately, some shelters DO stop the black cats adoption to avoid any problem and it’s recommended to keep your black cats inside your house during Halloween time. It’s actually not an old say, you can find articles from 2018 and the warnings are spread on every media every year. Better safe than sorry as we say ^^.

Cece09

All my cats ive owned and even the dogs have been black. I dont have superstitions with anything (at least what i can think of right now) but I absolutely loved having a black cat because we got to call it after the panther (or whatever that animal was) from jungle book.

I didnt actually know they were less sold though. I know they are classed as bad luck if you pass by one but I never imagined that would be a problem when buying/adopting. However when I think of it I only really see black cats outside. My old neighbor definitively didnt care. They had 9 cats with them all being black and a couple half white. They even had statues of them they were a big old cat lady

Иιɢʜᴛᴍᴀᴢᴇ

The statues idea is super cute but they should get their cat neutered to avoid cat invasion lol !

samwise84

What a cutie :)
Never been superstitious considering I was born on Friday 13th XD

Иιɢʜᴛᴍᴀᴢᴇ

Lucky day for us because now we have the chance to know you ♥

ninglor03

OMG! I totally just now realized we had a Friday the 13th! Well I spent the whole day in the car (almost) so had no time, checking the date :D

Yeah, the black cat thing is a thing. Although not that sure how much ppl believe in that stuff in Germany anymore. Still there are not that many pure black cats. Most have at least a few white streaks, which makes sense, since the pure blacks where killed of a lot. Sadly! I love black cats! They ARE SO DAMN PURRETTY! Well most cats are, but yes, black cats even more so.
I don’t believe in superstition (I can’t even write it o.o), I don’t care if cats cross my way in a certain direction - ok, not true. I’m the one who will start squealing and happily pet the cat -, I never bothered about glass or mirrors breaking - which probably is a good thing, since some claim it is bad luck and on other times it’s good luck? Yeah, I don’t get that AT ALL! - aaaaaaaaand yes, there is something about ladders? Dunno that one tbh. But do know it’s there. Anyway. I don’t care! I don’t mind! Which also means, that although I think dressing up for Halloween is fun and all that, I don’t believe in the stuff connected to it. So yeah: Happy belated Friday the 13th! \o/

Hug your cat for me, would you? She would only be endangered by me by being loved to death cough cough

Иιɢʜᴛᴍᴀᴢᴇ

You actually pointed at what bothers me a lot with those superstitions: In some countries they are good luck, in others back luck, and for some it is ridiculous. Yet it still have an impact on places where those superstitions are still a thing (such as black cat).
I’m like you, in front of cat, I just squee and want to hug them all, I’m a crazy cat lady !
My cat is a lucky cat, yes she was abandoned in a card box in front of a shelter but we adopted her as soon as she was available for adoption and we don’t celebrate Halloween. The only thing she risks is hugs and more kisses ^^ !

ninglor03

Hugs and kisses are the best anyway :)
Ours also have to fear the doorbell, but that’s it. I’m not doing anything special for Halloween.
I’m not even doing a horror themed gaming month o.o

Amitte

Don’t believe in superstitions, I’m just quoting them as jokes nowadays (although now that I say it, I realize I’m probably not helping get rid of them). Played The Cat Lady and The Walking Dead and loved them both to bits, although not because of the relation to superstitions - they’re both better off not being connected with those imo. Don’t have a cat, don’t plan on getting one and never heard about black cats getting killed more often because of their fur color… if anything I’d rather say that there are just crazy people who would kill animals because… well, they’re crazy. And then the kind of animal it is or its looks don’t matter. Still, an obligatory “America, u crazy” to what you said. They’re a certain state of mind; change my mind.

Иιɢʜᴛᴍᴀᴢᴇ

It’s always complicated to get rid of all the superstitions, especially as most of them are linked to past religions which has been absorbed by others, given a new name, etc. People who kill animal who aren’t dangerous are as much of a problem as people abandoning their dog as they go to vacations during the summer (here it unfortunately happens really often).
At least I’m glad I gave my cat a chance, she’s thanking me every single day for getting her and is a super cutie !

AnxietyPanda

I’m kinda shocked that black cats get less adopted because of superstition, that just baffles me especially looking at the cutie in the pictures. Didn’t really play any myth or superstition kinda games, unless you count Dead by Daylight the Horror multiplayer :)

Иιɢʜᴛᴍᴀᴢᴇ

I was shocked as well ! On the website I found my cat, they had a topic with only black cats as there were a lot of them waiting since months (some of them since over a year) just because they were black. Poor Kitties..