Halloween Haunts: Time for a Bonfire? BYOC by Dave Sakmyster

That would be “Bring Your Own Cat,” and for those of us dog lovers out there, the following investigation into this certain ancient Halloween (or Samhain) practice, will bring tears of joy and long-repressed urges to break out the marshmallows and graham crackers.

Black cats (like mine) don’t know how lucky they have it today. In the good old times, back when stakes were for more than just securing tents, it was commonly believed that such creatures were the familiars of witches or were the embodiment of evil itself. I favor the latter, having seen what my little monster has done to various rugs, my daughter’s skin, anything on top of the fridge, and to his undigested food. In either case, these abominations were ripe for a sacrifice, perfect fodder for the flames, so to speak, and usually in plentiful quantities roaming the countryside, forest or barnyards.

Druids particularly found them useful during the rites of Halloween time, as sacrificing those little critters kept the hungry god and his minions happy and secure, away from intruding into our realm and causing a ruckus. With the proper incantations, a decent magic circle, and a fire at its strongest… just toss in kitty and see those nine lives go up in flames. Their role played out, our world (and mice) could rest assured that evil had been kept away another year.

And speaking of bonfires, originally they were bone fires, as in toss bones in the fire. Bones of cattle, and other creatures, but certainly little felines would also be useful in feeding the hungry fire.

This practice apparently was so widespread and so ingrained in our collective consciousness, if not our various cultures, that for a time in many states pet stores refused to sell black kittens for weeks leading up to Halloween for fear they would be tortured or ritually sacrificed.

So if you’ve got a little Midnight or Mr. Fluffles, and you’re sitting around a bonfire this Halloween, remind him or her how lucky they have it these days.

And then break out the Fancy Feast, skewer a marshmallow, and call kitty over for a little traditional love.

TODAY’S GIVEAWAY:  David is offering two e-book copies each of Final Solstice and his short story collection, Escape Plans. Enter for the prize by posting in the comments section. Winners will be chosen at random and notified by e-mail. You may enter once for each giveaway, and all entrants may be considered for other giveaways if they don’t win on the day they post. You may also enter by e-mailing membership@horror.org and putting HH CONTEST ENTRY in the header.

DAVID SAKMYSTER is the award-winning author of more than a dozen novels, including Jurassic Dead and The Morpheus Initiative, a series featuring psychic archaeologists (described as “Indiana Jones meets the X-Files”). He also has an epic historical adventure, Silver and Gold, the horror novel Crescent Lake and a story collection, Escape Plans. His latest is Final Solstice, and his screenplay, Nightwatchers, has been optioned for production. Visit him at www.sakmyster.com.