A curious fairy tale of the Grimm's fairy tale variety that also supports the 100% zero tolerance of violence toward cats - a very good story.

Written and published in 1920, this story is only 3 pages long. I love it. I'm biased, having an affinity for cats. But this strange little story is both sad and satisfying, and yet I find myself wanting more. Menes is easily one of the most intriguing characters I've been exposed to. He is a sad little orphan with a remarkable power. With such power and loss at an early age, he could easily become a terribly cruel person. But I prefer to think that he turned into a fine, upstanding young man who cared for small things and the elderly.

In Ulthar, which lies beyond the river Skai, it’s said that there is a law forbidding men to kill cats. It wasn’t always this way. Indeed, once there was an old cotter and his wife who took it upon themselves to put an end to any cat they could get their hands on. The people of Ulthar, rather than confront the couple, who were rather intimidating, just made a point of keeping their pets and mousers away from them as best they could, but things happen.

Please read the rest of the review here.

The Cats of Ulthar is proof that Lovecraft didn’t always need to lean into the grotesque or the nihilistic to be effective. Here, he builds a tiny mythos out of a town, a boy, and a group of very pissed-off cats. It’s more whimsical than horrifying, more like a dark fairy tale than a nightmare, but it still has that Lovecraftian edge that leaves you wondering about the unseen forces that govern the world. If you love cats, revenge, or tales with a dash of the uncanny, this is well worth the read.

(Also, if you’ve ever wronged a cat, maybe keep an eye on your local strays. Just saying.)

“No man may kill a cat.”

We honestly love to see some just desserts served tho those who harm animals. Thanks, Lovecraft.

"And when they had broken down the frail door they found only this: two cleanly picked human skeletons on the earthen floor, and a number of singular beetles crawling in the shadowy corners."

CATS