Coraline first encounters The Cat as she explores
the grounds of her new home, where she sees it sitting on walls and tree stumps. At first,
she tried to play with it, but whenever she approached, it ran away. But the two would soon be
forced to work together to counter a very powerful ancient evil known as The Beldam. The Cat has
become one of the most infamous and mysterious characters among Coraline fans, the subject
of countless wild theories and speculations. – The cat is the reincarnation
of the Beldam’s ex-lover. – How there’s possibly two cats trapped in
one body, but both of them are not real cats. One of them is the spirit of Wybie’s grandma’s
father, and the other is either the son of the other mother or the spirit of the other world.
– Even if The Cat does work for the Beldam, he could still be related to the Lovat family. – While I do find those ideas a little bit, uh, what's the right word? Unhinged! I do have my
own ideas about who this feisty feline really is, so to explore those, let’s take a look at
the history of the cat from the Coraline novel. To learn about the cat’s connections to
witchcraft, why he can talk in the Beldam’s world, and why The Beldam fears this creature,
stick around to the end of this video. This video is sponsored by Audible. (metal music) Welcome to Horror History. Although I’m
sure you don’t need a Horror History lesson, seeing as how you’re the expert on such things.
Today we’re talking about the cat from the novel Coraline, however, this cat may have actually
had an appearance before that… retroactively. The movie adaptation of Coraline is directed by
Henry Selick, who also directed the 1993 movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Both
movies are stop-motion animations so they probably reused the same model, or made a
very similar model in Coraline as an easter egg. In Coraline, the Cat gets a voice courtesy of
voice actor Keith David. David has a very deep silky voice; he’s usually known for playing
some kind of monster or badass mercenary, but he’ll occasionally voice a creepy cat, like
in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland or Coraline. To unravel the mystery of the black cat,
we first need to understand its history, so let's take it back to before
Coraline entered the picture. (spooky music) Like Coraline, there is only one cat, who
travels back and forth between the real world and the Other World, the realm created
by the Beldam to try to trick children into falling into her trap. For this reason, The
Cat is the only character from Coraline’s world who has no Other World counterpart.
Between this, and the fact that the cat can talk while in the Beldam’s world, I don’t
think that this cat was always just a cat. One of the more prominent examples of a black
cat in culture comes from Greek Mythology. Galinthias was a servant of the Greek Goddess,
Hera. Hera wanted to prevent the birth of this dude named Heracles, but Galinthias
ruined this plan by saying that the baby had already been born, so as punishment,
Hera turned Galinthias into a black cat. It’s possible something along these lines happened
before the events of Coraline. The cat was probably a human who snuck into the Other World
and interfered with The Beldam’s plans to steal the soul of a kid. At one point, he even tells
Coraline that he walked into The Other World, just like she did. Unable to steal his soul, and unable
to get her claws on him to kill him, The Beldam was only able to use her magic to turn him into a
cat. Like the Ghost Children, who I discussed in a previous Horror History, details of his old life,
like his name, faded from memory as time passed. In the movie, we even see that the Cat has a
chunk of his ear missing, as if that was the only body part that The Beldam was able to get
her sharp claws on before he scampered away. When Coraline encounters the Cat, in the Other
World for the first time, he wishes her a good afternoon and she thinks “its voice sounded
like the voice at the back of (her) head, the voice she thought words in, but a man’s
voice, not a girl’s.” So if the voice didn’t actually sound like her, she must be talking
about the cadence, which is part of why I think that the cat was once someone who
wandered into the Other World, like Coraline. But there’s a lot more to it than that, I swear.
I’m not one of those unhinged Coraline YouTubers. In the ancient Greek tales, Galinthias was
taken in by another Greek deity, Hecate, the Goddess of witchcraft and death. This is
likely the origin of the trope that’s still with us today, where black cats and witches
are commonly associated with each other. I’ve talked a little bit in my other videos about
how Coraline herself has witch-like properties. When Ms. Spink reads Coraline’s tea leaves, the
two neighbor-women determine she has danger in her future and give her a stone with a hole in
it. They don’t explicitly describe what it is, but it’s clearly supposed to be an adder
stone, sometimes known as a witch stone, an artifact said to give the user magic
protections. When Coraline looks through her dresser in The Other World, one of the
outfits she discovers is a witch costume, and her father has a song about her where he
refers to her as his “twitchy-witchy girl”. In the movie, Coraline even uses a magic dowsing
rod and Wybie refers to her as a water witch. – Well, great to meet a Michigan water witch. – Coraline doesn’t get along with the cat much
at first. He’s described as a haughty black cat, meaning he’s arrogantly superior
and disdainful. He has no satisfying answer for her as to why he can talk and when she
tells him that cats can’t talk at home, he sarcastically states that she’s
the expert, and he’s only a cat. Coraline tells him that they could be
friends, but he responds by telling her: “We could be rare specimens of an exotic breed
of African dancing elephants. But we’re not. At least,” it added cattily, after darting
a brief look at Coraline, “I’m not.” Before this first conversation ends, she
asks the cat what his name is. He insists that cats do not have names, they know
who they are. We’ve seen something like this before here in Horror History. When I
covered Valak, from the Conjuring franchise, I explained how in religions like Christianity,
naming a creature gives a person dominion over it. Lorraine Warren needs to discover Valak’s name
in order to address it and banish it back to hell. Witches and by association, their black cats,
are often seen as evil or threatening in major religions. So by not having a name, The Cat
makes it harder for anyone to gain power over it by calling or summoning it. There’s even a
conversation later where The Cat points out that calling for a cat is pointless, akin to calling a
whirlwind. Black cats have a long history of being linked to the supernatural or spiritual. Ancient
Egyptians worshiped the Goddess Bastet, who had a black cat’s head, and they built huge cat
monuments. During the middle ages, when the major religions we know today were becoming dominant,
witchcraft was seen as a sign of anti-religion and cats as a sign of bad luck. More recently,
Mayday Parade described a black cat who planned to burn its city down with a backpack of fireworks.
Sounds terrifying, this is why dogs are better. The cat commends Coraline on bringing the
protective adder stone, and disappears behind some trees. He seems to have the ability to travel
through channels between the two worlds that Coraline can’t see or perceive. He literally
knows all the ins and outs of this world, suggesting he’s been traveling back and forth
for some time. This is probably the reason he was able to discover when Coraline’s
parents were kidnapped by The Beldam. After Mr. and Mrs. Jones go missing, he
greets Coraline on her bed as she wakes up, and coaxes her to follow him to the hallway
mirror where she can see that her Mom and Dad are trapped beyond a foggy glass.
She asks if he knows where they are, and he blinks at her, as if to say “yes”.
This is something that happens a few times; The Cat blinks to say yes when in the real
world. There’s actually a little easter egg at the beginning of the movie to reference
this, which I don’t think I’ve mentioned before. – [Coraline] I’m just looking for an old well. Know it? – [Zac] As they cross back into The Other World, Coraline
tells a story about bravery, in which her father protected her from a swarm of wasps when she was
younger. The cat asks if that’s why she’s going back, to try to save them, seemingly not really
understanding the point of the story. This may be playing on the idea of cats often being depicted
as timid. They are the inspiration for slang terms used to describe a timid person, like scaredy cat
or pussy cat. Knowing what the Other Mother truly is, The Cat will go in and out of the Other World,
but doesn’t seem keen on confronting her himself. As they cross the threshold, Coraline
remarks that her companion is talking again. “How fortunate I am,” said the cat, “in
having a traveling companion of such wisdom and intelligence.” Its tone remained
sarcastic, but its fur was bristling, and its brush of a tail stuck up in the air.
The two were entering the lair of the beast. (impact) If you want the true dark twisted world of
Coraline, the best way to experience it is with the audiobook, which you can find narrated
by Coraline’s legendary author, Neil Gaiman on Audible. This way you know every line is being
told *exactly* the way the author intended it. Audible offers an incredible selection of
audiobooks across every genre — including lots of horror. You’ll also discover exclusive
Audible Originals from top celebrities, comedians, renowned experts, podcasters
– I could go on, but the point is, you'll never run out of hands-free,
eyes-free entertainment in your head. (head explodes) Members get a free title every month
that no one can ever take from you. Even Omaba. (static) This month I'm checking out American
Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. Now you might think I'm listening to it to see how it compared with
the movie. And yeah, that exactly why I chose it. To try out Audible Premium Plus free for 30
days visit audible.com/czsworld or text czsworld to 500-500. You'll find that link in
the description. Audible dot com slash CZsWorld. (dark music) The cat disappears for a little while Coraline
is speaking to The Other Mother. It’s pretty clear that this is because the two are
enemies. He avoids her for most of the story, but he’s also quite familiar with her, enough
to suggest that she is probably trying to lure Coraline in because she wants something to love or
possibly something to eat. He also knows that she can’t resist a good game and suggests Coraline
challenge her to one to win back her parents. This is another reason I think he must have
had his own encounter with her in the past. He also recommends that Coraline get some
sleep ahead of the long day tomorrow, and that’s exactly what she does. Before she gets
up the next morning the Other Mother goes out to try to fix up the secret passageways that the cat
uses to enter and exit her world. This tells me that The Beldam and the cat’s fear of each other
may be mutual. Afterall, The Beldam’s true form is a spider-like creature, and cats are known
to eat spiders. There are multiple occasions where she refers to the cat as “vermin”. It’s
also possible that she’s just trying to seal up the entryways because her minions are rats,
another species that cats are known to devour. When Coraline goes outside that morning, she runs
into her furry friend. “Its fur stood straight out from its body and its eyes were wide, while
its tail was down and between its legs. It did not look a happy cat.” It sounds to me like he’s
very much on edge when he’s in The Other World. As Coraline explores, the cat explains
there’s nothing to find outside of the house, because The Beldam hasn’t bothered to create it.
This line is obviously book-only, as the garden is a more important location in the movie. And the
2009 game! Together, they loop all the way around the small world, back to the house, which the
cat describes using an analogy to a spider web. “Spiders’ webs only have to be big enough to
catch flies.” Again, this demonstrates familiarity with the ancient antagonist. She hasn’t yet
revealed her spidery true form to Coraline. The cat is unimpressed with The Beldam’s attempts
to keep it out. He also claims there are ways in and out that she does not know about. He also catches
a rat and explains that they are spies for her. He tortures the rat before eating it, adding
that some people see the tendency of a cat to play with its prey as a merciful one
because sometimes the prey will get away. This analogy is no mistake, he’s suggesting
that Coraline’s game of hide and seek with The Beldam could result in her getting away,
if she plays her cards right. The cat then disappears behind a tree to presumably eat the
rat, or deposit it somewhere in the real world. At this point, the cat kind of disappears for
most of the rest of Coraline’s game against her Other Mother. We don’t know if he’s hiding away
from his evil adversary, or just keeping an eye on Coraline’s progress from a distance. Her goal
is to find the souls of the three ghost children and her parents, and she’s managed to recover two
of the three souls, but the leader of the rats, who I’ll just call, The Big Rat, is in the
process of getting away with the third. What the cat does is the perfect example of why
Coraline is definitely part of the horror genre. He catches the rat in his sharp teeth, decapitates it, and stops
the soul marble with one paw. This one is toned down a little bit in the movie, but the film has
no shortage of horrifying moments of its own. – [cat] I don't like rats at the best of times,
but this one was sounding an alarm. The cat is unsurprised to learn that
The Beldam doesn’t plan to let them go even if Coraline finds her parents to
win the game. He’s also the first to notice that the house is losing its 3D form
and flattening out into a crude drawing. Coraline thanks him for his help, and says he
can leave, and she’ll see him back at home, but he tells her that the ways in
and out of this world are gone, which seems to be very unsettling
for him. Coraline tries to pet him and realizes he’s trembling and his heart
is beating hard. So she promises to bring him home with her and carries him into the
house, where the Other Mother is waiting. The cat stiffens upon seeing her. Coraline tricks
the Other Mother into opening the passageway between the two worlds, the Link Between Worlds,
if you will, in order to prove that her parents aren’t there. Coraline has a plan, but the cat clearly isn't in on it. She does her best Alinity and throws the cat at The Other Mother; it lands
on her head and flails at her with claws and teeth. As Coraline grabs the snowglobe containing
her real parents, the cat bites The Beldam’s cheek and draws the black tarry blood that flows within
her. After throwing a claw to her face, he joins Coraline in a sprint to the corridor that bridges
the two worlds, and after slamming the door on their enemy, urges Coraline to run with him --
the last words he would ever say to her outloud. They get back to the Jones family’s drawing
room, where Coraline apologizes for throwing him and he seems to accept this apology by purring,
licking her finger and falling asleep in her lap. He wakes up before Coraline and waits by the
door when Coraline’s parents come inside, in order to quickly run away before they can do or
say anything. I’m guessing he didn’t want to take any chances with how they’d react to an unfamiliar
animal in their house, or he just didn’t trust any creature vaguely resembling Coraline’s mother
at this point. Can you really blame him? Again, the cat disappears for a week, the time
that Coraline spends defeating the Beldam’s dismembered hand that had scuttled its way into
the real world. When they saw each other again, The cat winked at her and rolled onto his back,
allowing Coraline to scratch the fur on his belly. Through their journey together, the two had
become friends. The witch had found her cat, and more importantly, Coraline kind of has someone
suitable to spend time with now. Wybie is not in the book at all, so she has no one to play
with or talk to, and the other adults in her world don’t really listen to her. I think
that’s part of what made The Other World, where the cat could talk, so appealing
for Coraline at the beginning of the story, but as she learned, she doesn’t need verbal
cues to communicate with this animal. And that’s the end of the cat’s story in the
book. In the movie, things are a bit different, because the cat seems to be attached to Wybie
in the beginning, because he feeds it, and the final shot shows him disappearing
through one of the hidden portals, presumably back into The Other World, which may
have been reopened after The Beldam’s defeat. I talk about Wybie, the Beldam, Coraline, and
others in their own Horror History episodes. For all my Coraline character breakdowns,
hit that playlist on the left. But first, make sure you subscribe to CZsWorld for new
horrors every week, ring the deathbell and select all notifications and I will see you
in the next one. Assuming we both survive.
