Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in

Article Talk Read Edit View history Search Wikipedia

Demon Cat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Main page The Demon Cat (also referred to as the D.C.)[1][2] is a ghost cat who is purported to haunt the government buildings of Washington,
Contents D.C., which is the capital city of the United States. Its primary haunts are the city's two main landmarks: the White House and the
Current events United States Capitol.
Random article
About Wikipedia Contents [hide]
Contact us
1 History
Donate
2 Explanation
Contribute 3 In popular culture
Black cat peering over a wall in
Help 4 References Washington D.C.
Learn to edit 5 External links
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file History [ edit ]

Tools The story of the Demon Cat dates back to the mid‑1800s when cats were brought into the basement tunnels of the United States Capitol Building to kill rats and mice.[3][4]
What links here Legend states that the Demon Cat is one of these cats who never left, even after its death.[5] Its home is supposedly the basement crypt of the Capitol Building, which was
Related changes originally intended as a burial chamber for President George Washington.[6]
Special pages
According to legend, the cat is seen before presidential elections and tragedies in Washington, D.C.,[7][8] allegedly being spotted by White House security guards on the night
Permanent link
Page information before the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.[9] It is described as either a black cat or a tabby cat,[8] and the size of an average house cat.[10] However,
Cite this page witnesses report that the cat swells to "the size of a giant tiger"[1][2] or an elephant,[8][2] said to be 10 feet by 10 feet,[11] when alerted. The cat would then either explode or
Wikidata item pounce at the witness, disappearing before it managed to catch its 'victim'.[5]

Print/export In the 1890s, the cat is said to have inexplicably vanished when some Capitol Hill guards fired their guns at it, and another supposedly died of a heart attack after seeing it.[12]

Download as PDF The last official sighting of the alleged ghost was during the final days or aftermath of World War II in the 1940s.[7]
Printable version

Languages Explanation [ edit ]

‫اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ According to Steve Livengood, the chief tour guide of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, the Capitol Police force was notorious for hiring unqualified relatives and friends of
Español Congressmen as favors, and these men would frequently be drunk whilst on patrol.[4] Livengood believes the legend began when a security guard who was lying down in a
Euskara
drunken stupor was licked by one of the Capitol building's cats and mistakenly assumed it to be a giant cat. Livengood states that upon reporting the incident to his superior,
Українська
the guard would have been sent home to recover, and "eventually the other guards found out that they could get a day off if they saw the demon cat".[4]
中文
Edit links
In popular culture [ edit ]

Founded in 2006, the DC DemonCats are one of Washington, D.C.'s four roller derby home teams.[13]

References [ edit ]

1. ^ a b Edmundson, Sheila (October 30, 1999). "Halloween: Many things go bump in the 7. ^ a b Catherine Avery (May 28, 1993). "Ghost Story ;There's a supernatural tale at most
still of night in D.C.". The Patriot Ledger. every corner in town". The Washington Times.
2. ^ a b c Krepp, Tim (2012-08-21). "The Haunted Capitol Building. The Demon Cat". 8. ^ a b c Shogan, Colleen (29 September 2021). "Demon Cat - The Tale of a Wanderlust
Capitol Hill Haunts . Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61423-656-6. Feline Ghost" . White House Historical Association. Archived from the original on
3. ^ Rosenwald, Michael S. (October 31, 2018). "The 'feline spook of the Capitol': How a 2021-09-29. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
Demon Cat became Washington's best ghost story" . The Washington Post. Retrieved 9. ^ Elizabeth Jordan (July 13, 2009). "Ghosts Wander The Hill" . Roll Call. Retrieved
November 21, 2020. October 7, 2010. (subscription required)
4. ^ a b c Grundhauser, Eric (March 13, 2018). "Why the U.S. Capitol's 'Demon Cat' Legend 10. ^ Jordy Yager (March 4, 2009). "Haunted House - and Senate" . The Hill. Retrieved
Is So Persistent" . Atlas Obscura. Retrieved November 21, 2020. October 7, 2010.
5. ^ a b Davidson, Lee (October 27, 1999). "Plenty of spooks on Capitol Hill for Halloween". 11. ^ Tom Kelly (October 26, 1989). "We live in a ghost town!". The Washington Times.
Deseret News. 12. ^ Jim Abrams (October 31, 2003). "U.S. Capitol is not without its own ghostly
6. ^ Terry Sue Shank (November 1, 1992). "Nation's capital can be a haunting place". The tales;'Demon cat' is said to appear at times of national crisis, vanish suddenly". The
San Diego Union-Tribune. "'The demon cat would usually meet someone alone in a dark Herald-Sun.
corridor. It had large yellow eyes that seemed to hypnotize, and it would snarl. It would 13. ^ "DC RollerGirls" . Retrieved October 11, 2014.
seem to grow larger and larger until it would make a final lunge toward its victim and then
either explode or disappear over the victim's head,' Thayn said. Historians recorded
stories of the Capital Police firing guns toward the hissing cat as it disappeared only to
find they were shooting into an empty hallway. 'It was said to appear only on the eve of a
national tragedy or the change of administrations.' The cat even has a nickname among
Capital workers: 'D.C.'"

External links [ edit ]

Listen to this article (2 minutes)

2:23

This audio file was created from a

revision of this article dated
16 September 2012, and does not
reflect subsequent edits.

(Audio help · More spoken articles)

Categories: American legendary creatures Cats in popular culture Culture of Washington, D.C. Mythological cats American ghosts

This page was last edited on 19 May 2022, at 17:35 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement