What works are cats. Writers' Cats: A sophisticated Taffy with an unrelenting love for felines. Edgar Allan Poe's best cat
you inexplicably love cats and literature ? Oh, on the face, almost the main signs of a poetic and dreamy intellectual, hovering in the clouds. Interestingly, I often notice that people whose work I admire love the same things that I do, say, cats. Probably, the affinity of souls affects ... Will it coincide with you? The smartest cats are favorites of the best writers in the world!
Writers' cats: Ernest Hemingway, who knew nothing of the measure
The romantic writer was not always an avid cat person. But one day in 1935 close friend Stanley Dexter gave him a kitten with some handicapped. The fact is that on his paws there were 6 fingers. Hemingway was not at all embarrassed, he became attached to the baby almost at first sight and began to love reverently, giving him a completely simple name without a hint of literary pretentiousness - Snowball (ours is Snowball).
And then the soul rushed to heaven - a whole era of cats began in Ernest's life! After 10 years, more than twenty fluffies were under the tutelage of the writer. And today, in the Hemingway House-Museum (which is located in the American town of Key West, California), an immense number of cats live (among them 44 descendants of the first Hemingway kitten - all have six fingers on their paws).
They are carefully looked after by the state. Because the descendants of the animals of the great writer are recognized as a national treasure! Imagine, the cats live there more than freely - they can freely move around the Museum and are never left without attention, because visitors are not transferred there.
Cats in literature: the prototype of the Boy from "Island in the Ocean"
Of course, Hemingway's cats left their mark on literature. One of the pupils became the prototype of the cat Boy from the novel "Island in the Ocean". It was a real cat Uncle Willy, who was overtaken tragic death- He got hit by a car. And the writer had to shoot him to save him from suffering.
To say that Ernest was very homesick for this is an understatement. Once he wrote such sentimental lines: “I miss you very much, Uncle Willie. I've had to shoot people, but never someone I've known and loved for 11 years. Someone who purred with two broken legs."
Writers' cats: sophisticated Taffy with an unrelenting love for felines
Famous among refined lovers of literature, the Russian writer of the Silver Age era Teffi (real name Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya) devoted many different works to cats and mentioned her all-encompassing love for them in more than one interview. And she confirmed it with extravagant actions. For example, on reception to Tsar Romanov (where she was invited as the main and favorite royal family writer of his time) Teffi came with five cats. She could not do without her favorites, because the festivities lasted for five whole days - for such a long time Nadia does not leave her animals.
And once Nadezhda Alexandrovna even mentioned that she divides people into those who love cats and those who don't. So she can’t even imagine the second in the role of her friends.
Cats in literature: four-legged Romeo and Juliet
In the artsy works of Teffi, cats acquired unusual names and worried serious passions. The writer combined a whole cycle of poems into a "cat epic" (author's definition), where the main characters were White Lap and Tiger Cat, whom she compared in the comments with the legendary literary lovers - Tristan and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet.
What kind of cats and in what quantity did Nadezhda have for all her life? long life, is not known for certain. She had to live at a turning point in history, and, fleeing from the new "anti-aristocratic power", the writer emigrated to Paris. Unfortunately, she could not take the cats with her and was very homesick for this. But over time, even in difficult "refugee" conditions, she still got a cat. As one of his contemporaries recalls, an important and large cat lived in her tiny apartment on Rue Boissière.
The best cats for Pushkin are overly well-fed
Cats in literature were also noted thanks to the great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. In his works you can find a lot of them, the most important of which was the mystical scientist cat from Ruslan and Lyudmila.
It has been noted that the poet also liked to make pencil drawings on scraps of paper, in women's albums, and on tablecloths. And every now and then Pushkin sketched various felines. His main "artistic" character is a well-fed cat with a wriggling tail and pricked ears, sitting with his back to us. He seems to be waiting for something excitedly and interestedly.
Celebrity Cats: Mark Twain's minions
Mark Twain is another famous writer, known not only for his work, but also for big love to pets. In his house there was a whole menagerie - squirrels, turtles, dogs and, of course, cats. Moreover, he treated the latter with special reverence. To Twain's statements, for example, belongs such a paradoxical saying: "If it were possible to cross a man with a cat, it would improve the human breed, but would damage the cat."
Twain had more than a dozen felines in his upbringing. But there was also a favorite - a tricolor cat. Moreover, it is even known that she loved to sleep on dining table, which is usually covered with a red tablecloth. Mark did not allow his pet to be driven away, jokingly explaining this to the household by the fact that bright color tablecloths the best way emphasizes the beauty of the "fur coat" of the four-legged.
It's funny that the daughter's own writer was called angry gray cat, because he snorted in anger in a cat-like manner.
Cats in literature: Mark Twain's important characters
As for the cat's footprint in the works of the American writer, there are a great many of them. Moreover, all cats are endowed with important names: General Gallet, General Grant, Prophet Moses, Captain Semms, Margaret, Horace Greeley, etc.
And in the story “Coot Wilson,” Mark clearly outlined his attitude towards cats: “They say that without a cat - well-fed, spoiled, accustomed to ideal houses; Perhaps I do not argue, but I have not yet seen proof.
The best cat Edgar Poe
The talented American writer Edagar Allan Poe was the founder of three genres in art - detective, science fiction and thriller. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his favorite was a black cat named Katarina.
Despite the exceptional talent, the Poe family lived in poverty all their lives: his wife had tuberculosis, and Edgar became addicted to alcohol because of this. The cat, it would seem, mystically supported them and comforted them. Inspiring the writer, she sat on his shoulder during work and warmed the sickly Virginia in a cold house.
Cats in literature: Muse with a black mustache
For their family, she was both a guardian angel, as befits a cat, and a Muse. Katarina inspired Poe's short story "The Black Cat", which became a classic horror novella.
Celebrity Cats: Poet Cat
But the most beautiful poet Joseph Brodsky himself associated himself with a cat. His friends even say that telephone conversations he ended with a flirtatious "meow." And in the film dedicated to Joseph, called "One and a half cats", the cat plays the role of the alter ego of the poet.
Today they are well known funny names several of the writer's cats - The Cat in White Boots, Big Red, Samson and Mississippi.
Cats in the literature of Joseph Alexandrovich did not leave a special mark. There was only an essay "Cat's Meow".
Video: cat and her man
A wonderful and touching festival video sketch on the topic "cats in literature". This short film aesthetically subtly illustrates a poem about a cat by a talented contemporary poetess.
Great writers and their cats. Majority prominent representatives literature of the 20th century, as it turned out, did not think creative process, and rest from it, without their furry friends.
Writers love cats because cats are very calm, pretty and wise creatures, and cats love writers for the same reason." (William Robertson Davis)
Julio Cortazar
"The most important discoveries are made under circumstances and in the most unusual places. Taking Newton's apple - isn't it amazing? It so happened that during a business meeting, I don’t know why, I was thinking about cats (which had nothing to do with the agenda) and suddenly discovered that cats are telephones... So, right away - everything ingenious is simple.
Of course, such discoveries cause a certain surprise: no one is used to having phones walking back and forth and even drinking milk and adoring fish. It takes time to understand: we are talking about special phones, like the "Wokie-Tokie", which has no wires - and, in addition, to take into account that we are also unusual, since we still have not understood that cats are telephones - so it never occurred to us to use them. "Why are cats telephones?"
Mark Twain
"The moral of the cat: In any work of art, you can find what you bring to it if you stand between it and the mirror of your imagination. Whether you see your ears in it or not, but they will be there, you can be sure."
Mark Twain, "Fable"
It is known that Mark Twain was a cat lover. Several cats always lived in his house, he gave affectionate "feline" nicknames to his loved ones :), and his daughters called their father - "angry gray cat" - they teased him jokingly, and Twain growled like a real angry cat. Samuel Clemens loved to give his cats catchy names: Apollinaris, Blatherskite (in translation - Balabolka), Zoroaster. "Not at all out of dislike, but simply to teach their children to pronounce long and difficult words", the writer explained.
Marina and Sergey Dyachenko are famous Ukrainian science fiction writers and owners of the luxurious Duchess cat. Here is what is said about him on the writers' website: "This animal (as it has now been established, a distant descendant of Woland's Behemoth) is a co-author of the Dyachenko couple, a plot generator (sleeping on Marina's pillow, broadcasting demiurgic dreams) and the initiator of the text (before the work of the cat traditionally allowed to walk on the keyboard. Touching the keys of the black magic paw promises good luck. Traditionally, the co-authors begin the novel with the letter chosen by Duchesse "/
Cats in the work of Stephen King are frequent guests. Here you have the “blackie” who returned from the other world from the “Pet Cemetery” and the stories “Cat from Hell” and “Cat's Eye”.
"And a second later, Holston was aiming at... the cat.
For a few moments Holston and the cat stared at each other. Holston, a man without much imagination, let alone prejudice, had a strange feeling. For the brief moment that he was on his knees with a pistol aimed at the victim, it seemed to him that he knew this cat, although, of course, if he had ever seen such an unusual suit, he would certainly have remembered.
The muzzle, like a clown mask, was divided exactly in half: half black and half white. The dividing line ran from the top of the flat skull, along the nose and mouth, as straight as an arrow. In the semi-darkness, the eyes seemed huge, and in each one floated an almost round black pupil, a clot of flame reflection, a smoldering ember of hatred.
These cute and sometimes very aggressive pets are the favorites of many people. Every second family has at least one, or even more, representative of the cat family at home. But few people can tell the story about the appearance of these pets. In books about cats, you will learn how they evolved, how many different breeds of the cat family there are, what colors, sizes, and what is the best way to feed these animals so that they live a long and full life. How long they live, their mannerisms, character traits. How to tame a cat and do all cats walk on their own? All this on the pages of amazing collections of books about cats.
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Kot Murr wanted to write an autobiography, but by coincidence, his manuscript is mixed with the pages of the biography of the composer Kreisler. Two opposite characters coexist here: the self-confident scientist and lover Murr and the suspicious and capricious Kreisler.
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A children's story that tells ancient history the conquest of nature by man, the domestication of wild animals - dogs, horses, cows. main character is a freedom-loving cat that loves children, catches mice for people, but does not consider itself tamed.
3. Thomasina - Paul Gallico
Very Touching story with an adult and instructive plot. Little girl Mary, who lost her mother and is madly in love with her cat Thomasina. And veterinarian Andrew McDewey, who adores his daughter, but hates animals. A story of love, life and death.
4. Cat without embellishment - Terry Pratchett
The humorous book "Cat without embellishment" is a real guide for cat lovers. Here you will find everything, and how cats work, what they eat, drink, how funny and capricious they can be, and even get detailed classification into subspecies of "real" yard cats.
5. Kysia - Vladimir Kunin
A humorous novel in which a stray St. Petersburg cat Martyn talks about his life during perestroika in the 90s and unplanned trips abroad. Kysia, as a true Don Juan and a philosopher, finds himself in various tangled stories with unusual endings.
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A touching story about the life of an abandoned cat Dewey. It all started in the library of the small town of Spencer, where he found his home and family. During his time at the library, Dewey brought a lot of happiness to all visitors and even made his city popular with tourists.
7. Varjak Lap - SF Seid
The path of a warrior, meeting with the spirit of an ancestor - the great warrior Mesopotamian cat Jalal, fighting for his relatives and dangerous adventures. All this has to go through the little one, an ordinary kitten- Virjack Lap, who wanted to go in search of his destiny in the big city.
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A fascinating novel about weaving life paths absolutely different people. What did they find in each other, a small, precocious twelve-year-old girl, an elderly female concierge studying philosophy, and a very rich, old Japanese who came to Paris.
9. Carbonel - Barbara Slay
Tale of the adventures of a little girl Rosemary. In the summer, Rosemary decided to earn some money and help her mother, she will clean other people's houses. The purchase of a broom ended with the acquisition of a real witch's broom and an unusual, talking cat Carbonel.
10. The cat is inside. short prose— William Burroughs
The short story "The Cat Inside" is built solely on the complex relationship between man and animal. The author remembers with love and tenderness all the animals that the emu has encountered in life. A lot comes to mind funny stories but also a lot of tragedy.
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Classical French Literature for Children. Sisters Delfina and Marinette live on a farm in a small but very unusual town where all animals can talk. The girls find new adventures every day with their friends and talking farm animals.
12. Notes of a black cat - Maria Vago
The black cat will tell you his true story, which happened to him when the family suddenly appeared little baby. How can a cat survive? He is used to being the only "child" and getting all the attention only to himself, and here you also need to be afraid of his tail.
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A funny and touching story of one fate. In a seaside town, a cat of extraordinary beauty was born, which basked only on silk pillows in the most expensive houses. life events led Shamaika to an abandoned slum where she had to fight for her life.
14. Cat for Christmas - Cleveland Emory
History from the life of best cat in the world named Polar bear. The history of the rescue of homeless animals. The history of the birth of a strong and true friendship between the Bear and his savior. All this can be found in the pages of the American bestseller "A Cat for Christmas".
15. Cat. Stories and novel - Alexander Pokrovsky
A deeply philosophical novel, the story in which is conducted on behalf of the slightly funny cat Sebastian. All the characters that the cat catches his eye, he describes very accurately and in a peculiar way. You will learn about their characters, habits, experiences and fully immerse yourself in their life.
16. Yuri Kuklachev and his 120 cats - Yu. D. Kuklachev, N. I. Vladimirova
The book is dedicated to our faithful four-legged friends - cats. Yuri Kuklachev is a world-famous animal trainer who understands animals like no one else. He will tell us interesting and funny stories friendly and big cat family. You will visit Murkingrad.17. $
A mysterious cat world, ancient and powerful cats-gods, the history of the creation of the world by Mother Cat and many more interesting legends. But the main character is unusual cat Tailpipe that has to go dangerous path to find a girlfriend.
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Children's book for adults or adult book for children. The Lonely Mouse lived for her own pleasure, as she was very rich, but trouble happened, a pest appeared in the house - a man who spoiled her wealth. Who will help Lonely Mouse in this detective story?
19. Feline - Akif Pirinchi
A mysterious and peculiar feline detective, the main feature of which is that human stories are completely stylized as cats. Amateur detective moved to new town, discovers the corpse of an unknown. It turns out that a murderous maniac wound up in the city.
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Incredible and fateful meeting two people, thanks to a little kitten that sat in the middle of the road at night. Who will take it for himself, He or She? This complex issue decided little cat pajamas. Having found a kitten, they acquired something very valuable and important.
21. Jenny - Paul Gallico
touching and very wise tale about a boy who miraculously turned into a kitten. Finding himself alone on the street, he met a young, but already known life cat - Jenny. From that moment on, their friendship began, but many more trials lay ahead.
22 Silent Meow - Paul Gallico
The book resembles a small life instruction for young cats, which was written by a very smart, knowledgeable unknown cat. Our mustachioed friends must know how to choose their owner, tame any inhabitant in the house, receive only the most delicious pieces.
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Doris Lessing fell in love with cats back in early childhood. The first part of the book tells about the life of cats on a farm in South Africa. The other two parts are true and honest stories about cats that the author met mainly already in the capital of England, as well as its environs.
24. Nine Lives of One Cat - Gerard Montcomble
A tale about the life of a black cat named Thomas, or rather about his nine lives. He fell to the very bottom and wandered with a gang in order to survive, then he rose very high, and lived in rich houses without denying himself anything, in another life he was in a monastery. What will the next life be like?
25. cat stories— James Herriot
It is not difficult to guess that the main characters of the book will be cats. English writer and veterinarian- James Harriot, in his good-natured stories, shows all the grace, resourcefulness of fluffy pets, the ability to be so devoted and attached to the owner.
26. An unusual cat and his usual owner. Love Story - Peter Geeters
The story of one acquaintance and one fate for two. Peter Geeters is an ordinary owner of an unusual pet - Norton the cat, who knows how to give happiness. The author has been writing a biography of his cat for ten years, and all free time spent with his Norton.
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Cats have been rubbed into the trust of man for many centuries. We all know how mischievous our furry pets can be, but if this is not planned on purpose, it could be an insidious conspiracy. The book describes all the compromising evidence and pranks of such two-faced actors - cats and cats.
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The impudent cat Muri, who lost his owners during the war, but confidently decided to return to himself the most precious thing - a bowl of warm milk and a blanket. Emu met a lot of wanderers, some looking for themselves, others in search of the unknown. How Muri's path will end, we have to find out
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Cats, what are they? Englishwoman Doreen Tovey will tell you about the mysterious and resourceful, very friendly and proud animals, which, in her opinion, undoubtedly have the right to personal life and expressing your opinion. All stories are touching and filled with English humor.
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Simon has a tireless and cheerful cat, always looking for adventure. This is a continuation famous cartoon but already on paper. Although you don’t have to read here, since the whole book is about various stories and adventures of a cat, depicted in very funny pictures.
The cat has entered the life of man since ancient times. Moreover, remaining absolutely independent, she managed to take one of the very first places in many areas of human life. Being reliable friends and the muses of many creative people, cats have inspired and continue to inspire writers, poets and musicians to create works that try to convey the diversity of characters and habits of these amazing animals. However, they cannot even be called animals. After all, it is not for nothing that there is a version that cats in general are not creatures from our world, but are inhabited by a higher race to monitor us, mere mortals. And our little friends do not refute these assumptions, but, on the contrary, excite the minds and souls of many people with their unusualness and attractiveness.
The very first literary sources mentioning cats were found in China. These sources date back to the sixth century AD and are descriptive. In the future, more and more works of documentary and fiction dedicated to cats. There are no people in the world who are indifferent to cats. Some hate them, considering them cunning and dodgy, flattering creatures. But most people undoubtedly love these graceful, freedom-loving animals, capable of feeling like no one else. heartache. Many writers have cats in their homes. So, for example, Ernest Hemingway had about thirty cats at home in Cuba. Famous Mark Twain shared his house with ten cats.
The attitude to the cat has always been humanizing. This is especially clear in the works folk art. Cats have been favorite characters since ancient times. folk tales, lullabies, jokes. Ordinary people have long noticed such feline traits as thrift, thrift, cleanliness. Affectionately and respectfully they call cats in fairy tales - Kot Kotofeich, Kotok Gray Lobok. And how many wonderful, world-famous works were written in modern world. "Biography of Moore's Cat" by E.T. Hoffmann, written from his favorite cat of the pack, is a real literary monument to the writer's favorite. Cheshire Cat from "Alice Through the Looking Glass" by L. Carroll - the embodiment of mystery and mystery. The wise "scientist cat" from the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by A.S. Pushkin is known throughout the world to both adults and children. All superstitions common people embodies N.V. Gogol in his work “May Night or the Drowned Woman”. And R. Kipling, in his work “The Cat Who Walked by Herself”, in a light artistic form, told the whole world about the origin and evolution of this wild, but such an affectionate animal. There are, unfortunately, works in which cats are shown in a negative light. An example of such works is the fables of I.A. Krylov or the famous fairy tale "Pinocchio or the Golden Key". But such creations are few. As a rule, cats that appear in literature enliven the whole plot and involuntarily attract the attention of even the most bored readers. A prime example such works can serve as the novel by M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita". Some people simply adore this novel, others do not understand it, and cannot read beyond the first page. But each of the readers who at least once picked up the famous novel will certainly read those passages where main figure cat Behemoth performs. How much irony, sarcasm, good humor in these lines. How much bitterness and longing is revealed to those who read the novel to the end and saw a sad page doomed to eternal wanderings with his master. Truly, cats are multifaceted and fantastic creatures. Writer Doris Lessing dedicated fourteen short stories to them, trying to unravel the mystery of these mysterious animals. And how many songs have been written about cats in last years and sung from the stage. The crown of the musical literary works The musical "Cats" by E.L. Webber, written based on the verses of the English poet T.S. Eliot. It is impossible to ignore the whole variety of Soviet, Russian and Western cartoons, the main characters of which were cats, cats and kittens. It is simply impossible to tear children away from the screens when they show Leopold the Cat, Tom and Jerry, Woof the Kitten and other cartoons about cats.
In any country, on any continent, there will undoubtedly be literary works dedicated to cats. And how not to pay attention to these wonderful creatures that make our life brighter and brighter.
06.11.2015 | 3688
We recall which cats from popular books went beyond the pages of literary works and became household heroes.
Today, cute cats literally flooded the Internet. But if we recall the well-known works of fiction, it becomes obvious that these fluffy creatures have captured books that have been loved by many people many years ago.
So, let's recall together the images of these smart, unusual and attractive cats in their own way.
1. Cat Behemoth from the novel by M. A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita"
Even if you are not a fan of classical Russian literature, you have probably seen the sensational adaptation of this truly profound work.
In 2005, some critics scolded director Vladimir Bortko for his subjective vision of the novel The Master and Margarita, others admired unusual idea. But no one remained indifferent to the charming cat named Behemoth (no, it’s better to say “by name” here, because he can talk, and the size came out much larger than an ordinary cat).
But not only these features Hippo owes its popularity. The cat, who “doesn’t play pranks, doesn’t touch anyone and fixes the stove”, is very charming and makes the reader fall in love with him from the very first pages of the novel, despite the fact that he is, in general, a negative character.
I think that many cat lovers did not remain indifferent to this unusual beast. For example, my friend even named her pet cat Behemoth.
2. Cat Murr from the novel by E. T. A. Hoffmann “The Worldly Views of the Cat Murr”
There are two plots in this satirical work: the biography of the cat Murr (who is the author of this book) and the life story of Kapellmeister Kreisler.
If you have read other works of Hoffmann, you will not be surprised by the strange fantasy of the German writer. Like the Behemoth cat, Murr is able to understand human language, very smart and his actions more like a man than a cat.
The prototype of the scientist cat Murr was the pet of the author himself.
3. Cat scientist from the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" by A. S. Pushkin
Continuing the conversation about smart cats, I cannot help but recall the famous mustachioed hero of the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. And let the scientist cat appear only in small introduction to the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila", everyone knows this character.
Scientist's cat prototype - cat Baiyun(folklore character), who also walks the chain, tells tales and sings songs.
4. Cheshire cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland
A cat from Cheshire constantly smiles with all 32 teeth (or how many of them he has), knows how to disappear at any time and often entertains (and sometimes strains) Alice with philosophical speeches.
The Cheshire Cat is already so popular that it's a hero Japanese anime And computer games. And besides, there was even a neologism “comb your hair”, which means “smile broadly for some pleasant occasion.”
5. Puss in Boots from the famous fairy tale by Charles Perrault
Who among us did not read "Puss in Boots" as a child? I think everyone remembers that main character of this fairy tale - a smart cat who inherited younger son miller.
Agree, dubious wealth. But it turned out that the commercial streak and cunning of the cat brought the owner not only material well-being, but also the love of the princess.
Released in 2011 american cartoon"Puss in Boots", where the main character was a charming cat from the popular cartoon "Shrek".
6. Black cat from the story of E. A. Poe
To be honest, this piece is not for the faint of heart. In general, like all the work of Edgar Allan Poe. If you are very impressionable, I suggest that you do not read further.
The protagonist (aka the narrator) is able to alcohol intoxication carved his domestic cat eyes and hung it on a tree. When the man repented of his deed, he met a similar black cat, only he had a white spot on his neck.
However, the narrator did not immediately notice that this cat was missing an eye, and the spot on the neck was in the form of a gallows...
I won't tell you how this ended. misterious story so as not to intimidate you even more. But I advise you to read this one of the most famous stories in the horror genre on your own. And then, with the advent of the Internet era, we, unfortunately, began to forget what classical literature is.
E. G. Ulmer's The Black Cat (1934), based on Poe's short story of the same name, is a horror classic.