Demon Cat
Encyclopedia
Demon Cat is the name given to the ghost of a cat which is purported to haunt the government buildings of Washington, D.C.
.
The story of the Demon Cat dates back to the days when cats were brought into the basement tunnels of the Capitol buildings to kill rats. Legend states that the Demon Cat is one who never left. Its home is supposedly the basement crypt of the Capitol which was originally intended as a burial chamber for President George Washington
.
According to legend, the cat is seen before presidential elections and tragedies in Washington DC, allegedly being spotted by White House
security guards the nights before the assassinations of John F. Kennedy
and Abraham Lincoln
. The cat is described as fully black and the size of an average house cat; but witnesses report that the cat swells to "the size of a giant tiger
", 10 feet by 10 feet, when alerted. The cat would then either explode or pounce at the witness, disappearing before it managed to catch its 'victim'.
In the 1890s the cat is said to have inexplicably vanished when some Capitol Hill guards fired at it, and another supposedly died of a heart attack after seeing it.
force was notorious for hiring unqualified relatives and friends of Congressmen as favours, and that these men would frequently be drunk whilst on patrol.
The society's version of the story states that a security guard was once licked by a cat when he was lying down. Being drunk, the man thought he was still standing at the time and was frightened by the apparently giant cat, thus spawning the 'Demon Cat' legend. As for the rest of the sightings, Steve Livengood of the society said; "eventually the other guards found out that they could get a day off if they saw the demon cat".
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
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The story of the Demon Cat dates back to the days when cats were brought into the basement tunnels of the Capitol buildings to kill rats. Legend states that the Demon Cat is one who never left. Its home is supposedly the basement crypt of the Capitol which was originally intended as a burial chamber for President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
According to legend, the cat is seen before presidential elections and tragedies in Washington DC, allegedly being spotted by White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
security guards the nights before the assassinations of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. The cat is described as fully black and the size of an average house cat; but witnesses report that the cat swells to "the size of a giant tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
", 10 feet by 10 feet, when alerted. The cat would then either explode or pounce at the witness, disappearing before it managed to catch its 'victim'.
In the 1890s the cat is said to have inexplicably vanished when some Capitol Hill guards fired at it, and another supposedly died of a heart attack after seeing it.
Explanation
The last official sighting of the Demon Cat was in the 1940s. The U.S. Capitol Historical Society has stated that at this time the Capitol PoliceUnited States Capitol Police
The United States Capitol Police is a federal police force charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories.-History:...
force was notorious for hiring unqualified relatives and friends of Congressmen as favours, and that these men would frequently be drunk whilst on patrol.
The society's version of the story states that a security guard was once licked by a cat when he was lying down. Being drunk, the man thought he was still standing at the time and was frightened by the apparently giant cat, thus spawning the 'Demon Cat' legend. As for the rest of the sightings, Steve Livengood of the society said; "eventually the other guards found out that they could get a day off if they saw the demon cat".