The caravan leaves Ulthar that night, shortly before the townspeople notice that all of their cats have gone missing. Menes spends time meditating prior to unleashing a prayer that affects the shapes and movements of the clouds in the sky, granting all the cats of Ulthar sentience. After being unable to find his kitten on the third day of his stay, Menes hears the stories of the old cotter and his wife, and decides to take action. They bring with them an orphan named Menes who, having lost his family to a plague, has only a small, black kitten to keep him company. One night a caravan of travelers from a distant land arrives and passes through the village. The people of the town are too afraid of the couple to speak against these acts, so they instead focus their efforts on keeping their felines from approaching the cotter's house.
The tale begins with the introduction of an old cotter and his wife who delight in trapping and violently killing any cats who venture onto their property. It was first published in the literary journal Tryout in November 1920 and now resides in the public domain.Īn unnamed narrator, while gazing upon his pet cat, begins to reminisce about a law in the town of Ulthar which forbids the killing of cats and relates the story of how this law came to be. Considered one of the best short stories of Lovecraft's early period, aspects of "The Cats of Ulthar" would be referenced again in the author's works The Other Gods and The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Influenced by Lord Dunsany, the tale was a personal favorite of Lovecraft's and has remained popular since his death. Upon witnessing the result, the local politicians pass a law forbidding the killing of cats. Upon hearing of the couple's violent acts towards cats, Menes invokes a prayer before leaving town that causes the local felines to swarm the cat-killers' house and devour them. When a caravan of wanderers passes through the city, the kitten of an orphan (Menes) traveling with the band disappears. As the narrative goes, the city is home to an old couple who enjoy capturing and killing the townspeople's cats. In the tale, an unnamed narrator relates the story of how a law forbidding the killing of cats came to be in a town called Ulthar. " The Cats of Ulthar" is a short story written by American fantasy author H.
Cover of the 1977 Necronomicon Press edition
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