Urban Legends

Demon Cat

Origin: Japan

The Demon Cat (or Bake-neko) is a supernatural creature from Japanese folklore. It is an ordinary cat that has transformed into a monstrous demon. According to legend, it can shapeshift and take the form of a human being.

Long ago, in Japan, there were many superstitions surrounding cats. Many people believed that a cat could turn into a hideous demon cat, called Bake-neko, if it lived in the same place for 13 years and reached over 8 pounds.

They say the Demon Cat can walk on two legs like a human. It can also shapeshift and take on human form, sometimes devouring people and stealing their identities.

A famous Bake-neko story involves a man named Takasu Benbei, whose pet cat of many years went missing just as his mother's personality changed completely. The woman shunned the company and took her meals alone in her room, and when the curious family peered in on her, they saw a feline monster in the old lady's clothes, chewing on animal carcasses. Takasu, with much reluctance, slew what looked like his mother, and after a day had passed, the body turned back into the same pet cat that had gone missing. After that, Takasu miserably tore up the tatami mats and the floorboards in his mother's room, only to find the old woman's bones hidden there, gnawed clean of flesh.