恶魔猫
恶魔猫(英语:Demon Cat,简写:D.C)[1]是一只猫的幽灵的名称,据传这只猫出没于美国华盛顿哥伦比亚特区的政府大楼中。[2]
历史
恶魔猫的历史可以追溯至数百年前,当时人们将一些猫带入美国国会大厦地下室以捕杀老鼠,传说恶魔猫也在其中,即使死后它也从未离开过。[3]它的家被认为是国会大厦的地下室,那里最初是打算作为乔治·华盛顿总统的葬礼室。[4][5]
根据传说,恶魔猫会在一些灾难发生前出现,它在约翰·肯尼迪、亚伯拉罕·林肯被暗杀前,以及1929年华尔街股灾前曾被目击。[6]恶魔猫传说的常见版本为:一个警卫在国会大厦巡逻时遇见一只黑猫,尽管这种情况在当时并不罕见,人们需要猫来控制老鼠的数量,但这只黑猫却随着距离的缩短而越来越大,直至如同老虎般巨大。怪兽般的黑猫扑向对方,惊慌的警卫试图将其驱离,但恶魔猫却在彼此接触前消失。[7]
在19世纪90年代,一些警卫曾试图向恶魔猫开枪射击,但据说对方莫名消失,之后一名老年警卫因惊吓诱发心脏病发作去世。在20世纪40年代后,恶魔猫的目击报告就此终结。[8]
在国会大厦的混凝土地板上,有着一些模糊的猫爪印,一些人相信这是恶魔猫留下的,但更合理的解释是:1898年,国会大厦发生瓦斯爆炸事件,一些石块被替换为混凝土,这些爪印可能是某只猫咪走过湿混凝土留下的。[9]
解释
美国国会大厦历史协会首席导游Steve Livengood认为,早期国会大厦警卫经常饮酒,有时醉酒的警卫将靠近他们的猫误认为怪物。而且这些警卫向上级报告时并不会(也无法)约束饮酒,仅仅只是允许回家休息,因此其它一些警卫也宣称受到恶魔猫的攻击以试图休假一日,这些警卫叙述的故事最终变为都市传说而流传。[10]
流行文化
一支专业女子轮滑队伍DC DemonCats以Demon Cat这个名字作为队伍名称。[11]
参考资料
- ^ Sheila Edmundson (October 30, 1999). "Halloween: Many things go bump in the still of night in D.C.". The Patriot Ledger.
- ^ Make America Ghostly Again: The Demon Cat of Washington D.C.. EsoterX. 2017-08-17 [2018-04-23]. (原始内容存档于2021-01-23) (美国英语).
- ^ Lee Davidson (October 27, 1999). "Plenty of spooks on Capitol Hill for Halloween". Deseret News.
- ^ Terry Sue Shank (November 1, 1992). "Nation's capital can be a haunting place". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
'The demon cat would usually meet someone alone in a dark corridor. It had large yellow eyes that seemed to hypnotize, and it would snarl. It would 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.'
- ^ Theresahpir. Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State: Washington, D.C. and the Demon Cat. Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State. 2013-08-28 [2018-04-23]. (原始内容存档于2021-04-28).
- ^ The Demon Cat: A Spooky Tale. Scary DC. [2018-04-23]. (原始内容存档于2019-10-31) (美国英语).
- ^ The U.S. Capitol’s ‘Demon Cat’ Legend. Neatorama. [2018-04-23]. (原始内容存档于2018-10-06) (英语).
- ^ The 'Demon Cat' That Terrorizes Capitol Employees At Night. did you know?. 2017-01-23 [2018-04-23]. (原始内容存档于2017-06-22) (美国英语).
- ^ Why the US Capitol's 'Demon Cat' Legend ... - My Cat Tarcin. My Cat Tarcin. 2018-03-14 [2018-04-23] (美国英语).[永久失效链接]
- ^ Why the U.S. Capitol's 'Demon Cat' Legend Is So Persistent. Atlas Obscura. 2018-03-13 [2018-04-23]. (原始内容存档于2021-05-01) (英语).
- ^ DC DemonCats – DC Rollergirls. www.dcrollergirls.com. [2018-04-23]. (原始内容存档于2020-10-13) (美国英语).