Il Gatto Mammone: The Italian Legend of the Cat King (Or Cat Demon?)

What’s our equivalent to the Eastern European vampire, or the Scandinavian troll? What’s the thing going bump in the night that everyone abroad can connect to our country? If I google “Italian folklore” I get my previous article on the Devil’s Column halfway through the first page. Most of it seems to be forgotten. The Church had a hand in that, it’s undeniable, but demonization can only do so much. 

Sure, folklore traditions and ancient legends can be rediscovered via a modern lens through fantasy, or other narrative efforts drawing inspiration from it – but that’s something that draws almost exclusively from German and Scandinavian mythology, or the faeries of Irish folklore. Italy lacks that kind of mass appeal regarding the topic – I know, I studied and work in the publishing field – and that means that it’s exposed to the mainstream (read: United States) influence that dominates the industry. Lots of movies and references to the Boogeyman or Bloody Mary, nothing on Benandanti or the Strego.

Case in point, the Gatto Mammone.

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