Pulp Fantasy Library: The Cats of Ulthar

H.P. Lovecraft wrote "The Cats of Ulthar" in June 1920, during one of the most productive phases of his early career, when he was experimenting with short, dreamlike tales heavily influenced by the work of Lord Dunsany. First published in the November 1920 issue of the amateur press journal Tryout, the story would later appear twice in the pages of Weird Tales (February 1926 and February 1933) before being issued as a standalone booklet in 1935. At fewer than 1,500 words, it is a very brief piece — more a vignette than a fully developed narrative — and yet it has become one of Lovecraft’s most frequently anthologized works. Its enduring presence in print is due in part to Lovecraft’s own fondness for the tale, which he often cited as one of his favorites and perhaps also because it captures something essential about a side of his imagination that is often overshadowed by his more famous tales of cosmic horror.

The plot of "The Cats of Ulthar" is simple and deliberately has the structure and cadence of a folk tale. In the town of Ulthar, cats begin to vanish under mysterious circumstances, victims of a reclusive old couple notorious for their cruelty toward animals. Into this setting comes a caravan of strange wanderers, among them an orphan boy devoted to his beloved kitten. When the kitten disappears, the boy calls upon the gods in words no one can understand. That night, the cats of Ulthar gather together and descend upon the couple’s home. By morning, the cottage is silent and empty save for a few disturbing remains. From that day forward, the town passes a law forbidding the killing of cats.

Like much of Lovecraft’s early fiction, "The Cats of Ulthar" is written in a consciously archaic style, marked by inverted syntax and pseudo-antique diction. At this stage of his career, Lovecraft was still in the process of developing his literary voice and Dunsany’s influence is strongly felt. The story’s moralistic, almost didactic structure, culminating in the decree against harming cats, further aligns it with the traditions of myth and fairy tale. At the same time, it is suffused with the dreamlike atmosphere that Lovecraft favored during this period. This is one reason why it is typically grouped among the so-called “Dream Cycle” stories, even though, like "The Doom That Came to Sarnath," there is some suggestion that Ulthar exists (or once existed) in the “real world” rather than exclusively within the fantastical Dreamlands. 

Thematically, the story is significant for several reasons. First and most obviously, it reflects Lovecraft’s lifelong affection for cats, a sentiment he expressed frequently in his letters and which surfaces elsewhere in his fiction, most notably in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, where cats play a crucial and even heroic role. More interesting, perhaps, is the way the story conceives of justice. Here, retribution is not the work of human laws or courts but of a higher, more mysterious order. The orphan boy’s prayer, the caravan’s enigmatic presence, and the cats’ nocturnal vengeance all suggest a universe in which moral balance is maintained, if not always through means we would recognize or understand. This vision stands in marked contrast to the cosmic indifference of Lovecraft’s later, more famous works. It hints at an earlier, more mythic conception of the universe, one that is mysterious and at times unsettling, but not entirely devoid of meaning or order.

Whether or not one accepts the idea of a unified Dream Cycle, "The Cats of Ulthar" is clearly part of a cluster of Dunsanian tales within Lovecraft’s canon. Ulthar itself recurs in later works, including "The Other Gods" and the aforementioned Dream-Quest, helping to establish the geography and texture of the Dreamlands. It also exemplifies the fairy tale-like qualities of these stories, where magic is subtle but ever-present, and where human (or feline) societies live according to strange but deeply meaningful laws. For readers familiar only with Lovecraft’s tales of cosmic horror, "The Cats of Ulthar" reveals a very different side of him, one that looks backward to myth and legend rather than forward to existential terror.

It is remarkable that a story so short and seemingly slight should cast such a long shadow over Lovecraft’s body of work. Its endurance speaks to its charm, simplicity, and the clarity with which it expresses a key facet of Lovecraft’s creative vision. More than just a curiosity, "The Cats of Ulthar" is an early signpost pointing toward the Dreamlands as a realm of myth and mystery, not to mention an excellent starting point for readers who wish to explore the breadth of Lovecraft’s imagination beyond the tentacled clichés for which he is now best known.