Animals of evil

The black cat is a common animal depicted as bad luck in many cultures, even into the modern era. In this image you see a group wondering through the dark by torchlight and happening upon a black cat dominating a dead woman. This cross-sketching design captures the intensity of the moment.

The snake is another creature associated with the devil in the Christian faith, and many other cultures as well. It’s limbless body and menacing features completed the picture of an abomination. This printed etching is an infamous biblical scene of Adam and Eve being influenced by a Snake to eat forbidden fruit.

Bats became associated with evil at the discovery of the vampire bat. The bloodsucking nature was unnatural to humans at the time. This fear was accelerated during large fire rituals. Bats would flock to the bugs that were attracted by the flames. Here we see classic imagery of bats silhouetted by moonlight.

The owl is a classic sign of evil in older cultures. Being nocturnal creatures that were commonly referred to as the messengers of sorcerers, cultures developed a particular vendetta against owls because of their mysterious nature. This sculpture depicts the owl with a snow white coat and dark hollow eyes.

Crows are famous bad omens due to the misunderstanding of their actions. The crow is an incredibly intelligent bird. It will stalk humans out of curiosity, and scavenge food for the convenience. This painting represents that action with a murder of crows surrounding a dead sheep and another mourning sheep.

Commonly mentioned as the cackling, hunchbacked, hermaphrodites of the animal kingdom. The hyena has developed the reputation of an abomination and evil. This painting depicts the hyena in harsh, jagged lines with red scratches in the foreground. This possibly shows the hyena comfortably around the presences of blood and death.

Sly and cunning, the fox’s reputation of evil is more closely linked to the lack of honor. Foxes commonly kill small livestock and are incredibly cunning in the way the go about survival. In the painting, the fox is shown killing a chicken in the night while be confronted by a rooster.

Gluttonous and filthy, you can commonly see a human being described negatively as a pig. Although not necessarily evil, being labeled as such an animal is no good omen. This painting shows mangy, filthy, and fat pigs in their sty. The artist captures the gritty appearance of the animals with dark, earthy colors.

Long have cultures been disgusted by the rat. Rat’s are infamous for carrying plague and bringing death to whole civilizations. The reputation as a rat, is nothing less that despicable for this reason. Here we see a group of rats that have snuck into a nest and greedily devour eggs.