Whether it's down to myth, superstition, or something else entirely, some animals have a deathlier reputation than others.
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Across different cultures, certain creatures appear in folklore and mythology as symbols related to death. While these are often omens of death, particular animals are believed to visit or guide others through death. Find out what some of these are below.
Animals associated with death
Crows
The crow is one of the animals most commonly associated with death, perhaps due to a group of them being called a 'murder'. They also have a reputation for being scavengers and appearing near dead animals. From Celtic to Central Asian mythology, they're frequently linked to death all over the world.
Wolves
Wolves appear in many myths and fables across different cultures, including the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood. Another well-known mythological wolf is Fenrir, from Norse mythology: in it, Fenrir helps bring about Ragnarök, the end of the world. While the reintroduction of wolves remains a complex topic, the Italian wolf is often considered to be Italy's (unofficial) national animal.
Dogs
While we may love our pet dogs, canines have been linked to death for centuries. Dogs that guard the underworld appear in Greek (Cerberus) and Welsh (Cŵn Annwn) mythology – and the Egyptian god of death, Anubis, is often depicted with the head of a jackal.
Dogs also appear as guides on the way to the afterlife, including Mexico's Xoloitzcuintli, who assists the dead in crossing an uncrossable river. In England, the meaning of the 'black dog' has evolved from a hellhound that appears in folklore (think The Hound of the Baskerville's) to a euphemism for depression.
Rats
Rats are much-misunderstood creatures – notably because they were blamed for the outbreak of the Black Death in 14th-19th century Europe. They shouldered most of the blame as they were often found in areas with poor hygiene, and were believed to spread the plague through carrying fleas.
However, a 2018 study conducted by scientists from the universities of Oslo and Ferrara challenged this theory and instead claimed it can be "largely ascribed to human fleas and body lice" that lived on humans and their clothes – with it spreading so quickly through human-to-human contact.
While rats have since been used to help sniff out illegal wildlife trade, we still wouldn't want to come across the world's deadliest rat anytime soon.
Owls
In Sri Lankan folklore, a Devil Bird is an owl-like creature that emits human-sounding shrieks in the jungle at night – with its cries believed to foretell a death. Owls also appear in stories of the supernatural, such as witchcraft.
The nocturnal nature of owls may have encouraged early associations with death – although we now know that an owls' visual and auditory sensitivities are no better than our own when it comes to hunting at night.
Cats
Black cats have long been associated with bad luck in Western cultures, but have you ever heard of the Demon Cat? Also referred to as the D.C., it's thought to haunt the White House and the United States Capitol.
The first 'sighting' of the Demon Cat dates back to the mid-1800s and it swells to the size of a tiger or elephant. When the Demon Cat appears on the ground floor of the White House, the apparition apparently foreshadows a horrifying event. A White House guard allegedly witnessed the Demon Cat just before the 1929 stock market crash; another White House nightwatchman saw the Demon Cat prior to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Bats
In European cultures, the blood-sucking feeding routine of bats has frequently been associated with witchcraft and vampires.
By the start of the 14th century, the rise of Christianity had drawn similarities in the physiology of bats and demons, which was reflected in art and literature. Later, when Europeans colonised the Americas, they 'discovered' vampire bats living in caves – and exaggerated their deadly qualities in many accounts.
The final nail in the coffin (as it were) for bats was the publication of Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1897, where the title character's appearance was closely linked to a bat, and could even turn into a bat.
Eagle
For the Māori people in New Zealand, the Te Hokioi (or Pouākai) is a mythical nocturnal bird believed to foretell death. It is possible that this creature was actually a now-extinct bird known as the Haast's eagle: the largest and deadliest eagle thought to ever have lived, and big enough to carry away a small child.
Butterfly
Butterflies have long been associated with rebirth and the cycle of life and death, partly due to their astonishing metamorphosis. In Irish mythology, white butterflies (féileacáin) are believed to be spirits of the dead, who return to loved ones to reassure them. In the 1600s, it was common law to not kill a white butterfly, as they were believed to carry the soul of dead children.
Snakes
Snake (and serpent) symbolism and mythology appears in many cultures around the world, and often represent life and death. One of the most common is the Gorgon Medusa in Greek mythology, who had venomous snakes for hair and whose gaze could turn flesh into stone.
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In many South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures, and within Hinduism and Buddhism, the Nāgas are a divine or semi-divine race of half-human, half-cobra beings which often reside in the netherworld (Patala).
Fish
The monstrous snake-like appearance of the oarfish may have inspired sailor's legends of sea serpents. In Japanese mythology, it's known as the 'ryugu no tsukai', which means 'messenger from the sea god's palace'.
This refers to the belief that the ryugu no tsukai would travel to the surface of the ocean and warn humans when an earthquake was coming. This was further reinforced by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in 2011, as it was reported that in the year before the tsunami, at least a dozen oarfish washed up on Japan's coastline. However, scientists have found no evidence for this link.
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