<p>"The Black Cat" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe[r.poe].It is a study of the psychology of guilt, often paired in analysis with Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart". In both, a murderer carefully conceals his crime and believes himself unassailable, but eventually breaks down and reveals himself, impelled by a nagging reminder of his guilt.</p> <p>Short engaging horror story:<br> Can be read in one sitting, in about a half-an-hour.<br> Favorite quotes include:<br> "But my disease grew upon me - for what disease is like Alcohol!" <br> "But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul." <br> "The guilt of my dark deed disturbed me but little. ... I determined to wall it up ... I soundly and tranquilly slept; aye, slept even with the burden of murder upon my soul!" <br> "Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such? This spirit of perverseness ... Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not?" </p> <p>This last passage, and indeed the theme of the story, makes me think of some famous Scriptures:<br> "I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. ... What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" </p>