In 1956 I first encountered the Cat People. Few experiences have been as terrifying as seeing their glowing eyes emerge from the darkness in the forest. I was walking along an old stone wall by my Grandfather’s farm in Concord, near Walden Pond. I was fishing and it was, at this point, getting darker by the minute. I was humming softly to myself when something in the sky drew my attention, and I looked up quickly to see a hovering, soft white, triangle glowing through the clouds.
A wave of terror shot through my body and suddenly a voice in my head, my own voice but not my own words, began asking, “Do you believe in God?”. I had no time to answer before the question was repeated. “This is… – Do you believe in God? – …very… – Do you believe in God? – …very bad… – Do you believe in God?” This went on for about 30 seconds and I became progressively more frightened until it culminated with a spike in horror as I heard the rustling of leaves all around me.
Naturally, I panicked. From all sides I was approached by something unknown. The air changed. It was the middle of summer and I was suddenly struck by a blast of frigid air. “Do you believe in God?” I became defiant and screamed as loudly as I could, “Ask me more questions!” It was at that point a sound came to me; a churning, grinding, hum of great depth that vibrated my chest and belly. The rustling stopped and directly in front of me was a giant Cat Person, perhaps 8 feet tall.
I turned to run away, only to realize another one was right there and there were others; I was trapped. “‘Trapped like a rat’, this must be where… – Do you believe in God? – …they get… – Do you believe in God? – …it from… – Do you believe in God?” Horror. The leader of the pack lifted it’s paw and pointed directly at me.
“Give us those fishies MEOW!”
The next thing I remember is waking up in the pumpkin patch, naked, surrounded by fish skeletons. Blood crusted from where a small pink note had been pinned to my chest: “Remember, God backwards is Dog.” The i had a heart instead of a dot.
