“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story focussing around the mental and emotional stability of the narrator. Looking back through a course of events, the narrator describes his point of view allowing the reader to dive deeper into his thought process and psychological state. The narrator himself writes in first person in order to explain his side of the story. He does this in hopes that his audience will understand his actions; however, the narrator is subconsciously trying to convince himself of his sanity by his explanations. Through the fear of accepting the truth, that he is a cold blooded killer, full of hatred, and has a broken empty soul, the narrator lacks the ability to see that the black cat in his story is not real. In this essay, I’ll argue that the black cat in Poe’s short story “The Black Cat” is a figment of the narrator 's imagination, a representation of his inner demons trying to come to the surface, which he is desperately trying to ignore and push down. Denial is an important part in “The Black Cat” as the narrator uses excuses or blame to steer the guilt off of himself. For example, alcohol is the first way the narrator excuses his actions. He claims that the alcohol is responsible for changing his personality, making him a bitter and angry person, when in actuality he is using booze to escape from his own reality. The narrator was already having these scary and wicked thoughts before alcohol was even involved; therefore, he is