Suspect: Theodore "Theo" Durrant
Wanted for: Murder
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Inspector: Where is he? Did
he confess?
Officer Johnson: Oh, he confessed alright! Read this, it's his signed confession and it's definitely grounds for creating a case of temporary insanity. Go on, read it for yourself.
The inspector took a seat at a nearby desk and read the following confession:
I, Theodore "Theo" Durrant, hereby waive all rights:
It all started when I met Minnie Williams. We met in church and fell in love. On our first date I bought her a big, beautiful black cat. She has always loved animals too. I think that's why we were so good together. Anyway, Minnie loved this big cat and named him Pluto. At first I loved Pluto too. He was cuddly and he would follow me everywhere. This was cute and I liked the attention. I don't really know why, but I started to kind of resent the cat. I mean, like, he just wouldn't leave me alone sometimes. And I'm usually a nice guy. Everyone knows I'm a nice guy. It's just this cat started to really get under my skin. At first I felt like kicking him, but I didn't! Not at first anyway. I went out of my way to avoid this cat because I knew if I got too close to him, I'd end up doing something awful.
Unfortunately for the cat, I came home late one night after bar-hopping with a buddy of mine and Pluto was sitting in my chair waiting for me when I got home. I snapped. It was like I suddenly felt no guilt about hurting a defenseless animal. I just wanted him to go away! So I grabbed my pocket knife and caught Pluto as he was about to dive under the table. He struggled to get away and scratched my hand up pretty bad. That was the last straw. I just wanted to teach this cat a lesson. I held the fighting cat still as I dug my knife into his eye socket and gouged out his eye ball.
The next morning I woke up feeling a little guilty for hurting the poor guy, but strange as it may sound, I still felt like the cat deserved what he got. Anyway, I realized that if I hurt Minnie's cat again, she was going to throw me out so I really tried my best just to stay away from it. This didn't prove too hard since every time I came anywhere near that cat he bolted out of the room. Everything was cool for about two weeks, me avoiding him, him avoiding me. But somewhere around the end of the second week I started feeling the urge to destroy Pluto. It took only five drinks that night. Five drinks to cause me to murder that cat. Five drinks to tie a rope around Pluto's neck and hang him from the tree behind our house.
I never told Minnie about Pluto's death. I let her think the cat ran away but she was still so upset. I hated to see her like that so I decided to look for a replacement cat. I really thought I could get along fine with a different cat. It was just Pluto. He was a bad cat. An evil cat. I would never hurt a good cat. So one night I was in a bar when I spotted this cat in the corner. Animals have always been attracted to me, and sure enough the cat followed me home. The next morning Minnie discovered him sleeping at the foot of the bed and immediately fell in love with him. After she thanked me, I examined the cat more closely. This cat was big, like Pluto and black, like Pluto, but he had a white patch on his chest. And the strangest thing was that this cat was also missing an eye!
Not two days after the cat came to live with us, I regretted my decision. I could NOT stand this freaking cat! It haunted my nightmares, it followed me everywhere and I swear every time I looked at him the white patch on his chest was a different shape. After a week of the cat, Minnie came to me holding the cat and showed me his neck. The white patch had lengthened and now gave the impression of something tied around its neck! This was too much for me to bear! I grabbed the cat and raced down to the basement where I took up an ax. And in a fit of madness I brought the ax down toward the creature! Only Minnie stopped my hand mid-way down. Why was she doing this to me? Didn't she know that there would be no peace as long as this cat lived? In a possessed rage I brought the ax down quick and watched as Minnie's head rolled from her shoulders to the dusty basement floor.
The inspector finished reading the confession, which he immediately deemed a complete fabrication, and started to question the officer.
Officer Johnson: We questioned him about Mary’s murder too, but he wouldn't say anything. We would have never caught him for this one if it hadn't been for his cat.
Inspector: His cat?
Officer Johnson: Oh, well, we were at his house searching for evidence in the Rogers' case when we heard this eerie high-pitched scream coming from the basement! Turns out the screaming was the cry of his cat. It was trapped behind some freshly sealed bricks. We dug out the wall to rescue the cat and when we had cleared away the rubble we saw it. There in the wall was a giant black cat sitting on top of a severed head. I almost forgot to tell you! Durrant did mention something about Mary Rogers while we were searching his house. He said that he already knew who the murderer was and that we were "wasting our time interrogating innocent people." Can you believe that guy?
Inspector: Of course not! He is obviously insane, but do tell me, who does he think the murderer is?
Author’s Note: The story of The Black Cat is one of my favorite Poe tales. The original story is incredibly detailed and goes into more depth about the murderer's obsession with his cat. Part of the story that I left out is that on the night when he kills his cat, Pluto, he wakes up in the middle of the night with his house on fire. Everything he has is gone, and there is an impression in his only erect wall that looks like a cat with a noose around its neck! Poe is incredibly gifted in his word choice and I highly recommend reading the original if you are into scary stories! An example of his knack for imagery is his description of the murderer’s mental state at the time of the attack. Poe has the killer describe his state as follows: “But my disease grew upon me - for what disease is like Alcohol!” Just like Dr. Shipman in my previous story, Theo Durrant is also a true life murderer. He was convicted of killing Minnie Williams and Blanche Lamont. He was hanged for his crimes, but never did confess. Well, this is my confession for Theodore Durrant. If you would like to learn more about the real-life murderer visit the TruTv Crime Library. This is one of my favorite sites for looking up scary facts!
Bibliography:
Story Title: The Black Cat
Book Title: The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Year Published: 1843
Web Source: Edgar Allan Poe Society
Theo Durrant. Web Source: Crime Library
Officer Johnson: Oh, he confessed alright! Read this, it's his signed confession and it's definitely grounds for creating a case of temporary insanity. Go on, read it for yourself.
The inspector took a seat at a nearby desk and read the following confession:
I, Theodore "Theo" Durrant, hereby waive all rights:
It all started when I met Minnie Williams. We met in church and fell in love. On our first date I bought her a big, beautiful black cat. She has always loved animals too. I think that's why we were so good together. Anyway, Minnie loved this big cat and named him Pluto. At first I loved Pluto too. He was cuddly and he would follow me everywhere. This was cute and I liked the attention. I don't really know why, but I started to kind of resent the cat. I mean, like, he just wouldn't leave me alone sometimes. And I'm usually a nice guy. Everyone knows I'm a nice guy. It's just this cat started to really get under my skin. At first I felt like kicking him, but I didn't! Not at first anyway. I went out of my way to avoid this cat because I knew if I got too close to him, I'd end up doing something awful.
Unfortunately for the cat, I came home late one night after bar-hopping with a buddy of mine and Pluto was sitting in my chair waiting for me when I got home. I snapped. It was like I suddenly felt no guilt about hurting a defenseless animal. I just wanted him to go away! So I grabbed my pocket knife and caught Pluto as he was about to dive under the table. He struggled to get away and scratched my hand up pretty bad. That was the last straw. I just wanted to teach this cat a lesson. I held the fighting cat still as I dug my knife into his eye socket and gouged out his eye ball.
The next morning I woke up feeling a little guilty for hurting the poor guy, but strange as it may sound, I still felt like the cat deserved what he got. Anyway, I realized that if I hurt Minnie's cat again, she was going to throw me out so I really tried my best just to stay away from it. This didn't prove too hard since every time I came anywhere near that cat he bolted out of the room. Everything was cool for about two weeks, me avoiding him, him avoiding me. But somewhere around the end of the second week I started feeling the urge to destroy Pluto. It took only five drinks that night. Five drinks to cause me to murder that cat. Five drinks to tie a rope around Pluto's neck and hang him from the tree behind our house.
I never told Minnie about Pluto's death. I let her think the cat ran away but she was still so upset. I hated to see her like that so I decided to look for a replacement cat. I really thought I could get along fine with a different cat. It was just Pluto. He was a bad cat. An evil cat. I would never hurt a good cat. So one night I was in a bar when I spotted this cat in the corner. Animals have always been attracted to me, and sure enough the cat followed me home. The next morning Minnie discovered him sleeping at the foot of the bed and immediately fell in love with him. After she thanked me, I examined the cat more closely. This cat was big, like Pluto and black, like Pluto, but he had a white patch on his chest. And the strangest thing was that this cat was also missing an eye!
Not two days after the cat came to live with us, I regretted my decision. I could NOT stand this freaking cat! It haunted my nightmares, it followed me everywhere and I swear every time I looked at him the white patch on his chest was a different shape. After a week of the cat, Minnie came to me holding the cat and showed me his neck. The white patch had lengthened and now gave the impression of something tied around its neck! This was too much for me to bear! I grabbed the cat and raced down to the basement where I took up an ax. And in a fit of madness I brought the ax down toward the creature! Only Minnie stopped my hand mid-way down. Why was she doing this to me? Didn't she know that there would be no peace as long as this cat lived? In a possessed rage I brought the ax down quick and watched as Minnie's head rolled from her shoulders to the dusty basement floor.
The inspector finished reading the confession, which he immediately deemed a complete fabrication, and started to question the officer.
Officer Johnson: We questioned him about Mary’s murder too, but he wouldn't say anything. We would have never caught him for this one if it hadn't been for his cat.
Inspector: His cat?
Officer Johnson: Oh, well, we were at his house searching for evidence in the Rogers' case when we heard this eerie high-pitched scream coming from the basement! Turns out the screaming was the cry of his cat. It was trapped behind some freshly sealed bricks. We dug out the wall to rescue the cat and when we had cleared away the rubble we saw it. There in the wall was a giant black cat sitting on top of a severed head. I almost forgot to tell you! Durrant did mention something about Mary Rogers while we were searching his house. He said that he already knew who the murderer was and that we were "wasting our time interrogating innocent people." Can you believe that guy?
Inspector: Of course not! He is obviously insane, but do tell me, who does he think the murderer is?
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Review Profile: Introduction
Author’s Note: The story of The Black Cat is one of my favorite Poe tales. The original story is incredibly detailed and goes into more depth about the murderer's obsession with his cat. Part of the story that I left out is that on the night when he kills his cat, Pluto, he wakes up in the middle of the night with his house on fire. Everything he has is gone, and there is an impression in his only erect wall that looks like a cat with a noose around its neck! Poe is incredibly gifted in his word choice and I highly recommend reading the original if you are into scary stories! An example of his knack for imagery is his description of the murderer’s mental state at the time of the attack. Poe has the killer describe his state as follows: “But my disease grew upon me - for what disease is like Alcohol!” Just like Dr. Shipman in my previous story, Theo Durrant is also a true life murderer. He was convicted of killing Minnie Williams and Blanche Lamont. He was hanged for his crimes, but never did confess. Well, this is my confession for Theodore Durrant. If you would like to learn more about the real-life murderer visit the TruTv Crime Library. This is one of my favorite sites for looking up scary facts!
Bibliography:
Story Title: The Black Cat
Book Title: The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Year Published: 1843
Web Source: Edgar Allan Poe Society
Theo Durrant. Web Source: Crime Library