Cat Sidhe - The Phantom Cat

Cat Sidhe is a cat from Celtic mythology and represents the Letter 'C' in the Animal Alphabets 2020 Mythical Creatures Challenge. #animalphab

"The Cat Sidhe is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology. It is described as being all black except for a small white spot on its chest. It is said to haunt the Scottish highlands, and it is believed it could steal a dead persons soul by passing over the corpse before it was claimed by the gods." - excerpt from Animal Alphabets 

​I wanted to further explore the new style I've been working on aimed at illustrations for Middle Grade books, inspired by series such as R.L. Stine's Goosebumps and the Scooby-Doo franchise.

Building on an idea that I had while working on a previous illustration created in 2016 based on Three Witches, I wanted to revisit the concept of an overgrown graveyard and build in some elements of mystery and magic with glowing flowers.

Detail from Three Witches, illustrated by Lauren Mullinder 2016

Set at midnight to the light of a full moon, the black phantom cat sits atop the Celtic marker stone, surrounded by a field of nocturnal flowers, glowing in anticipation for the ghostly deeds to come...