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Japanese fairy tales Bakeneko A cat which has a number of magical powers including the aiblity to shapeshift and take on human form. Cats who have eaten from the same place for thirteen years are said in some legends to turn into a Bake-neko. Bakeneko have are often depicted as much larger then a regular cat, even the size of horses or a house. They also grow a second tail. They are able to take on human form a power which they use for both good and evil. In some tales the Bake-neko will eat people and take on their forms, even those of its owners so that their family members only notice that their personality has changed. In one such story a Prince had a lovely concubine who awoke to see a giant two tailed cat in the room with her. The cat pounced on her and then buried her corpse at which point it took on her shape. The Bake-neko then took on her role as the Princes lover, only she drained him of his blood as he slept so that he grew mysteriously ill. No one could determine what the cause was so it was determined that it must be supernatural and guards were placed around the prince but the Bake-neko put them into an enchanted sleep.At last one guard was able to resist, noticing that he was growing sleepy and that the other guards were falling asleep. He pushed the tip of his dagger into his leg so as to stay away. When everyone else had fallen asleep the Bake-neko entered in the form of a beautiful woman. On seeing the guard she stared at him in an attempt to charm him but she failed and so left. Later when the guard tried to kill her she turned into a cat and ran into the mountains where she hunted people until the prince recovered and hunted her down. The Bake-neko is sometimes kind to its owners, in one tale an impoverished old couples cat turns into a beautiful girl and becomes a geisha in order to earn money for them. When the Bake-neko was discovered by one of her customers she made him promise never to tell but he broke his promise while out on a ship and so a dark cloud appeared in the form of a cat and snatched him away. Some Bake-neko seem to be kind but they are extremely emotional. When one seduced a woman word got out that she was sleeping with a Bake-neko. Embarrassed the woman told the Bake-neko she couldn’t see him any more so he killed her. In another story a boys cat watched him to count how many arrows he would take hunting. Then once he was in the forest the Bake-neko attacked him as a giant monster in the form of a second moon. The arrows rebounded off the Bake-neko in moon form but then he struck the Bake-neko with an arrow the cat hadn’t realized he had and so the Bake-neko died. Bake-neko will also attack villages in large swarms, demanding the sacrifice of a virgin to them each year.