Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche (Street of the Fishing Cat)

Paris · France · Alley

A black cat hauled up whole catches with a single paw — until three students drowned it and the alchemist vanished that very same day.

The narrowest street in Paris is barely 1.8 metres wide, and the legend behind its name is older than the buildings around it. In the 15th century a canon named Dom Perlet is said to have lived here, spending his nights on alchemy with his black cat for company. The animal could reportedly pull fish from the Seine with one swipe of its paw, and neighbours whispered that it was the devil himself wearing fur. Three students took matters into their own hands, killed the cat and threw it in the river — and that same day Dom Perlet disappeared without trace. Weeks later the alchemist was back, claiming he had merely been travelling. Down on the quay the black cat sat fishing again, as though nothing had happened. The alley is still counted among the city's most ill-omened passages after dark.

FAQ

Where is Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche (Street of the Fishing Cat) located?

Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche (Street of the Fishing Cat) is in Paris, France.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons