Only geniuses can spot the black cat in this Halloween brainteaser

by · Mail Online

In honor of Halloween, a new brainteaser challenges people to find the black cat in 20 seconds or less.

Only geniuses will be successful at finding the feline among the many ghosts, magpies, bats, the number 13 and other items in the allotted timeframe.

All the objects seen in the image reflect superstitious beliefs like magpies bringing people who see them bad fortune and 13 being an unlucky number.

Meanwhile, black cats are associated with witchcraft - a superstition that is believed to have started in the 17th century when people thought witches transformed themselves into the animal to prowl the streets.

It was also believed that seeing a black cat cross your path brought bad luck and if one lay on a person's sick bed, it was an omen of death.

So try to find the black cat among the other superstitious items... if you dare.

A new Halloween brainteaser challenges people to find the black cat in under 20 seconds

If you want to find the black cat in less than 20 seconds, you will have to carefully comb through all the images before you'll be able to locate it.

The easiest course of action it to first section out the image into columns and start in the top left corner where the red umbrella is and work your way down.

When you get past the second red umbrella, you should slow your scanning and move more slowly.

Once you do this, you might notice a miniscule black cat hiding just below a raven and appearing to sit on a broken green and black mirror.

The black cat can be seen near the top left corner, hiding below a raven and sitting on a broken green and black mirror
Black cats are considered to be superstitious omens that signify death and bad luck

Brainteasers are a good way to keep your mind active by promoting problem-solving skills and mental agility. 

This brainteaser, created by SuomiCasino, homes in on the excitement of Halloween with the superstitions of the past - many of which are still adopted today.

Inbaal Honigman, a celebrity psychic and self-proclaimed witch, told SuomiCasino that people should look out for both lucky and unlucky superstitions this season.

'Superstitions can be roughly divided into two,' Honigman said. 

'The type that encourages good luck, such as finding a four-leafed clover, and the type that brings bad luck, such as seeing a black cat.'

A black cat crossing one's path is one of the most common superstitious beliefs and written records have linked the spooky feline to the occult as far back as the 13th century.

In 1233, Pope Gregory IX issued an official church document called Vox in Rama that declared cats are an incarnation of Satan.

'The decree marked the beginning of the inquisition and church-sanctioned heretic and/or witch hunts,' Layla Morgan Wilde, author of Black Cats Tell: True Tales And Inspiring Images, told History.com.

The belief that witches turned into black cats to prowl the street likely started the superstition about them crossing people's path, because it could be on a mission from a witch.

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'Just as easily, it could be the devil in disguise—and no one wants to cross paths with the devil,' Phoebe Millerwhite, a folklorist and artist told the outlet.

'This explains why a black cat crossing your path is considered a bad omen.'

However, Honigman advised that people stick to more positive superstitions, saying that the best ones are those that encourage good luck.

'Focusing on positive outcomes rather than negative encourages success and achievement, rather than concern and disaster,' Honigman said. 

'Spiritually speaking, like attracts like, and therefore focusing on the positive will bring more positive outcomes.'