"The Black Cat" is the eleventh episode of the second season of Masters of Horror, directed by Stuart Gordon from a screenplay by Gordon and Dennis Paoli. It was broadcast on Showtime on January 19, 2007. The DVD was released on July 17, 2007.
Plot
The story has the great horror author Edgar Allan Poe (Jeffrey Combs) suffering from writer's block and short on cash, tormented by a black cat that will either destroy his life or inspire him to write one of his most famous stories. The 1843 short story of the same name by Poe is woven in with fictional happenings and details from his life.
Opening credits sequence
The episode's opening credits (after the series' credits) feature several of Irish artist Harry Clarke's celebrated early 20th-century illustrations for Poe's stories.