“I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat” commonly attributed to Edgar Allan Poe, but not found in his works; the Poe Museum lists it as fake. Author unknown.
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? We couldn’t verify where this wording comes from, so there’s no rights status to give. Safe to present as an unverified or anonymous line — just don’t assert a specific author or source.
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The Poe Museum’s verdict: “This is, frustratingly, one of the most misattributed quotes. If you look at the context, the grammar, the style of the quote, it most definitely is not ‘Poe-esque.’”
The Poe Museum’s blog post “Did Poe Really Say That?” ↗ by Chris Semtner (10 September 2014) lists this line first among the fakes. It calls it “one of the most misattributed quotes” and says it “most definitely is not ‘Poe-esque.’”
Poe’s real cat writings are documented by the Poe Society of Baltimore: “The Black Cat” ↗ (1843) and “Instinct vs Reason — A Black Cat” ↗ (Alexander’s Weekly Messenger, 29 January 1840). Neither contains the line.
Writers Write ↗ also calls it a quote “commonly misattributed” to Poe, citing the Poe Museum.
No author or first publication can be identified for this wording, and it does not come from any Poe work. Poe’s own writings are long in the public domain, but that status cannot be extended to an unsourced line falsely credited to him, so no rights status is asserted.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
Why it gets pinned on Poe
The line spreads on quote sites, merchandise and social-media images under Poe’s name, but nobody who has checked can find it in his writing.
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Popular attributionEdgar Allan Poe Fake
No Poe source contains the line. The Poe Museum ↗ calls it “one of the most misattributed quotes” and says its context, grammar and style are “most definitely” not Poe’s. Its awkward adjective (“as mysterious” where Poe would have written an adverb) is one sign of this.
✕
Why it sounds plausible“The Black Cat” (1843) Real story, different words
Poe’s best-known cat is in his horror tale “The Black Cat” ↗. That connection probably makes a cat quote under his name feel right, but this sentence is not in the story.
✓The line has no known author. It is not in Poe’s works, and the Poe Museum ↗ lists it as fake.
Context
Poe and cats, for real
Poe did write about cats, which helps explain why this line attaches to him. In 1840 he published a short sketch, “Instinct vs Reason — A Black Cat” ↗, in Alexander’s Weekly Messenger. In 1843 came “The Black Cat” ↗, his tale of a murderer undone by his cat.
The real Poe on cats is darker and more ornate than the internet’s version. Neither text contains a wish to “write as mysterious as a cat.”
“Most definitely is not ‘Poe-esque.’” — the Poe Museum
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Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
1809–1849 · American poet, short-story writer & critic
Poe wrote the poem “The Raven,” and his tales of horror and detection helped shape the modern short story. He did write about cats: the 1843 horror tale “The Black Cat” and a short 1840 newspaper sketch, “Instinct vs Reason — A Black Cat.” That record is likely why a cat quote sounds plausible under his name, but this particular line is not in either piece or anywhere else in his writing.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
Best available record
No primary source. Debunked in Chris Semtner, “Did Poe Really Say That?,” Poe Museum blog, September 10, 2014; rated “Not credible” in Brad Sylvester, “FACT CHECK: Did Edgar Allan Poe Say, ‘I Wish I Could Write As Mysterious As A Cat’?,” Check Your Fact, June 30, 2019.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat’?” Last verified 3 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/i-wish-i-could-write-as-mysterious-as-a-cat/