A woman holding a black and white cat at a street market during Crypticon Seattle 2026: Pets In Horr. — Frodo the cat serves as the ultimate horror witness in A Quiet Place: Day One (with Lupita Nyong’o)

If you are a long-time reader of our website or a listener of our podcast, you will know that I have a big ol’ soft spot for pets in horror. Whether they are the MacGuffins, the heroes, or the villains of the story, pets provide strong emotional connective tissue within horror constructs. The use of pets also sparks some great debates regarding the narrative use of animals. Because we have such a natural affinity for critters, horror movies tend to exploit those feelings by putting the animals in peril. Fair, or not? We will talk about that in this discussion.

Brien was inspired by the success of last year’s remarkable film Good Boy which we have been a huge proponent for. You can use that link to listen to an interview with director Ben Leonberg, who discusses how he coaxed an award-winning performance from his pet dog, Indy. That movie, however, is just the tip of a very big trope iceberg. Thank you to Jason and Jasen for putting me on this panel, as it is something near and dear to me, and to many attending Crypticon.

Brien Gorham outlined his panel discussion topics for this panel:

“Indy the Dog from Good Boy has become the latest in a line of cinematic pets to steal our hearts, but domestic animals have a long history in horror movies. Whether that be as a witness, antagonist, or, as in the case of Indy, a protagonist. Let’s discuss how our collective best friends have been represented in horror films.”

Introductions

Opening question: If you could choose one pet from a horror movie to have in your home, who would you choose and why?

Some larger questions that can be applied to any category:

How do our personal relationships with pets affect how we see them in stories? (Please feel free to include personal stories where appropriate)
How does the motivation of a pet differ from human motivation? Altruism?
How do we recognize animal performances? (Indy’s acting win)
What resources are available for those who are sensitive to animal violence?

Part 1: Pets as Witnesses

Possible Movies: Cat’s Eye, Poltergeist, The Hills Have Eyes I and II

Let’s start with movies where a family pet serves as a witness or bystander to an individual or family crisis.

In these cases, what purpose does the inclusion of the pet serve?
How much do we hate it when pets are introduced just to be killed off for sympathy?

Part 2: Pets as Heroes

Possible Movies: Good Boy, Cat’s Eye, Phenomena, The Hills Have Eyes

Next, let’s explore pets that go above and beyond, playing an active role in saving the day.

Which movie pets do you most admire?
How do certain traits of specific animals play into this heroism?
How much do we hate it when animals sacrifice themselves for humans?

Part 3: Pets as Antagonists

Possible Movies: Cujo, Lake Placid, The Uncanny, Uninvited, Pet Sematary, The Black Cat (any version)

What happens when man’s best friend turns violent, and our furry friends rebel against us?

The most terrifying pets in horror?
The most heartbreaking transformations?

Closing

What beloved pets have we not seen represented in horror movies?

PET HORROR RESOURCES

You can check out our Favorite Horror Movie Dogs Dead List for our updated list of horror hounds for your reference. Kathy Fennessy is a former president of the Seattle Film Critics Society and runs the Seattle Film Blog. She has a blog post titled “Good Boy and Other House Pets in Horror: Purrs, barks, Growls, and Deadly Attacks.“ I find that Kathy is the unofficial research librarian for Crypticon Seattle and has a deep and thorough knowledge of the genre.

For those of you who get triggered by animal harm or death in movies, please visit “Does the Dog Die?“ It’s a great resource for people who need to filter their movies for moments that will trigger anxiety, with the primary trope being that of harm to dogs. It also covers things like harm to children and rape, which are non-starter elements for many people.

A Recording of Brien Gohram’s Good Boy: Pets in Horror Panel

Panelists:
Brien Gorham – Host
Kathy Fennesy
Eric Li
Todd Johnston

Please note: I was using a compressor microphone on the table, so the audio isn’t as clean as it would be with our dynamic podcasting microphones. Todd Johnston, in particular, is a bit faint, though I did boost the audio when he is speaking. Don’t over-adjust your volume, though, because when the conversation turns back to the rest of the panelists, it pi...