The Puritans are often credited with being the first to associate black cats with bad luck and superstition in the United States. They believed that black cats were associated with witches and the devil, and that they brought misfortune, disease, and death.
This belief was influenced by European folklore and superstition, which associated black cats with witchcraft and dark magic. During the Middle Ages, it was believed that witches could transform into black cats to avoid detection and carry out their evil deeds. This belief continued into the early modern period, and was brought over to the American colonies by early European settlers, including the Puritans.