Ending a scene "with a jolt—
the ubiquitous cat jump (a feline leaps out of the darkness with a screech). This is the oldest trick in the book." —
John Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of The 1980s (2007)
The illustration is from
Appleton's magazine, 1907. The caption reads: "With a savage whining scream The Death hurtled through the air."