The Rat King: On the Fascinations (and Revulsions) of Rattus

In what he calls "an Experiment in Controlled Digression," Mark Dery touches on xenogastronomy, ortolan, Edible Dormouse, Victor Hugo's fondness for rat pâté, rat-baiting as a betting sport in Victorian times, the rat as New York's unofficial mascot, Luis Buñuel's pet rat, scientific research into such pressing questions as whether rats laugh, and whether rats will inherit the Earth as a result of climate change, Dracula's dominion over rats, and of course the (cryptozoological myth? well-documented phenomenon?) of the Rat King.

The Rat King: On the Fascinations (and Revulsions) of Rattus

Rat King discovered: Rare phenomenon feared as bad omen caught on camera

Mark Dery

Bizarre moment five rats are found tied together in rare 'rat king' phenomenon that 'signals impending plague or famine

Chicago Reader print issue of October 19, 2023 (Vol. 53, No. 1) by Chicago Reader - Issuu

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Bizarre moment four rats shuffle along while tied together in rare example of 'rat king' phenomenon

Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan

The Complicated, Inconclusive Truth Behind Rat Kings - Atlas Obscura

All Hail the Rat King - Longreads

Mark Dery

A rat king is a hellish entanglement of rats that are bound together by their tails

The Rat King: On the Fascinations (and Revulsions) of Rattus

The Spirochaete Trail: January 2020

mouse traps Boing Boing