Tag Archives: demons

Ignes Fatui Around the World

Latin – English translation: “Foolish Flames.” Known in the UK as hinkypunks, friar’s lanterns, or jack-o-lanterns, ignes fatui or ghostlights / will-o-the-wisps appear in certain areas and are believed to lead travellers astray in folklore (or, sometimes, to show them the correct route to take if they are already lost). Last week’s post covered theContinue reading “Ignes Fatui Around the World”

Serendipitous Ghost Photography

Last week I blathered on about photographic methods for faking images of ghosts. This time we will be taking a look at how ghosts appear in photographs by chance. Accidental spirit photography usually falls into two categories: orbs and faint figures (often consisting of faces or head-and-upper body forms, though there are exceptions.) Orbs: TheseContinue reading “Serendipitous Ghost Photography”

The Chaldeans and their Magic Circles

Part XVI of Amulets & Talismans The Chaldeans were an ancient race who migrated from the Levant into Assyrian lands in 940 – 855 BC, and are famous for their contributions to writing, mathematics, and astronomy. They were the first to have a seven-day week and introduced the concept of there being 60 seconds inContinue reading “The Chaldeans and their Magic Circles”

Babylonian Stones & Amulets… and the Corverus Stone

Part XIV of Amulets & Talismans Babylon had special boundary stones (or “kudurru” stones in Akkadian, a language used in ancient Mesopotamia). These stones were seen as sacred and magical. Kudurrus were a stone record of gifts (kind of like a receipt) especially for such things as land grants given to someone by the King.Continue reading “Babylonian Stones & Amulets… and the Corverus Stone”

Incantation Bowls & Hebrew Amulets

Part XIII of Amulets & Talismans Incantation bowls are now discovered in the regions of Iran and Iraq. They were made there from the 6th to 8th centuries AD. The bowls are usually carved with text going in a spiral on the inside from the rim towards the centre, but some are inscribed on theContinue reading “Incantation Bowls & Hebrew Amulets”

The goddess Lamashtu & Sumerian Amulets

Part XII of Amulets & Talismans Sumeria was in the southern part of Mesopotamia, which is now mostly Iraq. The ancient Sumerians had a few different types of amulets for different purposes, including engraved models of animals, bell-shaped amulets, and agates made to look like eyes. The tiny models of animals were some of theContinue reading “The goddess Lamashtu & Sumerian Amulets”

Review: The Inhabitant of the Lake & Other Unwelcome Tenants by Ramsey Campbell

4 out of 5 stars One of my first thoughts, on reading “The Horror From the Bridge” (the second tale in this collection) was: who is Peabody and why is their voice drifting out of the window (on page 28)? The second story, “The Insects from Shaggai” was one of my favourites. The description ofContinue reading “Review: The Inhabitant of the Lake & Other Unwelcome Tenants by Ramsey Campbell”

The power of horseshoes and elf arrows

Part V of Amulets & Talismans Most people are aware that the horseshoe is a talisman that brings good luck. However, not a lot of folks know why or how they are supposed to work these days. Because iron was a valuable metal, so that horseshoes were usually reforged and reused, archaeologists cannot know forContinue reading “The power of horseshoes and elf arrows”

Witch Marks & Curse Tablets

Amulets & Talismans Part III Between the 16th and 19th centuries, strange marks were inscribed near the doorways, windows, and hearths of medieval churches, houses, and barns, and even in caves. Carved into stone or woodwork, these marks were for the protection of inhabitants and their visitors. Protection from evil spirits and witches, hence theContinue reading “Witch Marks & Curse Tablets”

Who and What is Elka Wyverg?

Elka is an eleven-year-old ghostbait child living in Corvin, a village or small town in Dal-Riatah, with her younger brother (Toby) and her parents. Dal-Riatah is a continent in the North-West of the Dal-Riatan Empire and its environs, and this country has a curse on it: every child is born either ghostbait (they “Bring” GhostsContinue reading “Who and What is Elka Wyverg?”

A Demonic Possession in the 1980s

Part XIII of The Possession Diaries “The Devil Made Me Do It” court case was the first court case in American history where the defendant tried to claim innocence by saying he was demonically possessed. Arne Cheyenne Johnson somehow managed to make himself the host to a demon that “escaped” during the exorcism of aContinue reading “A Demonic Possession in the 1980s”

The Butcher Murderer of Ossett

Part XII of The Possession Diaries TRIGGER WARNING: Contains graphic descriptions of violence, murder, insanity. Michael Taylor was born on September the 21st, 1944, in Ossett, West Yorkshire, England. He worked as a butcher and was a member of a Christian Fellowship Group along with his wife, Christine. According to Christine, Michael was having aContinue reading “The Butcher Murderer of Ossett”

The lady behind “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”: Anneliese Michel

The Possession Diaries Part XI In 1976, a German Catholic woman died of malnutrition and dehydration after a series of sixty-seven exorcism rites. Her name was Anna Elisabeth “Anneliese” Michel, born in September 1952. Anneliese and her three sisters were raised by their strictly religious parents, Joseph and Anna. Anneliese went to Mass twice aContinue reading “The lady behind “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”: Anneliese Michel”

The Boy Behind William Peter Blatty’s “The Exorcist”

The Possession Diaries Part X In mid-1949, newspaper articles ran anonymous stories about the alleged possession and exorcism of “Roland Doe” or “Robbie Mannheim,” a 14 year old boy born to a German family living in Cottage City, Maryland, in the US. Their source was perhaps the former pastor of the child’s family, Luther MilesContinue reading “The Boy Behind William Peter Blatty’s “The Exorcist””

Clara Germana Cele, the girl who hurled nuns

The Possession Diaries Part IX One day in 1906, at Marianhill mission school in Umzinto, South Africa, a man named Father Erasmus Horner received a confession from one of the young Catholic girls in the school. Her name was Clara Germana Cele and she claimed to have entered into a deal with the Devil. SheContinue reading “Clara Germana Cele, the girl who hurled nuns”

The Case of Gottliebin Dittus & the demon Isacaron

Part VIII of the Possession Diaries In 1842, a girl in Mottlingen, Gottliebin Dittus, was possessed by a few different demons along with the ghost of a widow who had murdered two children and buried them in a field. Johann Christoph Blumhardt, a German theologian, penned a book concerning her two-years-long possession, in which he onlyContinue reading “The Case of Gottliebin Dittus & the demon Isacaron”

The Not-So Secret Possession of George Lukins

The Possession Diaries Part VII The year was 1788, the place was Yatton village, in Mendip, county Somerset, England. Sarah Barber was travelling through the village and discovered George Lukins, a tailor and courier who was afflicted by a strange illness. On the 31st of May she sent word to Reverend Joseph Easterbrook, asking himContinue reading “The Not-So Secret Possession of George Lukins”

Whatever Happened To Elizabeth Knapp?

The Possession Diaries Part VI The case of Elizabeth Knapp’s possession was unusual in the sense that it was recorded and analysed from a more scientific point of view. Elizabeth was a servant in Reverend Samuel Willard’s household and the daughter of a farmer. Reverend Willard was a well-known preacher in the church of Groton, a PuritanContinue reading “Whatever Happened To Elizabeth Knapp?”

The Signs of Being Possessed, Magdelaine Bavent, and the Louviers Convent (The Possession Diaries Part V)

Magdelaine (or Madeleine) Bavent, born in 1607 in Rouen, was an orphan. Aged 12, she became apprenticed to a linenworker, who depended on the custom of the Church. According to a historian (Jules Michelet), the confessor of the establishment likely drugged his apprentices with a herb akin to atropa belladonna and made them believe he had taken themContinue reading “The Signs of Being Possessed, Magdelaine Bavent, and the Louviers Convent (The Possession Diaries Part V)”

The Book of Dom Calmet

The Abbot Antoine Augustin Calmet, a Benedictine monk and Lorraine scholar in the 18th century, published two volumes of a book, “Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits, and on Vampires or Revenants of Hungary, Moravia, et al.” The book was about extensive investigations into the occult, angels, demons, and other types of spiritual entities. OriginallyContinue reading “The Book of Dom Calmet”

The Possession of Lady Elisabeth de Ranfaing – The Possession Diaries part IV

Mademoiselle de Ranfaing was perhaps the first person to be considered “truly” possessed by something, and her predicament was all seemingly caused by love potions. Her story was investigated and included in the book “Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants of Hungary, Moravia, et al” by an Abbot named AntoineContinue reading “The Possession of Lady Elisabeth de Ranfaing – The Possession Diaries part IV”

The Possession Diaries III: The Loudun Possessions

In 1634, a convent of Ursuline nuns in the French kingdom of Loudun claimed they had been visited and possessed by demons. After an investigation by the Catholic church, a priest named Father Urbain Grandier was accused of summoning the demons and sentenced to be burned to death at the stake. This case “rhymes” withContinue reading “The Possession Diaries III: The Loudun Possessions”

The Possession Diaries Part II: The Aix-en-Provence possessions

Welcome to part two of The Possession Diaries. You can find part one here The Aix-en-Provence possessions were a series of alleged demonic possessions amongst the Ursuline (the Order or Company of Saint Ursula) nuns of Aix-en-Provence, in South France in the year 1611. Father Louis Gaufridi was blamed and accused of causing the possessionsContinue reading “The Possession Diaries Part II: The Aix-en-Provence possessions”

Possession Diaries part I: Martha Brossier

In the Middle Ages, “demonic” possession was often used in society to explain strange or erratic behavior. Exorcism was the usual treatment for “demoniacs” and seemed to provide a bit of alleviation for the suffering of those distressed people. Diabolical, or demonic, possession is the term for when a person’s corporeal form has fallen underContinue reading “Possession Diaries part I: Martha Brossier”