 Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Lucifer Satan Iblis Beals above These are but some of the many names used to describe the arched demonic enemy of mankind. A diabolical devil figure appears in history all across the globe. Whether you believe in his existence or not, the hellish mark which the devil has left on the legends and folk lords of mankind is indisputable. Many tales describe encounters with this beast. As such, I will share a few historic encounters with the devil. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained. Coming up in this episode, many tales describe encounters with the devil himself, yet not all are the same. Sometimes Satan approaches his prey, other times the lost soul goes seeking Lucifer to make a deal. Either way, the results are never favorable. If you're new here, welcome to the show, and if you're already a member of this Weirdo family, please take a moment and invite someone else to listen. Recommending Weird Darkness to others helps make it possible for me to keep doing the show, and while you're listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com where you can find the show on Facebook and Twitter, and you can also join the Weird Darkness Weirdos Facebook group. Now, bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the Weird Darkness. Richard Cabell lived during the 1600s and was the local squire of Brooke Manor in Devon, England. He was regarded as a monstrously evil man, a figure of darkness who local legend records as having beaten and abused his wife until one night she escaped, fleeing across the moors with her husband in hot pursuit. It is said that he eventually caught up with the unfortunate woman, murdering her and her faithful dog. The ghost of this loyal canine haunted Cabell for the rest of his life. The reason for the squire's darkness, it was said, lay in a deal he had made with the devil. Granted immortality by the beast, Cabell did as he pleased, creating such an infamous legacy that he would later go on to provide the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles. However, eternal life was not to be his. Cabell died on the 5th of July 1677 with some saying that he was hunted to death by a pack of phantom hounds bent on revenge. On the night of his interment into the family tomb, it is said that this same pack of phantom hounds came baying across the moor to howl at his grave. From then on, on the anniversary of his death, the hellish phantom of Richard Cabell could be seen stalking the moors and the area around his final resting place. Terrified of the dark figure and his diabolical connection, local people built iron bars around the squire's tomb and placed a huge slab of stone on top of the grave. However, even after taking such precautions, some still report a strange red glow emanating through the iron bars. Some even claim that on certain nights, a whole host of demonic creatures gathered his grave, trying to retrieve the promised soul for their master. St. Dunstan In the 10th century, the religious fate of England was safeguarded by St. Dunstan, a pious and charitable clergyman who held many important ecclesiastical positions throughout his life. By the time of his death, in 988, Dunstan had served as the Archbishop of Canterbury and had reformed monastic life in England, as well as being a skilled artist, harpist and metalsmith. Not only that, it was said that Dunstan had protected England from the Devil himself. According to legend, Dunstan encountered the Devil numerous times. The most famous of these encounters occurred whilst he was living as a hermit in a cell at Glastonbury. A talented metalsmith, as he was, Dunstan occasionally accepted commissions. One such commission came from an old man who appeared at his window, asking if Dunstan would make a chalice for him. Agreeing, Dunstan began work on the piece. However, when he looked up from his work, he noticed that his visitor had changed. One moment he was the old man, the next a young boy, then a woman. It was then that Dunstan realized his visitor was the Devil. Concealing his distress, Dunstan continued to craft the chalice. He picked up his blacksmith's tongs and moved them to the fire. Once they were red hot, he pulled them from the flames, turned on his heel and seized the Devil by the nose with the tongs. Despite the struggling and screams of the Devil, Dunstan calmly cast the beast from his cell. On another occasion, Dunstan was sat in his cell playing his harp. As the saint sang his melodious tune, a tramping vagrant approached. This was the Devil, once again intent on deceiving the holy man. However, Dunstan was a man of cunning. He once again seized the Devil, this time grabbing his diabolic hoof. The saint proceeded to shoe the beast, furiously nailing a metal horseshoe to the Devil's hoof. The Devil pleaded and cried in pain as Dunstan hammered nail after nail into him. When he was done, Dunstan only agreed to remove the shoe and free the Devil after he promised he would never pass through a door over which a horseshoe hangs. And from then on, the hanging of a horseshoe outside one's home has been associated with good luck and protection. Over your threshold, on your mast, be sure the horseshoes well nailed fast. Almost every country possesses a legend of a Devil's bridge. In this respect, the Tyrol region of Austria is no different. Dunstan reports that one day, a village in the valley of Montofan had their bridge swept away by an overwhelming torrent. The villagers were justifiably concerned, for they depended upon that passage to pass to and from Shruns, on the other side of the river, from where they traded and purchased their supplies. Banding together, the villagers applied to the local carpenter, offering him a large sum of money if he would rebuild the vital bridge in three days' time. The carpenter was in disbelief. The money being offered would make his large family rich. However, he saw that completing such a great amount of work in just three days was an impossibility. Before making a decision, he begged the villagers for one day of reflection. All that day, up to midnight, the carpenter studied and pondered, frantically searching for a way to rebuild the bridge in a specified time. Angry and annoyed, he could find no solution. Just when he was about to give up and go to bed, a little man wearing a green hat entered the room. The strange man claimed that he could help the carpenter complete the task in the three days. He did however have one condition. Once the bridge was finished, the first soul out of the carpenter's house to pass over the bridge would belong to him. So enticed by the large sum of money was he, the carpenter agreed to the devil's terms, believing that when the time came he could cheat the devil. Three days afterwards, the bridge was complete and the devil stood in the middle, awaiting his prey. After having remained there for many days, the carpenter at last appeared. Sensing his payment was close at hand, the devil jumped with joy. However, the carpenter was driving one of his goats and as he approached the bridge, he pushed her on before him and called out, There you have the first soul out of my house. In a fit of rage at having been so deceived and humiliated, the devil seized the goat by the tail and dragged her across the bridge. So hard did the devil handle the creature, her tail came out. Laughed at and mocked by all who saw him with the goat, the devil took off. It is said that since the day the carpenter outsmarted the devil, all goats now have short tails. Robert Johnson, he was an American blues singer, writer and musician. It was his guitar playing ability for which he is most remembered and is still considered to be among the greatest guitarists of all time. Strangely, playing the guitar was not a skill which he was ever known for as a child. The story goes that although he did play it avidly in high school, he was not reported as having any real talent for the guitar. However, at the age of 18, Johnson displayed a mastery of guitar that seemed to come from nowhere. His rapid knowledge of the instrument was inexplicable. He played it with such intimate finesse that the only explanation for it was devilry. According to legend, as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Johnson greatly desired to become a great blues musician. The desire was so great he took his guitar to a nearby crossroads. There he was met by the devil who took his guitar and retuned it. Upon handing it back, Johnson was given mastery of the instrument for the small price of his soul. In the years that followed, Johnson became an itinerant musician, moving from place to place, playing his guitar for tips on street corners. He later went on to record several songs. Some say that allusions to Johnson's diabolical pact can be found in several of his own songs, including Crossroad Blues and Me and the Devil. Somewhat ominously, Johnson died under mysterious circumstances in 1938 at the young age of 27. One theory suggests that he was poisoned by the jealous husband of a woman he had flirted with. Another theory is he died of syphilis. Ultimately, no one knows. Not only that, Johnson's gravesite is also a mystery, with at least three different locations having been marked out as possible sites. With Johnson's music now enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame, one can only wonder if the devil came and collected his fee as agreed. After all, Johnson died at the legendary and possibly cursed age of 27, meaning that he joined other great musicians in that infamous 27 club, including Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Jim Morrison. The Possession of George Lukens On Saturday, May 31, 1788, the Reverend Joseph Easterbrook was alerted to the strange case of George Lukens, a man who claimed to be possessed by the devil. It was one of the Reverend's parishioners, Mrs. Sarah Barber, who told him of Lukens' affliction. Upon visiting the village of Yatun in Somerset, a place where she used to live, Mrs. Barber had been disturbed to find a man she once knew in a state of extraordinary illness. George Lukens, a tailor and common carrier by profession, had been a child of good character who constantly attended the church and sacrament. However, for the last 18 years, his demeanor had shifted. His nature changed. During her stay in the village, she told the Reverend she witnessed the unfortunate man have fits multiple times a day, during which he sang and screamed in various sounds, some of which did not resemble a human voice. George had been placed under the care of Mr. Smith, an eminent surgeon. Many other medical gentlemen had also lent their help to Mr. Smith and his patient. All was in vain. No cure could be found for the mysterious malady, with George himself declaring in the middle of his fits that no doctor could do him service. Many of the people of the village were convinced the man was bewitched. George himself declared that he was possessed of seven devils. Upon hearing Mr. Barber's recollections, Reverend Eastbrook requested George Lukens visit him. In the Reverend's notes, he described how George made the most horrible noises as his body convulsed. Experiencing as many as nine fits a day, the man was weak and emaciated. He was also unable to hear religious expressions without writhing in pain. Another witness who published a letter in the local newspaper at the time described how George would declare in a roaring voice that he is the devil before singing a hunting song in a horse and frightful voice. They even detailed how, at certain periods of the fit, he was so violent that an assistant was always obliged to be at hand, to restrain him from committing some injury to himself. On June 13, Reverend Eastbrook and several of his friends and colleagues met with George in the vestry room of the church. They began by singing hymns, which immediately caused George to convulse in agitation. His fit became more violent until he spoke in deep, hoarse, hollow voice. The voice declared that it would never quit its hold of George and that any attempt to help the man would cause him to suffer torment a thousand times worse. The voice then started singing in its usual manner, boasting of its power, blaspheming and vowing vengeance on both the unfortunate George and all those who dared to oppose him. As the session continued, other voices manifested, all refusing to release George and warning against any and all attempts to help him. At one point, a voice possessed the man and declared, I am the great devil before causing George to have such violent convulsions that two men had to restrain him. When the voice thought to be the devil was asked why he tormented George, it answered that I may show my power amongst men. All the while, George continued to suffer violent convulsions despite his small size and weakened body. As the session reached its climax, one of the clergymen commanded in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the evil spirit depart from the man. Prayers for his deliverance were offered and the clergyman's command repeated. George's convulsions and agonies grew stronger. He was by now crying out howling in miserable pain. Then he was delivered. The convulsions stopped. The devil seemingly departed. George Lukens, previously declared by medical men as incurable, was cured. Up next, I've already shared a few stories of those who've had dealings with the devil, but next I'll share a few cases for the devil's existence when Weird Darkness returns. On the day of his execution, a serial killer gets a psychiatric evaluation. He claims he is a demon and also claims that before their time is over, based on the novel from best-selling author Steve Dace, a new kind of horror, do you believe in the devil? Do you believe in the devil? It doesn't matter. He believes in nefarious opening April 14th. Visit WhoIsNefarious.com Whatever religion you follow or do not follow, the existence of an arch-demonic being in folklore across time, space and culture is undeniable. The devil's Bible, made from more than 160 animal skins and eating two people to lift it, Codex Gigas, also known as the devil's Bible, was allegedly written in just one night. Perman, the recluse, was a 12th century Bohemian monk. Legend has it that he was walled up inside of his cell, condemned to atone for his sins by inscribing holy texts for the rest of his days. To complete the great task more quickly and release himself from an early grave, the monk made a pact with the devil. With the devil's aid, the monk supposedly wrote the entire book in a single night. The first half of the tome comprises the entire Latin Vulgate Bible. The remainder is a bizarre mixture of ancient medical treatises, encyclopedias, chronicles and magical formulas. The colossal Codex even contains a portrait of Lucifer, purportedly drawn by the fallen angel himself. In experiments conducted to recreate the work, it has been estimated that reproducing the calligraphy alone without the illustrations or embellishments would have taken five years of non-stop writing. Most scholars believe that, working at a regular pace, it should have taken the monk around 30 years to compose the Codex. However, academics have remarked at the stability of the handwriting found throughout the book, the suggestion being that the devil's Bible must have been written over a very short period of time. The Possession of Elizabeth Knapp Born in Massachusetts around 1655, Elizabeth Knapp worked as a household servant for the local reverend. To all who met her, Elizabeth was nothing more than an ordinary young woman. It was until the devil came calling. It was when she was 16 years old that Elizabeth began to show signs of demonic possession. Samuel Willard, the reverend whom she served, documented the case in great detail. First, the girl experienced pains throughout her body. She would yell out, grabbing her leg, her breast, her neck. Often she would exclaim that she was being strangled. Elizabeth would suffer nighttime fits, reporting to have witnessed two persons walking around her as her body convulsed unnaturally. One day, Elizabeth confessed to the reverend that it was the devil himself who was stalking her. She claimed that he had promised her money, youth, ease from labor, and the ability to see the world. He had presented her with a book of blood covenants which were signed by other women who had been unfortunate enough as to sign away their souls. However, Elizabeth exclaimed that she had been unable to do all that Satan had asked of her, namely to kill the reverend Willard and his family. As winter approached, the possession escalated. During one of her violent fits, Elizabeth began talking in a strange, deep voice. Willard wrote in his journal how the girl's mouth remained closed as her throat swelled up. In his mind, the devil talked through her body. What makes this case particularly interesting is the detailed and scientific approach which the reverend employed. He called in medical doctors and learned men on several occasions in order to try and find a cure for Elizabeth's symptoms. Possession by the devil was a conclusion only reached after all other options were exhausted. In one of his concluding journal entries, Willard stated that NAPS temperament was unnatural and, therefore, diabolic. The Devil's Footprints In February 1855, the people of Exastuary in Devon, England awoke to discover the devil's hoof prints trodden in the snow. The clothing shaped marks covered a distance of some 40 to 100 miles. Houses, rivers, haystacks and other obstacles were traversed straight over. The diabolical footprints even appeared on the tops of snow-laden roofs and high walls, as well as leading up to and exiting drain pipes. News of the unexplainable event reached as far as Australia. An extract from a newspaper there exclaimed in confusion that the footprints were to be seen in all kinds of unaccountable places. Investigators have commented that if the tracks really extended for close to 100 miles, no human being would have been able to follow their entire course in a single night. According to Truman's Exeter Flying Post, the case was an excitement worthy of the Dark Ages and they published a piece on the foot tracks of a most strange and mysterious description. Others, however, thought little of the story's excitement and more of its infernal meaning. In the town of Dollish, a group of tradesmen were so distressed that they armed themselves with guns and bludgeons. On the morning of the 9th of February, they took off in pursuit of the mysterious footprints. At the time, the bizarre theories were circulated in order to distract local parishioners' concerns about a visit from the devil. The local reverend Musgrave explained the event away by blaming the footprints on a couple of escaped kangaroos from a private zoo. However, he later recanted in a letter addressed to a London newspaper. I found a very apt opportunity to mention the name of kangaroo in allusion to the report then current. I certainly did not pin my faith to that version of the mystery, but the state of the public mind the villagers, dreading to go out after sunset under the conviction that this was the devil's work rendered it very desirable that a turn should be given to such a degraded and vited notion, and I was thankful that a kangaroo served to disperse ideas so derogatory. Until this day, nobody has been able to explain who or what visited the people of Accessuary that night. The gateway to hell in Houska Castle in the Czech Republic. The castle was built with only one purpose, to encase the gateway to hell. But in the middle of nowhere, this imposing gothic structure was constructed with no fortifications, no water, no kitchen. When it was completed in the 13th century, it had no occupants. Instead, the castle's fortified inwards with its chapel built over a huge, bottomless pit acclaimed to be the entrance to hell. Its sole purpose is to keep the devil and his demons at bay. Historic witness reports attest to demonic, half-animal, half-man creatures dragging themselves out from its depths. Other reports describe dark, winged creatures pouring out from the endless chasm in order to terrorize the local populace. According to local legend, when construction on the castle began, local prisoners who were sentenced to death were recruited to discover more about the mysterious hole. If they allowed themselves to be lowered by rope into the dark depths, they would receive a pardon. However, when the first of the inmates was lowered, he began screaming after just a few moments. Those holding the rope dragged him back to the surface. The man had wrinkles, his hair had turned white. In a few mere seconds, he had aged by over 30 years. The unfortunate man died of unknown causes only a few days afterwards. During the 1930s, the Nazis supposedly occupied the castle so as to conduct occult experiments with dimensional portals. Years later, during renovations, several Nazi officer skeletons were found there. In the modern day, the castles ghostly as well as demonic residents are well known and have attracted many paranormal enthusiasts. Sightings include mysterious beasts, a headless black horse, and a distressed spectral woman. Beneath the cellar, it is claimed that there are non-human remains of the demons who managed to claw their way out of hell. And then, there is the devil's handwriting itself. According to modern knowledge, there is only one specimen of satanic calligraphy in existence. This curious extract first appeared in 1523, taken from an Italian text which describes an encounter between Lorovisio Spoletagno and the devil. Spoletagno allegedly summoned Satan, requesting that he use his body as a vessel to write clear and legible answers to a series of questions asked of him. However, the king of hell refused to cooperate and instead snatched the pen into mid-air so as to rapidly scrawl the answers himself. What the devil wrote was indecipherable, a series of diabolic scrawls that seen as though it should read from left to right. After being passed on to several learned men without success of decryption, the text disappeared into abeyance. As of today, no one has been able to decode the text or make a convincing case for it being a hoax. However, academics have identified traces of some of the manuscript's characters in Amaraic, a language spoken in its purity in the province of Amhara, Ethiopia. According to legend, this was the primeval language spoken in the Garden of Eden. WeirdDarkness.com And you can find the show on Facebook and Twitter, including the show's Weirdo's Facebook group, on the Contact social page at WeirdDarkness.com. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, click on Tell Your Story or call the dark line toll-free at 1-877-277-5944. All stories in Weird Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise, and you can find source links or links to the authors in the show notes. Diabolical dealings with the devil was written by Laura for paranormal scholar. Weird Darkness is a production and trademark of Marlar House Productions. Copyright Weird Darkness. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Mark 12, verse 30. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. In a final thought, train your mind and heart to see the good in everything. There is always something to be thankful for. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness.