In King James I.’s ‘Demonologie,’ Philomathes asks Epistemon two questions. ‘The first is, whereby shall these possessed folks be discerned fra them that are troubled with a naturall Phrensie, or Magic? The next is, how can it be, that they can be remedied by the Papists Church, whom we, counting as hereticks, it should appeare that one Diuell should not cast out another, for then would his kingdome be diuided in itselfe, as Christ said?’

Epistemon answers: ‘As to your first question, there are diuers symptomes, whereby that heauie trouble may be discerned from a naturall sicknesse, and specially three, omitting the diuers vaine signes that the Papists attributes unto it: such as the raging at holy water, their fleeing a backe from the Crosse, their not abiding the hearing of God named, and innumerable such like vaine things that were alike fashious and feckles to recite. But to come to these three symptomes then, whereof I spake; I account the one of them to be the incredible strength of the possessed creature, which will farre exceed the strength of sixe of the wightest and wodest of any other men that are not so troubled. The next is the boldning up so far of the patients breast and bellie, with such an unnaturall sturring and vehement agitation within them: and such an ironie hardnesse of his sinewes so stiflely bended out, that it were not possible to pricke out, as it were, the skinne of any other person so far.... The last is the speaking of sundrie languages, which the patient is knowen by them that were acquaint with him, neuer to have learned, and that with an uncouth and hollow voice: and all the time of his speaking, a greater motion being in his breast than in his mouth.... It is easie, then, to be understood, that the casting out of Diuelles is by the virtue of fasting and praier, and in calling of the name of God, suppose many imperfections be in the person that is the instrument, as Christ himselfe teacheth us, of the power that false Prophets shall have to cast out Divels. It is no wonder, then, these respects of this action being considered, that it may be possible to the Papistes, though erring in sundry pointes of Religion, to accomplish this, if they use the right forme prescribed by Christ herein.’

A far more acute case of possession is the following:

‘A TRVE AND FEAREFULL VEXATION OF ONE ALEXANDER NYNDGE: BEING MOST HORRIBLY TORMENTED WITH THE DEUILL, FROM THE 20 DAY OF IANUARY TO THE 23 OF IULY. AT LYERINGSWELL IN SUFFOCKE: WITH HIS PRAYER AFTER HIS DELIUERANCE.

‘Written by his owne brother Edwn Nyndge, Master of Arts, with the names of the Witnesses that were at his vexation. London, 1615.‘... You shall understand therefore that the first fit, and vexation wherewith this Alexander Nyndge was so fearefully perplexed, began about seaven of the clocke at night. His father, mother, and brethren, with the residue of the household being at that time in presence. And it was in this manner. His chest and body fell a swelling, his eies a staring, and his backe bending inwards to his belly, which did strike the beholders into a strange wonder, and admiration at the first, yet, one of his brothers, then also present, named Edward Nyndge, a Master of Arts, being boulder than others were of the company, certainly perswading himselfe that it was some euill spirit that so molested him, gaue him comfortable words of mercy from the holy Scriptures, and also charged the spirit by the death and passion of Jesus Christ, that it should declare the cause of the torment. At which, the countenance of the same Alexander turned more strange, and full of amazement and feare than it was before, and so returned to his former state againe.

‘This Alexander Nyndge having his speech then at liberty, said unto the same Edward, Brother, he is marvellous afraid of you, therefore I pray you, stand by me.

‘With which words the same Edward was the more bold, and said to Alexander. If thou dost earnestly repent thee of thy sins, and pray to God for the forgivenesse of the same (my life for thine) the Diuell cannot hurt thee. No, rather than he should, I will goe to hell with thee. Then the Spirit, (for a small time) racked the said Alexander in a far more cruell manner, for he did use such strange and idle kinds of gestures in laughing, dancing, and such like light behavioure, that he was suspected to be mad: sundry times he refused all kinds of meat, for a long space together, insomuch as he seemed to pine away. Sometimes he shaked as if he had had an ague. There was heard, also, a strange noise or flapping from within his body. Hee would gather himselfe on a rounde heape under his bed cloathes, and, being so gathered, he would bounse up a good height from the bed, and beat his head and other parts of his body against the ground and bedstead, in such earnest manner, that the beholders did feare that he would thereby haue spoiled himselfe, if they had not, by strong hand, restrained him, and yet thereby he receiued no hurt at all.

‘In most of his fits he did swell in his body, and, in some of them, did so greatly exceed therein, as he seemed to be twice so big as his naturall body. He was often seene to haue a certaine swelling or variable lumpe, to a great bignesse, swiftly running up and downe betweene the flesh and the skin.

‘Then would they carry the same Alexander downe the Chamber, willing him to call upon God for grace, and earnestly to repent him, and to put his trust only in Christ Jesus. And, setting him in a chaire, desired his Father to send for all his neighbours, to helpe to pray for him. And, on a suddaine, he would be strangely handled, for, (sitting in a chaire when the fit came) he would be cast headlong upon the ground, or fall downe, drawing then his lips away, gnashing with his teeth, wallowing and foming, and the Spirit would uexe him monstrously, and transforme his body, and alter the same by many violences. Then the said Edward, his brother, with one Thomas Wakefield, would lay hands on Alexander, and set him in the Chaire againe, and there hold him. All that were in the house praying earnestly.

‘And the said Edward charging the Spirit with these words, Thou fowle Fiend, I coniure thee, in the name of Iesus our Sauiour, the Sonne of Almighty God, that thou speake unto us.

‘Whereat the Spirit transformed him very ugly against his Chest, swelling upwards to his throat, plucking his belly iust to his backe, and so ceased for a time.

‘The partie tormented, being somewhat restored, uttered these words, Sirs, He will speake with me, I pray you let him not speak with mee. Whereupon all that were present did pray earnestly, at which the Spirit began to vexe him very grieuously, and swelled sore in his Chest, and, in a base sounding, and hollow voyce, uttered these words, I will, I will, I will. Then replyed the said Edward, and said, Thou shalt not, and I charge thee in the Name of Jesus Christ that thou speak unto us, and not unto him. Then the Spirit, in a hollow voyce said, Why didst thou tell them? Then the said Edward did charge the Spirit, (as aforesaid) to tell them the cause of his comming, and why he did torment his brother? To the which the Spirit answered, I come for his Soule. Then the said Edward said unto the Spirit, Wee have a warrant in the Holy Scriptures, that such as doe earnestly repent them of their sins, and turn unto God, with the only hope of Saluation, through the merits of Iesus Christ, thou mayest not have them, for Christ is his Redeemer. The Spirit uttered (in a base, hollow sounding voyce) these words, Christ, that was my Redeemer. Then Edward said, Christ that is his Redeemer, not thy Redeemer but my brother Alexander, his Redeemer.

‘Then the Spirit said in his hollow voyce, I will haue his Soule and body too, and so began to torment and racke the same Alexander, and disfigure him more horribly than before, forcing him to such strange and fearefull skriking, as cannot bee uttered by man’s power, and was of such strength, as, sometimes, foure or fiue men, though they had much aduantage against him by binding him to a chaire, yet could they not rule him. And in shewing that strength, he was not perceiued to pant or blow, no more than he had not strained his strength, nor strugled at all. Sometimes he would cry extreamly, so as teares would come from him in great aboundance. Presently, afterwards, hee would laugh aloude and shrill, his mouth being shut close. And sometimes, he was heaued up from the ground by force inuisible, the said Edward Nyndge, Thomas Nyndge, Thomas Wakefield, Thomas Goldsmith, William Miles and William Nyndge, Iunior hanging upon the said Alexander, unto the middest of the house, and the said Edward putting his mouth unto the eare of the said disfigured body of his brother Alexander, said, Brother, continue in your faith, and if you goe to hell, wee will goe with you. Then the force did somewhat faile, and the hangers on drew him to the Chaire againe. Then one of his younger brothers, named William Nyndge said, Wee will Keepe him from thee, thou foule Spirit, in despite of thy Nose.

‘Whereat the transformed body looked very terribly against the said William, and turned his most ugly looks unto his brother Edward, standing on the other side, uttering these hollowe sounding words, Will you, Sir, will you, Sir. To which the said Edward answered; Not I, Sir, but the merits of Iesus Christ will, we earnestly pray, keepe him from thee. Then all that were present, to the number of 20 persons, and more, fell downe and said the Lord’s Prayer, with other sentences, every one seuerally, and one of the Company uttered worde ioyning God and the blessed virgin Mary together, whereat there came a voyce much like Alexander’s voyce, saying twice, There bee other good Prayers. Whereunto the said Edward made answere, and said, Thou lyest, for there is no other Name under Heauen whereby wee may challenge Saluation but the onely name of Christ Iesus. And then the Spirit roares with a fearefull voice, and stretched out his necke long to the Fyre; and then the saide Edward desired Peter Bencham, Curate of the Towne, to coniure and charge him in the Name of Iesus the Sonne of the Almightie, that the Spirit should declare unto them from whence hee came? And what was his Name? To which the Spirit made answere in this mumbling manner, I would come out, I would come out. Then Edward charged him (as before) that he should declare his name. And the Spirit said Aubon, Aubon. They charged him then (as is aforesaid) to make knowne unto them whence hee came; and the Spirit made answere in a hollow uoyce; From Ireland, From Ireland. Then they laide the fourth Chapter of Saint Matthew against him, where Christ said, It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue. Which sentence, as it was pronounced, the hollow voyce sounded. My Master, My Master, I am his Disciple, I am his Disciple. Then they answered, Thy Master we graunt he is, but thou lyest, thou art none of his Disciple. Thou art onely an instrument and scourge to punish the wicked, so farre as pleaseth him. And then they layd unto him the eight Chapter of S. Luke, whereas Christ himselfe did cast out Deuils. And the Spirit answered hollowly, Baw-wawe, baw-wawe. And within a little space after, the body of the saide Alexander being as monstrously transformed as it was before, much like the picture of the Deuill in a play, with an horrible roaring voyce, sounding Hellhound, was most horribly tormented. And they that were present, fell to prayer, desiring God earnestly to take away the foule Spirit from him. The said Edward then desired to haue the window opened, for I trust in God, (said hee) the fowle Spirit is wearie of our company. The windowes being opened accordingly, within two Minuts after, the tormented body returned to the true shape againe, the said Alexander leaping up, and holding up his hands, and saying Hee is gone, hee is gone, Lord, I thanke thee. Whereat all the people that were there present, fell downe on their knees with due reuerence, and yeelded unto God exceeding praise and thanksgiving. This fit ended about eleven of the clocke the same night, and so they went to Supper with great ioy and gladnesse.’

He seems to have had two or three fits afterwards, but they were of a very mild type, and the last we hear of the afflicted Alexander is: ‘After this, they took the said Alexander, and all of them ioyfully accompany him to his brother Thomas Nyndge, his house, where, after his comming thither, hee was not knowne to be perplexed with the like terrible vexations.’

One more example of this branch of the devil’s work in Britain must suffice. We find it in

‘WONDERFUL NEWS FROM BUCKINGHAMSHIRE,

‘This unhappy Maid, whose strange Afflictions this sheet undertakes to give a true and impartial account of, lives at Great Gadsdon in the County of Bucks. She is descended of honest Parents of good repute, and by them carefully educated in the Principles of Christianity; nor was there a young maid of more lovely innocent Beauty, sweet Carriage, or virtuous Disposition; or one that might have expected fairer preferment in Marriage than she: So that as there is no room for the Censures of the uncharitable, so neither, any place for the Surmises of the incredulous, it being impossible she or any of her Relations could imagine any advantage to themselves by counterfeiting or pretending a Possession; which on the Contrary brings them onely trouble, loss, vexation, and inconveniences, and that for a dozen years together. The beginning of her affliction was thus.

‘In the year 1664, there happened to be some difference between this maid’s Father and a certain woman who had an evil name, but whether Causelessly or not, I shall not here determine, nor assert any dubious opinions of any kind; onely relate the principal Circumstances that have occurred, being matter of Fact, to which, as well myself, as scores of other people, were Eye and Ear-witnesses; and so leave every one to judge as they shall see cause, touching the Maid’s being Possest or not, and the evil Instruments that are suspected to have been accessory thereunto, when they have duely weighed the whole Discourse. This is certain, soon after the before mentioned Difference, this maid being then about Sixteen or Seventeen years of age, was taken with strange Fits, and something would rise in her throat like two great bunches, about the bigness of an Egg; and a strange voice was frequently heard within her, speaking Blasphemous words, not fit here to be repeated: And if the Hearers and Bystanders did reply to such voice, by asking any Questions that pleased him, he would answer and discourse with them; and that with a voice as different from hers as any two voices, I verily believe, in the world; she having a cleer, smooth, pleasant voice, and that being very rough, guttural, and coming, as it were from the Abdomen, or hollow of her belly, but yet intelligible: and, though I am not ignorant of a certain sort of Jugglers of old, called in Latine Ventriloqui, yet as no such Art nor designe could be imagined in this innocent creature, so the things he declared (impossible, many times, for her to know) wipes off all suspitions of that kind: So that those about her generally concluded she was really and exactly possessed with the Devil, and took occasion to ask him, How he came there? to which the Evil Spirit or voice answered, Here are two of us, and that they were sent thither by two women. The voice further said, That they were sent first to the Maid’s Father; but when they came, they found him at Prayer, and returned to those two women, and told them, they could have no permission to enter into him; whereupon they sent them to his Daughter, and that such a night, as she sat by the fire, they entred into her. Now, the Family did remember that that very night, she had, as she declared, a sudden pain that seized her, and, ever since, had continued in a bad condition, and, after a little time, the Swellings and Voice happen’d as aforesaid.

‘By which the whole Neighbourhood and Country round about, were so alarmed at the strangeness of it, that multitudes of people went to See her, and returned full of wonder and amazement, at what they had seen and heard: The report whereof coming to my ears, I did not at first believe it, but hearing it still confirmed, did, at last, go to see her myself, resolving to make my observations as warily and curiously as I could. There were, I believe, at that time, Forty or Fifty Spectators present, and in strict observation two or three hours. I was, for my own part, fully satisfied that it was a Possession, it being, as I conceive utterly impossible that those things should be acted by her or any other person living, either by the force of Nature or power of the most afflicting Distemper.

‘Her Father, being of the same opinion, and willing to use all lawful means for his only Child’s recovery, having read that passage of our Saviour’s—That kinde comes not out but by Prayer and Fasting; he resolves to use that means, and to that purpose, desired some Ministers to keep a day with him on that occasion. Having sent for them, the Devil told him, He expected five men to come, but there should only four come. This the Girl could not know of herself; yet so it happened: for one, by an unexpected accident, was prevented from coming. These four desired the assistance of several Godly Ministers and Christians in the Neighbourhood, who accordingly, met, and kept several days in Fasting and Prayer; and, according to the best judgment that could be made, one of the evil Spirits then departed, as was supposed from some accidents I shall relate by and by. I, myself, was present several of these days; First she had two great bunches rose up in her throat, and then a voice followed, uttering abominable Blasphemies; upon which, a godly Minister present, and since deceased, being stirred up with great Zeal and Indignation, going to Prayer, did earnestly beg of God, that he would plague and torment Satan for such of his Blasphemies; upon which the Spirit made a most dreadful crying, and bemoaning his condition, and said, I will do so no more: To which the Minister replied, Satan, that shall not serve thy turn: and, continuing his Prayer to God as before, the Devil again cried and roared most hideously, to the great amazement of all the people present; and, from that time, it was observed that there was but one bunch rose up in her throat, from whence it was conjectured that one of the Spirits was departed. However, one continued his possession still, and, after they had done Prayer, and were about to refresh themselves, he shewed strange tricks before them, tossing her up and down, and when she was going, took away the use of her legs, on a sudden. When she sate in a great Wicker chair, he would cause the Chair to fall down backwards, almost to the ground, and then lift it up again. One of the company bid her read in the Bible; the Devil said aloud, She shall not read: It was answered, She shall read, Satan, for all thee, and read thy Condemnation too. Whereupon, he plaid more tricks by tossing her about, and drawing her face to one side, as if it had been placed to look over her shoulder, and drawn in a very deformed manner; but, at last she read part of the 20 Chapter of the Revelations, though not without much opposition.

‘When she got upon the Horse to go home, it was a great while before she was able to get upon him, and was flung sometimes backwards, other whiles turn’d with her face to the horse’s tail, and handled very sadly; yet, ’tis observed, that he hath not much power to hurt her: for she often declares, that, being now accustomed to his tricks, and consequently not so much affrighted, the temptations he injects into her minde, are far worse than all the mischiefs he does her body.

‘At another time I was with them, when in the time of Prayer, he barked like a Dog, bellowed like a Bull, and roar’d after a wonderful frightful manner, and, on a sudden, would fling her up a great height, yet without hurte; whereupon, she, being placed in a low Chair, a man sate upon the Table side, endeavouring to hold down her head, and myself and another stood on each side, pressing down her shoulders; and though it could not be imagined so weakly a creature could naturally have half the strength of any one of us, yet she was tossed up, do what we could, and, at length, the Spirit in a desperate rage cries out, If I come out, I will kill you all. I will throw down the house, and kill you all. I answered, Satan, come out and try. He continued raging till they concluded Prayer, and then was pretty quiet.

‘There have since hapned many things considerable; I was once in her company at a house, where I was wholly unacquainted, and for aught I know, so was she; the people of the house gave us drink, and I drinking to her, she rising to make a Curtsey, he took away the use of her legs, and said, she should not drink. But when he found we were resolved to force the Cup of Beer on her, he said, There is a Well in the yard, go and drown thyself; when none of us that were strangers, knew there was such a Well.

‘He will often talk to some of the Family, or those that come to see her, and many times utter blasphemous filthy words to their great trouble: sometimes tell strange Stories to move laughter; sometimes be sullen and not speak a great while together; sometimes, he jumps her up and down, and draws her Body into a multitude of strange postures, too tedious here to be related.’

The pamphlet winds up with some pious and moral reflections, of no interest to the reader.

There is no doubt but that people verily believed that the Devil lived among them in a material shape, and we have throughout England divers of his punchbowls, dykes, quoits, and even the prehistoric flint arrow-heads were known as ‘Devil’s arrows.’ But a most singular instance of this belief is to be found in Blount’s ‘Law Dictionary’ (ed. 1717), under the word Conventio, an agreement or covenant. It is Latin, and is an extract from the Court Rolls of the Manor of Hatfield, near the isle of Axholme, in Yorkshire. It is also mentioned in the ‘Antiquarian Repertory,’ vol. ii., p. 395. The following is a translation:

‘At a court held at Hatfield on the Wednesday next after the Festival—In the 11th Year of Edward III. (1337).‘Robert de Roderham appeared against John de Ithow, for that he had not kept the agreement made between them, and therefore complains that on a certain day and year, at Thorne, there was an agreement between the aforesaid Robert and John, whereby the said John sold to the said Robert, the Devil, bound in a certain bond, for three pence farthing, and thereupon, the said Robert delivered to the said John, one farthing, as earnest money, by which the property of the said Devil rested in the person of the said Robert, to have livery of the said Devil, on the fourth day next following: at which day the said Robert came to the forenamed John, and asked delivery of the said Devil according to the agreement between them made. But the said John refused to deliver the said Devil, nor has he yet done it, etc., to the great damage of the said Robert to the amount of 60 shillings, and he has therefore brought his suit, etc.

‘The said John came, etc., and did not deny the said agreement; and because it appeared to the Court that such a suit ought not to subsist among Christians, the aforesaid parties are therefore adjourned to the infernal regions, there to hear their judgment, and both parties were amerced, etc., by William De Scargell, Seneschal.’