Botis (or Otis) is a demonic earl, president and one of the Spirits of Solomon. He appears as a viper with a sword, and can be commanded to take human form—but he’ll retain some of his demonic features if he does. He’s good for reconciling friends or enemies & answering questions. Image: 72goetia.com
Decarabia is 69th of the 72 Spirits of Solomon. He has an unusual appearance for a demon: he’s described as manifesting as a star and/or pentagram, before taking human form. He has power over birds and can give them as familiars, and imparts knowledge of herbs. Image: 72goetia.com
My book The Supposed Conjuring of the Cornfield Creeps is a part of two huge book giveaway promotions this month. A group of horror and thriller writers have gotten together to give away free bo oks, short stories and sample chapters, in exchange for joining their email list. I downloaded a bunch of them, and based on the first few pages I’ve included a preliminary recommendation for each promo. But I’m sure there are other good I missed, so please click the links below to see if anything catches your eye. Both giveaways end in mid-January, so get to them while you can!
Gamigin is a marquis of hell, and commands 130,000 lesser demons, or more. He has the power of necromancy, and can summons soul that drowned in the ocean, for sure-fire interrogation. He appears as a horse or a man. Image: karkemish00 on Deviant Art, CC-BY-NC-ND
Akton is a demon that causes aches and pains in humans, afflicting the ribs and lower back. According to the Testament of Solomon, he can be rid by saying the names Marmaraoth and Sabaoth. The latter being one of the Hebrew names for God.
According to Kabbalah, when a person’s body decomposes or is cremated, a tiny bone at the base of the spine, called the luz, always remains intact. When the dead are resurrected, their physical bodies will reconstitute from this seed-like bone. Image: J. Gamelin, 1778â €
Gruesome personifications of Death in Medieval manuscripts.
Depictions of demons and the devil with extra faces, often on the groin, are common in medieval manuscripts. Some theorize that it represents their spiritual corruption, by emphasizing the senses that focus on the material world, others think it’s merely to make them monstrous.
The preeminent source of jinn-lore is One Thousand and One Nights (aka Arabian Nights), a collection of tales from Arabic, Persian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian traditions. The evolving collection has stories of characters we know today, like Aladdin and Sinbad.
Illustrations by Martin van Maële from the 1911 edition of the book Satanism and Witchcraft (La Sorcière) by Jules Michelet, first published in 1862. While widely inaccurate, the book was one of the first sympathetic portrayals of the history of witchcraft.
The Compendium Of Demonology and Magic is a book full of bestiary illustrations and magical diagrams, written in German and Latin. It’s title page has the warning “Don’t Touch Me” and the year 1057, but it’s been dated to 1775. Likely the book was created to sell to collectors.â €
Ezequiel or Chazaqiel is one of the fallen Watcher Angels, class of angels meant to be sentinels or messengers of Yahweh. He taught forbidden knowledge to humans, including how to identify omens the clouds. He was also known to lust after women. â €
