As a writer, editor, and compiler of DAILY STRANGE, it is my goal to contribute to the DAILY STRANGE in the fields of anthropology, folklore, mythology, demonology, ufology, astrology, and religions. Being a professional vampirologist— a mythologist who specializes in cross-cultural vampire studies — I have come across a number of vampiric entities who were also described as being demonic in nature. According to their original mythologies, these infernal, vampiric demons were said to have been created in a hell-like dimension or were described as being agents of evil who worked directly against the best interests of humanity. There are not so great a number of vampiric species that are demonic or demon like in their nature or behavior, but the few that do exist and which were cataloged in my previous contents on here the DAILY STRANGE did pique my interest. As is often the case, a little research turned into a great deal of research, and the DAILY STRANGE began to write itself.
Demonology, the study of demons, has been in and out of vogue with mankind over the centuries. Its acceptability as a subject has varied depending on how threatening the changing, ruling religious powers deemed it. For example, King Solomon, the much famed last king of the united kingdom of Israel, was a man of great influence, wealth, and wisdom; he is credited with having ordered and overseen the construction of the first temple in Jerusalem. This is covered in the pseudo graphical work The Testament of Solomon, which describes quite clearly how the king was empowered by God to summon and bind numerous demons to work on the temple’s construction. Obviously, not only was it acceptable for a king to bind and utilize demons as a labor force, he had them working side by side with his human construction crews.
Solomon was not the only king who was concerned about and confronted by demons. Before King James the First acceded to the throne of England in 1603, he had written and published a book entitled Demonologies. In it, he speaks on the subject of witchcraft and the witches’ relationship with the DEVIL. He discloses how these people, most often women, conspire to summon up the Devil and barter their souls for a pittance of power and ability. He mentions how they often become a demonic FAMILIAR, a companion gifted to someone by the Prince of Darkness, and how taking up the profession of witch finding and hunting is both noble and necessary. As can be imagined, many witches were slain under his rule, even though the religion he embraced as his own clearly stated in the Epistle to the Romans (8:38–9) that neither sorcery nor witchcraft has the power to harm a Christian. This claim is based on the belief that when Christ died and was resurrected he simultaneously defeated all the forces of evil for all time. Nevertheless, in Demonologies, James went on to very carefully and meticulously describe the fine line between a scientific scholar who studied the course of the stars, namely an astronomer, and an internally aligned individual, an astrologer, who— empowered by demons (knowingly or not) — pretended through his ignorance to interpret their course across the night sky and explain how those movements relate to man and help predict a person’s future. Throughout his life, King James was obsessed with witches and their demonic familiars, believing they were constantly plotting to kill him.
As you can see with the study of demonology, timing is everything. It is fascinating that these two kings, separated by two thousand years of history, both list the names, abilities, and, in some cases, the physical attributes of the demons of which they spoke. They made, in essence, a very brief demonologia, a dissertation on demons. And they were not alone: many others before and since have done the same. Of special note are the French judge and DEMONOGRAPHER Pierre de Rosteguy de Lancre, who conducted the witch hunts of 1609 under the order of King Henry the Eighth; Pierre Leloyers, who authored Discourse and Histories about Specters, Visions, and Apparitions, of Spirits, Angels, Demons, and Souls that appeared visibly to Men; and Johann Wierus, a Dutch demonologist and physician, who in his moral publications was among the first to speak out against the persecution of witches. He is also the author of the influential works De Praestigiis Daemonum et Incantationibus ac Venificiis and Pseudomonarchia Daemonum.
It is not just in Christianity and Judaism that we find lists of demons and infernal servitors, but also Ashurism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Kemetic, Vodou, and Zoroastrianism. Demons appear in the mythologies and lore of virtually every ancient society, such as the ancient Africans, Assyrians, Chinese, Greek, Japanese, Mayans, Persians, Romans, and Scythians, to name just a few.
There are a great number of books on the market that tell of individuals who claim to have been possessed by demons, as well as of people who admit to being able to drive infernal beings out of these afflicted souls. There are a handful of books that proved very useful. Gustav Davidson’s A Dictionary of Angels Including the Fallen Angels is a first-rate resource for anyone’s personal library. As the title indicates, it lists the angels who were driven out of Heaven during the Fall as well as those from Enochian lore, the Watcher Angels (see WATCHERS), who exorcized what can only be described as free will (a blessing man alone is alleged to have) and chose to leave of their own accord when they opted to take a human woman as a wife. This book also contains an impressive bibliography and a useful appendix with samples of angelic scripts, demonic seals and pacts (see DIABOLICAL SIG- NATURE), the various names of LILITH, the unholy sephiroth, and a list of fallen angels (see FALLEN ANGELS).
Francesso Maria Guazzo’s Compendium Maleficarum and Daemonologie by King James the First of England do not name the most demons but are essential in understanding how demons and witches are aligned and work against mankind. Two other books that list and describe demons are Fred Gettings’s Dictionary of Demons and Mack and Mack’s A Field Guide to Demons.
Books like The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor LaVey and the King James Bible had to be used sparingly because they are religious texts with content not only heavily flavored by opinion but also unverifiable by other sources. A favorite book on demons was written by Wade Baskin, but it is often overlooked because of its sensationalized title: Satanism: A Guide to the Awesome Power of Satan. I prefer this book because it contains short, brief descriptions and definitions with no hyperbole, opinion, fictional characters (such as the demons from the John Milton poem Paradise Lost), or erroneous entries. It is brilliant in that it is straight forward, simple, and concise in its nature.
Some of the most knowledgeable people in the field of demonology have never been recognized for their contributions. For example; Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Steven Ashe, Wade Baskin, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Augustin Calmet, Joseph Campbell, Richard Cavendish, Robert Henry Charles, Jacques-Albin-Simon Collin de Plancy, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Heinrich Kramer, Manfred Lurker, Anthony Master, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, and Jacob Sprenger.
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