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Inspiration -

Story has it that King James took an interest in demons and all things evil after a trip to Denmark in 1589.

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Inspiration -

Apparently the trip to meet his wife Anne of Denmark was pretty tumultuous, and he blamed evil forces for it. Witch-hunting was popular in Scandinavia at the time, and when King James returned home, he furthered his study on the subject. In 1597, ‘Daemonologie’ was published.

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Book -

‘Daemonologie, In Forme of a Dialogue, Divided into three Books: By the High and Mighty Prince, James &c. King James' describes how to identify a demon and how they possess people.

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Book -

The book also touches on mythological creatures such as werewolves and fairies, as well as witches, astrology, and Satan himself. Now, let’s take a look at some of the contents of the book in more detail.

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Beware of possessed cadavers breaking into your home -

According to the book, demons can not only possess dead bodies, but they will also break into people’s homes.

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Beware of possessed cadavers breaking into your home -

The book reads: “For if they have assumed a deade body, whereinto they lodge themselves, they can easely inough open without dinne anie Doore or Window, and enter in thereat.”

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Bodies possessed by demons are really, really strong -

Great strength is one of the signs of possession, according to King James. “I account the one of them to be the incredible strength of the possessed creature, which will farre exceede the strength of six of the wightest and wodest of any other men that are not so troubled,” he writes.

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Bodies possessed by demons have thick skin -

Those possessed by demons not only acquire superhuman strength, but their skin also becomes impenetrable.

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Demons can possess the bodies of dead loved ones -

According to ‘Daemonologie,’ demons can possess the bodies of dead loved ones. They can inhabit the forms of deceased friends and family members so that they can trick people into doing the Devil’s work.

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Demons can possess the bodies of dead loved ones -

Scholars theorize that King James used this reasoning to explain why some people claim to see their deceased loved ones. The idea is that the soul is clean, but the body is dirty and therefore corruptible by demons.

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Speaking a foreign language is a sign of possession -

The "speaking of sundrie languages" that a person couldn’t have learned is a telltale sign of possession, according to King James.

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Speaking a foreign language is a sign of possession -

Indeed, back then the vast majority of people were illiterate and would have never had the opportunity to learn another language. The jury is still out for Christians speaking in tongues though!

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Werewolves are real -

Lycanthropes are very much real. But according to King James, these are actually spirits or people undergoing bouts of mania, rather than the supernatural creatures portrayed in other cultures.

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Werewolves are real -

The book makes particular mention of the Greek belief in these "men-woolfes," and explains that "If anie such thing hath bene, I take it to have proceeded but of a naturall super-abundance of Melancholie, which as wee reade, that it hath made some thinke themselves Pitchers, and some horses, and some one kinde of beast or other."

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Fairies are nothing but myths -

Demons are very much real, according to King James, but we have nothing to worry about when it comes to fairies and other supernatural beings, as they are nothing but myths.

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Fairies are nothing but myths -

The book warns however that the Devil may create fairies as an illusion. "The deuil illuded the senses of sundry simple creatures, in making them beleeue that they saw and harde such thinges as were nothing so indeed."

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Women are more susceptible to being tricked by the Devil -

The ratio of female to male witches is 20 to 1, according to the book. This number actually went on to influence the witch-hunting of female 'witches' over the following years. The reason? Apparently women can be easily tricked by the Devil.

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Women are more susceptible to being tricked by the Devil -

“That sexe is frailer then man is, so is it easier to be intrapped in these grosse snares of the Deuill, as was ouer well proued to be true, by the Serpents deceiuing of Eua at the beginning, which makes him the homelier with that sexe sensine,” wrote King James.

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A clinical view of the possessed -

In ‘Daemonologie,’ King James refers to the possessed as "patients." It has been theorized that he did so to remove the power to cast out demons from the church alone. James gave possession a more medical connotation to make it sound like it’s something treatable.

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There isn’t an infinite number of demons -

King James said that the idea that there are countless demons is perpetuated by the Devil and the Catholic Church to instill fear. According to the book, not many demons fell from heaven to follow Lucifer.

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There isn’t an infinite number of demons -

“All Devils must be lyars; but so they abuse the simplicitie of these wretches, that becomes their schollers, that they make them beleeue, that at the fall of Lucifer, some Spirites fell in the aire, some in the fire, some in the water, some in the lande: In which Elementes they still remaine. Whereupon they build, that such as fell in the fire, or in the aire, are truer then they, who fell in the water or in the land, which is al but meare trattles, and forged by the author of al deceit,” the book reads.

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Most demons live in Scandinavia -

If you’ve ever wondered where demons reside, the answer is Northern Europe (according to King James, at least).

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Most demons live in Scandinavia -

The books points out that most demons live in “Fin-Land" and "Lap-land." Why? According to the king, because that's "where the Deuill findes greatest ignorance and barbaritie, there assayles he grosseliest."

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The recipe to save yourself from a demon -

There is no quick fix for demonic possession. The only way to deal with it is through praying and fasting.

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The recipe to save yourself from a demon -

King James claims that only God can save you, not any mystical rite, nor a visit by a Catholic Church exorcist.

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Sources -

Scholars point to the Bible as the main source for King James’ book. Prior to ‘Daemonologie,’ the only published book on such a topic was ‘Malleus Maleficarum’ from 1486.

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Sources -

The Scottish Reformation of the Church was primarily Calvinist, so the belief that the Bible contained the truth about God was at the core of the king’s beliefs. After all, King James went on to commission a version of the Nible in 1604, which was published in 1611.

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‘Daemonologie’ influenced Shakespeare -

King James’ book is said to have influenced William Shakespeare's famous tragedy ‘Macbeth.’ The play revolves around three witches and a Scottish general named Macbeth.

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‘Daemonologie’ influenced Shakespeare -

One reference includes the fact that King James said that witches can "rayse stormes and tempestes in the aire, either vpon Sea or land." Indeed, a witch in Shakespeare's play says, “And the very ports they blow, All the quarters that they know, I' the shipman's card. I will drain him dry as hay.”

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‘Daemonologie’ influenced Shakespeare -

While the play's characters are said to be inspired by the book, it’s not clear whether the move was a nod to the king or indeed a satire.

Sources: (The British Library) (Ranker) (University of Eastern Finland) (The Norwegian American) (Project Gutenberg)

See also: Grimoires—the famous magic spell books

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