Mythical Beasts (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Demons of the Devil - full transcript
The latest science reveals that demons aren't just the stuff of horror stories, and as experts investigate shocking new archaeological evidence, they uncover the gruesome methods used to exorcise humans of demonic possessions.
Narrator: DEMONS... EVIL
SPIRITS STRAIGHT FROM HELL.
DEMONS WANTED TO FIND A
WAY TO ENTER YOUR BODY.
Narrator: THEIR MISSION...
TO POSSESS YOU AND DAMN YOU FOR ALL TIME.
THE MOST DANGEROUS MONSTER IS
THE MONSTER THAT YOU DON'T SEE.
Narrator: THEY CAN TAKE ANY FORM...
THEY CAN BE MADE OF AIR, BE
INHALED, PICKED UP ON FOOD.
Narrator: ...AND ATTACK AT ANY MOMENT.
PEOPLE NEED TO FIND A WAY
OF PROTECTING THEMSELVES.
Narrator: NOW EXPERTS IN SCIENCE
AND ARCHAEOLOGY INVESTIGATE
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE TERRIFYING
TALES OF DEMONIC BEINGS...
Dr. Reidenberg: HOW DESPERATE
DO YOU THINK SOMEBODY REALLY WOULD BE
TO OPEN UP THEIR BRAIN TO THIS?
Narrator: ...AND THE WITCHES
AND FAIRIES IN LEAGUE WITH THEM.
THEIR MISSION TO REVEAL WHY OUR ANCESTORS
WERE SO CONVINCED
THESE EVIL SPIRITS EXISTED.
THIS WASN'T SOME SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF.
DEMONS WERE VERY, VERY REAL.
♪♪
Narrator: IN 16th CENTURY EUROPE,
DEMONS WERE THOUGHT TO BE EVERYWHERE.
THESE EVIL SPIRITS WERE SENT BY THE DEVIL.
THEIR GOAL... TO POSSESS YOUR BODY
AND DAMN YOUR SOUL TO HELL.
IN THE MEDIEVAL WORLD, THERE
WASN'T THAT GREAT A DISTANCE
BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL WORLD
AND THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
EVIL SPIRITS COULD INHABIT THE HUMAN BODY.
IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND
HOW PEOPLE FELT ABOUT DEMONS
A LONG TIME AGO,
ONE OF THE BEST MODERN DEPICTIONS
IS FROM THE "ALIENS" FILMS,
WHERE A CREATURE CAN LAY AN EGG INSIDE YOU
THAT EVENTUALLY GROWS AND BURSTS OUT.
♪♪
Narrator: SO WHAT DID OUR ANCESTORS THINK
THESE DEMONIC CREATURES ACTUALLY WERE?
ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE,
THEIR STORY BEGINS WITH THE ANGEL LUCIFER
WHO IS BOTH BEAUTIFUL AND REBELLIOUS.
HE GATHERS AN ARMY OF ANGELS
AND STARTS A WAR WITH GOD.
[ INDISTINCT YELLING ]
BUT LUCIFER'S LEGIONS ARE DEFEATED
AND BANISHED TO THE DEPTHS OF HELL.
LUCIFER BECOMES THE DEVIL,
AND HIS ARMY OF FALLEN
ANGELS TURN INTO DEMONS.
DAMNED FOR ALL ETERNITY,
THEIR SOLE OBJECTIVE IS TO
CORRUPT GOD'S BELOVED HUMANS
AND MAKE THEM JOIN THEIR RANKS.
IN ENGLAND, PROFESSOR
MARION GIBSON INVESTIGATES
WHAT FORM THESE EVIL
SPIRITS WERE BELIEVED TO TAKE
WHEN THEY ROSE FROM HELL AND CAME TO EARTH.
Gibson: PEOPLE OFTEN THINK OF DEMONS
AS A KIND OF LITTLE GOBLIN,
BUT REALLY, THEY ARE MORE SCARY THAN THAT.
Narrator: TO GET INSIDE YOU,
DEMONS TRANSFORMED THEMSELVES
FROM A SPIRIT INTO THE MOST
UNLIKELY EVERYDAY OBJECTS.
SO A DEMON COULD BE
SOMETHING LIKE THIS, AN APPLE,
SO YOU COULD EAT THE APPLE,
AND YOU WOULD BE EATING A DEMON,
OR YOU COULD EAT THE APPLE,
AND THERE WILL BE A DEMON ON IT,
AND IT COULD GO INTO YOU.
Narrator: NOT ONLY COULD
A DEMON BE ANYTHING,
IT COULD ALSO BE ANYWHERE.
Gibson: THEY CAN BE INHALED.
THEY ARE THINGS THAT CAN BE MADE OF AIR.
THAT MIST YOU'RE WALKING
THROUGH, THAT COULD BE A DEMON!
Narrator: AN INCIDENT 500 YEARS
AGO REVEALS HOW PEOPLE
THOUGHT DEMONS COULD
POSSESS YOUR BODY AND SOUL.
A YOUNG GIRL CALLED
ANNE MILLNER FROM CHESTER
WAS WALKING THROUGH THE
MEADOWS NEAR HER HOME,
PERHAPS ON A MISTY
MORNING JUST LIKE THIS ONE.
Narrator: ON THE 18th OF OCTOBER, 1563,
ANNE MILLNER WAS TENDING TO THE FAMILY COWS
AS A DEMON LURKED IN THE FIELD.
UNAWARE OF THE EVIL PRESENCE,
ANNE BREATHED IN THE DEMON.
BACK HOME, SHE FELT THE
DARKNESS TAKING HOLD OF HER
AND FELL INTO A DEEP TRANCE.
SHE STARTED HAVING VIOLENT CONVULSIONS
AND THREW GROWN MEN ACROSS THE ROOM.
AAH!
ANNE MILLNER WAS NOW A WOMAN POSSESSED.
Nubia: IN AN AGE WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING
OF SCIENCE OR THE HUMAN BODY,
SYMPTOMS SUCH AS FITS OR CONVULSIONS
WOULD'VE BEEN TERRIFYING,
LIKE WATCHING "THE EXORCIST"
OR THE "POLTERGEIST."
PEOPLE WOULD'VE BELIEVED
THAT THEY WERE POSSESSED
AND HEADING FOR ETERNAL DAMNATION.
Narrator: IN THE 16th CENTURY,
ANGELS AND DEMONS WERE
CONSIDERED VERY REAL,
AND HELL WAS A LITERAL PLACE
TO BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS,
SO IF AN EVIL SPIRIT TOOK HOLD OF SOMEONE,
THEY NEEDED TO DRIVE IT OUT PHYSICALLY.
AT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND,
BONE EXPERT DR. TRISH BIERS
HAS UNCOVERED EVIDENCE
OF THE EXTREME MEASURES PEOPLE TOOK TO RID
THEIR BODIES OF THESE DEMONIC BEINGS.
TREPHINATION IS ACTUALLY
THE DELIBERATE PROCESS
OF CUTTING A HOLE INTO THE CRANIAL CAVITY,
EXPOSING THE BRAIN.
THERE IS DOCUMENTED
EVIDENCE THAT TREPHINATION
WAS ACTUALLY USED TO RELEASE DEMONS.
THIS WAS QUITE COMMON
IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD,
ESPECIALLY IN BRITAIN.
Narrator: TRISH IS USING A
HIGH-POWERED MICROSCOPE
TO EXAMINE A 2,000-YEAR-OLD
SKULL OF SOMEONE
WHO UNDERWENT THIS GRUESOME
PROCEDURE IN THE BRONZE AGE.
Dr. Biers: WHAT WE CAN SEE
IS A SERIES OF CUT MARKS.
IT LOOKS LIKE THEY WERE PROBABLY
HOLDING THE PERSON'S HEAD
BUT REALLY WORKING THE BONE
WITH MULTIPLE TYPES OF TOOLS.
Narrator: IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE
THAT ANYONE COULD SURVIVE
SUCH AN INVASIVE PROCESS
HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO,
BUT REMARKABLY, TRISH HAS
EVIDENCE OF ONE PERSON WHO DID.
THIS INDIVIDUAL PROBABLY SURVIVED
THE TREPHINATION PROCESS
BECAUSE WE CAN ACTUALLY
SEE HEALING AROUND THE HOLE.
THE BONE REGENERATES,
AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S ACTUALLY GROWING,
SO THIS PERSON PROBABLY
LIVED FOR SEVERAL YEARS
AFTER THE TREPHINATION OCCURRED.
Narrator: RELEASING DEMONS
BY DRILLING THROUGH A SKULL
WAS NO EASY TASK.
IN THE DAYS BEFORE POWER TOOLS,
WHAT DID THIS PROCESS INVOLVE?
COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
DR. JOY REIDENBERG INVESTIGATES.
WE'RE GOING TO EXPLORE WHAT
IT'S LIKE TO HAVE TREPANNING DONE,
SO WE HAVE A PIG SKULL HERE,
AND WE'RE GOING TO USE
THIS TOOL, WHICH IS A TREPAN,
AND WE'RE GOING TO PUT THIS IN HERE
AND DRILL IN TO MAKE THAT HOLE,
BUT REMEMBER, AT THIS POINT,
IF THIS WERE A HUMAN,
THEY WOULD'VE HAD THE SKIN
REMOVED OUT OF THE
WAY, THE FAT, THE MUSCLE.
ANYTHING THAT WAS IN THE WAY
WOULD'VE BEEN FLAPPED OVER TO THE SIDE,
SO THIS IS A VERY INVASIVE PROCEDURE
TO GET DOWN TO WHERE THE BRAIN IS.
Narrator: JOY WORKS WITH A T-SHAPED TREPAN,
A TOOL SIMILAR TO THOSE
USED IN THE 17th CENTURY.
YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT THAT WOULD
BE LIKE IF YOU WERE THE PATIENT
HAVING THIS DONE RIGHT IN
THE MIDDLE OF YOUR FOREHEAD
OR THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD.
THIS GRINDING INTO THE BONE,
THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY HARD TO DO.
I'M REALLY PUSHING DOWN
WITH ALL OF MY WEIGHT ON THIS
TO TRY AND CUT OPEN THIS BONE.
THIS IS GOING TO BE INCREDIBLY PAINFUL.
I HEARD A CRACK. WAIT.
THAT'S IT. THAT CRACK WAS IT.
LOOK. THERE'S THE PIECE OF BONE.
THIS IS SUCH AN INVASIVE
AND TERRIBLE PROCEDURE.
HOW DESPERATE DO YOU THINK
SOMEBODY REALLY WOULD BE
TO HAVE THIS DONE TO THEM,
TO OPEN UP THEIR BRAIN TO THIS?
WOW.
Narrator: BUT FOR THOSE
WHO DIDN'T WANT TO OPEN UP THEIR SKULL,
HOW ELSE COULD YOU LET AN EVIL SPIRIT OUT?
YOU WOULD MAKE THE BODY
AN UNCOMFORTABLE HOME
FOR THE DEMON.
Narrator: AND WHAT WAS
THE LINK BETWEEN DEMONS
AND THE MOST FEARED DISEASE OF ALL TIME?
YOU CAN BE WALKING IN THE STREET ONE DAY
AND 24 HOURS LATER BE DEAD.
♪♪
Narrator: DEMONS... IN THE 16th CENTURY,
ENGLISH WAS BESIEGED
BY A FEAR OF EVIL SPIRITS.
THEY WERE THOUGHT TO BE
ABLE TO POSSESS YOUR BODY
AND DAMN YOUR SOUL TO HELL.
NOBODY FELT SAFE.
WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
DEMONS WITHIN THE CONTEXT
OF WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE TIME.
YOU HAVE CIVIL WARS,
BATTLES BETWEEN PURITANS
AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
YOU HAVE THE SPREAD OF DISEASE.
HYSTERIA STARTS TO GROW.
Narrator: IN THE EVER-GROWING
WAR ON DEMONS,
THE CHURCH WAS ON THE FRONT LINE.
ARCHAEOLOGIST MATT CHAMPION
HUNTS FOR HIDDEN CLUES
IN NORFOLK, ENGLAND.
THEY CAN REVEAL HOW DANGEROUS
THE CHRISTIAN AUTHORITIES
BELIEVED THESE EVIL SPIRITS TO BE.
Champion: THIS PLACE IS ABSOLUTELY
PACKED FULL OF EVIDENCE
ABOUT JUST HOW SERIOUSLY PEOPLE
CONSIDERED THE THREAT OF DEMONS.
Narrator: HIGH IN THE CHURCH RAFTERS
IS A SERIES OF WOOD CARVINGS
THAT HAVE ONLY JUST BEEN
REDISCOVERED AFTER 500 YEARS.
WELL, WHAT WE GOT UP HERE IS
A CARVING OF THE APOSTLE JOHN,
AND JUST ABOVE HIM IS THIS
AMAZING CARVING OF A DEMON,
AND THE DEMON SITS BEHIND
HIM WITH HIS CLAWS GRABBING HIM,
HOLDING HIM TIGHTLY
INTO THE ROOF STRUCTURE.
Narrator: THESE CARVINGS WERE A WARNING
TO THE PARISHIONERS BELOW
THAT NOT EVEN THE SAINTS
WERE SAFE FROM DEMON ATTACK.
ONCE POSSESSED BY A DEMON,
YOU WERE NO LONGER YOURSELF.
YOU MIGHT SPEAK IN STRANGE TONGUES,
SHOW SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
OR FALL INTO VIOLENT RAGES.
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN SOMEONE ACTING STRANGELY
OR DOING STRANGE THINGS,
ATTACKING A NEIGHBOR,
SUDDENLY KILLING THEIR OWN FAMILY?
THERE MUST BE THESE KIND OF CREATURES,
WHICH CAN GET INTO YOU AND
MAKE YOU DO THE WORST THINGS.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE CHURCH,
THERE WAS ONLY ONE SURE WAY
TO GET AN EVIL SPIRIT OUT... EXORCISM.
EXORCISM IS ALL ABOUT A BATTLE
BETWEEN GOD AND THE DEVIL.
Li: IT'S ACTUALLY A QUITE GRUELING
AND DELIBERATE PROCEDURE
TO DRIVE A DEMON OUT OF YOU.
Narrator: PROFESSOR
MARION GIBSON INVESTIGATES
HOW AN EXORCISM ACTUALLY WORKED.
♪♪
AAH! AAH!
AN EXORCISM WAS UNDERTAKEN
BY A RELIGIOUS PERSON,
BUT IT WOULD ALSO HAVE
INCLUDED THE WIDER COMMUNITY,
SO A ROOM WOULD'VE BEEN
ABSOLUTELY FULL OF TOWNSPEOPLE
WHO WERE KEEN TO SEE THE DEMON EXPELLED.
AN INITIAL APPROACH MIGHT BE
TO TRY TO FORCE THE DEMON OUT,
MAKE THE BODY AN UNCOMFORTABLE
HOME FOR THE DEMON.
YOU MIGHT FORCE THE POSSESSED PERSON
TO DRINK A MIXTURE OF RUE OIL AND VINEGAR.
Narrator: ANOTHER WAY TO EXPEL THE DEMON
WAS TO CREATE HORRIBLE ODORS
THAT IT WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO STAND.
Gibson: FEATHERS CREATE A
REALLY UNPLEASANT SMELL
WHEN THEY'RE SET FIRE TO.
ANYTHING TO CREATE STRESS,
ANYTHING TO DRIVE THE DEMON AWAY.
♪♪
Narrator: A REPORT FROM THE 16th CENTURY
DESCRIBES THE EXORCISM OF ANNE MILLNER,
A YOUNG ENGLISH DAIRYMAID
POSSESSED BY A DEMON.
THE DEMON TORMENTED ANNE FOR 17 WEEKS
BEFORE AN EXORCIST WAS CALLED IN.
HE PINNED DOWN ANNE'S THRASHING BODY...
[ PRAYING IN LATIN ]
...AND RECITED HOLY VERSES OVER AND OVER.
BUT THE DEMON WAS TOO STRONG.
[ PRAYING IN LATIN ]
THE EXORCIST THEN CALLED FOR VINEGAR
AND BLEW IT INTO ANNE'S NOSE.
THIS NOXIOUS FLUID FINALLY DROVE THE DEMON
OUT OF THE GIRL'S BODY.
[ PRAYING IN LATIN ]
ANNE MILLNER WAS CURED.
IT'S POSSIBLE THE EXORCISM
HAD KIND OF A PLACEBO EFFECT
THAT SOMEBODY WHO GENUINELY BELIEVED BEFORE
THAT THEY WERE POSSESSED
BY A DEMON AFTER THE EXORCISM
FELT THAT THEY WERE FREE, AND
THEY WERE THEMSELVES AGAIN.
Narrator: IN AN AGE BEFORE MEDICAL SCIENCE,
MALICIOUS DEMONS FILLED IN
THE GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING.
HISTORIAN LARA THORPE
BELIEVES A DREADED DISEASE
MAY HAVE ALSO PLAYED A PART
IN FUELING THE HYSTERIA AROUND DEMONS.
THE PLAGUE WAS ONE OF
THE WIDELY FEARED DISEASES
IN THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES.
IT WOULD COME ON YOU QUITE SUDDENLY.
YOU MIGHT START VOMITING.
YOU WOULD GET A FEVER.
YOU HAVE ACCOUNTS OF
PEOPLE SCREAMING WITH THE PAIN,
AND IT'S A GRUESOME AND HORRIFIC DEATH.
Narrator: BY THE TURN OF THE 17th CENTURY,
DOCTORS HAD COME UP WITH A THEORY
ABOUT HOW THIS DREADED DISEASE WAS SPREAD.
Thorpe: THE MOST COMMON
EXPLANATION FOR PLAGUE
WAS THAT IT WAS CAUSED
BY BAD AIR SORT OF SEEPING
IN THROUGH THE PORES OF YOUR SKIN.
IT WAS VERY SIMILAR WITH HOW
PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT DEMONS
COULD ATTACK AND ENTER THEIR BODIES.
RELIGION AND SCIENCE
WEREN'T TWO SEPARATE THINGS.
THEY WERE INSEPARABLE.
THEY WERE COMPLETELY INTERTWINED
IN THE EARLY MODERN MENTALITY.
WHAT YOU SAW AND SMELL
AND TASTED COULD AFFECT
YOUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH
THROUGH A DEMONIC POSSESSION,
BUT IT COULD ALSO AFFECT
YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH
THROUGH THE CONTRACTING
OF A DISEASE LIKE PLAGUE.
Narrator: THESE EARLY
NOTIONS ABOUT INFECTIONS
REINFORCE THE IDEA OF
CONTAMINATION BY EVIL SPIRITS.
TO DEFEND THEMSELVES FROM PLAGUE,
PEOPLE TRIED TO COUNTERACT THE BAD SMELLS
THEY THOUGHT CAUSED THE DISEASE.
YOU HAD THIS MASK, AND YOU STUFFED THE BEAK
FULL OF SWEET-SMELLING HERBS,
THINGS LIKE DRIED FLOWER PETALS
AND NICE-SMELLING HERBS LIKE MINT.
AND ONCE YOU'D STUFFED THE BEAK,
YOU WOULD LIFT THE BEAK
OVER YOUR HEAD LIKE THIS,
AND THEN YOU'D BE PROTECTED.
Narrator: BUT IF GOOD SMELLS COULD
PROTECT YOU FROM THE PLAGUE,
WHAT DID PEOPLE THINK COULD
KEEP THEM SAFE FROM DEMONS?
DEMONS, IF THEY SAW A LINE,
ONCE THEY STARTED TO FOLLOW IT,
THEY CAN BE TRAPPED IN THAT SYMBOL FOREVER.
Narrator: AND HOW COULD A DEMON
SEDUCE A PERSON INTO BECOMING A WITCH?
THE DEMON KISSED HER, AND
THEN HE CAME INTO HER BEDROOM.
[ OWL HOOTING ]
Narrator: DEMONS...
THE MOST FEARED MYTHICAL BEASTS OF ALL.
THESE EVIL SPIRITS HAVE THE
POWER TO CLAIM YOUR SOUL
AND SEND YOU TO HELL.
WHAT DID PEOPLE THINK THEY COULD DO
TO DEFEND THEMSELVES AGAINST DEMON ATTACK?
ARCHAEOLOGIST MATT CHAMPION
SEARCHES FOR EVIDENCE
HIDDEN INSIDE A PARISH CHURCH.
TODAY, WE'RE USED TO
CHURCHES BEING QUITE PLAIN,
QUITE LIME-WASHED, BUT IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
THESE PLACES WERE ABSOLUTELY
COVERED IN EARLY GRAFFITI.
Narrator: MATT USES SPECIAL
LIGHTS THAT HIT THE STONE
AT A PRECISE ANGLE TO
FIND WHAT HE'S LOOKING FOR.
Champion: IF I MOVE THE LIGHT AROUND HERE,
YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE
GRAFFITI ALL OVER THE SURFACES.
WE'VE GOT MEDIEVAL TEXT, BUT
PERHAPS THE MOST SPECTACULAR
IS JUST UP HERE WHERE WE HAVE
THIS RATHER WONDERFUL PENTANGLE.
Narrator: THE PENTANGLE...
TODAY, IT'S THE SIGN OF THE OCCULT.
WHAT'S IT DOING IN A CHRISTIAN CHURCH?
THE ANSWER IS ETCHED INTO THE STONE
IN THESE BARELY VISIBLE LINES.
SO IF WE USE THIS, FIRST OF ALL,
YOU'VE GOT OUR BIG
BULBOUS EYE OVER THE TOP,
OR THIS NOSE AROUND THERE,
A BIG GAPING, OPEN MOUTH,
TEETH COMING IN HERE
AND THEN A BIG LOLLING TONGUE.
AND THEN AROUND HERE, WE HAVE AN EAR,
ANOTHER EAR OUT THERE, THERE,
AND THEN YOU HAVE A
WONDERFUL MEDIEVAL DEMON,
AND THEN OVER THE TOP OF THE
WHOLE THING IS A BIG PENTANGLE
LITERALLY PINNING THE DEMON TO THE WALL.
Narrator: THIS SYMBOL DEFENDED
THE MEDIEVAL CHURCHGOERS
AGAINST EVIL DEMONS.
ITS POWER LAY IN THE FACT
THAT IT CAN BE DRAWN IN
ONE CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT.
Champion: DEMONS, IF THEY SAW A LINE,
THEY HAD TO FOLLOW IT.
IN THE CASE OF AN ENDLESS
LINE, SUCH AS THIS PENTANGLE,
ONCE THEY STARTED TO
FOLLOW IT, THEY'D CONTINUE
AND BE TRAPPED IN THAT SYMBOL FOREVER.
Narrator: BUT HOW DID THE
PENTANGLE OR THE PENTAGRAM
BECOME A CHARM OF
PROTECTION AGAINST DEMONS?
LEGEND HAS IT THAT WHEN KING
SOLOMON BUILDS HIS TEMPLE,
A DEMON TERRORIZES HIS FAVORITE WORKER.
SOLOMON PRAYS FOR HELP,
AND THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL
COMES TO THE RESCUE.
HE GIVES THE KING A MAGICAL
RING ENGRAVED WITH A PENTAGRAM.
IT GIVES SOLOMON THE
POWER TO SUBDUE THE DEMON
BY BRANDING IT WITH THE SYMBOL.
THE KING THEN COMMANDS THE FIEND
TO CONJURE UP A WHOLE ARMY OF DEMONS,
SO THEY CAN FINISH HIS TEMPLE FOR HIM.
FOR CENTURIES AFTERWARDS,
THE PENTAGRAM WAS A TRADITIONAL
CHRISTIAN SYMBOL OF PROTECTION.
BUT IN THE 16th CENTURY, PEOPLE
WERE SO SCARED OF DEMONS,
THEY WANTED SAFEGUARDS AT HOME AS WELL.
IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND,
ARCHAEOLOGIST NATHALIE COHEN
INVESTIGATES A RECENT DISCOVERY
MADE DURING THE RESTORATION OF KNOLE HOUSE.
IT REVEALS JUST HOW ELABORATE
DEMON DEFENSE SYSTEMS BECAME.
WE'RE LOOKING HERE AT A
SERIES OF WHAT ARE CALLED
WITCH MARKS OR DEMON TRAPS.
THEY REPRESENT A FORM OF
RITUAL PROTECTION IN THIS SPACE,
DESIGNED TO PROTECT
THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM,
IN PARTICULAR, WHEN THEY WERE IN BED,
WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN BEHIND ME, HERE.
Narrator: THIS IS NOT THE
ONLY PLACE IN THE ROOM
WHERE PRECAUTIONS AGAINST DEMONS
HAVE BEEN UNCOVERED.
Cohen: AROUND THE FIREPLACE,
WE ALSO HAVE RITUAL PROTECTION MARKS,
BUT THESE ARE IN THE FORM OF
WHAT ARE CALLED VV MARKS OR M's,
SO THEY'RE INVOKING THE
PROTECTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY.
SO THE IDEA BEHIND THE
RITUAL PROTECTION MARKS
AROUND THE FIREPLACE
IS THAT YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY
CREATING A KIND OF VIRTUAL BOX
BEYOND WHICH IF ANYTHING BAD COMES DOWN,
IT CAN'T GO PAST WHERE THE MARKS ARE.
Narrator: SO WHY DID PEOPLE
SEEK TO PROTECT THE FIREPLACE
AND HEARTH IN PARTICULAR?
IN THE 16th CENTURY,
PEOPLE FEARED THAT DEMONS
WOULD TRY TO INVADE THEIR HOMES.
CLOSED WINDOWS AND DOORS
COULDN'T HOLD THEM BACK
AS THEY CAN SIMPLY ENTER
THROUGH THE CHIMNEY.
ONCE IN THE BEDROOM,
THE DEMON WOULD ATTACK.
IT WOULD SIT ON THE VICTIM'S
CHEST AND BRUTALLY ASSAULT THEM.
EVEN IF THE SLEEPER WOKE
UP, THEY'D REMAIN PARALYZED,
UNABLE TO FEND OFF THE
CHOKING CLAWS OF THE DEMON.
WE MIGHT NOW EXPLAIN SOME
OF THESE DEMON ATTACKS
AS A KIND OF SLEEP PARALYSIS
WHEN WE ARE BETWEEN
BEING AWAKE AND BEING ASLEEP.
5% OF THE POPULATION, THEY
WILL SUFFER IT REGULARLY.
THE PERSON OFTEN FEELS THAT
THEY ARE PHYSICALLY PINNED
TO THE BED, AND THEY CANNOT MOVE.
Narrator: BUT DEMONS
DIDN'T JUST DAMN YOUR SOUL.
THEY ALSO SEDUCED PEOPLE
INTO BECOMING WITCHES
IN EXCHANGE FOR SUPERNATURAL POWERS.
WHAT PRICE WOULD THEY PAY
FOR THIS DEMONIC BARGAIN?
Narrator: EXPERTS INVESTIGATE WHY
OUR ANCESTORS THOUGHT DEMONS
WERE THE MOST TERRIFYING
MYTHICAL BEASTS OF ALL.
THESE EVIL SPIRITS WOULD DO
ANYTHING TO STEAL YOUR SOUL.
DEMONS COULD CORRUPT YOU IN
DEVIOUS AND UNEXPECTED WAYS.
IN 17th-CENTURY EUROPE,
PEOPLE BECAME INCREASINGLY CONCERNED
ABOUT ANOTHER TERRIFYING
PROBLEM... WITCHES.
WITCHES WERE THOUGHT TO BE PEOPLE
WHO HAD MADE AN UNHOLY
ALLIANCE WITH THE DEVIL
AND HIS HELLISH SERVANTS,
BUT HOW DID DEMONS MAKE SOMEONE A WITCH?
IT WAS THOUGHT THAT THE DEVIL
AND HIS DEMONS HUNTED AT NIGHT,
LOOKING FOR VICTIMS TO
LURE INTO THEIR EVIL CIRCLE.
THEY MAINLY PREYED ON SINGLE WOMEN,
SEDUCING THEM INTO A DEMONIC BARGAIN.
IN EXCHANGE FOR SEX,
THEY TURNED THEM INTO WITCHES
WITH SUPERNATURAL POWERS,
BUT IN RETURN, THE DEMON TOOK THEIR SOUL,
AND THEY HAD TO JOIN
SATAN'S ARMY FOR ETERNITY.
IN THE 1600s,
THIS WAS WHERE SOME SUSPECTED
WITCHES WERE IMPRISONED,
AT COLCHESTER CASTLE IN SOUTHEAST ENGLAND.
HERE, PROFESSOR MARION GIBSON
UNCOVERS REAL-LIFE ACCOUNTS
OF HOW DEMONS SUPPOSEDLY SEDUCED
WOMEN INTO SELLING THEIR SOULS.
DISGUISED AS AN ORDINARY PERSON,
THE DEMON WOULD REEL HIS VICTIM IN
BY OFFERING TO HELP WITH THEIR GRIEVANCES.
Gibson: THE DEMON WOULD
APPROACH HER AND PERHAPS SAY,
"I HEAR YOU'VE BEEN HAVING
TROUBLE WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS.
I KNOW THAT FARMER SO-AND-SO
HAS BEEN MEAN TO YOU.
WOULD YOU LIKE SOME HELP WITH YOUR LIFE?"
A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS
HERE, THIS IS REBECCA WEST,
PROBABLY 17 OR 18 YEARS OF AGE.
THE DEMON KISSED HER,
AND HE SAID THAT HE
WOULD LIKE TO MARRY HER,
AND THEN HE CAME INTO HER BEDROOM,
AND SO REBECCA BECAME A WITCH.
Narrator: WHAT SUPERNATURAL
POWERS DID THOSE
IN LEAGUE WITH DEMONS OBTAIN?
PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT
WITCHES COULD CAST EVIL SPELLS
ON THOSE THEY DISLIKED.
CURSES COULD START SMALL,
LIKE SPOILING A NEIGHBOR'S BUTTER,
BUT WITCHES WERE ALSO BLAMED
FOR DESTROYING WHOLE CROPS,
KILLING HERDS OF PRECIOUS FARM ANIMALS,
CAUSING SICKNESS AND DEATH
AND EVEN SUMMONING DEADLY STORMS
THAT COULD LAY WASTE TO AN ENTIRE CITY.
♪♪
FEAR OF WITCHES WITH DEMONIC POWERS
WAS NOT JUST THE PRESERVE
OF THE UNEDUCATED.
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON,
HISTORIAN DR. NICK BARRATT
HAS UNCOVERED EVIDENCE
THAT THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY IN THE LAND
CONSIDERED THEM TO BE A
REAL AND PRESENT DANGER.
Barratt: THIS BOOK IS
CALLED "DAEMONOLOGIE,"
AND IT WAS WRITTEN IN 1597
BY KING JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND
BEFORE HE BECAME KING JAMES I OF ENGLAND.
THE KING FIRMLY BELIEVED THAT
WITCHES AND DEMONS EXISTED.
HE ALSO BELIEVED THEY SHOULD BE DESTROYED,
SWEPT FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH,
AND THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT
THAT HE COMMUNICATED
THAT MESSAGE TO THE WIDER POPULATION.
Narrator: KING JAMES PERSONALLY BELIEVED
WITCHES WERE OUT TO GET HIM.
IN 1590, THE KING'S NEW
WIFE, ANNE OF DENMARK,
WAS SAILING TO SCOTLAND.
A TERRIBLE STORM HIT HER SHIP,
FORCING THE CREW TO ABANDON THE VOYAGE.
THE DANISH ADMIRAL BLAMED
THE STORM ON WITCHCRAFT
AND DEMONS CLIMBING
UP THE KEEL OF THE SHIP.
WHEN THE QUEEN FINALLY REACHED SCOTLAND,
RUMORS OF WITCHCRAFT GRIPPED THE COUNTRY.
UNDER TORTURE, ONE WOMAN
CONFESSED TO RAISING STORMS
AND TRYING TO KILL THE KING.
FROM THEN ON, KING JAMES
PERSECUTED WITCHES IN SCOTLAND
WITH EXTREME BRUTALITY.
Barratt: THIS WASN'T SOME
PEASANT SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF.
THIS WAS PERSONAL.
HE HAD THE EVIDENCE,
AND THIS WAS HIS RESPONSE,
"DAEMONOLOGIE," SETTING OUT
ALL OF THE FEARS THAT HE HAD,
SO OTHERS COULD TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS
TO ERADICATE WITCHES.
Narrator: WITCH-HUNTERS AROSE
TO PURGE THE LAND OF THESE EVIL CREATURES
IN LEAGUE WITH DEMONS,
BUT HOW COULD THEY BE IDENTIFIED?
THE WITCH-HUNTER WAS
LOOKING FOR A MARK OF THE DEVIL.
Narrator: AND WHY WERE
FAIRIES ONCE THOUGHT TO BE
THE MOST TERRIBLE DEMONS OF THEM ALL?
I'M HERE TO INVESTIGATE A MURDER.
♪♪
Narrator: IN ENGLAND IN
THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES,
FEAR OF DEMONS
AND THE WITCHES IN LEAGUE
WITH THEM REACHED FEVER PITCH.
EVEN KING JAMES I FEARED FOR HIS LIFE
AND ORDERED THEM TO BE
REMOVED FROM THE LAND.
PEOPLE WERE SO AFRAID
OF WITCHES THAT COMMONLY,
THEY MIGHT EVEN DENOUNCE
THEIR OWN FAMILY MEMBERS
AND ACCUSE THEIR OWN SISTERS OR DAUGHTERS
OR EVEN THEIR OWN MOTHERS.
Narrator: IN ORDER TO ERADICATE THEM,
WITCHES HAD TO BE IDENTIFIED.
THE AUTHORITIES BELIEVED
THERE WERE PHYSICAL SIGNS
THAT MARKED THEM OUT.
IF A WOMAN MADE A PACT WITH A DEMON,
SHE GREW A LARGE WART ON
HER BODY CALLED A WITCH'S TEAT.
THE WITCH USED HER TEAT TO SUCKLE DEMONS
IN THE FORM OF ANIMALS,
ALLOWING THEM TO DRINK HER BLOOD.
KNOWN AS FAMILIARS, THEY
WERE SMART BUT EVIL SPIRITS
THAT PROTECTED THE WITCH
AND CARRIED OUT MAGICAL TASKS.
PEOPLE BELIEVED THESE
DEMONS COULD TAKE MANY FORMS,
FROM CATS AND DOGS TO TOADS, BATS, RATS
AND EVEN SPIDERS.
WHAT REAL-WORLD
INSPIRATION LIES BEHIND THE IDEA
OF THE WITCH'S EXTRA TEAT?
AT HER LAB, COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
DR. JOY REIDENBERG INVESTIGATES.
Dr. Reidenberg: THE
WITCH-HUNTER WAS LOOKING
FOR A MARK OF THE DEVIL,
IS GOING TO LOOK FOR
ANYTHING OUT OF THE UNUSUAL.
ONE OF THE MOST COMMON THINGS YOU CAN FIND
ARE LITTLE SKIN TAGS,
AND THAT'S WHAT'S SHOWN RIGHT OVER HERE.
THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT
OF SKIN THAT'S STICKING OUT,
AND IT MAKES A LITTLE LUMP,
AND IF IT WAS VISIBLE, IT
WAS A MARK OF THE DEVIL.
HERE'S ANOTHER THING THAT WAS OFTEN FOUND.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT SOMEBODY'S CHEST,
AND THEY NORMALLY HAVE
A NIPPLE RIGHT OVER HERE,
BELOW IT, THERE MIGHT BE ANOTHER NIPPLE.
THAT WOULD BE A THIRD NIPPLE.
THIS IS A REALLY COMMON THING.
IT HAPPENS IN SOMETHING,
LIKE, APPROXIMATELY 5% OF THE POPULATION,
AND IF YOU SEE THIS,
THIS IS, LIKE, THE JACKPOT
BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT
A WITCH COULD USE TO NURSE
AND SUCKLE A DEMON
OR MAYBE ONE OF THEIR DEMONIC
FAMILIARS LIKE A CAT OR A DOG.
Narrator: BUT THIS WASN'T THE
ONLY WAY TO IDENTIFY SOMEONE
WHO HAD MADE A PACT WITH DEMONS.
SUSPECTED WITCHES WERE ALSO
SUBJECT TO TRIALS BY ORDEAL.
THE GOLD STANDARD WAS THE SWIMMING TEST.
THOSE SUSPECTED OF
BEING IN LEAGUE WITH DEMONS
WERE BOUND AND PLUNGED INTO WATER.
PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT IF THEY
WERE A WITCH, THEY WOULD FLOAT.
BUT IS THERE ANOTHER
EXPLANATION FOR THOSE WHO ROSE
TO THE SURFACE AND WHO SANK?
AT IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON,
PHYSICIST SCOTT MELVILLE
HAS DESIGNED AN EXPERIMENT
TO SHOW HOW THE TEST WORKED
AND WHY SOME PEOPLE
WERE MORE LIKELY TO FAIL.
MOST PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF WITCH-DUNKING
OR THE SWIMMING TEST
WHEREBY YOU THROW A
SUPPOSED WITCH INTO SOME WATER,
AND IF THEY FLOAT, THEY'RE A WITCH,
BUT IF THEY SINK, THEY'RE INNOCENT.
WE WANT TO KNOW IF THERE'S
ANY SCIENCE BEHIND THIS TEST.
HOW WELL SOMEONE FLOATS DEPENDS VERY MUCH
ON WHAT THEY'RE MADE OF.
IN THIS TUBE, WE HAVE VEGETABLE OIL,
WHICH IS ROUGHLY AS DENSE AS BODY FAT,
AND IN THIS TUBE, WE HAVE CORN SYRUP,
WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT
DENSER THAN YOUR MUSCLE
BUT ROUGHLY THE SAME.
Narrator: THE VEGETABLE OIL
REPRESENTS OLDER WOMEN
WHO TYPICALLY HAVE HIGHER
BODY FAT AND LOWER BONE DENSITY.
CORN SYRUP REPRESENTS MEN
WHO GENERALLY HAVE GREATER MUSCLE MASS.
SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO
DO IS SEE WHICH ONES FLOAT
AND WHICH ONES SINK.
BIG BAG OF FAT FLOATS.
BIG BAG OF MUSCLE... OH,
AND IT SINKS LIKE A STONE.
THE THING TO TAKE AWAY FROM
THIS IS THAT BECAUSE MEN TYPICALLY
HAVE MORE MUSCLE PER MASS,
WOMEN ARE BETTER AT FLOATING,
AND SO THIS WHOLE WITCHCRAFT TEST IS RIGGED
AND WILL DISPROPORTIONATELY
SINGLE OUT WOMEN
AS OPPOSED TO MEN.
Regal: AT THE HEART OF THE FEAR
OF WITCHES IS THE FEAR OF WOMEN.
WITCHES WERE WOMEN WHO WERE ASSERTIVE.
THEY WERE INTELLIGENT.
THEY KNEW HOW TO DO THINGS.
THEY ARE HATED BECAUSE
THEY DON'T WANT TO BE
KEPT IN THE TRADITIONAL ROLE,
AND THAT IS SOMETHING WHICH
IS DEEPLY FEARFUL TO MEN.
Narrator: FOR 300 YEARS, A
GREAT WAVE OF WITCH-HUNTING
SWEPT ACROSS EUROPE.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF WOMEN WERE ACCUSED.
THEY WERE TORTURED INTO CONFESSING
THAT THEY WERE IN LEAGUE WITH DEMONS.
IF FOUND GUILTY, THEY WERE
HANGED OR BURNED AT THE STAKE.
[ WOMEN SCREAMING ]
Regal: WITCH TRIALS WERE
REALLY QUITE COMMON.
EUROPE TENDED TO GO REALLY CRAZY.
IN EUROPE, A WITCH WOULD
BE MORE LIKELY TO BE BURNED
THAN ANYPLACE ELSE.
Narrator: AS KNOWLEDGE AND SKEPTICISM
GREW OVER THE FOLLOWING CENTURIES,
BELIEF IN DEMONIC POSSESSION AND WITCHCRAFT
SUBSIDED ACROSS ENGLAND.
BUT IN NEIGHBORING IRELAND,
ANOTHER FORM OF DEMON PERSISTED
RIGHT INTO THE 20th CENTURY... FAIRIES.
PEOPLE THOUGHT THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE MOST TERRIBLE OF CRIMES.
THIS WAS A PLACE WHERE A GROUP OF PEOPLE
ENDED UP KILLING ONE OF THEIR OWN.
Narrator: WITH THE DAWN OF THE MODERN AGE,
DEMONS WERE FINALLY
LOSING THEIR HORRIFYING GRIP
ON THE IMAGINATION OF EUROPE.
BELIEF IN POSSESSION BY DEMONS
WAS AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN HUMAN BEHAVIOR
THAT WE DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND,
SO WITH THE GROWTH OF
PSYCHOLOGY AND MODERN SCIENCE,
THAT BELIEF IN DEMONS STARTS TO EBB AWAY.
Narrator: BUT IN IRELAND,
ONE PARTICULAR DEMON WOULDN'T LET GO,
AND IT TOOK THE FORM OF A CREATURE
YOU WOULD LEAST EXPECT... THE FAIRY.
THESE FAIRIES ARE NOT LIKE TINKER BELL.
THEY ARE TERRIFYING DEMONS ATTACKING YOU
BY TAKING WHAT IS MOST PRECIOUS...
YOUR CHILD.
Narrator: MYTH HAS IT THAT
THEY SNATCH HUMAN BABIES
AND REPLACE THEM WITH THEIR OWN.
FIRST, THE CHANGELING GOES UNNOTICED
BUT SOON TURNS INTO A
CONSTANTLY CRYING NIGHTMARE.
FAIRY CHANGELINGS ARE
ALWAYS HUNGRY BUT FAIL TO GROW
AND ARE SLOW TO WALK AND TALK.
DESPERATE PARENTS TAKE DESPERATE MEASURES
AND PUT THE CHANGELING IN HARM'S WAY.
THEY HOPE THIS WILL FORCE THE FAIRY MOTHER
TO RUN TO THE RESCUE
AND SWAP THE BABIES BACK.
THE BELIEF IN THE FAIRY LIVED
ON A BIT LONGER IN IRELAND.
YOU HAD MORE PEOPLE THAT
WERE STILL LIVING OUT IN NATURE
THAT WERE STILL VERY MUCH
KIND OF AFFECTED BY THE SEASONS,
SO THAT BELIEF IN FAIRIES IS VERY MUCH TIED
TO A SENSE OF THE LANDS.
Narrator: CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGIST DEBORAH HYDE
INVESTIGATES HOW BELIEF IN FAIRIES
IMPACTED PEOPLES' LIVES.
NOW, OUR MODERN FAIRIES CAN GRANT WISHES.
THEY MIGHT HAVE TINKLING LITTLE VOICES,
BUT THE TRADITIONAL FAIRIES WERE POWERFUL,
AND THEY WERE ALSO
POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS.
ALTHOUGH CHANGELINGS
WERE MOST OFTEN, IN PRACTICE,
THOUGHT TO BE CHILDREN, IN THEORY,
THEY COULD ALSO BE ADULTS.
Narrator: DEBORAH HAS
COME TO COUNTY TIPPERARY
TO UNCOVER A CASE OF
SUSPECTED FAIRY ABDUCTION.
IT TOOK PLACE JUST OVER 100 YEARS AGO.
I'M HERE TO INVESTIGATE A MURDER.
NOW, THIS IS A COPY OF
A NEWSPAPER FROM 1895,
AND IT REPORTS THAT A
MAN NAMED MICHAEL CLEARY
HAD KILLED HIS WIFE BY
BURNING HER TO DEATH.
THE JURY WAS FREE TO CONVICT
HIM OF MURDER, BUT THEY DIDN'T.
THEY CONVICTED HIM OF MANSLAUGHTER
BECAUSE IT BECAME APPARENT
THAT MICHAEL CLEARY TRULY BELIEVED
THAT HIS WIFE WAS A FAIRY CHANGELING.
Narrator: WHY WAS MICHAEL
CLEARY SO CONVINCED
THAT HIS WIFE HAD BEEN
TAKEN AND REPLACED BY A FAIRY?
WHAT MADE HIM KILL HER?
DEBORAH HUNTS FOR CLUES AT THE SITE
OF AN ANCIENT IRON-AGE HILLFORT,
WHERE FAIRIES WERE ONCE BELIEVED TO LIVE.
Hyde: FAIRY FOLKLORE IS
FULL OF INCIDENCES OF PEOPLE
BEING KIDNAPPED AND TAKEN OFF TO FAIRYLAND.
A PLACE LIKE THIS WAS POTENTIALLY SINISTER,
AND YOU WOULDN'T COME UP HERE BY YOURSELF.
Narrator: BUT IN 1895, MICHAEL
CLEARY'S WIFE, BRIDGET,
DID JUST THAT WITH FATAL CONSEQUENCES.
BRIDGET CLEARY WAS AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN.
SHE HAD HER OWN BUSINESS,
AND SHE WAS GOING TO DELIVER
SOME EGGS UP BY A FAIRY FORT.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE PERSON
SHE WAS DELIVERING THE EGGS TO
OR COLLECTING THE MONEY
FROM WASN'T IN THAT DAY,
SO SHE SPENT A LOT OF TIME OUT IN THE COLD.
THE NEXT DAY, BRIDGET BECAME SERIOUSLY ILL
WITH FEVERS AND HEADACHES.
SUSPICIONS WERE RAISED THAT
BECAUSE SHE PASSED BY THE OLD FORT,
SHE WAS NO LONGER
HERSELF BUT A FAIRY IMPOSTOR.
BRIDGET HAD VISITS FROM SEVERAL PEOPLE
IN HER EXTENDED FAMILY, INCLUDING A VISIT
FROM A MAN NAMED JACK DUNN,
WHO WAS A DISTANT COUSIN.
HE WAS A LOCAL FAIRY DOCTOR.
HE USED TRADITIONAL METHODS TO CURE PEOPLE.
HE SAID, "THAT'S NOT BRIDGET CLEARY,"
AND THAT SUGGESTED VERY
STRONGLY TO ALL AROUND
THAT SHE WAS NOW A CHANGELING.
Narrator: WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
TOOK PLACE AT THIS VERY HOUSE.
WOW.
THIS IS THE ROOM WHERE
IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED,
AND THIS IS THE HEARTH
WHERE IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
Narrator: TO GET HIS WIFE BACK,
MICHAEL CLEARY DECIDED TO
HOLD BRIDGET OVER THE FIRE.
HE BELIEVED DOING THIS
WOULD TRICK THE FAIRY
INTO RESCUING ITS LOVED
ONE AND RETURNING HIS WIFE.
[ BRIDGET SCREAMING ]
Hyde: BRIDGET CLEARY WAS BROUGHT OVER HERE,
AND THE FIRE WAS ACCELERATED
BECAUSE MICHAEL CLEARY
DOUSED HER IN LAMP OIL SEVERAL TIMES.
HER WHOLE FAMILY WAS HERE,
SO IT'S WORTH REMEMBERING, HE WASN'T ALONE,
AND THEY MENTIONED THAT
THE BLAZES WERE SO HIGH
THAT THEY TRAVELED NEARLY ACROSS THE ROOM.
[ BRIDGET SCREAMING ]
Hyde: THIS WAS A PLACE
WHERE A GROUP OF PEOPLE
ENDED UP KILLING ONE OF THEIR OWN.
Narrator: BRIDGET CLEARY WAS
THE LAST IN A LONG LINE OF WOMEN
TO BE BURNED IN THE BRITISH ISLES
AS A RESULT OF THE HYSTERIA
AROUND DEMONIC CREATURES
THAT LASTED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
WHEN PEOPLE GET SCARED
OVER RELIGIOUS REASONS,
IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR
THEM TO START USING THAT
AS A PRETEXT FOR ROUNDING UP PEOPLE
AND THROWING THEM IN PRISON
AND BURNING THEM AT THE STAKE.
Narrator: DEMONS... THESE
SINISTER SHAPESHIFTING MONSTERS
HAVE TORMENTED MANKIND FOR CENTURIES.
FROM THE LOWLIEST PEASANT TO
THE HIGHEST OFFICE IN THE LAND,
THEY EMBODIED OUR GREATEST
FEARS ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION
AND FUELED THE PERSECUTION
AND MURDER OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT LIVES.
EXPERTS HAVE REVEALED THAT BY
INSPIRING SO MUCH TERROR IN US,
DEMONS WERE THE MOST
DANGEROUS MYTHICAL BEASTS OF ALL.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
SPIRITS STRAIGHT FROM HELL.
DEMONS WANTED TO FIND A
WAY TO ENTER YOUR BODY.
Narrator: THEIR MISSION...
TO POSSESS YOU AND DAMN YOU FOR ALL TIME.
THE MOST DANGEROUS MONSTER IS
THE MONSTER THAT YOU DON'T SEE.
Narrator: THEY CAN TAKE ANY FORM...
THEY CAN BE MADE OF AIR, BE
INHALED, PICKED UP ON FOOD.
Narrator: ...AND ATTACK AT ANY MOMENT.
PEOPLE NEED TO FIND A WAY
OF PROTECTING THEMSELVES.
Narrator: NOW EXPERTS IN SCIENCE
AND ARCHAEOLOGY INVESTIGATE
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE TERRIFYING
TALES OF DEMONIC BEINGS...
Dr. Reidenberg: HOW DESPERATE
DO YOU THINK SOMEBODY REALLY WOULD BE
TO OPEN UP THEIR BRAIN TO THIS?
Narrator: ...AND THE WITCHES
AND FAIRIES IN LEAGUE WITH THEM.
THEIR MISSION TO REVEAL WHY OUR ANCESTORS
WERE SO CONVINCED
THESE EVIL SPIRITS EXISTED.
THIS WASN'T SOME SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF.
DEMONS WERE VERY, VERY REAL.
♪♪
Narrator: IN 16th CENTURY EUROPE,
DEMONS WERE THOUGHT TO BE EVERYWHERE.
THESE EVIL SPIRITS WERE SENT BY THE DEVIL.
THEIR GOAL... TO POSSESS YOUR BODY
AND DAMN YOUR SOUL TO HELL.
IN THE MEDIEVAL WORLD, THERE
WASN'T THAT GREAT A DISTANCE
BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL WORLD
AND THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
EVIL SPIRITS COULD INHABIT THE HUMAN BODY.
IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND
HOW PEOPLE FELT ABOUT DEMONS
A LONG TIME AGO,
ONE OF THE BEST MODERN DEPICTIONS
IS FROM THE "ALIENS" FILMS,
WHERE A CREATURE CAN LAY AN EGG INSIDE YOU
THAT EVENTUALLY GROWS AND BURSTS OUT.
♪♪
Narrator: SO WHAT DID OUR ANCESTORS THINK
THESE DEMONIC CREATURES ACTUALLY WERE?
ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE,
THEIR STORY BEGINS WITH THE ANGEL LUCIFER
WHO IS BOTH BEAUTIFUL AND REBELLIOUS.
HE GATHERS AN ARMY OF ANGELS
AND STARTS A WAR WITH GOD.
[ INDISTINCT YELLING ]
BUT LUCIFER'S LEGIONS ARE DEFEATED
AND BANISHED TO THE DEPTHS OF HELL.
LUCIFER BECOMES THE DEVIL,
AND HIS ARMY OF FALLEN
ANGELS TURN INTO DEMONS.
DAMNED FOR ALL ETERNITY,
THEIR SOLE OBJECTIVE IS TO
CORRUPT GOD'S BELOVED HUMANS
AND MAKE THEM JOIN THEIR RANKS.
IN ENGLAND, PROFESSOR
MARION GIBSON INVESTIGATES
WHAT FORM THESE EVIL
SPIRITS WERE BELIEVED TO TAKE
WHEN THEY ROSE FROM HELL AND CAME TO EARTH.
Gibson: PEOPLE OFTEN THINK OF DEMONS
AS A KIND OF LITTLE GOBLIN,
BUT REALLY, THEY ARE MORE SCARY THAN THAT.
Narrator: TO GET INSIDE YOU,
DEMONS TRANSFORMED THEMSELVES
FROM A SPIRIT INTO THE MOST
UNLIKELY EVERYDAY OBJECTS.
SO A DEMON COULD BE
SOMETHING LIKE THIS, AN APPLE,
SO YOU COULD EAT THE APPLE,
AND YOU WOULD BE EATING A DEMON,
OR YOU COULD EAT THE APPLE,
AND THERE WILL BE A DEMON ON IT,
AND IT COULD GO INTO YOU.
Narrator: NOT ONLY COULD
A DEMON BE ANYTHING,
IT COULD ALSO BE ANYWHERE.
Gibson: THEY CAN BE INHALED.
THEY ARE THINGS THAT CAN BE MADE OF AIR.
THAT MIST YOU'RE WALKING
THROUGH, THAT COULD BE A DEMON!
Narrator: AN INCIDENT 500 YEARS
AGO REVEALS HOW PEOPLE
THOUGHT DEMONS COULD
POSSESS YOUR BODY AND SOUL.
A YOUNG GIRL CALLED
ANNE MILLNER FROM CHESTER
WAS WALKING THROUGH THE
MEADOWS NEAR HER HOME,
PERHAPS ON A MISTY
MORNING JUST LIKE THIS ONE.
Narrator: ON THE 18th OF OCTOBER, 1563,
ANNE MILLNER WAS TENDING TO THE FAMILY COWS
AS A DEMON LURKED IN THE FIELD.
UNAWARE OF THE EVIL PRESENCE,
ANNE BREATHED IN THE DEMON.
BACK HOME, SHE FELT THE
DARKNESS TAKING HOLD OF HER
AND FELL INTO A DEEP TRANCE.
SHE STARTED HAVING VIOLENT CONVULSIONS
AND THREW GROWN MEN ACROSS THE ROOM.
AAH!
ANNE MILLNER WAS NOW A WOMAN POSSESSED.
Nubia: IN AN AGE WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING
OF SCIENCE OR THE HUMAN BODY,
SYMPTOMS SUCH AS FITS OR CONVULSIONS
WOULD'VE BEEN TERRIFYING,
LIKE WATCHING "THE EXORCIST"
OR THE "POLTERGEIST."
PEOPLE WOULD'VE BELIEVED
THAT THEY WERE POSSESSED
AND HEADING FOR ETERNAL DAMNATION.
Narrator: IN THE 16th CENTURY,
ANGELS AND DEMONS WERE
CONSIDERED VERY REAL,
AND HELL WAS A LITERAL PLACE
TO BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS,
SO IF AN EVIL SPIRIT TOOK HOLD OF SOMEONE,
THEY NEEDED TO DRIVE IT OUT PHYSICALLY.
AT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND,
BONE EXPERT DR. TRISH BIERS
HAS UNCOVERED EVIDENCE
OF THE EXTREME MEASURES PEOPLE TOOK TO RID
THEIR BODIES OF THESE DEMONIC BEINGS.
TREPHINATION IS ACTUALLY
THE DELIBERATE PROCESS
OF CUTTING A HOLE INTO THE CRANIAL CAVITY,
EXPOSING THE BRAIN.
THERE IS DOCUMENTED
EVIDENCE THAT TREPHINATION
WAS ACTUALLY USED TO RELEASE DEMONS.
THIS WAS QUITE COMMON
IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD,
ESPECIALLY IN BRITAIN.
Narrator: TRISH IS USING A
HIGH-POWERED MICROSCOPE
TO EXAMINE A 2,000-YEAR-OLD
SKULL OF SOMEONE
WHO UNDERWENT THIS GRUESOME
PROCEDURE IN THE BRONZE AGE.
Dr. Biers: WHAT WE CAN SEE
IS A SERIES OF CUT MARKS.
IT LOOKS LIKE THEY WERE PROBABLY
HOLDING THE PERSON'S HEAD
BUT REALLY WORKING THE BONE
WITH MULTIPLE TYPES OF TOOLS.
Narrator: IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE
THAT ANYONE COULD SURVIVE
SUCH AN INVASIVE PROCESS
HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO,
BUT REMARKABLY, TRISH HAS
EVIDENCE OF ONE PERSON WHO DID.
THIS INDIVIDUAL PROBABLY SURVIVED
THE TREPHINATION PROCESS
BECAUSE WE CAN ACTUALLY
SEE HEALING AROUND THE HOLE.
THE BONE REGENERATES,
AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S ACTUALLY GROWING,
SO THIS PERSON PROBABLY
LIVED FOR SEVERAL YEARS
AFTER THE TREPHINATION OCCURRED.
Narrator: RELEASING DEMONS
BY DRILLING THROUGH A SKULL
WAS NO EASY TASK.
IN THE DAYS BEFORE POWER TOOLS,
WHAT DID THIS PROCESS INVOLVE?
COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
DR. JOY REIDENBERG INVESTIGATES.
WE'RE GOING TO EXPLORE WHAT
IT'S LIKE TO HAVE TREPANNING DONE,
SO WE HAVE A PIG SKULL HERE,
AND WE'RE GOING TO USE
THIS TOOL, WHICH IS A TREPAN,
AND WE'RE GOING TO PUT THIS IN HERE
AND DRILL IN TO MAKE THAT HOLE,
BUT REMEMBER, AT THIS POINT,
IF THIS WERE A HUMAN,
THEY WOULD'VE HAD THE SKIN
REMOVED OUT OF THE
WAY, THE FAT, THE MUSCLE.
ANYTHING THAT WAS IN THE WAY
WOULD'VE BEEN FLAPPED OVER TO THE SIDE,
SO THIS IS A VERY INVASIVE PROCEDURE
TO GET DOWN TO WHERE THE BRAIN IS.
Narrator: JOY WORKS WITH A T-SHAPED TREPAN,
A TOOL SIMILAR TO THOSE
USED IN THE 17th CENTURY.
YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT THAT WOULD
BE LIKE IF YOU WERE THE PATIENT
HAVING THIS DONE RIGHT IN
THE MIDDLE OF YOUR FOREHEAD
OR THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD.
THIS GRINDING INTO THE BONE,
THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY HARD TO DO.
I'M REALLY PUSHING DOWN
WITH ALL OF MY WEIGHT ON THIS
TO TRY AND CUT OPEN THIS BONE.
THIS IS GOING TO BE INCREDIBLY PAINFUL.
I HEARD A CRACK. WAIT.
THAT'S IT. THAT CRACK WAS IT.
LOOK. THERE'S THE PIECE OF BONE.
THIS IS SUCH AN INVASIVE
AND TERRIBLE PROCEDURE.
HOW DESPERATE DO YOU THINK
SOMEBODY REALLY WOULD BE
TO HAVE THIS DONE TO THEM,
TO OPEN UP THEIR BRAIN TO THIS?
WOW.
Narrator: BUT FOR THOSE
WHO DIDN'T WANT TO OPEN UP THEIR SKULL,
HOW ELSE COULD YOU LET AN EVIL SPIRIT OUT?
YOU WOULD MAKE THE BODY
AN UNCOMFORTABLE HOME
FOR THE DEMON.
Narrator: AND WHAT WAS
THE LINK BETWEEN DEMONS
AND THE MOST FEARED DISEASE OF ALL TIME?
YOU CAN BE WALKING IN THE STREET ONE DAY
AND 24 HOURS LATER BE DEAD.
♪♪
Narrator: DEMONS... IN THE 16th CENTURY,
ENGLISH WAS BESIEGED
BY A FEAR OF EVIL SPIRITS.
THEY WERE THOUGHT TO BE
ABLE TO POSSESS YOUR BODY
AND DAMN YOUR SOUL TO HELL.
NOBODY FELT SAFE.
WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
DEMONS WITHIN THE CONTEXT
OF WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE TIME.
YOU HAVE CIVIL WARS,
BATTLES BETWEEN PURITANS
AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
YOU HAVE THE SPREAD OF DISEASE.
HYSTERIA STARTS TO GROW.
Narrator: IN THE EVER-GROWING
WAR ON DEMONS,
THE CHURCH WAS ON THE FRONT LINE.
ARCHAEOLOGIST MATT CHAMPION
HUNTS FOR HIDDEN CLUES
IN NORFOLK, ENGLAND.
THEY CAN REVEAL HOW DANGEROUS
THE CHRISTIAN AUTHORITIES
BELIEVED THESE EVIL SPIRITS TO BE.
Champion: THIS PLACE IS ABSOLUTELY
PACKED FULL OF EVIDENCE
ABOUT JUST HOW SERIOUSLY PEOPLE
CONSIDERED THE THREAT OF DEMONS.
Narrator: HIGH IN THE CHURCH RAFTERS
IS A SERIES OF WOOD CARVINGS
THAT HAVE ONLY JUST BEEN
REDISCOVERED AFTER 500 YEARS.
WELL, WHAT WE GOT UP HERE IS
A CARVING OF THE APOSTLE JOHN,
AND JUST ABOVE HIM IS THIS
AMAZING CARVING OF A DEMON,
AND THE DEMON SITS BEHIND
HIM WITH HIS CLAWS GRABBING HIM,
HOLDING HIM TIGHTLY
INTO THE ROOF STRUCTURE.
Narrator: THESE CARVINGS WERE A WARNING
TO THE PARISHIONERS BELOW
THAT NOT EVEN THE SAINTS
WERE SAFE FROM DEMON ATTACK.
ONCE POSSESSED BY A DEMON,
YOU WERE NO LONGER YOURSELF.
YOU MIGHT SPEAK IN STRANGE TONGUES,
SHOW SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
OR FALL INTO VIOLENT RAGES.
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN SOMEONE ACTING STRANGELY
OR DOING STRANGE THINGS,
ATTACKING A NEIGHBOR,
SUDDENLY KILLING THEIR OWN FAMILY?
THERE MUST BE THESE KIND OF CREATURES,
WHICH CAN GET INTO YOU AND
MAKE YOU DO THE WORST THINGS.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE CHURCH,
THERE WAS ONLY ONE SURE WAY
TO GET AN EVIL SPIRIT OUT... EXORCISM.
EXORCISM IS ALL ABOUT A BATTLE
BETWEEN GOD AND THE DEVIL.
Li: IT'S ACTUALLY A QUITE GRUELING
AND DELIBERATE PROCEDURE
TO DRIVE A DEMON OUT OF YOU.
Narrator: PROFESSOR
MARION GIBSON INVESTIGATES
HOW AN EXORCISM ACTUALLY WORKED.
♪♪
AAH! AAH!
AN EXORCISM WAS UNDERTAKEN
BY A RELIGIOUS PERSON,
BUT IT WOULD ALSO HAVE
INCLUDED THE WIDER COMMUNITY,
SO A ROOM WOULD'VE BEEN
ABSOLUTELY FULL OF TOWNSPEOPLE
WHO WERE KEEN TO SEE THE DEMON EXPELLED.
AN INITIAL APPROACH MIGHT BE
TO TRY TO FORCE THE DEMON OUT,
MAKE THE BODY AN UNCOMFORTABLE
HOME FOR THE DEMON.
YOU MIGHT FORCE THE POSSESSED PERSON
TO DRINK A MIXTURE OF RUE OIL AND VINEGAR.
Narrator: ANOTHER WAY TO EXPEL THE DEMON
WAS TO CREATE HORRIBLE ODORS
THAT IT WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO STAND.
Gibson: FEATHERS CREATE A
REALLY UNPLEASANT SMELL
WHEN THEY'RE SET FIRE TO.
ANYTHING TO CREATE STRESS,
ANYTHING TO DRIVE THE DEMON AWAY.
♪♪
Narrator: A REPORT FROM THE 16th CENTURY
DESCRIBES THE EXORCISM OF ANNE MILLNER,
A YOUNG ENGLISH DAIRYMAID
POSSESSED BY A DEMON.
THE DEMON TORMENTED ANNE FOR 17 WEEKS
BEFORE AN EXORCIST WAS CALLED IN.
HE PINNED DOWN ANNE'S THRASHING BODY...
[ PRAYING IN LATIN ]
...AND RECITED HOLY VERSES OVER AND OVER.
BUT THE DEMON WAS TOO STRONG.
[ PRAYING IN LATIN ]
THE EXORCIST THEN CALLED FOR VINEGAR
AND BLEW IT INTO ANNE'S NOSE.
THIS NOXIOUS FLUID FINALLY DROVE THE DEMON
OUT OF THE GIRL'S BODY.
[ PRAYING IN LATIN ]
ANNE MILLNER WAS CURED.
IT'S POSSIBLE THE EXORCISM
HAD KIND OF A PLACEBO EFFECT
THAT SOMEBODY WHO GENUINELY BELIEVED BEFORE
THAT THEY WERE POSSESSED
BY A DEMON AFTER THE EXORCISM
FELT THAT THEY WERE FREE, AND
THEY WERE THEMSELVES AGAIN.
Narrator: IN AN AGE BEFORE MEDICAL SCIENCE,
MALICIOUS DEMONS FILLED IN
THE GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING.
HISTORIAN LARA THORPE
BELIEVES A DREADED DISEASE
MAY HAVE ALSO PLAYED A PART
IN FUELING THE HYSTERIA AROUND DEMONS.
THE PLAGUE WAS ONE OF
THE WIDELY FEARED DISEASES
IN THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES.
IT WOULD COME ON YOU QUITE SUDDENLY.
YOU MIGHT START VOMITING.
YOU WOULD GET A FEVER.
YOU HAVE ACCOUNTS OF
PEOPLE SCREAMING WITH THE PAIN,
AND IT'S A GRUESOME AND HORRIFIC DEATH.
Narrator: BY THE TURN OF THE 17th CENTURY,
DOCTORS HAD COME UP WITH A THEORY
ABOUT HOW THIS DREADED DISEASE WAS SPREAD.
Thorpe: THE MOST COMMON
EXPLANATION FOR PLAGUE
WAS THAT IT WAS CAUSED
BY BAD AIR SORT OF SEEPING
IN THROUGH THE PORES OF YOUR SKIN.
IT WAS VERY SIMILAR WITH HOW
PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT DEMONS
COULD ATTACK AND ENTER THEIR BODIES.
RELIGION AND SCIENCE
WEREN'T TWO SEPARATE THINGS.
THEY WERE INSEPARABLE.
THEY WERE COMPLETELY INTERTWINED
IN THE EARLY MODERN MENTALITY.
WHAT YOU SAW AND SMELL
AND TASTED COULD AFFECT
YOUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH
THROUGH A DEMONIC POSSESSION,
BUT IT COULD ALSO AFFECT
YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH
THROUGH THE CONTRACTING
OF A DISEASE LIKE PLAGUE.
Narrator: THESE EARLY
NOTIONS ABOUT INFECTIONS
REINFORCE THE IDEA OF
CONTAMINATION BY EVIL SPIRITS.
TO DEFEND THEMSELVES FROM PLAGUE,
PEOPLE TRIED TO COUNTERACT THE BAD SMELLS
THEY THOUGHT CAUSED THE DISEASE.
YOU HAD THIS MASK, AND YOU STUFFED THE BEAK
FULL OF SWEET-SMELLING HERBS,
THINGS LIKE DRIED FLOWER PETALS
AND NICE-SMELLING HERBS LIKE MINT.
AND ONCE YOU'D STUFFED THE BEAK,
YOU WOULD LIFT THE BEAK
OVER YOUR HEAD LIKE THIS,
AND THEN YOU'D BE PROTECTED.
Narrator: BUT IF GOOD SMELLS COULD
PROTECT YOU FROM THE PLAGUE,
WHAT DID PEOPLE THINK COULD
KEEP THEM SAFE FROM DEMONS?
DEMONS, IF THEY SAW A LINE,
ONCE THEY STARTED TO FOLLOW IT,
THEY CAN BE TRAPPED IN THAT SYMBOL FOREVER.
Narrator: AND HOW COULD A DEMON
SEDUCE A PERSON INTO BECOMING A WITCH?
THE DEMON KISSED HER, AND
THEN HE CAME INTO HER BEDROOM.
[ OWL HOOTING ]
Narrator: DEMONS...
THE MOST FEARED MYTHICAL BEASTS OF ALL.
THESE EVIL SPIRITS HAVE THE
POWER TO CLAIM YOUR SOUL
AND SEND YOU TO HELL.
WHAT DID PEOPLE THINK THEY COULD DO
TO DEFEND THEMSELVES AGAINST DEMON ATTACK?
ARCHAEOLOGIST MATT CHAMPION
SEARCHES FOR EVIDENCE
HIDDEN INSIDE A PARISH CHURCH.
TODAY, WE'RE USED TO
CHURCHES BEING QUITE PLAIN,
QUITE LIME-WASHED, BUT IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
THESE PLACES WERE ABSOLUTELY
COVERED IN EARLY GRAFFITI.
Narrator: MATT USES SPECIAL
LIGHTS THAT HIT THE STONE
AT A PRECISE ANGLE TO
FIND WHAT HE'S LOOKING FOR.
Champion: IF I MOVE THE LIGHT AROUND HERE,
YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE
GRAFFITI ALL OVER THE SURFACES.
WE'VE GOT MEDIEVAL TEXT, BUT
PERHAPS THE MOST SPECTACULAR
IS JUST UP HERE WHERE WE HAVE
THIS RATHER WONDERFUL PENTANGLE.
Narrator: THE PENTANGLE...
TODAY, IT'S THE SIGN OF THE OCCULT.
WHAT'S IT DOING IN A CHRISTIAN CHURCH?
THE ANSWER IS ETCHED INTO THE STONE
IN THESE BARELY VISIBLE LINES.
SO IF WE USE THIS, FIRST OF ALL,
YOU'VE GOT OUR BIG
BULBOUS EYE OVER THE TOP,
OR THIS NOSE AROUND THERE,
A BIG GAPING, OPEN MOUTH,
TEETH COMING IN HERE
AND THEN A BIG LOLLING TONGUE.
AND THEN AROUND HERE, WE HAVE AN EAR,
ANOTHER EAR OUT THERE, THERE,
AND THEN YOU HAVE A
WONDERFUL MEDIEVAL DEMON,
AND THEN OVER THE TOP OF THE
WHOLE THING IS A BIG PENTANGLE
LITERALLY PINNING THE DEMON TO THE WALL.
Narrator: THIS SYMBOL DEFENDED
THE MEDIEVAL CHURCHGOERS
AGAINST EVIL DEMONS.
ITS POWER LAY IN THE FACT
THAT IT CAN BE DRAWN IN
ONE CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT.
Champion: DEMONS, IF THEY SAW A LINE,
THEY HAD TO FOLLOW IT.
IN THE CASE OF AN ENDLESS
LINE, SUCH AS THIS PENTANGLE,
ONCE THEY STARTED TO
FOLLOW IT, THEY'D CONTINUE
AND BE TRAPPED IN THAT SYMBOL FOREVER.
Narrator: BUT HOW DID THE
PENTANGLE OR THE PENTAGRAM
BECOME A CHARM OF
PROTECTION AGAINST DEMONS?
LEGEND HAS IT THAT WHEN KING
SOLOMON BUILDS HIS TEMPLE,
A DEMON TERRORIZES HIS FAVORITE WORKER.
SOLOMON PRAYS FOR HELP,
AND THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL
COMES TO THE RESCUE.
HE GIVES THE KING A MAGICAL
RING ENGRAVED WITH A PENTAGRAM.
IT GIVES SOLOMON THE
POWER TO SUBDUE THE DEMON
BY BRANDING IT WITH THE SYMBOL.
THE KING THEN COMMANDS THE FIEND
TO CONJURE UP A WHOLE ARMY OF DEMONS,
SO THEY CAN FINISH HIS TEMPLE FOR HIM.
FOR CENTURIES AFTERWARDS,
THE PENTAGRAM WAS A TRADITIONAL
CHRISTIAN SYMBOL OF PROTECTION.
BUT IN THE 16th CENTURY, PEOPLE
WERE SO SCARED OF DEMONS,
THEY WANTED SAFEGUARDS AT HOME AS WELL.
IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND,
ARCHAEOLOGIST NATHALIE COHEN
INVESTIGATES A RECENT DISCOVERY
MADE DURING THE RESTORATION OF KNOLE HOUSE.
IT REVEALS JUST HOW ELABORATE
DEMON DEFENSE SYSTEMS BECAME.
WE'RE LOOKING HERE AT A
SERIES OF WHAT ARE CALLED
WITCH MARKS OR DEMON TRAPS.
THEY REPRESENT A FORM OF
RITUAL PROTECTION IN THIS SPACE,
DESIGNED TO PROTECT
THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM,
IN PARTICULAR, WHEN THEY WERE IN BED,
WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN BEHIND ME, HERE.
Narrator: THIS IS NOT THE
ONLY PLACE IN THE ROOM
WHERE PRECAUTIONS AGAINST DEMONS
HAVE BEEN UNCOVERED.
Cohen: AROUND THE FIREPLACE,
WE ALSO HAVE RITUAL PROTECTION MARKS,
BUT THESE ARE IN THE FORM OF
WHAT ARE CALLED VV MARKS OR M's,
SO THEY'RE INVOKING THE
PROTECTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY.
SO THE IDEA BEHIND THE
RITUAL PROTECTION MARKS
AROUND THE FIREPLACE
IS THAT YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY
CREATING A KIND OF VIRTUAL BOX
BEYOND WHICH IF ANYTHING BAD COMES DOWN,
IT CAN'T GO PAST WHERE THE MARKS ARE.
Narrator: SO WHY DID PEOPLE
SEEK TO PROTECT THE FIREPLACE
AND HEARTH IN PARTICULAR?
IN THE 16th CENTURY,
PEOPLE FEARED THAT DEMONS
WOULD TRY TO INVADE THEIR HOMES.
CLOSED WINDOWS AND DOORS
COULDN'T HOLD THEM BACK
AS THEY CAN SIMPLY ENTER
THROUGH THE CHIMNEY.
ONCE IN THE BEDROOM,
THE DEMON WOULD ATTACK.
IT WOULD SIT ON THE VICTIM'S
CHEST AND BRUTALLY ASSAULT THEM.
EVEN IF THE SLEEPER WOKE
UP, THEY'D REMAIN PARALYZED,
UNABLE TO FEND OFF THE
CHOKING CLAWS OF THE DEMON.
WE MIGHT NOW EXPLAIN SOME
OF THESE DEMON ATTACKS
AS A KIND OF SLEEP PARALYSIS
WHEN WE ARE BETWEEN
BEING AWAKE AND BEING ASLEEP.
5% OF THE POPULATION, THEY
WILL SUFFER IT REGULARLY.
THE PERSON OFTEN FEELS THAT
THEY ARE PHYSICALLY PINNED
TO THE BED, AND THEY CANNOT MOVE.
Narrator: BUT DEMONS
DIDN'T JUST DAMN YOUR SOUL.
THEY ALSO SEDUCED PEOPLE
INTO BECOMING WITCHES
IN EXCHANGE FOR SUPERNATURAL POWERS.
WHAT PRICE WOULD THEY PAY
FOR THIS DEMONIC BARGAIN?
Narrator: EXPERTS INVESTIGATE WHY
OUR ANCESTORS THOUGHT DEMONS
WERE THE MOST TERRIFYING
MYTHICAL BEASTS OF ALL.
THESE EVIL SPIRITS WOULD DO
ANYTHING TO STEAL YOUR SOUL.
DEMONS COULD CORRUPT YOU IN
DEVIOUS AND UNEXPECTED WAYS.
IN 17th-CENTURY EUROPE,
PEOPLE BECAME INCREASINGLY CONCERNED
ABOUT ANOTHER TERRIFYING
PROBLEM... WITCHES.
WITCHES WERE THOUGHT TO BE PEOPLE
WHO HAD MADE AN UNHOLY
ALLIANCE WITH THE DEVIL
AND HIS HELLISH SERVANTS,
BUT HOW DID DEMONS MAKE SOMEONE A WITCH?
IT WAS THOUGHT THAT THE DEVIL
AND HIS DEMONS HUNTED AT NIGHT,
LOOKING FOR VICTIMS TO
LURE INTO THEIR EVIL CIRCLE.
THEY MAINLY PREYED ON SINGLE WOMEN,
SEDUCING THEM INTO A DEMONIC BARGAIN.
IN EXCHANGE FOR SEX,
THEY TURNED THEM INTO WITCHES
WITH SUPERNATURAL POWERS,
BUT IN RETURN, THE DEMON TOOK THEIR SOUL,
AND THEY HAD TO JOIN
SATAN'S ARMY FOR ETERNITY.
IN THE 1600s,
THIS WAS WHERE SOME SUSPECTED
WITCHES WERE IMPRISONED,
AT COLCHESTER CASTLE IN SOUTHEAST ENGLAND.
HERE, PROFESSOR MARION GIBSON
UNCOVERS REAL-LIFE ACCOUNTS
OF HOW DEMONS SUPPOSEDLY SEDUCED
WOMEN INTO SELLING THEIR SOULS.
DISGUISED AS AN ORDINARY PERSON,
THE DEMON WOULD REEL HIS VICTIM IN
BY OFFERING TO HELP WITH THEIR GRIEVANCES.
Gibson: THE DEMON WOULD
APPROACH HER AND PERHAPS SAY,
"I HEAR YOU'VE BEEN HAVING
TROUBLE WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS.
I KNOW THAT FARMER SO-AND-SO
HAS BEEN MEAN TO YOU.
WOULD YOU LIKE SOME HELP WITH YOUR LIFE?"
A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS
HERE, THIS IS REBECCA WEST,
PROBABLY 17 OR 18 YEARS OF AGE.
THE DEMON KISSED HER,
AND HE SAID THAT HE
WOULD LIKE TO MARRY HER,
AND THEN HE CAME INTO HER BEDROOM,
AND SO REBECCA BECAME A WITCH.
Narrator: WHAT SUPERNATURAL
POWERS DID THOSE
IN LEAGUE WITH DEMONS OBTAIN?
PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT
WITCHES COULD CAST EVIL SPELLS
ON THOSE THEY DISLIKED.
CURSES COULD START SMALL,
LIKE SPOILING A NEIGHBOR'S BUTTER,
BUT WITCHES WERE ALSO BLAMED
FOR DESTROYING WHOLE CROPS,
KILLING HERDS OF PRECIOUS FARM ANIMALS,
CAUSING SICKNESS AND DEATH
AND EVEN SUMMONING DEADLY STORMS
THAT COULD LAY WASTE TO AN ENTIRE CITY.
♪♪
FEAR OF WITCHES WITH DEMONIC POWERS
WAS NOT JUST THE PRESERVE
OF THE UNEDUCATED.
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON,
HISTORIAN DR. NICK BARRATT
HAS UNCOVERED EVIDENCE
THAT THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY IN THE LAND
CONSIDERED THEM TO BE A
REAL AND PRESENT DANGER.
Barratt: THIS BOOK IS
CALLED "DAEMONOLOGIE,"
AND IT WAS WRITTEN IN 1597
BY KING JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND
BEFORE HE BECAME KING JAMES I OF ENGLAND.
THE KING FIRMLY BELIEVED THAT
WITCHES AND DEMONS EXISTED.
HE ALSO BELIEVED THEY SHOULD BE DESTROYED,
SWEPT FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH,
AND THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT
THAT HE COMMUNICATED
THAT MESSAGE TO THE WIDER POPULATION.
Narrator: KING JAMES PERSONALLY BELIEVED
WITCHES WERE OUT TO GET HIM.
IN 1590, THE KING'S NEW
WIFE, ANNE OF DENMARK,
WAS SAILING TO SCOTLAND.
A TERRIBLE STORM HIT HER SHIP,
FORCING THE CREW TO ABANDON THE VOYAGE.
THE DANISH ADMIRAL BLAMED
THE STORM ON WITCHCRAFT
AND DEMONS CLIMBING
UP THE KEEL OF THE SHIP.
WHEN THE QUEEN FINALLY REACHED SCOTLAND,
RUMORS OF WITCHCRAFT GRIPPED THE COUNTRY.
UNDER TORTURE, ONE WOMAN
CONFESSED TO RAISING STORMS
AND TRYING TO KILL THE KING.
FROM THEN ON, KING JAMES
PERSECUTED WITCHES IN SCOTLAND
WITH EXTREME BRUTALITY.
Barratt: THIS WASN'T SOME
PEASANT SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF.
THIS WAS PERSONAL.
HE HAD THE EVIDENCE,
AND THIS WAS HIS RESPONSE,
"DAEMONOLOGIE," SETTING OUT
ALL OF THE FEARS THAT HE HAD,
SO OTHERS COULD TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS
TO ERADICATE WITCHES.
Narrator: WITCH-HUNTERS AROSE
TO PURGE THE LAND OF THESE EVIL CREATURES
IN LEAGUE WITH DEMONS,
BUT HOW COULD THEY BE IDENTIFIED?
THE WITCH-HUNTER WAS
LOOKING FOR A MARK OF THE DEVIL.
Narrator: AND WHY WERE
FAIRIES ONCE THOUGHT TO BE
THE MOST TERRIBLE DEMONS OF THEM ALL?
I'M HERE TO INVESTIGATE A MURDER.
♪♪
Narrator: IN ENGLAND IN
THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES,
FEAR OF DEMONS
AND THE WITCHES IN LEAGUE
WITH THEM REACHED FEVER PITCH.
EVEN KING JAMES I FEARED FOR HIS LIFE
AND ORDERED THEM TO BE
REMOVED FROM THE LAND.
PEOPLE WERE SO AFRAID
OF WITCHES THAT COMMONLY,
THEY MIGHT EVEN DENOUNCE
THEIR OWN FAMILY MEMBERS
AND ACCUSE THEIR OWN SISTERS OR DAUGHTERS
OR EVEN THEIR OWN MOTHERS.
Narrator: IN ORDER TO ERADICATE THEM,
WITCHES HAD TO BE IDENTIFIED.
THE AUTHORITIES BELIEVED
THERE WERE PHYSICAL SIGNS
THAT MARKED THEM OUT.
IF A WOMAN MADE A PACT WITH A DEMON,
SHE GREW A LARGE WART ON
HER BODY CALLED A WITCH'S TEAT.
THE WITCH USED HER TEAT TO SUCKLE DEMONS
IN THE FORM OF ANIMALS,
ALLOWING THEM TO DRINK HER BLOOD.
KNOWN AS FAMILIARS, THEY
WERE SMART BUT EVIL SPIRITS
THAT PROTECTED THE WITCH
AND CARRIED OUT MAGICAL TASKS.
PEOPLE BELIEVED THESE
DEMONS COULD TAKE MANY FORMS,
FROM CATS AND DOGS TO TOADS, BATS, RATS
AND EVEN SPIDERS.
WHAT REAL-WORLD
INSPIRATION LIES BEHIND THE IDEA
OF THE WITCH'S EXTRA TEAT?
AT HER LAB, COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
DR. JOY REIDENBERG INVESTIGATES.
Dr. Reidenberg: THE
WITCH-HUNTER WAS LOOKING
FOR A MARK OF THE DEVIL,
IS GOING TO LOOK FOR
ANYTHING OUT OF THE UNUSUAL.
ONE OF THE MOST COMMON THINGS YOU CAN FIND
ARE LITTLE SKIN TAGS,
AND THAT'S WHAT'S SHOWN RIGHT OVER HERE.
THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT
OF SKIN THAT'S STICKING OUT,
AND IT MAKES A LITTLE LUMP,
AND IF IT WAS VISIBLE, IT
WAS A MARK OF THE DEVIL.
HERE'S ANOTHER THING THAT WAS OFTEN FOUND.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT SOMEBODY'S CHEST,
AND THEY NORMALLY HAVE
A NIPPLE RIGHT OVER HERE,
BELOW IT, THERE MIGHT BE ANOTHER NIPPLE.
THAT WOULD BE A THIRD NIPPLE.
THIS IS A REALLY COMMON THING.
IT HAPPENS IN SOMETHING,
LIKE, APPROXIMATELY 5% OF THE POPULATION,
AND IF YOU SEE THIS,
THIS IS, LIKE, THE JACKPOT
BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT
A WITCH COULD USE TO NURSE
AND SUCKLE A DEMON
OR MAYBE ONE OF THEIR DEMONIC
FAMILIARS LIKE A CAT OR A DOG.
Narrator: BUT THIS WASN'T THE
ONLY WAY TO IDENTIFY SOMEONE
WHO HAD MADE A PACT WITH DEMONS.
SUSPECTED WITCHES WERE ALSO
SUBJECT TO TRIALS BY ORDEAL.
THE GOLD STANDARD WAS THE SWIMMING TEST.
THOSE SUSPECTED OF
BEING IN LEAGUE WITH DEMONS
WERE BOUND AND PLUNGED INTO WATER.
PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT IF THEY
WERE A WITCH, THEY WOULD FLOAT.
BUT IS THERE ANOTHER
EXPLANATION FOR THOSE WHO ROSE
TO THE SURFACE AND WHO SANK?
AT IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON,
PHYSICIST SCOTT MELVILLE
HAS DESIGNED AN EXPERIMENT
TO SHOW HOW THE TEST WORKED
AND WHY SOME PEOPLE
WERE MORE LIKELY TO FAIL.
MOST PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF WITCH-DUNKING
OR THE SWIMMING TEST
WHEREBY YOU THROW A
SUPPOSED WITCH INTO SOME WATER,
AND IF THEY FLOAT, THEY'RE A WITCH,
BUT IF THEY SINK, THEY'RE INNOCENT.
WE WANT TO KNOW IF THERE'S
ANY SCIENCE BEHIND THIS TEST.
HOW WELL SOMEONE FLOATS DEPENDS VERY MUCH
ON WHAT THEY'RE MADE OF.
IN THIS TUBE, WE HAVE VEGETABLE OIL,
WHICH IS ROUGHLY AS DENSE AS BODY FAT,
AND IN THIS TUBE, WE HAVE CORN SYRUP,
WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT
DENSER THAN YOUR MUSCLE
BUT ROUGHLY THE SAME.
Narrator: THE VEGETABLE OIL
REPRESENTS OLDER WOMEN
WHO TYPICALLY HAVE HIGHER
BODY FAT AND LOWER BONE DENSITY.
CORN SYRUP REPRESENTS MEN
WHO GENERALLY HAVE GREATER MUSCLE MASS.
SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO
DO IS SEE WHICH ONES FLOAT
AND WHICH ONES SINK.
BIG BAG OF FAT FLOATS.
BIG BAG OF MUSCLE... OH,
AND IT SINKS LIKE A STONE.
THE THING TO TAKE AWAY FROM
THIS IS THAT BECAUSE MEN TYPICALLY
HAVE MORE MUSCLE PER MASS,
WOMEN ARE BETTER AT FLOATING,
AND SO THIS WHOLE WITCHCRAFT TEST IS RIGGED
AND WILL DISPROPORTIONATELY
SINGLE OUT WOMEN
AS OPPOSED TO MEN.
Regal: AT THE HEART OF THE FEAR
OF WITCHES IS THE FEAR OF WOMEN.
WITCHES WERE WOMEN WHO WERE ASSERTIVE.
THEY WERE INTELLIGENT.
THEY KNEW HOW TO DO THINGS.
THEY ARE HATED BECAUSE
THEY DON'T WANT TO BE
KEPT IN THE TRADITIONAL ROLE,
AND THAT IS SOMETHING WHICH
IS DEEPLY FEARFUL TO MEN.
Narrator: FOR 300 YEARS, A
GREAT WAVE OF WITCH-HUNTING
SWEPT ACROSS EUROPE.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF WOMEN WERE ACCUSED.
THEY WERE TORTURED INTO CONFESSING
THAT THEY WERE IN LEAGUE WITH DEMONS.
IF FOUND GUILTY, THEY WERE
HANGED OR BURNED AT THE STAKE.
[ WOMEN SCREAMING ]
Regal: WITCH TRIALS WERE
REALLY QUITE COMMON.
EUROPE TENDED TO GO REALLY CRAZY.
IN EUROPE, A WITCH WOULD
BE MORE LIKELY TO BE BURNED
THAN ANYPLACE ELSE.
Narrator: AS KNOWLEDGE AND SKEPTICISM
GREW OVER THE FOLLOWING CENTURIES,
BELIEF IN DEMONIC POSSESSION AND WITCHCRAFT
SUBSIDED ACROSS ENGLAND.
BUT IN NEIGHBORING IRELAND,
ANOTHER FORM OF DEMON PERSISTED
RIGHT INTO THE 20th CENTURY... FAIRIES.
PEOPLE THOUGHT THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE MOST TERRIBLE OF CRIMES.
THIS WAS A PLACE WHERE A GROUP OF PEOPLE
ENDED UP KILLING ONE OF THEIR OWN.
Narrator: WITH THE DAWN OF THE MODERN AGE,
DEMONS WERE FINALLY
LOSING THEIR HORRIFYING GRIP
ON THE IMAGINATION OF EUROPE.
BELIEF IN POSSESSION BY DEMONS
WAS AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN HUMAN BEHAVIOR
THAT WE DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND,
SO WITH THE GROWTH OF
PSYCHOLOGY AND MODERN SCIENCE,
THAT BELIEF IN DEMONS STARTS TO EBB AWAY.
Narrator: BUT IN IRELAND,
ONE PARTICULAR DEMON WOULDN'T LET GO,
AND IT TOOK THE FORM OF A CREATURE
YOU WOULD LEAST EXPECT... THE FAIRY.
THESE FAIRIES ARE NOT LIKE TINKER BELL.
THEY ARE TERRIFYING DEMONS ATTACKING YOU
BY TAKING WHAT IS MOST PRECIOUS...
YOUR CHILD.
Narrator: MYTH HAS IT THAT
THEY SNATCH HUMAN BABIES
AND REPLACE THEM WITH THEIR OWN.
FIRST, THE CHANGELING GOES UNNOTICED
BUT SOON TURNS INTO A
CONSTANTLY CRYING NIGHTMARE.
FAIRY CHANGELINGS ARE
ALWAYS HUNGRY BUT FAIL TO GROW
AND ARE SLOW TO WALK AND TALK.
DESPERATE PARENTS TAKE DESPERATE MEASURES
AND PUT THE CHANGELING IN HARM'S WAY.
THEY HOPE THIS WILL FORCE THE FAIRY MOTHER
TO RUN TO THE RESCUE
AND SWAP THE BABIES BACK.
THE BELIEF IN THE FAIRY LIVED
ON A BIT LONGER IN IRELAND.
YOU HAD MORE PEOPLE THAT
WERE STILL LIVING OUT IN NATURE
THAT WERE STILL VERY MUCH
KIND OF AFFECTED BY THE SEASONS,
SO THAT BELIEF IN FAIRIES IS VERY MUCH TIED
TO A SENSE OF THE LANDS.
Narrator: CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGIST DEBORAH HYDE
INVESTIGATES HOW BELIEF IN FAIRIES
IMPACTED PEOPLES' LIVES.
NOW, OUR MODERN FAIRIES CAN GRANT WISHES.
THEY MIGHT HAVE TINKLING LITTLE VOICES,
BUT THE TRADITIONAL FAIRIES WERE POWERFUL,
AND THEY WERE ALSO
POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS.
ALTHOUGH CHANGELINGS
WERE MOST OFTEN, IN PRACTICE,
THOUGHT TO BE CHILDREN, IN THEORY,
THEY COULD ALSO BE ADULTS.
Narrator: DEBORAH HAS
COME TO COUNTY TIPPERARY
TO UNCOVER A CASE OF
SUSPECTED FAIRY ABDUCTION.
IT TOOK PLACE JUST OVER 100 YEARS AGO.
I'M HERE TO INVESTIGATE A MURDER.
NOW, THIS IS A COPY OF
A NEWSPAPER FROM 1895,
AND IT REPORTS THAT A
MAN NAMED MICHAEL CLEARY
HAD KILLED HIS WIFE BY
BURNING HER TO DEATH.
THE JURY WAS FREE TO CONVICT
HIM OF MURDER, BUT THEY DIDN'T.
THEY CONVICTED HIM OF MANSLAUGHTER
BECAUSE IT BECAME APPARENT
THAT MICHAEL CLEARY TRULY BELIEVED
THAT HIS WIFE WAS A FAIRY CHANGELING.
Narrator: WHY WAS MICHAEL
CLEARY SO CONVINCED
THAT HIS WIFE HAD BEEN
TAKEN AND REPLACED BY A FAIRY?
WHAT MADE HIM KILL HER?
DEBORAH HUNTS FOR CLUES AT THE SITE
OF AN ANCIENT IRON-AGE HILLFORT,
WHERE FAIRIES WERE ONCE BELIEVED TO LIVE.
Hyde: FAIRY FOLKLORE IS
FULL OF INCIDENCES OF PEOPLE
BEING KIDNAPPED AND TAKEN OFF TO FAIRYLAND.
A PLACE LIKE THIS WAS POTENTIALLY SINISTER,
AND YOU WOULDN'T COME UP HERE BY YOURSELF.
Narrator: BUT IN 1895, MICHAEL
CLEARY'S WIFE, BRIDGET,
DID JUST THAT WITH FATAL CONSEQUENCES.
BRIDGET CLEARY WAS AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN.
SHE HAD HER OWN BUSINESS,
AND SHE WAS GOING TO DELIVER
SOME EGGS UP BY A FAIRY FORT.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE PERSON
SHE WAS DELIVERING THE EGGS TO
OR COLLECTING THE MONEY
FROM WASN'T IN THAT DAY,
SO SHE SPENT A LOT OF TIME OUT IN THE COLD.
THE NEXT DAY, BRIDGET BECAME SERIOUSLY ILL
WITH FEVERS AND HEADACHES.
SUSPICIONS WERE RAISED THAT
BECAUSE SHE PASSED BY THE OLD FORT,
SHE WAS NO LONGER
HERSELF BUT A FAIRY IMPOSTOR.
BRIDGET HAD VISITS FROM SEVERAL PEOPLE
IN HER EXTENDED FAMILY, INCLUDING A VISIT
FROM A MAN NAMED JACK DUNN,
WHO WAS A DISTANT COUSIN.
HE WAS A LOCAL FAIRY DOCTOR.
HE USED TRADITIONAL METHODS TO CURE PEOPLE.
HE SAID, "THAT'S NOT BRIDGET CLEARY,"
AND THAT SUGGESTED VERY
STRONGLY TO ALL AROUND
THAT SHE WAS NOW A CHANGELING.
Narrator: WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
TOOK PLACE AT THIS VERY HOUSE.
WOW.
THIS IS THE ROOM WHERE
IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED,
AND THIS IS THE HEARTH
WHERE IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
Narrator: TO GET HIS WIFE BACK,
MICHAEL CLEARY DECIDED TO
HOLD BRIDGET OVER THE FIRE.
HE BELIEVED DOING THIS
WOULD TRICK THE FAIRY
INTO RESCUING ITS LOVED
ONE AND RETURNING HIS WIFE.
[ BRIDGET SCREAMING ]
Hyde: BRIDGET CLEARY WAS BROUGHT OVER HERE,
AND THE FIRE WAS ACCELERATED
BECAUSE MICHAEL CLEARY
DOUSED HER IN LAMP OIL SEVERAL TIMES.
HER WHOLE FAMILY WAS HERE,
SO IT'S WORTH REMEMBERING, HE WASN'T ALONE,
AND THEY MENTIONED THAT
THE BLAZES WERE SO HIGH
THAT THEY TRAVELED NEARLY ACROSS THE ROOM.
[ BRIDGET SCREAMING ]
Hyde: THIS WAS A PLACE
WHERE A GROUP OF PEOPLE
ENDED UP KILLING ONE OF THEIR OWN.
Narrator: BRIDGET CLEARY WAS
THE LAST IN A LONG LINE OF WOMEN
TO BE BURNED IN THE BRITISH ISLES
AS A RESULT OF THE HYSTERIA
AROUND DEMONIC CREATURES
THAT LASTED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
WHEN PEOPLE GET SCARED
OVER RELIGIOUS REASONS,
IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR
THEM TO START USING THAT
AS A PRETEXT FOR ROUNDING UP PEOPLE
AND THROWING THEM IN PRISON
AND BURNING THEM AT THE STAKE.
Narrator: DEMONS... THESE
SINISTER SHAPESHIFTING MONSTERS
HAVE TORMENTED MANKIND FOR CENTURIES.
FROM THE LOWLIEST PEASANT TO
THE HIGHEST OFFICE IN THE LAND,
THEY EMBODIED OUR GREATEST
FEARS ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION
AND FUELED THE PERSECUTION
AND MURDER OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT LIVES.
EXPERTS HAVE REVEALED THAT BY
INSPIRING SO MUCH TERROR IN US,
DEMONS WERE THE MOST
DANGEROUS MYTHICAL BEASTS OF ALL.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪