The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

Rosemary’s Baby 215
with a knife, appears. She is told how the Devil chose her
for her role. When she first sees the infant, swaddled in
black in a black bassinet, she is horrified and can hardly
bear to look upon the golden-yellow animal eyes, the orange-red
hair, the tail, and the budding horns. His little
hands, which have “tiny, pearly” claws, are encased in
black mittens so that he does not scratch himself. Rosemary
decides she will kill the creature and commit suicide,
but then becomes fascinated with it; it is, after all,
hers. With the witches’ encouragement, she begins to
mother it, holding on to a naive hope that she will be able
to exert a good influence over it. The Antichrist gains a
foothold in the world.
Rosemary’s Baby influenced other coming-of-the-Antichrist
films, such as The Omen (1976), about an adopted
child Devil who escapes destruction.