The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

72 Eligor
lips grew, reportedly, to the size of hands. Her abdomen
would swell to the point of bursting, only to retract and
become so hard and heavy that the iron bedstead would
bend under the enormous weight.
In addition to the physical changes, Anna understood
languages previously unknown to her, recoiled
at holy words and objects, and revealed clairvoyant
knowledge by exposing secret childhood sins of the
other participants. The nuns and Father Steiger were so
frightened and troubled that none of them could stay in
Anna’s room throughout the entire exorcism but instead
worked in shifts. Father Steiger, taunted by the devils
for having agreed to the exorcism in his parish, was
especially harassed and suffered an auto accident that
the devils had predicted and apparently arranged. Only
Father Theophilus, confident of his powers, remained
steadfast.
Hordes of lesser devils and avenging spirits, described
as like “a swarm of mosquitoes,” possessed Anna, but her
principal tormentors were BEELZEBUB, Judas Iscariot, and
the spirits of her father, Jacob, and his mistress, Anna’s
aunt Mina. Beelzebub revealed himself first, engaging
Father Theophilus in sarcastic theological conversations
and acknowledging that the curses of Jacob, Anna’s father,
sent the devils into her at age 14. Father Theophilus
tried to reach Jacob, only to be answered by a spirit identifying
himself as Judas Iscariot, who admitted he was
there to torment Anna to commit suicide and thereby go
to HELL.
Jacob eventually spoke and said that he had cursed
Anna for not submitting to his incestuous advances, calling
upon the devil to tempt her with every unspeakable
sin against chastity. In Begone Satan! the author describes
Jacob’s life as “coarse and brutal,” taking Anna’s aunt
Mina as a mistress while he was still married and repeatedly
trying to seduce Anna. At his death, a priest had administered
extreme unction, but Jacob ridiculed him. The
author continues: “In the judgment after death even all
that was pardoned him, but (because) he had cursed his
own daughter . . . that ultimately was the guilt of his eternal
damnation. And so he was still scheming in hell how
he could torture and molest his child. This Lucifer gladly
permitted him to do.” Whether Anna’s virginity really
remained intact, even at age 46, or whether she had repressed
her sexual contact with her father is unknown.
A high, falsetto voice, present from the beginning
among the other voices, revealed itself as that of Mina.
God had damned her for living with Jacob and for murdering
four children. Begone Satan! suggests that the children
were Mina’s own, but they may also have been multiple
abortions. The author describes Mina as any devil’s
equal for malice and hate, filled with spite and blaspheming
the Blessed Sacrament.
The author remarks that the truly amazing aspects of
Anna’s possession were her basic virtue and pious disposition
throughout her ordeal, because “the devil has no
power over the free will of a human being.” Sensing his
eventual triumph, Father Theophilus continued to exhort
the devils to depart, and by the latter part of December
1928, they began to weaken and moan, rather than
scream, against his efforts. Father Theophilus demanded
that when they returned to hell, each should call out his
name as a sign of his or her departure, and the devils
agreed.
On December 23, 1928, at about 9:00 P.M., Anna suddenly
jerked up and stood erect in bed, looking as if she
were about to rise to the ceiling. Father Steiger called
for the nuns to pull her down, while Father Theophilus
blessed her and roared, “Depart ye fiends of hell! Begone
Satan, the Lion of Juda reigns!” Anna crumpled back onto
the bed as a terrible shout of “Beelzebub, Judas, Jacob,
Mina” followed by “Hell, hell, hell” filled the room, repeated
several times until the sound seemed to fade into
the distance. Anna opened her eyes and smiled, while
tears of joy ran down her face and she cried, “My Jesus,
Mercy! Praised be Jesus Christ!”
Begone Satan! describes the end: “During the first
thrills of joy they were not even aware of the terrible odor
that filled the room. All the windows had to be opened,
the stench was something unearthly, simply unbearable.
It was the last souvenir of the infernal devils for those
they had to abandon upon the Earth.”
FURTHER READING:
Vogel, Rev. Carl. Begone, Satan! A Soul-Stirring Account of
Diabolical Possession in Iowa. Rockford, Ill.: TAN Books
and Publishers, 1973.
Eligor (Abigor) FALLEN ANGEL and the 15th of the 72
SPIRITS OF SOLOMON. Eligor is a duke who appears as a
goodly knight carrying a lance, a SERPENT, and an ensign.
He discovers hidden objects, kindles love and lust, and
procures the favor of lords and knights. He marshals
armies and causes war. He has 60 LEGIONs of DEMONs
under his command.
Emoniel DEMON and a wandering duke of the air. Emoniel
has 100 princes and chief dukes, 20 lesser dukes,
and a multitude of servants beneath him. The spirits live
mostly in the woods and must be summoned according
to their planetary hours. When they appear, they are
willing to obey commands. The 12 major dukes are
Ennoniel, Edriel, Camodiel, Phanuel, Dramiel, Pandiel,
Vasenel, Nasiniet, Cruhiet, Armesiel, Oaspeniel, and
Musiniel.
empousai In Greek lore, a type of female DEMON,
related to LAMIAE and similar to the SUCCUBUS. Empousae
means “forcers in.” Empusa is sometimes translated into
English as “vampire.”
The empousai are children of Hecate, the goddess of the
underworld (see CHTHONIC DEITIES), ghosts, and magic.
They appear at her bidding at midday when people make