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The BeginningsAnd Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”– The Gospel according to Mark 1INTRODUCING THE INTRODUCTIONSThis study deals with demons, and the plural and heterogeneous materialsassociated with them. It is not concerned with the actual existence of suchbeings, or with metaphysical speculations that such beliefs might inspire;rather, the reality of demons I am interested in unfolds in the pages of fictionand in horror movies, in hallucinatory fantasies of visionaries, madmen,and people tormented by anxieties and oppressive social conditions. 2 Troublesomeand often obnoxious, demons nevertheless continue to figure inour nightmares and even in such waking fantasies as might be granted thename of art. They have been in our cultural vocabulary for thousands ofyears and continue to challenge our assumptions and theories of human nature.Ancient transgressors, they help to give a historical dimension to thecurrent debate on dissolution of subjectivity, plurality, heterogeneity andconflicts in the structure of the self. They can be approached with theoriesof text or the self, but in the process they also help to reveal the demonictensions in these theories, in their own textual selves.Since the subject of this study is plural, not one, it is only appropriatethat it has several introductions. The first one, “Discovering the DemonicHeritage” will open this work with some notable examples of demonic figuresappearing in folklore and literature. The next section, titled “The Characterof This Study,” will position my work by discussing its goals, theoreticaland methodological preferences, and it also clarifies my use of some key1 Mk. 5:9. – Bible translations are from the “Revised Standard Version” if not otherwiseindicated.2 Readers interested in engaging in campaigns against the demonic powers are wellserved by the abundant offerings of bestselling “spiritual warfare” literature; e.g. Kurt E.Koch, Between Christ and Satan (1968) and Demonology Past and Present: Discerning andOvercoming Demonic Strongholds (1973), Hal Lindsey with C.C., Carlson, Satan is Aliveand Well on Planet Earth (1972), Mark I. Bubeck, The Adversary: The Christian VersusDemon Activity (1975) and Overcoming the Adversary (1984), Gregory A. Boyd, God atWar: The Bible and Spiritual Conflict (1997), Thomas E. Trask and Wayde I. Goodall,The Battle: Defeating the Enemies of Your Soul (1997) – just to mention a few classic andrecent examples.
2Demonic Texts and Textual Demonsconcepts. In the section “Previous Research” the reader will find whichstudies I consider as the most important predecessors and influences on thisresearch. Finally, “How to Use This Book” gives some reading advice andoutlines the contents of the different chapters. The whole work can also beread as an introduction; it is an introduction to a special area, often characterisedby controversy and confusion. My hope is that this book can informand stimulate its readers to create their own interpretations, either parallel tothe lines I have drawn in my readings, or in new directions.Next, I will quickly outline how the demonic has figured in differentmythologies and folklore and then in the Western literary tradition by referenceto some canonical works. This will familiarise the reader with somecentral themes – the relationship between self and demonic figures, and theinternalisation of the demonic, in particular – which will be studied withmore detail in the subsequent chapters.DISCOVERING THE DEMONIC HERITAGEThe prevailing hold that realistic narrative conventions still have on our impressionsof literature might make demons appear as marginal figures –fairytale remnants from an alien culture. However, one needs only to take awider look at the cultural and historical landscape and the situation altersdramatically.Various demonic beings are present in narratives all over the world.They haunt and pursue, tempt and terrify – and charge innumerable storiesin this process with necessary excitement as the protagonists try to survivetheir visitations. In the Sanskrit epic, Ramayana, the ten-headed king of demons,Ravana, abducts queen Sita and forces her husband Rama and his alliesto undergo numerous adventures before they eventually succeed in slayingRavana. In another part of the world, the Zoroastrians tell of Ahriman,“the Lie,” an evil lord who fights with his demons against the light and goodcreation of Ahura Mazda only to be defeated by him at the end of time. Theeducated and sophisticated elite often scorns the belief in the existence ofdemons, but these creatures have such a hold on the imagination that theykeep coming back. Buddhism is a good example of this. The Blessed Onecould have taught the non-existence of gods and demons, but as the doctrinewas transmitted in narratives there has been very little Buddhism withoutsome mythology that often also exhibits demonic figures. The BadhânaSutta and many other Buddhist sources relate colourful stories that describehow Mâra, the Evil One, does his worst to complicate Siddharta’s road toenlightenment. As T.O. Ling writes, “Mâra emerges from the background ofpopular demonology, and has obvious affinities with it.” 3 Stories about de-3 See Ling 1962, 43-71 (quotation from the page 44). The section “Works of GeneralReference” in my bibliography offers starting points for those interested in getting moreinformation about non-Western demonologies. (See especially The Encyclopedia of Religion,ed. Mircea Eliade.)
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2. The Demonic in the SelfBut ancie
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The Demonic in the Self 71LEADER:Yo
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The Demonic in the Self 73Particula
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3. Unravelling the Demonic TextThe
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PART II
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114Demonic Texts and Textual Demons
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The EpilogueIf there are answers to
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BibliographyA note on this bibliogr
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Index2001: A Space Odyssey; 207abje
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