#evil spirit

[rhetthammersmithhorror]

The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre | 1964

[weirdlookindog]

Tony Johannot (1803–1852) - Smarra, ou les démons de la nuit

from 'Contes de Charles Nodier', 1846

source

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

'Demon' by Liga Klavina - Raiska

[one-time-i-dreamt]

An evil spirit haunted me and my friends until I agreed to go on a gender discovery journey, but at the end of the journey it turned out I was just a vampire with the flu.

[thagg-likez-rokz]

Hey thagg, have you ever hit someone with a rock and the went to sleep forever?

Thanks so much <3 love you thagg

No bit almost did once

The night when Dog Head Man attack

One night while sleeping in cave Thagg wake up to hear screams! BIG SCREAMS! coming from mammoth fields. Sound like older brother Ort is in fight!

Thagg run to fields and see evil spirit attacking Ort! The Dog Head Man!

Thagg charge with spear, screaming as Thagg do.

But Dog Head Man hear Thagg and jump out of way, not Thaggs best idea. Thagg and Ort team up against Dog Head but Dog heads spear strong and he were bones to protect him. He shatter Thaggs spear and slam me Head on Boulder, probably think me dead.

Me wake up to see Ort on ground with spear stabs on leg. Thagg think quick and grab biggest rock and climb onto boulder. Thagg dizzy but he jump at Dog Head! Bring rock down as hard as he can on Dog Heads Head!

Dog Head go still.

Thagg go to help Ort but when Thagg turn around, Dog Head Gone.

But he leave his strong spear behind no Thagg use that one. Here is historical recreation!

[artsolarsash]

The final drawing of "Wanna make a deal?" If you want to make a deal with someone who wants to help you, think twice before it's too late

Inspiration from this song

[briefbestiary]

A mirror whose reflection is distorted with the reflections of the many evil spirits that have been reflected on its surface over its many years. If one were to look in, they might see a monstrous version of themself.

[laurasimonsdaughter]

Do you have any recommendations on good ways to find mythic/folkloric references? My untrained low-knowledge self currently only really uses what I find through search engines. That rarely lets me stumble upon niche sites that collate myths/folklore unless I already know the exact phrasing or name of the story the thing is from. If it helps, currently I'm trying to research banishment/containment devices for evil spirits, demons, etc. The demon sealing jar I've repeatedly come across in media especially intrigues me, though its origin seems to not exist???

I do have a post with my go-to websites for research, but I must admit those are better for finding folktales than specific mythological concepts.

For your specific research question I would advise you to pick a culture and if possible a time period to look into. It will be easier to find niche information if you are searching for something specific, rather than something general.

As for demons being sealed in jars, the concept of an malevolent spirit (as in supernatural entity, not ghost) being trapped in a bottle, jar or other container, is a tolerably widespread motif in folklore. In fact "The Spirit in the Bottle" has it's own tale type: ATU 331. It shows up in Europe from the Middle Ages onward, but while Stith Thompson (the T in ATU) was still uncertain whether it was originally European or Middle Eastern, Hans-Jörg Uther (the U in ATU) considers it to be of Jewish and Arabic origin.

Today the most well-known versions are probably these two:

The Fisherman and the Jinni, one of the stories in One Thousand and One Nights that was already present in its earliest known Arabic versions, from the 14th century. In it a fisherman catches a copper jar, sealed with lead that has the Seal of Solomon/Suleiman pressed into it. He opens it and an ifrit (powerful, malevolent jinn) emerges, who was imprisoned by Solomon. The jinn threatens to kill him, is tricked into going back into the jar, then released in return for pledging to help the fisherman.

The Spirit in the Glass Bottle, collected by the Grimms in Bökendorf, Germany, published in 1815. Here a malevolent spirit called Mercurius is trapped in a glass bottle stuck between the roots of a tree. He is freed by the kind protagonist, tricked into going back into the bottle after threatening to kill him, then freed again in return for a magical gift. How the bottle is able to contain the powerful spirit is not explained. (I grew up with a version of this story where the spirit is not released a second time.)

There are variants on the bottle/jar however, for example:

Virgilius the Sorcerer, a legend-like tale published in The Violet Fairy Book (1901) by Andrew Lang. Presumably written by him (or his wife), inspired by Medieval legends. Here the evil spirit is trapped in a small hole in the floor of a cave closed off with a bolt.

The legend of Paracelsus, a German tale published in English in 1892 in Folk-lore and Legends Germany. Its editor seems to be Charles John Tibbits, but no translators or sources are named. In this story the spirit has been trapped in a fir tree by a magician, which has a small stopper pushed into its trunk, sealed with three crosses.

(These might remind you of the Arthurian Merlin, sorcerer with demonic heritage, being imprisoned in a tree, cave, or stone by Niviane/Nimue/Viviane, first named in the Lancelot-Grail Cycle from the 13th century.)

Now, I prefer to stay in the realm of folktales rather than religious texts, but I will try to briefly explain the Jewish and Islamic foundations for this tale type - the link between King Solomon and controlling demons/jinn - under the cut:

The Tanakh describes King Solomon as the last to rule both Israel and Judah, son and successor to King David. He is considered a Jewish prophet, granted divine wisdom (I Kings 3:12). In the Talmud Solomon is described to have tricked Ashmedai/Asmodeus, the prince of the demons, into helping him to build the first temple. The text mentions a chain and a ring engraved with a sacred name of God, which are used to bind and then control the demon (Gittin 68a-b). (There is a Greek text of uncertain date and origin called The Testament of Solomon that says the ring has the seal of God on it.)

Solomon is considered an important prophet as well as ruler of the Israelites in the Quran, who is told to have had control over the wind and over many jinn (Quran 34:12, 38:36-37). A prevalent interpretation of the text states that this power is linked to Solomon possessing a ring that was given to him by Allah, and temporarily taken away as punishment (38.34 Jalal - Al-Jalalayn).

If you want a more historical, scholarly take on the folklore motif of imprisoning and controlling demons, take a look at this: Allegra Iafrate, ““Il demone nell’ampolla”: Solomon, Virgil, Aeolus, and the Long Metamorphosis of Rain Rituals and Wind-Taming Practices”, Revue de l’histoire des religions, 3 | 2017, 387-425.

I haven't read it in full, but it looks like it might give you some inspiration!

[conjureandreanimate]

THE BLOOD BROTHERS

1. ILL, The Terror of The Night Sky

Enigmatic in nature, ILL is the founder and leader of the group and is the most fearsome of them all. Despite it's status, folks often described ILL as a foolish hedonistic spirit, only seeking fun without a true goal, uncharacteristic for the supposed leader. However, a more experienced ghost knew that its outward appearance are merely a part of its deceitful nature...

2. BOND "AGES" WATERFALL, The Horror of the Deep Sea

Known for founding the infamous criminal group, TERMINA, AGES are feared and hated across the world. His tireless pursuit of finding the perfect partner is what drives him to create TERMINA. It is believed that he were the infamous Deutsch pirate who was sunken down to the bottom of the sea by the British empire. His soul now haunts the vast ocean, dragging any ship with its valuables to the unknown void that is The Bed of The Ocean.

3. HAYDAY "HAY" HAYWIRE, The Fright of the Far Lands

Also known as The Demon of Fall, HAY is the evil spirit who haunts the season of Fall, culminating his terror at the end of October. His power to control the weather has proven quite the trouble for the farmers, causing widespread famine. Eventually, at the end of the October, it will fully manifest itself, terrorizing any living being it sees. To prevent such terrible disaster to happen, mortals created Halloween, using sweets as offerings and wearing costumes to please HAY.

[rhetthammersmithhorror]

The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre | 1964

[weirdlookindog]

Valère Bernard (1860-1936) - Esprit des ténèbres (Spirit of Darkness), c. 1920

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

𝔑𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔬𝔫 𝔅𝔞𝔩𝔡 𝔐𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔦𝔫 - 𝔉𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔰𝔦𝔞 (յգկօ)

[profmusic]

Never thought Orion can be bit of power hungry wisp XD

Orion (@camdens-big-world)

[karkats-longsleeves]

A motherfucker... (song I drew this to here )

[utaitemusic]

悪霊 / 初���ミク

[artsolarsash]

Sketch “Let’s make a deal”