BELIEF IN DEMONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 260, 2 November 1929, Page 14 (Supplement)

BELIEF IN DEMONS.

PULL OF THE SUPERNATURAL

SORCERY AND ITS RISKS.

SUPERSTITIONS THAT HAUNTED

OUR FOREFATHERS,

We no longer believe in .demons and witches, and are fairly convinced that there are no such things as ghosts. Yet it can hardly be said that anyone of us is altogether free from superstition, which is far older than knowledge, and deeply implanted in the human mind. In earlier centuries the witch and the sorcerer practised their mysterious arts in secret. The law punished them with torture and death the Church declared the destruction of their souls. To-day

thaumaturgists of a great variety _of breeds advertise their skill in controlling the supernatural, and have quite as many paying patrons, apparently, a3 their prototypes in the Middle Ages. In parts of England cows are believed to forecast the future, and if they "moo" at midnight, it is a warning of -an approaching death in the owner's family. Superstition harks back to the early history of the human race, when our remote ancestors, dwelling in caves, formed their first conceptions of the world and of natural phenomena. Ghosts and Devils.

No superstition is more widespread than that which pertains to ghosts. The average person to-day would disclaim belief in ghosts, yet be badly frightened' by a sheeted joker pretending to be one. Stage magicians nowadays make jocular advertisement, of their intimacy with devils, whose counsels they humorously claim to be helpful. It is hard to realise that not very long ago' even educated people entertained no doubt whatever of the existence of devils. Insane persons and epileptics were supposed to be "possessed" by devils, and the business of driving them out occupied much ecclesiastical attention. In bygone centuries it was popularly believed that devils were flying about everywhere in the air, invisible./ There was always danger of taking one or more of them into the lungs' in breathing. Every imaginable kind of mischief was attributed to their activities. It is commonplace to say that knowledge is a deadly foe to superstition. Oi the latter there is to-day vastly less than in former times, for the simple reason that we have learned so much about the laws of nature. As soon as lightning came to' be understood, it ceased to be regarded as supernatural. But, as might be expected, in. countries where ignorance prevails among the masses of the people, superstition is still

rampant. Numerous superstitions relate to animals* insects not excepted. The "praying mantis," or "rearhorse," _ is supposed to predict death and famine. It is commonly asked for advice in important matters, a nod of its head indicating approval; and young girls consult the creature in affairs of love and marriage. The mountains of Germany are the principal home of the Little People, who figure so conspicuously in the folklore tales of the brothers Grimm. They are tiny dwarfs, corresponding descriptively to goblins, commonly mischievous and addicted to annoying pranks,'.but on occasions benevolent. According to an ingenious theory, belief in their existence, handed down by traditon, owes its origin to a race ,of still surviving in Africa and other parts of the world which anciently inhabited Europe. The mountains of the Brocken, the highest range in Germany, are famous for a "spectre"' which is occasionally to be seen from the edge of a certain lofty cliff. A person standing at the edge, with the sun at his rear, may see his shadow cast upon clouds -rolling past, the simulacrum surrounded by a wonderful halo. But it N is only now and then that conditions aire,favourable, and there is nothing supernatural about the phenomenon. The halo is due to diffraction of the sun's rays by the moisture particles of the cloud; and it is not true, as. has often' been alleged, that the "spectre" is of giant size. Strange Lights.

Sometimes it happens, on mountain tops, that the hair of climbers stands up on end and becomes luminous with a weird light. It was formerly thought to be a supernatural manifestation, and has doubtless on occasions been deemed evidence of saintship. In truth, however, it is due to a highly electrified condition of the atmosphere. When Napoleon was in Egypt, his soldiers were much alarmed by the mirages of,the desert. Seeing a distant village apparently elevated, into view above the horizon, they fell upon their knees in prayer. The explanation, however, was simple enough. Over the surface of the desert was spread a layer-of heated air, with relatively cool air above. As' a result-the light rays that came from the village below the horizon were so bent downward as to strike the soldiers' eyes, enabling them to see what at another time would have been invisible. ; ■■<■■'. , The Fata Morgana.

It is not. surprising that mirages should have been formerly regarded as supernatural. Most famous of them all is the spectral island which occasionally appears in the strait of Messina, between Sicily and the Italian mainland. It is seemingly a submersible island, and, according to legend, is the home of the fairy Morgan;. But the Fata Morgana, as the illusion is called, is due to atmospheric conditions similar to those described as occurring on the desert, and the mysterious isle seen only from the Italian side of the strait is in.reality a distorted image of the city of Messina.

The most 1 extraordinary-mirages are observed along the east coast of Greenland. As. viewed through telescopes from passing., ships, the cliffs seem crowned with forts and huge buildings, which constantly assume'new'forms. In Alaska, on the great Muir Glacier, a similar phenomenon is occasionally seen, a large city, with streets of houses, steeples, domes and minarets, presenting itself to the eye. But these seeming works of man are really hummocks of ice on the surface of the glacier;, and in this instance, as on the Greenland coast, a layer of cold air overlying the ice, with warmer air. above, is accountable for the refraction of light rays that produces the strange optical effect. Ogres and Fairies.

The folklore of Europe is enormously rich in stories, often fascinating, based upon old superstitions. What Action more delightful than, tales of ogres, 'such' as Jack and the Beanstalk? And what literature so charming as fairy tales for childhood? They are apparently of Celtic origin, figuring conspicuously in the folklore of the Irish, the Welsh.and the early Britons. Though sometimes impish in their ways, and delighting to befool mortals and make them ridiculous, they are friendly to mankind, and particularly so to children. Lucky the youngster who has a fairy godmother.

In rural Wales a common greeting is, "God grant that fairies may put money in your shoes and sweep your house clean!" • Nevertheless, when a babe is born into the world, it is prudent to be wary lest a fairy wife shall steal it and put a wizened "changeling" in its place. Such things, if there be truth in folklore, have often happened. The fairies of Ireland are called "korrigans," while those of the Isle of Man are "pixies," but the'y are all of the same breed. "Horns of Elfland, faintly blowing." In a silent woodland glade, how easy to imagine hears ,them. Peculiar to Ireland is the "banshee," who announces by mournful wailing the coming death of a member of the family. But it is only families of good old stock that can claim the services of a reliable banshee. When the voice is heard outside, the dogs in the yard turn their noses upward and emit sympathetic howls. The Vanishing of Time.

Most gruesome of all folklore tales are those which concern the supernatural lapse of time in Goblinland. Rip Van Winkle, on a summit of the Catskills, is entertained by silent company of gnomes. He goes to sleep, and wakens to discover that 20 years have passed, as if in a night. The folklore of Europe contains many such stories. At a wedding in County Clare, when jollification was at its height, the groom was told that there was somebody at the gate who wished to see him. He stepped out, to find an old woman, who offered him a wreath of gold. "This," she said, "is for your bonny bride; but first give me a kiss." He stooped and kissed her, then turned back to the house. But all was dark and silent, and the door was shut. He knocked, and a strange man opened the door. Where be my bride and the guests?" he demanded. The man knew nothing, though ho had heard his grandfather say that once there was a wedding in the house, which was interrupted by the sudden and mysterious disappearance of the groom, who never returned.

Since time immemorial, superstition has afforded a means of livelihood to many. Among primitive peoples the "witch doctor" is a professional who is able to control the supernatural powers. Even at the present time the business of sorcery is still profitable, and in earlier days belief in the skill of magicians, who were generally ■ supposed to be in league with Satan, was unqualified. The occupation of a sorcerer, however, has always involved serious risks. Nowadays such practitioners are sometimes sent t6 gaol; but formerly they were liable to much worse punishments. It was never, safe to be reputed a witch. Indeed, during the Middle Ages tens of thousands of persons, a great majority of them women, were burned at the stake on suspicion of witchcraft. In those times" any old woman who lived alone was particularly liable to be suspected as' a witch; and the bringing of such a charge against her was practically equivalent to conviction. It will be noticed that the conventional picture of a witch represents her as a hag in medieval costume, evidently very poor, and lamed by rheumatism, so that she walks with a stick. If she kept a cat, the animal was supposed to be an imp of Satin in disguise. The very broom with which she swept her wretched dwelling was imagined to be straddled and ridden by heVin nocturnal flights over the chimney tops.