DEMONANCY
Also called necyomancy A form of divination that calls on demons to reveal the truth of a matter or of future events. This is done by summoning spirits via an oracle or occult magic. Demons, however, are reputedly perverse, so the accuracy of any predictions made is thought to be unreliable. Moreover, some demons are believed to be hard to control and, if they are able to free themselves from the constraints put on them, they can take over the body and soul of the summoner.
DEMONOLOGY
The study of demons or malevolent spirits and their powers, attributes and derivations. Demons were thought to be extremely evil and extremely clever, masters in the art of persuasion. Humans had to be constantly on their guard against them. In 1580 philosopher Jean Bodin claimed that: It is certain that the devils have a profound knowledge of all things. No theologian can interpret the Holy Scriptures better than they can; no lawyer has a more detailed knowledge of testaments, contracts and actions; no physician or philosopher can better understand the composition of the human body, and the virtues of the heavens, the stars, birds and fishes, trees and herbs, metals and stones.
The hierarchy of demons was much discussed among theological experts in the last centuries. According to Alphonse de Spina (1467) there were ten types of demon:
Fates that can change destiny.
Poltergeiststhat cause mischief.
Incubi and succubi - demons who stimulate lust and perversion.
Hordes—demons that bring conflict.
Familiars that assist witches.
Nightmares that disturb sleep.
Demons formed from human semen.
Disguised demons.
Demons that trouble the saintly.
Demons that instigatewitchcraft.
DEPOSSESSION
Also known as spirit releasement. Depossession is practised all over the world and is the exorcism of human and non-human spirits, such as elemental spirits and demons thought to be attached to an individual and causing physical, mental and emotional distress.
American psychologist Edith Fiore used depossession in her past-life therapy, believing that in regressing patients to past lives interference from attached spirits could be observed. According to Fiore, amongst about 70,000 cases 70 per cent were unaware that they were showing signs of spirit attachment, such as mood swings, chronic pains, illnesses and addictions.
Most spirits are thought to be those of humans who have died but not left the earthly plane. They are believed to attach themselves to humans during moments of poor health and emotional weakness. Depossession is typically accomplished by persuading the spirits that they need to leave, and patients subsequently say they feel much better afterwards. Depossession was common practice at the height of the popularity of spiritualism, but the first medically trained person to approach mental illness as caused by spirit possession was the American physician and psychologist Carl Wickland.
Wickland and his wife, Anna, a medium, attributed all sorts of mental illness to confused spirits trapped in the auras of living people. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Wicklands depos-sessed a large number of their patients. They used a static electricity machine that transmitted low voltage electric shocks to the patient, causing the possessing spirit distress and forcing it into Anna’s body and then to leave. If the spirit resisted, Wickland called on spirit helpers to keep the spirit in a ‘dungeon’, out of the aura of Anna or the victim, until it stopped its selfish quest and departed.
DERMOGRAPHY
Skin writing. Although dermography is similar to stigmata it has one very essential difference: stigmata last for years or an entire lifetime, skin writing usually lasts only for a few minutes. Some cases appear to be genuine, such as that of Charles H Foster cited by Nandor Fodor in his Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science (1934):
Charles H Foster, the ‘Salem Seer’, gave abundant demonstrations of the phenomenon. Before the Dialectical Society Edward Laman Blanchard told the story of how the name of his father appeared in red letters on the arm of the medium and immediately afterwards, in answer to a question, the numbers 24 on the palm of his hand, indicating the number of years since his death. The phenomenon was very rapid, the letters and numbers disappearing in the sight of those present without the arm of the medium being withdrawn. Dr Ash-burner examined Foster’s skin-letters under a powerful magnifying glass. He observed clearly that they were in relief and that the colouring matter was under the skin. Foster’s biographer, George C Bartlett, describes an amusing incident. A certain Mr Adams came to consult Foster. He saw the room filled with spirits in his presence. About two o’clock the next morning he woke up, complained to Bartlett that he could not sleep as the room was still filled with the Adams family. They were writing their names all over him. To his astonishment Bartlett counted eleven distinct names, one written across Foster’s forehead, others on his arms, and several on his back.
Fraud in skin writing is thought to be widespread. Given the sensitive skin of neuropsychopaths writing may appear in a few minutes after the letters are directly traced on to the skin by any blunt instrument or the nails. Many ‘mediums’ of skin writing burn up a pellet on which a question or name is written. They then rub their forehead or arm with the ash, which gives the opportunity for covertly tracing the message.
DEVAS
From the Sanskrit meaning ‘shining’, in Hinduism and Buddhism devas are believed to be exalted beings with great powers. In Theosophy and occult traditions they are a class of beings midway between angels and elemental spirits, having special authority over the world of nature. In modern times devas are popularly thought to be nature spirits, in charge of the elemental spirits of air, water, fire and earth. They are invisible and etheric in nature, inhabiting the astral plane. They communicate with people by psychic means, such as channelling and ESP. It is thought that the channelled wisdom of devas was responsible for the location of the Findhorn community in Scotland.
DEVIL
An evil spirit or demon and the supreme personification of evil. The word devil is derived from the Hebriac Satan via the Greek diabolos, but over the centuries the devil has collected a number of other names, including Beelzebub, Lucifer, Belial, Abaddon and Asmodius. In modern times the theologically conceived supreme embodiment of evil that the devil represents accommodates in one supernatural being all that is evil, ugly, perverse and unjust in the world.
DEVIL’s MARK
A name given by demonologists and medieval witch-hunters to a scar, blemish or mark on the skin said to be imprinted by the devil as a seal or sign of his possession of the person.
The finding of such marks became an important business of the expert pricking that took place at many witch persecutions. Devil’s marks were said to be insensitive to pain and pricking pins into such areas was supposed to draw no blood.
DICE TEST
DIY psychokinetic test: dice
Concentrate your mind upon the throwing of a six. You can speak or shout at the dice but you may not in any other way influence it. If you score a six write this down. Do this 30 times. How many sixes did you score?
8+: There is less than 1 per cent chance of attaining this score. Good evidence for psychokinetic ability.
7: Psychokinetic potential high - there is less than 8 per cent chance of attaining this score.
6: Psychokinetic potential still likely as this is above chance.
3-5: Within the area of chance.
2: Less than 3 per cent chance of attaining this score.
1: High psychokinetic potential but working backwards - less than 1 per cent chance of attaining this score.
Experimental technique used in psi testing for investigating psychokinesis, the psychic power of the mind to influence objects, in which a subject attempts to influence the fall of dice, for example, by trying to throw more sixes than any other number (chance would give a success rate of 1 in 6 correct throws).
DICKENS, CHARLES [1812–1870]
The author of perhaps the most famous of all ghost stories, A Christmas Carol, Dickens also wrote a number of less-well-known ghost stories, including The Haunted Man and The Haunted House. As well as writing about the paranormal Dickens held a tremendous interest in the study of ghosts and spirits. He went to extraordinary lengths to gain access to some of Britain’s haunting hotspots to experience the unknown for himself.
DICTIOMANCY
A form of divination where a question is asked and a dictionary opened at random. The first word seen is interpreted as an answer or comment to the question asked.
See also Bibliomancy.
DIEPPE RAID CASE
Reports by two Englishwomen on a seaside holiday at Puys, Dieppe in France of ghostly sounds from the World War II air and sea battle fought at Dieppe. The case was widely documented in the 1950s by paranormal investigators and is thought to be an example of collective auditory hallucinations.
On the morning of 4 August 1951 both women were awakened by loud noises of gunfire, shellfire and men shouting and crying out. The women could find nothing to account for the noises and later, when they asked if other people had heard anything, they got negative replies.
The accounts they gave of the sounds and noises showed strong consistencies with a fierce battle that took place in Dieppe on 19 August 1942. Although the women knew a battle had taken place there, they knew none of the details and the information in the guidebook was not enough to match their description to the real event. When interviewed by psychical researchers the women came across as well balanced and with no desire to court publicity. Sceptics proposed other explanations for the experience, such as noise from the surf or aeroplanes flying above, but none of these could explain the remarkable accuracy of the accounts the women gave.
