Dunstan lived as a hermit in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. As well as prayer and contemplation, Dunstan also filled the lonely hours with metalwork, making implements for the Abbey to use. One day, as dusk approached, an old man appeared at the window of his cell, and asked Dunstan to make him a chalice. He agreed to the request, but as he got to work, he noticed that his visitor kept changing shape, from an old man to a young boy to a sexy lady. Dunstan realised that the chalice-seeker was The Devil, taking many forms rather too literally. John Dee (1527-c.1608) was, by repute, the real-life Dr. Faustus (see above). A phenomenally learned man, he matriculated at St John’s College, Cambridge, aged just 15, and was elected as an original fellow at Henry VIII’s new Trinity College at the same university. He became astrological and scientific advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, and under her patronage amassed the largest library in the country, which contained a staggering 2, 670 manuscripts, more than four times the number owned by Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He also advised Elizabeth on foreign policy, urging colonial expansion and coining the term, ‘British Empire’.

At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exist countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained.

1. Anna Ecklund

Knapp’s symptoms eventually subsided and she lived out her life quietly as a Puritan wife and mother. 2. ‘Gina’ In the 1770s, a man named George Lukins was possessed by an entity so powerful that seven clergymen were needed to perform an exorcism upon him. This possession and exorcism, which became known as the Yatton Daemonica, is one of the most well-known cases of demonic possession in history.

The exorcism began with Lukins singing in an uncharacteristically high voice — one that was most definitely not his own. His voice began alternating between low, gruff, masculine voices and high-pitched, feminine ones, which were incidentally spewing malicious, blasphemous rants and physically threatening the religious men present. Lukins would bark, scream, groan, sing and babble utter Notes and Queries. Bell & Daldy . Retrieved 31 December 2007. Among many rare and curious pamphlets in the library under my care...Notes and queries. Bell & Daldy. 1858 . Retrieved 31 December 2007. George Lukins was a common carrier between Bristol and Yatton in Somersetshire: he was a psalm-singer, a ventriloquist, and an actor of Christmas plays or mummeries, and he had practised upon the credulity of his immediate neighbourhood for eighteen years before his fame reached Bristol. Sarah Barber, a member of the Temple Church for nine years, knew of Lukins's condition because her husband was from the same village. She approached her Anglican vicar, Reverend Joseph Easterbrook on Saturday, 31 May 1788 and asked him for help. Barber claimed that: On 7 June 1787, Lukins was staying at a home on Redclift Street own by a man named Westcote. While there, Lukins experienced an event which was described by witnesses as having left them in a state of "horror and amazement at the sounds and expressions" that they heard. One of the Doctors that examined Lukins was Samuel Norman. According to Norman, "To prove himself bewitched, he gave me and others many relations of the power of witches, their iniquitous practices and punishments for them." Norman, S. (1788) Authentic anecdotes of George Lukins, the Yatton doemoniac; with a view of the controversy, and a full refutation of the imposture, Bristol

Mrs. Barber, the entire community, and Lukins himself believed he was bewitched. He even declared he had 7 demons in his body that required 7 clergymen to expel. On Friday, the 13th of June 1778, seven clergymen led by Rev. Easternbrook, cast out seven demons in a strenuous ritual where Lukins sang Te Deum (an important Christian hymn) in reverse, became increasingly violent, and claimed he was the devil. Once delivered, his mood immediately changed as he praised God and recited the Lord’s prayer before thanking the priests who saved him. 7 Gottliebin Dittus The Wonders of Nature and Providence, Displayed: Compiled from Authentic Sources, both Ancient and Modern, giving an Account of Various and Strange Phenomena existing in Nature of Travels, Adventures, Singular Providences, &c. E. and H. Hosford, Printers. 1825 . Retrieved 31 December 2007. But our design in this respect was rendered abortive; for on Wednesday evening the 11th of June, there was published in the Bristol Gazette, the following letter: The concept of the existence of paranormal activity is an intriguing thought for many people. With so many unnatural incidents being reported which are directly associated with demonic possession, it is important to uncover the truth. In America, the practice is as popular as it’s ever been, maybe because a rise in exorcisms is often linked to social or political upheaval. In 2020, priests in Oregon and California performed mass exorcisms after racial justice protests. Ironically, the growing popularity of exorcism has also been linked to the decline in church attendance, which, as an American priest told the BBC in 2018, might be driving a rise in superstitious beliefs and practices.

4. George Lukins

We end with another of The Devil’s less savoury interventions in world history, the possession of George Lukins, the Yatton Demoniac. George Lukins was a 44-year-old tailor from the village of Yatton in Somerset, and suffered from what he claimed to be possession by The Devil and six of his demonic assistants. He made strange animal noises, barked and howled like a dog, and had arguments with himself in different voices. He said that he had been fine until he performed in a play and felt ‘a divine slap’, after which The Devil entered him. Doctors failed to cure Lukins. Schmidt was declared demon-free on December 23, 1928, but there’s a strange postscript to the story. As it turns out, the 1928 exorcism was neither the first time Riesinger attempted to rid Schmidt of demons, nor the last. Riesinger first exorcised Schmidt in New York City in 1908. The two reportedly became close, and the priest exorcised her several more times over the following years, with Schmidt traveling to whatever state Riesinger found himself in. 5. The Exorcism of Roland Doe // 1949 I can only imagine what an unsettling seen it must have been, but none-the-less Mrs. Barber did not heed the warning and instead called upon The Rev. Joseph Easterbrook. Over the next years Lukins was seen by many doctors including an eminent surgeon from Wrington. None of these could determine a medical condition that would account for all symptoms, although the rare condition of Sydenham’s chorea was eventually decided upon as the only possibility.