,
used such wholesome admonition and comfortable advertisements,
willing her to repent and hope for mercy at the hands
of God, that, at length, she seeming right penitent for her
grievous offences committed, and fetching sundrie sighs even
from the bottome of her heart, being witnesse, as should appeare,
of the same, there issued forth of the pumpe of the ship,
a foule and evil-favoured blacke cloud with a mighty terrible
noise, flame, smoke, and stinke, which presently fell into the
sea. And suddenlie thereupon the tempest ceased, and the ship
passing in great quiet the residue of her journey, arrived in saftie
at the place whither she was bound. (Chronicles, vol. 5, p.
146, 1808 ed).
In another case related by the same author, the incubus did
not depart so quietly. In the chamber of a young gentlewoman
who was the daughter of a nobleman in the country of Mar
there was found a foule monstrous thing, verie horrible to behold.
For the love of this Deformed, nevertheless, the lady
had refused sundry wealthy marriages. A priest who was in the
company began to repeat St. Johns Gospel, and suddenlie the
wicked spirit, making a verie sore and terrible roaring noise,
flue his waies, taking the roofe of the chamber awaie with him,
the hangings and coverings of the bed being also burnt therewith.
Jean Bodin, author of Démonomaie (1580) cites the case of
Joan Hervilleria, who at age 12 was solemnly betrothed to Beelzebub
by her mother, who was afterward burned alive for contriving
this clandestine marriage. According to the story, the
bridegroom was respectably attired and the marriage oath simple.
The mother pronounced the following words to the bridegroom
Ecce filiam meam quam spospondi tibi. Then, turning
to the bride, she stated Ecce amicum tuum qui beabit te.
Joan was not satisfied with her spiritual husband alone, however.
She became a bigamist by intermarrying with real flesh and
In another story Margaret Bremont, in company with her
mother and others, was in the habit of attending diabolic trysts.
She and the others were burned alive by Adrian Ferreus, general
vicar of the Inquisition.
Magdalena Crucia of Cordova, an abbess, was more fortunate.
Suspected by her nuns of magican accusation convenient
when a superior was at all troublesomeshe anticipated
their charge. Going before Pope Paul III, she confessed a 30-
year intimacy with the devil and obtained pardon.
Old rabbinical writings relate the legend of how Adam was
visited during a 130-year period by female demons and had intercourse
with demons, spirits, specters, lemurs, and phantoms.
Another legend relates how, under the reign of Roger,
king of Sicily, a young man was bathing by moonlight. He
thought he saw someone drowning and hastened to the rescue.
Having drawn from the water a beautiful woman, he became
enamored of her, married her, and had by her a child. Afterward
she disappeared with her child, which made everyone believe
that she was a succubus.
The historian Hector Boece (14651536), in his history of
Scotland, relates that a handsome young man was pursued by
a female demon who would pass through his closed door and
offer to marry him. He complained to his bishop, who enjoined
him to fast, pray, and confess his sins, and as a result the infernal
visitor ceased to trouble him.
The witchcraft judge Pierre de Lancre (15531631) stated
that in Egypt an honest blacksmith was occupied in forging
during the night when a demon appeared to him in the shape
of a beautiful woman. He threw a hot iron in the face of the
demon, which at once took flight.
More Accounts of Incubi and Succubi
Among the many writers who reflected upon the incubus
succubus were Erastus, in his tract de Lamiis; Jakob Sprenger
and Heinrich Kramer in Malleus Maleficarum (1486), which
contains a report of a nun who slept with an incubus in the form
of a bishop; H. Zanchius in de Operibus Del, (1597, 16, 4); G.
Dandini in Aristotelis Tres de Anima (1610); J. G. Godellman in
Tractatus de Magis (1591); M. A. Del Rio in Disquisitionum Magicarum
(1599); and F. M. Guazzo in Compendium Maleficarum
An inter