I really, really did not want to comb through the PDF of The Munich Manual of Demonic Magic that I found online (the pages looked… used, as if someone actually used the grimoire for nefarious purposes) and decided to look for illustrations instead corresponding to the kind of grotesque/strange aesthetic I’ve been trying to achieve over the past weeks. I got a bit too creeped out knowing that some (obviously foolish and mad) individuals have tried using the Munich Manual to summon demons that they (obviously) can’t control. I actually have a book on my shelf teaching you to summon demons and cautioning you not to do it. I keep it as a novelty item.
Weird magic superstitions aside, most of these images seem to come from the Dictionnaire Infernal. They are all representations of the demons in the hierarchy that corresponds to Roman Catholic theology, and some of them have made their way into popular culture today and have been adapted into graphic novel characters (Mike Carey’s Lucifer and the new series The Wicked + The Divine).
I’m referring to these not because I have some latent interest in becoming a demonologist (I’m a wimp, I don’t even want to play horror video games…) but because I’m still struggling with the notion of the grotesque. I may have a strong stomach for stuff like ero guro but that thing with multiple legs is quite honestly creepy.
