Demon Lovers: Witchcraft, Sex, and the Crisis of Belief
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- Create Date：2021-10-27 09:53:34
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Walter Stephens
- ISBN：0226772624
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Summary
On September 20， 1587， Walpurga Hausmännin of Dillingen in southern Germany was burned at the stake as a witch。 Although she had confessed to committing a long list of maleficia （deeds of harmful magic）， including killing forty—one infants and two mothers in labor， her evil career allegedly began with just one heinous act—sex with a demon。 Fornication with demons was a major theme of her trial record， which detailed an almost continuous orgy of sexual excess with her diabolical paramour Federlin "in many divers places， 。 。 。 even in the street by night。"
As Walter Stephens demonstrates in Demon Lovers， it was not Hausmännin or other so-called witches who were obsessive about sex with demons—instead， a number of devout Christians， including trained theologians， displayed an uncanny preoccupation with the topic during the centuries of the "witch craze。" Why？ To find out， Stephens conducts a detailed investigation of the first and most influential treatises on witchcraft （written between 1430 and 1530）， including the infamous Malleus Maleficarum （Hammer of Witches）。
Far from being credulous fools or mindless misogynists， early writers on witchcraft emerge in Stephens's account as rational but reluctant skeptics， trying desperately to resolve contradictions in Christian thought on God， spirits， and sacraments that had bedeviled theologians for centuries。 Proof of the physical existence of demons—for instance， through evidence of their intercourse with mortal witches—would provide strong evidence for the reality of the supernatural， the truth of the Bible， and the existence of God。 Early modern witchcraft theory reflected a crisis of belief—a crisis that continues to be expressed today in popular debates over angels， Satanic ritual child abuse， and alien abduction。
As Walter Stephens demonstrates in Demon Lovers， it was not Hausmännin or other so-called witches who were obsessive about sex with demons—instead， a number of devout Christians， including trained theologians， displayed an uncanny preoccupation with the topic during the centuries of the "witch craze。" Why？ To find out， Stephens conducts a detailed investigation of the first and most influential treatises on witchcraft （written between 1430 and 1530）， including the infamous Malleus Maleficarum （Hammer of Witches）。
Far from being credulous fools or mindless misogynists， early writers on witchcraft emerge in Stephens's account as rational but reluctant skeptics， trying desperately to resolve contradictions in Christian thought on God， spirits， and sacraments that had bedeviled theologians for centuries。 Proof of the physical existence of demons—for instance， through evidence of their intercourse with mortal witches—would provide strong evidence for the reality of the supernatural， the truth of the Bible， and the existence of God。 Early modern witchcraft theory reflected a crisis of belief—a crisis that continues to be expressed today in popular debates over angels， Satanic ritual child abuse， and alien abduction。
Reviews
Brianna Mclaughlin
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The internalized misogyny is strong with this one--so much so that if I hadn't been reading this for class I would have stopped after chapter 2。 However， Stephens is otherwise thoughtful and thorough throughout the remainder of the text。 The internalized misogyny is strong with this one--so much so that if I hadn't been reading this for class I would have stopped after chapter 2。 However， Stephens is otherwise thoughtful and thorough throughout the remainder of the text。 。。。more
Rachel
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Stephens' premise is that witch trials of the early modern period served as a site for theologians to play out anxieties around the corporeality of demonic and， by extension， divine powers; through the construction and analysis of confessions， and through attempts at testing and experimentation of accused witches， theologians could enact an interrogation and ultimate repudiation of their experiences of doubt without touching the dangerous domain of heresy。 To see the bodies of accused witches as Stephens' premise is that witch trials of the early modern period served as a site for theologians to play out anxieties around the corporeality of demonic and， by extension， divine powers; through the construction and analysis of confessions， and through attempts at testing and experimentation of accused witches， theologians could enact an interrogation and ultimate repudiation of their experiences of doubt without touching the dangerous domain of heresy。 To see the bodies of accused witches as touched by demons is to experience certainty that devil and god both have concrete presence in the physical world。It's an intriguing thesis， and largely persuasive。 I appreciate Stephens' careful attention to theology， witch-hunting manual， and confessional texts as an interlocking network of theory， which held weight for their writers beyond the easier answers of misogyny or sadism。 Stephens also does a good job， to my mind， in his analysis specifically of confessions （though he spends less time on them， deliberately）; walking the delicate line of understanding them as co-created by accused and accusers， the way the accused must guess at the 'right' form of confession， the function that serves for accusers。 I could really use a fuller analysis of transference/counter-transference in torture; Stephens gestures towards it but doesn't go there， it's outside of his scope but suggested by his conceptual framework。 It would be complicated to write。There's something which feels iffy， which gets under my skin about Stephens' general framework around religious belief， something that feels unresolved。 He continues asks the question of cui bono？ - who benefits？ from an element of a confession， from an experiment， but doesn't quite satisfactorily get to what is actually at stake in the issue of corporeality and belief。 He also tries to bring his argument into the modern world at the end with an analogy to alien abductions which I think is very facile and weak; it's not as though the questions of how to embody religious belief in the physical world are suddenly absent for modern believers， of any faith， even if they're not embedded culturally as they were in the early modern period！ The book implies a lot of much larger things about the process of belief， and I feel myself itching to argue， to contend with them， but the book doesn't quite leave that space open。 。。。more
Steve Cran
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Perhaps we should ask ourselves ， who loves demons more the Church or the witches ？ It was during the end of Medieval times that the Church was having a crisis in faith。 Many were questioning the reality of the spiritual world。 The only way it seemed to sustain belief was to hunt out demons。 The proof of demon meant proof of the spiritual world。 When the Church could not answer questions then what could prove to be a better scapegoat then the devil himself or his demons。The churches view of Demo Perhaps we should ask ourselves ， who loves demons more the Church or the witches ？ It was during the end of Medieval times that the Church was having a crisis in faith。 Many were questioning the reality of the spiritual world。 The only way it seemed to sustain belief was to hunt out demons。 The proof of demon meant proof of the spiritual world。 When the Church could not answer questions then what could prove to be a better scapegoat then the devil himself or his demons。The churches view of Demons， Witchcraft and women went on a continuum。 Going from less extreme to the more extreme as science became more advanced。 Interviewing witches and asking them about demons was the church's way of gaining insight into the other world spiritual reality。 Demon at first were thought of strictly as being with a body made of another substance， a spiritual substance。 There was no way it could interact directly with the earthly plane。 They did not have solid bodies。 Of course they could possess people but that was rare。 They could also possess animals。 As time went by the demons， or church members ， found other ways the demons could interact with our plane。 Some said that it was entering into the human imagination， later on they could materialize bodies by collecting different particles but it was not a real body。 toward the end of the burning times They did in fact have a body of their own。 Demons came from the name Daimon which was an intermediary between the gods and men。 So demons became a more solid reality as time went by。At first it was believed that demon could not mate with humans but then as time went by the demons could make their own body and steal denial fluids from a man and use it to impregnate a woman。 Finally it came down demons being able to procreate with human beings。 This was all gleaned from church father interviews with suspected witches。 Might we keep in mind that torutre was used and often times the church fathers themselves added details of their own imagination 。The witches sabbat was another witchcraft demon thing that got blown out of proportion。 At first there was not a single mention of it。 Later on witches were able to fly in their mind to meeting rot a sabbat。 Things always got more elaborate 。 legend abound about a flying ointment that made witches cirtually able to fly through the air。 At the first it was thought that demons tranported them or used transvection。 Legend than stated that witches themselves flew there。 Scientific experimentation revealed that the witches never even left the area when they anointed themselves and the witch hunters stood watch。 THe witch hunters of course made some excuse as to why the witches did not fly on that particular occasion and the belief of the sabbat stuck。The subject of witchcraft itself was not so bad。 At worst it was thought that maybe someone of a week mind would engage in such practice。 Many church fathers thought that witchcraft did not even work。 Later on it would a ssume a much more siinister meaning。 In the beginning men and women would be accused of witchcraft and then things centered on the women。 The witch hunts got more anti female。Witches were also thought to have killed children to obtain their power。 This was achieved by turning into cat or a wolf sneaking into a house and drinking a babies blood。 Dead baby fat was supposedly used for an ointment that gave witches more power。 They would also use illusions to stamp out male viritilty。 If someone could not conceive a witch was to be blamed。 As we see witches like Jews， alternative Christian sects and witches proved to be excellent scape goats。 If something went wrong you know who to blame。 If chidden die mysteriously then you know who's fault it was。 All these groups were accused of dancing naked for the devil。 All the groups were accused of stealing sacrament and using it's power for negative magic。 After all baptism and other sacrament meant that one had god's protection from demons unless a human agent got involved， be it Jew， witch or heretic。The Church needs to the devil in order to survive。 Without it no onee would be afraid。 。。。more
Joseph F。
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We've all heard of the notorious witch hunter Heinrich Kramer and his tome The Hammer of Witches。 It's mentioned in just about every general book on the witch persecutions of the early modern period。These theorists are usually dismissed as deluded， cruel and credulous monsters who advocated torturing old women in order to get them to admit to witchcraft。In this magnificent book， the author analyzes what the witch theorists wrote with fresh eyes。 It turns out there was much more skepticism in the We've all heard of the notorious witch hunter Heinrich Kramer and his tome The Hammer of Witches。 It's mentioned in just about every general book on the witch persecutions of the early modern period。These theorists are usually dismissed as deluded， cruel and credulous monsters who advocated torturing old women in order to get them to admit to witchcraft。In this magnificent book， the author analyzes what the witch theorists wrote with fresh eyes。 It turns out there was much more skepticism in the 14 and 15 hundreds than we once thought。 Apparently T。 Aquinas did not do such an admirable job fusing together Christianity with Aristotle as I once was told when I took intro to metaphysics years ago。 Kramer and other theorists were facing a crisis of faith， and they desperately needed witchcraft to exist in order to prove that demons exist。 How could women sleep with demons if they are only spiritual？ It could have just been a hallucination。 But if demons could invent a virtual body， then they can actually copulate with women。How can witches fly？ Surely it must be real with all of this testimony from interrogated people？ Then it must be that demons are actually corporeal。 If they were not then they would not be able to lift the witches into the air。The author looks at other areas too in order to prove his point: withes who turn into cats to suck the blood of infants， and witches who steal penises！ All of these were seen as proofs that witches， with the help of a very real demon， can cause such illusions。Kramer therefore was less alarmed by witches than we thought。 He was suffering from theological doubts。 He had to therefore prove that witches existed in order to prove that demons existed。 If demons existed， then Christianity is safe and people will stop questioning various tenets of the faith。Stephens in essence therefore has turned witchcraft scholarship on its head！His theories may still be controversial， but I'm not sure。This is a great book for someone who wants to read something fresh concerning the witch panics。 It even has much relevance in our age concerning such issues as science vs。 religion， and the world of nature vs。 the world of the spirit。One more thing。 The author was kind enough to translate into English all of his Latin references， for those of us who missed out on taking Latin。 Most academics would never condescend to do that！Pretty cool。 。。。more
aya
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This book has a misleading title-- it is more about Christian witchcraft theorists and their struggle to come to terms with their religion as it was being taught and preached than about witchcraft or sex。 Stephens' theory is that witchcraft theorists used witchcraft and demons to convince themselves of the verity of God。 This is not an uninteresting idea， but he tends to bring it too far into semantics for my taste。 At points， he seems to be merely fitting what evidence he can find into a pre-de This book has a misleading title-- it is more about Christian witchcraft theorists and their struggle to come to terms with their religion as it was being taught and preached than about witchcraft or sex。 Stephens' theory is that witchcraft theorists used witchcraft and demons to convince themselves of the verity of God。 This is not an uninteresting idea， but he tends to bring it too far into semantics for my taste。 At points， he seems to be merely fitting what evidence he can find into a pre-determined thesis and skeleton。 He barely glosses over the pagan and folkloric traditions of witchcraft and tells us that as modern readers， we clearly know that witches and demons do not exist， thus completely dismissing this side of the argument。 In these things， he seems to fall into the same traps that he accuses the witchcraft theorists of。 He gets a little goofy at times， but I did appreciate the book for the large amount of information that it gathered together。 。。。more
John
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