Demonic Possession, Sorcery & Satanic Pacts - Witchcraft and Exorcism in 17th Century Loudon France

The Witchcraft trials began to mutate in the early 17th century. Most strikingly they came to be accompanied by widespread, mass demonic possession. This was especially prevalent in France with the possessions at Loudon from 1634-1637. As a convent of nuns became afflicted with a host of demons, they also implicated the dashing priest Urbain Grandier of sorcery. His sensational trial would produce one of the very few historical Satanic Pacts all resulting in his being burned alive in 1634. The possession and public exorcisms would go on until 1637 when the final Nun to be freed of demonic influence received a miraculous imprint on her hand. But, was this all just a stunt to have Grandier murdered? Did demons and sorcerers stalk 17th Loudon, France?
#witchcraft #occultism #satan #demons #magic
Recommended Reading:
De Certeau - The Possession at Loudun - 978-0226100357
Ferber - Demonic Possession and Exorcism In Early Modern France - 978-0415212656
Huxley - The Devils of Loudun - 978-0061724916
The Devils (film) - archive.org/details/1971-the-...

[@beepboop204]

i remember, as a child, being very disappointed when i realized i couldnt skip hard work and substitute satanic pacts instead, to achieve power and success 😖

[@K8Nicole]

😂 I'm not alone.

[@JohnDoe-pd2lh]

Or can you?🤔

[@cjg6465]

Then you're not doing it right 😉

[@MrJeffGoldblatt]

maybe not of use to the personality called upon@@cjg6465

[@tagaway6173]

That realization hit harder than finding out about Santa 😔

[@bjones8470]

The fire, healthy dose of wine and reading a book on medieval possession, exorcism and torture just sounds like a perfect fall evening to me. I will be watching “The Devils” tonight

[@Madzarad]

Where? I cannot find that movie anywhere...

[@ElBacanDelgado]

A video about Jesuits and their relationship with the occult throughout history would be very interesting. It's a topic that's been very overlooked, without many easy to access sources

[@peggyfuchs3066]

Success in Ars mort Sorcery has the work burnt to Ashes to be here as Holy Cruiser to rescue pueblo. Ask a Quest ion my way? Yes why Ask those heretic text to Air? Doest thou fly yet mind of thinking will you marketh Question Air? Holy mosses what evil a live and allies to even dare to posession myown Monks beliefed off monkey bats tooler. So the fire is Vulcan witch Grills ship by shiploads somany indy onwers at one Time that we laid rest now rents andwant to Mac do more burgers so eat'Clowns makes Monarchy

[@lapurta22]

Nothing is scarier than a nun. Ask any Catholic school student.

[@tdarons]

Hugs.

[@sallybalkin8507]

I had nightmares of being executed at school when about to go from Grade 2 to Grade 3 at a Catholic school, because of what I had heard about the teacher. There were nuns teaching at our school. This teacher wasn't a nun, she was just worse than any of them. I was 7 years old and having nightmares about being executed at school. That's not normal. That's intense trauma, from being at school.

[@quester09]

yep.

[@hellgal88]

So true 😢

[@Mercury-Wells]

​@@sallybalkin8507this is truly awful to read 😢

[@Fr.O.G.]

What always fascinated me about the whole thing was how open Jeanne des Anges was about being an awful person. She wrote an autobiography where she took pride in the horrible things she did, starting well before the Loudon Possessions (like how she manipulated her way into being mother superior of her convent). Just an absolutely terrible person who hurt a lot of innocent people.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yeah, she strikes me as a rather malevolent person, much more fearsome than any 'demon'

[@thebroddha9153]

A legion of demons are probably like a gaggle of geese standing beside her

[@marchanddemodes8927]

So, I read "Malleus Mallificarum" in college and became mildly obsesssed, then reading 30 or 40 books (I was a french/design major, had access to alot of renaissance lit anyway) ~ cant recall the title any more of some of the more juicy histories. But one of the historical accounts I read of "The Devils of Loudon" in particular, said that they dragged the MOAT close by and found the remains of dozens of infants (apparently produced by said wayward nuns). Maybe that detail is obscured out of modesty or embarrassment? (They are CATHOLIC nuns, right? LOL) But it seems to me that: 1 preist could not have fathered "dozens" of dead infants thrown into a moat. So do the math on what exactly may have been going on there. Who DID father them? Incorporeal ghosts? Unlikely. Other male priests? Perhaps not a nunnery: but a BROTHEL? For priests? ARound the same period of my reading escapades, I also read significant portions of the Memoires of Casanova ~ he wrote so many "episodes" and sequels, I was not able to read them all. But: several things stood out to me ~ his writings were set in Venice (at least at the beginning, each episode subsequent is in a different place in EU) ~ and the DIRECT PARALLELS to things that happened to the Nuns of Loudon, are remarkable. For example, he had an affair with a CASTRATI ~ and the back story behind the "castrati" phenom of that period, plays into this. They were deliberately castrated by the Catholic Church in exchange for LARGE sums of money, and mostly handed around as homosexual (transvestite) prostitutes, in the same way that "rock stars" are today. As a point of order on that: MOZART (!!!!!) apparently began his life in London as an aspiring wunderkind (as now, in Hollywood) by having an affair with the highest paid castrati in EU (!) ~ once you know this detail, the rest of his life makes considerably more sense ~ including his gambling debts (like Casanova), and probably VD's (also like Casanova) and eventual death at age 30. Casanova apparently died of syphilis, in a convent (writing his memoires) One of the titles I can remember from this voracious reading binge LOL ~ is DAEMONALITY BY SINISTRARI. That book is free in pdf. Or it was for years ~ probably could still get it off an archive. SUPER INTERESTING for dozens of reasons. Sinistrari was an Italian Friar who sat in on the Roman Catholic Inquisition in about 1600 or so (the end of it). His general theory about demon possession was that it was a religion of sorts (ie: Daemonality), he also wrote a book called "The Mute Sin" (in Latin, also translates as "the unspeakable sin") ~ its hard to come by but at the time I was on a roll and got it on ebay for a slight discount. In that book, he specifically talks about HOMOSEXUAL forms of this same phenom and the "cures" for "elemental possession". WOWZA. These are evidence to my mind: of what we now know as "hazing" or sexual harrassment, or "couch casting" in Hollywood, where the novice IS FORCED to participate; in order to simply continue living in the convent, or living in the priory. As stated, Casanova is a strange twilight grey between outside and inside stories; he describes nuns, castrati, churches, etc. His experiances with prison could also be an equivelancy of sorts to forced imprisonment (you might go so far as draw equivelancy to the works of Marquis de Sade, whose tales make considerably more sense in the light of the Roman Catholic Inquisition than they do a brothel or marriage bed who would do that stuff to their wife?!) Its clear that men really DID become obsessed with the castrati ~ the story of Mozart's love affair and other forms of ridiculous behavior are very illuminating: I think his father tried to help him, then realised what was really going on and "didnt want to be involved" (as per today, with transvestite love affairs). s Reputedly Louis 14th, toward the end of his reign also participated in the Black Mass. What we DO KNOW is that the way he DIED was very suspicious: his "doctors" (!?) stuck a white hot poker up his anus to treat his prostate or hemorrhoids or something (!?) and he (unsurprisingly) died of that injury. You have to admit its either the demons, or the satanists (probably more likely) that are really fixated on sodomy beyond reason, in this narrative. Co-incidence? Maybe all the "sound and fury signifying nothing" (Shakepeare) is really about SODOMY ("the unspeakable sin") and not demons, at all?

[@Ricca_Day]

@@marchanddemodes8927 Or maybe it’s just Aliens? Because that’s the modern version of the “obsession.”

[@stephanieann9770]

Seems like one guy could easily have sex dozens of times, but I still believe other guys had sex there, too. Women were only valued for sex by men.

[@williamburkhardt3466]

This channel is amazing. I'm a fiction author that writes a lot about demons/demonology. I'm hooked on your work

[@jonathanhoush2384]

One of the most surprising things in this video (as opposed to disturbing, shocking, etc.) is that Grandier's mustache in "The Devils" was not made up for the movie, that was actually how he looked. Like he used his powers to look ahead through time and space, to *precisely* 1981 and said "YES".

[@ReflectorCara]

Thank you for that beautiful perspective-shifting observation.

[@Hoots_Maguire]

Since the world today is free of repression, other-directed anxiety, politically-motivated paranoia and neuroses, it's thankfully impossible that there could ever be a case of mass hysteria followed by the public punishment of a scapegoat. The very idea...

[@cargo_vroom9729]

These "treatments" make the memetic phrase "You've got ghosts in your blood, you should do cocaine about it" feel uncomfortably close to being on the nose.

[@lainefarris8762]

hehe...on the nose

[@cargo_vroom9729]

Geeze, I'm surprised they didn't decide to just leave things alone. Apparently every single big name demon was busy at one convent. That should be a boon for the world from a utilitarian perspective. Ashtoreth isn't gonna cause large scale mayhem, we know she's bottled up n some nun's left hip.

[@tdarons]

Lol

[@warren3174]

Excellent as always

[@bluandyoungenterprise4505]

I luv how you present this with tongue in cheek

[@sporemandude]

I have watched every single one of your videos over the past year! Thank you so much for putting this out for free and giving me the opportunity to truly expand my mind. As a victim of a cult, these have really helped me view religion in a more positive light.

[@Mildlylysdexic]

Sorry that happened to you! :( He does make great content!

[@Bildgesmythe]

It is a great channel!

[@athansklavis5665]

Dr.Sledge, the dichotomy of education and entertainment that you so effortlessly possess makes for some time well spent viewing ! Thank you.

[@morganseppy5180]

What a wise and empathetic closing! I have never thought about the witch trials as more than horrible HOAs getting the power to kill their neighbors. You gave me new angles to think about. Thank you.

[@TheLeftwheel]

Lets take a bunch of girls from their homes and families, put them in deplorable living conditions, ignore their demands for improvements to their living conditions, only pay attention to them when they act bananas but also exploit their attempts to get any kind of attention by acting wacky. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Truly a chilling tale for a day of misfortune.

[@thetavibes9021]

To men being completely neutered because they're less susceptible to being dominated by the least among us.

[@ahobimo732]

Justin, you're a genuine rock star of the academy. This was one continuous guitar solo of irresistibly fascinating, formidably rigorous scholarship. You. Fucking. Rock.

[@thepennywhistler]

The delivery of “Take that, Huguenots” absolutely killed me 😂

[@tonyjones1560]

I was working out listening to this. Almost dropped a dumbbell on my head🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@RoseBleueDuRosierSec]

The "particularly john the baptist" line made me pause the video to laugh

[@TheLokiBiz]

5:10 -Random thought, but the way she saw this "priest" more and more, then found his demeanour and appearance to both gradually become more sinister reminds me a bit of Alexandra David-Neel's description of her experience with "tulpamancy" - Where she first saw her tulpa in the form of a fat jolly monk, who she saw more and more - then eventually he became more thin and sinister looking as he fell out of her control.

[@malithion5046]

Oh, Demonological Semiotics! I took a course on that at Pandaemonium Polytechnic! It sounds cool, but it's actually really technical and dry. Loooot of people dropped that after the first week. Speaking more seriously, I find my favorite affirmative demonic pacts come in song form, such as "My Life for Thee" by the Meteors and "Kiss the Goat" by the Electric Hellfire Club. Good tunes about doing bad things. Speaking of which, Puppet History has a fun song performed by Asmodeus based on these events. Another excellent lecture as always, Doctor. 💜

[@mdlahey3874]

A truly engrossing presentation, Dr. Sledge, as usual. 🙏

[@saraphicseer5982]

Baha, I always love to see what the auto-captions here on yt do with supernatural, occult, and esoteric words and this video made me chuckle greatly as BALL BREATH was a repeat offender here :) Thanks again for your great content, even if captions don't understand.

[@Bildgesmythe]

I love spooky season and a good demonic possession video!

[@alyssafuller375]

Your videos always make my week. I needed this bit of uncomfortable topic comfort.

[@encryptedprinter3289]

Thank you Justin, these are some of the hardest episodes to watch, but all the more important because of it. While it's a rather modern phrase, "The cruelty is the point" seems to be the core driving factor behind it all. This is collective storytelling with human abuse and sacrifice at the center. Thank you for laying it all out in your way.

[@Meta_God]

This was one of my favorite episodes yet. Great work, Sledge :) Im slowly getting a more in-depth understanding of what the people in the past were referring to when they talk about magic and possession and all these things which we don’t believe in anymore. I think it’s there. Really.

[@bencornwell6209]

Keep up the good work! I’m so glad I found this channel.

[@SobekLOTFC]

Keep up the awesome job, Justin 👍

[@mikesummers-smith4091]

The case against Johannes Kepler's mother might be worth a video. The nuns may have slept on the ground out of choice, as the Poor Clares did. (They were also vegetarian and went barefoot, it takes all sorts.) Could ergotism have been a factor at Loudun? Extreme vows of poverty could have included eating spoiled food.

[@peggyfuchs3066]

correct answer egot Antonio Fierce Party is la Danse Macabre into the smoking Air thin is not cannabyss high ican fly

[@paigeyysnydeyy]

fantastic work as always Dr. Sledge :)

[@Rice_peace]

Honestly, this was relieving. Your comments relating all of this to the recent pandemic has really put the current mania into perspective.

[@K8Nicole]

I just wanted to say thank you Dr. I really appreciate and enjoy this channel. The answers to many of my questions I find here.

[@JohnnyKooter]

Took me a minute to realize these were the events of "The Devils". Such a good movie.

[@phillipbernhardt-house6907]

An excellent episode on a very tragic and lurid series of events in the history of "witchcraft"--thanks so much for this! It has been a few years since I have reviewed this material, but I remember covering this in the History of Witchcraft course I taught at the U of M in Ann Arbor back in 2010. It's one thing to read theological tracts and discussions, and quite another to read actual trial records and other evidence of what people were actually doing and saying, as this case makes very clear.

[@RaccoonNation]

Hello fellow Michigander ✋🏽

[@phillipbernhardt-house6907]

@@RaccoonNation Alas, I am not there any longer...however, depending on how certain job applications go, I might be a Michigander again! I enjoyed my time there very much, though, and Ann Arbor is a lovely place.

[@jorgequintanillare]

Amazing stuff. Your superb narrating abilities combined with your spot on sense of humour. Along with the incredible wealth of content, your appreciation and personal insights into the narrated events make this a highly entertaining venue. Keep up the good work!

[@easter_sunday]

Lately I've been watching cop cam videos. (This is related). What I've noticed is that for the most part, people seem normal, and conversational, but once they emotionally break, you start to see behavior that could very well be described as "demonic". It could very well have been the fear itself and the threat of it to break these people. Either way, I can't help but wonder if mass hysteria over fear of being tried and deleted for witchcraft was just too much for these people, and they emotionally broke under pressure.

[@e.s.l.1083]

Somewhat Related: they DO (notably) call alcohol, "SPIRITS"

[@e.s.l.1083]

@ 13:20

[@MichaelYoder1961]

Loved the Ken Russell flick The Devils (as probably historically inaccurate as it might have been). Thanks for covering this, Justin!

[@ericfuchs123]

Just rewatched and reviewed the Devils last week, extraordinarily film. Maybe one of the best movies ever made, if you can stand the extreme depravity and feverish nightmares. Of course the real history is even more fascinating, though had less defiling of a statue of Christ. Glad to learn more, this channel rules.

[@rowingineden]

“Satanic Sorcery Pact” on the screencap for this video would make an excellent metal band name…just sayin’…Thanks for another great video!

[@aefauxcosplay1556]

This channel is probably the coolest thing I have ever come across on KZbin

[@noahdehavilland2562]

I just saw your Thoth t-shirt, I am 100% asking for it for Christmas. That is a sick shirt! 👍

[@inregionecaecorum]

Did you just put a spell on me? I have finally got round to subscribing to your channel having been fascinated by your scholarly approach to the occult for some time.

[@monkdog007]

Great episode sir. Keep it up. I love this channel.

[@johnnylego807]

Woulda been neat too note some famous legends of Faustian Deals, as with the Crossroads and the famous blues singer, Robert Johnson. Would of loved a delve into some more recent/ modern accounts of deals with the devil(Lore and legends). Anyways. AMAZING video as always. As someone who is fascinated by the occult as of a whole. This channel is worth its weight in Gold! For its knowledge base!

[@amonynous9041]

Just watched Warlock 1989 and this video is pretty fitting to keep up with the theme as there's two sequels on the list. I'm fascinated with medieval noir mystery stories. When you mentioned Grandier I immediately remembered Ken Russel's "the devils" movie. Amazing stuff.

[@MalachiWhite-tw7hl]

Great film. Loved the witch-lore.

[@DubProof]

This was a good one! Thanks Dr!

[@jamiegallier2106]

Amazing content every time!❤

[@johnnylego807]

Woulda been neat too note some famous legends of Faustian Deals, as with the Crossroads and the famous blues singer, Robert Johnson. Would of loved a delve into some more recent/ modern accounts of deals with the devil. Anyways. AMAZING video as always. As someone who is fascinated by the occult as of a whole. This channel is worth its weight in Gold! For its knowledge base!

[@Flatsensation]

Thank you justin. I sit here sick, drinking tea and watching this Video. Your way of making jokes and the way you tell stories is fun and calming at the same time. For sure my favorite channel for occult esoteric knowledge 🥰

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Feel better soon !

[@pyrielrising4338]

Just recently re-watched "The Devils"...an excellent film and the footnote that the film was responsible for the banning of Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave from entry into Italy by the government somehow adds to the Mystique.

[@aminrodriguez4707]

This was Louis the 13th and Cardinal Richelieu, that whole thing ended with the siege of the last Huguenot city in France, La Rochelle, it being a port, its escapees protestants fleed to Cape Town, yes, southern africa, and it is the reason why, to this day, a lot of white, Boer family names are French, like Theron, Marais, etc etx. Little historical sidenote Dr Sledge.

[@kaleeshmatriarch455]

Nice video!! Your awesome KZbin channel has really inspired me to study the wider, multilayered history of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, followed by other religions, for a variety of epic sci-fi/fantasy stories that I may want to draw/write someday in the near future. Keep ON shining!!!

[@m00zic]

Another fascinating look into esoterica, a word this channel taught me 😊

[@thepaleceltic7137]

Thank you (again) for a wonderful video!

[@FadeCO]

Thank you sir enjoying your content as always ❤

[@jas_nah]

12:12 "That's quite a party in there" I heard this in the sense of an adventuring party for some reason, and now I want to DM that one-off.

[@cuzned1375]

PARTICULARLY John the Baptist. Dang… 😆

[@Uraniabce]

Fascinating episode!🎉

[@BRUSKIOFFICIAL]

I like how transparent this guy is when he talks to ppl. He doesn’t sugarcoat it

[@Uraniabce]

Thanks!

[@giuseppersa2391]

A most excellent episode thank you Justin 😊

[@mellie4174]

Love your lectures and your extra dry sense of humor

[@michelleburkholder2547]

Happy Friday, the 13th.

[@GooeyGremlin]

I was wondering why this was sounding so familiar! Watched The Devils a while ago. Intense, gorgeous film. Very well worth the watch!

[@Calebjoyemusic]

Taking note of so the good metal band names! Thank you for making this not only entertaining but educational.

[@MatthewDoye]

This case has fascinated me since I was in my teens 40 years ago, I discovered it when I read John Whiting's play, unfortunately my proposed student production came to nothing. 😊

[@user-mx3po8df1d]

Thanks for the video and your commentary. BTW the pic of the nun at the end is HotT AF. Stay safe

[@pentegarn1]

Wow, and I thought they did me dirty in the mid 1980s.

[@danielperry6692]

I really enjoy your channel. I find all your videos to highly entertaining and fascinating. Your humor is well placed. I get a good amount of ideas for subject matter for songs from this channel. So much doom metal material here. 🤘

[@desperatelyseekingrealnews]

First time listening,what a great find, brilliant storyteller, I'll be back.👏👍

[@justin8865]

Awesome, Im sick so im going stir crazy and this hits the holloween spot. Any chance you could do a facorite horror movie list? Or occult just for fun.

[@aresh004]

The fact that the demons all have dibs on specific body parts remindse of upper level scientology's idea of "body thetans", wherein xenu killed more victims than there are living births to reincarnate them all, and the ones who fail to get their own body will possess whatever small pieces they can of someone else's, until telepathically given dianetic therapy.

[@peggyfuchs3066]

unclear. push to clear now! or I will Bochahonta bacca hunt is guarding while on trial drums of therace of thevils bakkkandfanties try to dionysus slipsteck ready fly to thetans by sin and cos at tree golgothetans

[@Myperfectshell]

Wonderful 👏

[@13Nader7]

Thanks alot for such content, if I could afford a donation I wouldn't hesitate as you really deserve it indeed ❤

[@feliloki7]

very sad, seems these women were vulnerable and exploited

[@TheGrinbery]

Dang dude, that centuries old scandal is insane, hot tea spilling much

[@thesenate3009]

Love the Krallice reference!

[@lukeeastwood]

Fantastic exploration of what must have been enticing enough to have been the 'OJ Simpson trial' of its time. It would make a great theme for a Black Metal concept album too, especially if you could work the backwards Latin pact in there somehow. Loved the Ken Russell film and read Huxley's excellent book as a result, well worth it.

[@shaunstewart4064]

Fascinating!

[@user-bf8yb2qg9c]

Thank you

[@vitus33]

I sincerely appreciate your shows. Thank you.

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

The possessions Loundon is one of those cases were Freud's ideas actually make sense.

[@geraldmeehan8942]

Thank you for the video Dr Sledge. Any relief from the bloody news pf the past week is appreciated. I wish we could invoke diabolic sorcery and bring about peace. P.S. very impressed by demonic signatures

[@jeremysmith4620]

This really sounded like a swell place to meet nice ladies. Single, wanting a change of scenery, pledged to the church, full of demons possibly both real and imagined.

[@brianmehaffey]

I'm so happy that you won't get killed for talking about this

[@voidwalking6994]

I love this channel so much.. 🤘 😎

[@joannakuyt1512]

When you said “an every day ghost” I laughed out loud. I thought of a ghost making its coffee in the morning.

[@christinarosen7519]

I highly recommend Swedish Nobel Prize winner Eyvind Johnson's novel "Dreams of Roses and Fire" about the Loudon possessions. Johnson is always good and this is one of his best!

[@corticallarvae]

I missed it, I didn’t get a notification … eeek

[@Birthhammer]

Thanks

[@lifearttimes]

Great, NEW intro❤️ On point, on all points. Of course, a confident woman is the devil. I don’t think so.🔱. Shine On!✨

[@zucchinisurprise6347]

Haha, wasn't expecting that Krallice name drop. Honestly, "Demonic Semiotics" *does* sound like a kickass album title!

[@BrigthFuture26]

Cool halloween topic dude

[@Insane-pl1rc]

I love ur content

[@marcogori7975]

Interestingly enough, all that happened in what we all know as the Modern Age, while no similar trials are reported from the "dark age" of the medieval centuries, not even in the well-documented centuries of the lower Middle Ages. It is clear that the struggle between Protestants and Catholics played a role in the radicalization that eventually led to these waves of hysteria, and that the central Church, despite not encouraging these events, let them happen as a kind of propaganda of the supernatural power of the Catholic Church, as Dr. Sledge mentioned. Thanks Dr Sledge for this very interesting comment.

[@marteenie7189]

writhing around.. as possessed people do. LOL. also, the merch looks sick. i might have to snag em.

[@Brett.Owen.Harris]

A timely reminder about what can happen when Church superstition and State power are not kept separate.

[@goldenehorde]

Hi Justin, I hope you and your family are well. Am Yisrael Chai

[@johnbeaubien8826]

16:15 "Take that, Huguenots"... is probably the funniest thing I ever heard a historian utter lol!!!