Then Civil War era was a spooky time in America’s history with extensive beliefs in demonology, the occult, séances and exorcisms. Speaking to 34 Y’s Men of Meriden who shook off nine inches of snow that had fallen the previous day, Meriden native Matthew Bartlett, American Civil War scholar and author, used a PowerPoint presentation on Tuesday, Feb. 10, to describe the extent of beliefs in the supernatural during the mid 1800s.
Bartlett first described the belief in demonology, dating back to ancient times but accelerated by the publication in France of “Dictionnaire Infernal” in 1818. He noted that the King of Hell is Moloch, the most powerful demon who relishes sacrifice of human children. And there are seven Princes of Hell: Lucifer (pride,) Mammon (greed,) Asmodeus (lust,) Leviathan (envy,) Beelzebub (gluttony,) Satan (wrath,) and Belphegor (sloth). And then there was the first female demon Lilith, the “first wife” of Adam, who was banished from Eden and who was known to suck the life out of men; this demon was an immensely popular topic of discussion among Civil War era women.
Source: MyRecordJournal.com
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