Goethe’s story of Faust and Mephistopheles, as well as the lighthearted The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (later made into the musical Damn Yankees) are familiar stories. But they were fiction. There are real life accounts of real people who are said to have made the Devil’s bargain. Whether or not one believes it is beside the point. The fact is, many people did, and still do.
One early account is of the 6th century Orthodox cleric Theophilus of Adana, whose reported deal with the devil led him to his position as Archdeacon of Adana. Later he claims to have rejected the devil and reclaimed his soul through the intercession of the Virgin Mary. (The History of the Devil, by Paul Carus) It may seem ironic that someone would damn his own soul to perdition in order to be more holy, but in the Middle Ages, holy men were not the only ones seeking high-ranking positions in the Church. The offices were often highly profitable and offered, in some cases, many earthly rewards.
Another soul selling legend is of the Italian composer and violinist Niccolo Paganini. A musician of amazing talent, he possessed a virtuosity unmatched in his day, perhaps ever. People were so astounded by his abilities that stories began to circulate of his demonic possession, his deal with Satan, and even that he in fact was devil spawn. (Answers.com). His demonic features-piercing eyes, thin face, and pointed nose-only served to support the theories. Again, he did nothing to discourage the rumors, dressing in all black and wearing long capes.
The twentieth century provides two such stories. In the 1920’s and 30’s, two Delta blues guitarists were said to have sold their souls to the devil in exchange for their superior musical abilities. The first was Tommy Johnson, who, like Paganini, did nothing to dissuade the rumors. In fact, he openly told the story himself: he went to the crossroads where he met the devil and sold his soul so he could, "...play anything you want and learn to make songs yourself...". (Searching for Robert Johnson by Peter Guralnick) In the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? there is a scene where the three main characters pick up a black hitchhiker with a guitar who tells them he just met the devil at the crossroads and sold his soul. That was Tommy Johnson.
Perhaps the most celebrated of all is Robert Johnson, unrelated to Tommy, who never actually said he sold his soul. He did however, seem to enjoy the notoriety it gave him, due in part to the fact that folks confused him with Tommy Johnson, one of his mentors. In addition, Robert wrote and performed songs that may have helped to perpetuate the stories, songs like “Crossroad Blues” and “Hellhound On My Trail”. (Escaping the Delta, by Elijah Wood) The fact that he died under very mysterious circumstances (most likely, he was intentionally poisoned), and stories that he spent his last hours howling at the moon and crawling around on the floor, only add to the legend. In addition, he did leave a note asking the Lord’s forgiveness.
Maybe the moral of the story is that some people can only see virtuosity as attainable through either the grace of God or through the work of the devil.
Walter Edwards - I graduated with a BA in English from St. Francis College in 1971. Over the years I have had some rather diverse careers, from teaching at ...
