Number 5
St. Theophilus the Penitent
St. Theophilus was the archdeacon of Adana.
His deal was one of the earliest pact with the devil ever recorded around the 6th century AD
It was said that he made a deal with the Devil to gain a high position in the Church because
he was angry and felt belittled.
His story was recorded by Eutychianus of Adana who claimed to have witnessed the whole event.
It started with St. Theophilus turning down the position of bishop out of humility and
then another man took the position.
What made him regret his decision was when the new Bishop unjustly deprived him of his
archdeacon position.
He was so mad that he sought help from a black magic user to contact Satan and he successfully did it.
Satan demanded him to renounce his belief in exchange for his help.
Then when both sides agreed to the terms and signed the contract, where Theophilus had
to sign with his own blood.
The next day after the contract was made, the new bishop realised he made a mistake
so he reinstated Theophilus' position and of course Theophilus was happy with the news
so instantly, he regretted making the contract.
He was then fearful for his soul and wanted to repent.
He fasted for days to beg forgiveness but Satan was not going to let go of the contract
that easily and so he left the contract with Theophilus as a reminder.
Devastated, he then took the contract to the new bishop and confessed everything to him.
The new bishop then burned the contract and Theophilus died in peace.
Number 4
Robert Johnson
He is famous for the rumour of bargaining with the devil at a crossroad in Mississippi.
He was a blues singer-songwriter and musician, a very famous one especially after his death.
He influenced many rock musicians such as Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and his work actually
helped define rock and roll.
He had only recorded 29 songs and only after the reissue of his recordings in 1961, which
is years after his death, his work got known.
During his time, the blues were still called the devil's music.
So after his wife died in childbirth and was said it was divine punishment, he went on
a journey to become a full-time blues musician.
Johnson wasn't a good guitarist at first, it was even said to be embarrassingly bad.
He learned the guitar with Isaiah "Ike" Zimmerman who was rumored to have learned his guitar
playing in graveyards then suddenly one day, Johnson's guitar technique became good.
Better than good, surreal.
So people were becoming suspicious as to how.
He also has 2 songs called "Crossroads" and "Me and the Devil Blues" which contributed
to the myth of his pact with the devil at a crossroad in Mississippi.
Not to mention he died at the age of 27 which is apparently the age where a lot of musicians
dies at, this phenomena is also known as the 27 club.
Number 3
Father Urbain Grandier
It was the year 1634, witch-hunts and witch executions were still a major thing.
This man was said to have practiced black magic, made a pact with the devil and could
summon evil spirits.
He was burned at the stake in the witchcraft trial in Loudun, France.
During his life, albeit being a priest, he had sexual relationships with numerous women,
ignoring his vow of celibacy.
Being a good looking man and was both wealthy and educated, it was pretty easy for him to
get the attention of women.
In 1632, a group of nuns accused him of bewitching women into committing evil and impudent acts with him.
It was believed that only after he refused the Mother Superior's advances at the time
did the accusations began.
Then other nuns began making similar accusations which lead to his arrest and later execution.
One evident they had against him was a piece of paper showing his diabolical pact with
several demons's signatures and symbols written in backwards Latin.
Number 2
General Jonathan Moulton
General Jonathan Moulton served in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.
He was a cabinetmaker apprentice but left it for silversmithing.
He then left silversmithing and joined the New Hampshire Militia, where he was appointed
as captain of a ranger company.
He was then promoted from captain to colonel to brigadier general over the course of his
service and was later even given land in the lakes region of New Hampshire as a reward
for his successes during the wars.
He even founded the town of Moultonborough after himself.
Now he became the wealthiest man in town.
Built an enormous mansion, bought foreign paint for his house and seemed like he was
forever scheming to make more money.
Popular belief says that Moulton made a pact with the devil where he would give his soul
in return for as much gold his boots can hold.
The general thought of a ploy to trick the devil by cutting the boots soles off over
a large hole in the ground.
This is so that it takes more gold to fill the boots than it should.
Apparently the devil found out about the trickery.
So the deal was off.
The devil burnt his house down and the gold disappeared.
There's also the fact that when the general died, his body and tombstone disappeared which
made people think the devil must have took him.
The story about the devil reminded me of an old Irish folktale between a doctor and the devil.
The story went the same way with the hole in the boots but the doctor was much more
cunning by setting a condition with a loophole that the devil was then outsmarted sparing
the doctor's life and fortune.
Number 1
Nicolo Paganini
He is known as one of the greatest violin virtuosos to have ever lived.
Paganini had inhuman skills that is even impossible by today's standards.
The skill was to play three octaves across four strings in a hand span.
Though some people believed he had Marfan syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos giving him long
fingers and flexible joints.
Other than that particular skill, his playing were said to be able to bring tears to those
listening to it and some patrons even claimed to have seen the devil helping him during
his performances.
There's also the thing were he pranced around during his performances earning him the nickname,
Rubber Man.
Paganini was a genius, he did many things to make certain pieces easier to play that
he introduced new techniques even used today.
But it wasn't just his techniques that astounded people.
Even his appearance contributed to him and the devil, with his lanky appearance, hollow
cheeks, long fingers, pale skin, thin lips, weird smile and always wearing black.
Just like something out of a Tim Burton's movie.
Anyways, he died in 1840 and was denied burial by the church because of his rumor of associating
with the devil and him refusing the sacrament because he thought he wasn't going to die that early.
Then only in 1876 was his remains finally laid to rest.