- What is it that you value?
Money, health, maybe status?
Well these things are all temporary.
But many people believe that we only really have one thing
which is everlasting, our soul.
But just how valuable is such a thing?
Throughout history, and even to this day,
there are people who have traded it
for power or success, and in doing so,
have come face to face with the Lord of the Flies himself.
(pen scratches) (soft dramatic music)
Here are 10 people who sold their souls to the devil.
Number 10 is Robert Johnson.
There's something about the number 27.
Many famous musicians such as Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse,
Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix
have all passed away at that age.
One of the oldest examples of this
is the story of Robert Johnson,
and it's a tale that's intertwined with Satan
Johnson was a famous blues musician in the 1930s,
but passed away under mysterious circumstances in 1938
at the age of 27.
Many have linked this to the bizarre account he gave
of meeting the devil at a crossroads when he was younger.
In return for Johnson's soul,
the devil granted Johnson unrivaled talent as a musician,
benefited greatly, and his music influenced
the likes of the Rolling Stones decades later.
It seems, however, that the devil cashed in on the deal
all too early, bringing the musician's career
and life to an early, macabre conclusion.
Number nine is Niccolo Paganini.
Niccolo Paganini was born in Italy
just before Halloween in 1782.
He began playing the violin at just 11 years old,
and by the time he was 15,
he was performing to large audiences.
Paganini was so good that whispers of an occult deal
with the devil began to circulate.
He was able to play 12 notes per second
which, at the time, was thought to be humanly impossible.
A witness claimed that he saw the devil appear
next to Paganini on stage during a performance
and rumors persisted that Paganini had entombed the soul
of a woman inside of his favorite violin
through a satanic ritual.
When Paganini was on his death bed in 1840,
he told the priest to leave
before giving him the last rites,
which would've allowed him entry to heaven.
Some believe this was because the violinist knew
that he was going elsewhere.
Number eight is Father Urbain Grandier.
The last person you would suspect
of selling their soul to the devil would be a holy man,
but that's exactly what Father Urbain Grandier did.
The priest grew in influence during the 17th century,
when he served at a church in Loudun, France.
Rumors began to grow amongst locals
that all was not well within the walls of the church.
A number of scandals tarnished his reputation
when it was revealed that he had been seducing locals.
But after this, several nuns who served with Grandier
came forward and accused him of ritual satanic behavior.
They claimed that Grandier was, in fact,
a powerful sorcerer who had sold his soul to the devil
through a contract.
When the handwritten contract
was allegedly stolen by a demon from Lucifer
and handed to authorities, this sealed Grandier's fate
as a master of the dark arts.
Number seven is Aleister Crowley.
Aleister Crowley was known as the Great Beast 666
and the wickedest man in the world.
He became involved in the occult
during the early parts of the 20th century
and became a member of the secret societies
such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Caught in a power struggle with other sorcerers,
Crowley had traveled extensively,
unearthing powerful dark practices.
Claiming to be in league with sinister spirits and demons,
his influence grew until he declared himself
more powerful than the gods.
Although Crowley stated that he believed the devil
to be unimportant and even a myth,
several of his followers have since suggested
that this was a ruse and that the source of his influence
was a twisted pact with Satan.
Number six is Giuseppe Tartini.
Deals with the devil come in many shapes and sizes,
from blood oaths to sacrificial rituals
or the simple signing of a contract.
But in the case of Giuseppe Tartini,
the devil made himself known through dreams.
Like an ancient Freddy Krueger,
the devil was said to have infiltrated
the mind and dreams of the famous 18th century composer.
In one nightmarish dream,
Tartini was visited by the devil as he lay in his bed.
The shadowy figure stood at the foot of his bed
conversing with him.
Whatever pact Tartini made that night,
it certainly had an influence on his music.
Tartini's most famous composition
is called Devil's Trill Sonata
which, to this day, remains difficult to play.
Perhaps Tartini was able to play it
with the help of his trusted violin,
an instrument many believed was forged in hell itself.
Number five is Richard Ramirez.
Known as the Night Stalker,
Richard Ramirez brought a reign of terror down
on all of those around him.
Throughout the early 1980s,
he amassed 13 victims in El Paso, Texas,
and he became even more infamous
for his creepy way of speaking to the press.
Many despicable criminals like Ramirez
have twisted motivations, but some believe one of his
was a pact with the devil.
Ramirez was heavily involved with Satanism
and would often leave macabre, satanic pentagrams
wherever he committed his vile crimes.
Some have gone as far as to suggest
that Ramirez didn't just commit his crimes
in the name of the devil,
but that he had sold his eternal soul to the beast.
If there's any justice, that deal went sour for him in 2013
when he finally met his maker.
Number four is MS-13.
MS-13 is a gang which originated in Los Angeles
during the 1970s.
Originally called the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners,
they soon morphed into a powerful, violent crime gang
which dominated the area.
Even in those early days,
the gang was led by hardcore Satanists
who had sold their soul to the devil.
Soon, this became a prerequisite
at the time to join the gang.
Now an international gang with huge influence,
the satanic rituals continue
as MS-13 removes anyone who stands in their way.
Many members who have spoken with the press anonymously
have described how they feel the devil is with them
when they commit their crimes,
which gives them a twisted source of power.
It's rumored that the gang has over 10,000 members,
many of whom have been involved
in ritual devil worship themselves.
Number three is Nikolai Ogolobyak.
Nikolai Ogolobyak is the leader of a satanic group.
It is said that, when committing their terrible crimes,
the group must strike at their victims exactly 666 times.
In 2008, he committed such a crime
in a remote woodland area in Russia.
When they were finally caught, one of his followers stated
that he believed the devil would help him escape justice,
while another spoke about how his life improved financially
when he sold his soul to Satan.
For many, what makes Nikolai's story
so compelling and disturbing is that,
at the same time, he made the transition
from being a devout Christian choir boy
to giving up his eternal soul to the devil.
This transition is not uncommon, and in some cases,
practicing religious people have secretly been carrying out
satanic rituals in forbidden locations.
Number two is Christa Pike.
When Christa Pike became jealous
of a fellow student named Colleen Slemmer over a boy,
Pike decided to remove Slemmer from the picture.
This act was carried out brutally,
but it was also motivated by Christa Pike's dabbling
in the dark arts.
She had entered into a coven of sort
with her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp,
and another friend called Shadolla Peterson.
Their crime against Colleen was tragic
and had all the hallmarks of a satanic ritual.
When they were finally arrested,
a satanic bible was found in their possession.
All three admitted devil worship
and had pledged their souls to the source of all evil.
Christa Pike had since tried to escape from prison
and had continued her violent, satanic behavior
even while locked away from society.
And number one is the Ripper Crew.
As we've seen throughout this video,
groups of people who have sold their souls to the devil
often band together to commit terrible acts.
They do this in an attempt to enter hell.
The Ripper Crew are amongst the most notorious
of such groups.
Led by Robin Gecht, a rumored protege of John Wayne Gacy,
throughout 1981 to 1982 in Chicago,
Gecht invited three other men
to sell their souls to the devil
and commit crimes in his name.
Eventually known as the Ripper Crew
due to their sadistic nature
of the crime sprees they committed,
they became synonymous with satanic cults
as their behavior was among the most barbaric
ever seen in the city.
Though Gecht continues to deny his crimes,
the evidence against him was overwhelming,
as was their devotion to the dark world of violent Satanism.