In this book, the French historian Robert Muschemble explores the sphere of mental ideas of Western man or, as the author himself says, the world of his imaginary. At the center of the study is the figure of the devil. This image has been present in the consciousness of Europeans for more than a thousand years. Perhaps no other cultural phenomenon has influenced people's daily lives so much. Ideas about the devil determined the attitude of medieval man to his own body and to everything connected with the sexual sphere. At the time of the witch hunt, people were sure that demons could come into intimacy with a person and even inhabit his body. The book provides details of many witchcraft processes. With the advent of the 17th century. the image of the devil seemed to begin to fade under the onslaught of rationalism. At the same time, various elements of ideas about the demon penetrate into the literature of the New Age. In the 20th century Traces of former beliefs can be found in advertising slogans, comics, and cinema. In his work, Muschemble convincingly shows how much the imaginary world greatly influences the course of real history. CONTENTS: Words of gratitude Introduction The Devil: a thousand years together CHAPTER I Satan enters the scene. XII-XV centuries Satan and the myth of the primordial battle Good and bad demons Diabolical possession at the end of the Middle Ages The Evil One and the Beast Chapter II Night Sabbath Dear heresies From the Waldenses to the sorcerers A hammer to slay sorcerers Satanic nakedness The triumph of demonomania The devil's mark CHAPTER III The body possessed by the devil The witch's body About the female body Monsters and miraclesSexual hellTo the history of the perception of the senses: the rise of visionTo the history of the perception of the senses : the smell passes to the devil CHAPTER IV Satanic literature and tragic culture. 1550-1650 Fear of oneself Books about devils in Protestant Germany Tragic culture in France Ross, the demon and the decayed corpse Jean-Pierre Camus, or the Theater of Horror Bloody stories from crime chronicles Baroque and crime CHAPTER V Twilight of the Devil: from classicism to Romanticism Satan's Last Ball The imaginary, destructive and fragmented The Devil in the absence of his charms Symbolic change: from Satan to Mephistopheles The breath of fiction Beelzebub in love CHAPTER VI The demon is within us. XIX-XX centuries Doctrinal constancy Playing with the demon: a Gothic novel and a frantic school Rebel angel of Satan worshipers Children of the devil Devilish unconscious “Tame the darkness” Paper devil? CHAPTER VII Pleasure or nightmare. Demons of the end of the second millenniumDevil? Why not. Gentle exorcism. Damn good. Pub, beer and comicsDemon of the Expressionists: from “The Golem” to “Day of Wrath”“Black” cinema: horror, tension and perversionDemons of AmericaCONCLUSIONDancing with the DevilSelected comicsBibliographyDevilish cinema. Film Index