Paris 1892. Dark rituals, devil-worshipping Freemasons, the Antipope, a mysterious young woman rumoured to have been fathered by Lucifer. And the good Catholic doctor ready to expose them all. A journalist's quest to humiliate the Church. Discover the Luciferian hoax that fooled the Vatican.
''An indispensable translation of the Satanic Hoax to end all hoaxes, in English for the first time. Not to be missed by anyone interested in the occult, conspiracy theories, or bizarre jokes.'' -Per Faxneld
One hundred and thirty years ago, a French journalist convinced the Vatican that a secret Luciferian cult, hidden at the heart of Freemasonry, was plotting the birth of the Antichrist and the annihilation of the Catholic Church. These supposed Masons took their orders from Satan himself -who appeared in the flesh to his Antipope Albert Pipe, every Friday at three o' clock in the afternoon, in Charleston South Carolina. It was a story that captivated France -and the greatest hoax of all time.
The journalist's name was Léo Taxil. Secretly written by Taxil and published in biweekly instalments over the course of five years, and endorsed by the Catholic Church, The Devil in the 19th Century, is the purported witness account of ''Dr. Bataille'', a Catholic doctor. Part travel journal and part investigative report, filled with satanic schemes and a rich cast of shady characters, it was a thrilling, lurid and sensationalist read, and an instant hit with Catholic audiences. It wasn’t until Taxil held a press conference in 1897 that he revealed the publications as a prank.
What drove a zealous freethinker to fake his conversion to Catholicism and devote twelve years of his life to fooling the Vatican? How did he trick Catholic readers into believing a story so outrageous?
Join our talk with translator Aurélie Dekoninck, who has fully captured the vividness of the writing, and discover a thrilling read, exactly as Taxil intended it - a breathless ride filled with snakes, satanic rituals, and the constant danger of a slow, agonising death, but also a satire that scathingly mocks those blindfolded by their own prejudices, racism, xenophobia and hypocrisy, with every word.
