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Deals with the Devil in popular culture

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Deals with the Devil in popular culture

The idea of making a deal with the Devil has appeared many times in works of popular culture.

Contents

The theme enjoyed a large run of popularity in the twentieth century. At one point Anthony Boucher, editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, "reported that fully 50 percent of his unsolicited submissions consisted of deal-with-the-Devil stories or "formalities of the hereafter", which as often as not involved the Devil".

In print

  • In many variants of the Aarne-Thompson type 361, of which Bearskin is an instance, the hero escapes, but the devil still comes off the better: the heroine's sisters have killed themselves, and he has gained two souls instead of one.
  • The story of Theophilus of Adana, a saint who made a deal with the devil, predates the Faust legend and is a likely partial inspiration.
  • The compact between human hubris and diabolical intelligence raises the old tale to its cultural peak in Goethe's Faust.

    • Other works depicting deals with the Devil include:

  • The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe
  • Faust, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  • Der Zwerg, by Christian August Vulpius, Goethe's brother-in-law
  • Faust, opera by Charles Gounod
  • The Devil upon Two Sticks (1707), novel by Alain-René Lesage
  • The Black Spider (Die Schwarze Spinne; 1842), novella by Jeremias Gotthelf
  • The Devil in Love, novel by Jacques Cazotte
  • Vathek, novel by William Beckford
  • The Monk, novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis
  • The Devil's Elixir, novel by E. T. A. Hoffmann
  • The Bottle Imp, by Robert Louis Stevenson
  • Mefistofele, opera by Arrigo Boito
  • St. John's Eve (short story), by Nikolai Gogol
  • Mephisto, novel by Klaus Mann
  • The Master and Margarita, novel by Mikhail Bulgakov
  • Melmoth the Wanderer, novel by Charles Maturin
  • The Bet, by Anton Chekhov
  • The Devil and Tom Walker, short story by Washington Irving
  • Sir Dominick's Bargain (1872), short story by Sheridan Le Fanu
  • The Demon Pope (1888), short story by Richard Garnett
  • The Devil and Daniel Webster, short story based on the Washington Irving story; by Steven Vincent Benét
  • The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, novel by Guimarães Rosa
  • Pani Twardowska, poem by Adam Mickiewicz
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray, novel by Oscar Wilde: The Devil does not appear, but Dorian Gray vocally offers his soul in exchange for eternal youth so that a painting will age for him.
  • Gimmicks Three, by Isaac Asimov
  • The Unfortunate Fursey and The Return of Fursey, novels by Mervyn Wall.
  • The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, a novel by Douglass Wallop, upon which Damn Yankees, the musical theatre production and film by George Abbott and Stanley Donen was based
  • That Hell-Bound Train, by Robert Bloch
  • Timm Thaler, a 1962 children's novel by German author James Krüss
  • Rosemary's Baby, novel by Ira Levin
  • FaustEric, by Terry Pratchett: A young aspiring demonologist attempts to summon a demon, but only summons Rincewind, a useless wizard trapped in the demon realm after his last attempt to save humanity.
  • Jack Faust, novel by Michael Swanwick
  • Memnoch the Devil, by Anne Rice
  • The Da-Da-Dee-Da-Da Code by Robert Rankin
  • Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Hellblazer storyline Dangerous Habits, John Constantine cons the Lords of Hell into curing his cancer.
  • Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler, a manga by Yana Toboso
  • The Spider-Man storyline One More Day: Uninterested in Spider-Man's soul as such a deal would leave him tormenting a soul that knows it suffers so that a loved one would live, Mephisto heals Spider-Man's Aunt May in exchange for erasing his marriage to Mary Jane Watson from memory.
  • Peter Schlemiel by Adelbert von Chamisso
  • In Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the main character, Light Yagami, inadvertently makes a pact with a Shinigami (jap. angel of death) Ryuk, which enables him to kill almost anyone by writing their name in his notebook, but in return not being able to enter neither heaven nor hell.
  • In The Devil in Velvet by John Dickson Carr, a deal with the devil allows the protagonist to travel back in time in order to solve a crime.
  • Demon Candy: Parallel, an original English-language manga by Lord Dragon Master, in which lead character Jonathan is tricked into selling his soul for a Klondike bar, and is sent to Hell where he becomes an incubus. Jonathan then makes a second deal in order to try and regain his soul.
  • In The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Rachel says she would sell her soul to the devil to get out of the Congo. After her "devil savior" (Eeben Axelroot) rescues her, she becomes a cruel, heartless woman.
  • Sold to Satan by Mark Twain

    • In film

  • Doctor Faustus (1967): a film based on Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Andreas Teuber.
  • Bedazzled (1967): In this film, the main character exchanges his soul for seven wishes, each which leads to disaster, only for him to escape the deal when the Devil spares him out of pity.
  • Rosemary's Baby (1968): Guy Woodhouse offers his wife Rosemary to the devil for wealth and success, resulting in the birth of the Antichrist.
  • The Mephisto Waltz (1971), people transferring their personalities from one body to another with Satan's help, each such change "paid for" by committing a murder.
  • Poor Devil (1973), a TV movie comedy about a bumbling minor devil (Sammy Davis Jr.) trying to get the soul of bumbling human (Jack Klugman) on orders of Lucifer (Christopher Lee).
  • Belladonna (1973), a film inspired by 19th century perceptions of medieval witchcraft, centres on a woman's pact with the Devil
  • Phantom of the Paradise (1974): Swan makes a pact with the devil to remain youthful forever and photos will age and fester in his place.
  • The Devil and Max Devlin (1981): A crooked landlord, now deceased and in hell, is offered redemption by the devil if he succeeds in getting three others to forfeit their souls in exchange for his own.
  • The Transformers: The Movie (1986): Megatron makes a deal with Cybertron's version of the devil, named Unicron, in order to continue his "destiny" of galactic conquest, but in turn becomes his unwilling minion.
  • Crossroads (1986): A young man attempts to investigate Robert Johnson's legend.
  • Little Shop of Horrors (1986): Audrey II offers Seymour riches and women in return for human sacrifice.
  • Angel Heart (1987): The Devil tries to claim the soul he was promised by a man whose attempt to escape his deal resulted in him losing his memory.
  • The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (1989): The Toxic Avenger made a deal with the Devil in order to get money for the eye operation for his blind girl friend, Claire.
  • Faust (1994): Mixed live-action and animation, directed by Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer.
  • The Day of the Beast (1995): A priest attempts to sell his soul to the Devil so that he can be there for the birth of the Antichrist so he can kill him.
  • The Devil's Advocate (1997): A Florida attorney begins working for a law firm that is run by the Devil.
  • Spawn (1997): A military soldier/assassin sells his soul to a demon warlord named Malebolgia to become his eternal servant and leader of his army in Armageddon, in order to return to Earth to see his beloved fiancée, Wanda Blake.
  • H-E Double Hockey Sticks (1999): A devil-in-training convinces a rising hockey star to sell him his soul for the Stanley Cup.
  • Bedazzled (2000), a remake of the aforementioned 1967 original, the main character making a different set of wishes that end when he uses his seventh and final wish to make an unselfish wish that negates his contract.
  • O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000): A trio of chain gang escapees in Depression-era Mississippi encounter a black youth named Tommy Johnson, who claims to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for being able to play the guitar.
  • Faust: Love of the Damned (2000): A man sells his soul in order to get revenge on his girlfriend's killers, only to be turned into a demon in exchange.
  • The Hire, (2001-2002): In the episode Beat the Devil, James Brown made a deal with Satan that he sell his soul for a life of fame and talent. In his late age, he feels his life coming to a quick end prompting him to make a second deal that if the Driver could beat Satan in a drag race, James Brown would regain his youth.
  • Constantine (2004): Having informed Satan of his son's attempted coup of Hell, Constantine asks Satan to repay their debt by releasing Isabel, the twin sister of Constantine's ally Angela in exchange for Constantine's soul. Satan's desire for Constantine's soul was thwarted upon the realization that Constantine's self-sacrifice earned him a place in heaven, forcing Satan to allow Constantine's resurection for another chance at Constantine's fall.
  • Pact with the Devil (2004): A modern retelling of the Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Grey.
  • Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005): In the metaphorical sense of the term, Anakin Skywalker pledges himself to the teachings of Darth Sidious to save his wife from the visions of death in childbirth he's been having, in that sense damning himself to get what he wants and becoming Darth Vader in return.
  • Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006): A rock group quests for a pick that was once a tooth belonging to Satan, and which it's implied all rock legends used to achieve their legendary status.
  • Shortcut to Happiness (2007): A modern film adaptation of the classic short story The Devil and Daniel Webster.
  • Ghost Rider (2007): A young stunt rider sells his soul to the inter-dimensional demon Mephisto to cure his father's cancer. As with Faust, Mephisto takes liberties with his end of the bargain, his father surviving his cancer only to die in an accident.
  • The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): Doctor Parnassus, a prominent storyteller, made a deal with the Devil that would allow him to keep telling his stories, unaware that the world would move past its interest in his narrative style.
  • Heartless (2009): Jamie Morgan makes a devil's deal with Pappa B to have his birth marks removed and to live a normal life, in return he is suddenly informed that the terms of the deal can change whenever Pappa B wishes it.
  • The Witch (2015): Thomasin signs her name in the devil's book so that she can join a murderous coven of witches.

    • In music

  • "Murder Was The Case" by Snoop Dogg
  • "Alright" and "For Sale?" by Kendrick Lamar
  • "Bridge of Death" by Manowar
  • "Dance with the Devil" by Immortal Technique
  • "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by The Charlie Daniels Band
  • "Friend of the Devil" by Grateful Dead
  • "In the Presence of Enemies" by Dream Theater
  • "Cross Road Blues" by Robert Johnson
  • "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
  • "Deal with the Devil" by Judas Priest
  • "Tribute" and "Beelzeboss" by Tenacious D
  • "Pact with Lucifer" by Coven
  • "The Small Print" by Muse, previously called "Action Faust"
  • "Epica" and "The Black Halo" by Kamelot based on the Faust legend
  • "The Width of a Circle" by David Bowie
  • "The Black Rider" by Tom Waits
  • "Brother Jacob" by Head East
  • "My Darling" by Eminem
  • "Money" by Michael Jackson
  • "Straight to Hell" by Great Big Sea
  • "Dancing with the Devil" by Ke$ha
  • "We Found Love" by Rihanna
  • "Sell my Soul" by Midnight Oil
  • "Johnny Ringo" by Crown the Empire
  • "Dance With The Devil" by Breaking Benjamin
  • "Eyes of The Devil" by Seether
  • "The Ballad of Thunder Road" by Robert Mitchum
  • "Come With Me Now" by Kongos
  • "Side To Side" by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
  • "N 2 Deep" (Lord Infamous' verse) by Three 6 Mafia

    • In television

  • ABC's television series 666 Park Avenue portrays many pacts resembling deals with the devil, including a violinist paying for talent with his soul and a man forced to murder adversaries of the titular apartment building in return for his wife's return from the grave.
  • In the Fox series Brimstone, Ezekiel Stone, a police detective who was killed and sent to Hell for murdering his wife's rapist, makes a deal with The Devil to recapture escaped sinners from Hell in return for which he will be allowed a second chance at life.
  • The Collector, about a former monk who sold his soul to the Devil in the 14th century.
  • An episode of The Muppet Show featured a plot in which Alice Cooper attempts to sell the Muppets a contract that promises "fabulous riches and worldwide fame" on behalf of the devil. Several characters consider the offer, while Gonzo fervently pursues the deal. Ultimately, he becomes frustrated at not being able to find a pen to sign away his soul.
  • In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Devil's Due", an alien planet's population had made an agreement with the devil, whereby their world's problems would be solved and they would have peace and prosperity for a thousand years, in exchange for their servitude at the end of that time; when that time runs out, a being appears claiming to be the devil, but the Enterprise crew are able to prove that she is an impostor using technology to create the deception.
  • The television series G vs E featured several people who made deals with the forces of evil. These people were known collectively as "Faustians".
  • The television series Supernatural features Crossroad Demons, who can be summoned by burying a box containing key items at crossroads, subsequently making a deal with the summoner where the demon will grant any request in exchange for the summoner's souls in ten years/ time. In the episode "In My Time of Dying", John Winchester makes a pact with the Yellow-Eyed Demon (Azazel)- who subsequently is implied to have contacted a Crossroad Demon- to bring his son, Dean, out of a coma which he has no hope of recovering from, with John dying and going to Hell a few moments later once Dean wakes up. In the later episode "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2", Dean makes a similar deal to save his brother Sam, where he will go to Hell a year after making the deal, but he escapes from Hell after four months when an angel drags him out. Other characters are seen making deals throughout the series, ranging from wishing to improve their professional lives to saving the lives of those they love, with the Winchesters' interest in saving the deal-makers varying depending on the nature of the deal (They typically work to save those who made deals to benefit others rather than themselves).
  • In Metalocallypse episode "Bluesklok", the band is told to make a deal with the devil to get blues-playing skill.
  • The television series Reaper is about a young man, Sam Oliver, whose parents made a deal with the Devil to save the father from a serious illness in exchange for the soul of their first-born child (Although, in their defence, they attempted to abstain from conception to prevent Satan receiving anything). He must work as Satan's bounty hunter, or his mother's soul is forfeit.
  • In the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the primary villain was the mayor of Sunnydale, who had ascended to power as the mayor in preparation for either ascending to immortal demonic status himself or losing his power and soul, after founding the town 100 years previously as a place for demons to feed.
  • In the Charmed episode "Soul Survivor", Paige discovers a businessman who sells his soul to a demon in exchange for success, and tries to rescue him; the first season episode "The Wedding from Hell" sees a rich woman forced to deal with the consequences of a deal she made two decades ago when a powerful demon seeks to marry her eldest son and conceive a demonic child.
  • In the Futurama episode "Hell is Other Robots", Bender is sent to Robot Hell for his sins. Fry and Leela enter Robot Hell to save him, where The Robot Devil tells them that the only way to win back Bender's soul is to beat him in a musical contest using a solid gold fiddle (in accordance to "The Fairness in Hell Act of 2275"). The terms of the pact were similar to the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia. In another Futurama episode "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings", Fry makes a deal with the Robot Devil so that Fry can play the holophonor and show his love for Leela. The Robot devil asks for nothing in return, apparently just hoping to use the deal as an excuse to torment an innocent robot. When his penchant for random torment (and, ironically, his penchant for irony) leads to his own hands being given to Fry, the Robot Devil makes a deal with Bender that causes him to deafen Leela, then a deal with Leela to give back her hearing in exchange for her hand in marriage as she wants to hear Fry's Opera about her, all in a ploy to get his own hands back as he threatens to take her to Hell. Bender remarks in this episode that "you may have to make a metaphorical deal with the devil, and by devil, I mean Robot Devil, and by metaphorical, I mean get your coat." The later episode "Calculon 2.0" sees Fry and Bender make another deal with the Robot Devil to resurrect Calculon, their favourite actor, but the Robot Devil deliberately lets them win the deal as he is annoyed at Calculon's overly-dramatic nature.
  • In Sleepy Hollow, police captain Frank Irving is tricked into selling his soul to the Horseman of War when he signs a contract appointing Henry Parrish— the Horseman's human identity— as his lawyer, cutting his finger on the pen in the process and thus essentially signing it in blood. The Horsemen depicted in the series— including Henry as the Horseman of War and Abraham van Brunt as the Horseman of Death— have been revealed to have come into their powers after making a deal with the demon Moloch for power, with Moloch's words implying that he has made similar deals to create other Horsemen in the past. These deals can apparently be broken with the death of the soul's new 'owner', with Henry being freed from his deal after he kills Moloch and Frank being restored to normal— despite being briefly being killed and resurrected under Henry's control— when Henry is killed, although Abraham remains the Headless Horseman of Death even after Moloch is killed.
  • In The Monkees episode, "The Devil and Peter Tork", Peter finds himself inadvertently trading his soul with a pawn shop proprietor, who's really Mr. S. Zero who has come to purchase another soul, for the ability to play the harp. The other Monkees had to engage in a court battle to save Peter's soul and convince Zero that Peter doesn't need Zero's magic to play the harp. To prove this, Zero took his magic away from Peter and made the harp appear. With the urging of his bandmates, Peter went to the harp and played "I Wanna Be Free" to save his soul and send Zero back to Hell empty-handed.
  • In Derren Brown's television series Trick or Treat, prior to choosing a card, the participants must sign a Faustian Contract, which lets Derren do anything he pleases.
  • In the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime series, Professor Viper makes a deal with Yubel's severed arm to revive his deceased foster son.
  • The Devil and Daniel Mouse, a Halloween special based on the Washington Irving short story.
  • In the Tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Kiva, Otoya Kurenai was rumored to have sold his soul to the devil in creating the Bloody Rose violin. At the start of the series' 17th episode, Niccolò Paganini is referenced in the opening scenes.
  • In Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler, Ciel Phantomhive makes a Faustian contract with the demon Sebastian, making the demon his obedient servant for a life period in exchange for his soul after death, what would undoubtedly come after his final wish (and the original reason for making the contract in the first place) would be fulfilled.
  • Friday the 13th: The Series is about a man named Lewis Vendredi who made a deal with the Devil to sell cursed antiques. When he broke the pact, the Devil killed him and claimed his soul, leaving his niece Micki Foster and her cousin Ryan Dallion to find the cursed antiques and lock them away in the store's vault in order to neutralize their evil powers.
  • The anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica and its adaptations contain many allusions to Goethe's Faust as the central motif of the series is the protagonists' "contracts" with the devil-like figure Kyuubey.
  • In Season 2 Episode 4 of the cartoon Gravity Falls , Dipper Pines makes a deal with Bill Cipher, a dream demon, and is tricked into exchanging his physical being for a secret password to a mysterious laptop. (Sock Opera)
  • In an episode of American Dad!, Roger the Alien sells his soul to the devil to beat a hippie in a guitar challenge as his favorite coffee shop. After beating the hippie, Roger is ready to leave, but the hippie tells Roger that he clearly won and will do anything to keep playing the guitar at the coffee shop, since he works there. In return for letting him keep his job, Roger tells the hippie to cover his lessons for his guitar practice. The hippie agrees and shakes Roger's hand happily. After this, a fiery hand grabs the hippie and takes him down to hell, since the price of Roger's lessons was his eternal soul.
  • In 2013, a Superbowl commercial featuring William Defoe, comically portrayed dealing with the Devil in exchange for a Mercedes Benz.

    • In games

  • In the Skyrim DLC Dragonborn the antagonist (Miraak) sells his soul to the daedric prince of knowledge Hermaeus Mora in exchange for knowledge and power
  • In Grim Grimoire, devil's contracts are a recurring theme in the game's story. It is first used when character Bartido Ballentyne sells his soul to the devil teacher Advocat in exchange for Lillet Blan's safety, however time reverts five days and the contract no longer exists because the event has technically not taken place yet. The next time it is used by Lillet herself in exchange for use of the grimoire "Lemegaton", and while she keeps the Lemegaton going back in time, the event is removed from history. It is used one more time by Lillet in exchange for a single wish from Grimlet, a powerful devil, but Grimlet is forced back to hell after refusing to do what Lillet commands, worshiping God. The contract is destroyed, and she banishes Grimlet as she had intended.
  • In the Tekken series, Kazuya Mishima makes a deal with the Devil in order to obtain enough power to defeat his ruthless father, Heihachi. This deal has dire consequences, as it strips Kazuya of all the good within him, gives him a Devil Gene, and passes a Devil Gene onto his son, Jin Kazama, whose influence with the Devil has made him into the main antagonist of Tekken 6.
  • In Doom 3, Dr. Betruger made a deal with the forces of Hell for supernatural power and command of the demons in an attempt to conquer Earth.
  • In the Deception video games, Faustian bargains are a recurring theme. The character Allura inadvertently agrees to a deal with the demon Malphas by allowing her to create powerful traps to kill her enemies in exchange for devouring the victim's soul.
  • In the Soul series, Siegfried Schtauffen made a deal with the demonic sword Soul Edge for power and the ability to avenge his father's death, resulting in Soul Edge possessing him and turning him into the dark knight Nightmare. One of Siegfried's weapons is named Faust in reference to this story element.
  • A similar concept of a pact with the devil was featured in the game The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The antagonist of the game, Zant, makes a pact with Ganon (the series' equivalent to Satan) for power and authority to conquer the Twilight Realm and Hyrule. This was mutually beneficial for both parties so that they both become rulers of said realms.
  • In the video game Bayonetta, the main character Bayonetta signed a pact with the demoness named Madama Butterfly which grants her immense abilities including weaving her hair through magic to summon powerful demons to fight her enemies. In the history of the game, it is stated all Umbra Witches traded their souls to demons via a diabolical pact
  • In Devil Maker:Tokyo, an anime-inspired role-playing card battle adventure for iOS and Android, players make a deal with devils to discover deep and dark dungeons full of wicked.
  • In Guacamelee!, it is revealed that the primary antagonist Carlos Calaca dealt with the devil to win a horse race. He was claimed moments after his victory. In vengeance, Calaca made another deal—this time a cock fight and with the help of a witch turns the devil into a rooster.
  • In The Binding of Isaac, the player can sell health to the Devil in exchange for other in-game benefits in "Devil Rooms"
  • In Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, Tychus Findlay made a deal with the devil which sealed his fate.
  • The card game Magic: The Gathering features a powerful sorceress named Liliana Vess, who makes deals with numerous devils and demons in exchange for eternal youth as well as dark knowledge. After acquiring the power of the Chain Veil, however, she finds herself on a quest to free herself of these contracts.
  • In the RPG "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" expansion pack "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone", the charming bandit Olgierd von Everec makes a pact with a devil figure in exchange for immortality and wealth.

    • References

    Deals with the Devil in popular culture Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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