The Legend of the Devil-haunted Card Players in Northern Europe

MORALISTS in the Christian civilization have in all times looked askance at gambling. Chaucer's Pardoner's eloquent, if hypocritical, denunciation of its evils is by no means an isolated phenomenon. And that the precepts and prejudices of moralists are borne out by myth and tradition is far from uncommon in folklore, nor, of course, altogether coincidental; while it must not be assumed that legends illustrating the dire consequences of sin are generally deliberately launched by guardians of morality to frighten people into 'good behaviour', it is often admittedly their influence on popular thought and fantasy that is responsible for sparking traditions of this nature, such as that of the devil-haunted card players, which I want to examine in this paper. The belief that the devil is attracted, in hope of gain, to wherever sin is committed is, of course, as old as Christian demonology. In medieval legend he sits on church windowsills, writing up the names (for purposes too obvious to mention) of those who laugh and talk in church; in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus Mephostophilis explains why devils appear when Christ's name is 'racked' and 'anagrammatized' they hope to gain power over the soul of the offender. In the widespread legend of the devil-haunted dancers the Evil One turns up as an incubus at dance parties, sometimes torturing, or dancing to death, women too fond of the art which, according to strict moralists, caters to vanity and 'kindles and blows the fires of lechery'. Small wonder, then, that the fiend also shows up at card games, especially when these take place on Sundays or other holidays or when accompanied by drinking and swearing. In Lancashire Folklore it is told as follows

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  Samuel Pyeatt Menefee•Folklore•1974

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