Why are we so fascinated by the devil?
Dr. Mikki BrockThe devil is one of the most recognisable figures in the western world, making frequent appearances on screen, in art and literature, and even in political rhetoric. Why, in our comparatively secular age, does the demonic continue to captivate us?
Learn about this Garden Talk
Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, Iblis: Stories and iconography of the devil have appeared in cultures all over the world for millennia. Why does the face of evil continue to hold us in such thrall, in popular culture as much as in religion?
The devil is one of the most recognisable figures in the western world, making frequent appearances on screen, in art and literature, and even in political rhetoric. For some, Satan is a very real and frightening religious figure. For others, he is a symbol of the darkest sides of human nature. For others still, he is a rebel to be caricatured and even celebrated.
We've invited Dr. Mikki Brock – professor of demonology, witchcraft and Scottish history –to The Garden to explore the evolution of our collective interest in the evil one and ask why, in our comparatively secular age, the demonic continues to fascinate us.
Join Mikki in The Garden for an illuminating look at our changing understanding of evil and human nature, as seen through the terrifying, but often alluring, figure of the devil.
Talk outline
50 minutes
About the Fellow
Mikki Brock is Associate Professor of History at Washington and Lee University, whose passion is researching demonology, witchcraft and Scottish history. She's The Garden's resident expert on things that go bump in the night.