Читать книгу Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside - Brad Steiger - Страница 32
The Rites of Taigherim Summon Shape-Shifting Cat Demons
ОглавлениеThe rites of Taigherim consist of a magical sacrifice of cats that originated in old Scotland as a ritual to appease the subterranean gods. Beginning with the Christian era in Scotland, the rite was forbidden, but it still was performed in secret by sorcerers to invoke a special shape-shifting demon that would manifest as a very large black cat.
The rites themselves involved the systematic roasting of live black cats on a spit slowly turning over a fire. As each cat was dedicated to the demons of darkness, its terrible howls of pain were believed to summon a particular monster of demonic power.
After the cruel sacrificial rites had been conducted, small demons would begin to materialize in the form of black cats and match their cries with the yowls of theunfortunate true cats that were being roasted alive. As the sacrifices continued, celebrated by the screeching of the cat-demons, the sorcerer would at last behold the materialization of a frightful catlike creature of great size, much larger than a black leopard of the jungle. The appearance of the great demon signaled demonic acceptance of the sorcerer’s sacrifices, and he was now permitted to make his demands of the huge black cat, whether it be the gift of prophecy, a bag of gold, or the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or black cat.