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What would you risk if a dark visitor offered the one thing you wanted most?
In Devil Stories: An Anthology, editor Maximilian J. Rudwin gathers tales from different countries and periods around one restless figure. The devil appears as tempter, bargainer, trickster and sometimes a figure of fun. Ordinary people long for money, love, power or escape. A strange offer puts those desires to the test, turning a familiar wish into something dangerous.
The collection explores the devil’s many faces, temptation’s hold on ordinary people, and the uneasy meeting of fear and laughter. Lonely roads and strange visitors bring dread close; other tales find room for humour. Rudwin’s interest in folklore and literature connects these changing portraits, inviting you to ask what each devil wants and why writers keep returning to him.
What you’ll discover
- The devil’s many faces Meet a tempter, bargainer and trickster whose role shifts from tale to tale.
- Wishes with a cost Follow ordinary desires as a dark visitor offers a tempting way to satisfy them.
- Fear beside laughter Discover how the same sinister figure can stir dread or become a source of fun.
- Strangers on lonely roads Enter tales where an unfamiliar visitor makes something unseen feel suddenly close.
- One story at a time Read slowly and ask what is offered, what is wanted, and who gains wisdom.
Who will love it
Readers drawn to folk tales, ghost stories and dark comedy will love this collection, especially those curious about devilish horns, hooves and bargains.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Music brings hidden longing to light
- Marriage tests a devil's powers
- Borrowed wealth carries a hidden debt
- Every bargain turns on exact words
- Good company can conceal a devil
- Ordinary objects become tools of resistance
- Weakness gives the devil an opening
- The devil reflects human concerns
- One figure takes many different shapes
Who’s who
- BelphagorAn archdevil sent from hell to marry in Florence under the name Roderigo, he must live ten years with a wife and report on marriage.
- Tom WalkerA miserly man near Boston who trades with the Black Woodsman for the pirate Kidd's treasure and becomes a ruthless moneylender.
- Peter the OrphanA poor farmhand in a Ukrainian village who loves Pidorka and seeks gold from the devil Basavriuk on St. John's Eve to win her.
- Simon GambougeA struggling Paris painter ruled by his drunken wife, who sells his soul to Diabolus for seven years of granted wishes.
- Pierre Bon-BonA Rouen restaurant keeper and philosopher who loves a bargain and meets the devil by his fireside on a stormy night.
- BrionesA soldier on leave who frees a devil from a bottle and holds him by the tail until the devil pays his price.
- Roger of CoqA wheelwright and golfer who gets three wishes from Saint Peter and Saint Antony and then plays the devil for souls.
- GerbertA clever student who refuses to sell his soul, rises to be Pope Sylvester II, and must face the devil's favor.
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Devil Stories: An Anthology
by Maximilian J. Rudwin (editor)
In a convent hall, each sister hears her deepest wish as a scarlet-clad devil plays the cithern.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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In short
Picture a long hall at supper, with nuns on benches and a stern Abbess on her dais. A lean pilgrim in scarlet dances in with a cithern, a plucked string instrument, and begins to play.
Devil Stories: An Anthology at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 30 min4 h 20 min fast, 6 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 78,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Music is the devil's first and sweetest trap
The first tale, by Francis Oscar Mann, is set in the nunnery of Maids Moreton, in the days of King Edward the Third. Devout ladies keep a strict Rule there, and their days are quiet and orderly. The devil picks this place on purpose.
One evening a handsome pilgrim asks for food and a bed. He comes in lean as a cat, dressed in scarlet, with yellow legs that seem to dance a May dance. His music lifts the nuns toward angels and incense, and then it breaks off on a cry of longing for a lover and a bed.
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Details
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Cite this edition
Devil Stories: An Anthology. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/devil-stories-an-anthology.
Devil stories: An anthology. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/devil-stories-an-anthology
Devil Stories: An Anthology. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/devil-stories-an-anthology.
@book{anonymous2026devil,
title = {Devil Stories: An Anthology},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/devil-stories-an-anthology}
}
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What is Devil Stories: An Anthology about?
It is a collection of tales and sketches about the devil by writers such as Machiavelli, Irving, Gogol, Poe and Baudelaire, with concluding notes on their folklore. The devil bargains, gambles, marries and tempts.
Who wrote the stories in Devil Stories?
The stories come from many authors, including Machiavelli, Washington Irving, Wilhelm Hauff, Nikolai Gogol, Thackeray, Poe, Daudet, Maupassant, Anatole France and Maxim Gorky. Maximilian J. Rudwin edited the collection and supplied commentary on its stories and their folklore.
Are the devil stories funny or scary?
Both. Some tales, like Belphagor and The Painter's Bargain, are comedies about marriage and money. Others, like St. John's Eve and The Three Low Masses, are eerie legends, and a few, such as Gorky's The Devil, are sad and thoughtful.
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