Above: A 17th-century articulated “espantadiablo,” Cathedral Museum of Leon, Spain
The devil-scarer or demon-scarer is part of the repertoire of figures and amulets that, due to their ugliness, represented evil. They were used in exorcism rites…. This devil-scarer… is believed to have come from a female convent and was used as a ‘weapon’ to scare away or exorcise the carnal desires of the novices and nuns.”
“The devil-scarer against female sexual desire,” Ana Gaitero, Diario de Leon, January 24, 2023
If seeking a terrifying look this Halloween, dressing as the caped crusader found in the Cathedral Museum of Leon, Spain, with a milky white stare and threatening toothless scream, would more than accomplish your goal.
Critics of American Halloween customs complain frightening ghoulish and violent costumes defile the religious origins of All Hallowed Eve, a holy day preceding All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. But it is not difficult to see how costumes developed from traditional religious portrayals of good and evil through the centuries.
Skelton costumes have become ubiquitous. Why not seek out fresh inspiration for costumes in centuries-old religious art? One could go noble by dressing as Saint George slaying the dragon.
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
Revelation 12:7-9
Or San Miguel, Saint Michael, stomping upon the devil, ideal for a twosome. Religion has been quite successful at conveying the fear of the devil via art, and the devil takes more imaginative forms than the red horned one with a pitchfork.
Become a devil reflecting individual personality – green, dotted or spotted. Put your fashion foot forward with four-toed, sharp-clawed bird feet. And wings. When did our contemporary portrayals of devils lose their shrunken wings, signifying their fallen angel status?
Truly horrifying creatures of Hell are found in depictions of The Last Judgment. One could pop the bottom half of a Barbie or Ken doll between lips, as Giotto and Bosch envisioned down below. Devils can have two faces. An extra one on the chest or stomach symbolizes insatiable gluttony; one lower down toward the groin signifies demonic lust.
For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested…. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him…. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet…. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you….’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ ‘The head of John the Baptist,’ she answered. At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: ‘I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’”
Mark 6:15-25
Practically designed severed heads can serve as baskets for those Halloween goodies. One could portray heroic David bearing the head of Goliath, a nine-foot-tall Philistine giant, as described in the First Book of Samuel. Or you could play one of the bad girls of the Bible, such as Salome carrying the head of John the Baptist on a serving tray. The Hans Memling version below is dressed a bit conservatively, but one could don skimpier attire, seductively gyrating about accompanied by a recording of Johann Straus’ “Dance of the Seven Veils.”
These costume ideas were gleaned from churches and museums in Spain, Belgium, France and Italy. If you click of individual images, you should be able to view identifying cutlines.
Happy Halloween!