The Howling Man

The Devil hath the power to assume a pleasing shape

On Saturday evening, I had a sudden urge to find an episode of The Twilight Zone that I had watched when I was out of my box on class As in Brooklyn many years ago.

I typed the words: ‘Twilight Zone’ and ‘man releases devil’. Bingo. The Howling Man popped up.

Despite the haze of various substances, it made a vivid impression. I have thought about it many times since. Released on November 4th 1960, it’s about a man called David Ellington who, one stormy night, seeks shelter in a monastery occupied by a ‘Truth’ order. It is somewhere in Europe after World War I. He is tricked into believing that a sweet old man being held captive by the monks isn’t Satan, so he lets him go, at which point Satan reveals himself. Ellington makes it his life mission to capture Satan again. He succeeds and puts him in a cupboard in his apartment. He tells the housekeeper that she must not release him under any circumstances. The last frame is the housekeeper gingerly lifting the latch and then it goes dark.

On re-watching, I noted with interest that at the beginning of the episode, David Ellington is described as scholar, seeker of truth and, regrettably, finder of truth.

I don’t think this episode is about Satan – although the slow transformation from a charming, pale-eyed man into a cloaked, pointy-eared, bearded creature with tiny horns is shocking – it’s about what and who we trust. In essence, the monks are the custodians of the Truth. Although reluctant, they choose to tell Ellington the Truth about their prisoner, but he chooses instead to believe the benign, blue-eyed, sweet-talking man behind bars. Perhaps because it’s easier than confronting the possibility that there are always those who will use their position to con us.

On that subject, I’ve been mulling over the various doctors and politicians whose profiles have suddenly grown over the last year or so due to their vocal stance against the Covid nonsense, and in particular the experimental ‘vaccines’. These bloody people are ubiquitous, whether it’s appearing as a guest on a podcast, endless photo opportunities, hosting their own podcast, well-paid events all over the world, endless prolific wisdom on Twitter, and so on.

Don’t get me wrong, I want all hands on deck; if those hands are concerned with the exposure of global crimes, not jockeying for position in the exciting new truther media landscape. After all, these are doctors and politicians, the very people who were actually in a position to stop it all two or three years ago when most of us had already established that what was being done to humanity was an ethical abomination.

I repeat, this has NOTHING to do with medical science being proved right or wrong - it was purely about seeing that morals and ethics were torn to shreds in front of our eyes. How much time, for instance, do you need to figure that out when you’re a fucking doctor?

At approximately 15 minutes, 17 seconds into The Howling Man, David Ellington has a powerful exchange with the head of the monastery, Brother Jerome.

DE: But if he’s the devil, how do you keep him locked up?

BJ: With this staff of truth. The one barrier he cannot pass.

DE: Tell me, how did you recognise him? He doesn’t look evil.

BJ: The Devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape.

‘The Devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape’ is a line from Hamlet. In Act 2, Scene 2, Hamlet is speaking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about how evil can disguise itself as something attractive. As a side note, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are an unusual character device as they are one person played by two people. They are spies that set out to deceive Hamlet but they ultimately fail. They are hoist by their own petard – or, as my husband used to say, ‘pet toad’.

Inspite of his admirable journey in pursuit of the Truth, Ellington’s weakness is not believing what is right in front of him. It is a flaw that is deeply rooted in all of us. The very people who were in a position to help were nowhere to be seen, for instance, on any of the marches; when it really mattered. But they have somehow managed to position themselves right at the centre of the Freedom Movement, fight-back narrative. Some of us might say it’s an example of grandiose narcissism, but what the fuck do we know…

May I suggest that whenever you’re tempted to take the latch off the cell door, you think about what is behind that door, and what you might be releasing by removing Brother Jerome’s staff of truth.

Thanks for reading.

Be seeing you!

Abs X