A Devil for Those That Misbehave
Summary
A tall winged devil, with leathery skin and sharp protruding spines all over its body, sits atop the rooves of children who misbehave. Hoping that the naughty children will be convinced to leave their annoying parents and follow him into the night. Promising them freedom from chores, bedtimes, and school. All they have to do is come with him, and he will guide them towards a realm where the responsibilities of this world hold no sway.
Children who mean to refuse the devil’s offer must quickly place a tin of dried nuts or fruit on the window sill, the devils favourite snack, and swiftly close their window. In the hopes that it will distract the devil long enough that it will forget about the child and moves on to the next home.
But for those children who accept the devil's offer, they are swiftly swept away by the devil, taken from their rooms and hoisted high into the night sky. And are never seen again. The story goes that the devil, successful in his hunt, delivers the naughty child to his master. A greater devil of the lower planes, who then devours the misbehaving child whole.
Story
Sitting atop the roof, the purple-skinned devil gently rapped his sharp talons across the child’s bedroom window. His spines brimmed excitedly as he awaited a response.
Moments later he heard the cautious voice of a small boy, “Hello?” the young child, no more than ten replied. He should do fine, the devil thought while gazing at the plumb boy.
“Hello, boy,” the devil said, leaning over the roof’s edge. Peering down at the suddenly terrified child. “Calm yourself, child, I am not here to harm you,” said the devil with a toothy grin, not technically a lie he thought.
“Wha...what are you?” the boy squeaked in response.
“I am your saviour boy, here to rescue you from the banality and boredom of the servitude of human life!” the devil exclaimed throwing his arms wide in a show of bravado.
“Come with me, and I will whisk you away to a realm where your parents cannot find you, and you will be free of responsibility and may do as you please.” the devil said, reaching out a leathery hand towards the child.
The boy stared in stunned horror for a few moments, obviously calculating his next move. Then suddenly he disappeared back into his room and slammed the window shut. A quick moment later the window shot back open and a small hand hurried placed a tin of spiced cashews on the sill. And just as quickly slammed the window shut once more.
Damnit, thought the devil. Another child lost to a better sense of not trusting strangers. He should crash through that window and, “Wait, are those cashews?” said the devil aloud, completely breaking his train of thought. He scooped up the tin with a gleeful swipe of his claw. Oh, he loved these, what a wonderful treat! He sat down on the rooves edge and began devouring the dried nuts excitedly. Swinging his gnarled legs to and fro, he had forgotten all about the child's insolence.
Finishing the tin, he wiped his maw clean with the back of his hand and placed the tin back down on the tile of the roof. He stood, stretching his wings out before casually tumbling off the roof and taking flight. Where to next he thought, “Hmm I heard Agatha down near the windmill swore at her mother last week,” the devil said. That could work. Maybe, he could swipe another tin of snacks. That wouldn’t be so bad he thought.
Historical Basis
Most people believe that this is a curious tale crafted by parents of old in order to scare their children. In fact, this story has a real historical basis, and what the citizens of Aldelgis are unaware of is that this devil truly exists. And even more frightening is that he did attempt to steal away their naughty children on many occasions.
The devil’s name is Gist'houh of Igtous, a lesser devil from the lower planes and servant to the Slumbering Lord Tar'tiersous, Future Butcher of All who Disobey.
Tasked with swaying the minds of the weak in favour of his master’s vile purposes and for a short while, Gist was also tasked with collecting misbehaving children to feed to his very hungry lord. Sadly, for Gist, he was never successful at this and failed each and every attempt at child robbery. Being easily duped by clever children, who exploited his obsession with dried snack foods.
"What brats! What a deceitful way to distract a hardworking devil from his task!"
Gist would soon be given a different task and moved on from his attempted child-snatchings. And would find himself involved in a different mess not long after, this time of his own construction. Though the infamous story still lives on to this day, with parents telling their children of the conniving spined devil. A fact Gist will gleefully boast about until his many failures are mentioned, then he falls into a deep sulk.Popularity
This story has been told for a hundred generations, primarily in the Empire of Aldelgis. It is a scary story that parents tell their children when they misbehave. Hoping that the threat of being devoured by an evil devil will scare them straight and get them to behave and do their chores. It is popular to this day and is commonly told each and every day by thousands of parents.
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