The Curse Of The Moloch (9) Jeremiah swooned in the imitation of the feverent parishoners as he accepted the passionated belief of the hour. Slowly his head whirled and his deep imagination ran wild as his spun in the dizziness of paranoia. Round and round Jeremiah spun into a maddening whirlpool of illusion that carried him into mystery and strangeness. Through hallucinations that ran through his feverish mind he saw the vison of his presence in an ornate, but hellish temple. His mental image visualized the walls lined with bronze statues of evil gods, all in the horrors of cruel faces with protruding fangs; tattered dressed bodies with the backs covered in blacked wings, and all were on cloven feet. Along each pagan idol, flaming tarred torches spewed their flickering light and dripped streams of fire. In the middle of this wicked shrine of evil was a large rough stoned altar fronted by a deep flaming pit; above the burning char, fiery sparks crackled and shot upwards the signs of the terrible heat. From a slight distance from this altar and its flaming cavity ecstatic worshippers circled the cursed sacrificial table; they waited expectantly for the start of the cultic ceremony that will see the offering of their sacrificial lambs to the god of eternal fire. Excited noises rang through the pagan temple, echoing their sound from end to end; a sound of frenzy words of expectancy from the many that gathered. Then suddenly Jeremiah heard the rhythmic pounding beat of a primitive drum. "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" drummed the cadence; the ecstatic worshippers turned and faced the source of the sound, shouting out their primitive belief in the language of their tongues. Jeremiah imaginative fantasy flared deeper and deeper through his wavering line of reason. He looked towards the front of the ornate sanctuary and saw a darkened shrouded figure enter from a recess in the stone walls. As the phantom, black as the mournful night, emerge from the niche, it flew on the stillness of the air till it stood in front of the sacrificial pit. There it moved to a high jewelled throne where it seated itself; and waited for the offering to the fire. Jeremiah hallucinatory vision increased in its imagination and he saw the creature spread till it nearly touched the ceiling of the hellish placee. Suphurous smoke, dank and retching from their stinking smell, fumed from blackness of the shroud. From within the dark cloths the calf-headed bronze figure of the god of fire, the Moloch slowly emerged. The grim features, angry and vindictive, were haloed in the rubric glow of flames. From the back of black cloak of the pagan god evil demons and shadow spirits flew about on tattered wings that dusted the very air with the evilness of their rank foulness. The terrified boy looked at the fierce features of the devil god as it glared fiercely at him. From the sides of the dark cloak wicked claw like hands appeared and reached out towards him. Jeremiah turned away from the fiery image but the cruel talons kept coming closer and closer trying to bring him to the pit of sacrifice. From the smoking lips of the Moloch, tainted and fearful threats were directed upon his being: "Malisons, Malisons, the curse be with you, I look with my eyes upon you, the eyes of death, At their word, the word which tortures the spirit.." Before the pagan god of fire was able to continue his frightening threat, Jeremiah turned his heels and ran to escape the terror of the damning words. His body twisted and turned as he tried to avoid the clutching gnarled fingers of the angry devil god that attempted to snare him. Trembling fear that coursed throughout his thin body directed his footfalls, encouraging the strength of swift flight. As he ran, the people that had come to that hellish temple reached out and tried to stop with their grasping hands; they tried to trip him with their feet. They beat and bruised his body with the anger of their hard blows. Jeremiah looked into their angry eyes for a sign of compassion, but all he saw were fierce globes that belched with hate. They shouted their anger and hate at him, "Yah, Yah, Yahu, Pyretos Megas. .. the curse of the great fever, Eshata Raba curse of the fevers and shivers upon you... Yah Yah, Yahu Moloch curse him and damn him, damn him to eternal hell!" With a desperate effort Jeremiah managed to escape the clutching hands of the frenzy worshippers to the pagan god of fire. He reached the door of the shrine and with all his strength he managed to open it. Then with hurried footsteps he crossed the wide portals, and with all the power of his thin body he reclosed the door to stop the advancing crowd. He pressed hard against the vibrating thick doors as he heard the continuing shouting of the angry mob with their vile curses. Despite his efforts he was unable to contain the frenzy worshippers and Jeremiah was forced to retreat from the site of the hellish place. He directed his tired feet through the scrub of stunted pine and scrub oak; their knotted hand-like branches tried to ensnare him in their grasp. He ripped the tree limbs, tearing them assunder, causing them to scream in agony. As he ran though the wood he tripped on a protruding boulder, receiving a minor blow to his head from the hardness of the packed earth. As he lay there, stunned from the blow, he faced the edifice and he heard the singing of words: "Let good men rejoice in the Lord. Light dawns for the just; and gladness, for the upright to hear. Be glad in the Lord, you of the just, and give thanks to His holy name..." He looked towards the Sunday-go-to-Meeting clapboard chapel and he heard the jumbled voices of the congregants at the ending of the Sunday service giving their blessings and thanks for the Sabbath. � � THE COMING OF THE DEVIL The presence of a revival tent, pitched in the center of the hollow, was a sign to the faithful to come, to hear and accept the spiritual healing. The believers of the just words and phrases of the 'Good Book' heard the call and traipsed the dusty paths to the canvas of holiness. The good folk made the pilgrimage to hear the fiery words of the evangelists or revivalists of the day; they came to hear their pious words that will direct them hopefully in the paths of righteousness. The good preachers, that served the faith, told them of the wonderous work of the mighty Lordy. The believers exaltated in the evidence of the words and signs of the prophets and disciples as written in the pages of the Scripture, "Declare his glory amoung the nations, his marvelous deeds amoung all people. Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise." The ardent believers, in the faith of the Word, heard the phrases and cherished their meanings. Then the itinerant preachers told the believers of the devil or Satan, the emmissary of all evil, who remains the greatest enemy of man - suggesting and tempting the fallen to evil deeds. "The devil deceives man and leads them into sin which included worship to him and to other monsters of hell." Satan, they thundered, is a cursed creature, slanderer, spirit of evil, the foe of God and man. "He, alone, through his temptation to sin, will lead the fallen to the fiery sacrificial pit of the Moloch.." They continued in their hellish damnation of Satan. The ardent religionists called loudly to the believing worshippers to beware of his temptation to sin; the dark prince of the underworld, the father of lies, was there in the very beginning of time. "He tempted the first man, and Adam's sin brought its penalty to all mankind." The fervent preachers quoted from the Good Book which told of the vile description of the cursed devil which according to its correct words, "that Satan is chief of the fallen angels or evil and wicked spirits." The phrases continued in its meaning and they related that God created countless creatures, some being spiritual in nature; they were possessed of great powers of intellect, will and activity. The faithful were told that upon these beings, the angels, the good Lordy placed a test by means of which they could earn entrance to heaven. Quietly the good folk listened as they heard that many of the angels obeyed and fulfilled this test and that the Lordy was happy in that sight. The flowing air in the tents of faith heated with fiery words tempered by the preachers. With fire and brimstone in their tone of speech, they told the believers that Satan, the highest and brightest of all angels, refused to serve God.... and rebelled against Him. Having sinned in his words against the Lordy he was cast deep down to the depths of Hell. The itinerant preachers then paused in their cursing of the devil; and with a triumphal shout they called out, "He is punished eternally by the fires of Hell!!" The renowned men of the cloth then stopped in their triumphant note and stared with deep set eyes at the spell-bound believers of the Word and called out to them to be beware of the devil's powers. Satan is filled with hatred for God, the good angels and all mankind. "Beware!" they warned. "The hell-for-leather preachers thumped with open palms on their lecturns as the recounted the sins of man. Thump, thump went their hands as recited the seven deadly sins as interpreted in the Good Book - thump, thump; anger, covetousness, envy, glutton, lust, pride and sloth. Thump, thump went the palms as they counted the sins plaguing the good folk of the hollow. Thump, thump, the sound echoed each sin as the fervent clerics trumpeted each wicked sin in hoarse tones - the vile taste of drink, enjoying the bed of fallen women and the in the gossip of tongues. Other wicked sins were counted and its damnation cursed. The faithful were warned of the punishment of their sins as the repeated warnings told of the sacrifice of the sinners and possibly their young ones to the fiery pit of that evil fire-god, the Moloch. The words told of the punishment in the abode of eternal purgatory for the souls of the sinners - gossipers forced to drink hot lead, drunkards that rolled in the slime of their vomit. Hundreds of words spelled out the other miseries that had befallen to the sinners. The fiery words of the sainted preachers' pleading messages of the need for repentenance and salvation burned deeply into the souls of the faithful. The deep believers heard the urging call of the revivalists and evangelists; they jumped to their feet, shuffled their legs and clapped their hands as they shouted praise words in the garble of their tongues. The sinners amoungst them raised their arms to the Lordy asking for redemption for their weakness in accepting the sin of temptation. "Lordy, Lordy,' they cried out and a few dropped on their knees and groveled for forgiveness. Many heard the call to be saved in His son's name and they walked the path and received the blessing; and a few after receiving the touch of the hand, swooned in the ecstasty of its sainted holiness.. ...And Satan looked within the tent and felt the cursed words.... � � Chapter Eighteen Sunday school was a must for the children of the settlement in the hollow as the lessons they learned there taught them the righteous ways of the Lordy; such was the sincere thought of the good preacher. And, who was an outstanding teacher of the words, according to the wisdom of the good cleric - his ever-blessed woman. The chapel parishoners only knew the faithful wife of the preacher as being a simple woman "not too tall r' short, r' not t' thin r' fat." She was simply known as 'Thet Godly Woman', a creature who lived simply in the shadow of her sainted husband. She was always seen covered in the dark of her correct clothing with her bonnet covering her simple features. The good Lordy did not bless her with the love of children that would comfort her in the golden years; she lived only in the doing the pious work of her beliefs. Every Sunday from time remembered, 'Thet Godly Woman's' school of teaching was ready in its hallowed task; there she taught the meaning of just phrases of the Good Book and interpreted their virtuous contents. Her center of teaching was in the small anteroom that fronted the small church. Within were benches that lined the walls and half-centered by a wobbly deal table and a frayed caned-backed chair. A care' worn Bible opened to the correct chapter graced the pine board surface of learning; and alongside, ready to assist in her task, were two slim volumes of Biblical knowledge. 'Thet Godly Woman's pupils' numbered fourteen eager and not so eager children; they ranged from the older ones who were waiting for their turn at the colliery to the little ones who just started their lessons at the one-roomed schoolhouse in the settlement. Jeremiah Micaiah was counted as one her attentive pupils, always ready to ask questions much to the agony of the older pupils who considered the time in the asking as additional to their study hour. They threatened him to stop his infernal questions and tried everything to accomplish it to the constant reprimand of the good woman... and Jeremiah continued in his questioning under her protection. The rewarding answers to sin, salvation and retribution that he attained drilled deeper into his simple mind. Every Sunday the faithful servant of Lordy would leave her place in the church upon the sound of the final 'Amen' that signaled the end of the Sabbath service. She would rush to her center of learning to open the portal to knowledge of the Good Book and await her charges. The goodly woman beamed benevolently as her pupils filed into the little room; to each she offered the blessing of the day and received the same offering in return. The older pupils entered with a slight groan at their thought of hour's torture of study at the sight of a clear and sunny day, and the wee ones entered with childish eagerness for the words to be learned. The cleric entered the room for a few moments for a check and a counting of heads; and then he left hurriedly returning with a reluctant and not so eager pupil dragged by his ear. 'Thet Godly Woman' waited for silence and the attention of her pupils; after a few words of the usual reprimand to those engaged in low conversation, she had the class ready for her teaching. With a scrape on the cane-backed chair, the removing of her bonnet and the placing of her granny spectacles on her worn lined face, she looked towards her charges, and began the spread of her knowledge. "Mah dear lil' chillun," she said; "Ahem, ahem," as she imagined a slight obstruction in her throat. "Dearie me, got somethin' in me throat." After a few more 'ahems' in the clearing attempt she continued, "We'll larn about th' sins of thet wicked King Manssseh as tole by th' good preacher in t'days Sabbath meetin'. We'll larn of thet wicked fire god th' Moloch, an' why he wanted lil' chillun to be burnt fer th' sins of their mammies and pappies." 'Thet Godly Woman' told her pupils of the need to understand the meaning of the sins of King Manasseh, and his sacrifice of his children and of the Children of Israel to the pagan idol of fire, the Moloch. Similar to the preaching of her husband she connected her interpretations of the story of the king with the sinning of the wicked in the settlement in the hollow. Her words described the many sins that plagued the good folk of the parish; and in a loud and forceful tone she reminded her charges of the righteous ways of the Lordy and for them to follow this just path in His name. "Yah, Yah Moloch," chanted 'Thet Godly Woman' as she lifted one of the books of Biblical knowledge and waved it about as a symbol of the processional ceremony to the fire god. A few of the older children snickered at her performance but as she continued with her words describing the ceremony of sacrifice, they hushed in fear for the sound of the beat of the drums. Her terrifying words described the horrible sacrifice of children in the fiery pit, which brought silent weeping amoungst the smaller pupils. Again she repeated the warning of sinning and to follow in the just and righteous path of the Lordy. 'Thet Godly Woman' spoke in a strange tongue as she related the chants to the devil image, "Abrasax, fever and shivers - Pyretos Megas, Pyretos Leptos, fire burns through the evil eye, from spirits, from shadow-spirits, and from all evil tormentors." Her voice ranged from hushed tones to a loud finality as she dramatically continued in speaking the alien words; her pupils watched with wide eyes as they absorbed the barbaric words of the ancient past. She raised herself from the cane-backed and walked about the small room and continued to emulate the fierceness of the strange words that were spoken by the feverent worshippers to pagan gods, pausing for a moment or two to interpret their meaning according to her limited knowledge. 'The Godly Woman's' body moved in the fierceness of her dissertation with the continual waving of her arms. "Eshata Raba, in the name of I-am-who-I-am Amen Amen, Selah," she sung out strange words remembered from the lessons of the past. Her pupils were riveted in their attention; not a word or sound was uttered throughout the performance of their teacher. The hour of study of the sacred words neared its end; the good woman stopped in her discourse and seated herself once again on her cane-backed chair. As she paused to catch her breath, the preacher entered. He removed a dollar watch from his vest pocket, scanned the face for the correct time, and then he look towards the pupils of 'Thet Godly Woman'. "Well mah chillun I see th' time is nearly up. I hope you had larned your lessons well. Now git'", he exclaimed, "An' the blessing of th' day.." The children needed no prompting as they gathered up their belongings and charged out of the little room, not forgetting to offer the blessing of the day to the preacher and his good woman. � � WARNINGS OF THE PAST The stoned walled house under the shade of the forest stands empty and foresaken; its wattled roof stoved in. Three wide-eyed birds of the night have built their nest in the remains of the brittle thatch. At night they flew from their perch hooting their fierce call of the hunt. Their broad wings spread in the mysterious shadow of the glowing of the moon as they swooped down in search of their prey. Those who believe in demons and spirits claimed that they are the souls of the three gnarled crones who, at one time, have made their home within the stone walls. They have returned in the guise of these night birds to warn the believers of the ever-present dangers of the devilish creatures that waft through the still of the air. The called out to all to be beware of evil demons, pure spirits and of the rest of the vile creatures that dwell in the nether world. They told that these evil creatures come in the deep of the darkened night to haunt the sons and daughters of man.
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