Random Gruesome History Of Black Mass (9 items)

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  (#4) A Naked Virgin Would Lie On The Altar For A Black Mass

  As dozens of images show, the black mass was to be performed on the naked body of a woman - preferably a virgin. One book reports that "the first requirement in the celebration of the Black Mass is a virgin, naked, spread-eagled on the 'altar' and the climax is reached when the officiating priest performs the sexual act with her." There are also a number of more modern reports of black masses featuring naked virgins.

  In 1889, one reporter wrote that the mass was said on the bare body of a woman stretched on the altar. Dating back to the 4th century, black masses always had a reputation for "unnatural" sexual acts, which might explain the insistence that a naked virgin was an integral part of the ceremony.
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  (#8) The Black Mass Broke Every Single Rule

  This description of the black mass endured for centuries. A person dressed as a priest would stand before an altar where a naked woman lay. She was surrounded by "a black candle made from the fat of unbaptized babies, and a chalice containing the urine of a prostitute." There was an inverted cross above the altar. The priest would "bless" black-stained turnips. Prayers might be chanted backward. 

  The culmination of the event was "a potpourri of flagellation, prayer-book burning, cunnilingus, fellatio, and general hindquarters kissing." They might even slaughter a baby during the ritual. But there's a major problem with this description of the black mass: it may have never existed at all.
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  (#6) Cross Trampling Was A Popular Event At Black Masses

  For centuries, black masses were seen as a way to attack Christianity by subverting their rituals. Because of that, instead of venerating the cross, trampling on a cross was a popular activity at black masses. In addition to trampling, a black mass might feature an inverted cross. Or, as in the example of the Knights Templar, spitting on the cross. Instead of making the sign of the cross with the right hand, worshippers of the devil might use the left.

  In every way, these rituals were the exact opposite of traditional Christian religious traditions in order to set the black mass apart. 
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  (#5) The Knights Templar Were Apprehended For Spitting On Crosses At Black Masses

  In 1307, the Knights Templar were accused of heresy by French King Philip IV. The Templars were a medieval society of knights who took a vow not to marry. Since 1119, they had been dedicated to defending the Kingdom of Jerusalem and protecting Christian pilgrims during the Crusades. But their downfall in 1307 was fast. The charges against the Templars included claims that they had been participating in heresy.

  Allegedly, during these heretical rituals, new members were forced to spit on a cross and renounce Jesus Christ. They were also accused of kissing each other indecently and worshipping a cat, and the Templars reportedly vowed that "unnatural lust was lawful."
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  (#3) Witches Had Black Masses To Worship Satan Where They Practiced The 'Osculum Infame'

  By the 14th century, the stories about black masses transformed into tales of witches' Sabbaths. Just like the purported earlier black masses, witches inverted Catholic rituals by worshipping Satan instead of God. Another holdover from earlier black masses was the osculum infame, also called "the obscene kiss" or "the shameful kiss."

  During the ceremony, witches would kiss the Devil on his anus. 
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  (#9) Many Stories About The Black Mass Were Obtained With Torture

  Many descriptions of the black mass were extracted from people during the enactment of physical harm. This is true of the Knights Templar who confessed to deviant behavior, as well as the tens of thousands of accused witches executed during the witch hunts. Thousands of false confessions created a vision of the black mass that may have never existed at all. Women claimed, during these brutal proceedings, that they had sexual relationships with demons. Men claimed they had renounced Christianity and trampled on crosses. People even confessed to eating babies. 

  But how is it possible that stories of the black mass have been so consistent for nearly 2,000 years, all the way back to Epiphanius of Salamis in the 4th century? Because the black mass is an inversion of the Catholic mass, it represents the greatest fears of the dominant society - and these fears were easily displaced on people seen as threats, like religious nonconformists. For this reason, some consider that the most horrific descriptions of the black mass were invented by Christians themselves.

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