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Story about a demon trying to make a man insane

Identify graphic novel by its description: a low level invisible demon who can't touch his victimStory identification - Demon sleeps with disabled woman, cures her disabilityStory about a man going insane because of his obession with computer c.50s-60s?A short story about a man enslaved by a tiny demon, who forces him to commit murders?Book about a demon trying to build a subverted fairy tale to win a contestMan has invisible demon following him that turns visible when eating peopleWhat is this story about an investing time traveller?80s/90s Science fiction book about planet where slaves compete in games for their freedom

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9

2

I remember reading a story about a demon who is trying to make a man insane or send his soul to hell (or both).

The demon goes to the man's home and tries to terrorize the man, creating a haunted house environment, with creaks, groans, bad smells, poltergeist-type activities. But the man is unperturbed and continues on with his life as if nothing unusual was happening. This goes on for a long time, possibly many years.

The end result is the demon is the one who goes insane, and in a final twist it is revealed that the man knew about the demon the whole time. The insane demon then becomes a slave to the man.

That is pretty much all I remember from the story - I read this when I was a kid, which was around the late 80s / early 90s - I am not 100% sure when the story was set, but I think it was in the 20th Century at some point. I think this was a fairly short story, maybe a novella? I remember the twist at the end being pretty good which is why the story has stuck in my mind all these years. Can anyone help me find the title/author?

story-identification demons

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edited 2 days ago

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9

2

I remember reading a story about a demon who is trying to make a man insane or send his soul to hell (or both).

The demon goes to the man's home and tries to terrorize the man, creating a haunted house environment, with creaks, groans, bad smells, poltergeist-type activities. But the man is unperturbed and continues on with his life as if nothing unusual was happening. This goes on for a long time, possibly many years.

The end result is the demon is the one who goes insane, and in a final twist it is revealed that the man knew about the demon the whole time. The insane demon then becomes a slave to the man.

That is pretty much all I remember from the story - I read this when I was a kid, which was around the late 80s / early 90s - I am not 100% sure when the story was set, but I think it was in the 20th Century at some point. I think this was a fairly short story, maybe a novella? I remember the twist at the end being pretty good which is why the story has stuck in my mind all these years. Can anyone help me find the title/author?

story-identification demons

share|improve this question

edited 2 days ago

Null♦

55.6k1818 gold badges237237 silver badges320320 bronze badges

asked 2 days ago

JimmeryJimmery

1,78111 gold badge1515 silver badges2323 bronze badges

add a comment | 

I remember reading a story about a demon who is trying to make a man insane or send his soul to hell (or both).

The demon goes to the man's home and tries to terrorize the man, creating a haunted house environment, with creaks, groans, bad smells, poltergeist-type activities. But the man is unperturbed and continues on with his life as if nothing unusual was happening. This goes on for a long time, possibly many years.

The end result is the demon is the one who goes insane, and in a final twist it is revealed that the man knew about the demon the whole time. The insane demon then becomes a slave to the man.

That is pretty much all I remember from the story - I read this when I was a kid, which was around the late 80s / early 90s - I am not 100% sure when the story was set, but I think it was in the 20th Century at some point. I think this was a fairly short story, maybe a novella? I remember the twist at the end being pretty good which is why the story has stuck in my mind all these years. Can anyone help me find the title/author?

story-identification demons

share|improve this question

edited 2 days ago

Null♦

55.6k1818 gold badges237237 silver badges320320 bronze badges

asked 2 days ago

JimmeryJimmery

1,78111 gold badge1515 silver badges2323 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited 2 days ago

Null♦

55.6k1818 gold badges237237 silver badges320320 bronze badges

asked 2 days ago

JimmeryJimmery

1,78111 gold badge1515 silver badges2323 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited 2 days ago

Null♦

55.6k1818 gold badges237237 silver badges320320 bronze badges

asked 2 days ago

JimmeryJimmery

1,78111 gold badge1515 silver badges2323 bronze badges

edited 2 days ago

Null♦

55.6k1818 gold badges237237 silver badges320320 bronze badges

edited 2 days ago

Null♦

55.6k1818 gold badges237237 silver badges320320 bronze badges

asked 2 days ago

JimmeryJimmery

1,78111 gold badge1515 silver badges2323 bronze badges

asked 2 days ago

JimmeryJimmery

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1 Answer
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8

This sounds like Clive Barker's "The Yattering and Jack", a short story from his 1984 anthology "Books of Blood". Summary from Wikipedia follows:

Jack Polo is a gherkin importer who is haunted by a minor demon called the Yattering. The demon is commanded to haunt Jack by Beelzebub, because one of Jack's ancestors reneged on a pact made with the demon lord. The Yattering is frustrated when its determined efforts to drive Jack insane are answered with good cheer and apparent obliviousness. Unknown to the Yattering, Jack is purposely ignoring the demon in order to simultaneously frustrate it and maintain his own sanity. The Yattering subjects him to increasingly severe torments, including killing his cats and terrorising his family, but these efforts all fail. Eventually Jack tricks the Yattering into violating its orders, allowing Jack to take advantage of a loophole and make the Yattering his slave.

Jack's catchphrase (and, if I recall, the last line in the story) is "Que será, será" - or "what happens, happens".

This was also made into an episode of Tales from the Darkside in 1987

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answered 2 days ago

ChronocidalChronocidal

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8

This sounds like Clive Barker's "The Yattering and Jack", a short story from his 1984 anthology "Books of Blood". Summary from Wikipedia follows:

Jack Polo is a gherkin importer who is haunted by a minor demon called the Yattering. The demon is commanded to haunt Jack by Beelzebub, because one of Jack's ancestors reneged on a pact made with the demon lord. The Yattering is frustrated when its determined efforts to drive Jack insane are answered with good cheer and apparent obliviousness. Unknown to the Yattering, Jack is purposely ignoring the demon in order to simultaneously frustrate it and maintain his own sanity. The Yattering subjects him to increasingly severe torments, including killing his cats and terrorising his family, but these efforts all fail. Eventually Jack tricks the Yattering into violating its orders, allowing Jack to take advantage of a loophole and make the Yattering his slave.

Jack's catchphrase (and, if I recall, the last line in the story) is "Que será, será" - or "what happens, happens".

This was also made into an episode of Tales from the Darkside in 1987

share|improve this answer

answered 2 days ago

ChronocidalChronocidal

2,57688 silver badges1717 bronze badges

add a comment | 

8

This sounds like Clive Barker's "The Yattering and Jack", a short story from his 1984 anthology "Books of Blood". Summary from Wikipedia follows:

Jack Polo is a gherkin importer who is haunted by a minor demon called the Yattering. The demon is commanded to haunt Jack by Beelzebub, because one of Jack's ancestors reneged on a pact made with the demon lord. The Yattering is frustrated when its determined efforts to drive Jack insane are answered with good cheer and apparent obliviousness. Unknown to the Yattering, Jack is purposely ignoring the demon in order to simultaneously frustrate it and maintain his own sanity. The Yattering subjects him to increasingly severe torments, including killing his cats and terrorising his family, but these efforts all fail. Eventually Jack tricks the Yattering into violating its orders, allowing Jack to take advantage of a loophole and make the Yattering his slave.

Jack's catchphrase (and, if I recall, the last line in the story) is "Que será, será" - or "what happens, happens".

This was also made into an episode of Tales from the Darkside in 1987

share|improve this answer

answered 2 days ago

ChronocidalChronocidal

2,57688 silver badges1717 bronze badges

add a comment | 

This sounds like Clive Barker's "The Yattering and Jack", a short story from his 1984 anthology "Books of Blood". Summary from Wikipedia follows:

Jack Polo is a gherkin importer who is haunted by a minor demon called the Yattering. The demon is commanded to haunt Jack by Beelzebub, because one of Jack's ancestors reneged on a pact made with the demon lord. The Yattering is frustrated when its determined efforts to drive Jack insane are answered with good cheer and apparent obliviousness. Unknown to the Yattering, Jack is purposely ignoring the demon in order to simultaneously frustrate it and maintain his own sanity. The Yattering subjects him to increasingly severe torments, including killing his cats and terrorising his family, but these efforts all fail. Eventually Jack tricks the Yattering into violating its orders, allowing Jack to take advantage of a loophole and make the Yattering his slave.

Jack's catchphrase (and, if I recall, the last line in the story) is "Que será, será" - or "what happens, happens".

This was also made into an episode of Tales from the Darkside in 1987

share|improve this answer

answered 2 days ago

ChronocidalChronocidal

2,57688 silver badges1717 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

answered 2 days ago

ChronocidalChronocidal

2,57688 silver badges1717 bronze badges

answered 2 days ago

ChronocidalChronocidal

2,57688 silver badges1717 bronze badges

answered 2 days ago

ChronocidalChronocidal

2,57688 silver badges1717 bronze badges