Short Fiction · Chapter
III: The Night Side of Preaching explained
Cole Wickett listens to Reverend Jaeger's account of a vampire attack and the ongoing battle against a coven of devil-worshippers in the Welcome Rock country.
What happens
Cole Wickett listens to Reverend Jaeger's account of a vampire attack and the ongoing battle against a coven of devil-worshippers in the Welcome Rock country. Jaeger explains that the coven meets at full moon, led by a winged chief devil, and that Peter Dole, a repentant coven member, was beaten to death by his comrades. Susan Gird arrives to find her father dead but is comforted by Jaeger's assurance of his repentance. Jaeger recruits Wickett for a coming combat against evil, revealing that the area was once called Fearful Rock and that his church has become a target for demonic forces.
Themes in this chapter
Supernatural Evil and Occultism
The coven's worship, the winged chief devil, and the vampire attack illustrate active supernatural evil in the community.
The Power of Belief and Ritual
Jaeger's exorcism, the coven's rituals, and the use of a black stallion to find a vampire grave highlight the power of belief and ritual.
Evil and Moral Corruption
Peter Dole's involvement in the coven and his murder by comrades demonstrate moral corruption and the cost of repentance.
Characters to notice
- Cole Wickett
Narrator and participant; Jaeger recruits him for a coming battle against evil, believing him immune to enchantment.
- Reverend Mr. Jaeger
Frontier preacher leading the fight against a coven; recounts the vampire incident and the murder of Peter Dole.
- Susan Gird
Daughter of Peter Dole; arrives seeking her father and is told he repented before dying.
- Peter Dole
Deceased coven member; confessed to Jaeger and was beaten to death by his comrades.
Key passages
“The devil is come unto you, having great wrath; for he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
Satan is enraged because he knows his time is limited.
Jaeger's sermon text after the church was vandalized.
“They select a pure young lad, and mount him naked on a stallion colt that has never stumbled, and is coal-black with no white hair. The stallion is ridden in and out among the graves, and the grave which he will not cross, despite hard blows, is where the vampire is buried.”
A virgin boy rides a pure black stallion through a graveyard; the horse refuses to step over the vampire's grave.
Jaeger reads from Calmet's treatise on how to locate a vampire's burial site.