Demons In Horror And Humor

"The room stank of demons."
-James Blish, Black Easter (New York, 1977), p. 15.

"You could always sort of tell when devils were about. There was that smell..."
-Alan Moore, Jerusalem (London, 2016), p. 430.

"As Commiczar of Brimstone Production & Stenches, Ashmadai rated an office in the third-from-lowest subbasement of the Hotiron Building."
-Poul Anderson, "Pact" IN Anderson, Fantasy (New York, 1981), pp. 211-230.

The devil in Jerusalem is Asmodeus, which is another form of "Asmadai." Thus, we have established some conceptual parallels between texts by three of our favorite authors.

Blish's text is horrific. Anderson's is clearly humorous. Moore's is perhaps both. A sudden switch from humor to horror can be very dramatic.