Jacques Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire infernal was first published in 1818 as a compendium of demons, spirits and diabolical lore, and it became famous in its illustrated 1863 edition. The book's entries include figures from Dante, Milton and the Bible, such as Asmodeus, Behemoth, Bael and Belzebuth, and the 1863 edition was illustrated by Louis le Breton with striking engravings. Collin de Plancy began as a rationalist cataloguing superstition, but over successive editions he grew increasingly drawn to demonology and eventually converted to Catholicism. The final edition, running to nearly six hundred pages with sixty-five demons, claimed that earlier errors had been removed. Ed Simon's essay explores how the book blends Enlightenment reasoning with occult belief.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.