Satan's Servants

"Satan's Servants" is a horror short story by Robert Bloch, written in 1935 and first published in the 1949 Arkham House collection Something About Cats and Other Pieces. H. P. Lovecraft revised the original draft and made several suggestions that Bloch would implement in the final version.
Upon publication in 1949, Bloch described "Satan's Servants" as the last story written with Lovecraft's input to be published; a claim that is no longer true today, as two of the Lovecraft-Barlow collaborations ("The Hoard of the Wizard-Beast" and "The Slaying of the Monster") would be published for the first time in 1994.
==Synopsis==
In 1693, Gideon Godfrey travels to the village of Roodsford, Massachusetts. A devout Puritan, Godfrey has heard rumours of widespread witchcraft and devil-worship and, having studied the Necronomicon and other forbidden tomes himself, intends to use a combination of prayer and magic spells to exorcise all evil from the place, essentially fighting fire with fire.
Along the way, Godfrey stops in a glade to sleep, only to wake up alone, his two guides and horse having vanished along with all of his provisions. Noticing that the turf is remarkably smooth and that the stones are arranged in a pattern that corresponds to the stars in the night sky, Godfrey concludes that the glade is a gathering spot for sorcerers, and that only his fervent prayer has protected him. Still resolute, he resumes his trip and finally reaches Roodsford by night.
Exhausted after the long journey, Godfrey buries his bible and pistol under a rock to avoid suspicion. He finds shelter for the night with a man named Dorcas Frye, who invites him for supper, but the meal is interrupted by the opening of a trapdoor and the emergence of a hellish hound, which Godfrey recognises as a wizard's familiar.
Feigning interest, rather than fear, Godfrey asks his host to show him what lies under the trapdoor. They descend into a long tunnel and reach a subterranean chamber that is also accessible from the other houses of the village. At the center of the chamber there is an altar, where the sacrificed bodies of Godfrey's guides lie, surrounded by a horde of animal-shaped familiars.
With a supreme effort to hide his shock and fear, Godfrey pretends to be pleased by what he sees and boldly introduces himself as the demon Asmodeus, who came to prepare the way for his Master and oversee their Sabbat. His performance fools Frye and the others, who come to accept him for what he purports to be. In this role, he is allowed to stay and gains the trust of the villagers, who are indeed all powerful magicians and worshipers of Satan.
During his stay, Godfrey learns that Roodsford is more than a hundred years old, and that the village has neither children nor graveyards, having no need of either, since its inhabitants are all undead. More alarmingly, he learns that the coven is planning to summon their Master during the Sabbat at Hallow-Mass, after which they will seek to convert other towns to their dark religion and stage a rebellion against the church, unleashing plagues and famine on those who resist, and eventually conquering all America.
When the time comes, all wizards from Roodsford and other villages gather for their Sabbat. When Dorcas Frye starts chanting, a thunderous sound is heard in response, coming from beneath the hills. Godfrey interrupts the ceremony and stabs Frye, but the knife does no damage to his undead flesh. Resorting to his second plan, he hits Frye with the bible he retrieved earlier. The contact with the holy scripture destroys the undead wizard. Reciting prayers and incantations, Godfrey summons heavy rain and battles against the coven until all are destroyed, then finally leaves Roodsford behind, taking comfort in the knowledge that there are no more sorcerers in New England.
Category:Lovecraft Circle Works
Category:Robert Bloch works
Category:H. P. Lovecraft works