Black Phillip

* Goat
* Human

*"What dost thou want?"
"What canst thou give?"
"Wouldst thou like the taste of butter? A pretty dress? Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"
"Yes."
"Wouldst thou like to see the world?"
"What will you from me?"
"Dost thou see a book before thee? Remove thy shift."
"I cannot write my name."
"I will guide thy hand."*
―Black Phillip and Thomasin[src]
**Satan**, also known as **Lucifer**, The **Devil**, The **Serpent** and The **Adversary**, is an antagonistic deity of Christianity and the ruler of Hell. In the 1630s, he takes the form of a black billy goat and is acquired by a family of English Puritans living in New England, who give him the name **Black Phillip**.

## Biography

### Background

*"No ease to rise on a grey day. The Devil holds fast your eyelids."*
―William to Caleb[src]
In the 1630s, Satan walks the earth in the shape of a black billy goat. He is acquired by the farmer William, who has established a farm in New England. William and his family have been banished from the plantation where they had lived due to a religious dispute. The family give him the name "Black Phillip" and the twins Jonas and Mercy grow particularly fond of him. He uses this to his advantage by speaking to the twins in private, telling them that they are free to do as they like. Unknown to the family, a witch who serves him dwells within the nearby forest.

### Hiding in Plain Sight

*"Black Phillip, Black Phillip,
A crown grows out his head,
Black Phillip, Black Phillip,
To nanny queen is wed,
Jump to the fence post,
Running in the stall,
Black Phillip, Black Phillip,
King of all."*
―Mercy and Jonas[src]

On Black Phillip's orders, the witch steals the family's youngest child, Samuel. This drives the family into despair, particularly William's wife Katherine, who does not sleep for several nights and cries and prays constantly. She also comes to blame her eldest daughter, Thomasin, for Samuel's disappearance, as she had been looking after him at the time. As a result of Black Phillip's influence, the farm's crops become plagued with ergot, putting the family at risk of starvation and financial ruin.

One afternoon almost one week after Samuel's disappearance, Jonas and Mercy chase Black Phillip around the yard and sing a song in his honor. He gets riled up and when William and his eldest son Caleb return from the wood, they fear for the safety of the twins. Caleb orders Phillip to get back and William grabs him by the horns and wrestles him back into his pen.

### Worse Fortunes

*"Ask the twins then. Ask them. They spend all day long babbling to that horned beast. They know well his voice."
"Go to!"
"The Adversary oft comes in the shape of a he-goat. And whispers. Aye, whispers. He is Lucifer, you know it. The twins know it."*
―Thomasin and Caleb[src]

Over the course of the next few days, the family's situation grows progressively worse. Caleb and Thomasin go into the wood to search for food, at which point the witch strikes. She lures Caleb and the family dog, Fowler, deep into the wood, where she disembowels Fowler and sexually attacks Caleb. Caleb is returned to the farm the same night, naked, delirious and deathly ill. Black Phillip poisons the twins against Thomasin, telling them that she has made Caleb sick by putting the Devil in him. The twins repeat these accusations to Thomasin with Black Phillip present, to which she protests her innocence. However, she attempts to milk Flora, one of the nanny goats, only for her teat to produce blood, shocking the children.

Caleb soon dies and the twins accuse Thomasin of bewitching him. Thomasin then accuses them of making covenant with the Devil, pointing out the he is known to take the shape of a he-goat. Unsure who to believe, William shuts the children in the goat shed alongside Black Phillip. The children asks each other if they are witches, which they all deny. Thomasin asks the twins if Black Phillip really speaks to them and they do not reply, while Black Phillip simply sits there grunting to himself.

Later that night, Satan creates an apparition of Caleb and Samuel before Katherine, asking her to look at a book with them. At the same time, the witch enters the goat shed and begins to sup from Flora's teat. The terrified children approach her and she attacks them.

### True Nature Revealed

*"Black Phillip. I conjure thee to speak to me. Speak as thou dost speak to Jonas and Mercy. Dost thou understand my English tongue? Answer me."*
―Thomasin to Black Phillip[src]

The next morning, William emerges from the house and finds the goat shed broken apart, the nanny goats slaugtered and the twins gone. Only Thomasin remains, covered in blood. As William stares in shock, Black Phillip charges at him and buries one of his horns in his stomach. As William reels back in shock and pain, Black Phillip rises up onto his hind legs and hops about in a mocking fashion. William grabs an axe to try and kill him, but after a moment he drops it and declares *"Corruption, though art my father!"*. Black Phillip charges at him again, knocking him into the pile of firewood and causing it to collapse on him. Satisfied with his kill, Black Phillip trots away.

Upon discovering William dead, Katherine accuses Thomasin and attempts to kill her, causing Thomasin to kill her in self defence. Overcome by the loss she has suffered, Thomasin lies down at the kitchen table and falls asleep. That night, Black Phillip conjures the sound of ringing bells and wakes her. He stands outside the goat shed and when he sees Thomasin approaching, he enters the shed and she follows.

In the shed, Thomasin requests that Black Phillip speak to her as he did to Jonas and Mercy. He does not reply, so she asks if he understands her English tongue and demands that he answer her. He remains silent and as she turns to leave, he asks her what he wants. Thomasin turns back to him, astonished, and asks what he can give her. He asks if she would like the taste of butter, a pretty dress and to live deliciously. She replies that she would and he asks if she would like to see the world. She asks what he wants from her and he alerts her to a book before her. He steps towards her and transforms into a man. He orders her to remove her shift and as she undresses, he moves behind her and grips her shoulder with his gloved hand. She tells him that she cannot write her name and he replies that he will guide her hand.

Black Phillip transforms back into a goat and leads the naked Thomasin deep into the wood. They reach a clearing where a coven of naked witches writhe around a bonfire and chant in Enochian. Once they complete their chant, the witches cackle and float into the air. Thomasin then begins to float and laugh hysterically under the watchful eye of Black Phillip.

## Personality

*"Thy son is dead. Damned."
"Caleb did but cry Jesus."
"The Devil!"
"You know it not!"
"The Devil will speak Scripture too."
"You know it not. It is not true!"*
―Katherine and William[src]
Black Phillip is cunning and deceptive. He takes the form of a billy goat to hide among William's family and worsen their fortunes. He speaks with the young twins Mercy and Jonas, knowing that they will be the easiest to manipulate, which proves advantageous to him when he sews mistrust of Thomasin within them. The Witch torments the family at his instruction, creating fear among the family and turning them against each other. He finally strikes and kills William when he is at his most vulnerable and once Thomasin is the only member of the family still alive, he reveals his true nature to her. Promising her a comfortable and delicious life, he convinces her to sign her name in his book, binding her soul to him for eternity.

## Trivia

* Goats were typically associated with the Devil and witchcraft in English traditions. Goat-farmers were seen as backwards due to the suspicion around the animals. Goats are depicted as being part of the Witches' Sabbath in famous pieces of artwork such as "The Witches" by Hans Baldung and "Witches' Sabbath" and "Witches' Sabbath (The Great He-Goat)" by Francisco Goya.
* Baphomet is a goat-headed deity who was allegedly worshipped by the Knights Templar and subsequently became incorporated into various occult traditions.
* The outfit that Black Phillip wears in his human form is based on those typically worn by the Cavaliers, a faction of royalists in the English Civil War. The Calaliers were the enemies of the Roundheads, who fought on behalf of the Parliament of England and were almost univerally supported by Puritans.
* Goats have rectangular pupils. Black Phillip has round pupils, indicating that he is not really a goat.

## Behind the Scenes

* Charlie, the goat who portrayed Black Phillip, was not well-trained and was also badly behaved, at one point putting Ralph Ineson in the hospital. For this reason, several planned scenes had to be altered. As outlined in the script, certain plans for the goat were originally different.
	+ Black Phillip was intended to chase Katherine through the house once Jonas and Mercy rile him up.
	+ Instead of finding the hare within the goat shed, Thomasin would instead find Black Phillip violently copulating with one of the nanny goats.
	+ Black Phillip's final showdown with William was different, with William being the first to attack. Black Phillip would avoid William's attacks until William managed to strike his shoulder with the axe, at which point the goat would aggressively attack and kill him.
	+ Thomasin was intended to ride on Black Phillip's back in the final scene and he would levitate alongside the witches at the end.
* Despite the acclaimed performances of the human cast, Black Phillip is considered the breakout character of *The Witch*, being the only character to receive a Funko Pop figure and having a promo focused on him.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Eggers, Robert, *The Witch*, A24, USA, February 19, 2016
2. ↑ The Witch director Robert Eggers on the real history behind the movie’s most WTF scenes. (slate.com)
3. ↑ Ralph Ineson not kidding over goat gore horror while filming The Witch - The Irish News
4. ↑ The Witch | Black Phillip | Official Promo HD | A24 - YouTube

## See Also

* Satan on Wikipedia
* Lucifer on Wikipedia