Crocell—An Underwhelming Demon Who Supposedly Excels At Warming Baths

Crocell, according to occultists, is a spiritual being or demon with powers related to water. According to legend, he was one of 72 demons supposedly controlled by the biblical King Solomon. These demons, listed and described in a peculiar grimoire called the Lemegeton (or the Lesser Key of Solomon) are said to have all sorts of flashy abilities, including teleportation, fortune telling, control of weather, physical transformation, emotion manipulation, the spreading of disease, and the poltergeist-like ability to topple structures by sheer spiritual force. Poor Crocell, however, is not said to wield any of these powers.

In appearance and ability, Crocell comes across as a humble demon with humble powers. Whereas other spirits in the Lemegeton are described as having monstrous shapes, riding on bizarre mounts, and having gravelly voices, Crocell apparently has no steed and prefers to be seen in his original angelic fallen-angel appearance. As said earlier, Crocell’s abilities are said to be connected to water. For one, he can make the sound of water fill the air, even when there is no water present. Besides that, the Lemegeton claims Crocell can additionally “warmeth Waters, and discovereth Baths” (Lesser Key of Solomon, Shemhamphorash, 49). If finding and warming baths were not enough, Crocell also apparently is quite good at geometry. While these abilities are not as grandiose as teleportation or the power to smite cities, Crocell’s bath warming prowess supposedly has earned him dominion over 48 legions of lesser spirits.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: ('Imperial' porcelain roll-rim bath. Plate 1090-G, (c. late 19th century) and an image from The Violet Fairy Book (1906), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Three Magical Books of Solomon by Crowley, Mathers and Conybear. Vega Publishing, 2019 (original publications c. 1888, 1898, 1904. 
• https://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/lks05.htm 
• https://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/index.htm