Diary of a Drug Fiend

Towards Madness 217 began to go through the ritual. A lot of it seems silly, but the climax 1s fine. You keep on saying, over and over :— ‘To Pan Pan! Io Pan Pan! Ai Pan Pan! - Io Pan Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan Pan Pan! Aegipan, Aegipan, Aegipan, Aegipan, Aegipan, Aegipan, Io Pan Pan!” You go on till something comes. We used two black robes that we found hanging up there. — They were lovely silk robes with hoods. You take candlesin both hands and dance while you make the incantations. We got frightfully excited. It was as if a strange force had got hold of us. It seemed to lead us all round the house and then into the grounds. We were shouting at the top of our voices. Once or twice we saw a servant putting out a nose through a chink of a door. It would always be shut with a little squeal, and we could hear keys turing and bolts being pushed. We wanted to roar with laughter, but we had to keep on with the invocation. The book said you mustn’t stop it while you were outside the magic room, or the Devil could get you. The. strange thing is that I don’t remember at all what happened. Did the Devil come or not ? I don’t even remember getting back to the magic room. I must have gone to sleep, for I’ve woken up frightfully hungry. Cockie’s awake too. He’s kneeling at the window with a shot gun. He aimed it two or three times, but didn’t fire. He came back to me after putting the gun in a corner. He said, ‘ It’s no good. They’ re too spry. The only chance to get them is at night.” He was hungry too. We rang for some food. Nobody answered the bell..