inside the house , front door closed , Burgess performs an action that links him with both Crowley and the serpent in the Garden of Eden : he flicks his tongue at the woman — an action modeled after what Crowley termed the “ serpent ’ s kiss ” and an invitation to a form of violent “ sex magic .” Following Crowley ’ s lead , Lucien goes on to lick the woman . When Luther and his partner Justin Ripley enter the crime scene , they find the entry hall covered with sentences taken from Crawley ’ s manuscripts , with which Luther seems well acquainted , and written in the blood of one of Lucien ’ s past victim . Luther later learns that the motive behind Lucien ’ s sanguinary habits is the belief — again expressed in Crowley ’ s writings — that the drinking of bodily fluids is necessary to sustain one ’ s existence and to enable one to perform violent sexual acts , which Crowley believed brought him into contact with demonic spirits ( Aleister Crowley--The Wickedest Man in the World ).
Influenced by traditions of Gothic horror , Cross has created characters whose personal identity has been annihilated at some point in their lives and who view their own murderous actions within a context that is clearly demonic , a realm whose existence has long been a matter of debate among writers of both Gothic and non-Gothic fiction ( Clery 53-60 ). According to Professor of German literature Irena Kuznetsova ,
The demonic is a tricky and heterogeneous concept . In the most general terms , [ the demonic ] can be identified with an irrational and mysterious force or energy that thinkers , artists , and theologians from antiquity to the modern day have sought to comprehend and locate either within or outside of individuals , while personifying it in the figures of demons ( devils ) or in demon-like characters . ( 246 )
Thus , in the novel and TV series , whether the demonic has its source in the subconscious or supernatural realm is immaterial . What is most significant in this series is that the demonic has contributed greatly to shaping the killers ’ personalities . Indeed , the series focuses upon killers whose diabolical savagery is intended to evoke the level of horror / terror that late eighteenth and early nineteenth century British Gothic novelist Anne Radcliffe had in mind in her essay “ On the Supernatural in Poetry ,” when she wrote , “[ T ] error expands the soul and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life ,’ whereas horror ‘ contracts , freezes and nearly annihilates them .’” As it evokes terror and horror , Cross ’ s series creates the impression of an almost tangible paranoia that may have become a “ perfectly rational fear ” ( Kavka 227 ) among current residents of large European cities ( like London ) haunted by human beings whose monstrous actions are inspired by the
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