A stern Shetland minister, John Mill kept a diary in which he talks about the devil as casually as if he were one of his parishioners. The second entry here is even more chilling.
I left my wife at Lerwick till the manse was got in order for her reception; supposing a married state would ease me in a great measure of worldly cares. But I soon found it rather increased them. The charge of repairing the manse straitened a little, but we soon got over it. The greatest plague was with cross-grained naughty servants, being thievish and mischievous, and liker wild beasts than Christians. My wife being of a delicate constitution couldn’t bear the fatigues of a labouring and obstinacy of such wretches as neither feared God or regarded man. However, providentially, I was put upon a better method of setting of my land in halvers and keeping only one servant in the house, whereby I had more profit and less trouble. I endeavoured through grace to deal faithfully with the consciences of all sorts, which was not without effect, though not in a saving manner. I found a strong stress laid upon ordinances, especially the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, as if it was a charm to save them, though they lived in sin; and the strongest arguments tending to prove the contrary, that it rather increased and aggravated their guilt, yet can’t beat this delusion out of their heads. Nay, though God struck a healthy young man suddenly dead, who presumed to come to the Lord’s table while he was living in whoredom, as afterwards appeared, and the people were publickly warned to take heed of sinning in like manner.
Meantime Satan raged exceedingly, and got actual possession of two poor women and a man. One of the women was mute, and made no answer to what I said; and a friend asking her quietly the reason, she said Satan would not suffer her to speak, which indeed I suspected. Then Satan seemed to make use of her tongue and said – The pulpit was upon the South Side of the Kirk. I said it would continue there as long as God pleased. He said I made lies upon him, for which I called him (as indeed he was) a damned rascal for his lying impudence, and that I spoke the truth, which he cared not for. While I spoke to the poor woman, he said I had no business with her, – that she was Satan’s. I told him he could be assured of none till they were actually damned. While I was praying, he contradicted, saying – Grant not that. But at last became mute after a few sentences. The poor woman came to her senses and was much concerned when they told her she had spoken rudely to me, not being aware that it was more the speech of the enemy of souls than hers. Another poor woman was much in the same case, and during the possession brought forth a child without any sense of pain.
(1777)
In June, a son of Mr James Spence in Mid Yell, while attending the school at Sumburgh, went off alone, though only about 7 or 8 years old, and climbing the rocks in Sumburgh Head for birds’ nests and slipping his hold, tumbled into the sea below, and couldn’t be found, carried off it seemed by the tide; and as this fell out on the Sabbath day might serve for warning both to young and old, especially to that family, where little regard is paid to the Sabbath or Gospel ordinances.