Devil’s Coach

Devil’s Coach is a motif in French folklore, reported in early 17th-century Paris. Several nights in a row, residents observed a silent black carriage drawn by black horses and driven by a black coachman, emerging from the house of a recently deceased noble. Popular belief attributed this apparition to the devil collecting the soul of the departed. Investigation revealed that the phenomenon was a ruse devised by a fraudster seeking to frighten people and acquire the property at a reduced price. The silent movement of the coach was achieved by padding the wheels and horses’ hooves with felt. The episode exemplifies how supernatural beliefs were manipulated for personal gain in early modern Europe.