Mephistopheles Moote

Mephistopheles P. Moote was a slow-moving, foul-tempered lawyer-turned-magician who, along with his wife, Ermine, is committed to following the texts identified by Jedediah Clabbernong to bring a red comet back to earth and the ancient race of evil creatures that travel aboard it (The Beast under the Wizard's Bridge).

Background

Moote was a practicing country lawyer when he met his wife. He later began the firm Moote, Mull, and Boyd, operating from nearby Kalamazoo. One of Mephistopheles’ clients was Elihu Clabbernong, the great-nephew of Jedediah Clabbernong who had performed the Red Star rites and spells in the late 1800s. Ermine and Mephistopheles were able to coax information about the Red Star from Elihu before his death and then use that knowledge to set their plans in motion, plans that included getting New Zebedee to replace the old iron bridge over Wilder Creek that had kept an evil force in check for close to sixty years (Beast, 106, 149).

Following Mephistopheles’ retirement, he and Ermine moved to New Zebedee to be closer to the bridge and to await the return of the comet (Beast, 99); they live in a house south of town on Field Street (Beast; 104).

Inspiration

Mephistopheles is one of the seven princes of Hell^[1]. Originally appearing in literature as the name of the demon in the Faust legend, he has since appeared in other works as a stock character version of the Devil himself. Shakespeare mentions "Mephistophilus" in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Reference

1. ↑ Wikipedia: Mephistopheles