'The Devil Talked To Me'

"The Devil pointed out the whole world to me one time. He said, 'Why do you go on and try to live so good? You see this person over here and that person over there? Well they get to do all these things ... My husband worked at night. I was by myself. The Devil had something wrong with his head. If I'd get close to him, he'd say, 'Get back! Get back!' I pulled his jacket off. I was standing there by him. He said, the Devil said, 'Why you want to keep on?' The Devil talked to me. In a way just like me talking here to you. But it was through my mind. Through my heart. And he said, 'Why you wanna try to live right? You have all this bad luck.' But then another voice said, 'You don't have no bad luck.' You know, it was a little, small voice. It whispered in my ear. Just whispered. 'How many times have you come to me down on your knees for help have I ever failed you?' I tell you, the Devil was talking to me, and I was terrified. And he left me. He left me. But he don't make no big show of it." -- Tela Shedd Whitlock
Read more about the temptations of the Devil in W. Jeff Bishop's new novel, A Cold Coming -- February, 2013