If you feel like doing some reading, I suspect you'll find some really good references in the work of Jack Zipes, or in people who cite him. This has a huge overlap with his field. Two caveats:
Zipes both writes critically about folk and fairy tales, and collects them, so if you find his books they will be one or the other. I can see either or both being something interesting to you!
As well as being a scholar or Germanic literature with a folk & fairy tales specialty, he's a scholar of Jewish studies, some some of what you find relating to demons and exorcism from him will be Jewish, not Catholic or Protestant. (Dybbuks, etc.) It will be pretty obvious which is which, though.
One warning: a vast amount of "supernatural, corrupting forces" in medieval Germany are going to be, well, Jews. Or Jewish coded. This can be absolute fine in your story if you're doing it intentionally (eg. Novik's Spinning Silver), but assuming that's not your goal, then unless you feel confident about assessing the material yourself, it would probably be helpful to get a sensitivity reader who knows the tropes. It can be surprising how many medieval continental demonic tropes are just a hair from blood libel.
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Date: 2025-04-06 07:38 pm (UTC)