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In movies, rainy days are primarily signaled by passionate kissing in the rain and spending quiet evenings together with those we love. However, eventually we want the rain to stop so that we can go outside and play again. April showers bring May flowers but now that it is May, we need the rain to let up a little. What better way than with a Japanese good weather sunshine doll?
Many cultures have traditions related to weather, weather prediction, and even trying to influence the weather, making the topic of meteorology not only a great entry point to science, but also to the shared connection every culture has to weather events. A teru teru bōzu, literally translated as shine shine monk or shiny shiny bald head, is a small traditional handmade doll made of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string. This talisman is supposed to have magical powers to bring sunshine, good weather, and to stop or prevent a rainy day. Teru is a Japanese verb which describes sunshine, and a bōzu is a Buddhist monk (compare the word bonze), or in modern slang, “bald-headed”
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In some areas of Japan the dolls are used by farmers on days when they hope for rain instead of sun. You’ll see many of them especially during the tsuyu (rainy season) and on special occasions, such as outdoor festivals or harvest events. Tsuyu occurs when cold air from Siberia north of Japan, and warm air from the South Pacific south of Japan, collide and stay for an extended period of time. This usually happens between June and early July.
The dolls are hung head-downwards and called fure fure bōzu or ame ame bōzu (both meaning roughly The Rain Monk) or rute rute bōzu which is simply teru teru bōzu said backwards. Although teru teru bōzu is the most common name, they are also known as teretere bōzu and sometimes hiyori bōzu. Researcher Miyata Noboru has found that in certain places in West Japan they are still called Hiyoribo and remembered as yokai.
What looks like a simple folk-custom is actually a prayer to ancient Chinese gods and to one of Japan’s monster clan, the yokai called Hiyoribo among other origins. According to scholars, the tradition of weather-watchers and a rich folk culture of hiyorimi (weather-watching rituals and practices) can be traced with certainty to Heian period (749 – 1185) continuing through the Edo period (1603 to 1867). It has been suggested that the teru teru bōzu weather-watching practice/ritual in particular was adapted from a Chinese practice which involved putting the teru teru bōzu on the end of a broom to sweep good spirits your way.
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Teru teru bōzu became popular during the Edo period among urban dwellers, whose children would make them the day before the good weather was desired. Traditionally, if the weather does turn out well, a libation of holy sake is poured over them, and they are washed away in the river. Today, children who make teru teru bōzu out of tissue paper or cotton and string and hang them from a window when they wish for sunny weather, often before a school picnic day. Hanging it upside-down acts as a prayer for rain. Both of these are common superstitions in Japan.
Written in 1921, there is a hauntingly beautiful but slightly creepy traditional children’s nursery rhyme which the Teru teru bōzu is the central object and subject, which also has an ominous ending. As the song goes, the Teru teru bōzu is bribed with a golden bell and sake in exchange for successfully preventing rain and given an unveiled threat that failure would result in its head being cut off.
One origin story commonly told about the origins of the doll is just as dark. The Japanese word bōzu is one of the words used to call Buddhist monks. In the past, monks were also expected to be able to invoke rain. The main industry of Japan used to be agriculture and rain was crucial. In 800, the famous Japanese monk Kukai was commanded by the emperor in Shinsen-en, Kyoto to create rain. After that, more than 20 monks held this ritual until 1300. Among all the monks who tried the ritual, Jinkai was known as a specialist, even nicknamed “rainmaking master.” There is even a myth that a red dragon appeared while he was creating rain in Shinsen-en. If a monk failed in controlling rain, his head was severed.
The story goes that there was a monk who promised a suffering village plagued by flooding due to constant rains that he could stop the rains that were ruining their crops and bring good weather. However, after promising good weather to a feudal lord, the sunshine did not appear as promised and the monk’s head was chopped off as punishment for lying by the unimpressed villagers. It’s said the monk’s head was then wrapped in cloth and hung outside to stop the rain and bring out the sun.
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The story rings true and plausible but hints of far older practices from prehistoric-to-proto-historic times. We know, from the oldest Japanese historical records of the mythological age and of the era of the earliest emperors of Japan, as well as from archaeological excavations (evidence is found in Asuka, Nara and elsewhere) that there was an ancient practice of human and/or animal (horse, cow, etc.) sacrifice to river gods as well as of soothsayers, fortune-bearers and virgin maidens who traveled with seagoing expeditions, and who were thrown overboard to the sea gods as propitious or conciliatory offerings.
According to record in the book called “Kiyu Shoran” (Inspection of Diversions) “嬉遊笑覧” if the teru teru bōzu is successful, and the following day is clear, then its head is washed with sacred sake and the doll is sent into a river to be washed away. In Edo period Japan, rivers were thought to connect to the afterlife and the realm of the gods, so sending the teru teru bōzu down the river was returning it home in the same way that candles and lanterns were floated down the river during Obon, the Festival of the Dead.
As the tradition goes, the custom begins where you make a plain-faced Teru Teru bōzu, hang it outside your window then wait in anticipation. If the following day, the Teru Teru bōzu has delivered and the sun is shining, you show your gratitude by drawing a smiley face on it. If however, your doll has been unsuccessful in its mission… be gentle and give it another chance. After all, it’s no longer feudal Japan. as with Daruma dolls—a face was only drawn on the teru teru bōzu if it had been successful in bringing fair weather.
According to Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, the legend of the Hiyoribo Weather Monk is passed down many generations in Japan and is said to originate in the mountains of Hitachi-no-kuni (modern day Ibaraki prefecture).
“He is said to come from the mountains of Hitachi-no-kuni—modern day Chiba prefecture—and his season is the summertime. Hiyoribo is said to be a yokai who brings sunny weather, and who cannot be seen on rainy days.
Toriyama Seiken illustrated the Hiyoribo in his picture-scroll “Supplement to the Hundred Demons of the Past,” and explained that this yokai was the origin of teruteru bōzu. He said that when children hang up teruteru bōzu and pray to them to bring sunshine into the rain, it is actually the spirit of the Hiyoribo that they are praying to. “
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According to the Japan Weather Association, which runs the country’s popular tenki.jp weather app, the tradition of teru teru bōzuspread to Japan from China during the Heian Period (794-1185) and can be traced back to a custom that suggests the person charged with invoking good weather was not a monk but a broom-carrying girl.
As the story goes, during a time of heavy and continuous rainfall, a voice from the heavens warned the people that their city would be submerged if a certain beautiful young girl did not appear outside. To save people from the deluge, the girl was essentially sacrificed, sent outside with a broom to symbolically head to the heavens where she would sweep rain clouds from the sky. In order to remember the brave girl who brought clear skies, young ladies would recreate her figure in paper cut-outs, a skill in which the broom-carrying girl once excelled. These figures were then hung outside to bring sunshine in times of rain.
Known as 掃晴娘 (So-Chin-Nyan) or Souseijou in Japanese, which literally means “sweeping fine weather girl”, the paper doll concept gradually took on a different face in Japan, eventually becoming the teru teru bōzu we see today. This theory, which has the support of folk historians, sheds light on the origins of the weather talisman, which, with the rainy season still well underway, will be popping up outside windows and under rooftops around the country.
Kuragehime (a.k.a Jellyfish Princess) is the title of a short anime that is a fantastic feel good anime. It is such a great series and in one of the scenes you get to see an absolutely adorable Teru Teru bōzu jellyfish doll. A bunch of versions of the jellyfish dolls were made in the episode and each one is just as adorable as the next.
One fantastic artist made Kuragehime’s Teru Teru bōzu and I was so impressed by it, I had to include it.
This is a slightly longer article than usual BUT it is also a very interesting one due to so many complexities to his character.
Bronze statuette of Pazuzu, circa eighth century BC, Louvre
Religion: Assyrian/ Babylonian/ Akkadian/ Sumerian Deity: Yes Demi-God: No Prior Human: No Represents: Personification of the west wind, King of the Lilu wind Demons Good/Evil: Yes Symbols: Thread, bull, serpent Weapons: Magical greatsword Offerings: N/A At least none that I could find in my research.
The Mesopotamian region was dominated by ritualized religious worship of an extensive pantheon of gods during the Neo-Assyrian (early-900s to early-600s BCE) and Neo-Babylonian (early-600s to mid-500s BCE) periods. As with many such pantheons, the deities worshiped in this part of the world were often depicted as possessing a duality of motivations and behaviors, ranging from those seen as intrinsically good and others seen as overtly evil. This moral duality is most frequently expressed in the actions of the gods toward humans, though many of the internal battles among the gods are driven by similar conflicts of interest and desire.
In the Akkadian/Babylonian myth of the Atrahasis, human beings have grown too numerous, too loud, and far too fertile. Further, they live so long that more of them are being born at any given time than those who die. They cover the earth and disturb the god Enlil with their noise to such an extent that he decides to destroy them in a great flood. After the flood waters subside, the god of wisdom Enki proposes a plan to re-populate the earth: the gods will create a new kind of human with a shorter life span and greater threats to their lives on a daily basis. Henceforth there will be disease, miscarriages, impotency, sterility, attacks by wild animals, and all other manner of death waiting in a day.
Demons were a part of this divine plan and were sent to punish the wicked, test the righteous, and could even be given leave to torment someone because a certain god felt it was justified even though another disagreed. Demons that interfered with sexual intercourse and fertility were especially troublesome. The demon Samana, with his dragon’s teeth, eagle talons, and scorpion’s tail, was a constant threat and a Sumerian incantation against him lists how he blocks the menstruation of the young girl, the potency of the young man, and the services of the courtesan and prostitute. Samana could also affect crops, livestock and, “had a special appetite for infants and prostitutes”. A demon of such malice and destructive power should have been held firmly in check by the gods and yet Samana was regarded as an agent of Gula, the goddess of health and healing, sent for reasons mortals would have to work out for themselves.
All that was clear was that one could be targeted by a god or demon for some exquisite or mundane torment at any time and for reasons which were not always clear. Sexual life of the individual and of society at large was under a potential threat from the wrath of vengeful gods or the malice of demonic forces. Sexuality was especially targeted, if one follows from the narrative of the Atrahasis, because it had to do with reproduction and population size. In targeting the sexual life of human beings, the gods could keep their communities down to a manageable size.
In ancient Mesopotamian religion the Assyro-Babylonian demonic god Pazuzu, also called Fazuzu or Pazuza, Dark Angel of the Four Winds, Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms, was a personification of the West Wind, and held kingship over the lilu wind demons. He was known to breathe swarms of locusts and could create poisonous clouds of acidic waste with his breath at will. He was also known to have low-light vision as well as blindsight (the ability to perceive surroundings without visual sight). He spoke many languages and was also thought to have some form of telepathic abilities. Pazuzu is also known to have a magical greatsword that granted him impressive agility and speed. He was most popular in the first millennium BCE.
It was said that if one was to invoke the name of Pazuzu three consecutive times, he would be able to read the thoughts of the person trying to summon him. He could then appear next to them when he wished and often granted their wishes to make them feel indebted to his services – though the cost would be great. It was thought that Pazuzu used these tactics to spread his influence to whole communities.
He also had many worshipers among evil flying creatures. Those who were thought to worship Pazuzu including Kenku, harpies, gargoyles, manticores, wyverns, fey, and dragons.
Many question why the Sumerians would risk invoking the spirit of Pazuzu if they knew him to be an evil entity. Why would anyone want an intimate relationship with such a demonic god? To answer this question, we must examine the relationship between supernatural creatures and humans in the ancient Near East.
Although they are often classified as either evil or protective in modern scholarship, supernatural beings in ancient references seem to be presented as largely amoral. Their harmful or beneficial effects could be manipulated: they could be appeased with offerings and incantations, and even directed against each other by a skilled practitioner of magic. Pazuzu, as a powerful demon, was frequently set up as a shield against another supernatural terror: Lamashtu, a female demon with broad and far-ranging destructive powers, especially feared by pregnant women and those with newborns, who were her favored victims.
PAZUZU WAS REGARDED AS AN EVIL DEMON. Even so, although he was never considered the most benevolent of supernatural beings in ancient Mesopotamia – and was certainly regarded as an evil demon – he was not evil incarnate and was frequently invoked for protection from evil.
The term “demon” in the modern day always carries with it the connotation of evil but this was not so in the ancient world. The English word “demon” is a translation of the Greek word daimon which simply meant “spirit”. A daimon could be good or evil, depending on its intentions and the results of a visitation. it is more accurate to think of Pazuzu as a spirit or a minor god within the pantheon, rather than a tormenting, evil personality. In ancient Mesopotamia, as in other cultures of the ancient world, demons were often sent by the gods as punishment for sin or to remind one of one’s duty to the gods and others in one’s community. Demons were not always evil and even those who were, like Pazuzu, were still capable of good deeds.
As an Apotropaic magic entity, he was considered as both a destructive and dangerous wind, but also as a repellant to other demons, one who would safeguard the home from their influence. In particular he was protective of pregnant women and mothers, whom he could defend from the machinations of the demoness Lamashtu, his rival. He is invoked in ritual and representations of him are used as defense charms.
Amulet with a Lamashtu Demon, ca. early 1st millennium B.C. Mesopotamia or Iran. Obsidian. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, James N. Spear Gift, 1984
Those who worshiped Pazuzu or prayed on his behalf often believed that as long as they offered the demon sacrifices and were careful in their practices, Pazuzu would use his wrath against their enemies instead of themselves.
the Pazuzu figure suddenly appeared in the Early Iron Age. His first visual depictions are not attested until the 8th century BC with the first finds being in the tombs of Nimrud, and his first appearances in texts trace to the 7th century BC. The majority of his representations were found in the Seventh and Sixth Centuries BCE, with the most recent finds dating back to the time of the Seleucid Empire. Pazuzu has two chief aspects. Firstly as a demon of the home, as a domestic spirit, and secondly as the wandering wind demon, traversing the mountains, where he presents a more wild character.
The image of Pazuzu shown here, found in Iraq, is made of bronze and dates to between 800-600 BCE. The outcropping on the top of the statuette’s head is a loop, likely allowing it to be worn as an amulet or inscribed in a sigil to ward off other evil forces.
There is a well-documented use of Pazuzu in Mesopotamian white magic. His inhuman and grotesque form could have been used as a method of keeping away unwanted guests, as well as quell his wind-demon subjects from entering the home and wreaking havoc. His role in ritual and magic is documented on inscriptions on the backs of his statues, or in ritual texts. Spells, Incantations, and special artifacts were used to gain the favor and protection of the demon. These artifacts were placed in and around the home, or worn on the person to achieve the desired effect.
Large amounts of Pazuzu Heads have been discovered, made from a variety of materials, chiefly Terra-Cotta, but also bronze, iron, gold, glass, and bone. These heads often had holes or loops on top, so they could be worn on necklaces by pregnant women to protect the baby from evil forces. Occasionally the heads would be attached to cylinder seals or worn as brooches as well. Some of these heads have been found in graves.
He was believed to be from the modern-day Zagros Mountains between Iraq and Iran. His connection to the mountainous region contributed to the belief that he controlled the forces of plague, drought, and famine. He was the demon of the underworld (where all demons were thought to reside) in control of the west and south-west winds (which were thought to originate from the land of the dead) which brought famine during the dry season and, in the rainy season, tearing storms and locusts. As he was the force behind the destructive winds and their threat, he was also considered the best defense against them. Similar in this way to the Egyptian god Set, prayers to Pazuzu were intended to divert his natural inclination toward destruction to the more benevolent ends of protection. Since it was clear he had great power to harm it was thought he was equally potent in protecting one from the very danger he presented.
Carved apotropaic Amulets are also common, which combat the powers of his rival, the malicious goddess Lamashtu, who was believed to cause harm to mother and child during childbirth. She is often depicted as ushering the ill to the underworld, gnawing on the bones of her victims, and visiting terror on the defenseless. According to legend, Lamashtu was once the lover of Pazuzu. This ended when Lamashtu betrayed Pazuzu.
Once she felt she had become close enough to Pazuzu for him to be blinded by their connection, she asked Pazuzu to reveal his true name to her. She claimed that if he was as powerful as he claimed to be, revealing his true name would not threaten his power.
Pazuzu was arrogant and thought little of Lamashtu’s challenge. He told her his true name and Lamashtu turned against him immediately. She attempted to use the magic of his true name to take over his realm and render him powerless. She was not successful, but forced him to flee and go into hiding.
Pazuzu became enraged with Lamashtu and devised a plan to extract his revenge. He lured Lamashtu into the Terremor (the 503rd layer of the Abyss). He tricked Lamashtu into venturing into the tight crevices of the Terremor where her large form was a disadvantage. He allowed her to think she was in control of the outcome of the fight by simply evading her attacks instead of retaliating in defense and then dove inside her mouth as if he had been defeated.
Lamashtu thought herself victorious and began to rejoice until she felt one of her teeth being ripped from her jaw. Pazuzu reemerged and used the tooth to carve through Lamashtu’s skull and tear out her eyes. He then condemned her to an eternity in Terremor for her betrayal and resigned himself to Pazunia. Once there, he slaughtered all of his minions and changed his tactics. From that day forward, Pazuzu would not be reckless, but would be known for being one of the most cold and calculating demons in the Abyss.
It is thought that Pazuzu was willing to protect pregnant women and young children against Lamashtu because of his anger over her betrayal of his trust. Though the intent behind his benevolent acts is questionable, it may have been comforting to think that even an evil spirit was capable of doing good if it was properly honored.
Although Pazuzu is considered an evil spirit with a penchant for death and destruction, he was called upon to ward off other malicious spirits. He would protect humans against any variety of misfortune or plague. Mesopotamian peoples would cast spells and carry sacred objects to cause Pazuzu to act in their defense. The mythologies state that Pazuzu’s terrifying presence was enough to cause Lamashtu, his former lover, to flee.
Larger amulets made from stone could be hung on the wall to protect the room or an entrance. One of this type of amulet that was found inside a home in the Neo-Assyrian town of Dur-Katlimmu was lying on the floor of the main reception room and was thought to have been hung on the wall facing the entryway.
Given the volume of artifacts uncovered, it is thought that he enjoyed great popularity, and based upon the uniformity of the heads, amulets and statues, it is even speculated that Pazuzu representations were mass-produced.
A ritual text from Assyria prescribes a Pazuzu head as a way to banish sickness. Similarly a ritual incantation against Lamashtu from the Late Babylonian Period instructs making a Pazuzu necklace and hanging it around the afflicted persons neck. In the bilingual (Sumerian and Akkadian) version of the Compendia, he identifies himself:
“I am Pazuzu, son of Ḫanbu, king of the evil lilû-demons. I was enraged (in violent motion) against the strong mountains and ascended them.”
Another text also narrated by him describes Pazuzu encountering other lilû demons in his travels, and breaking their wings, therefore preventing them from inflicting harm. “I ascended a mighty mountain that shook, and the (evil) winds I encountered there were heading West; One by one I broke their wings.” In another text he is perceived as more malicious, as the narrator addresses him as “Agony of Mankind”, “Suffering of Mankind”, “Disease of Mankind”, and chants telling the demon to not enter the home.
He is imagined as an especially frightening chimera-like figure capable of scaring off any lesser demon or ghost. The appearance of Pazuzu has remained fairly uniform throughout his history. Pazuzu is depicted as a combination of diverse animal and human parts. His body canine-like but scaled, with birds’ talons for feet, two pairs of wings, a scorpion’s tail and a serpentine penis. He has his right hand up and left hand down. His face is striking, with gazelle horns, human ears, a doglike muzzle, bulging eyes, and wrinkles on the cheeks.
Pazuzu is the most famous Mesopotamian demon in the present day and likely the only one people have ever heard of. Though short on pizzazz, Pazuzu made it to Hollywood: he is the only Mesopotamian demon to have starred in a movie – The Exorcist. In the 1973 horror film (based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty), Pazuzu is the demon who possesses the Linda Blair character, the young girl Regan MacNeil, and is associated with the Christian Satan and the forces of evil.
The movie sets up this back story by opening on an excavation in progress: the screen identifies the setting as simply “Northern Iraq.” It is the site of Hatra, instantly recognizable from the columned facades of its great iwans (barrel-vaulted halls). Hatra, a magnificent city that was home to at least a dozen temples and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, certainly makes an impressive backdrop. The camera passes over Corinthian capitals and the carved head of an eagle, which evoke Greco-Roman architecture and sculpture—a more reliable indication of great antiquity for an American viewing audience, perhaps, than the mud-brick stumps of walls at most Mesopotamian sites.
The film was shot on location, with Iraqi extras playing workmen at the dig site—although the dozens of workmen swinging picks and rushing to and fro with wheelbarrows are more reminiscent of nineteenth- or early twentieth-century excavations than they are of modern, much more careful and less kinetic digs. In the opening scenes of The Exorcist he is depicted accurately in the life-sized statue the priest looks upon in the ancient city of Hatra.
The grand buildings on the screen were built by the Parthians, nomadic peoples originally from Iran who ruled the Near East from the second century B.C. to the second century A.D. The Classical design elements in Parthian architecture reflect a Near Eastern world that had been conquered by the Macedonian armies of Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C., spreading Greek influences and disrupting the unbroken chain of ruling dynasties connected to the deep cultural history of Mesopotamia. By the time of the Parthians, Pazuzu’s image was already almost out of use; only two representations of the demon can be dated to this period.
An early scene from The Exorcist shows a human-size Pazuzu statue on view at the site, and there is an uneasy expression on the face of the archaeologist-priest as he gazes at it. In the novel, the author shows the priest handling a small statue of Pazuzu, not gazing upon a large figure, and this is also accurate.
Scene from The Exorcist
Although small statuettes of the demon have been found at Hatra, no full-sized statues have ever been found anywhere and it is unlikely they ever will be. Depictions of demons or deities associated with the underworld are rare because it was thought that, in creating such an image, one attracted the attention of the subject.
Hatra ruins by User: Victrav Own work. Via Wikimedia Commons
It is for this reason that few images exist of Ereshkigal, Queen of the Dead, and why even the famous Burney Relief (popularly known as the Queen of the Night) does not explicitly name its subject even though it most likely depicts Ereshkigal: to create an image of the Queen of the Dead would have been to call her attention to one’s self and no one was especially interested in meeting her face-to-face.
The small statuettes and amuletic charms featuring Pazuzu had exactly the same effect: they drew Pazuzu’s attention to the wearer or the room where the statuette was placed but their diminutive size concentrated their power toward protection. The individual mortal would have had nothing to fear from the demon because they were honoring him by asking for his protection and, when he came, he would turn his demonic powers on those threatening his charges, not on the individual mortal who had invoked him.
These small statuettes were placed primarily in children’s rooms, naturally, but could have sat anywhere in a home near a doorway or window. Images and figures of Pazuzu served a similar function as the Nimrud Dogs, small dog statuettes buried under the threshold of a building (or strategically placed in a room) to guard against evil spirits, demons, or ghosts. The Nimrud Dogs were thought to be imbued with the spirit of actual dogs, associated with Gula, who were primarily seen as protective animals. In this same way, statuettes of Pazuzu drew on the essence of the demon himself and guaranteed one safety in their presence.
When Christians were introduced to the Sumerian myths, they created an alternative storyline. Because their religion only had one benevolent god, it was necessary to display all demon spirits as purely evil entities whose sole purpose was to corrupt those who served God. It was then that Pazuzu became known as Lucifer’s right hand man. It was said that the two conspired together to overthrow God but were unsuccessful and were thrown out of Heaven as punishment. It was through this interpretation that Pazuzu became known to be a fallen angel who had transformed into a demon. The gospels of the New Testament depict Jesus Christ routinely driving demons from various individuals and the Book of Acts, Revelation, and others describe demons in the service of God’s adversary, Satan. In the letter of I John 4:1 in the New Testament the writer admonishes his readers to test every spirit to see if it is of God, and to reject it if it is not.
Demons were thereafter considered only as agents of evil, incapable of good save only inadvertently in serving God’s overall plan. Pazuzu, an ancient Mesopotamian figure of fearsome aspect, was the perfect choice as the antagonist in The Exorcist as the audience had been primed through almost 2,000 years of instruction to accept the ancient demon-god as an instrument of evil. To the people of his day, however, Pazuzu was regarded as security and a shield against misfortunes in an uncertain and often frightening world.
Although modern day perspectives of Pazuzu may be limited through the Christian interpretation of this Sumerian demon, Pazuzu was actually seen as a very powerful and respectable demon of his time.
Pazuzu is a re-occurring figure in the fictional world of the English virtual band, Gorillaz. He often appears in the background of videos, such as graffiti of him in “Humility”, the statue of him outside the band’s Kong Studios and in the “Rhinestone Eyes” storyboard, and pictured frequently on the drummer Russel Hobbs drums.
The game House of Ashes from the Dark Pictures Anthologies by developer Supermassive Games includes many depictions of Pazuzu.
Pazuzu Algarad, born John Lawson, died of a self-inflicted wound to his arm on October 28, 2015, while in police custody. Algarad was being held on suspicion of a double murder among other criminal complaints. For more information on this WILD and very interesting true crime murder case, click here.
