SOURCE: "The Demons" (Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1953) by Robert Sheckley

DESCRIPTION: "Anyhow, the damage was done. Neelsebub leaned one red-scaled shoulder against the huge bottle in back of him, scratching the other shoulder with a dagger-like fingernail. As usual when perplexed, his barbed tail flicked uncertainly...Swaying slightly, he made out, through the deep mist that filled the room, a huge red-scaled monster squatting on its haunches. Beside it was what looked like a bottle, but a bottle fully ten feet high. The creature had a barbed tail and was now scratching his head with it, glaring at Arthur out of little piggish eyes." ("The Demons" by Robert Sheckley)

NOTES: Neeslebub is the great-grandson of Beelzebub. He is a devil who conjures up a human by mistake.  He wants a demon to bring him 10,000 pounds of gold (drast) or he will trap him in a bottle. The human, Arthur Gammet, must in turn conjure a real demon to help him.  The demon Arthur conjures traps Neeslebub in his own bottle, saving Arthur.

HISTORY: Sheckley uses the idea that all demons are just like us, only living on other planes. This universe-view would be used by Joss Whedon in his Angel series.