George Lukins, also known as the Yatton daemoniac,[1][2][3] was a tailor infamous for his alleged demonic possession and the subsequent exorcism that occurred in 1788 when he was aged 44;[4] his case occasioned great controversy in England.
Joseph Easterbrook, the Anglican vicar of Temple Church, was summoned on Saturday, 31 May 1778, by Mrs. Sarah Barber, a woman who was travelling in the village of Yatton, Mendip, in the county of Somerset.
[7] The woman told the pastor that she came across a man by the name of George Lukins, a tailor and common carrier by profession,[9] who had a strange malady "in which he sang and screamed in various sounds, some of which did not resemble a human voice; and declared, doctors could do him no service.
"[10] Mrs. Barber, who formerly resided in Yatton, attested to the clergyman that Lukins had an extraordinary good character and attended services of worship, where he received the Church sacraments.
[16] The newspaper reported that George Lukins, during his alleged possession, claimed that he was the devil, made barking noises, sung an inverted Te Deum, and was very violent.
Joseph Easterbrook, accompanied George Lukins to the vestry at Temple Church, where they performed an exorcism on the man, which included hymn singing and prayer.