In 1676 A.D., a nun who claims she was “possessed” wrote a message she claimed came from The Devil. However, nobody could read it because it was written in cryptic symbols that nobody knew how to translate. 340 years later, in 2017, a team of computer scientists based at the LUDUM Science Center in Catania, Italy, managed to unravel the mystery. They used a decryption program which they found on the dark web.
“The scientists thought Sister Maria had perhaps created the code using a blend of existing alphabets. And thanks to her years of exposure to religious scripture, the nun had been a skilled linguist with knowledge of both ancient and modern languages. So it was that the experts’ theory proved to be right.”
A lot of it was just incoherent babbling. But some of the sentences formed specific thoughts. Evidently, IF she had written or spoken those words in plain language, she would have been accused of heresy and quite possibly burned at the stake. Now that they know what the letter said, using an understanding of modern psychiatric medicine, mental health professionals have written Sister Maria off as a schizophrenic. It wasn't The Devil's handwriting, it was her own.
This article (referenced below) is fascinating reading. For some reason, after finishing the detailed account of Sister Maria, the article writer decided that, for contrast and comparison, the story of Saint Bernadette, should be told as the conclusion of the matter.
Bernadette was a teenage girl who claims to have had visions of the “Immaculate Conception”, i.e. Mary, the mother of Jesus. The article writer seemed to think that Bernadette's story was much more intriguing than that of Sister Maria.
Bernadette was not highly educated, her reading and writing skills were poor, and on top of that she suffered from poor health. Both Maria and Bernadette took refuge in a convent and became nuns. However, there are no modern scientific explanations attributed to miracles that resulted from Bernadette's “visions”; and the young girl never claimed to be demon possessed. So unlike Sister Maria, she was canonized as a saint.
REFERENCE: “In 1676 A Possessed Nun Wrote A Message From The Devil. Now The Spooky Letter Has Been Translated | Scientific Mirror” By Richard Arghiris, Nov 16 2021.
NOTE: This content also appears on Noise.Cash.
Nowadays we would likely write it off immediately. But back then people believed in a lot of hooey. Some people still do, of course. But they are fewer and farther between.