The Devil Tavern is a Downworld establishment in London found at No. 2 Fleet Street that caters both Downworlders and the occasional Nephilim. It is hidden by glamour and appears like a bank to mundanes on the outside.
Description[]
The pub is a half-timbered structure with great diamond-paned windows, the inside is illuminated with a red light and filled with "high, sweet, thin music, haunting and seductive." The sign of the tavern hangs over the door, depicting a man reaching to tweak the nose of a horned demon above the name of the bar lettered in lower cases—"the devil tavern."
History[]
The Devil Tavern was once a mundane haunt, until it also became a popular place among Downworlders. Concerned about the intertwining of the Shadow World with the mundane world, the Shadowhunters barred mundanes from the place by using glamour, making it appear like the tavern was knocked down and replaced by a bank.
Will Herondale used to frequent the tavern. He even claimed that he was once banned from the place by the proprietor in 1878 after starting a fight with "Six-Fingered Nigel" who apparently accosted and tried to rob him.[1] He also told his friends that the old customers of the bar were probably as degenerate as Aloysius Starkweather.[2] Jem Carstairs showed Tessa Gray the tavern one evening when she asked him about glamours and the London Institute.[1]
In 1900, James Herondale entered the tavern to get washed up after a fight with Kuri demons. The bartender and owner, Ernie, recognized James as Will's son and let him clean up in the old rooms upstairs from when they used to rent them out. James then asked Ernie if he and his friends could use the bigger room. He allowed them to do so, provided they fix it up themselves and order drinks while they were there.[3] The boys, who came to be called the Merry Thieves by one of the bartenders, Polly,[4] began to rent it out so the room would be theirs exclusively. The staff and patrons of the pub grew to welcome the regular presence of the young Shadowhunters.[5][4]
In December 1903, the night before his wedding to Cordelia Carstairs, a bachelor party was held for James. The entertainment for the event was a cabaret dancing mermaid, Claribella; which the clientele of the Tavern over-enthusiastically enjoyed.[6]
Apparently, the Merry Thieves left instructions that their room was to be kept maintained for the use of other future Shadowhunters and the staff have obliged for over a century.
As of 2014, the pub was leaning into its history as a speakeasy. Patrons now had to go through the mundane bank and mention "the Devil" to a teller to receive a salt key—which disintegrates—to be used in the elevator. The key opens a panel with a hidden button with devil horns on it that takes you to the Tavern. During this time it was briefly visited by Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn looking for clues into the ghost at Blackthorn Hall. The pair quickly left after realizing they were interrupting a retirement party for Pickles.[7]
Irregulars[]
The bar seems to have a system employing street urchin Downworlders. They run errands out of the Devil both for the establishment itself and those who frequent it.[4]
Known Irregulars:
Trivia[]
- The Devil Tavern was in fact a real place in London demolished in 1787, with a plaque commemorating it currently placed over the spot where it used to be. The one featured in the series is actually a fictional, shadow version of the real one.
- During its time as a mundane tavern, Samuel Johnson had a drinking club there.[7]
- For a brief time in the 1880s, Sherlock Holmes frequented the Devil. He befriended Ernie who constantly reassured him that the paranormal happenings of the bar could be rationally explained by science.[8]
- Pickles the kelpie once owned the northwest corner of the bar after having beat the owner Ernie in an arm-wrestling match.[9]
- A group of werewolves tried to rob the place once but were fended off by Pickles. They were found on the floor the next morning, drunk on gin.[10]
- The Devil's ownership has been passed down through family members and is currently owned by Ernie's grandson—or great-grandson—Fred. Partially because of this, the Devil's immortal clientele refuse to learn the newer bartenders' names and continues to call them all Ernie.[7]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Clockwork Angel
- ↑ Clockwork Prince
- ↑ The Devil Tavern, a Chain of Gold extra
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chain of Gold
- ↑ Cast Long Shadows
- ↑ Chain of Iron
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Secrets of Blackthorn Hall
- ↑ Shadowhunter Army November 2020 newsletter
- ↑ "He once won an arm-wrestling content with Big Ernie..." — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
- ↑ 5 Hilarious Things That Happened at the Devil Tavern — SimonTeen on YouTube