15. Niccolo Paganini
Niccolo Paganini was a professional violinist. Born in 1782, his parents began sending him to lessons when he was just 5 years old. He was already giving public performances in his home city of Genoa, Italy at age 11. By age 15, he was already on a world tour. While other musical geniuses like Mozart and Beethoven were given full credit for their talent at a young age, people questions if Niccolo Paganini was actually working together with the Devil. According to some versions of the story, it was Paganini’s mother who was such a hardcore stage mom, she was the one who summoned Satan to make sure her son sold out concerts.
He was so talented, people were blown away. He did not need sheet music, because he memorized all of his songs. His fingers moved so quickly, it was almost as if his fingers were made of rubber. Modern-day scholars even believe he must have had a combination of two medical syndromes- Marfan Syndrome, which would have made his fingers abnormally long, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which would have made his skin very flexible and rubbery.
Like other child stars, fame and fortune at such a young age ruined Niccolo Paganini. At 15, he was already an alcoholic and a womanizer. As he grew older, he was very tall, thin, and his face was sunken, probably from all of the drugs and alcohol. People who watched him were mesmerized, but also a little bit scared. Some say that he had the ability to split himself into doppelgangers, and walk around the audience to gauge their reaction to his music. Others say they saw the devil help him practice, and one time, apparently, a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck his violin bow during a performance.
When he was in his 50’s, Niccolo Paganini came down with a series of serious illnesses. The doctors thought he was going to die, so a Catholic Priest came to pray over him. When Paganini saw the priest, he freaked out. He was too young to die. He told the priest to leave because he swore he was going to pull through and get better. The priest left, but Paganini did, in fact, die. In a lot of people’s minds, the fact that he pushed the priest away from his deathbed only confirmed the rumor that he was working with the Devil.