A group of undergraduates had formed the Brasenose Hell Fire Club based on the notorious High Wycome Club during the 18th century.
The north wall of the college faces one side of Brasenose Lane, than as now, a dark forbidding place at night with the ground floor windows covered in wire mesh twisted around iron bars, making it impossible to enter of leave that way.
Towards midnight in December, the Revd T.T.Churton, Vice-President and Fellow of the college was walking down the lane towards Radcliffe Square and although it was dark he could clearly see the shape of a cloaked man standing by one of the windows.
As he got closer he identified the window as belonging to the rooms occupied by the president of the Hell Fire Club. The cloaked figure seemed to be helping someone through the window, yet the Fellow knew that was impossible.
As he got closer he could see the screaming undergraduate's bloody face being divided into the exact shape of the wire mesh. Yet still the cloaked figure continued his deadly task, ignoring the panicking Fellow.
Reaching the main lodge gates he banged on them until the surprised porter let him in. As he did so both men heard screams coming from the meeting of the Hell Fire Club, the members rushing out into the quad. On entering the rooms the porter found the president dead on the floor covered in blood. Later the members admitted that they were conducting a Black Mass trying to summon up the Devil. Towards the end of the service the president burst a blood vessel and died. Yet no one could explain why he had wire mesh marks on his face,
To his dying day the Revd Churton swore he had seen the Devil that night, but he was the only senior witness and he had consumed a few glasses of vintage college port earlier.
That Edward Trafford, the President of the Brasenose Hell Fire Club did die that night and is still in college records.
From Derek Honey | 
