The Devil and Tony Levett

People sometimes ask where authors, especially horror authors, get their ideas for stories. The answer, at least for me, is everywhere. I constantly see things that catch my attention. Some of them are minor and have nothing dark in their nature, but they spark that little voice that says, “What if?”

What if?

Then, there are stories like the one of Tony Levett, a mystery steeped in sinister overtones. Though we may never know the truth behind what happened, this story begs for further investigation and perhaps, a bit of creative embellishment that would expand on what little is known about his final days and subsequent death.

By all accounts, 42-year-old Tony Levett of South Yorkshire was a nice man. He was known to be honorable, credible, and gregarious by all who encountered him. So, it was a surprise when he began acting far differently in early September 2007.

On September 1st, he seemed confused and anxious to his fiancée, Jean Thompson. Because this was so out of character for Tony, she called for an ambulance and had him taken to the hospital. During the journey, he become violent and attacked the ambulance staff. It is unclear whether Tony ever made it to the hospital or was released due to his volatile behavior, but the following morning he was back with Jean and in no better state than he had been the day before.

It would have been, without a doubt, bewildering for her to have Tony go from his usual upbeat, kind demeanor to being so belligerent. Even more out of character, he had become violent and she must have feared he might attack her as he had the medics who had attempted to help him the day before. She was rightfully concerned about Tony's behavior and her own well-being.

Without warning, Tony grabbed Jean by the throat and shouted at her, “You don’t know me. I am the Devil!” With that, he released her and stormed out, where he apparently made his way to a nearby railway bridge and jumped to the railway line below.

But this didn't kill him.

Though no train arrived as Tony lay on the tracks, the fall itself had done significant physical damage and he lay there in pain until someone reported the situation to the police. Officers rushed out to the scene in order to prevent what was already a bad situation from getting worse.

Police Constable David Simpson couldn't believe what he was seeing when he arrived at the scene. Tony was still alive but badly hurt. Paramedics were called to assist while he attempted to render what little assistance and comfort he could provide to the broken and bleeding man. His last words to the constable before being taken away for medical attention were, “I am the Devil and we are going to all die today.”

Fortunately for everyone else, but not so much for Tony, he was half right. He died very soon after his arrival at the hospital, where they were unable to save him due to his massive injuries.

I’ve not been able to find any further information on the postmortem findings, so full details of his death or anything further he might have said to hospital personnel are not available. It is not known whether an autopsy was done to determine if he had any visible abnormalities that might have caused his sudden change in personality.

Whether the Devil actually possessed Tony, he experienced some sort of neurological event, or just had extremely cold feet about getting married may never be known. What is known is that Tony had a demon he couldn’t shake, be it real or imagined.