Hoary with frost, it was, that single, lone leaf which had fallen so far into Hell. Curious, our Demon snatched it from the air as it flew by. Aye, his taloned hand closed upon it -- and suddenly he felt gentle warmth coursing thru his body and he felt Peace, like a soft warm cloak, enfold him and he saw an ancient cathedral of mighty trees, sun-dappled, with rays of sunlight bursting thru the verdant leaves and he saw all the bright and laughing, dancing Faerie Folk, throng upon throng of them, skipping merrily thru the leaves and flying joyously upon the Aether.

Abruptly the vision ended, even as the leaf suddenly flamed and flared in his hand, instantly turning to gray ash to be swept away and lost forever upon the Abyssal wind. Then was a most bitter cry of grief and anguish torn from our Demon's lips! All too well the Grinning Demon knew his loss -- his most grevious loss! -- as the cold and pain and Emptiness of the Eighth Circle fell upon him once more. Not since The Fall had he ever felt so much. Not since The Fall had he felt:

Aye, whether by blessing or majick or something else indeed, the Grinning Demon would shed his Infernal skin forever. With a CRACK! his wings snapped open. Leaping into the sulph'rous air, he ascended swiftly from the very Pit itself, flying higher and higher as he set forth on this, his own self-imposed quest: to search the entire multiverse, to find the Faerie Folk and ultimately, to achieve his own

Thanks to a mutual friend -- Aviana, the White Faerie of TRF -- the Grinning Demon was introduced to Ryleh the Wanderer at TRF in 1999. Ben had just incorporated the furry and hooved "goat legs" which are such a trademark part of his costume the same season he met Ryleh. Few know (and fewer appreciate) what Ben really goes thru to play his Demon role. Altho he makes it appear natural and easy, walking in his "goat legs" is truly quite painful for him. All the time at faire, you see, he is actually walking ON HIS TIPTOES much like a ballerina in toeshoes. Needless to say, he does not move far nor fast at festival while taking every opportunity to sit down, rest and take a load off his feet!

In all fairness to the general public, it must be noted that Ben has a truly original, wicked and totally OUTRAGEOUS sense of humor at all times. For example, one year his Xmas card read:

Q: What do you get when you rearrange the letters of the name "SANTA"?
A: STAAN!

Then another year he brought the bare and sun-bleached backbone of some small animal to faire (Photo, Right: the object seen swinging from Ben's left hand in this photo from TRF1999). After outfitting it with a small pair of faerie wings, he sat down and very publically proceeded to "gnaw" upon the bones. It wasn't long at all before the TRF Faeries discovered him at his grim and appalling "meal". As you might well imagine, Ben managed to simultaneously outrage and offend the ENTIRE Faerie Court with that gig -- and all without saying a single word in character at any time during the day!!!

More recently, Ben has taken to shaving his head before faire -- and then having various slogans written on his bare scalp, usually by one of the many "Henna Tatoo" artists that frequent the Texas Renaissance Festival. There is no rhyme or reason for these slogans, just whatever appeals to his peculiar sense of humor at the time. His most-humorous slogan to date was quite simple. It merely read:

So Welcome to The Grinning Demon's Lair online. Look thru the photo galleries of the faires he's attended and enjoy the many portraits of Ben and his friends at play. At faire, he can usually be found either lurking around somewhere in TRF's Sherwood Forest or hanging out near Lord Entropy's Tower closer to the Main Gate. Outside of TRF, the Grinning Demon can also be found at both the Excalibur Medieval Fantasy Faire and the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. Wherever you may meet him, he will always be happy to pose for his portrait just so long as you remember: