Black Mass
Preserved but no longer current.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Black Mass” mean?
This is the name given to the sacrilegious mass said by diabolists in which the Devil was invoked in place of God and various obscene rites performed in ridicule of the proper ceremony.
Is “Black Mass” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.