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Devil's trap

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“ Key of Solomon? It's the real deal, all right.[...] You get a demon in one, they're trapped. They're powerless. Like a satanic roach motel. ”
— Bobby Singer on Devil's Traps
in Devil's Trap

Devil's Traps are sigil traps for demons. Like salt or iron, demons can't escape once inside the trap. Any demon with the exception of Ramiel can easily walk into one, but can't get out unless the circle is broken, and they cannot use their powers nor break the circle directly while within it.

Usage[]

Wmplayer 2006-05-05 20-01-04-05

Meg snared in a Devil's Trap

Hunters need a roof or floor to draw this trap to catch a demon. They can use chalk, spray paint, marker, or blood[1] to draw it. Even using it as a light can be effective[2]. A Devil's Trap can also be concealed and still catch a demon. Once down, this can be used to trap any sort of demon, however Cain says it will not trap him for long. In addition, it can be used to protect something.

In the episode Devil's Trap, Sam draws it on the trunk of the Impala to protect the Colt. Another situation is in All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2, when Samuel Colt created a giant one to protect the Devil's Gate. This one was made out of pure iron railroad tracks, so a demon couldn't break it.

Devilstrapbullet

A Devil's Trap carved into a bullet.

In the episode As Time Goes By, a Devil's Trap is used in a unique way: as they are unable to kill Abaddon, Henry Winchester carves a Devil's Trap into a bullet and shoots it into the demon's head. Having a Devil's Trap in her head severely limits Abaddon's movements like a normal Devil's Trap would and binds her to the body she is possessing. As a result, when her body is chopped up and encased in cement, Abaddon is trapped and can never leave as long as the head with the bullet in it is intact. After being put back together in Clip Show however, Abaddon is able to use her severed hands to remove the bullet and escape. Abaddon herself used this method to incapacitate Crowley during King of the Damned so he couldn't interfere in her final fight with the Winchesters. As seen in Season 14's Stranger in a Strange Land, these devil's trap bullets have been adopted for regular use by Sam's new hunter network.

If a Devil's Trap is painted onto something attached to a demon, such as a pair of handcuffs, it will work as well as if they enter it.[3]

In Damaged Goods, when Abraxas is released from an Enochian Puzzle Box in his smoke form inside of a Devil's Trap, the trap kept the demon smoke contained and forced him to possess Jeff who was tied up within the trap. In this instance, the demon smoke hits a visible barrier that keeps it contained when it tries to leave the Devil's Trap.

Types[]

Variations[]

They can be weaponized in various manners, such as:

Planting the Trap[]

Dean has a Devil's Trap in on the door of his car trunk

Dean has a Devil's Trap on the door of his car trunk

Hunters draw traps on places that could easily be overlooked. Some examples include the ceiling, or underneath rugs. A veteran hunter like Bobby has a Devil's Trap in his living room near the fireplace (which is used to trap Meg). He also has one outside the panic room, and two more inside the panic room itself, one painted on the floor, and the other was soldered in the ventilation above the room. He also uses a trap on the door of his car trunk, to transport captured demons and preventing them from escaping. Linda Tran once used a Devil's Trap in a similar manner. To defeat Abaddon, Henry Winchester engraves a Devil's Trap onto a bullet and shoots it into her head. It acts as a normal Devil's Trap would with the added bonus of binding her to her vessel. Once, to capture Crowley, Dean painted a Devil's Trap on a handcuff and handcuffed the demon to himself. This worked as well as a normal Devil's Trap and Crowley was ensnared.

Weaknesses[]

A devil trap's drawings being altered

A devil trap's drawings being altered

Despite the fact that it can trap most if not all demons, its greatest weakness is that it is simply a drawing. If the drawing is in any way broken or altered, the trap will lose its power.

And although able to trap demons and strip them of their powers, it does not take away their ability to cast spells. This was demonstrated by Meg in Born Under a Bad Sign, when she used a spell to shake the house in which she was being held, thus breaking the trap that was binding her. Another demon named Casey was able to cast a spell from within, although she was unable to release herself.

Despite having one inside of her head, Abaddon was able to somehow control her severed hands to remove the bullet and thus the trap.

During the Demon Curing Ritual, as the demon becomes more human, they become less and less susceptible to the trap to the point that they can eventually just walk right out without breaking it even before becoming fully human unless they are properly restrained.

Cain proved to be so powerful that while a devil's trap was able to confine him, he stated it wouldn't hold him for long and he could still use his superhuman strength and telekinesis inside the trap.

Lilith, too, was able to use telekinesis to remove a devil's trap bullet from inside her vessel's forehead.

Devil's traps had even less effect on Ramiel, who continued to move normally after being shot at several times with bullets containing the symbol, and then even walked over a devil's trap that had been painted on the floor of his house.

Ruby was also able to escape a Devil's Trap through some unknown method after Dean trapped her in one.

While a devil's trap bullet can bind a demon indefinitely, they can also remove the bullet themselves and escape if they aren't killed or further disabled afterwards. Lilith, however, was able to use telekinesis to push it out of her vessel's head and free herself.

Appearances[]

Supernatural[]

The Winchesters[]

Trivia[]

  • After season 2's finale, we see more Devil's Trap being used due to the increased amount of demons.
  • It appears that no matter how powerful the demon, a Devil's Trap still affects them as Crowley, even after becoming the King of Hell is still bound by them, as were Abaddon and Dean, both Knights of Hell. Cain was bound as well but retained telekinesis and superhuman strength as a result of his great power. However, his other powers seemed to be bound. Likewise both Lilith and Azazel implied Devil's Traps could catch them and did their best to avoid them, but Lilith also demonstrated she could use telekinesis to escape a devil's trap bullet. The only demon truly immune to a Devil's Trap is Ramiel who was unaffected by Devil's Trap bullets and walked over a Devil's Trap painted on the floor.
  • As of Sacrifice, Devil's Traps have appeared the most amount of times in Season 9 and at least once per season.
  • In season 8, Sam and Dean seem to get more creative and smarter with their use of Devil's Traps. Unable to kill Abaddon, they use a Devil's Trap engraved bullet to bind her so they can entomb her. Later, Dean uses a pair of handcuffs with a small Devil's Trap painted on them to capture Crowley. Possibly learning from Abaddon's escape, even when Crowley is bound in a Devil's Trap on the ground, Sam and Dean leave the handcuffs on, which turns out to be wise as Abaddon breaks the trap and the handcuffs prevent Crowley's escape until Sam can fix the trap.
  • Since using a Devil's Trap bullet to defeat Abaddon, Sam and Dean have apparently started using them against other demons as well as when confronted by Abaddon once again and three other demons, Sam, Dean and two other hunters arm themselves with the bullets to use against them.
  • Abaddon learned the devil's trap bullet trick and used it on Crowley to keep him from helping the Winchesters fight her. It did nothing to save her but was ironic as it was the same trick used to immobilize her.
  • In all of his appearances in season 9 (excluding two), Crowley was affected by a devil's trap in someway.
  • In season 9, besides a brief use against "Snooki," and Del (through a pair of handcuffs) Crowley was the only demon affected by a devil's trap unlike other seasons.
  • Sam and Dean have both been restrained by a devil's trap and both have broken free. However, Sam was possessed by Meg while Dean had been turned into a demon himself. Meg, possessing Sam, escaped using the Terrakinesis Spell while Dean was rendered immune to a devil's trap by his returning humanity from the Demon Curing Ritual.
  • Azazel is the only major demon not to be affected by a devil's trap in some way. He was only affected indirectly once by them, not being able to cross the one surrounding the Devil's Gate until it was broken. All the other major demonic characters on the show have been trapped at least once in a trap including Meg, Crowley, Ruby, Abaddon, Cain and Lilith, with Lilith having only been affected by a devil’s trap bullet.
  • Crowley has twice been affected by devil's trap bullets: shot once by Abaddon and once by Sam. He removed the bullet the first time with a knife and the second time with his hands while pretending to be affected by Defigere Et Depurgare.
  • When summoning Crossroad Demons, the Winchesters tend to paint devil's traps in the middle of the crossroads they summon them at as seen with the demon in Taxi Driver, "Snooki" in Blade Runners and Dar in Soul Survivor. This ensures that the Crossroad Demon that appears is immediately trapped. This is a more recent innovation as when Dean first summoned his Crossroad Demon, he had to lure her into a devil's trap he had painted elsewhere.
  • In Damaged Goods, Lucifer's former vessel Nick uses a devil's trap to hold Abraxas' Friend and then later Abraxas. According to Nick, while he's not a hunter, he's picked up a few tricks from the Winchesters, including the use of devil's traps.
  • Abraxas is the final demon in the series to be stuck inside a devil's trap.
  • The online flash game Supernatural: Devil's Gate consists completely of shooting on the most devil's trap symbols on the screen in the shortest amount of time possible.

See Also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Caged Heat
  2. ↑ Weekend at Bobby's
  3. ↑ Sacrifice
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