(CNN)At some imperceptible moment in pop culture history, the Devil became a bore.
Scenes in movies and TV that once inspired terror — cackling demons possessing the body of a young girl, dark prophecies about the number 666, preachers warning terrified congregations about “the father of lies” — now seem passé.
“Lucifer” is now a debonair nightclub owner in a Netflix series.”The Exorcist” is the subject of countless spoofs. And few modern preachers devote weekly sermons to the machinations of His Satanic Majesty.