There's a film called 'Mr Splitfoot' where that's the name of the devil/poltergeist. The original term came from the Fox sisters, who first claimed to be able to communicate with the dead in the late 19th century. The girls convinced their parents and a huge number of others that they could communicate with the ghost, who would rap in response to questions (hence the lines 'knocks once and twice'). This led to the development of the modern-day industry of spiritualism, despite one of the girls revealing many years later that they had fabricated the sounds by clicking toe and knee joints.
The song is basically about an evil presence arriving after being called up at a seance (candle light, rolling dice etc [often in seances items like dice and balls would be 'moved' by the spirits to show their presence])
There's a film called 'Mr Splitfoot' where that's the name of the devil/poltergeist. The original term came from the Fox sisters, who first claimed to be able to communicate with the dead in the late 19th century. The girls convinced their parents and a huge number of others that they could communicate with the ghost, who would rap in response to questions (hence the lines 'knocks once and twice'). This led to the development of the modern-day industry of spiritualism, despite one of the girls revealing many years later that they had fabricated the sounds by clicking toe and knee joints.
The song is basically about an evil presence arriving after being called up at a seance (candle light, rolling dice etc [often in seances items like dice and balls would be 'moved' by the spirits to show their presence])