Demonic possession

Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the spirit possession of an individual by a malevolent preternatural being, commonly known as a demon. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions (i.e. epileptic seizures or “fits”) and fainting as if one were dying.^[1] Other descriptions include access to hidden knowledge (gnosis) and foreign languages (xenoglossy), drastic changes in vocal intonation and facial structure, the sudden appearance of injuries (scratches, bite marks) or lesions, and superhuman strength. Unlike in channeling, the subject has no control over the possessing entity and so it will persist until forced to leave the victim, usually through a form of exorcism.

Many cultures and religions contain some concept of demonic possession, but the details vary considerably. The oldest references to demonic possession are from the Sumerians, who believed that all diseases of the body and mind were caused by "sickness demons" called gidim or gid-dim.^[2] The priests who practised exorcisms in these nations were called ashipu (sorcerer) as opposed to an asu (physician) who applied bandages and salves.^[3] Many cuneiform clay tablets contain prayers to certain gods asking for protection from demons, while others ask the gods to expel the demons that have invaded their bodies.

Shamanic cultures also believe in demon possession and shamans perform exorcisms. In these cultures, diseases are often attributed to the presence of a vengeful spirit (or loosely termed demon) in the body of the patient. These spirits are more often the spectres of animals or people wronged by the bearer, the exorcism rites usually consisting of respectful offerings or sacrificial offerings.

Christianity holds that possession derives from the Devil, i.e. Satan, or one of his lesser demons. In many Christian belief systems, Satan and his demons are actually fallen angels.^[4]

Bible accounts

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:^[5]

"In the Old Testament, we have only one instance, and even that is not very certain. We are told that "an evil spirit from the Lord troubled" Saul ( 1 Samuel 16:14). The Hebrew rûah need not imply a personal influence, though, if we may judge from Josephus (Ant. Jud., VI, viii, 2; ii, 2), the Jews were inclined to give the word that meaning in this very case. In New Testament times, however, the phenomenon had become very common." However, the Old Testament does contain numerous references to evil spirits, often interacting in malevolent ways with people.^[6]

The New Testament mentions several episodes in which Jesus drove out demons from persons:

• Matthew 4:23-25: Demon-possessed persons are healed by Jesus (also Luke 6:17-19).
• Matthew 7:21-23: Many will drive out demons in Jesus' name (also Mark 16:17; Luke 10:17; Acts 5:16; 8:7).
• Matthew 8:14-17: Jesus healed many demon-possessed (also Mark 1:29-39; Luke 4:33-41).
• Matthew 8:28-34: Jesus sent a herd of demons from two men into a herd of pigs ("about two thousand" pigs, according to the account at Mark 5:1-20; both Mark's account and Luke 8:26-39, mention only the one man).
• Matthew 9:32-34: Jesus made a demon-possessed mute man speak, the Pharisees said it was by the power of Beelzebub (also Mark 3:20-22).
• Matthew 10:1-8: The Twelve Apostles given the authority to drive out evil spirits (also Mark 3:15; 6:7; 6:13; Luke 9:1; 10:17).
• Matthew 11:16-19: "this generation" said that John the Baptist was possessed by a demon (also Luke 7:31-35).
• Matthew 12:22-32: Jesus healed a demon-possessed blind and dumb man (also Luke 11:14-23; Mark 3:20-30).
• Matthew 12:43-45: Jesus told an allegory of nasty spirits coming back home, that is, to the human body where they have lived before (also Luke 11:24-26).
• Matthew 15:21-28: Jesus expelled a demon from the body of the daughter of a Canaanite woman (also Mark 7:24-30).
• Matthew 17:14-21: Jesus healed a boy by driving out a demon from him (also Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-49).
• Mark 1:21-28: Jesus expelled an unclean spirit from a man (also Luke 4:31-37).
• Mark 9:38-40: A non-Christian is seen driving out demons in Jesus' name (also Luke 9:49-50).
• Mark 16:9: Jesus had driven seven demons out of Mary Magdalene (also Luke 8:2).
• Luke 7:21: Many people are cleansed from evil spirits by Jesus.
• Luke 13:10-17: Jesus expelled a spirit of disease from the body of a woman on the Sabbath.
• Luke 13:31-32: Jesus continued to cast out demons even though Herod Antipas wanted to kill him.
• Luke 22:3: Satan entered into Judas Iscariot (also John 13:27).
• John 7:20: A "crowd of Jews" that wanted to kill Jesus said he was demon-possessed.
• John 8:48-52: "The Jews" said Jesus was a Samaritan and demon-possessed.
• John 10:20-21: Many Jews said Jesus was raving mad and demon-possessed, others said he was not.
• Acts 5:3: Satan filled the heart of Ananias.
• Acts 5:16: The Apostles healed those tormented by evil spirits.
• Acts 8:6-8: At the teaching of Philip the Evangelist in Samaria, evil spirits came out of many.
• Acts 8:18-19: Simon Magus offered to buy the power of Laying on of hands.
• Acts 10:38: St. Peter said Jesus healed all who were under the power of the Devil.
• Acts 16:16-24: Paul and Silas were imprisoned for driving a future-telling spirit out of a slave girl.
• Acts 19:11-12: Handkerchiefs and aprons touched by Paul cured illness and drove out evil spirits.
• Acts 19:13-20: Seven sons of Sceva attempted to drive out evil spirits by saying: "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." But because they did not have faith in Jesus, they were unsuccessful and were actually driven from that house by the possessed.
• Revelation 18:2: The Whore of Babylon is a home for demons, evil spirits and unclean birds.

Acts of the Apostles also contains a number of references to people coming under the influence of the Holy Spirit ( 1:8, 2:4, 2:17-18, 2:38, 4:8, 4:31, 6:3-5, 7:55, 8:15-19, 8:39, 9:17, 10:19, 11:12-16, 11:28, 13:9, 16:6-7, 19:2-6, 20:23, 21:11, 23:8-9) which is believed to be a good thing (see Baptism with the Holy Spirit) in contrast to demonic influence.

The 1902 work Demonic possession in the New Testament by Rev. William Menzies Alexander attempted to explain accounts of possession in the Synoptic Gospels, outlining their historical, medical and theological aspects.^[7]

Christianity

Catholic exorcists differentiate between "ordinary" Satanic/demonic activity or influence (mundane everyday temptations) and "extraordinary" Satanic/demonic activity, which can take six different forms, ranging from complete control by Satan or some demon(s) to voluntary submission:^[8]

1. Possession, in which Satan or some demon(s) takes full possession of a person's body without their knowledge or consent, so the victim is therefore morally blameless.
2. Obsession, which includes sudden attacks of irrationally obsessive thoughts, usually culminating in suicidal ideation, and typically influences dreams.
3. Oppression, in which there is no loss of consciousness or involuntary action, such as in the biblical Book of Job in which Job was tormented by a series of misfortunes in business, family, and health.
4. External physical pain caused by Satan or some demon(s).
5. Infestation, which affects houses, things, or animals; and
6. Subjugation, in which a person voluntarily submits to Satan or some demon(s).

In Hostage to the Devil, Malachi Martin also mentions a type of demonic attack called "familiarization". He writes:

True demonic or satanic possession has been characterized since the Middle Ages, in the Roman Ritual, by the following four typical characteristics:^[10][11][12]

1. Manifestation of superhuman strength.
2. Speaking in tongues or languages that the victim cannot know.
3. Revelation of knowledge, distant or hidden, that the victim cannot know.
4. Blasphemous rage and an aversion to holy symbols or relics.

The Bible indicates that people can be possessed by demons but that the demons respond to Jesus's authority:

It also indicates that demons can possess animals as in the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac:

The literal view of demonization is held by a number of Christian denominations. Official Catholic doctrine affirms that demonic possession can occur as distinguished from mental illness, but stresses that cases of mental illness should not be misdiagnosed as demonic influence. Catholic exorcisms can occur only under the authority of a bishop and in accordance with strict rules; a simple exorcism also occurs during Baptism (CCC 1673). In charismatic Christianity, deliverance ministries are activities carried out by individuals or groups aimed at solving problems related to demons and spirits, especially possession of the body and soul, but not the spirit as ministries like Ellel Ministries International, Don Dickerman Ministries and Neil T. Anderson explicitly teach that a Christian can not have demons in their spirit because the Holy Spirit lives there, though they can have demons in their body or soul due to inner emotional wounds, sexual abuse, satanic ritual abuse.^[15] This is usually known as partial possession or demonic infestation, as opposed to outside demonic oppression which does not reside in any of the 3 parts of a person: body, soul, spirit.

A great deal of controversy surrounds the book War on the Saints by Jessie Penn-Lewis published in 1912 as a resource to the Christian faced with combating demon influences.

In the New Testament Jesus is reported to have encountered people who were demonized and to have driven the "evil spirits" out of these demoniacs. In the 4th century, Saint Hilary of Poitiers asserted that demons entered the bodies of humans to use them as if they were theirs, and also proposed that the same could happen with animals.

The New Testament's description of people who had evil spirits includes a capacity for hidden knowledge (e.g., future events, innermost thoughts of the people around them) (Acts 16:16) and great strength (Act 19:16), among others, and shows those with evil spirits can speak of Christ (Acts 19:16, Mark 3:11). According to Catholic theologians, demonic assault can be involuntary^[8] and allowed by God to test a person (for more details about God's tests on persons see Job). Involuntary demonic assault, according to these theologians, cannot be denied because this would imply the negation of the cases mentioned in the New Testament (12, some of them repeated in more than one Gospel). However, in the overwhelming majority of cases of alleged demonic possession in modern times, the victim can suffer due to any of a number of personal initiatives: occult practices, mortal sin, loss of faith, or psychological trauma, among others. Furthermore, Malachi Martin goes as far as to say "...no person can be Possessed without some degree of cooperation on his or her part," and "The effective cause of Possession is the voluntary collaboration of an individual, through his faculties of mind and will, with one or more of those bodiless, genderless creatures called demons."^[16]

In previous centuries, the Christian church offered suggestions on safeguarding one’s home. Suggestions ranged from dousing a household with Holy water, placing wax and herbs on thresholds to “ward off witches occult,” and avoiding certain areas of townships known to be frequented by witches and Devil worshippers after dark.^[17][18]

T. B. Joshua, a Nigerian pastor, has one of the most prominent 'deliverance' ministries, releasing hundreds of videos on YouTube and his Christian television station, Emmanuel TV, purporting to show individuals being 'delivered' from apparent 'demonic possession'.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, a demon can either be a soul suffering in the hell realm,^[19] or alternatively, it could be a delusion.^[20]

Practitioner will go to the local Buddhist healer for treatment. The healer will commonly take their pulse and urine while offering counsel - the aim being to divine the origins of the patient's suffering. In the case possession they may use medications, like sleeping pills, to take care of the symptoms. They will also prescribe actions to appease the demon, like giving away food and clothing in its name.^[21] Afterward, it is believed that the demon will depart to a different realm.^[22]

Medicine and psychology

Demonic possession is not a valid psychiatric or medical diagnosis recognized by either the DSM-5 or the ICD-10. Those who profess a belief in demonic possession have sometimes ascribed to possession the symptoms associated with physical or mental illnesses, such as hysteria, mania, psychosis, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia, conversion disorder or dissociative identity disorder.^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]}

Additionally, there is a form of monomania called demonomania or demonopathy in which the patient believes that he or she is possessed by one or more demons.^[29]

Notable cases

In chronological order:

• Aix-en-Provence possessions
• Loudun possessions
• Dorothy Talbye trial
• Louviers possessions
• The Possession of Elizabeth Knapp^[30]
• George Lukins
• Antoine Gay
• Johann Blumhardt
• Clara Germana Cele
• Exorcism of Roland Doe ("Robbie Mannheim")
• Michael Taylor (Ossett)
• Anneliese Michel

In fiction

The 1973 film, The Exorcist, is based on the book of the same name and portrays a fictional case of demonic possession loosely inspired by the case of "Robbie Mannheim".

Demonic possession is an important element in the Evil Dead film series, the first of which was released in 1981. In the films, possessed people take on a zombie-like appearance.

The 1995 US soap opera, Days of Our Lives, featured the character Dr. Marlena Evans, played by Deidre Hall, in a demonic possession storyline.

Demonic possession is a common theme in the American TV series Supernatural, which was first broadcast in 2005.

In the 2006 film 5ive Girls, several characters are possessed by the demonic spirit named Legion.

In the 2007 Spanish horror film series REC, people (and animals) become infected with a contagious demonic virus. The outbreak started with the possession of a Portuguese young girl, Tristana Medeiros.

Several characters are possessed by a demonic spirit named Toby in the Paranormal Activity series. Katie is possessed and kills her boyfriend Micah in Paranormal Activity. Kristi (Katie's sister) is briefly possessed and is successfully exorcised by her husband Daniel, but both are killed by a possessed Katie who then kidnaps their son Hunter in Paranormal Activity 2. Toby takes over Katie (as a child) at the end of Paranormal Activity 3. Katie reappears and the demon still is in her in Paranormal Activity 4.

See also

• Body hopping
• Catatonia
• Culture-bound syndrome
• Death of Elisa Lam
• Demonology
• List of exorcists
• The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

Notes

Further reading

• Forcén, Carlos Espí; Forcén, Fernando Espí. (2014). Demonic Possessions and Mental Illness: Discussion of Selected Cases in Late Medieval Hagiographical Literature. Early Science and Medicine 19: 258-79.
• McNamara, Patrick, (2011). Spirit Possession and Exorcism: History, Psychology, and Neurobiology. 2 volumes, Praeger. Santa Barbara, California.
• Westerink, Herman. (2014). Demonic Possession and the Historical Construction of Melancholy and Hysteria. History of Psychiatry 25: 335-349.

External links

• "Demonical Possession"Catholic Encyclopedia
• Andrew Lang, Demoniacal Possession, The Making of Religion, (Chapter VII), Longmans, Green, and C°, London, New York and Bombay, 1900, pp. 128–146.
• Definition Of Demonic Possession