Exorcism
That there is a world of demons is a teaching of revealed religion which is perfectly clear to all who know Sacred Scripture and respect and accept its word as inspired of God. It is part of the whole Christian-Judaeo heritage. There are some who hold that even if revelation were not so absolute, an inference of the existence of evil spirits can be drawn from the magnitude of evil in the world. They say that human malice and depravity even at its worst is not sufficient to account for it, and it must be concluded that the devil is a real person and that his sway is tremendous. As Francois Mauriac writes in his life of St. Margaret of Cortona: "Evil is Someone, Someone who is multiple and whose name is legion.... It is one thing to be in the realm of the demons, as we all are when we have lost the state of grace, and quite another to be held and surrounded, literally possessed by him."
One gets the impression that the teaching about the devil's existence is not a particularly popular one in our time. C. S. Lewis in his "Screwtape Letters" says something to the effect that if the little inexperienced novice devils, about to start out on their work of seducing men, can convince men that the devil does not exist, then half the battle is already won.
The first book of the Holy Bible recounts the seduction of Adam and Eve by the Prince of Darkness; but it is to the last book that we must go for his origin. "Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels had to fight the dragon; the dragon fought, and so did his angels. But they were defeated, and a place was no longer found for them in heaven. That huge dragon, the ancient serpent, was hurled down, he who is called the devil and Satan, he who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled down to death, and his angels were hurled down with him."
Christ our Lord overcame Satan on the cross, and ever since the latter's empire is shaken. Man is delivered from the power of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of the Son. Yet the devil is not completely vanquished or trodden underfoot once for all, and the warfare against him is carried out by Christ and His Church until the end of time. Therefore, St. Paul is prompted to admonish us: "Put on all the armor that God has forged, that you may be able to make a stand against the devil's cunning tricks. Our wrestling is not against weak human nature, but against the Principalities and the Powers, against those that rule the world of darkness, the wicked spirits that belong to an order higher than ours.... With all this take up the shield of faith, with which you will be enabled to put out all the flaming arrows of the wicked enemy."
Against these unclean spirits the Church uses as her weapons prayers, blessings, holy water, and other sacramentals to combat the ordinary power that the former wield over men. But apart from this ordinary and general power that Providence allows Satan there is also a special and terrible satanic influence called possession-- the domination by the demon over man's bodily organs and his lower spiritual faculties. In later Christian times the term obsession is used instead of possession, the former connoting a lesser kind of demonic disturbance. That Christ reckoned with this satanic power in the same way that the Church has throughout her centuries is evident from the New Testament; see for example Mt 9.32-34, Lk 8.2, Mk 9.13 ff.
To be possessed can mean that Satan has gained mastery over the will so devastatingly that sinfulness passes beyond ordinary depravity in the world, and its cause must be sought in a power above the order of nature. To be possessed can mean that Satan has beclouded the intellect, so that the light of faith cannot illuminate it. To be possessed can mean that Satan has befuddled a person's reason; in fact, simple and superstitious folk have wrongly made lunacy synonymous with diabolical infestation. In some instances of possession recounted in the New Testament, molestation by the devil is manifested in various disturbances of the human body itself, where he has gained control over a man's sight, hearing, speech, or the physical organism in general.
Christ handed down to the Church the power He once exercised over demons. The early Christians were deeply influenced by what they had learned of their Master's dealing with evil spirits, and there was on their part frequent use of the charismatic gifts of healing the sick and driving out devils. But the prayers and forms used for exorcism in the first centuries have not come down to us, outside the ones used in baptism. Exorcism became part of the baptismal rite somewhere around 200 A.D. Thus the ancient liturgical records which date from the third century those dealing with baptism, give us the early Christians' belief about Satan and his intervention in the affairs of man. In the devil's hatred for God he turned on man, who is made in God's image. In consequence of original sin men are no longer temples of the Holy Spirit but rather the habitations of the demon. Not too much distinction is made between the possessed and the unbaptized. Isidore of Seville puts both on the same level, and says that exorcism is the ceremony of banishing the most wicked influence of the devil from catechumens and possessed alike.
It is difficult to fix precisely the time of origin of a special rite for exorcism. The evidence would indicate that in the early Church acts of exorcism consisted mainly in the sign of the cross, invoking the name of Jesus, and renunciations of Satan and adjurations and threats uttered against him. But later on, especially in the Latin Church, the rites of exorcism become more and more numerous, until in the highly imaginative Middle Ages there is actually a profusion of them. To this period we must attribute beliefs and practices which are superstitious to an extreme. Devils are believed to exist in the guise of certain material bodies. Demonic possession is confounded with epilepsy and other mental or psychic disorders. Rituals of this time prescribe that the subject remain in the presence of the exorcist throughout the period of exorcism, that he observe a strict fast and limit his diet to blessed water, salt, and vegetables, that he wear new clothes, that he abstain from the marital act. No less complicated are the injunctions for the exorcist. And by the time we come to the fourteenth century magical practices have been introduced into the ceremonies.
No doubt the present rite for exorcism will undergo improvement and revision along with the general revision of the liturgical books recommended by Vatican Council II. But compared to former times the rite as given in the Roman Ritual today is characterized by great sobriety. Some minds might still discern traces of a certain naivete, yet at any rate it has been purged of the unfortunate accretions of a period ruled much more by human credulity than by the unadulterated doctrine of the Church. No longer, for example, does the official text afford any grounds for the erroneous notion that diabolical possession is necessarily a divine retribution visited upon a grievous sinner. God allows this terrible evil in His wisdom without the afflicted person being necessarily at fault. It is one thing to have fallen into the slavery of sin or to be afflicted with a bodily or mental infirmity, and quite another to have the devil enter into a man and take possession of him.
The general rules for exorcism that follow are a clear indication that we have come a long way from the superstitious notions that prevailed in the era of the Middle Ages. Noteworthy among these rules are the ones that direct that the parties concerned should have recourse to the holy sacraments, and that the sacred words of Holy Writ should be employed rather than any forms devised by the exorcist or someone else. The instructions given below indicate that the Church has carefully guarded the extraordinary power over Satan committed to her by Christ, and that Catholic exorcism is poles removed from any form of dabbling in the spirit world which springs from human chicanery or malice.
Exorcism
General rules
1. A priest--one who is expressly and particularly authorized by the Ordinary--when he intends to perform an exorcism over persons tormented by the devil, must be properly distinguished for his piety, prudence, and integrity of life. He should fulfill this devout undertaking in all constancy and humility, being utterly immune to any striving for human aggrandizement, and relying, not on his own, but on the divine power. Moreover, he ought to be of mature years, and revered not alone for his office but for his moral qualities.
2. In order to exercise his ministry rightly, he should resort to a great deal more study of the matter (which has to be passed over here for the sake of brevity), by examining approved authors and cases from experience; on the other hand, let him carefully observe the few more important points enumerated here.
3. Especially, he should not believe too readily that a person is possessed by an evil spirit; but he ought to ascertain the signs by which a person possessed can be distinguished from one who is suffering from some illness, especially one of a psychological nature.[1] Signs of possession may be the following: ability to speak with some facility in a strange tongue or to understand it when spoken by another; the faculty of divulging future and hidden events; display of powers which are beyond the subject's age and natural condition; and various other indications which, when taken together as a whole, build up the evidence.
4. In order to understand these matters better, let him inquire of the person possessed, following one or the other act of exorcism, what the latter experienced in his body or soul while the exorcism was being performed, and to learn also what particular words in the form had a more intimidating effect upon the devil, so that hereafter these words may be employed with greater stress and frequency.
5. He will be on his guard against the arts and subterfuges which the evil spirits are wont to use in deceiving the exorcist. For oft times they give deceptive answers and make it difficult to understand them, so that the exorcist might tire and give up, or so it might appear that the afflicted one is in no wise possessed by the devil.
6. Once in a while, after they are already recognized, they conceal themselves and leave the body practically free from every molestation, so that the victim believes himself completely delivered. Yet the exorcist may not desist until he sees the signs of deliverance.
7. At times, moreover, the evil spirits place whatever obstacles they can in the way, so that the patient may not submit to exorcism, or they try to convince him that his affliction is a natural one. Meanwhile, during the exorcism, they cause him to fall asleep, and dangle some illusion before him, while they seclude themselves, so that the afflicted one appears to be freed.
8. Some reveal a crime which has been committed and the perpetrators thereof, as well as the means of putting an end to it. Yet the afflicted person must beware of having recourse on this account to sorcerers or necromancers or to any parties except the ministers of the Church, or of making use of any superstitious or forbidden practice.
9. Sometimes the devil will leave the possessed person in peace and even allow him to receive the holy Eucharist, to make it appear that he has departed. In fact, the arts and frauds of the evil one for deceiving a man are innumerable. For this reason the exorcist must be on his guard not to fall into this trap.
10. Therefore, he will be mindful of the words of our Lord (Mt 17.20), to the effect that there is a certain type of evil spirit who cannot be driven out except by prayer and fasting. Therefore let him avail himself of these two means above all for imploring the divine assistance in expelling demons, after the example of the holy fathers; and not only himself, but let him induce others, as far as possible, to do the same.
11. If it can be done conveniently the possessed person should be led to church or to some other sacred and worthy place, where the exorcism will be held, away from the crowd. But if the person is ill, or for any valid reason, the exorcism may take place in a private home.
12. The subject, if in good mental and physical health, should be exhorted to implore God's help, to fast, and to fortify himself by frequent reception of penance and holy communion, at the discretion of the priest. And in the course of the exorcism he should be fully recollected, with his intention fixed on God, whom he should entreat with firm faith and in all humility. And if he is all the more grievously tormented, he ought to bear this patiently, never doubting the divine assistance.
13. He ought to have a crucifix at hand or somewhere in sight. If relics of the saints are available, they are to be applied in a reverent way to the breast or the head of the person possessed (the relics must be properly and securely encased and covered). One will see to it that these sacred objects are not treated improperly or that no injury is done them by the evil spirit. However, one should not hold the holy Eucharist over the head of the person or in any way apply it to his body, owing to the danger of desecration.
14. The exorcist must not digress into senseless prattle nor ask superfluous questions or such as are prompted by curiosity, particularly if they pertain to future and hidden matters, all of which have nothing to do with his office. Instead, he will bid the unclean spirit keep silence and answer only when asked. Neither ought he to give any credence to the devil if the latter maintains that he is the spirit of some saint or of a deceased party, or even claims to be a good angel.
15. But necessary questions are, for example: the number and name of the spirits inhabiting the patient, the time when they entered into him, the cause thereof, and the like. As for all jesting, laughing, and nonsense on the part of the evil spirit-- the exorcist should prevent it or contemn it, and he will exhort the bystanders (whose number must be very limited) to pay no attention to such goings on; neither are they to put any question to the subject. Rather they should intercede for him to God in all humility and urgency.
16. Let the priest pronounce the exorcism in a commanding and authoritative voice, and at the same time with great confidence, humility, and fervor; and when he sees that the spirit is sorely vexed, then he oppresses and threatens all the more. If he notices that the person afflicted is experiencing a disturbance in some part of his body or an acute pain or a swelling appears in some part, he traces the sign of the cross over that place and sprinkles it with holy water, which he must have at hand for this purpose.
17. He will pay attention as to what words in particular cause the evil spirits to tremble, repeating them the more frequently. And when he comes to a threatening expression, he recurs to it again and again, always increasing the punishment. If he perceives that he is making progress, let him persist for two, three, four hours, and longer if he can, until victory is attained.
18. The exorcist should guard against giving or recommending any medicine to the patient, but should leave this care to physicians.
19. While performing the exorcism over a woman, he ought always to have assisting him several women of good repute, who will hold on to the person when she is harassed by the evil spirit. These assistants ought if possible to be close relatives of the subject and for the sake of decency the exorcist will avoid saying or doing anything which might prove an occasion of evil thoughts to himself or to the others.
20. During the exorcism he shall preferably employ words from Holy Writ, rather than forms of his own or of someone else. He shall, moreover, command the devil to tell whether he is detained in that body by necromancy, by evil signs or amulets; and if the one possessed has taken the latter by mouth, he should be made to vomit them; if he has them concealed on his person, he should expose them; and when discovered they must be burned. Moreover, the person should be exhorted to reveal all his temptations to the exorcist.
21. Finally, after the possessed one has been freed, let him be admonished to guard himself carefully against falling into sin, so as to afford no opportunity to the evil spirit of returning, lest the last state of that man become worse than the former.
The Truth Behind The Exorcist
The Exorcist is truly a modern-day cultural phenomenon. A best-selling novel, one of the highest grossing movies of all time, and today a household word that instantly generates dark images of uncontrollable horror, The Exorcist has fostered an underground cult following that continues to embrace—and attempts to trace—the story’s macabre origins. There have been dozens of newspaper and magazine articles that have tried to tell the “true� story. Books, television specials, and video documentaries on the subject have appeared, with the most recent offerings being the 1993 book Possessed: The True Story Of An Exorcism by Thomas B. Allen and the 1997 Henninger Media video In The Grip Of Evil. Most of the published works on this subject are poorly referenced and offer contradictory and even erroneous material. So much has been embellished and fabricated that it has become nearly impossible to differentiate fact and fiction. There is only one constant that seems to unite the biased writers who have tried to revise this story to suit their own agendas—none have ever actually talked with the possessed boy and none have ever interviewed anyone who grew up close to the family in question.
FEW PEOPLE ARE AWARE THAT there is a true story behind William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist. The best-seller and box-office smash left people thrilled and scared - telling themselves that it was only a fairytale, yet perhaps deep inside, feeling that there was some truth between the lines of the Hollywood fantasy. In fact, The Exorcist was based on the true story of the apparent possession of a 14-year-old Mt. Ranier, Maryland boy in 1949.
In more general terms, The Exorcist appealed to ancient fears and beliefs within us all. Mankind has believed in demon spirits and possession for untold thousands of years and it is only recently that psychology and science have scoffed at these archetypal beliefs. We may find that our psychologists can no more adequately explain possession than have ancient shamans and Catholic priests. Is possession a fact or superstition? Although it relegates possession to superstition, does psychology have a theory adequate to explain possession beyond simple denial by foot-stamping beration of "medieval nonsense"? Either possession is fact or fiction; it cannot be both.
[Illustration: Wire service stories from 1949 document the possession and exorcism of "Douglas Deen" upon which Blatty based his enormously successful novel, The Exorcist.]
The case upon which The Exorcist was based concerned a young boy, Douglas Deen (pseudonym), who lived in a suburb of Washington, D.C. The phenomena began with poltergeist knocking and scratching - as accurately related in The Exorcist - shortly after the death of an aunt who was close to the boy. The Deen family was Lutheran and when the phenomena became more agitated the family pastor, Reverend Winston, agreed to take the boy into his home. During the night the phenomena intensified and the boy's bed would vibrate and move across the floor. If the boy sat in a chair it would often tip itself over. Pastor Winston said that when things moved everything moves "as a unit." Bed coverings and bed would move in unison. Winston believed the case too difficult and felt the boy needed psychiatric help, so he was sent to Georgetown University Medical Center. No improvement was realized there and an appeal was made to Catholic authorities for an exorcism. The boy was moved to St. Louis where Jesuit Father William Bowdern, pastor of Collegiate Church of St. Louis, was appointed to perform the exorcism by Archbishop Ritter.
Father Bowdern has been extremely reticent to describe what took place during the exorcism but some information has come from other persons connected with the exorcism. Numerous supernormal manifestations were reported, ranging from a host taking off and flying about the room and then landing back on its silver platter to fluent use of Latin by the boy. It is also reported that the boy reduced the Father's Roman Ritual to confetti by merely touching it with his finger. The only abnormalities Father Bowdern would publicly admit were that odd markings would often appear on the boy's chest sometimes taking the form of the word "hell."
Blatty claimed that he saw Bowdern's personal diary of the case before writing The Exorcist, but when interviewed by "Newsweek" magazine Bowdern retorted to this, "I have never talked with Blatty and never will." Bowdern was very antagonistic to the attention the case was receiving following The Exorcist and told the "Newsweek" reporter, "I have lived in dread of calls from people like you. It started with the book and then the movie, and if it keeps up some fine lives are going to be ruined. The boy in the case has grown into a fine man with a lovely wife and children."
If possession is a fact not adequately explained by other theories, then we may still not know what actually does the possessing. At present, psychology denies the reality of possession yet it has no comprehensive theory to explain it. All great theories are simple in nature and when any belief-system or paradigm gets too cumbersome it is usually time for simpler theories to surface. Early twentieth century physics was a morass of confusion until Einstein took a grand step and simplified many problems in a three-letter equation, E=MC2. Psychology is in such a shambles at present. It is likely that a person going to a dozen different psychologists will get a dozen different prescriptions for his problems. This is not truth; it is speculation and a guessing game with a person's life at stake. Psychologists cannot even agree on what is a problem and what is not. Psychology involves itself in all too superficial thinking and is easily swayed by public opinion. Materialistic- oriented public opinion denies the non-material so it becomes impossible for psychology to consider a non-material explanation for possession.
To explain possession, psychologists postulate different "selves" within the person and that one can become controlled by one or another of these "selves." It is explained as a dissociation of the personality with certain aspects breaking off and forming autonomous units with a character of their own. In Possession and Exorcism T.D. Oesterreich makes an analogy to explain this dissociation theory of possession:
"The true state of things is essentially the same as when I converse mentally with someone and in imagination hear him reply, by which means a conversation may be enacted. In these circumstances the arguments of the other person may also have a character of compulsion. In the case of possession there is nothing more than an extraordinary accentuation of this phenomena... The subject loses control over a considerable number of his states, and it is this part of his personality which plays the obsessive role of a demon."
This theory, of course, does not explain phenomena such as levitation and clairvoyance which accompany some possession cases. If man has many "selves" why does he only identify with one self? Whose "will" may be motivating the other "selves"? Would the will of a separate entity possessing an aspect of the person's personality describe dissociation more adequately? If a person's will and motivation are divided up among several different selves then his "I" or self-identification should also be divided. This is not the case. The possessed feels he is doing battle with something outside himself.
THERE ARE OTHER APPARENTLY authentic cases of possession as extraordinary as the Mt. Ranier case upon which The Exorcist was based. One of these occurred in Earling, Iowa in 1928. In Robert Pelton's Confrontation With the Devil we find a direct narration of this case from Catholic priest Joseph Steiger. Steiger was present at the entire 23-day ordeal and aided Father Theophilius Riesinger who was the exorcist. In this case we have a first-hand account of real-life happenings that rival The Exorcist in their fantastic nature. We cannot determine beyond doubt that this case is true but authenticity is lent to it by the fact that Steiger relates a tale in which he does not appear in too favorable light. It seems the supposed "demon" created a negative effect in Steiger so that he was fighting exorcist Riesinger nearly as much as the demon.
At about the age of 14 the woman in question began exhibiting disturbing symptoms. She could not take communion or involve herself in church affairs without becoming agitated. Her condition became worse over the years and it was discovered she understood several languages without being schooled in them. When blessed in Latin she would fly into a rage but when non-liturgical Latin was spoken it caused no reaction. She could also unerringly discern holy water from unblessed water and was unable to eat food that had secretly been blessed by a priest. Her case came to notice of church authorities and an exorcism was approved for her at the age of 40 in 1928. Father Theophilius Riesinger asked permission to perform the exorcism at Father Steiger's parish in Earling and this was agreed to.
The woman was laid on a bed and was held down by several nuns from the adjoining convent since it was expected the subject would become violent. The woman became and remained unconscious through the first recitation of the ritual. When the second recitation began, all "hell" broke loose:
"With lightning speed the possessed dislodged herself from her bed and from the hands of her guards; and her body, carried through the air, landed high above the door of the room and clung to the wall with a tenacious grip. All present were struck with a trembling fear. Father Theophilius alone kept his peace.
"'Pull her down. She must be brought back to her place on the bed.' Real force had to be applied to her feet to bring her down from her high position on the wall.. The mystery was that she could cling to the wall at all! It was through the powers of the evil spirit, who had taken possession of her body.
"Again she was resting upon the mattress. To avoid another such feat, precautions were taken and she was held down tightly by stronger hands.
"The exorcism was resumed.. The prayers of the Church were continued. Suddenly a loud shrill voice rent the air. The noise in the room sounded as though it were far off, somewhere in a desert. Satan howled as though he had been struck over the head with a club. Like a pack of wild beasts suddenly let loose, the terrifying noises sounded aloud as they came out of the mouth of the possessed woman. Those present were struck with a terrible fear that penetrated the very marrow of their bones.
"'Silence, Satan. Keep quiet, you infamous reprobate!'
"But he continued to yell and howl as one clubbed and tortured, so that despite the closed windows the noises reverberated throughout the neighborhood.
"Awe-struck people came running from here and there: 'What is the matter? What is up? Is there someone in the convent being murdered?'"
Uncanny phenomena continued to occur. The woman could not take food and was fed intravenously, yet she continually vomited foul substances 10 to 30 times a day. The appearance of these substances ranged from "macaroni" to "tobacco leaves." Her body reportedly bloated at times until it appeared it would burst. She would also increase tremendously in weight, to such an extent that the iron legs of her bed bent to the floor. Clairvoyant abilities were also demonstrated. Pastor Steiger once hid a church relic on his person and the "demon" speaking through the woman immediately screamed for him to get the relic out of the room and related where he had it hidden.
In one incident either the "demon" caused an accident or clairvoyantly knew it had happened. Father Steiger was returning to the convent in his new car from a house call nearby. He described a "black cloud" that came between him and the road and he was caused to hit a bridge railing. When Steiger, in shaken condition, returned to the convent it was discovered that the possessed had accurately described what had happened to him and claimed credit for the accident. The "demon" said that the only reason he had not killed Steiger was because of the intervention of Steiger's patron saint, Joseph!
The pace of the exorcism quickened and Father Riesinger asked the other attendants to aid him by doing penances and fasting. Daily prayer services were held for the possessed in the church. Father Riesinger amazingly performed the last three days and nights of the exorcism non-stop without rest. He was reportedly a man of iron constitution but at completion of the exorcism had lost much weight and looked like a walking corpse.. Upon recitation of the last ritual the woman was said to have suddenly raised vertically in her bed with only her heels touching the mattress. With a sudden screaming wail she fell back in her bed and the exorcism was completed.
Phenomenal aspects are not treated at all by the dissociation theory of possession. In many cases raised welts appear on the possessed's body and may take the form of words or figures. In the Mt. Ranier case the word "hell" appeared on the boy's chest. Such phenomena are explained by psychologists as a form of autohypnotic control of the body. Some skilled hypnotists are able to cause their subjects to form welts or to cause catalepsy or insensitivity to pain. Supposed examples of autohypnosis are the cases in which Christian mystics develop bleeding stigmata. These non-healing wounds on hands and feet are said to be autohypnotically produced through the mystic's complete identification with Christ.
Gradual changes in the body such as welts and sores can be explained by autohypnosis (ignoring for the moment that we actually do not know what hypnosis is!) but instantly appearing teethmarks inflicted by supposed demons can not be explained so simply. There was such a well-documented case from the Philippines in May, 1952. The case involved an adolescent girl who was taken into police custody for vagrancy. She began behaving erratically and screaming that she was being bitten by two "things." The following is an excerpt from the prison's Official Medical Report recorded by D. Mariano Lara, Professor of Legal Medicine, University of Santo Thomas, Manila:
"I find it difficult and near impossible to accept anything of a supernatural character... Equipped with a magnifying lens and an unbelieving mind about this biting phenomena, I scrutinized carefully the exposed parts of her (Clarita Villanueva's) body, the arms, hands, and neck, to find out whether they had the biting impressions. I saw the reddish human-like bite marks on the arms... At that very instant, this girl in a semi-trance loudly screamed repeatedly.. . I saw, with my unbelieving eyes, the clear marks or impressions of human-like teeth from both the upper and lower jaws.. It was a little moist in the area bitten on the dorsal aspect of the left hand, and the teeth impressions were mostly from the form of the front or incisor teeth. Seeing these with my unbelieving eyes, yet I could not understand nor explain how they were produced as her hand had all the time been held away from the reach of her mouth...
"In full possession of her normal mind, I asked her (Clarita Villanueva) who was causing her to suffer from the bites. She answered that there are two who are alternately biting her; one big, black, hairy human-like fellow, very tall, with two sharp eyes, two sharp canine teeth, long beard like a Hindu, hairy extremities and chest, wearing a black garment, with a little whitish piece on the back resembling a hood. His feet are about three times the size of normal feet. The other fellow is a very small one about two or three feet tall allegedly also black, hairy and ugly."
Several accounts of the case also appeared in Manila's "The Daily Mirror" and "The Manila Chronicle." People were reportedly watching her at all times when the bites appeared and it was deemed impossible that she could have been biting herself. She was exorcised by a Christian evangelist in the area and reportedly had no more difficulties afterward. Interestingly, she had conversed with the evangelist in English, but after the exorcism she no longer understood a word of English and had to resort to an interpreter.
IS IT SO UNSCIENTIFIC TO POSTULATE that there may be creatures that live in an invisible dimension? Science deals with material objects, things that can be measured and physically observed. Science, in effect, is stating that what it cannot see or measure does not exist. We will never be able to physically measure a thought, yet we know that thoughts exist. The subtle can measure the coarse but the coarse cannot be used to investigate the subtle. We can "measure" the physical universe with our thoughts but we can never measure thoughts with physical matter or instruments. Thoughts are of a superior and more subtle substance than coarse physical matter such as instruments are made of. If entities and demons are formed of a more subtle substance than physical matter, we will never be able to measure or detect them with physical mechanisms. If demons exist, they may be composed of the same "substance" that thoughts are composed of and thus only detectable mentally through the effect they have on our minds and behavior.
A question that arises is that if demons are non-material how are they able to effect material changes such as levitation and causing objects to fly through the air? It would seem that an intermediary substance would be needed, a substance on the border of the material and non-material. Many phenomena similar to those in possession are found in spiritualism and are attributed to the use of "ectoplasm" by the discarnate entities involved. Ectoplasm is said to be extruded from the medium's or sitter's body during the seance. The medium temporarily puts herself under the control of these entities in a voluntary form of possession in which some identical phenomena are produced as in involuntary possession. Ectoplasm is regarded by spiritualists as a semi-material vital fluid of the body. The use of this vital fluid by the supposed discarnate entities during the seance usually proves very tiring to the medium. Dr. W.J. Crawford, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Queens University, made extensive tests concerning ectoplasm from 1917 to 1920. He discovered that there was a distinct loss of weight in all participants during a seance due to loss of ectoplasm. This average loss in a sitting was approximately ten ounces per person.
Another question that might arise in considering the demon-hypothesis is just why would a demon want to possess a person? Three potential reasons come to mind: (1) enjoyment of passions and activities though the use of the host's body; (2) an energy "rake-off"; or (3) simply a diabolical nature. If discarnate humans are the source of possessions then they may wish to experience earthly pleasures or vices that can no longer be experienced in whatever nether-world they are trapped. This could be a sort of enjoyment by proxy using someone else's body.
Occultists have always claimed that spirits are attracted by human and animal life-energy. This is the rationale behind sacrifices at magical ceremonies or pagan religious rites. This life-energy would seem to serve as a food for these spirits. When an animal is killed in a sacrifice his life-energy would be liberated.. The Jewish scholar Maimonides wrote that when his countrymen wished to communicate with their "departed ones" they would do so by digging a hole and filling it with fresh blood. After they did this the spirits would come to answer all their questions. It could be inferred that humans give off this vital energy at all times, perhaps in the form of the spiritualist' s ectoplasm. A possessing entity would be able to feed off this vital energy of the host. The loss of weight in a spiritualistic seance would tend to support this theory.
If demons are regarded as the source of possession then there is no doubt that they are diabolical in nature. In most cases they seem to represent everything conceivable that is anti-human and anti-divine. A diabolical nature is especially demonstrated in this horrifying account related in an article by James O'Donald:
"Mrs. Mary Rogers was found in her wooden cabin deep in the forests of Alaska. Police said the woman's hands were clenched to her head, her face contorted grotesquely and the cabin itself was in shambles.
"In a matter of a few months, several friends said that the woman changed from a happy mother filled with life, hopes, and dreams to a haunted and unkempt shell of a human being. The friends, who live not far from her cabin which located about 200 miles from Anchorage, said she had been possessed with powers she herself did not understand. She had also told her friends that she had met the devil and that it was he that gave her those powers.
"One friend, Brenda Breshahan, who visited the woman on one occasion shortly before her death, said she often spoke of death and afterlife. 'Whenever she mentioned the word "death," the television set went on and off of its own accord, even though the cabin lights didn't flicker.'
"Everything in the house was torn to shreds, as though a cyclone had hit it, said Magistrate Sheldo Sprecker who visited the scene after the body was discovered by the police. 'Objects were smashed and thrown about,' he said. 'No human hands could have done this.' Sprecker further stated that the coroner found no signs of brain disease or any evidence that the woman took her own life."
The possible existence of other-dimensional entities is not too far fetched an idea for science and psychology to consider. If the demon hypothesis is true then psychology will bury itself under ungainly, confusing and unworkable concept-structures in trying to deny it. If psychology can advance so as to develop a unified and verifiable theory explaining possession and its paranormal manifestations then the belief and practices of our ancestors will be rightfully relegated to history. A present psychology has not done this, and its multitude of theories and differing practices might provide us with little more assurance than the "superstitions" of the shaman and priest.
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