Modern Day Exorcism in an Increasingly Frightening World
TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual abuse, mental illness
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Does Modern Day Exorcism Really Have a Place in Society?
No. The answer is no. Shortest blog post ever. Thank you for reading.
And yet it’s not that simple, sadly. Sigh.
For some, exorcism seems the only answer to help someone who appears to have been possessed by an evil force. Even in 2023! As if this is still a thing. Out-dated religions once more collide with modern day science to create a clusterfuck.
A Brief History of Exorcism
Most people will know what exorcism is, not because it’s been a part of their history, but because of popular culture. Modern day exorcism has mainly been relegated to film in the western world. Thankfully. However, that isn’t the case everywhere, especially in places where religion has a choke hold on societies… like parts of America, for example.
Protect our unborn phoetuses… wait until they’re born as actual babies and then shoot them in the face like a decent Christian.
Or Russia spouting rhetoric that nuclear war is the most probably outcome of the Ukraine invasion:
As martyrs, we will go to heaven and they will just croak, because they won’t even have time to repent. Good old Vlad.
And before anyone jumps down my throat, a recent poll showed that around 50% of Americans believe that demon possession is real. Not only that, belief in the devil is rising and the catholic church is frantically training priests to perform exorcisms to keep up with the demand in reported cases of possession.
I can’t believe I just typed that. IT’S 2023! FFS [shakes head] What next? Bring back witch trials? I truly believe we are in the depths of the second coming of the Dark Age. Overload of information and lack of discernment has led to a complete regression of progressive thought. I suspect that the increase in rights for gay and trans people has, at least in part, led to panic from the religious alt-right. Which just shows what dark and horrible creatures human beings can be. That and increased interest in older religions such as paganism, and the rise in members of the Church of Satan (who are not religious in any way, by the way). Whatever the reason, exorcisms aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Sadly.
What Does Modern Day Exorcism Involve?
The ritual itself seems laughable. The rite of exorcism is carried out by casting holy water onto the afflicted*. After that, the priest kneels and recites the litany of the saints and reads some scriptures. The priest then tells the demon that it’s being naughty and must follow the rules:
- To reveal themselves
- To give their name
- To leave when told to
Apparently, the demon then has no option but to leave because the priest has the permission of God and Jesus (aren’t they the same thing?). And how exactly are we getting this permission? Is it a note? Like when your Mum says you don’t have to do PE?
It ends with the priest calling on the devil directly.
“I cast you out, unclean spirit, along with every Satanic power of the enemy, every spectre from hell, and all your fell companions.”
It’s all so nuts, I can’t even…
With People like this, who needs demons?
I have a very awkward relationship with religion. As a militant atheist, I’ve tried being unbothered by it. But the bizarre rhetoric that comes from all-consuming religious belief and not enough scientific understanding is genuinely one of the most terrifying threats to humanity in 2023.
Exorcism is another layer of stigma towards mental illness and otherness. The more we study the mind, the more we understand the fascinating impact that mental illness can have on the physical body. Superhuman strength, contortions and sudden, violent aggression can all be attributed to diseases of the mind.
To this day, people suffering from this kind of affliction could be written off as “possessed”. And dangers of that are myriad. Untreated mental illness can lead to an increase in violent behaviours that endanger the lives of those around the sufferer. And the person suffering with the disease will not receive the treatment they need to improve, which could be disastrous. If the illness is being caused by an infection such as encephalitis, for example, it can be life threatening.
Writing the more shocking cases of mental illness off as possession also delays breakthroughs in medical science. When scientific study is replaced by religious ritual, we are holding the human race back from what it is capable of.
Let’s Get Spiritual
The practice of exorcism has a long and complex history that spans many cultures and religious traditions. The roots of exorcism can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia, where rituals were performed to drive out evil spirits believed to be causing illness or other problems. Babylonian priests performed exorcisms by casting wax effigies of demons into fire.
The Hindu Vedas mention supernatural entities called Asuras, that we can reliably assume were demons. These Asuras would challenge the official gods and sabotage human life.
In many ancient cultures, the concept of demonic possession and the need for exorcism were prevalent. For the ancient Greeks, demon-like creatures lurked on the shadowy fringes of our world, ready to take control and dement living souls.
However, it was in the Judeo-Christian tradition that the practice of exorcism became more formalised and institutionalised. Rome, the mothership of Catholicism, became the lifesaver for those in torment. In essence, it was clever marketing. A specialist job for a very special priest only. The only way to be saved from possession is at the mercy of the Catholic church.
This Paved the Way For Modern Day Exorcism
In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, there are several accounts of Jesus and his disciples performing exorcisms. The Catholic Church, which traces its roots back to the apostles and their successors, has continued the practice of exorcism throughout its history. There are strict formal guidelines and protocols for performing the ritual.
During the Middle Ages, exorcism became more widespread in Europe, particularly in response to the widespread belief in witchcraft and demonic possession. The Catholic Church played a significant role in this period, of course, with trained exorcists often working alongside secular authorities to investigate and punish suspected witches and other supposed agents of the devil.
In more recent times, the practice of exorcism has continued to evolve and adapt to changing cultural and social contexts. While it remains an important ritual in many religious traditions, its use and acceptance vary widely across cultures and regions, and its efficacy and safety continue to be the subject of debate and scrutiny. And for good reason.
CAN EXORCISM BE A POSITIVE THING?
This may surprise people, but despite being an unshakeable atheist, I am all for prayer. I don’t believe that there’s anyone listening, of course. But like affirmations, I believe that prayer can help people to self soothe. It can act as a pseudo therapist by letting you voice concerns and pose solutions. And it can cement your course of action and keep you focussed.
I do not, however, think that it’s acceptable to believe that God helped you find your car keys, but didn’t bother to stop a Catholic priest from raping a child. And if by some small miracle that is the actual state of affairs, then fuck that God and fuck him hard. In the arse. I mean, God forgives sinners all their sins just because they believe in him… Satan punishes the wicked. I don’t know about you, but in this hypothetical scenario, it would seem that Satan has the moral upper hand.
In a similar vein to believing that prayer can be a tool for soothing and focussing your mind, there is something to be said about exorcism for soothing disquiet in those that are hard line religious.
The Modern Day Exorcism of Louisa Muscovits
Let’s look at the case of Louisa Muskovits. In March of 2016, Louisa was having a session with her alcohol dependency counsellor when she started having a panic attack. She had just separated from her husband and when she said she didn’t want to talk about it, the counsellor pushed her. Louisa started to hyperventilate, so the counsellor rushed off to fetch her therapist.
However, things went from bad to worse when Louisa, normally friendly and cooperative, started to scream and snarl. Her head began to flail from side to side and her body moved in seemingly unnatural contortions. A voice from deep within the poor woman’s throat snarled about good and evil and asserted that nobody could “save Louisa”. What made this scary scene even more terrifying is that Louisa would occasionally return to her normal demeanour, at which point she would beg for help, before returning to snapping and snarling and baring her teeth like a wild animal.
It definitely had this appearance where she was fighting within herself – Louisa’s therapist, Amy Harp, told The Atlantic.
Harp was, however, aware that Louisa often had episodes like this where she felt a “dark force” come over her. And she knew that Louisa would self soothe by reading the bible. So she told Louisa to get her phone out and read some scriptures, which Louisa did. This calmed the distressed woman and then she was sick in a bin and went back to being her normal self.
The Overwhelming Stress of Louisa Muskovits
Right… this woman is ill. You’re telling me that the devil can possess someone, but also would allow that person to get their modern piece of technology out and read parts of the bible? I feel like what’s happened here is panic from the counsellor, followed by increasing panic by Louisa, followed by panic from the therapist and suddenly everyone is in fight or flight mode and everything that happened was enhanced by the adrenaline and then confirmed by everyone involved, which has made the whole thing seem a lot more unnatural than it actually was.
Louisa was in a stressed situation; she was going through a bad breakup and didn’t have access to her choice of self-medication – alcohol. Withdrawal from alcohol itself can cause seizures, and compound that with mental illness and a difficult situation, you’ve got yourself a breakdown there. The woman had a breakdown. She was not possessed by demonic forces and she should have had stable, non-religious support to help her recover.
There’s so much antiquated attitude here. Old belief systems would see throwing up as a sign of expelling something dark within us. While that can be the case, it can also very much be other things – adrenaline, for example. Or just a bad gag reflex. I’m sick all the time – I nearly vommed walking past a shitting dog the other day. It’s making me gip now just thinking about it! However, even if those that are supposedly possessed were expelling something, surely an evil spirit possesses the mind and not the stomach, so what good would vomiting do?
Sleep Paralysis Myths
Louisa Muskovits’ feeling of a dark force hadn’t started in 2018 with this therapy session. Louisa had had a difficult pregnancy in 2006, requiring an emergency C-Section. Shortly after returning home, she awoke to find that she was completely paralysed with the feeling of something evil sitting on her chest.
OK, this is scary. However, I get this all the time, with my many sleep disorders. It’s sleep paralysis. It’s when you wake up before your body has had time to release you from the paralysis it puts you into so you don’t wander off in your sleep. It’s very frightening, but it’s fairly common. And it’s usually accompanied by night terrors, where you see your nightmares actually in the room with you. Awful. Talking about sleep paralysis also increases the chances of it happening. And worrying doesn’t help. So that’s my sleep buggered tonight.
In addition, the chances of sleep paralysis are very much increased with painkillers. Opiates scramble your brain enough for you to hallucinate when you’re awake too. Couple that with exhaustion and an actual open wound (probably some PTSD in there too) and it’s no surprise that Louisa felt this way. She’s tired, she’s ill, she’s worried and she’s on drugs! She was also horrifically abused as a child and has what is clearly an untreated multiple personality disorder, as you’ll discover if you do some digging into this case.
Modern Day Exorcism reinforces the Idea of the Demonic
I don’t want to cover everything that Louisa went through in this post because the article in the Atlantic covers it all so beautifully. But you have to take into account that all these experiences happened during times of illness and stress. It happens to the best of us, but when you’re in quite a fragile state, like Louisa, it’s all going to be quite overwhelming.
To some degree, even the Catholic church understands that most cases of possession are actually linked to mental illness and anyone going through an exorcism should be given a full mental health assessment as a first port of call. And while I appreciate that this is a somewhat responsible stance, I disagree with them that any of these cases are possession at all. So there are scary, unexplainable symptoms… the default answer shouldn’t be “ghosts”.
Louisa Muskovits had a Ouija board in her house. When she eventually sought the help of a priest, he told her to get rid of it, along with any tarot cards or healing crystals, as they were all gateways through which the devil could come and get her. Funny, no? The Catholic church gets to reassert its dominance by banishing the rituals of other religions.
Father Thomas Keating
”As many as 80 percent of the people who come to me seeking an exorcism are sexual-abuse survivors."
Father Thomas himself seems like quite a nice chap, all in all, so what I’m about to say is not an attack on his character. However, I wonder where on earth you could find protected and institutionalised ritual sexual abuse… oh yeah… the catholic church. In a lot of sexual abuse cases related to priests, young children were told that they were unclean or sinners and needed to be “cleansed” before being subjected to the kind of abuse that would guarantee a lifetime of turmoil and mental illness.
Being told as a child that you are evil by the very people who are supposed to offer you succour and guidance is going to leave a devil’s mark for life. But couple that with sexual abuse and you’ve basically created the potential of them also being prone to the kind of trauma-induced psychosis that will bring them back to the very institution that let them down for help with their inner demons.
Clever girl!
I don’t like conspiracy theories, because they’re mainly rumours that get built upon by bias and gather momentum. They do more harm than good. However, I do believe that groups of people with power and money are up to some dodgy, clandestine shit that we’ll never know about… until it’s too late. And the Catholic church seems to be doing all this in plain sight with barely any consequences.
The Evils of Modern Day Exorcism
At its best, exorcism can prevent mentally people from getting the help they actually need. At its worst, exorcism can kill people!
As recently as 2022, there have been modern day exorcism deaths. Like the death of three year old Arely Naomi Proctor, who was being exorcised for excessive crying! She died of asphyxia. Change a fucking nappy, people. Check for colic. Give the child a toy. Do not strangle her to death beacuse you’re scared of her inner demons. Christ, if you think a baby has caught demons, you are in for a shock when you hit the terrible twos and then teenage years!
And don’t even get me started on Anna Elisabeth “Anneliese” Michel. A woman who suffered through 67 exorcisms. If the first one doesn’t do anything, what does that tell you? Because it most definitely shouldn’t be “Oh ok… let’s try it another 66 times and see if that works!” Anneliese was epileptic, as it turns out. When she stopped eating, instead of getting her some help, more exorcisms were performed on her until she died.
Then there was Kennedy Ife, a man who was suffering extreme insomnia and began to act strangely. His family, convinced that he was possessed by a demon, tied him up in their £1.3m home for three days and performed exorcisms on him. Eventually, the poor guy had a heart attack, but the family didn’t call for help, because they thought it was more evidence that he was possessed.
Why, Though?
So, let’s assume for a moment that possession is an actual thing.
Why?
Why would a demon possess a human being just to jiggle them around a bit and say things in spooky voices? There’s no logic to it. And how are these people chosen? Not everyone who is a victim of child abuse gets taken over by a demon.
If there were that many open portals for these things, why isn’t it an everyday occurrence? Why isn’t exorcism a service when you dial the emergency services if demon possession is a real thing?
If someone committed murder while under the influence of a demon, they wouldn’t get off with it. Because when push comes to shove, we all know it’s not real enough to stand up in court. It’s a strange state of affairs all round.
Here's a Crazy Idea
A word of advice – if you think someone is possessed, take them to a hospital! Hospitals have restraints, tranquilisers, actual medicine, a means to make proper diagnoses. Hospitals even have chaplains who can offer advice, if you’re that way inclined. But don’t immediately snap to the conclusion that exorcism is the answer. It’s dangerous. More dangerous than any demon you’re imagining.
But what would I know? As always, I am here to have my mind changed.
We’d love to hear your opinion and, if you’ve had experience of possession and exorcism, please do let us know.
FOOTNOTES:
* Not being funny, but if someone threw water on me, I would also scream blue murder in indignation.
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