Exorcisms
Demonic possession captured my heart early in life after watching The Exorcist at much too young an age. I still get the heebeejeebies thinking about that little girl. Anyway, the belief in demonic possession and the ritual of exorcism dates back to pre-history.
Jesus was quite the prolific exorcist, banishing demons from various people as a way to cure their "sickness", and on one memorable occasion, he caused a thousand demons to inhabit the body of a pig. Poor pig. What did the pig do, I ask? But that's beside the point. The belief in demonic possession and the necessity of exorcists did not diminish quickly (if at all). Mental illnesses have not always been as known, as popular, or as discussed as they are today, and in the past, possession by demons gave people an explanation for aberrant behavior. Little Jilly wants to smear dog dung on her forehead to feed the bad people that live in her head? Ah, she must be possessed by a demon. Grumpy old Billy says he saw two trees doing the tango last night? Demon. Silly Suzie told you that washing your body at least twice a week will help keep you from getting sick? Demon...er, wait that one's hygiene...but at the time, they would probably have thought Demon.
Even today, exorcisms still take place. One of the most recent exorcisms took place in New Zealand in October 2007. A young woman, Janet Moses, underwent a Maori exorcism, called a Makutu, resulting in her death by drowning. The exorcism was carried out by over 9 members of her mother's family, who later underwent trial and were convicted, although not incarcerated.
Today, of course, we have a play on the myth: the Ghost in the Machine. Instead of humans being possessed by demons, our technology is bearing the burden. Our cell phones can be used by the "Other Side" to foretell our death, give us nefarious instructions, or just flat out kill us. Ghosts and demons live within our computers ready to stream nasty images at us, oddly juxtaposed violent scenes to make us lose our minds. I wonder if a priest would come to my house to exorcise the demon in my computer?
Malachi Martin's Hostage to the Devil scared the hell out of me (pun intended). It's technically non-fiction, but definitely worth the read.
ReplyDeleteThe Little Stranger, sort of, kind of, maybe. I'll admit it's a bit of stretch, but the house is possessed.
ReplyDelete"Such Nice People" by Sandra Sceppetone. It is purely fictional, but is really creeeeeepy - I read it over 20 years ago and it has haunted me ever since.
ReplyDeleteBibliolatrist - No problem with non-fiction whatsoever! Actually that's probably more scary than fiction in this case!
ReplyDeletesoftdrink - I forgot possessed houses! *doh*
Missy - Wow, 20 years later and it still creeps. Sweet, I will have to pick it up.