Octoberfest 2017: Documented Exorcisms

'Ello! I was going to say Happy Friday the 13th but I'm superstitious so I'm not opening the door to wish more bad luck into my life, ya know? So nah. Happy Friday. lol Anyway, today I wanted to cover exorcisms. I'm aware of the gist of what they are, but the subject isn't something I've ever explored in-depth. I think for a lot of my life, I didn't believe exorcisms were legitimately performed on people anymore. I'd seen The Exorcist and Stigmata, but I didn't think it was an ongoing thing. lol To continue today's theme of the weird and morbid, I thought exorcisms would be a good way to go. Like most of my longer posts, I've split it into sections so we can explore things a bit better. As always, all research resources for each section will be included at the bottom. Let's get started!

Brief History of Exorcisms

The subject of demonic possession alone has been a debate between the religious and scientific communities for an extremely long time. While doctors, psychiatrists and behavioral researchers put a clinical view on the subject, some of the religious crowd find them to be both necessary and relevant for people who may need them. The Catholic Church still recognizes exorcisms as a valid way to treat the presence of a demon, although they have a strict set of rules in place in order to perform an exorcism ethically and without long-term damage to the afflicted. According to them, those who do not follow the protocol and employ additional methods on their own are using methods not sanctioned by the Church and will not be recognized, formally or informally.  Anyway, exorcism is defined by the Catholic Encyclopedia as "(1) the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice; (2) the means employed for this purpose, especially the solemn and authoritative adjuration of the demon, in the name of God, or any of the higher power in which he is subject."
A document was released a few years ago by the Vatican as an updated rulebook of sorts on how exorcisms should be handled. Alongside the official manual of exorcisms comes the official recognition of the International Association of Exorcists, which is an organization that was created in the early '80s to handle the upswing in people needing exorcisms and was formally recognized by the Vatican around 2013-2014. The increasing demand for exorcisms, even today, varies depending on the individual's culture and attitudes towards ways of life, the individual's mental state (which is now of more importance than in earlier days), and the religion's attitude toward mental health issues. While most religions have now accepted that mental illness does not immediately mean that a demon is present, others still stick to the older mentality that illnesses, even genetically inherited mental illnesses, are still indicative of a demon and can be exorcised out. Certain religious sects believe that behaviors or lifestyles different from the norm are indicative of possession like bi/homosexuality, aversion to touch, anxiety, depression, Tourette's syndrome and epilepsy. 
Many cultures and religions have made reference to demonic possessions dating back thousands of years to ancient civilizations, and the base forms of the methods used today seem to have been derived from those civilizations. Some religions used the combination of holy water, prayers and rituals, which are the most common methods of exorcism used today, while others were more barbaric. Christianity differs from the Catholic view of exorcisms in that they feel individuals have the ability to perform exorcisms, and Catholics feel that the power to rid a person of a demon can only come from someone within the church. Ancient Egyptians believed using specific magical charms and incantations would help to dispel demons, and the Babylonians saw exorcism as the only way to get rid of a demon so they did not employ other methods. The Middle Ages saw a resurgence in exorcisms, and although it is said to have employed some horrible methods for exorcising a demon, I was unable to find a ton of information about what was done. Many of the more successful exorcists of that time later became saints posthumously, and their tombs were used as sites for exorcisms on the living. There is also proof of exorcisms being done in Jewish and Islam, but its not as concrete as Christianity or Catholicism.   The Church of England's Deliverance Ministry dedicates itself specifically to the investigation of supernatural reports and activity, exorcisms, hauntings and poltergeists, but keep the individual's mental health in mind. Rather than employing the methods or procedures I'm going to detail below, this organization prefers instead to focus on calmer methods of getting rid of demons. Focusing on calmer, less damaging ways to exorcise a demon seems to be a newer practice, so there isn't quite as much information on it but I'll explain what I was able to find in a little bit. 
Research resources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6




Rules of Exorcisms

Pardon the typo; it's not mine. lol

As I mentioned above, the Vatican released a rulebook to keep a general guideline for exorcists to follow. With the changing of the times, mental illnesses are now required to be taken into consideration when an individual appears to be in need of an exorcism, which was a point of contention in exorcism's earlier days. Previous methods of exorcisms are also no longer as favored as they were, with the Vatican agreeing that some of those methods are inhumane and border the line of manslaughter, which I'm going to touch on a bit at the end of the post. I wasn't able to access the official rulebook released by the Vatican because it is in Latin and I was unable to find an English translation of the text, but I was able to put together a small list of general guidelines that the priest must abide by in order to perform the exorcism in a way that would be pleasing to the Church.  1. The individual in need of the exorcism must have had a proper medical and mental health analysis and deemed to not be suffering any detrimental mental illnesses before proceeding. 
2. The person conducting the analysis must be able to tell the difference between a genuine mental illness and a genuine possession and be able to tell when the individual is faking normalcy or symptoms of any kind. 
3. The priest or bishop is not to conduct the exorcism on someone they find to be suffering primarily from mental illness.  4. A priest or higher religious official must be present at the exorcism and should be the only one performing the exorcism, due to both the religious fortitude with higher officials as well as the specific prayers that must be said during the exorcism. 5. The priest must ensure their own compliance by confessing or eliciting an act of contrition prior to the exorcism; not doing so can result in the exorcism not being able to receive the approval from the Catholic Church. Research resources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4




What behavior would warrant an exorcism?

When exorcisms were in their infancy, much like witchcraft (like that past post promo? lol), a lot of behaviors we now see as markers for a mental/emotional illness or effects of physical, sexual or emotional abuse were once markers for calling in a priest. Some of these are rather vague and can be explained using different reasons, such as depression, disillusionment with the church, abuse by someone in the church, change in religion, depression, or even drug use with a couple of the markers, while others seem off-kilter no matter how you spin them. Here are some of the behaviors that would cause someone to suspect a person was in need of an exorcism:

• loss of appetite
• deja vu or correctly predicting future events 
• speaking in tongues or languages different to the person's native tongue, particularly if that person had shown no prior knowledge of the language
• cold feeling in the room when the person enters or leaves it
• unnatural posture, mannerisms or gestures
• contorted or otherwise uncharacteristic facial or bodily changes
• loss of normal personality traits
• sudden rage or frenzied nature, especially if the person randomly begins attacking others
• change in voice or tone
• unexplained/illogical strength for the person's body build or health
• knowing information the person wasn't privy to know normally
• levitation
• anger or violent reactions to anything religious
• refusal to speak about demons or the possibility of being possessed with a religious figure
• encouraging others to commit sins
• sudden development of a bad, overpowering body odor that lingers behind the person
• leaving people feeling sad, depressed or overwhelmed once they've left the room
• anger or disdain specifically directed at religion, Jesus or scriptures 
• developing the unnatural ability to magically lift or throw objects without touching them

Research resources: 1




Exorcism Steps and Procedures

The sources I used vary a bit when describing exactly what happens during an exorcism, so I decided to include a couple of different procedures, one simple and one detailed. The gist of the exorcism seems to be the same with most articles I read on the subject, but the reasons behind each step and the amount of depth that went into explaining said steps are a bit different. In order for an exorcism to be officially approved by the Catholic Church, the exorcist must follow the below steps. First, here's a detailed look at what goes on during an exorcism:

1. The priest performing the exorcism must first confess his own sins or elicit an act of contrition
2. He must then prepare for the exorcism by wearing a specific surplice vest and purple stole
3. Then he can visit the afflicted person and restrain them if necessary
4. The afflicted and the priest are marked by the tracing of the cross
5. Any bystanders are sprinkled with holy water
6. The priest kneels to say the Litany of Saints, which all bystanders must repeat in tandem
7. The afflicted is prayed over using a specific exorcism prayer
8. The demon is commanded to leave the afflicted person's body
9. The priest lays hands on the afflicted and says another prayer
10. A Gospel passage is then read over the afflicted and the priest traces the sign of the cross over himself and the afflicted again
11. The afflicted person is blessed and sprinkled with holy water
12. The prayers continue
13. The demon is commanded, in more detail this time, to leave the afflicted person's body

This process of praying, commanding and holy water can repeat until either the priest or family calls an end to the session, or the demon leaves. Not all demons are removed on the first exorcism, so the process can stretch out for days, weeks and in extreme cases, months. The latter of those is often when harsher methods are employed and the person's life is then in danger. A tamer version of that can be scheduled timed meetings in which the exorcism will be performed again at regular intervals until the demon leaves. Another source makes the exorcism sound a bit simpler by breaking it down into sections in order to explain what happens during each step of the process.  1. The Presence--This is when the priests and his assistant are first made aware of the demon's presence
2. Pretense--The exorcist has to spot the demon and attempt to bring them out, because they will be attempting to blend in with the person they've afflicted as to not be spotted
3. Breakpoint--This is when the demon's front breaks and it exposes itself, which is supposed to assail those around with terrifying sights, sounds and smells. The demon will no longer keep up the front of being the person they've afflicted; they'll speak about the victim in third-person from this point on
4. The Voice--The exorcist must attempt to silence the demon at this stage because the exorcism cannot proceed otherwise
5. The Clash--At this point, the demon will tire itself out, coming into contact with the religious "Kingdom," at which point the exorcist will begin battling spiritually with the demon for control, with the latter showing his holy influence and will to be stronger than the demon's
6. Expulsion--Finally, the will of God will win out and the demon will leave the afflicted's body, usually going back to wherever it came from. As it leaves the bystanders can usually feel the pressure in the room lessening, and the afflicted sometimes remembers everything, while other times cannot remember anything at all from the point of possession. 
There is an emerging smaller type of exorcism, which is largely suggestion/individual-based in the sense that it recognizes the potential presence of a mental illness or seeks to avoid the development of one through this method. The suggestion procedure would entail a priest meeting with the individual and rather than praying and commanding the demon to leave, would encourage the individual to believe the demon was already gone. The distress at being possessed would leave the individual, giving them more strength to confront the thoughts the demon would implant in their brains, and at the individual's mental fortitude, the demon would flee, defeated.  The individual-based exorcism, much like the suggestion-based exorcism, thrives off of the active participation by the afflicted individual. This particular type of exorcism uses the faith healing method, which is a form of alternative medicine/therapy and uses a combination of solo prayer, joined prayer and faith-based activities and rituals. Using this method is said to be less damaging in the long-term for the afflicted individual and allows their personal faith to be bolstered in their God to remove the demon peacefully. The last source in this section is for Rational Wiki, which combines the facts with a bit of snark, and it likens this method of exorcism to televangelism, where people are encouraged to use their faith in order to heal all varieties of ailments simply by believing that God has already done it. While less harmful in some cases than the methods I'm going to detail below, in the event that the afflicted is suffering from a mental illness which could cause them to become a danger to themselves or others, faith healing could end up causing more harm than good.  Research resources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6  Exorcism Methods

In combination with the steps I outlined above, exorcists tend to employ additional methods in order to force the demon out of a person's body. Some are less intrusive and harmful in the long-term, while others step completely over the line of inhumane and into murder if the person dies during the exorcism. Researching exact methods proved to be a little harder than finding the steps for an exorcism, so there aren't as many things here as I would have liked to include. Regardless, here are some other methods exorcists used, both presently and in the past, to excise a demon.  1. Trepanation--In this method, the afflicted person has to have a hole drilled into the side of their heads! The reason behind this was supposed to be that by drilling the hole, blood circulation would improve and light would literally be allowed into the person's body, which was supposed to unleash the spirit and drive them out.
2. Needle Insertion--This practice was based off of Chinese doctor Sun Si-Maio's 13 Ghost Points, which was an acupuncture method developed specifically to treat mental illnesses. It involves inserting needles into the thirteen 'ghost points' on the body specified by Sun Si-Maio to initiate a natural healing process, which was supposed to flood the mind, body and soul with light and by doing so, would force the darkness of the demon out.
3. Violence--This was the main method of exorcising a demon that I'm familiar with; I think I'd read it somewhere before but I saw it much later on an episode of The Boondocks. LOL (I'm so cultured, right? I'm using Stigmata and The Boondocks to explain where I learned about exorcisms. smh). This method is more obvious; the exorcism involves the exorcist and his assistant using violence by way of choking, beating, suffocating and/or starving the afflicted to forcibly remove the demon from the afflicted's body. This was said to be used in cases where the demon was more stubborn and did not respond to the usual methods. 
4. Cutting or blading--Cutting or blading the skin was a method both employed by exorcists and individuals at the end of their ropes, as a way to let the demon out.  5. Starvation--This is one of the more questionable methods as it starves the afflicted as well as the demon, but I've read several accounts of people being starved during their exorcisms, sometimes to death.  Research resources: 1 | 2




Exorcism Tales and Further Reading

Many people have come out to share their experiences, more so because the methods were inhumane or there was evidence of something other than demonic possession being the root of the person's problem. I wanted to share a few stories here of exorcisms, both in modern-day times and in the past, and include a bit more information on exorcisms that didn't fall under any of the categories I mentioned above. 

• The Exorcism of Anneliese (one of the more prominent stories on an exorcism)
• 10 Cases of Demonic Possession (this list also includes the names below and above this entry but the others are worth reading as well)
• The Story of Clara Germana Cele (there isn't a ton of information aside from circulation of the same story on different sites but I still think you should read it)
• Why we need to take exorcisms seriously
• List of individuals killed during an exorcism (not many of these names have a full story but you can research them individually and try your hand at it anyway)
• The exorcism of Enny Eboka (I believe this also has a video of the possessed individual--I didn't watch it.)
• The scourge of evil spirits (this one is a history lesson of sorts on exorcisms in Hong Kong and how they came to be; it's worth the read)

So that wraps things up for me today. Are you religious; were you familiar with exorcisms or are the details new to you as well? As I mentioned, most of my knowledge came from pop culture and tv shows so all of this was rather new to me. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed today's post and I'll see you in a few days!