Spirit possession  

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Demonic possession, in supernatural belief systems, is a form of spiritual possession whereby certain malevolent extra-dimensional entities, demons, gain control over a mortal person's body, which is then used for an evil or destructive purpose. Unlike in channelling or other benign forms of possession, 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. Some cultures, in particular the Roma people believe that demons can also possess animals, plants, deceased persons or inanimate objects.

In fiction

The theme of demon possession has been exploited by the cinema. A well-known work on the subject is the 1973 film The Exorcist, based on the book of the same name, which portrays a typical medieval case of demonic possession in which the victim shows all required characteristics to confirm the status of possessed. This was later satirised in 1990 by Repossessed. End of Days (1999) shows another form of demonic possession suggested by Hilarius.

Possession (taken seriously) is central to the recent TV series Hex (TV series). The TV series Supernatural has also explored themes of demonic possession, since Demons are a major part of the second and third season's plots and they are incorporeal, they need to possess a body to carry out their actions. The 2007 novel A Good and Happy Child deals largely with the possible subject of demonic possession.

In the famous Evil Dead films, the protagonists are all possessed by Kandarin demons, who, when resurrected are given license to possess the living. This form of possession was heavily based on The Exorcist, because the protagonists physically mutate when possessed.

In an episode of the X-Files, a substitute teacher kills a teenage girl by possessing her while dissecting a pig fetus after class. The sub also possesses a snake which eats & digests a human being within less than 5 minutes, despite Scully knowing that it would take hours or even days to digest a human being. The substitute was never hired, and the school board is also Satan-worshiping.

The main character of the 2008 BBC1 television drama series Apparitions is a priest who performs exorcisms.

Marlena Evans becomes possessed on Days of our Lives in the 90's. It was a ground breaking story written by the late James E Reilly. John Black, a priest at the time exorcised the demon along with the help of Father Francis and Kristen Blake Dimera

See also

• Demon
• Exorcism
• List of Exorcists
• Demonology
• Spiritual possession
• (Alien) Abduction phenomenon
• Post-abduction syndrome
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose
• An American Haunting
• Anneliese Michel
• Dorothy Talbye Trial
• Culture-bound syndrome