The Exorcist. (myth, experience, Article)

[Ardhanariswar]

has anyone seen the movie? i saw it in 4th grade, and i was FREAKED OUT.

ive read many books on the subject of demons possessing people. are they true? spirits of desceaced or truly evil who come from another world parallel to ours? can we contact them with ouija boards?

or are the possessed mentally disabled? going through psychological disorders?

[Green Gaia]

I love the movie, one of the best, if not the best horror films ever made.

As far as demonic possession in real life, I don't believe in demons, so therefore I don't believe they can possess someone. I think what happens is someone believes they are possessed or have some sort of psychological disorder that makes them behave that way. There is definitely a lot more to learn about the workings of the human mind.

[Mr Spinkles]

There is definitely a lot to learn about the human mind, but what we already know does a pretty good job of explaining exorcisms....namely, the confirmation bias, communal reinforcement, and self-deception.

Many people...are very resistant to the idea that demonic possession is a myth, especially since they have seen or read fictional works such as The Exorcist or the Amityville Horror. They can't imagine how anyone could make such stuff up; yet, it would seem to take much more imagination to give credence to such tales.

This is a great article on the subject: http://www.skepdic.com/exorcism.html

[Ceridwen018]

I want to see that movie so badly! I remember my friend and I wanted to rent it when we were in 8th grade or so. Her dad wouldn't let us, and when we pleaded with him he told us stories about how grown men ran crying from the theater after it first came out! Yikes! We didn't plead too much more after that.

I definately need to get myself a big strong guy, curl up on a couch and go to town though...

[Ardhanariswar]

the movie was based on a true story about this boy 12 yrs old in st. louis. his grammy died and he tried contacting her with an ouija board. but the demons decieved him, pretending to be his grammy. the boy got possessed and stuff.

kinda scary.

[dan]

That stuff is real, man. I've had some bad experiences with that jazz, and it's better to just leave it alone.

[Mr Spinkles]

Gerani-- the movie was 'based' on a book that came from a legend that was loosely based on an exaggerated version of a true story.

You guys are right about ouija boards though, they definitely work....I know from experience. I asked the spirits if I was gullible and had wasted my money, and they told me "Yes". Incredible!

[Bryan X]

Originally Posted by Mr_Spinkles

I asked the spirits if I was gullible and had wasted my money, and they told me "Yes". Incredible!

Could be your reflexes. Heheheheh

[Bastet]

I'll be honest, this movie didn't scare me as much as I thought it would. Maybe because I don't believe in demonic possession...maybe because I wasn't raised in a particularly religious household, where such things would be considered the scariest of happenings. I saw it last year, and, yes, my heartbeat jumped here and there, but it didn't scare me so much I couldn't sleep, or had to continually check my doors and windows, like the 'Scream' movies did. The 'bad guy' in those was just more real to me...a messed up psycho with a knife. Spinning heads and pea-soup vomit...not so scary in comparison lol.

[Zero Faith]

I'd say "The Exorcist" is a little dated; it was so terrifying at its release because it was so different from anything else that passed as scary at the time. Also, like "The Blair Witch Project", a lot of its horror is taken from transposing the audience member into the story and imagining what it would be like if this were happening to you. Many people who watch it today, expecting more 'proactive' scariness (like I did) are disappointed.

A possible explanation of some 'possession' experiences is shared with alien abduction stories: sleep paralysis. At night, to prevent your body from thrashing about in your dreams, your brain inhibits control over your body. Occasionally, people awaken during this state, and find themselves unable to move. This quote from a CSICOP article explains the experience:

"In a typical sleep-paralysis episode, a person wakes up paralyzed, senses a presence in the room, feels fear or even terror, and may hear buzzing and humming noises or see strange lights. A visible or invisible entity may even sit on their chest, shaking, strangling, or prodding them."

Seems to me a logical explanation of perhaps a few possession experiences; the alternatives mentioned in previous posts seem capable of explaining the rest.

From a theological standpoint, demonic possession, to me, seems to fly in the face of God's promise of Free Will. For him to allow a demon to hijack a human's body would be extremely uncool.