The truth behind demonic possessions:

I am going to try and write from a non religious point of view as this subject is one that has been tainted by religious fanaticism. I studied demonic possession in some detail as part of my Masters degree, and it is certainly a very controversial subject. I have actually written an article on it during the 16th to 18th centuries but this article hopes to provide a shorter and more proof-centered approach whereby I shall try and create just a small amount of doubt in those of you who staunchly reject possession.

There is an incredibly large amount of evidence that what we call ‘demonic possession’ is in fact a real, albeit inexplicable, thing. I am not going to provide evidence that there are actually demons in this world and that they are the antithesis of God because that would be an impossible task. I would also like to point out that I am aware of the many counter arguments for possession which range from mental health to the possibility that it comes from some unexplained part of the brain that can do things we have no idea about.

My first statement is that 99.99%, and possibly more, cases of demonic possession are FAKE. This doesn’t mean that they are necessarily a scam, although many are, but rather that some of them are a result of social conditioning, teenage emotions, puberty, an overly religious (often religious teachings that are false) upbringing and even sexual confusion within certain areas of life.

However, there are cases which are extremely well documented, and many of them going back for hundreds of years, where people who are ‘possessed’ are considered to do things which are physically impossible. If someone can do the impossible, you have to start looking outside the box.

I will now list the symptoms which suggest a real ‘demonic possession’. Bare in mind that some of these are common and don’t necessarily mean the person is possessed. But some of them aren’t and those are the interesting ones.

• Coughing up large nails, longer than fingers.
• Being able to speak many languages fluently, including Ancient Greek and Latin having had no prior knowledge.
• A hatred of anything holy. For example, holy water or crosses.
• Self harm.
• A refusal to eat.
• Superhuman strength.
• Contortion of the body.
• Seemingly supernatural abilities.
• Predicting the future.
• A refusal to tell you their name.
• A changing of the voice.
• An ability to know the UNKNOWABLE.

There are many cases of some of those symptoms, but the most telling symptom of demonic possession is the last: The ability to know the unknowable. I will give you an example of what I mean. There are several documented, even filmed, cases where an outsider has taken an object, hidden it in a container and commanded the ‘demon’ to tell him what it is. The ‘demon’ tells them what it is. This is impossible and arguably a sign of actual demonic possession.

I’d like to give a few examples to illustrate some of the other symptoms:

A boy in Norway, 14 years old, was no longer at school and was a blacksmith’s apprentice. He ultimately was uneducated. The boy became ‘possessed’ and is recorded speaking fluently, in a voice entirely different to his own with layered pitches (i.e. several different voices at different pitches speaking at once – also impossible) in no less than 12 different languages, including Ancient Greek, Latin, German, Italian and Swahili. Everyone who knew him said this was impossible. Yes he might have heard the odd word in some of these languages, but bare in mind, even professors of Ancient Greek and Latin do not and cannot speak it fluently.

A 7 year old girl who, during her exorcism, managed to throw 4 grown men of her knocking two of them out. All of this whilst having two broken arms, which she herself had done.

A young adult male, whose shoulder spontaneously dislocated by itself.

A ten year old girl who, in 1910 (before ultra sound), predicted a woman to have triplets with no legs. She then cut one of her own legs off and laughed through the entire process.

All of these examples are documented by both doctors and priests. I cannot offer proof that they were not elaborate hoaxes or some other strange phenomenon but at face value, the evidence does seem overwhelming that something otherworldly should at least be considered.

Accepting that demonic possession could be real. What would be the objective of the demon?

The main objective of the demon is to survive. In order to survive, it needs to be in a body. It can supposedly move between bodies, but ultimately it needs to survive. A demon can have other objectives as well. Often it wishes to remain anonymous. It also often wishes to kill the person it has possessed (and in many cases succeeds).

If indeed a Demon is a creature of Satan, then it must be accepted that its overall objective is to do as much damage as possible, through whatever means, and for as long as it can.

Demonic Possession: Real?

I am not going to tell you demonic possession is real. Before my Masters I believed it wasn’t. With a little research, you can find out a lot of very disturbing things and facts about people who have claimed to be possessed. I personally believe in it and my reason is that sometimes, when you have exhausted every other possible solution (and I did), often the most simple answer can be the real answer, and the most simple answer in a lot of these cases is that the person is actually possessed.

I would like to add, in the cases given above and in all cases when treating modern demonic possession, there is a doctor/psychiatrist present, and they exhaust all possibilities before an exorcism is allowed to go ahead. These cases are documented by the doctors, not by the priests. If you don’t want to believe in demonic possession, no one can make you. But these things are as close to proof as we will ever get.