Movies such as "The Exorcist" take more than a
little dramatic license when it comes to demonology. Usually,
they don't get all the facts right. Here's what Hollywood gets wrong about demons.
A midnight viewing of a movie featuring possession might have you thinking that
demons are not only everywhere, but that a properly dedicated researcher or exorcist
can get some seriously detailed information about them. Yet, if you were to open up the
Talmud or the Bible, you might find talk of demons seriously lacking. What gives?
"In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit!"
First, as Jewish Virtual Library notes, there are issues that arise when translating ancient texts.
Ancient Hebrew doesn't really have a word for what we consider a demon. In some texts,
non-Jewish deities are called shedim, which some translate as "demons," but that could inspire some
serious debate in the halls of a divinity school. And while there are certainly evil spirits,
according to most interpretations of the Old Testament, information about them is vague. They
live in ruins, some lines hint, and often cause sicknesses and misfortune. But, it's key to note
that most translations acknowledge that these evil spirits are still fully under the dominion of God.
The New Testament suggests that people believed demons were linked to a cosmic adversary — the
dev il. Some demons, like Beelzebub, are even named. But, beyond the mentions of, quote,
"unclean spirits" and a few names here and there, there isn't much to base a movie on.
Some especially bombastic Hollywood films like to claim that demons are actually former angels who,
having become rebellious and proud, turned against God and became evil demons.
It's true that the Bible mentions fallen angels in a few short verses,
but the link between these beings is pretty controversial.
The Journal of Biblical Literature points out that ancient Jewish believers didn't make that
connection, nor did many early Christians. In fact, the belief that fallen angels and demons
are one and the same didn't come until some time in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
It gets more confusing when you try to define what a demon is in the first place.
If they're generically a, quote, "unclean spirit," then you might be able to squeak those rebellious
angels into the group on a technicality. But if you insist that demons are actively malevolent,
repulsive spiritual beings who are in Satan's employ,
you'd be standing on shaky textual ground. As the theological study "Angels and Demons" notes,
some say that angels could never be demons, just by the fundamental nature of what it
means to be an angel. An angel, they say, is purely good by definition. Something that
can be corrupted and turned evil, then, could never have been an angel in the first place.
Hollywood has a pretty Western view, and Christianity often dominates any
religious themes. You may get hints of other religions, sure,
but many movies with a demonic plot are based in Christianity.
But even a quick glance reveals that demons feature in many other belief systems,
not to mention foreign film industries. According Britannica, there are plenty
of religious texts and folklore stories that mention demons, including those from Judaism,
Islam, and Zoroastrianism, which has its roots in ancient Iran. In fact, scholars believe that
Zoroastrianism, which hinges on a cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil,
may be the influence that pushed early Christians to demarcate their own battle
lines between Heaven and Hell. Before that, the Christian idea of a cosmology of demons led by
a ruler known as Satan wasn't nearly as set in stone as you may believe.
Of course, belief in demons extends far beyond those religions. Hindus attest that asuras are
out there battling against good, while many varieties of Buddhism claim that demons are
effectively tempters who try to knock you off the path to enlightenment. And,
when it comes to movies, non-Christian demons pop up outside of Hollywood. Take
the Indonesian horror industry, where Muslim and pagan demons wreak plenty of havoc for
the unwary within the diverse cultural and religious beliefs of the region.
William Friedkin's 1973 horror classic, "The Exorcist," which was based on a novel of the
same name by William Peter Blatty, set the stage for many Hollywood demons. The film
focuses on a young girl who played with a Ouija board and then became the host to an
ancient demon named Pazuzu. Set in Washington, D.C., "The Exorcist" largely exists within a
relatively modern Catholic cosmology that hinges on the existence of God
and Satan and only vaguely touches on the real, complex world of Babylonian demons.
For one, as much as it seems like a Hollywood concoction,
Pazuzu is a real member of the spiritual lineup, at least according to genuine Babylonian sources.
According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pazuzu was generally believed to be
a humanoid monster with wings and a nasty snarl who was most popular around the 8th
through 6th centuries BC. However, it appears that some people believed that
his name and image actually acted as protection against demons. It turns out that the world of
Babylonian demonology was a pretty complicated one with true believers from numerous faiths.
While movies might show demons killing hapless humans left and right, a look at
most historical cases of reported possession may seem more like stage drama than bloodbath.
According to LiveScience, Vatican guidelines list signs of demonic possession as including
things like unusual strength, a dislike of holy water, and speaking unusual languages.
The extreme violence you see in so many movies isn't on the list.
"Lady, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave the store."
That's not to say that some cases of demonic possession haven't been linked to lives lost
or bodies that have been irrevocably injured. But, as LiveScience notes, many of those who have been
seriously injured or killed during exorcisms seem to have met their fates not at the hands of the
demon that was supposedly inhabiting them, but through the humans around them. People
attempting to "cleanse" an affected person of their demon may become overly enthusiastic,
allowing their fervor to go so far as to seriously harm the person they're trying
to help. Others seem to have been dealing with significant mental illness that was
misinterpreted as a religious battle between good and evil hosted within their own bodies.
Take the sad case of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman who believed that she was possessed,
whose case eventually formed the basis for the film "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." According to
the Documentary Channel, Michel, who had already dealt with mental illness, eventually believed
that she was host to multiple demons who needed to be starved out of her body. After Michel's death
from starvation and dehydration, her parents and two priests were convicted of negligent homicide.
Whether or not you genuinely believe that demons are out there wreaking havoc in our human world,
mental illness is an indisputable fact. And, given that some mental illnesses can include
hallucinations and delusions that can make it difficult for a person to distinguish reality
from fiction, it's logical that some suspected demonic possession cases are really the product
of psychosis. Films like "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and "Requiem" suggest that the person
suffering could be egged on by the faithful people around them,
and end up displaying symptoms that appear to be possession.
In some demon movies, believers and scientists find themselves at odds,
arguing over the reality of a seemingly haunted home or possessed person. But,
lest you think this idea is the province only of nonbelievers, even the Vatican leans
pretty hard on the mental health angle of things, to the point where Catholic priests
frequently work with mental health professionals like psychiatrists,
according to The Washington Post. It's not always a perfect team-up, but it happens.
The 2009 horror comedy "Jennifer's Body" received a lukewarm critical reception
and less-than-stellar box office performance when it was released. But, in the years since,
it's gained a cult following, with fans praising the film for its centering of female trauma and
revenge. It follows the quasi-afterlife of Jennifer, a popular high school cheerleader
who's sacrificed to the Devil by a struggling indie band desperate for success. The sacrifice
goes awry, the human Jennifer departs, and a monstrous succubus inhabits her body.
While the succubus in "Jennifer's Body" is properly horrifying, often displaying
a demonically unhinged jaw full of needle-like teeth and using it to literally eat her male
victims, it's not quite accurate, at least according to historical accounts of succubi.
Instead, as Encyclopedia.com reports, succubi were thought to be female demons
who siphoned off the vitality of male victims by initiating nighttime encounters with them.
Some sources claim that the first man ever, Adam, had congress with these entities for
over 130 years — hardly practical if they kept eating him. And, while the succubus of
"Jennifer's Body" was sort of defeated by her host body being harmed, quite a few accounts state that
the real solution is based more around prayer and living a good life than actual violence.
Most Hollywood films will have you believe that demons are the
main cause of the trouble in cases of hauntings and possessions. But,
while those films put the blame for all the trouble squarely on the demon's shoulders,
the real issue may be with the believers themselves — even though they may not know it.
According to the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, the more someone is prone to believe
in demonic activity, the more likely they are to suffer from negative mental health consequences.
That same study found that some religious beliefs also offered a protective effect,
like believing in divine justice or a rewarding afterlife. However,
it's hard to ignore the stress and upset that can potentially be
caused by someone's sincere and fervent belief that demons are out to get them.
While the vast majority of Hollywood films dealing with demons assume a Christian-centric worldview,
there are a few exceptions. Take "The Possession," a 2012 horror film that's
all about the havoc that a Jewish demon wreaks on one family. The malevolent spirit comes from
a "dybbuk box" and causes various sorts of trouble before being identified as a demon.
All spooky, sure, but it's not really in line with the traditional Jewish understanding of
dibbukim or other evil spirits. First, as the Jewish Virtual Library explains, the
initial interpretation of dibbukim was that they were evil spirits who entered the body of sick
people. But then, another understanding arose. A dibbuk was a human who, having not received
an appropriate burial and send-off, stuck around causing trouble for the people they possessed.
Per the American Library Association, a dibbuk is often understood as the soul of a sinner, stuck
between here and the afterlife. It's connected to more mystical strains in Jewish theology, which
sometimes posited that human souls could land in a new body. But the whole concept of a dybbuk
is based on their takeover of someone's body, which means they're not likely to live in a box.
Let's say that you accept there is a massive, cosmic war between the forces of good and evil,
and that demons are effectively emissaries of the dark side that are sent forth to draw
hapless humans away from the light. With that sort of belief, you might think that demonic possession
is what it's like in the movies. It's got to be dramatic, right? Shouldn't an evil spirit taking
up residence in someone's body produce eye-popping results, from rotating heads to a disgusting
fountain of split pea soup? And surely someone involved starts levitating, if nothing else.
"She can fly?”
But, yet again, the movies got it wrong. According to multiple exorcists, demons are cast out with a
bunch of prayer and little else. Father Gary Thomas, a rather well known modern Catholic
exorcist interviewed by Cosmopolitan, says that an exorcism starts with what he calls, quote,
"setting-the-table prayers." He also anoints doorways with holy oil to entrap the demon,
and then starts in on sacrament and scripture readings, interspersed with yet more prayers.
It's possible that an exorcist would encounter things like a possessed person doing something
like speaking in another language or showing unusual strength, but the more
cinematic stuff of films like "The Exorcist" isn't really in line with the real thing.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite topics are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.