Category Archives: possession

Recommended articles and news

This week I posted a couple of interesting news items in the TheoFantastique Facebook page that are worth mentioning here. First, was a piece at CURRENT titled “Found Footage: January 6 and the Horror Movies that Made It.” This interesting article looks at similarities between internet-created and folklorish monsters like Slender Man are similar to […]

Steve Wiggins on “Nightmares with the Bible”

Steve Wiggins returns to TheoFantastique to discuss his new book Nightmares with the Bible: The Good Book and Cinematic Demons. You can purchase this volume at the link, or secure a copy via interlibrary loan. My review of Steve’s great book can be found at Horror Homeroom. Watch my previous conversation with Steve here. The […]

Review of “Nightmares with the Bible” at Horror Homeroom

I had the privilege of reading Steve Wiggins’ fine book, Nightmares with the Bible, a book that looks at demons, possession and the Bible, for Horror Homeroom. You can find that review here. Steve’s response is also interesting on his blog as he expresses great appreciation of the review, and his frustration that his other […]

THE UNHOLY as Easter horror

A new trailer came out today for a horror film coming out in connection with the Easter holiday where Christianity celebrates its most holy event. In the trailer for THE UNHOLY, we find a combination of possession tropes with Catholicism’s emphasis on Mary. See the discussion and poster at the article on the film at […]

Scientific journal article: “Possession myth as a lens for understanding cultural and psychological evolution”

Boutwell, Brian B., Mathias Clasen & Jens Kjeldgaard-Christiansen. 2020. “We are legion”: Possession myth as a lens for understanding cultural and psychological evolution. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. doi:10.1037/ebs0000197. In most religious traditions, there exists the conception that human beings can lose their freedom of will to an invading consciousness. We argue that possession myths emerge from […]

Journal article explores the psychology of possession in connection with horror

                Mathias Clasen, who has been interviewed here previously on his biocultural approach to the study of horror, is the coauthor of a journal article of interest. It appears in the journal Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and is titled “’We are legion’: Possession myth as a lens for understanding […]

Spirit Possession around the World: Possession, Communion, and Demon Expulsion Across Cultures

Glad to be a contributor to this one with several entries related to the work of demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. My thanks to Joe Laycock for the opportunity. Spirit Possession around the World Possession, Communion, and Demon Expulsion across Cultures by Joseph Laycock, Editor June 2015 ABC-CLIO Beyond addressing the Christian tradition of possession […]

The Possession Presents Jewish Perspective on Possession and Exorcism

The Possession is Sam Raimi’s most recent horror film, and it also represents Hollywood horror’s latest installment in our ongoing fascination with the idea of possession by a dark spiritual force and the related process of exorcism. What makes Raimi’s film different from so many of the films that explore this theme is it’s Jewish […]

Psychology Today: What is it That Fascinates Us About Exorcism and Demonic Possession?

A series of bad reviews by film critics, echoed by many rank and file moviegoers, didn’t stop The Devil Inside from doing extremely well at the box office. The film is but the latest in a string of films with the theme of demonic possession, forming a horror subgenre in their own right. This includes […]

Satanism, Exorcism and Social Horror Trends

An article that ran in The Telegraph on 7 April titled “Rise in demand for exorcism recalls horror trend,” caught my attention, not only for its connection of concerns over the demonic and contemporary horror films, but also for some of the provocative claims it made. Looking back at The Exorcist (1973) and an increase […]

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