THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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possessIOn states reveal the following general features Firstly, the possessed person
experiences a sense of superhuman physical strength, typically manifest in ferocious
.assaults on perceived enemies. Subject two claims that demonic possession was also
responsible for his alleged feats of supernatural sexual endurance. Secondly, possession
results in the host undergoing a temporary dramatic personality transformation. Subject
two, for example, was typically quiet and reserved. When possessed, however, he would
respond to provocation with uncharacteristic excessive violence. Thirdly, during the initial
stages of satanic involvement, subjects believe that they have conscious control over their
possessing demons. This gives rise to grandiose fantasies ofunlimited power over others.
However, all of the subjects later discovered that it was in fact they who were controlled
by the demons. This realisation announced a shift from the experience of voluntary
possession, to involuntary (ego-dystonic) possession. The experience of being controlled
inwardly by possessing entities elicits strong anxiety, as well as confusion, dissociated
mental states, visceral symptoms, amnesia, and destructive involuntary behaviour.
A fourth characteristic of possession is the auditory experience of demonic voices, either
internal or external, giving instructions, berating the hosts, or squabbling among
themselves. Subjects also reported visual manifestations of demons. Although demons
are regarded as spiritual entities, they are believed to adopt visible forms. Visual
descriptions of demons varied among subjects. Subject one described her demons as
huge, shadowy masculine figures with red eyes, while others assumed animal forms.
Subject three's demons manifested as animal or humanoid figures, images associated with
horror films he had seen. Subject four's demons appeared to him as a wrinkled crone, a
handsome young man, and an ugly beast. Subject five was possessed by a demon that
appeared as a giant, translucent, oriental male figure. Subject six described his demons as
composites of human, animal, and reptilian characteristics. The demons experienced by
Satanists can be understood to be personified, hallucinatory manifestations of primitive
destructive self and object representations that cannot be assimilated into the ego. The
degree of destructiveness associated with these representations stems directly from the
aggression directed toward "bad" parental objects, whose original negative qualities are
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