The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

Exorcist, The 81
chology or philosophy, or a very sophisticated personal
culture. . . . Though, of course, there are many exceptions,
the usual reasons for a priest’s being chosen are
his qualities of moral judgment, personal behavior, and
religious beliefs—qualities that are not sophisticated or
laboriously acquired, but that somehow seem always to
have been an easy and natural part of such a man.
Priests do not become exorcists by choice. They are
called to their duty by receiving the chrism of the Holy
Spirit, which gives them discernment of demons and their
presences. The discernment is of the utmost importance
in determining whether or not a person is possessed and
whether demonic influences such as infestation and oppression
are present. Some demons are skilled at hiding
within a possessed person, and an inexperienced exorcist
might be tricked into thinking a person is not possessed
or the demons have been expelled.
Priests who are new exorcists receive special personal
training from more experienced exorcists. They work
in teams to discern POSSESSION, perform the EXORCISM
rites, and work with laypersons who assist in the rites.
Formal training is offered at the Regina Apostolorum
Pontifical Athenaenum, a Vatican-affiliated university in
Rome. Students learn the differences between possession
and psychological and physical traumas and hear
lectures by exorcists, medical professionals, priests, sociologists,
law enforcement representatives, and other
experts.
Exorcists must develop profound spiritual and inner
strength, for they are subjected to demonic attacks
designed to interfere in their work or persuade them to
leave the work. Some exorcists suffer physical and mental
health problems resulting from demonic influences and
in a few cases may even become possessed themselves.
Martin underscored the dangers of exorcism:
Every exorcist must engage in a one-to-one confrontation,
personal and bitter, with pure evil. Once engaged,
the exorcism cannot be called off. There will and must
always be a victor and a vanquished. And no matter what
the outcome, the contact is in part fatal for the exorcist.
He must consent to a dreadful and irreparable pillage of
his deepest self. Something dies in him. Some part of his
humanness will wither from such close contact with the
opposite of all humanness—the essence of evil; and it is
rarely if ever revitalized. No return will be made to him
for his loss.
In other denominations, ministers sometimes perform
exorcisms, and sometimes entire congregations participate
in expelling demons, as in Pentecostal churches. In
other religions and spiritual traditions and shamanic societies,
exorcists are the members of the priestly castes,
adepts, and specially trained persons. Members of magical
traditions also can be exorcists.
See AMORTH, FATHER GABRIELE; FORTEA, FATHER JOSÉ
ANTONIO; INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EXORCISTS.
FURTHER READING:
Fortea, Fr. José Antonio. Interview with an Exorcist: An Insider’s
Look at the Devil, Diabolic Possession, and the Path to
Deliverance. West Chester, Pa.: Ascension Press, 2006.
MacNutt, Francis. Deliverance from Evil Spirits: A Practical
Manual. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Chosen Books, 1995.
Martin, Malachi. Hostage to the Devil. New York: Harper &
Row, 1976.
Wilkinson, Tracy. The Vatican’s Exorcists: Driving Out the Devil
in the 21st Century. New York: Warner Books, 2007.
Exorcist, The (1971) Novel by William Peter Blatty
based on the true story of the ST. LOUIS POSSESSION case.
The novel veers away substantially from the real case,
but it introduced the horrors of demonic POSSESSION and
EXORCISM to a mass audience.
The prologue describes a brief encounter in Iraq, where
an archaeologist and cleric are finishing a dig of ancient Assyrian
ruins. No names are given, but the reader receives a
teaser of evil to come: The cleric, apparently familiar with
the ways of the DEVIL, senses that the DEMON PAZUZU has
been disturbed by the digging and plans revenge.
Then begins the real story, which opens in a townhouse
in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C.,
where the divorced actress Chris McNeil and her 11-yearold
daughter, Regan, are staying while Chris finishes filming
a movie. Strange noises and incidents, most of them
in Regan’s room, annoy Chris, but she does not pay much
attention to them. She asks the servant, Karl, to check the
windows and catch the rats she believes are making the
scratching noises, but he finds none. Her best friend and
the film’s director, Burke Dennings, visits often; he is sarcastically
funny, self-centered, an alcoholic, and given to
obscenities. Other people in the house are Karl’s wife the
housekeeper, Willie, and Chris’ secretary, Sharon, who
also tutors Regan.
Portrayed as a bright, happy, affectionate young girl,
Regan succumbs slowly to her possession. Alone at home,
Regan plays more and more with a OUIJA board, talking
to a Captain Howdy. At first, the house suffers from an
INFESTATION: attack by the demons through the victim’s
surroundings. Chris hears rapping noises on the ceiling,
Regan’s room is always cold, the girl’s clothing often ends
up in a wadded pile on the floor, someone moves her furniture,
and there is a foul, burning smell in her room.
Other petty incidents occur: Books and objects disappear,
and a stuffed mouse is found in the rat traps.
Now Captain Howdy not only talks to Regan but also
tells her awful, horrible things, threatening pain and illness.
Her bed shakes violently. Then Regan’s personality
changes; she becomes introverted and argumentative
and eventually becomes hostile, disgusting, and obscene.
She begins to exhibit superhuman strength, contorting
her body in jerking, twisting movements. Strange voices
emerge from her body, which is distended and unrecognizable.
She slithers like a snake. Her conversations center
around sexual and bodily functions.