Suite101 on

Aug 1, 2005

What's new on Suite101.com? Plenty! Our writers have been busy.

We've got the latest and greatest news and articles, gathered up into one place - Suite101.com Today. Scroll down and have a peek at what our writers have to say in each of their sections. Or use the date-range search below to pick a day, any day. Enter curious and get clicking!


Business & Finance

Film & TV

Health & Wellness

Home & Style

Music

Reading & Literature

Sports

Travel

Writing & Publishing

Education & Career

Food & Drink

History

Mind & Soul

Demonic Possession and Exorcism

Demonic possession is recognized by the Catholic, Episcopal and some other churches. It is from the perspective of the Catholic Church that this article is written. There are stages of both possession and exorcism according to the Catholic Church. Exorcism is one of the rites of the Church. When there is a case of suspected possession, the Bishop of the Diocese appoints an exorcist who, then he is in total control. It is he who decides whether or not an exorcism will be performed. In 1971, Blatty wrote “The Exorcist,” which was based on a true case of possession. Father John J. Nicola was the technical advisor to the movie and wrote a book, Diabolical Possession and Exorcism. The theology of possession and exorcism are not well known by the public and he wanted to inform the public. He was concerned that there could be an epidemic of pseudo possession, possession and phobias, as was the case of Salem. The late Father Malachi Martin was an internationally known expert on possession and exorcism. These books are some of my references for this article.

By: Jill Stefko

The Documented Case The Exorcist was Based On

The year was 1949. William Peter Blatty was a student at Georgetown University. The case was reported in the newspapers. Demonic possession in 1949? The afflicted was a 13 ½ year old boy. The early accounts called him “Roland Doe,” while later accounts gave him the name of “Douglass Deene.” Blatty read and Associated Press account of the case in the Washington Post, then did extensive research. Twenty years later, when he wrote his book, he changed so many of the details that it bears little resemblance to the actual case. The boy’s symptoms followed the classic stages of possession and J. B. Rhine, one of the founders of modern parapsychology was consulted. Finally, the boy was sent to St. Louis and exorcized at least twenty times. There are two books I used as references for this article which are cited at the end of the article. One was written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley and the other by Colin Wilson. Because of one glaring mistake I have problems with the Wilson book, which will be addressed in the article.

By: Jill Stefko

Plants & Animals

Science & Nature

Technology

Visual & Performing Arts
Suite101 articles How to subscribe to Suite101 articles