# Anyone know anything about demonic possession? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 30, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808 "2003-09-30T23:55:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/21 "2003-10-01T05:03:46Z")
Oh and my mother is an English teacher BTW. So my poor spelling and grammer is just a rebellious phase…Yeah that’s it! ---
**Author:** ![Stage\_Manager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stage_manager/32/7267_2.png) [@Stage\_Manager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stage_Manager)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/22 "2003-10-01T05:35:15Z")
Ahh, they’re 1920s-style “Demon Rays” Sorry, _someone_ had to do it. ---
**Author:** ![brainfizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/da6949/32.png) [@brainfizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainfizz)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/23 "2003-10-01T10:31:17Z")
According to the _Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology_, hermetic mages used to summon them by drawing symbols on the ground, fasting, imbibing narcotics and locking themselves in a secure room until the demonic possession was over. ---
**Author:** ![peritrochoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peritrochoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peritrochoid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/24 "2003-10-01T11:16:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by brainfizz \* > \*\*According to the _Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology_, hermetic mages used to summon them by drawing symbols on the ground, fasting, imbibing narcotics and locking themselves in a secure room until the demonic possession was over. \*\* Hmm … sounds a bit like college … Maybe I should go back to school. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/25 "2003-10-01T12:03:30Z")
I don’t know how to get possessed bu twhen your head can do a 360 can you let me know? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/26 "2003-10-01T13:59:58Z")
Nawww, they’re 1920’s style “Ouija Boars.” ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/27 "2003-10-01T14:16:18Z")
Well first you have to get a young priest and an old priest… Oh wait you want to BE possessed not exorcised! So I guess you would need a young nun and a old nun… which really sounds like a letter to Penthouse, but whatever works! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/28 "2003-10-01T14:17:07Z")
You’d need a Ouiji Board, not an SDM Board. Also, have you Googled ‘Young Republicans’? ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/29 "2003-10-01T14:44:37Z")
> [@](#): > > According to a (I think) Discovery Channel program I saw a while back, some cases of demonic possession are believe to have been caused by ergot poisoning, which has effects similar to the ingestion of LSD. Ergot is a fungus which grows only on rye. So, leave some rye bread out and eat a lot of it. [Ergot](http://ipm.missouri.edu/ipcm/archives/v12n20/ipmltr1.htm) is a fungus found on wheat. According to Plants of the Gods (a book about ethnobotany), people who have said to be inflicted by St. Elmo’s Fire were hypothesized to have [ingested ergot.](http://www.leeds.ac.uk/acb/annals/Piscator/Piscator98.html) (The last url points to another site that says something similar to the Plants of the Gods book.) Anyway, I am sure everything you want to learn about demon possession you can learn from reading the Exorcist. Also, what quietman said. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/30 "2003-10-01T15:15:59Z")
Well, demon possession is really easy. First, you— **Aiii! I am sorry my dark master!! I will not give away any secrets!! Aii!! Stop torturing me so! It hurts! IT HURTS!!!** Well, as anyone knows, demons don’t exist. Geez, what a maroon!!! :wally ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/31 "2003-10-01T16:16:38Z")
Maroon… maroon… AHA!!! So THAT’S the secret word that unlocks the _Book of Wicked Awful Stuff You’ll Really Wish You’d Never Found Out_, eh? Thanks, **Ponder** , for throwing off the demonic dominance long enough to slip us that clue. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/32 "2003-10-01T18:02:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dorkusmalorkusmafia \* > \*\*[Ergot](http://ipm.missouri.edu/ipcm/archives/v12n20/ipmltr1.htm) is a fungus found on wheat. According to Plants of the Gods (a book about ethnobotany), people who have said to be inflicted by St. Elmo’s Fire were hypothesized to have [ingested ergot.](http://www.leeds.ac.uk/acb/annals/Piscator/Piscator98.html) > \*\* I’m pretty sure you’ve got the wrong saint there. St. Elmo (Erasmus) is a patron saint of sailors and is known primarily for gaudy displays of static electricity. St. Vitus, on the other hand, is associated with the dancing manias ([http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/lod/vol3/dancing\_mania.html](http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/lod/vol3/dancing_mania.html)). As for the OP, I think you should read up on your cautionary tales before summoning demons. They don’t call it a Faustian bargain for nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Pandora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eada6e/32.png) [@Pandora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pandora)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/33 "2003-10-01T19:00:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dorkusmalorkusmafia \* > \*\*[Ergot](http://ipm.missouri.edu/ipcm/archives/v12n20/ipmltr1.htm) is a fungus found on wheat. \*\* Actually Ergot can grow on many cearal grains (While they are growing in the field… if you eat bread that been left out till it’s technicolor, and you may get sick and see some interesting things, but it won’t be ergot) Because Rye can be grown as a winter cover crop, and in some pretty wet places, pretty severe ergot outbreaks on rye are not all that uncommon. (the worst ergot outbreaks happen in cool damp weather). If you believe everything the Discovery channel says, Ergot poisoning is (or was) the cause of everything from witchcraft trials, to werewolf sightings, and “visitors” ranging from demons to angels. Ergot poisoning probably did play some role, but it’s almost certainly not the only culprit. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/34 "2003-10-01T19:15:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\*I googled ‘demonic posession’ and a picture of one of my old bosses showed up. > > Strangely, I am not surprised. \*\* You used to work for Microsoft? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/35 "2003-10-01T19:17:37Z")
Well, you could go buy some _Deicide_, destroy all religious symbols in your house, hang upside down, and shout, “Praise Hell! Praise Satan!” over and over again until you feel like you’ve been possessed. Or, you could just go to a meeting of the Republican National Convention. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/36 "2003-10-01T19:43:02Z")
I’ve only seen one possesion case (only?). I don’t know all the details, but the young man possesed was consulting with a priest (Navy Chaplain) when the possesion manifested itself. He was under enormous psychological stress at the time; his girlfriend had dumped him, his career was at a crucial point that required high competence, we were underway at the time (always stressful), and a friend had attempted suicide _after_ coming to him to talk. He apparently got ahold of some alcohol, got drunk, and got caught – effectively halting his career. The next morning, he showed up in the chaplains office, hungover and depressed. During the session with the chaplain, he began speaking in tongues, frothing at the mouth, and developed this evil glare. The chaplain called out a medical emergency when the guy turned his head (almost) backwards. 150mg of Valium IM and 200mg of Haldol IM later, we managed to get him into one of [these](http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/55-502/Ch25.htm), a Neil Robertson stretcher. Ours had a full hood, not just a strap, and long head-to-foot slats in the bottom. Better than a straight-jacket. When the Captain came down to see what was going on (pretty much standard practice for him while underway), the patient somehow managed to sit up, breaking the slats and tearing the canvas. Ruined the stretcher. Anyway, he sat up, tilted his head back at an impossible angle so he was facing the Captain (hood and all, breaking more slats) and proceeded to taunt the Captain, using some childish nicknames (something to do with Nathan Hale!?) that seemed to really upset the Cap. This guy got helicoptered out of there – the only medevac of our cruise. Scared pretty much everybody. So, there you go. Get yourself into a completely stressful position, blow it, get drunk, and go see a priest. Have fun. BTW, I’d recommend a towel to wipe up the drool from your frothing mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/37 "2003-10-01T19:58:55Z")
If you want to be possessed by demons take lots of psychadelic drugs, put yourself in the mood, and surround yourself with pictures, colors, and items that are associated with such things. Trip hard enough and you can convince yourself of anything, just like those that go through it for “real.” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/38 "2003-10-01T20:13:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by peritrochoid \* > \*\*mmmmmm … brains! 😃 \*\* Well, hello there, little boy, don’t be shy, Step right up; I’m a reasonable guy! Don’t be frightened by the look in my eye, I’m just your average evil meteor from out of the sky. Well, I’m just shy and scared of this place– I’m just a fish out of water from outer space. You can see that the trip has left me tired and drained, So why don’t you be a pal – and bring me some brains? Go down to your neighbor’s place. See the dull expression on his face? You’d doing him a favor if you brought him to me, He ain’t using his brain, he’s just watching TV. Go down to Mr. McGee’s, He hasn’t had a thought since '43, His brain is the portrait of atrophy, He ain’t using it, why not give it to me! Brains, brains, I won’t lie, I’ll eat their brains 'til they’re zombified. Sure, they might think it’s deranged, but they won’t give it a thought after I’ve eaten their brains. Brains, brains, it’s okay – it’s not matter if it isn’t grey and if, at first, they think it’s strange, they won’t think twice if they don’t have a brain. [complete lyrics](http://www.templelooters.com/evil/lyrics.htm) ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/39 "2003-10-01T20:47:15Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m pretty sure you’ve got the wrong saint there. St. Elmo (Erasmus) is a patron saint of sailors and is known primarily for gaudy displays of static electricity. St. Elmo’s Fire **also** refers to the nasty gangrenous infection one can get from ingesting ergot. This was described in one of the links I had attached. > [@](#): > > Most people sussed that St Elmo’s fire was a malapropism for St Anthony’s fire - epidemic gangrene associated with ergot poisoning. This is from the link above. However, the book I cited “Plants of the Gods” also mentions this in its chapter about wheat ergot. (Claviceps Purpurea?) It could be that they both are referring to a misinterpretation however a simple google search with “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “ergot” come up with multiple sources. > [@](#): > > ``` > f. Claviceps purpurea - ergot > (a) purple mold on rye --> ergotamine > (b) makes lysergic acid > (c) St. Elmo's fire > (d) used to constrict blood vessels after/during childbirth > > ``` From a [/url=http://www.blinn.edu/brazos/natscience/vs/microclassnotes14.htm] microbiology science class If I remember I will post the ISDN information off the book when I get home as well as the relevant pages. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808/40 "2003-10-01T21:23:54Z")
Just What DOES the devil get out of posessing some human?Is it fun for him? Or,is it part of his continual war with God? I just don’t get why the devil goes to all this trouble! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-anything-about-demonic-possession/204808.md?page=3)