ShortHand: Exorcisms Around the World

Hannah Maguire (0:13)

So, listeners, when you think of the word exorcism, what do you think about Suruthi Bala?

Suruthi Bala (0:20)

Well, I would say that thanks to the myriad of Hollywood exorcism movies that we have all consumed, forever and eternity. We're all thinking the same thing.

Hannah Maguire (0:32)

Yes, you're right.

Suruthi Bala (0:33)

We're thinking of a Catholic priest man holding up a cross and yelling the same exact thing that they yell in every single exorcism movie. And then we're like, ah!

Waaaaaah! That, that's what we're thinking.

Hannah Maguire (0:51)

Yes, and most people are thinking that. Specifically, they're thinking about the 1971 film The Exorcist. So, yeah, you're probably, probably got Reagan in your, in your head because she lives there.

Suruthi Bala (1:01)

She does.

Hannah Maguire (1:02)

But there's quite a lot more to exorcisms than that. According to theologian Stephen Oakley, exorcism is a prayer or ritual that is meant to remove the influence of demonic evil power over a person.

A christening, for example, is an exorcism.

Suruthi Bala (1:17)

No way!

Hannah Maguire (1:18)

It is!

Suruthi Bala (1:19)

Well, there you go.

Hannah Maguire (1:19)

So think about that the next time you get invited to one of those.

Suruthi Bala (1:22)

You strip a little bit of water on the baby's head. Yeah. I saw a video the other day on Instagram where it was just like this baby getting baptized and just knocks the book out of the priest's hand and it just falls in the water. And it was like a really fucking old book or some shit.

Hannah Maguire (1:36)

I don't know.

Suruthi Bala (1:37)

I was laughing too hard to pay attention. That baby's possessed.

Hannah Maguire (1:41)

Yeah. Well, yeah, that's why they cry. The demon's coming out.

And that's why they can't go to heaven if they're not baptized.

Suruthi Bala (1:49)

Original sin.

Hannah Maguire (1:50)

Because they're full of sins.

Suruthi Bala (1:52)

Classic.

Hannah Maguire (1:53)

Disgusting babies.

Suruthi Bala (1:54)

Eww, gross. Don't touch an unbaptized baby. It's such a sinner.

Hannah Maguire (2:00)

Exorcisms are everywhere. They're in basically every culture throughout history. So this week, as part of our classic October Halloween spooktacular, we thought it would be fun to do a whistle stop tour of exorcisms throughout history and around the world. Because as you will soon see, there's a lot more to exorcisms than shouting the power of Christ compels you at a teenager doing the nasty with the crucifix. In pretty much every culture, from shamanism to Judaism, there exists a concept of spiritual possession and the need to get those spirits out.

How exactly one would go about doing that varies from place to place. And this is the shorthand.

Suruthi Bala (2:41)

Now, before we discuss the various demon removal services that have been offered throughout history, we need to discuss the why.

Why is it that pretty much as far back as we know, people have felt that they or someone they know is possessed? In the most simple terms, it falls into two categories. People who are unwell and people who are doing things which are perceived to be unnatural or evil.

The understanding of physical and mental health at the time, and we're talking about the past-o-time, was pretty basic. And we've talked before about how one of the earliest known medical procedures was of course, trepanning. And this is essentially creating a little hole in the back of someone's head to let out the evil spirits. There is evidence of this procedure as far back as 6,500 BCE. In fact, in one single burial site in France, 40 out of 120 skulls had evidence of trepanning. 8,000 years ago, we as a species had no idea of the complexity of the human mind. Take Tourette's Syndrome. Today, our understanding of it means that there are a whole host of ways for people to manage or control their tics. Back then, however, we explained what we didn't understand with spirituality. And that's especially easy if you already believe in the existence of foul demonic creatures, meaning it's not a massive jump to believe that if someone isn't in control of their actions, they are in fact possessed by some kind of evil spirit.

And so, that brings us to the next logical conclusion. Get the spirit out of there.

Hannah Maguire (4:25)

The same goes for our other category, people doing things that are perceived to be unnatural or evil. Obviously, there are some things, murder, rape, pedophilia, etc. that have always and will always be seen as evil.

And we still struggle to understand why people commit these heinous acts now, with all of the wonders of modern psychoanalysis. So back in the dark ages, they really didn't have a clue. In fact, how many cases have we covered from the last century in which people want to believe that the acts of a murderer or sex offender were not the actions of that individual, but the acts of an evil spirit or the devil himself? Loathe.