Spirit possession is an unusual or an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by spirits, ghosts, demons, angels, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Haitian Vodou, Dominican Vudú, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Wicca, and Southeast Asian, African, and Native American traditions. Depending on the cultural context in which it is found, possession may be thought of as voluntary or involuntary and may be considered to have beneficial or detrimental effects on the host. The experience of spirit possession sometimes serves as evidence in support of belief in the existence of spirits, deities or demons. In a 1969 study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, spirit-possession beliefs were found to exist in 74% of a sample of 488 societies in all parts of the world, with the highest numbers of believing societies in Pacific cultures and the lowest incidence among Native Americans of both North and South America. As Pentecostal and Charismatic Christian churches move into both African and Oceanic areas, a merger of belief can take place, with demons becoming representative of the "old" indigenous religions, which Christian ministers attempt to exorcise.
The Exorcist is a 1971 horror novel written by American writer William Peter Blatty and published by Harper & Row. The book details the demonic possession of eleven-year-old Regan MacNeil, the daughter of a famous actress, and the two priests who attempt to exorcise the demon. The novel was the basis of a highly successful film adaptation released two years later, whose screenplay was also written and produced by Blatty. More movies and books were eventually added to The Exorcist franchise.
Fathom is a comic book created by Michael Turner and originally published by Top Cow Productions. It debuted in 1998 and was Michael Turner's first creator-owned comic book series. Fathom is currently published by Turner's own company, Aspen MLT.
Quatermass and the Pit is a British television science-fiction serial transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's Quatermass serials, although the chief character, Professor Bernard Quatermass, reappeared in a 1979 ITV production called Quatermass. Like its predecessors, Quatermass and the Pit was written by Nigel Kneale.
Jericho is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was originally a superhero, the son of Deathstroke, and a member of the Teen Titans during The New Teen Titans period by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. Since the early 1990s, Jericho has gone through periods of both sanity and insanity.
Demon Seed is a 1977 American science fiction–horror film directed by Donald Cammell. It stars Julie Christie and Fritz Weaver. The film was based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Dean Koontz, and concerns the imprisonment and forced impregnation of a woman by an artificially intelligent computer. Gerrit Graham, Berry Kroeger, Lisa Lu and Larry J. Blake also appear in the film, with Robert Vaughn uncredited as the voice of the computer.
Cassandra Nova Xavier is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, the character first appeared in New X-Men #114. She is a mummudrai, a parasitic life form born bodiless on the astral plane.
Disturbing Behavior is a 1998 teen science fiction psychological horror film starring James Marsden, Katie Holmes, and Nick Stahl. The film was directed by David Nutter, who was a director and producer on The X-Files, and the screenplay was written by Scott Rosenberg. The plot follows a group of high school outcasts who discover their seemingly perfect "Blue Ribbon" classmates are part of an elaborate mind control experiment.
Amityville II: The Possession is a 1982 supernatural horror film directed by Damiano Damiani and starring James Olson, Burt Young, Rutanya Alda, Jack Magner, and Diane Franklin. It’s an international co-production between Mexico and the United States. The screenplay by Tommy Lee Wallace is based on the novel Murder in Amityville by the parapsychologist Hans Holzer. It is the second film in the Amityville Horror film series and a loose prequel to The Amityville Horror (1979), set at 112 Ocean Avenue and featuring the fictional Montelli family, loosely based on the DeFeo family. It follows the Montelli family's decline under apparent demonic forces present in their home.
Trance is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A mutant, Hope attended the Xavier Institute before its closing. She retained her powers after M-Day and is a member of the X-Men's training squad.
The possessions at Louviers, similar to those in Aix-en-Provence, occurred at the Louviers Convent in 1647. As with both the Aix case and its later counterpart in Loudun, the conviction of the priests involved hinged on the confessions of supposed possessed demoniacs.
Tokko is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa, the creator of Great Teacher Onizuka. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from 2003 to 2004, with its chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes.
"Herbert West–Reanimator" is a horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was written between October 1921 and June 1922. It was first serialized in February through July 1922 in the amateur publication Home Brew. The story was the basis of the 1985 horror film Re-Animator and its sequels, in addition to numerous other adaptations in various media.
Terror in the Family is a 1996 American television film directed by Gregory Goodell and starring Joanna Kerns, Dan Lauria, Andrew Kavovit, Adam Hendershott, Nan Martin, Beau Billingslea, Ryan Christopher Mouritsen, Kathleen Wilhoite, and Hilary Swank. The film is about parents' struggle with the raising of their teenage daughter whose rebellious temperament erupts into violence. Filming took place in Utah.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten is the sequel to the Season Nine comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series is published by Dark Horse Comics and ran from March 2014 to August 2016.
The Girl with All the Gifts is a science fiction book by M. R. Carey, published in June 2014 by Orbit Books. It is based on his 2013 Edgar Award-nominated short story Iphigenia In Aulis and was written concurrently with the screenplay for the 2016 film. It deals with a dystopian future in which most of humanity is wiped out by a zombie-like fungal infection.
The Possession of Michael King is a 2014 American found footage horror film written and directed by David Jung, in his directorial debut, from a story by himself and Tedi Sarafian. The film had its world premiere on August 14, 2014 in Singapore and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 22 of the same year. It was released on to video on demand on August 26, 2014. It stars Shane Johnson as a widowed, atheist filmmaker who finds himself the target of demonic forces.
Ava's Possessions is a 2015 American supernatural comedy horror film written and directed by Jordan Galland. Louisa Krause stars as the titular Ava, a young woman that must learn how to put her life together after a demon is exorcised from her body. The film had its world premiere at the Dead by Dawn Horror Film Festival on April 26, 2015.
