Demons Among Us: The RFT paid a visit to America's foremost demonologist in Chesterfield and came home with our head spinning

Comments (0) By Aimee Levitt Wednesday, Aug 13 2008

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A typical exorcism begins with a "deliverance," a series of prayers accompanied by soft music. "It gets the person in a certain spiritual mood," Bradshaw explains. "It also gets the exorcism team psyched up."

Then the battle begins. "A demon will very frequently use the voice of the person. You think it's the person talking. They use the body, the mind, the strength, the personality. It won't always have the same tone. Sometimes it's trying to soft-soap you and make a good impression. Or it'll try to scare the living daylights out of you."

Jennifer Silverberg

Dr. William Bradshaw, demonologist.

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The key element in any exorcism is that the possessed person has to want to be rid of the demon. "The average possessed person doesn't like himself and the things he does," Bradshaw says. "He's so relieved when it's over. But he's still spiritually weak. He needs to get counseling and help and be on guard against not allowing the demon back in his life."

Not all possessed people are correctly diagnosed and not all exorcisms are successful. "The great majority of demon-possessed people are never diagnosed," Bradshaw says. "They go see doctors about depression and outbursts and so forth, and they go from person to person to person. They get diagnosed with mental and emotional problems and have unhappy lives."

Still, Bradshaw will not hold demons responsible for all the world's evil. "Some scholars say that everything bad is caused by Satan, if you get hit by a car, if you slip and fall. I do not agree with this — it takes away all individual responsibility.

"Many people think they can play with the devil and get by. There's a certain enjoyment that comes from living on the edge and doing things you shouldn't and getting by. But who would go to a wedding and rape the bride? How can any human person be that cruel? Sometimes you have to believe there's an ultrahuman source at work."