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Made by Victoria Landry (working independently)

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This is a photo of a little name named Anneliese Michel. This girl was the original story of the movie "The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Anneliese during her school years went into weird trances where she would walk around randomly and then not remember anything. When Annelise went to the doctors they claimed that she had schizophrenia where she became medicated. When she was in university the medication did not help and the trances kept getting worse. she started eating spiders, claiming devil voices talking to her. Annelise had 67 exorcisms and personally believed that she was possessed by not just one demon but 6 which were, Lucifer, Cain, Judas Iscariot, Adolf Hitler, Nero, and Fleischmann (who was a disgraceful priest). Each of the demons was talking to each other arguing through her body.  At the age of 23 years old she starved and was dehydrated. A few months later it became a global story and later turned into a movie.

Connection: This photo is connected to Demonic Possession because it is a photo of Annelise Michel who claimed she was possessed by a demon.  This story which goes with the photo has a red flag which is proof by verbosity. There are a lot of words in the story but no real proof of there ever being an exorcism.

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Robert the doll was a doll given to a little boy with the same name. The little boy made his doll a sailor outfit and growing up used to speak to the doll like it was a person. The little boy even blamed the doll for his mistakes. In the school children claimed that they saw the doll disappear and reappear and the facial expressions of the doll changed when they said anything bad about the doll. Years later the doll went into a museum. to this day the doll is in the museum and is clamed to be possessed. If a visitor says anything bad about the doll in front of him the visitor will get bad luck and will have to write a letter apologizing to the doll. every day Robert the doll gets multiple letters of people apologizing.

Connection: This photo connects to demonic possession because the doll is claimed to be possessed by a demon. The red flag that is in this photo and the story around this photo is an appeal to authority. Robert the doll is famous worldwide and placed in a museum which attracts attention. because this is a well-known museum people will believe it is true when it might not be possessed at all.

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Description: This video talks about the worst demons to get possessed by according to a church. The video goes into detail about who the demons are and what the demons do once you get possessed from Harmless to worse. The video also goes into how to banish that demon based on what demon they are.

Connection:
This video connects to the topic of Demonic possession because it talks about the worst demons to be possessed by. This video has red flags such as proof by verbosity. There are a lot of information on each demon being said but no real proof of any of the information is real. This video also has the red flag of Appeal to Authority because it talks about a church giving this information but doesn't specify which church it is.

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Church Reveals Worst Demons to Get Possessed By

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Description: This is a video of a priest answering a viewer's question about what to do about a demon that is harassing the viewer. The priest in the video talks about the bible and explains from reading the bible that the viewer should pray that way the demon can stop harassing the viewer.

Connection: This video connects to the topic of Demonic Possession because the viewer is asking the priest how to stop a demon from harassing them and the priest is helping them. The red flag that is in this video is ideological support. In the video the priest is pushing their religion on the viewer by making them pray and making the viewer talk about Jesus.

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I'm Praying Against Demons But Am Still Getting Attacked. What Am I Doing Wrong? - YQHA

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Description: This is a photo of a doll that is globally well-known as possessed by a demon. The story goes that in 1971 a student nurse got given the doll and psychics claimed that the doll was possessed by a demonic spirit named Anabelle. To this day the Doll is placed in a box where it is said to be trapped and blessed by a priest to ensure it stays in the box. The doll is known to be very dangerous if let out of her cage.

Connection: This photo connects to the topic (Demonic possession) because the doll is said to be possessed by a demon spirit. The red flags that can be part of the doll itself are appeals by authority. The dolls owners are Ed warren and Lorraine Warren. Both of these owners are well-known as paranormal investigators. With the owners being well known and famous in the media with them telling the story of the doll people will believe in the story without any proof.

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1. The thing that surprised me the most about the topic is that there are so many different stories of possession and each has different versions of demons and depending on the story it is a different red flag. One example is Post #7 where Erica has the red flag of suppression to authority because she believes that the doctors were out to get her unlike Robert the doll which has appeal to authority by being inside a crowded museum and being well known around the globe.

2. A real-life example where this topic is relevant to me is. Growing up I have done a lot of research on the Doll Annabelle based on the movie. I never really thought of the red flags that go with that story until now.

3. The research I found the most interesting was Post #3 with Annelise Michel who got possessed by a demon. I have never heard of her and had never seen the movie based on the story until this assignment so I found the story quite interesting. the website had a lot of information rather it was true or not, no one knows but it was a very interesting story.

4. The research I will most likely remember from this topic would be Post #3 with Annelise Michel. The story of her being possessed by a demon was just so in-depth and it was just so fascinating.

5. Having completed this course I feel like the most harmful belief would be the All natural red flag items because it could potentially kill people with people thinking all-natural means safe for humans. The belief i believe is the least harmful would be The Lochness monster, because it doesn't really affect your day-to-day life or health. It could affect your money if you go to Scotland to try to find it but as long as you know there is a chance you will not see it and enjoy Scotland for what it is. it isn't harmful.

6. If I could pass on my knowledge to my family and friends I would teach them the red flags to look out for with any pseudoscience story or items. rather it's a demon possession to everyday advertisements.

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Description: This website talks about the 4 stages of demonic possession which are Infestation, Oppression, obsession, and finally possession. Infestation starts off as just hearing footsteps and seeing stuff. Oppression is the second stage where you start getting sleep disturbances. Obsession is the stage where the person starts having thoughts of demonic activity controlling their life along with thoughts of suicide. and finally, possession is when the demon has full control over the person's life.

Connection: This website connects to Demonic Possession because it talks about the 4 stages of getting possessed. The red flag on the website is proof by verbosity. There is a ton of information on the website but there is no real proof of any of the stages being real information. There is also the red flag Appeal to Authority because this site is an official news site that is well-known and the official name makes the information more believable.

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Possession doesn't happen overnight. It's a process, and it always requires an open door: playing with Ouija boards, attending or conducting séances, even going on a ghost hunt with friends. No matter how innocent one's intentions, dark spirits can take advantage of such opportunities. In his 1990 book "An Exorcist Tells His Story," Father Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist of Rome who passed away Sept. 16 at the age of 91, identified the following stages of demonic activity:

1. Infestation. This is "haunted house" type stuff: footsteps, voices, apparitions, furniture or other objects moving without human agency, odors with no discernible source. Rather than directly affecting people, infestations affect only property, objects, or even animals.

2. Oppression. Activity steps up with physical attacks, sleep disturbances including regular nightmares, frequent and severe illnesses, major depression or anxiety, severe financial or employment problems, and relationship troubles. While these things happen in the normal course of life, all of them happening at once or in rapid succession could be a sign of demonic presence.

3. Obsession. As the name implies, at this stage the afflicted person has a hard time functioning, being constantly preoccupied with thoughts of the demonic activity commandeering his or her life, and frequently with thoughts of suicide as well. Sleep becomes nearly impossible.

All three of these stages can be addressed by a competent deliverance minister. However, the last stage is reserved for official exorcists...

4. Possession. Contrary to popular belief, possession is not demons entering a person's body and taking over his or her soul. A person's free will is never removed, only severely compromised. In possession, a person is so physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually broken down by going through the other three stages that demonic spirits are able to seize occasional control over that person's actions.

Telltale signs of possession include superhuman strength, speaking in a language the victim doesn't know, inordinate aversion to holy objects, knowledge of events or facts the victim could not possibly know, and according to Diocese of San Jose exorcist Gary Thomas (whose story was made famous in the book and movie "The Rite"), changes in facial features.

Telltale signs do not include 360 degree head spins.

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Possession doesn't happen overnight. It's a process, and it always requires an open door: playing with Ouija boards, attending or conducting séances, even going on a ghost hunt with friends. No matter how innocent one's intentions, dark spirits can take advantage of such opportunities.

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Description: This video is about a girl named Erica who was a  regular businesswoman who one day believed she was being possessed by a demon and went to the emergency room and started believing that the doctor's medication was against her. The doctors believed that she had schizophrenia. Erica started copying what the doctors were saying and tried to escape thinking the doctors were out to get her.

Connection: This video is connected to demonic possession because in the video the girl Erica believes she is possessed by a demon. The red flag in this video is suppression by authority. The video has suppression by the authority because the woman Erica believes that the doctors are out to get her and make her even sicker then she is.

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Description: This website talks about what happens when a person gets possessed by demons. The website gives a long list and mentions Bible verses to make the information that is written more believable.

Connection: This website connects to the topic of Demonic Possession because it talks about what happens when a person gets possessed. This website has the red flag Appeal to Authority because it references a bible but doesn't talk about which religion it follows and if the bible is a legit one or just a random online one made by some random person.

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Those who were possessed by demons in Scripture showed certain symptoms. They include the following:

1. Cannot Control Themselves

A person who is under the control of a demon cannot control themselves. The evil spirit is able to speak through their lips or can make them mute as it so desires. Scripture gives examples of demon-possessed people who were mute.

And when the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel (Matthew 9:33).

Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a demon, blind and mute: and He healed him, insomuch that the mute man spoke and saw (Matthew 12:22).

We also find demons speaking through people.

Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:23-24).

2. New Personality

Demon-possession means that a new personality is introduced to that person - the victim becomes a different person. The Gadarene demoniac acted and spoke as one who was controlled by another personality

Suddenly they shouted, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" (Matthew 8:29).

3. Different Voice

Sometimes those who are demon-possessed speak with a different voice. On one occasion, when Jesus asked the name of the demon, the demon spoke through the man and said:

And He asked him, What is your name? And he said unto Him, My name is Legion; for we are many (Mark 5:9).

4. Supernatural Knowledge

In one incident, the demons speaking through a man, immediately recognized Jesus as the Messiah.

Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:23-24).

This understanding of Jesus' identity came from supernatural knowledge. For at this time, Jesus had not yet revealed Himself to His disciples, or to the world, as the promised Messiah.

5. New Abilities

A person who is demon-possessed acquires new abilities. For example, those possessed by demons can demonstrate superhuman strength. The Bible speaks of one demoniac in the following way.

He had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones (Mark 5:4,5).

6. Suicidal Tendencies

Demon possession can lead to suicidal tendencies. The Bible says of one person who was demon-possessed.

It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us (Mark 9:22).

It seems that demons want to physically destroy the person they possess.

The New Testament tells us some of the signs of demon possession The demons are able to speak through their victims, they can demonstrate new abilities, show different personalities, and exhibit suicidal tendencies. The main thing to understand is that demon-possessed people are controlled by this demonic presence. Though the symptoms may look like mere psychological dysfunction, in actuality, the problem is demon-possession.

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What Happens When a Person Is Demon-Possessed?

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Those who were possessed by demons in Scripture showed certain symptoms. They include the following: 1. Cannot Control Themselves A person who is under the control of a demon cannot control themselves. The evil spirit is able to speak through their lips or can make them mute as it so desires.

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Description: This website talks about a psychiatrist who studied at Princeton, Yale, and Columbia. The psychiatrist tells a story about how he started believing in demonic possession which started with him meeting a possessed girl who told him things that were impossible to know. He then says that he held an exorcism on the girl. during the exorcism apparently, the possessed girl started chanting in multiple different languages which includes Latin.

Connection: This video connects to the topic of Demonic possession because the website talks about a psychiatrist who spoke to a possessed girl and held an exorcism on her. The red flag the website has is proof of authority. The website talks about the psychiatrist studying in multiple universities to make him sound more professional than he might be. There is no proof of the psychiatrist talking to this girl and holding an exorcism. this article is also in the Washington Post which is a well-known news website that makes this story more believable.

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Matt Rota for The Washington Post

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In the late 1980s, I was introduced to a self-styled Satanic high priestess. She called herself a witch and dressed the part, with flowing dark clothes and black eye shadow around to her temples. In our many discussions, she acknowledged worshipping Satan as his "queen."

I'm a man of science and a lover of history; after studying the classics at Princeton, I trained in psychiatry at Yale and in psychoanalysis at Columbia. That background is why a Catholic priest had asked my professional opinion, which I offered pro bono, about whether this woman was suffering from a mental disorder. This was at the height of the national panic about Satanism. (In a case that helped induce the hysteria, Virginia McMartin and others had recently been charged with alleged Satanic ritual abuse at a Los Angeles preschool; the charges were later dropped.) So I was inclined to skepticism. But my subject's behavior exceeded what I could explain with my training. She could tell some people their secret weaknesses, such as undue pride. She knew how individuals she'd never known had died, including my mother and her fatal case of ovarian cancer. Six people later vouched to me that, during her exorcisms, they heard her speaking multiple languages, including Latin, completely unfamiliar to her outside of her trances. This was not psychosis; it was what I can only describe as paranormal ability. I concluded that she was possessed. Much later, she permitted me to tell her story.

Watch: Nationwide exorcism performed on Mexico

The priest who had asked for my opinion of this bizarre case was the most experienced exorcist in the country at the time, an erudite and sensible man. I had told him that, even as a practicing Catholic, I wasn't likely to go in for a lot of hocus-pocus. "Well," he replied, "unless we thought you were not easily fooled, we would hardly have wanted you to assist us."

So began an unlikely partnership. For the past two-and-a-halfdecades and over several hundred consultations, I've helped clergy from multiple denominations and faiths to filter episodes of mental illness - which represent the overwhelming majority of cases - from, literally, the devil's work. It's an unlikely role for an academic physician, but I don't see these two aspects of my career in conflict. The same habits that shape what I do as a professor and psychiatrist - open-mindedness, respect for evidence and compassion for suffering people - led me to aid in the work of discerning attacks by what I believe are evil spirits and, just as critically, differentiating these extremely rare events from medical conditions.

Is it possible to be a sophisticated psychiatrist and believe that evil spirits are, however seldom, assailing humans? Most of my scientific colleagues and friends say no, because of their frequent contact with patients who are deluded about demons, their general skepticism of the supernatural, and their commitment to employ only standard, peer-reviewed treatments that do not potentially mislead (a definite risk) or harm vulnerable patients. But careful observation of the evidence presented to me in my career has led me to believe that certain extremely uncommon cases can be explained no other way.

* * * * * * *

The Vatican does not track global or countrywide exorcism, but in my experience and according to the priests I meet, demand is rising. The United States is home to about 50 "stable" exorcists - those who have been designated by bishops to combat demonic activity on a semi-regular basis - up from just 12 a decade ago, according to the Rev. Vincent Lampert, an Indianapolis-based priest-exorcist who is active in the International Association of Exorcists. (He receives about 20 inquiries per week, double the number from when his bishop appointed him in 2005.) The Catholic Church has responded by offering greater resources for clergy members who wish to address the problem. In 2010, for instance, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops organized a meeting in Baltimore for interested clergy. In 2014, Pope Francis formally recognized the IAE, 400 members of which are to convene in Rome this October. Members believe in such strange cases because they are constantly called upon to help. (I served for a time as a scientific adviser on the group's governing board.)

[No, really. Take a vacation. Your co-workers will manage just fine without you.]

Unfortunately, not all clergy involved in this complex field are as cautious as the priest who first approached me. In some circles, there is a tendency to become overly preoccupied with putative demonic explanations and to see the devil everywhere. Fundamentalist misdiagnoses and absurd or even dangerous "treatments," such as beating victims, have sometimes occurred, especially in developing countries. This is perhaps why exorcism has a negative connotation in some quarters. People with psychological problems should receive psychological treatment.

But I believe I've seen the real thing. Assaults upon individuals are classified either as "demonic possessions" or as the slightly more common but less intense attacks usually called "oppressions." A possessed individual may suddenly, in a type of trance, voice statements of astonishing venom and contempt for religion, while understanding and speaking various foreign languages previously unknown to them. The subject might also exhibit enormous strength or even the extraordinarily rare phenomenon of levitation. (I have not witnessed a levitation myself, but half a dozen people I work with vow that they've seen it in the course of their exorcisms.) He or she might demonstrate "hidden knowledge" of all sorts of things - like how a stranger's loved ones died, what secret sins she has committed, even where people are at a given moment. These are skills that cannot be explained except by special psychic or preternatural ability.

I have personally encountered these rationally inexplicable features, along with other paranormal phenomena. My vantage is unusual: As a consulting doctor, I think I have seen more cases of possession than any other physician in the world.

[I'm a transgender Republican. My party has betrayed me.]

Most of the people I evaluate in this role suffer from the more prosaic problems of a medical disorder. Anyone even faintly familiar with mental illnesses knows that individuals who think they are being attacked by malign spirits are generally experiencing nothing of the sort. Practitioners see psychotic patients all the time who claim to see or hear demons; histrionic or highly suggestible individuals, such as those suffering from dissociative identity syndromes; and patients with personality disorders who are prone to misinterpret destructive feelings, in what exorcists sometimes call a "pseudo-possession," via the defense mechanism of an externalizing projection. But what am I supposed to make of patients who unexpectedly start speaking perfect Latin?

I approach each situation with an initial skepticism. I technically do not make my own "diagnosis" of possession but inform the clergy that the symptoms in question have no conceivable medical cause.

I am aware of the way many psychiatrists view this sort of work. While the American Psychiatric Association has no official opinion on these affairs, the field (like society at large) is full of unpersuadable skeptics and occasionally doctrinaire materialists who are often oddly vitriolic in their opposition to all things spiritual. My job is to assist people seeking help, not to convince doctors who are not subject to suasion. Yet I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of psychiatrists and other mental health practitioners nowadays who are open to entertaining such hypotheses. Many believe exactly what I do, though they may be reluctant to speak out.

* * * * * * *

As a man of reason, I've had to rationalize the seemingly irrational. Questions about how a scientifically trained physician can believe "such outdated and unscientific nonsense," as I've been asked, have a simple answer. I honestly weigh the evidence. I have been told simplistically that levitation defies the laws of gravity, and, well, of course it does! We are not dealing here with purely material reality, but with the spiritual realm. One cannot force these creatures to undergo lab studies or submit to scientific manipulation; they will also hardly allow themselves to be easily recorded by video equipment, as skeptics sometimes demand. (The official Catholic Catechism holds that demons are sentient and possess their own wills; as they are fallen angels, they are also craftier than humans. That's how they sow confusion and seed doubt, after all.) Nor does the church wish to compromise a sufferer's privacy, any more than doctors want to compromise a patient's confidentiality.

[Feminists treat men badly. It's bad for feminism.]

Ignorance and superstition have often surrounded stories of demonic possession in various cultures, and surely many alleged episodes can be explained by fraud, chicanery or mental pathology. But anthropologists agree that nearly all cultures have believed in spirits, and the vast majority of societies (including our own) have recorded dramatic stories of spirit possession. Despite varying interpretations, multiple depictions of the same phenomena in astonishingly consistent ways offer cumulative evidence of their credibility.

As a psychoanalyst, a blanket rejection of the possibility of demonic attacks seems less logical, and often wishful in nature, than a careful appraisal of the facts. As I see it, the evidence for possession is like the evidence for George Washington's crossing of the Delaware. In both cases, written historical accounts with numerous sound witnesses testify to their accuracy.

In the end, however, it was not an academic or dogmatic view that propelled me into this line of work. I was asked to consult about people in pain. I have always thought that, if requested to help a tortured person, a physician should not arbitrarily refuse to get involved. Those who dismiss these cases unwittingly prevent patients from receiving the help they desperately require, either by failing to recommend them for psychiatric treatment (which most clearly need) or by not informing their spiritual ministers that something beyond a mental or other illness seems to be the issue. For any person of science or faith, it should be impossible to turn one's back on a tormented soul.
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As a psychiatrist, I diagnose mental illness. Also, I help spot demonic possession.

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How a scientist learned to work with exorcists.