https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions Assignment 2 Paranormal and Pseudoscience en-us 2018-04-01 17:37:17 UTC 2026-02-17 14:28:47 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Pumpkin.png BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247685139 This website True Ghost Tales is a webpage written and created by an individual called David Slone, which focuses on writing articles and newsletters based on paranormal information as well as news stories for visitors to read. A red flag that rises from this website would be the proof by verbosity due to the fact that this website incorporates many descriptions, references and opinions from religious texts and materials towards the historical beliefs of demons. A reason for self-belief for this website would be the notion of ideology because if certain people have pre-conceived beliefs, perceptions or biases towards the topic of demons, then this article describing the historical beliefs of demons will become all the more factual and believable, or all the more unbelievable. Some limitations of this website can be seen in its lack of credible sponsors which support the website (as many of the sponsors have nothing to do with the topic and instead are merely advertisements). Another limitation is the credibility of the writer David Slone has no credible research, academic or scientific background within this topic of discussion.

]]> 2018-04-01 17:45:27 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247685139 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247685338 This website Witchcraftandwitch.com is a webpage which is dedicated to provide knowledge and awareness to various topics of various witchcraft, paranormal and fictional phenomenon’s such as astrology, alchemy, spiritualism and demonology. A red flag that arises from this website is the utilization of proof by verbosity as this web page describes multiple historical examples and religious perspectives which explain the various perspectives and beliefs that many different cultures have of demonology. A reason of self-belief for this webpage could be patternicity primarily because this webpage incorporates many photos and illustrations of historical concepts which emphasize the notion that demons really did and do exist. Some limitations of this website can be seen from the lack of sponsors or credible supporters which endorse the website, as from exploring the web page there is no indication of external support and instead is supported more from an idealistic perspective from the writer Luke Mastin. There could also be a hint of confirmation bias as most of the information taken from historical religious texts support the beliefs of demons and only that. 

]]> 2018-04-01 17:48:36 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247685338 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247685854 This website wake-up.org is a website written and created by the author and publisher Larry W. Wilson, with the aim of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ through utilization of the bible alone. In this specific article Mr. Wilson takes many references from the bible which support his ideology that demons do exist and how they manipulate and influence people. A red flag that arises from this website is the appeal to authority as the publisher and writer of this website endorses only the use of the bible through specific annotations and references, thereby creating the ideology that because it is written in the bible it must be true creating credibility. A reason for self-belief could be the emotional connection created by the implementation of a source which for many people is thought to be credible, the bible. By using the bible people of that faith who are devote to that religion will believe what the writer says emotionally and psychologically. A limitation that can be seen from this source is the writers use of only 1 source of reference material (bible) to support his stance on the belief of demons, without taking other sources of information into account or into perspective. 

]]> 2018-04-01 17:58:44 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247685854 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247685929 This video “Are Demons Real” is created by a well-known YouTube channel called Alltime Conspiracies which boasts an impressive subscriber base of 1.5 million people. This channel focuses on and creates content revealing facts about conspiracies, news, religious topics and historical events. A red flag which arises upon viewing the video could be the proof by verbosity caused by the large quantity of historical facts, religious incidents and modern examples which the creator discusses throughout the 4 minute video thereby indicating the appearance that this must be true. However a reason for self-belief could be the videos utilization of the viewer’s perception and observation. Due to the varying beliefs and perceptions of the people watching the video, people will believe they see a demon/evil spirit or simply other phenomenon’s that does not relate at all to demons.  A limitation of this video could be the pre-held bias that the video instigates that demons and evil spirits do exist, as they do not mention any counter theories to suggest that this topic could be simply made fictional due to the beliefs of culture or religion.

]]> 2018-04-01 17:59:54 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247685929 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686073 This video “Are Demons Real – What Is A Demon” is created by a medium psychic called Susan Rowlen through her own YouTube channel Psychic Medium Susan Rowlen. This channel has a subscriber base of 5.2 thousand people and growing, with the channel focusing on content to psychic readings, foretelling of future circumstances and life skills. A red flag that immediately rises from this video is psychics description of mystical energy to validate her belief and proof that demons and evil spirits exist, indicating that she felt an evil aura on a person she believed was possessed. A reason of self-belief for this video could be the notion of the unexplained, as scientifically there is no proof to dictate if spirits do exist or not. As such if a person would be a profound believer of the afterlife, they could whole heartedly agree to this psychic’s observation of evil mystical energy to explain her reasoning for the existence of demons. A limitation of this video can be seen with the psychic’s belief in spirits as most, if not all, of her observations are from her own psychic observations which cannot be validated except by word of mouth. 

]]> 2018-04-01 18:02:06 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686073 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686218 This video “Scientific Explanation of Demonic Possession” is a video which explains a scientific perspective of what demonic possessions could actually be. This video interviews Professor Michael Sperling, an epileptic specialist (neurologist who specializes in epilepsy) who works for Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and his belief that demonic possessions are actually phenomenon’s called pseudo seizures. A red flag which arises from this video is the appeal to authority, as this individual is a credible doctor with a medical background in epilepsy which emphasizes his credibility as an authoritative individual on this subject.  A reason for self-belief could be the ideology that scientifically there is an explanation for a phenomenon no one has an answer to. A potential limitation could be already pre-held cognitive bias that supernatural phenomenons do not exist due to his profound beliefs in science.

]]> 2018-04-01 18:04:38 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686218 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686436 This image depicts an illustration of what many people would consider a basic depiction of good (angel on the right) versus evil (demon on the left), and how these two separate entities portray a balance between both subjects. Many people depict the demon on the left as the entity of evil due to portrayals of popular culture, media, religion and beliefs. A red flag which rises from this illustration is the appeal to authority due to the imagery lending to the appearance of credibility, as vast majority of people who asked what a demon would look like they describe a red colored being with horns, wings and sharp teeth. A reason for belief for this illustration can be described through the patternicity of the drawings, as due to popular culture people instantly identify the demon on the left and the angel on the right. 

]]> 2018-04-01 18:07:43 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686436 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686820 This image is a classical painting created by Francisco Goya depicting St. Francis Borgia performing an exorcism on an individual possessed by demons. A red flag which rises from this painting is the notion of mystical energy, where the priest through his actions of using the cross tries to expel and banish the demons which reside within the bed ridden individual. A reason of belief for this photo can dwell from the ideology that a priest with a cross must be performing an exorcism or some sort of religious ritual, especially when taking into consideration the demons in the photo as well. This can be mainly derived from the development of popular culture such as movies, media and the internet. A limitation that can be derived from this drawing could be the assumption people can have that because of this portrait, every individual who is bed ridden with a priest in the room must be possessed by demons or evil spirits. 

]]> 2018-04-01 18:13:12 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686820 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686887 This image portrays what looks like a human being, or person, encompassed by an evil red mist or aura to indicate that this individual is being possessed or corrupted. The black wings indicate a malice which can be connected to that of a demon, indirectly indicating this person is being possessed by an evil spirit. A red flag which rises from this painting can be the appeal to authority, as the black torn wings attached to the dark humanoid figure instantly gives the impression of a demonic figure/demon. A reason for belief of this photo could be the notion of emotional connection, as people who are subjected to media portrayals of demons will immediately latch onto their emotional perceptions of what they may look like and believe them without critically analyzing, or deductively reasoning what these perceptions are. A limitation that can be derived from this photo can be the vague humanoid figure in the photo as demons are not usually depicted as human figures, but as red skinned beings with horns, a tail, sharp nails and teeth.  

]]> 2018-04-01 18:14:01 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247686887 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247687287 By: Brandon Galarza Arcos]]> 2018-04-01 18:19:53 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247687287 BrandonRossonero https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247689070 2018-04-01 18:47:00 UTC https://padlet.com/BrandonRossonero/DemonsandDemonicPossessions/wish/247689070