Belief in the ability of discarnate spirits to take up residence in, or “possess” the body of a human being has been around since the dawn of human history.

In modern times, disbelief in this possibility is the more dominant belief, but that dominance neither proves nor disproves possession.

Despite modern sophistication in thought and scientific advances, some things remain in realm that defies scientific or medical explanation.  Modern as we are, a fascination with the idea of possession and hauntings in general is obvious from the current glut of television shows focused on these very topics. Whether they are presented as reality t.v. in the ghost hunter genre, or as fictionalized dramas such as Ghost Whisperer and Medium, along with new shows appearing all the time, the appetite for the stories and the possibility of their reality is, well, huge. 

So if possession is possible, how does it happen? Who is vulnerable to it?  There are some common sense cautions that have been around forever, but often ignored by the curious. The movie, The Exorcist, was on the mark with the basics, as the original novel was based on a true story that took place in St. Louis, Missouri. Sure the movie was heavily dramatized to make it a horror movie par excellence, with spinning heads and the best raunchy special effects of the day. But remember in the beginning of the movie, the scene with the little girl playing with a Ouija Board with her aunt?  Bingo.  This was straight from the real case, only it was a young boy and his aunt. Ouija boards are portals to the world of discarnate entities, be they demonic or earthbound disgruntled spirits who don’t want to accept that they are dead. Either way, you’re in bad company. Outlaw spirits are not interested in helping the Ouija user, they are interested in attention, control, and when there’s an opening, use of an available body — yes, possession.  They just don’t have good intentions.

                           Bravo T.V. brings together film directors, actors, industry leaders to comment on 

                           The Exorcist, one of the scariest movies of all time, based on a true story. 

Possession 101, Rule #1:  Stay away from Ouija boards.

Ouija boards began to be  marketed by Parker Brothers years ago as toys.  Unsuspecting parents bought them as Christmas presents thinking no harm, no foul.  Mistake. Very foul. 

What goes for Ouija boards also goes for other occult objects and practices. Rule #2: Stay away from anything that is claming to be an opening to communication with the dead, is a very dangerous spiritual game. Seances. Black magic, voodoo, Santeria, spells — the desire to do harm. Dark arts. 

There may be some few who can safely navigate the waters of seeing spirits, usually unbidden. But the old disclaimer is needed here:  Don’t try this at home.  Those are the realm of a gifted and trained few.  Just like you shouldn’t build your own rocket to try to blast to the moon, or attempt to recreate Criss Angel’s magic stunts for yourself, so you should also tread with honest fear around these practices, and forget about dabbling.

Opening these portals is indeed, just like the books and movies say, an opening for the vulnerable to be entered by a spirit.

Possession happens when a person’s spirituality and faith are weak, when they create an opportunity for the discarnate entity to come in by engaging it in some way, and when a person lacks spiritual protection.  Some people actually spend a lot of time “spaced out,” out of their bodies.  If you are fully present in your own body, something else may take advantage of that.

Alcohol and drug abuse are also open doors for the vulnerable.  What do you think a blackout is?Consider an alcoholic in a blackout who has no recollection of their actions for hours or even days. Sometimes crimes are committed they have no remembrance of. Yet the proof may point to them.  At the same time, their bodies were walking around, functioning, conversing,  driving, doing things, sometimes the people around them could not even tell that the person was drunk.

There is the belief among spiritual teachers, that another entity takes advantage of the “checking out” that a person does with excess alcohol or drug abuse, and the entities come on in. A wicked entity will use the body to enact abuse, even crimes.  Well considered, this is a reasonable explanation for the person  who is completely unable to remember anything, yet functioned during that time.

Some possessions are temporary.  The person becomes like a spiritual Motel 6 — they leave a light on that attracts wandering entities and welcome them in for an overnight stay.  The entities come and ago.  In more severe cases, a person may become completely taken over, a complete possession.

There are those spiritual teachers today too who believe that many cases of mental disorders such as bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia are not medically borne at all, but are cases of varying degrees of possession. The shifts and the changes in the bi-polar person may be caused by the comings and goings of entities, because the person isn’t even aware of the Vacancy light on and that they are acting like a human motel for the otherworldly discarnates.

Of course, such a notion would be rejected outright by the medical community. Pharmaceuticals control the person, but do not cure the malady.  Is it possible the cure is spiritual?  That would take us back to biblical times, to the ministry of Jesus.  And of course, we are far too sophisticated for that.  Much has been written about how Jesus himself was naïve, carrying out exorcisms that were really just healings of physical ailments, what we now call psychiatric illnesses.  Or epilepsy, that’s the explanation for seizures in the Gospels.  Maybe some.  Maybe not.  Maybe we are not so smart after all . . . maybe we need to retrieve some wisdom.

Haunted locations are another avenue of opportunity for possession of someone in the house or building.  Just watch a few episodes of A Haunting and common theme occurs — negativity.  Negative energy can permeate a location haunted by evil entities, and that causes division and fighting that rips families and friends apart. And once that process is started, then the most vulnerable person may even become possessed by the “ghost” or demon present.  Some of the stories have had even enthusiastic ghost hunters become possessed, and after being exorcised or healed, running for the hills, foreswearing any more of that activity.  They were wide-eyed enthusiasts ill prepared for what they met up with.

Possessions can and do happen.  One of the chief opponents of evil, Archangel Michael, is traditionally called upon to help free those who become possessed. Michael is always depicted carrying a sword, and artistic depiction of this at above shows the spiritual power of sword of Michael. The best protection against vulnerability to evil entities is strong faith, strong awareness of being in one's body and responsibility for being in charge of it, and remaining in the company of good energy, staying away from the negative, and not dabbling in practices that are doorways to spiritual danger.  No, there won’t be head spinning, but what there is, is scary enough.

Next: Exorcism: What is it, how does it work?

Follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/maryellenobrien  

Recommended Book:  Possessed, by Thomas Allen.

Publisher: iUniverse, Inc; Revised edition (September 1, 2000)

This is the very well done account of the real story story from St. Louis, 1949, that inspired William Peter Blatty to write his novel, The Exorcist.

Seance, 19th century cartoon. Seances became popular after the Civil War in attempts to contact lost loved ones.

Sword of the Archangel Michael art by Michael Sharp at www.michaelsharp.org.