This is the second part of Exorcism and Demonic possession. The best films, books, and true crime stories from the 20th century.

Case studies from psychoanalytical point of view: Anneliese Michel, Anna Ecklund...

Films: Il Demonio, Requiem, Possession, Dybbuk..

In the previous episode, I discussed exorcism and cases of demonic possession in the early modern period. In addition, I looked at a fairly modern phenomenon, how exorcism in the Catholic Church is defined. In this episode, I'll look at other Abrahamic religions and their understandings of possession and also mental illness. I will convey the story through a well-known case, Anneliese Michel. The horror of annihilation, coupled with extreme feelings of separation and loss, recurs in her story. I will describe how, in a certain way, the omnipotent solution gave her perhaps at least a little sense of security. Instead, a slightly more difficult omnipotent solution of the other people was that it was decided to treat difficult problems with exorcism. I present the best possession and exorcism movies, as well as the related true stories. During the witch persecutions, the whole society was possessed. In these cases, it has been a common delusion of the small communities.

This podcast episode (part one) will NOT re-tell what you already know about the movie The Exorcist, but deepen your understanding of demonic possession and exorcism. So step into the world of the history of witchcraft and learn about cases of demonic possession from the 16th-17th centuries, as well as the theory about exorcism.

This episode deals with the ability of witches to transform into werewolves, and the theme of the episode is wolf in general. Today I will borrow texts especially from Rolf Schulte (2009) and werewolf classic The Book of Were-Wolves (1865) by Sabine Baring-Gould. In Finland, there have not been so much beliefs that witches have the ability to transform in to animals. Somewhat in the Lapland region, but otherwise it was believed at most, that witches had familiars, one of which was the wolf. However in certain areas of Europe, especially in heavily forested regions, a number of werewolves were tried and convicted as witches.

The wolf seems to have always had a connection also with war and soldiers, probably thanks to its fearsomeness, ferocity and predatory skills...WehrWolf means defense more than war.

Wolves are considered to be elegant predators and highly social animals that form tight, nuclear packs. A symbol of the wilderness and the predecessors to our domesticated dogs, these majestic creatures are still plentiful in rural areas all over the world.

“He sat there watching her and smiled, I’m going to eat this child!”

This episode is about dance (with the Devil) and the episode is a bit different than usual. Topics are still the same witch history, mythology (The Erinyes). The idea of binding in spells and curses in history.

CINEMA and BALLET:

The re-make of Suspiria (2018) & Black Swan.

George Orwell’s 1984

I don’t dance - partly perhaps because my mother was a dancer. So I had to find my own way to express my self, and I am doing it also here.

I believe psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a lot like dancing together, helping people to express themselves, studying their mind and also bodies - trying to find out what kind of psychological traumas they have in their mind and bodies, that could effect in to their way of communication in interaction with others and capability to express their inner world more freely.

From the psychoanalytic point of view, today's topic are Otto Kernberg, harsh superego and political ideologies & idealization.

Suspiria (1977) Italian horror film by Dario Argento & Daria Nicoldi is based on the essay of De Quincey's "Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow". The theme of the Three Mothers however is rooted deeply in the European culture. Norns, Moirai, Matronae...and The Erinyes (Furies) are goddesses with a connection to fertility, fate, justice, revenge and death. In popular culture features of them are often mixed. The Erinyes are the most feared ones - Kindly Ones - like people called them, just to avoid to say their real name. They were particularly concerned with Parricide, intentional killing of one's father and/or mother. In the historical witch trials children sometimes accused their parents, and the sentence was death...but for whom?

I have chosen a Voodoo trilogy - The Serpent and the Rainbow, Angel Heart and The Belivers all my favourite voodoo type of movies. In the Hollywood the voodoo has come to represent a fantasy of black magic and sorcery. In all of these films there are elements of healing and protective magic.

Death is infecting life in the form of a zombie, it is something familiar turned in to something else. These are the fears what we have as a small children the loss of love and to be rejected. Todays building block in the phenomena of malevolent nurture is André Greens "The Dead Mother" theory and psychological trauma & trauma of the whole nations. In these episodes I slowly open up the psychoanalytic theory behind historical witch trials.

Voodoo is presented as it is, a mixture of cultures, a melting pot. Wild tales of Voudoun ceremonies and animal sacrifices has very easlily became as stories of human sacrifice and baby sacrifice. Fear of the otherness is in people themselves but it is projected outside.

It was also a reality in the lives of slaves imported from Africa that all of their symbols related to their indigenous religion were punishable, the punishments were in addition to imprisonment, whipping and hanging. The Catholic faith was partially forced, but it was also accepted for many other reasons. In the background there was a quiet rebellion and a dream of freedom.

The Blood On Satan's Claw (1971) was directed by Piers Haggard. He wanted to create something different. A film that has achieved a cult reputation is often classified today as a so-called "folk horror" category.

The film has been analyzed from many different angles and I will try to bring something new to this debate. I approach it from the perspectives of psychoanalysis, folklore, and history.

The beautiful but horrible fairy queen Elphame rises to the center of it all. Her name often also appeared in Scottish witch processes. A brief overview of the history of witches in Britain.

The Blonde Witch - La Sorciere, is a French movie that is based on a Alexander Kuprin's novel. It is a love story and story of otherness. The movie was made in Mora, Dalarna/Sweden. It is a small town where the actual witch processes happened in the 17th century. These witch trials were led by nobleman Lorenz Creutz. These infamous events are known for the fact that child witnesses played a large part in the trials that resulted the deaths of many.

Podcast Trailer. Coming soon (December 2021). Lecture type of Podcast about witch movies and historical witch trials, from the psychoanalytical and historical perspectives. Short (ish) lectures from Psychoanalytical Psychotherapist & Psycho historian Sami from Finland. Focus: Trials & films of the Europe, GB, Folklore from Asia, and pondering some Hollywood movies too.

In this last episode I am presenting Finnish movie Devil's Bride (2016). It is perhaps the most accurate historical film presenting witch processes as they were. The Movie and this podcast are based on Academical research of the subject and yet it is exiting and revealing. The first trials influenced by Diabolism took place on the Swedish speaking island, Ahvenanmaa (Åland) situated between Sweden and Finland (1666). The judge of Ahvenanmaa Nils Psilander acted on his own initiative, and supposedly believed to have based his actions on the most modern information of the time - as he did, indeed. In the theoretical part I will sum up things from the psychoanalytical viewpoint. We are in the middle of the crisis now (covid) - learn what can happen to people in crisis.