In 2015, a British court sentenced John Thomson-Glover to three years in prison for hiding cameras in a school to film pupils when they were undressed. The judge described him as ‘essentially a good man, brought low by the demons that possess him’. Of course the judge did not mean that Thomson-Glover was literally a victim of demonic possession and, if he had been, he should not have been held responsible for his actions.
Demonic possession is often used metaphorically like this – indeed, we are more likely to encounter the idea in this sort of context than in any other. Yet the potency of the expression relies on the long tradition of belief in actual demonic possession. The phenomenon can be traced through history and around the world, and for many religious groups the idea of demonic possession, as a literal and terrifying event, is very much alive. It has changed little over the centuries, except for one way. It’s no longer just the religious who take it seriously. Now a licensed psychiatrist and college professor says without equivocation that yes, demonic possession is real.
