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The Penguin Book of Lies
Haunting accounts of real-life exorcisms through the centuries and around the world, from ancient Egypt and the biblical Middle East to colonial America and twentieth-century South AfricaA Penguin ClassicLevitation. Feats of superhuman strength. Speaking in tongues. A hateful, glowing stare. The signs of spirit possession have been documented for thousands of years and across religions and cultures, even into our In 2019 the Vatican convened 250 priests from 50 countries for a weeklong seminar on exorcism. The Penguin Book of Exorcisms brings together the most astonishing Saint Anthony set upon by demons in the form of a lion, a bull, and a panther, who are no match for his devotion and prayer; the Prophet Muhammad casting an enemy of God out of a young boy; fox spirits in medieval China and Japan; a headless bear assaulting a woman in sixteenth-century England; the possession in the French town of Loudun of an entire convent of Ursuline nuns; a Zulu woman who floated to a height of five feet almost daily; a previously unpublished account of an exorcism in Earling, Iowa, in 1928--an important inspiration for the movie The Exorcist ; poltergeist activity at a home in Maryland in 1949--the basis for William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist ; a Filipina girl "bitten by devils"; and a rare example of a priest's letter requesting permission of a bishop to perform an exorcism--after witnessing a boy walk backward up a wall. Fifty-seven percent of Americans profess to believe in demonic possession; after reading this book, you may too.For more than seventy-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 2,000 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
534 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2020
74 people are currently reading
1426 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Laycock
17 books91 followersJoseph P. Laycock is an associate professor of religious studies at Texas State University. He teaches courses on world religions, religion in America, new religious movements, and the intersection of religion and popular culture.
He is the author of several books including The Penguin Book of Exorcisms, Speak of the Devil: How The Satanic Temple is Changing the Way We Talk About Religion, Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic Over Role-Playing Games Says About Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds and The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism.
He is the author of several books including The Penguin Book of Exorcisms, Speak of the Devil: How The Satanic Temple is Changing the Way We Talk About Religion, Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic Over Role-Playing Games Says About Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds and The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
November 10, 2021
Maybe it's just the circles I travel in, but it seems to me that the horror genre is more popular today than it's ever been. Drop in on any group of twenty- or thirty-something friends and you're pretty much guaranteed to find at least one person who's made "loving horror" into a defining personality trait, and probably more than one. Jordan Peele and Bong Joon-ho movie releases are major cultural events, studios like A24 generate two or three "elevated" horror films a year which are inevitably eaten up by cinephiles, and more lowbrow franchises like The Conjuring and The Purge churn out lucrative installments almost yearly. On TV and streaming, horror and horror-adjacent shows like Supernatural, Hannibal, Lovecraft Country, Black Mirror, Squid Game, and Mike Flanagan's annual spooky Netflix miniseries attract endless online discussion, and in the book world it would be hard to think of a living figure more beloved or influential than Stephen King, however sneered-at his work may have been in the early decades of his career.
I mention all this because it's this demographic—more than, say, students of religion or anthropology—that The Penguin Book of Exorcisms seems to be marketed towards. Everything from the sinister red cover to the pop culture referenced in the explanatory notes (The Exorcist, naturally, but also Supernatural, The Witch, and Ghost Adventures) to the recommendations for further reading at the back (apparently there are similar Penguin books on the undead, witches, hell, and ghost stories) indicate that the publishers know full well who's really going to be reading something like this and why. And in my case, for better or worse, they were absolutely right. It's been a long time since I've sincerely fretted about demonic influences, but if I can scratch my itch for occult horror while simultaneously learning something new about human history and society, I'll happily do so.
Sensationalistic though the advertising may be, however, I found this to be a well-put-together primary source anthology which is interesting enough on its own merits that I almost immediately switched from skimming to reading straight through. The focus is primarily on Christian exorcisms, as editor Laycock admits, with the highest density coming from the witch-burning days of the 16th through 18th centuries; but I was pleasantly surprised by how much space is devoted to other traditions, too. We've got a decent amount of pre-Christian stuff, short sections on both Jewish and Muslim exorcisms, and accounts from China, Japan, Tibet, the Philippines, Sudan, South Africa, Haiti, and the Yakima Nation, to name a few. Still pretty cursory considering the vastness of human experience, but at least less cursory than I've come to expect from this sort of thing. (I'd be remiss not to mention that many of these eyewitness accounts are coming from western outsiders, which will of course shade the tone and conclusions.)
Format-wise Laycock prefaces each individual source with a contextual note (in a few cases the notes are longer than the sources themselves), and the book begins with a too-brief but still solid introduction to some of the recurring themes and tropes of exorcisms around the world and throughout history. He tells us that they tend to flare up in times of social and religious upheaval (not shocking), and that in the Christian world they have in fact become more rather than less commonplace in recent decades—in part due to the mainstreaming of concepts like demonic possession in media like The Exorcist. Catholics in particular haven't been very keen on exorcisms for a few centuries, despite the proliferation of priests in horror media, though the Vatican is apparently doing its best to meet the rising demand. Much to think about there.
Those looking to this as a sourcebook for legitimate research will probably be disappointed by the grab-bag approach; this is definitely not a comprehensive overview of exorcism practices throughout history, nor is it dense enough to be of much actual use to scholars. We rarely get more than one text from a given period and/or place, and the selections seem to be chosen for their variety rather than for the sorts of similarities which might make for dull reading but would be helpful for establishing historical patterns. Some of the inclusions are a bit odd (several of the accounts are really only "exorcisms" or even exorcism-adjacent in the broadest sense), as are some of the exclusions (we get fleeting passages from hadith and the Bhagavad Gita about casting out demons or spirits, but none of the many New Testament stories of Jesus doing the same—perhaps Laycock assumes his western audience will already be familiar with those). For casual-ish reading, though, I found the range of topics and amount of detail to be just right to maintain my interest.
Maybe it's partly due to the eclecticism of the chosen sources, but one of the biggest takeaways here for me was that there simply is no "standard" practice of diagnosing a demonic possession or performing an exorcism, even within a single Christian sect or era. Virtually every western "possession" in this book from before 1900 can easily be explained by way of mental illness or deliberate deception (one poor cleric in here is certain a possession is real because the girl "had blared out her tongue very farre, and had indured the pricking of a pinne"; she was eventually proven to be a fraud), and the later, more cinematic cases of walking up walls and the like are almost never witnessed by anyone who doesn't stand to gain from the telling. (Interesting that the more we come to learn about human behavior, the more extreme demonic manifestations have had to become in order to be convincing.) The Catholic exorcism ritual we know from films wasn't even formalized until the 1600s, and Protestants have always just kind of done their own thing, in this as in most matters. Persistent prayer and scripture recital is of course the common factor across the board, but at various times holy water, relics, and magic circles have been worked in too. Possessions, much like symptoms of mental illness, also have a tricky tendency to flare up again and again in the same victim, no matter how many "successful" exorcisms have been performed. And Laycock makes sure to show us that there have always been at least as many skeptics as believers regarding this stuff, from the ancients on down. In short, whatever residual superstition I may still have retained when I started this book had been thoroughly. . . well, exorcised by the end of it.
But setting aside the Enlightened Atheist glasses, I think there's value to reading these accounts with openness and sympathy. Belief in incorporeal spirits which sometimes come to occupy human bodies and sometimes need to be cast out of those bodies by ritual means is clearly a recurrent cross-cultural phenomenon, but the meanings and attitudes those cultures have settled on differ wildly. Many of these accounts are deeply sad—mentally ill or traumatized people beset by demons more metaphorical than anything else, opportunistic exorcists harming or even killing their charges—but some are compassionate, some funny, some intriguingly bizarre (did you know English people in Shakespeare's day had a well-documented fear of headless bears, of all things?), and one or two are even kind of uplifting. Like pretty much anything else humans do in large numbers, exorcisms can provide an interesting cross-section of power politics and social stratification, cutting across divisions of class, gender, race, vocation, religion, and more. And anyway, we'd better get used to them, because—perhaps spookiest of all—it doesn't appear they'll be going away anytime soon.
Not recommended for true believers, but the rest will probably find something of value here. I did, at least.
I mention all this because it's this demographic—more than, say, students of religion or anthropology—that The Penguin Book of Exorcisms seems to be marketed towards. Everything from the sinister red cover to the pop culture referenced in the explanatory notes (The Exorcist, naturally, but also Supernatural, The Witch, and Ghost Adventures) to the recommendations for further reading at the back (apparently there are similar Penguin books on the undead, witches, hell, and ghost stories) indicate that the publishers know full well who's really going to be reading something like this and why. And in my case, for better or worse, they were absolutely right. It's been a long time since I've sincerely fretted about demonic influences, but if I can scratch my itch for occult horror while simultaneously learning something new about human history and society, I'll happily do so.
Sensationalistic though the advertising may be, however, I found this to be a well-put-together primary source anthology which is interesting enough on its own merits that I almost immediately switched from skimming to reading straight through. The focus is primarily on Christian exorcisms, as editor Laycock admits, with the highest density coming from the witch-burning days of the 16th through 18th centuries; but I was pleasantly surprised by how much space is devoted to other traditions, too. We've got a decent amount of pre-Christian stuff, short sections on both Jewish and Muslim exorcisms, and accounts from China, Japan, Tibet, the Philippines, Sudan, South Africa, Haiti, and the Yakima Nation, to name a few. Still pretty cursory considering the vastness of human experience, but at least less cursory than I've come to expect from this sort of thing. (I'd be remiss not to mention that many of these eyewitness accounts are coming from western outsiders, which will of course shade the tone and conclusions.)
Format-wise Laycock prefaces each individual source with a contextual note (in a few cases the notes are longer than the sources themselves), and the book begins with a too-brief but still solid introduction to some of the recurring themes and tropes of exorcisms around the world and throughout history. He tells us that they tend to flare up in times of social and religious upheaval (not shocking), and that in the Christian world they have in fact become more rather than less commonplace in recent decades—in part due to the mainstreaming of concepts like demonic possession in media like The Exorcist. Catholics in particular haven't been very keen on exorcisms for a few centuries, despite the proliferation of priests in horror media, though the Vatican is apparently doing its best to meet the rising demand. Much to think about there.
Those looking to this as a sourcebook for legitimate research will probably be disappointed by the grab-bag approach; this is definitely not a comprehensive overview of exorcism practices throughout history, nor is it dense enough to be of much actual use to scholars. We rarely get more than one text from a given period and/or place, and the selections seem to be chosen for their variety rather than for the sorts of similarities which might make for dull reading but would be helpful for establishing historical patterns. Some of the inclusions are a bit odd (several of the accounts are really only "exorcisms" or even exorcism-adjacent in the broadest sense), as are some of the exclusions (we get fleeting passages from hadith and the Bhagavad Gita about casting out demons or spirits, but none of the many New Testament stories of Jesus doing the same—perhaps Laycock assumes his western audience will already be familiar with those). For casual-ish reading, though, I found the range of topics and amount of detail to be just right to maintain my interest.
Maybe it's partly due to the eclecticism of the chosen sources, but one of the biggest takeaways here for me was that there simply is no "standard" practice of diagnosing a demonic possession or performing an exorcism, even within a single Christian sect or era. Virtually every western "possession" in this book from before 1900 can easily be explained by way of mental illness or deliberate deception (one poor cleric in here is certain a possession is real because the girl "had blared out her tongue very farre, and had indured the pricking of a pinne"; she was eventually proven to be a fraud), and the later, more cinematic cases of walking up walls and the like are almost never witnessed by anyone who doesn't stand to gain from the telling. (Interesting that the more we come to learn about human behavior, the more extreme demonic manifestations have had to become in order to be convincing.) The Catholic exorcism ritual we know from films wasn't even formalized until the 1600s, and Protestants have always just kind of done their own thing, in this as in most matters. Persistent prayer and scripture recital is of course the common factor across the board, but at various times holy water, relics, and magic circles have been worked in too. Possessions, much like symptoms of mental illness, also have a tricky tendency to flare up again and again in the same victim, no matter how many "successful" exorcisms have been performed. And Laycock makes sure to show us that there have always been at least as many skeptics as believers regarding this stuff, from the ancients on down. In short, whatever residual superstition I may still have retained when I started this book had been thoroughly. . . well, exorcised by the end of it.
But setting aside the Enlightened Atheist glasses, I think there's value to reading these accounts with openness and sympathy. Belief in incorporeal spirits which sometimes come to occupy human bodies and sometimes need to be cast out of those bodies by ritual means is clearly a recurrent cross-cultural phenomenon, but the meanings and attitudes those cultures have settled on differ wildly. Many of these accounts are deeply sad—mentally ill or traumatized people beset by demons more metaphorical than anything else, opportunistic exorcists harming or even killing their charges—but some are compassionate, some funny, some intriguingly bizarre (did you know English people in Shakespeare's day had a well-documented fear of headless bears, of all things?), and one or two are even kind of uplifting. Like pretty much anything else humans do in large numbers, exorcisms can provide an interesting cross-section of power politics and social stratification, cutting across divisions of class, gender, race, vocation, religion, and more. And anyway, we'd better get used to them, because—perhaps spookiest of all—it doesn't appear they'll be going away anytime soon.
Not recommended for true believers, but the rest will probably find something of value here. I did, at least.
July 26, 2025
Been wanting to read this book for months and I'm glad I finally bought it. Both nonfiction and classics as it contains a lot of accounts and text about Exorcisms through history. Both interesting and intruiging to read as an horror book fan.
May 14, 2021
A short and condensed history of the most well-known exorcisms on record. Most people are familiar with the Roman Ritual of Catholicism (ala the Exorcist) and some via the Kabbalah (see The Unborn or The Possession for dybbuk instances) but here we also have lesser-known Quoranic instances of Islam, Gita tales from Hinduism, and even a smattering of Buddhism in the mix. Some entries are shorter than others, some drag on, but overall a good resource to add to your collection.
October 22, 2023
Definitely appreciate that the author made efforts to include accounts from other places and times and not to exclusively focus on modern Christian (Catholic) interpretations of exorcism. It was interesting to see excerpted text from different places and times, though unfortunately some were through the lens of for example missionary work (no fault of the editor's!). I would have appreciated further balancing of the types of accounts, but understand some of the reasons that may have been limited.
Also no fault of the editor: some of the historical texts were DENSE and hard to read due to the preservation of language and grammar conventions of the times, particularly some of the older English texts.
Also also no fault of the editor: some of the texts, particularly those told from outside perspectives (e.g. from missionaries), sure loved to insert some casual racism or weird ass commentary on things like sexual abuse. Unfortunately that comes with the territory of preserving historical texts, but just wanted to note the existence of occasional comments from the original texts' authors that wouldn't reflect modern sensibilities (and are not, one would hope, the opinion of the editor, either).
Also no fault of the editor: some of the historical texts were DENSE and hard to read due to the preservation of language and grammar conventions of the times, particularly some of the older English texts.
Also also no fault of the editor: some of the texts, particularly those told from outside perspectives (e.g. from missionaries), sure loved to insert some casual racism or weird ass commentary on things like sexual abuse. Unfortunately that comes with the territory of preserving historical texts, but just wanted to note the existence of occasional comments from the original texts' authors that wouldn't reflect modern sensibilities (and are not, one would hope, the opinion of the editor, either).
February 9, 2021
A very interesting read, I would say for both skeptics and believers. The format and organisation of the chapters makes this easy to read. I liked the introduction at the start of each chapter, especially for some of the older or foreign cases. I found the experience of reading through the timeline of pre-Christianity to the introduction of Christianity to be really interesting.
My favourite chapter title was “A Possessed Woman Attacked by a Headless Bear” from 1584. Apparently headless bears were a horror trope of the time.
Most of the experiences seemed to follow the same kind of possession and rules, and sometimes disappeared after no real influence at all. The story that intrigued me most was of Clarita Villanueva, who repeatedly had otherworldly bite marks appear on her body in front of priests, police officers, psychiatrists and others who could not explain them.
Overall, the primary sources with helpful introductions made this a very accessible and easy read, even though they were only as interesting as whomever had written the original sources.
My favourite chapter title was “A Possessed Woman Attacked by a Headless Bear” from 1584. Apparently headless bears were a horror trope of the time.
Most of the experiences seemed to follow the same kind of possession and rules, and sometimes disappeared after no real influence at all. The story that intrigued me most was of Clarita Villanueva, who repeatedly had otherworldly bite marks appear on her body in front of priests, police officers, psychiatrists and others who could not explain them.
Overall, the primary sources with helpful introductions made this a very accessible and easy read, even though they were only as interesting as whomever had written the original sources.
July 9, 2022
A 10 hour and 40 minute unabridged audiobook.
An anthology ranges from the earliest writings on exorcisms to more modern ones. After reading a biography on Stalin I felt I needed this. Particularly interesting to me, at least because I knew least about these, are Islamic and Judaic exorcisms. But also covered were regional ones ranging from Japan, the Middle East, etc. Overall, it was okay - worth a listen if you're researching the subject.
An anthology ranges from the earliest writings on exorcisms to more modern ones. After reading a biography on Stalin I felt I needed this. Particularly interesting to me, at least because I knew least about these, are Islamic and Judaic exorcisms. But also covered were regional ones ranging from Japan, the Middle East, etc. Overall, it was okay - worth a listen if you're researching the subject.
September 10, 2021
Like the other penguin books, this one starts with pretty dense, not-that-interesting original texts. As the book goes on, the writings tend to become clearer, and thus more enjoyable to read.
I liked the second half of the book, particularly the modern exorcisms and the sections of different cultures’ descriptions of banishing spirits. The rest was just okay, and not much stood out overall (although I was pleasantly surprised to hear the skepticism from some of the accounts in the past and their insistence that it was likely a mental or physical illness, for some reason I assumed they’d all just believe every person that cried demon).
If you like original texts, go for it! If not, maybe skip (or just read excerpts).
I liked the second half of the book, particularly the modern exorcisms and the sections of different cultures’ descriptions of banishing spirits. The rest was just okay, and not much stood out overall (although I was pleasantly surprised to hear the skepticism from some of the accounts in the past and their insistence that it was likely a mental or physical illness, for some reason I assumed they’d all just believe every person that cried demon).
If you like original texts, go for it! If not, maybe skip (or just read excerpts).
dropped
April 17, 2021The topic seemed interesting, but in actuality, I was bored by the structure of this book: we merely jump through time and setting with short summaries of "historical accounts of exorcisms", followed by snippets of the accounts/legends/stories themselves. There was no narrative to speak of, to tie the different time periods and regions together (like in-depth explanations of the history/role of exorcisms in certain place or time, rather than only very brief information in each summary); so despite my interest in the idea of this book, the execution/presentation was lifeless and without greater overall context, these just felt like random, disparate tales.
dnf @ 18%
dnf @ 18%
December 31, 2024
Gleaned a lot of fascinating insights from this collection of exorcism stories.
First half of the book was a bit slow, but once it got going it got going!
I think overall, my most favorite story was the one about a convent of nuns being possessed (Loudun). A lot of the observations of the possessed women were so damn freaky,nightmare inducing! “They threw themselves back till there heads touched their feet and walked in this position with wondering rapidity” - WHAT!?? Also funny that it really is a story about a group of sexually repressed nuns being jealous over a sexy womanizing priest guy, so they begin to act possessed and crazy in the hopes that they can punish him, which ultimately leads him to being burned at the stake. Also the exorcisms were less about trying to cure the girls and instead more focused on prosecuting this sexy priest guy so that his unconventional way of living life can be kept away from this pious small town. Haters gone hate.
Runner up store is probably the Zulu one.
Some fun things I learned:
1. I found it interesting that most cultures in pre-medieval times used exorcisms to treat illnesses of the body (reminds me of Eli Sunday in There will be blood), and that it only become something more akin to curing the diseases of the soul after Protestantism went on the rise
2. One of the most interesting points, is this idea that Exorcisms were seen as more of a political tool! It was a way to push an agenda forward. What I mean, is that people tell a story about a successful exorcism, it is done so in order to establish and promote the authority of an institution or of a higher figure, or also to bring down another religion or church by blaming it on to them, to associate that rival religion or practice with it. One of my favorite quotes about this “ in sum, the rituals of exorcism seeks to establish, dramatic fashion, who is good and who (or what) is evil. In this sense, it is not our understanding of the world that influences exorcism, but rather exorcism that shapes the way we see the world”
3. Exorcism as diplomacy! This one was really interesting. The story of a princess becoming possessed by a demon because she was jealous of her sister marrying a pharaoh was pretty interesting. It is about this princess who has become possessed by a demon after here sister marries a pharaoh, and so to help the pharaohs wifes sister, he sends to her family the statue of a healing God, which in the end cures her sister of her illness, which causes their family back home to rejoice and celebrate the Egyptian God and the pharaoh, sending him many gifts as a token of appreciation, and opening the door for more business dealings with Egypt. The story is a propaganda story, one that is meant to communicate the power of their Gods and the advantages of forming diplomatic alliances with Egypt.
4. In Ancient Greece, alot of philosophers and scholars were skeptical of the common belief that sickness was caused by demonic entities. They believed that many people thought this way only because they did not have the mental capacity to comphrened that it could be attributed to something else other than the divine.
5. Many greeks believed that demons existed, and that they disguise themselves as pagan gods to deceive humanity and receive blood sacrifices. It is pointed out that these demons will only recognize themselves as such when questioned by a strong Christian, as they cannot deceive them due to their strong faith.
a. The story of Juliana is pretty cool too, who was beheaded for her conversion to Christianity while being courted by a pagan worshipping senator. In the story though, she is imprisoned, and while imprisoned is met face to face with a demon who wants to trick her into embracing paganism, he is shown as an angel. But Juliana is not deceived, and instead keeps her strong faith, and manages to bend the demon to its will, to confess its evil deeds and why it does what it does. It is a rare story of women empowerment, as they usually were the ones in need of exorcisms (atleast this is what history shows). Oddly contemporary story. I think one of the coolest things about this story is that the demon explains that a lot about what he is doing (leading men into temptation and causing mayhem, and corrupting souls) is done out of fear of satans punishment towards him if he does not succeed (which he made sound pretty darn harsh and cruel). I actually felt some sympathy for the demon ( Mick Jagger eat your heart out!)
6. In some Asian cultures, possessions are done by fox spirits, who rarely possess for any sort of malevolent reason. Instead they possess because they are hungry little spirits, and the only way to eat is through possessing a person. Once their appetite is satiated, they leave the person be!
7. Also in some Hindu culture I believe, demons can only possess through dirty means. What I mean by this is that for example, if you go take a shit and you don’t wash your hands, the demon then has the ability to possess you. And the only way to get rid of the demon is to expose yourself to something dirty asf, like sniffing a sweaty shoe or huffing a burning pile of shit. This one made me laugh so much. My partner also made an interesting point in saying that this type of story makes sense to be told in this country, because of the general uncleanliness of it. It could be seen as a cautionary tale of sorts. Stay clean or get mean!
8. There is also a bat shit insane story that was so ridiculously stupid that it made me laugh so much just at how absurd it all was. “The trial of Hussein suliman karar. Apparently the only way to get a demon out is to beat the shit out of someone.
9. Also, I found it really interesting that psychoanalysis could be seen as another form of exorcism because of the similarity that it shares with different cultures and their healing practices. “The practice of exorcism is but one example of the powerful use of symbolic actions, psychoanalytical psychotherapy is also a practice of exorcism. This leads us then to examine the symbolic systems of society that incorporate both the client and healer. It is seen that western psychotherapy is just as much a part of its culture as other healing systems.. “
First half of the book was a bit slow, but once it got going it got going!
I think overall, my most favorite story was the one about a convent of nuns being possessed (Loudun). A lot of the observations of the possessed women were so damn freaky,nightmare inducing! “They threw themselves back till there heads touched their feet and walked in this position with wondering rapidity” - WHAT!?? Also funny that it really is a story about a group of sexually repressed nuns being jealous over a sexy womanizing priest guy, so they begin to act possessed and crazy in the hopes that they can punish him, which ultimately leads him to being burned at the stake. Also the exorcisms were less about trying to cure the girls and instead more focused on prosecuting this sexy priest guy so that his unconventional way of living life can be kept away from this pious small town. Haters gone hate.
Runner up store is probably the Zulu one.
Some fun things I learned:
1. I found it interesting that most cultures in pre-medieval times used exorcisms to treat illnesses of the body (reminds me of Eli Sunday in There will be blood), and that it only become something more akin to curing the diseases of the soul after Protestantism went on the rise
2. One of the most interesting points, is this idea that Exorcisms were seen as more of a political tool! It was a way to push an agenda forward. What I mean, is that people tell a story about a successful exorcism, it is done so in order to establish and promote the authority of an institution or of a higher figure, or also to bring down another religion or church by blaming it on to them, to associate that rival religion or practice with it. One of my favorite quotes about this “ in sum, the rituals of exorcism seeks to establish, dramatic fashion, who is good and who (or what) is evil. In this sense, it is not our understanding of the world that influences exorcism, but rather exorcism that shapes the way we see the world”
3. Exorcism as diplomacy! This one was really interesting. The story of a princess becoming possessed by a demon because she was jealous of her sister marrying a pharaoh was pretty interesting. It is about this princess who has become possessed by a demon after here sister marries a pharaoh, and so to help the pharaohs wifes sister, he sends to her family the statue of a healing God, which in the end cures her sister of her illness, which causes their family back home to rejoice and celebrate the Egyptian God and the pharaoh, sending him many gifts as a token of appreciation, and opening the door for more business dealings with Egypt. The story is a propaganda story, one that is meant to communicate the power of their Gods and the advantages of forming diplomatic alliances with Egypt.
4. In Ancient Greece, alot of philosophers and scholars were skeptical of the common belief that sickness was caused by demonic entities. They believed that many people thought this way only because they did not have the mental capacity to comphrened that it could be attributed to something else other than the divine.
5. Many greeks believed that demons existed, and that they disguise themselves as pagan gods to deceive humanity and receive blood sacrifices. It is pointed out that these demons will only recognize themselves as such when questioned by a strong Christian, as they cannot deceive them due to their strong faith.
a. The story of Juliana is pretty cool too, who was beheaded for her conversion to Christianity while being courted by a pagan worshipping senator. In the story though, she is imprisoned, and while imprisoned is met face to face with a demon who wants to trick her into embracing paganism, he is shown as an angel. But Juliana is not deceived, and instead keeps her strong faith, and manages to bend the demon to its will, to confess its evil deeds and why it does what it does. It is a rare story of women empowerment, as they usually were the ones in need of exorcisms (atleast this is what history shows). Oddly contemporary story. I think one of the coolest things about this story is that the demon explains that a lot about what he is doing (leading men into temptation and causing mayhem, and corrupting souls) is done out of fear of satans punishment towards him if he does not succeed (which he made sound pretty darn harsh and cruel). I actually felt some sympathy for the demon ( Mick Jagger eat your heart out!)
6. In some Asian cultures, possessions are done by fox spirits, who rarely possess for any sort of malevolent reason. Instead they possess because they are hungry little spirits, and the only way to eat is through possessing a person. Once their appetite is satiated, they leave the person be!
7. Also in some Hindu culture I believe, demons can only possess through dirty means. What I mean by this is that for example, if you go take a shit and you don’t wash your hands, the demon then has the ability to possess you. And the only way to get rid of the demon is to expose yourself to something dirty asf, like sniffing a sweaty shoe or huffing a burning pile of shit. This one made me laugh so much. My partner also made an interesting point in saying that this type of story makes sense to be told in this country, because of the general uncleanliness of it. It could be seen as a cautionary tale of sorts. Stay clean or get mean!
8. There is also a bat shit insane story that was so ridiculously stupid that it made me laugh so much just at how absurd it all was. “The trial of Hussein suliman karar. Apparently the only way to get a demon out is to beat the shit out of someone.
9. Also, I found it really interesting that psychoanalysis could be seen as another form of exorcism because of the similarity that it shares with different cultures and their healing practices. “The practice of exorcism is but one example of the powerful use of symbolic actions, psychoanalytical psychotherapy is also a practice of exorcism. This leads us then to examine the symbolic systems of society that incorporate both the client and healer. It is seen that western psychotherapy is just as much a part of its culture as other healing systems.. “
March 8, 2024
This book is very informative and I quit liked it. The history of Exorcisms in multiple religions. I was most shocked by the Exorcism performed by Joseph Smith whom started the Mormon church or Latter Day Saints, LDS. When I told my neighbours who are missionaries for the church they don’t believe me. I hand them the book and they are usually in shock that it did occur. Good book if you are interested in things like this.
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March 7, 2024DNFed for now.
I think this book is very interesting, but I'm currently trying to get myself out of a reading slump and this is just NOT doing it 😅 I'd love to revisit it another time!
I think this book is very interesting, but I'm currently trying to get myself out of a reading slump and this is just NOT doing it 😅 I'd love to revisit it another time!
November 23, 2023
Expected more actual older demon encounters rather than them being debunked in the first 3 minutes but still got spooky near the end
May 17, 2025
This nonfiction book is about the subject of lying, approached through the lens of chronological history, from Genesis (Jacob deceiving his father Jacob/Israel for the blessing) to happenings in United Kingdom and American politics in the late 1980s (Ollie North). This was a fun book to read. (The cover shows two photographs of Lenin at a meeting at the Kremlin in 1922; two men that were in the first photograph were photoshopped out of the photograph after their execution after show trials, to make it look like they had never been in the photograph at all.)
It can be said that no one is comfortable with bald faced lying; no less a personality than Saint Augustine claimed that all lies were sinful. However, in social concourse, polite lies are not only common, but expected. (The usual response to “How are you doing?” to someone in the store or workplace is not “I am really concerned about this gout in my foot, and my son is in trouble again at school” but “Oh, fine.”) However, in wartime lying is expected; the Allies did their best to convince the Germans that the invasion would not be anywhere near the beaches of Normandy. And in politics, it is understood that no one lies, unless they must. (The poster child for political lying must be George Santos, who was elected to Congress, but who cheerfully and fulsomely had lied about just about everything to get elected, including claiming to be Jewish when he was in fact quite Catholic.) And one does hear of people who forever doubt their parents after finding out that the Tooth Fairy is not real. One can probably say that lying is part and parcel of the human condition, and that we should try to avoid lying, but we should also not worry overmuch about social lies. (Although I did once work with a woman who was a compulsive liar, to the point that I would not have believed her if she told me that the sun rose in the east.)
This was a very good book for me to read for my nightly bedtime reading (lots of relatively short sections), and I recommend it to anyone except for those who can swear to have never lied.
It can be said that no one is comfortable with bald faced lying; no less a personality than Saint Augustine claimed that all lies were sinful. However, in social concourse, polite lies are not only common, but expected. (The usual response to “How are you doing?” to someone in the store or workplace is not “I am really concerned about this gout in my foot, and my son is in trouble again at school” but “Oh, fine.”) However, in wartime lying is expected; the Allies did their best to convince the Germans that the invasion would not be anywhere near the beaches of Normandy. And in politics, it is understood that no one lies, unless they must. (The poster child for political lying must be George Santos, who was elected to Congress, but who cheerfully and fulsomely had lied about just about everything to get elected, including claiming to be Jewish when he was in fact quite Catholic.) And one does hear of people who forever doubt their parents after finding out that the Tooth Fairy is not real. One can probably say that lying is part and parcel of the human condition, and that we should try to avoid lying, but we should also not worry overmuch about social lies. (Although I did once work with a woman who was a compulsive liar, to the point that I would not have believed her if she told me that the sun rose in the east.)
This was a very good book for me to read for my nightly bedtime reading (lots of relatively short sections), and I recommend it to anyone except for those who can swear to have never lied.
July 10, 2022
This is a compilation of exorcism cases throughout world history. The book does well in giving fair exposure to various cultures and their most influential cases of the supernatural, though this often put the book at a disadvantage because the manuscripts provided are often tedious to read and sometimes rather uneventful. Though, as the cases become more modern, the language becomes more tolerable and generally there is better description and depth. Don't be put off by the rather dry start, just keep going (or go to the halfway section, though you may be missing out on a couple good ones) and get to the meatier stories. The author of the compliations gave a brief overview of each before the reader indulges, which was sometimes helpful, sometimes not.
Admittedly, I was wondering why the book was not larger in content considering the vast amount of claimed exorcism/supernatural events that have been historically recorded. For example, the author cites at one point the more modern paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren but doesn't at any point provide them within this book. I was left wondering why he had not included some of the most detailed and popular cases known to the modern age, but perhaps this was due to copywrite. In any case, the book could have been far longer, though for what it does contain, it's worth checking out for a varied collection of supernatural literature across the ages.
My favourite cases which I'd like to revisit and study further in the piece are: 'Cynewulf, "Juliana"', the excerpt on demonology from Thomas Aquinas, 'Des Nuau, The History of the Devils of Loudun', 'The Trial of Husain Suliman Karrar', 'Mariannhill Mission Society, an Exorcism of a Zulu Woman', and 'F.J. Bunse, S.J., The Earling Possession Case'.
Overall, this book is useful to have to flick through and use as a reference for supernatural investigation.
Admittedly, I was wondering why the book was not larger in content considering the vast amount of claimed exorcism/supernatural events that have been historically recorded. For example, the author cites at one point the more modern paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren but doesn't at any point provide them within this book. I was left wondering why he had not included some of the most detailed and popular cases known to the modern age, but perhaps this was due to copywrite. In any case, the book could have been far longer, though for what it does contain, it's worth checking out for a varied collection of supernatural literature across the ages.
My favourite cases which I'd like to revisit and study further in the piece are: 'Cynewulf, "Juliana"', the excerpt on demonology from Thomas Aquinas, 'Des Nuau, The History of the Devils of Loudun', 'The Trial of Husain Suliman Karrar', 'Mariannhill Mission Society, an Exorcism of a Zulu Woman', and 'F.J. Bunse, S.J., The Earling Possession Case'.
Overall, this book is useful to have to flick through and use as a reference for supernatural investigation.
June 22, 2022
Intriguing history of recorded exorcisms worldwide-- from the Seventh Century BCE right up through 2012. This brief anthology -- less 300 pages-- collects short written accounts and journal entries detailing run-ins with stubborn demonic entities. The strangest thing is how similar the spiritual assaults are described, irrespective of the culture. Evil and spiritual oppression is a thing. Curious how they all share common symptoms; levitation, speaking in tongue, psychic ability, spontaneous feats of strength, etc. In truth, Malachi Martin's Hostage To The Devil is a far more frightening, engaging read. But this works to add to one's education and curiosity of the paranormal and demonic and makes difficult to shrug off unexplainable phenomenon. More studious and collegiate than graphic and sensational. More formal than scary.
October 21, 2022
The Penguin Book of Exorcisms is a sourcebook of documents about historically recorded examples of possession and exorcism. There is a good variety of sources from different ages and places. However, despite the editor's attempt to find examples that are not western and Christian, the majority are western and Christian (also a fair few are in older versions of English and I had trouble making heads or tails of some of the language and spelling). It would have been nice to have some examples from pro-Colonial Africa, but that is really the only nitpick I would have about this book. It's a good place to begin if you are interested in the topic, and may have one or two examples the learned on the topic may not have heard of.
Recommended if you're interested in exorcisms. Not so much if possession isn't your thing.
Recommended if you're interested in exorcisms. Not so much if possession isn't your thing.
January 9, 2026
An interesting and global examination of the phenomenon of exorcism from ancient times until today. This was definitely not an exhaustive accounting of exorcisms throughout the world, but it was never meant to be. The collection of accounts I think expertly illuminates Laycock’s thesis that the exorcisms and their practice are always somewhat steeped into the political milieu of the societies where they originate. So despite the fact that it may seem unhelpful to read all about ancient Egyptian exorcism rituals, it actually may be more relevant than we know as we face the rise of evangelism in American society and a certain brand of Christian nationalism.
November 8, 2020
I mostly bought this book to read about “Christian” exorcisms. The stories of exorcisms in the context of other world religions were of less interest to me, but they were still informative. These stories remind the reader that virtually all cultures and worldviews acknowledge the existence of evil spirits and the occasional need for exorcisms. The bias of the publisher does show in that many of the summaries mention a possible naturalistic explanation for the account at hand. The best part of this book is the fact that it’s a compilation of primary sources, not just second hand descriptions.
May 14, 2025
Exactly as described: an anthology of exorcisms, each with some historical and cultural context. If you're looking for dramatized horror stories, you're in the wrong place! Just go read The Exorcist. If you're researching exorcisms or curious about what they have looked like over the last couple thousand years around the world, you're gonna love this! It's primarily centered around Christian exorcisms but prompts some interesting questions about where spirituality, gender, and disability meet. It is long but provides a good introduction to the most well-known exorcisms documented.
May 18, 2021
The introductory commentaries before each section give away all the details of the source materials. I recommend reading the introductions after reading the sources. I have limited exposure to this topic, however from what I have researched this book does cover a wide variety of the most well-known stories of demon possession. However most of the material in this book is available on the Internet.
February 20, 2022
Highly recommended for anyone interested in historical documentation of exorcisms across time and culture. The similarities and differences among rituals (or the lack of ritual) is fascinating.
Laycock’s prefaces to each excerpt provide context and insight, placing each piece as specific examples of general events. Some are more famous than others, but each event is presented as closely to its historical manner as possible.
Laycock’s prefaces to each excerpt provide context and insight, placing each piece as specific examples of general events. Some are more famous than others, but each event is presented as closely to its historical manner as possible.
May 28, 2024
This has the same problems as many similar Penguin anthologies— baffling editorial standards, dated translations, and generally weird choices. I understand preserving early modern spellings in many respects, but for some of the texts here, I’m not convinced that non-standardised spelling was necessary for grasping the gist of the passage. It just makes it inaccessible for anyone who doesn’t already have a vested interest in early modernity.
April 12, 2021
A somewhat scattershot collection: reading the strong introductions often means that reading the actual document adds nothing to the experience, and the documents are a curious mix of accounts of particular exorcisms and general descriptions of exorcisms in particular cultures, with the result that you're jarringly going back and forth between narratives and anthropological studies.
October 9, 2020
A good anthology from various cultures and time periods. Each chapter is prefaced with historical background and a summary of the exorcism. It's nice having the primary source to read, though I would have enjoyed an overall analysis of exorcisms beyond what was given in the introduction.
March 24, 2022
A concise and well-contextualized mini-anthology! Some excellent variety (which left me wanting more) and mostly consistent footnotes. Consider this one a portal into more specific elements of exorcism (history, ritual, documentation) or a pleasantly quick read.
July 17, 2023
3.5/5
Picked this up at the library on display, I was instantly drawn to the cover. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but I loved the various histories & excerpts of exorcisms throughout history and different cultures.
I won’t lie and say I read every word of it, but it was interesting none the less.
Picked this up at the library on display, I was instantly drawn to the cover. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but I loved the various histories & excerpts of exorcisms throughout history and different cultures.
I won’t lie and say I read every word of it, but it was interesting none the less.
March 16, 2022
2.5 stars, gets better as it goes on but the first part is hard going
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April 4, 2022From Ashurbanipal library who ruled Assyria from approximately 668 BCE to around 630 BCE -
January 24, 2024
Interesting collection of accounts of exorcisms. It's quite disturbing, not because of spoopy ghostes, but because of the unnerving cruelty shown to people suffering with mental illness.
August 29, 2024
Did not finish. Kinda boring unfortunately
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