Purging the Devil: Exorcism and Possession After the Death of God

by Grafton Tanner

A radical cultural and political history of exorcism and possession from the 1950s to the present day.

Once considered an outdated embarrassment, demands for exorcism have increased since the mid-twentieth century, becoming a popular product in our therapeutic marketplace and a weapon against groups that resist state, corporate, and ecclesiastical powers. Are the 'possessed' suffering from mental health problems? Is the world falling victim to the devil and demons?

Charting the history of exorcism in an allegedly secular age — from the brainwashing panic of the postwar period to the cult deprogramming of the 1970s, and from the massive influence of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist to the harmful practice of conversion “therapy” — Purging the Devil is an inquiry into the nature of belief and a meditation on our fascination with evil.

220 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 20, 2026

About the author

Grafton Tanner is the author of The Hours Have Lost Their Clock: The Politics of Nostalgia, The Circle of the Snake: Nostalgia and Utopia in the Age of Big Tech, and Babbling Corpse: Vaporwave and the Commodification of Ghosts. His work has appeared in NPR, The Nation, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Real Life. He also hosts Delusioneering, an audio series about the myths of capitalism, and he writes and performs music with his band Superpuppet.