SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Experiences of demonic possession are on the increase in the UK. The presentation of possession appears strikingly similar to psychopathologies. Yet while the DSM-V includes the importance of interpreting psychotic phenomena in relation to the cultural practices of the individual presenting, there remains a lack of experiential accounts of possession. This study provides a phenomenological account of 17 individuals participating in a Pentecostal deliverance ceremony and their descriptions of discerning demon possession, undergoing exorcism/deliverance, and their condition immediately following. There was strong convergence on the discernment of demon possession through nightmares, in the thematic context of the dreams and the mapping of the content to adversity in their lives, which in turn reinforces the discernment. These experiential accounts were also characterised by a loss of control during possession and accompanied by a lack of amnesia post-deliverance. These accounts are discussed in relation to the disentangling of spiritual experience and psychopathologies.