Spirit possession and exorcism
Subtitle: history, psychology, and neurobiology
By: Patrick McNamara
Series: Brain, behavior, and evolution; Brain, behavior, and evolution (Westport, Conn.)
Publisher: Praeger
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Santa Barbara, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 416
ISBN-13: 9780313384325; 9780313384332
Subjects: Exorcism; Demoniac possession; Spirit possession
Description: From the publisher. From the beginning of civilization to the present day, and across all major religions and cultures, there have been documented cases of people seemingly overtaken by an unseen entity. The invading force -- whether good or bad -- appears to replace the possessor's soul with the spirit's own persona, resulting in mystifying symptoms such as levitation or other supernatural feats, speaking in tongues, and even horrific and inexplicably accelerated physical distortion and deterioration. This is a two-volume chronological history and examination of spirit possession that addresses its phenomenological, psychological, and neurobiological aspects, and its effects on societies. Volume one reviews spirit possession from the upper Paleolithic era to modern times, while volume two focuses on case studies and rites of exorcism.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: v. 1. Mental states and the phenomenon of possession; title: v. 2. Rites to become possessed, rites to exorcise "demons".