History Main / HollywoodExorcism

* Back in 2000 BBC did a show called Everyman and one of the episodes was about real exorcism done by real priests. [[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh9EAPqM1OA "Everyman-Exorcism"]]

* A technofantasy version in the ''{{Torchwood}}'' episode "Sleeper" (supposedly forcing an alien secondary personality to manifest, but played just like HollywoodExorcism)

* ''LawAndOrder'' has also subverted this a few times with the exorcism-gone-wrong, leading to somebody's death. Usually the victim is suffering from some form of psychosis.

* In Chinese Paladin, at one point you are required to help a relative overcome some demons. To that end you are tasked with finding an exorcist, who promptly performs the ritual with all the bells and whistles, while chanting a chinese rhyme. Hilariously the moment he finishes, his wards and seals burst into flame as the real Demon shows up. Apparently the words he used to bring demons out were right, but all of his wards were fake. Ironically, at the end turns out the demon he aggravated was the benevolent one, so even if he was real he would have done nothing anyways.

* Lampshaded (Fr. Lucas makes a reference to the head-spinning and projectile vomit) and somewhat averted ([[spoiler:although there's some intense body-writhing and random, creepy stuff going on, it's not nearly as gratuitous as this trope, and is more or less grounded in a realistic world]]) in TheRite.

* Shadwell tries to perform an exorcism on Aziraphale in ''GoodOmens'', and believes it worked since, coincidentally, the angel stepped into a summoning circle just as Shadwell finished his incantation.

Back in the day, exorcisms used to be all the rage. Any case of psychological trauma was ruled to be DemonicPossession. You know what that means: head spinning, projectile vomit, and speaking in tongues. Pretty soon you have no choice but to haul in [[BadassPreacher an exorcist]]. These affairs are likely to be very dramatic. The exorcist will call upon a deity's name (usually Jesus, but sometimes the Holy Ghost, the Father, or another deity altogether if the religion is not [[CrystalDragonJesus of this world]]). There will be splashing of holy water, physical and emotional battles of will, [[OminousLatinChanting fervent chanting]] [[AltumVidetur in Latin]] and perhaps some cool special effects. Expect the walls to bleed, the subject of possession to wail and shake in ways no human could imagine, and a demon to emerge either in physical or shadow form before being sent back to Hell. Or so Hollywood would have you believe.

Back in the day, exorcisms used to be all the rage. Any case of psychological trauma was ruled to be DemonicPossession. You know what that means: head spinning, projectile vomit, and speaking in tongues. Pretty soon you have no choice but to haul in [[BadassPreacher an exorcist]]. These affairs are likely to be very dramatic. The exorcist will call upon a deity's name (usually Jesus, but sometimes the Holy Ghost, the Father, or another deity altogether if the religion is not [[CrystalDragonJesus of this world]]). There will be splashing of holy water, physical and emotional battles of will, [[OminousLatinChanting fervent chanting]] [[AltumVidetur in Latin]] and perhaps some cool special effects. Expect the walls to bleed, the subject of possession to wail and shake in ways no human could imagine, and a demon to emerge either in physical or shadow form. Or so Hollywood would have you believe.

Nowadays, the [[ChristianityIsCatholic Catholic church]] is loath to declare "possession" and perform exorcisms. Real life cases have proved that many cases of DemonicPossession are actually a result of severe psychological disorders (usually Epilepsy or Schizophrenia) . This trope still gets play in ReligiousHorror and other such genres, but is more likely to be subverted in more serious works.

Another point: Fictional portrayals of exorcism will sometimes involve "bell, book and candle". In real life, the Catholic casting-out ritual of bell, book and candle is a form of ''excommunication'', something quite different.

* Subverted in a recent episode of ''{{Psych}}''. The subject of the possession plays it up, and a real Catholic exorcist is called out. [[spoiler: But she's faking, using what she knows of possession from movies (and stealing the priest's medication to bring on some symptoms) to convince everyone she's possessed, all to cover up a murder.]]

[[AC:RealLife]]
* It should be noted that while the Catholic Church only performs exorcisms extremely rarely, they keep a few exorcists around [[CrazyPrepared just in case]].
** The movies have made the practice more popular, though.
* Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal claims to have exorcised a demon when he was in college, curing the victim of depression and skin cancer in the process.
** A citation on that one would be really, really nice.
*** Here's one from the New York Times. [[http://blow.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/28/bobby-jindal-the-exorcist-pro-or-con/ Here ]]
* Exorcisms are practiced in traditional cultures in most parts of the world.
* Audio from the exorcism of Annelise Michel (inspiration for the movie "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" is available on youtube. It has been conveniently translated into English in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YI6krugHMk this documentary ]]
* There have been reports of people suffering from psychological disorders who get an exorcism performed on them. Psychologists (and priests) think it has a placebo effect that convinces the victims' minds they have been "cleansed".
** Just make sure you get it done by a professional.

Nowadays, the [[ChristianityIsCatholic Catholic church]] is loath to declare "possession" and perform exorcisms. Real life cases have proved that many cases of DemonicPossession are actually a result of severe psychological disorders. This trope still gets play in ReligiousHorror and other such genres, but is more likely to be subverted in more serious works.

* Subverted in a recent episode of ''{{Psych}}''. The subject of the possession plays it up, and a real Catholic exorcist is called out. [[spoiler: But she's faking, using what she knows of possession from movies to convince the priest she's possessed, all to cover up a murder.]]

* Exorcisms are practised in traditional cultures in most parts of the world.

* The "I've Got You Under My Skin" episode of ''{{Angel}}''.

* The Scooby Gang performed an exorcism with bell, book and candle in one episode of ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Cordelia was reluctant to participate, as [[GenreSavvy "I've seen that movie. Even the priest died."]]

* It should be noted that while the Catholic Church only performs exorcisms extremely rarely, they keep a few exorcists around [[CrazyPrepared just in case]].

** What do you mean, rarely? Their chief exorcist [[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7056689.ece claims to have performed 70,000 of them.]]
*** Their chief exorcist also is clearly not a believer in any of this "mental illness, paranoia, schizophrenia" nonsense...

* In ''TheOrder'', Alex Bernier performed an exorcism on Mara before the movie begins.