R.I.P. William Peter Blatty

While taking a theology class at Georgetown University in 1949, William Peter Blatty heard about an extraordinary case of diabolical possession involving a 14-year-old boy in nearby Prince George’s County. The story stuck in the back of his mind. Two decades later, Blatty secluded himself in a cabin near Lake Tahoe and tapped out a novel on a green IBM Selectric about a 12-year-old girl who became possessed by a demon. He called the novel The Exorcist.

Topping most lists as the scariest movie ever made (and the scariest book ever written), The Exorcist not only made Blatty a star, but opened the door to a whole new generation of horror films, a sub-genre that could be called the “Supernatural Thriller,” the likes of which today are reflected in modern hits like “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “The Conjuring,” and the Paranormal Activity franchise films.

Blatty also achieved something else with The Exorcist that in the early 1970s was considered countercultural, if not downright heretical. He made evil a tangible thing. He personified it. It was something that was real, that was intelligent, that was cunning. Yet it could be confronted and overcome. By religion, of all things! This flew in the face of everything the pop psychology of the time preached, that the concept of evil was outdated, irrelevant, and, if anything, was just a “disordered psychoses” appearing in a few unfortunate individuals.

Blatty died on January 12, 2017, at the age of 89, after a short battle with blood cancer. He was a lifelong Catholic, albeit one who struggled with his faith, like so many of us. To honor his memory, here are a few interesting facts about the man who changed the landscape of cinematic horror.

• In 1959, he took a job as a ghostwriter for Abigail van Buren, the original “Dear Abby” columnist. He ghostwrote her book Dear Teenager.
• In 1961, while still working in public relations, Blatty appeared as a contestant on the Groucho Marx quiz show You Bet Your Life, winning $10,000, enough money to quit his job and to write full time.
• During the 1960s, Blatty turned his focus away from novels and towards screenwriting. His credits during this time include The Man from the Diners’ Club (1963), A Shot in the Dark (1964), What Did You Do In The War, Daddy? (1966), Gunn (1967), and Darling Lilli (1970).
• His success at writing comedy (in particular, the successful Pink Panther movie A Shot in the Dark) came to a halt with his new-found acclaim as a horror writer. Looking back at his career, Blatty once remarked: “And the sad truth is that nobody wants me to write comedy. The Exorcist not only ended that career, it expunged all memory of its existence.”
• In an interview with the Washington Post, Blatty said that he does believe in the possibility of reincarnation. “Personally, I do. In the very early Catholic Church there were sects who definitely believed in the transmigration of souls. I've read a great deal about it. And maybe there’s something in my own life that tends to convince me it’s a possibility.”
• His final book was 2015’s Finding Peter. It was inspired by the death of his 19-year-old son Peter, who died from a rare heart disorder in 2006.

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(Photo: Creative Commons, author: J.T. Blatty)

Drug Dealers Now Practicing Sorcery

As if illegal narcotics aren’t bad enough in and of themselves, some occult investigators in New York City are claiming the drugs are becoming stronger and more addictive due to evil spells being cast upon them before they hit the streets.

New York state chaplain and occult authority Marcos Quinones recently said in an interview, “Many drug traffickers practice forms of the occult. They incorporate voodoo or black magic that gives them the power to succeed. It makes the product more powerful and creates a stronger addict. In essence, they’re doubling the curse the drugs cause anyway.”

It might be doubling more than just the drug’s effects.

Many exorcists believe that drug use, in addition to other vices, can act as a gateway for demonic activity. Father Vincent Lambert, an exorcist in Indianapolis who recently chased a demon out of a parishioner who was cursed by his girlfriend’s mother, is adamant about this: “We’re in a fight with drugs, the occult, pornography. This is an entry point for evil and we need to take these souls back.”

Quinones feels the same way, noting that he has seen an increase in demonic activity in New York’s five boroughs and attributes it directly to the black magic and voodoo the drug dealers and other criminals are practicing. Some are followers of the death idol Santa Muerte and ask for the robed skeleton’s “blessing” on their products as they recite incantations over the soon-to-be-released drugs.

Dangerous stuff indeed. Once more, kind readers, I remind you to keep yourselves safe in this new year and always -- in body, mind, and spirit.


(Photo: Creative Commons, author: Amait053)

Urgent: The World Needs More Exorcists!

Okay, I know this isn't exactly the most uplifting headline for a New Year's Day post, but it could lead to a slew of resolutions for some of us. (Note to self: Try not to get possessed.)

Word on the street about a shortage of qualified exorcists has been spreading for quite some time. Ask any exorcist (if you can find one) if they’re busy, and they’ll no doubt tell you they’re swamped. It might not just be full-blown cases of possession they’re dealing with, but hundreds of other devil-and-ghost-related concerns like hauntings, infestations, oppressions, and, of course, mental illness and addictions.

Last October at the International Association of Exorcists conference, 400 Catholic professionals met to strategize about this very topic: how to recruit and train more exorcists. The Rev. Vincent Lampert, the pastor at St. Malachy’s in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a diocesan exorcist, was one of the attendees. Lampert says the situation is more dire than ever because rampant Internet pornography, illegal drug use, and growing interest in the occult have made it easier for Satan to cast his net.

“Exorcism is like triage. We’re the emergency crew — but there aren’t enough of us,” Lampert said in a recent interview with the New York Post.

Things are even more out of control across the sea. The Rev. Vincenzo Taraborelli is a 79-year-old priest in Rome who says he is too afraid to retire.

“I told the bishop that I can’t find anyone willing to do this. Many of them are scared. Even priests can be scared. It’s a difficult life,” says Fr. Taraborelli, who says he treats up to 30 people a day in the back of his church.

Board-certified psychiatrist, and believer in diabolical possession, Dr. Richard Gallagher has also been in the news of late for calling on religious practitioners to be alert for what he calls “a rapidly growing worldwide phenomenon.”

Evil is out there, folks. Be safe in 2017. Take care of yourselves in body, mind, and spirit.

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COMING UP: Cursed drugs hitting the streets of New York.

Possessed Dolls Get Their Own Airplane Seats

Here’s one more thing fearful flyers can now worry about: sitting next to a possessed doll. Okay, so it’s something that really just patrons of Thai Smile Airways have to deal with. But still . . .

According to an internal memo issued by the airline, as long as a ticket was purchased for the doll by its owner, the doll is entitled not only to its own seat, but snacks and drinks as well. The dolls must also buckle up during take-offs and landings. Well, duh.

So why is this even a thing? It seems that life-like dolls known as Luk Thep, or Child Angels, have become wildly popular in Thailand after several celebrities raved about the benefits of owning one of these darlings. Said to possess the soul of an actual child via a “spiritualization” process, a Luk Thep doll will supposedly bring good fortune to an owner who treats it well – like buying it fashionable clothes and feeding it tasty treats. And apparently taking it on airplane rides.

It might sound creepy at first, but when you think about it, sitting next to a well-behaved, quiet-and-minding-its-own-business possessed doll can’t be worse than sitting next to a crying baby or the guy who’s coughing and sneezing all over the place. Maybe it’ll even share its peanuts with you.



 Photo credit: "Where's My Seat" by Suedehead, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Pun Time

Image by Michelle De Aizpurua, licensed under CC BY 4.0

It’s Probably Just a Coincidence

Jaqueline Sanchez, 22, from Belize, Central America, reportedly died  late last year from cardiac arrest after undergoing an exorcism at the Pentecostal Church of San Ignacio de Velasco. Family members say that in the months prior to her death, Sanchez stopped eating and displayed strange behaviors, including fits of hysteria, convulsions, and a number of unexplained illnesses. Believed to be possessed, she was taken to the aforementioned church where witnesses described seeing her float up in the air and hearing her talk in a deep male voice. At the conclusion of the exorcism, she went into cardio respiratory arrest and never recovered. Not that one thing necessarily leads to another, but it's worth noting that Sanchez had been playing with a Ouija board before all of this started.

“Esprit, es tu là??” by dayjee Soon, licensed under CC BY 2.0