Costume Discounters: The Exorcist Regan Costume

For the past two months, my job has been writing costume descriptions, and I love it! I recently had to write one for a Regan MacNeil costume, and it's one of my favorites of all the costume descriptions I've written, so I wanted to share it here. : )

The Exorcist Regan Costume

Movie Spotlight: Incarnate

Incarnate is a 2016 movie starring Aaron Eckhart, Carice van Houten, Catalina Sandino Moreno, David Mazouz, Keir O'Donnell, Matt Nable, and John Pirruccello. Scientist Dr. Seth Ember (Aaron Eckhart) removes demons from the possessed by entering their subconscious, but when he tries this with 11-year-old Cameron (David Mazouz), he must fight for his life against a demon he has encountered in the past.

Movies about possession have the potential to be kind of cheesy, but Incarnate is a well-made movie with fine performances from everyone (the standout being David Mazouz as young possessed Cameron). I didn't like Incarnate as much as some other possession movies, but it's a new take on this type of movie, so if you like movies about demons and possessions, give Incarnate a shot. : )

My rating: 6.5/10

Book Review: My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

I read Grady Hendrix's Satan Loves You a few years ago (and since I write plays about Satan, of course I loved it), so I was really excited to read his new book, which is called My Best Friend's Exorcism and takes place in Charleston, SC, which happens to be my hometown. Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since the age of 10, but sophomore year of high school, things begin to change between them...because 1988 is the year Gretchen gets possessed by the devil.

My Best Friend's Exorcism is funny, gross (and the gross parts are described so well that they're really easy to envision), and chilling, and Hendrix writes teenage girls really well (he also writes possessed teenage girls really well). The exorcism scene was one of the best exorcism scenes I've ever read, and I hope someone makes a movie version of this book because I'd love to see that scene on the big screen. Also, I'm pretty obsessed with the '80s, so I loved all of the '80s references in the book. My Best Friend's Exorcism was everything I hoped it would be, and I definitely recommend it. : )

My rating: 10/10

AtomaCon Panel: Demonology: Is it real?

Of all the panels I attended at last weekend's AtomaCon, I have to say the Demonology: Is it real? panel was my favorite. It was led by Alex Matsuo, founder and director of the Association for Paranormal Study and author of The Haunting of the Tenth Avenue Theater, The Haunted Actor, and More Than Ghosts. A demon is a malevolent entity (or a fallen angel according to religion), and I never gave them much thought until I found out that The Exorcist was inspired by a true story. Alex said that she specializes in residential cases in her paranormal investigations and has come across a few demonic cases. According to The Bible, only Jesus can deal with demons, but he's not around to help out, so instead Catholic priests/clergy or pastors are called upon to exorcise a demon once they decide that someone is possessed. In order to get to this point, the individual in question must be evaluated by a priest, who assesses whether the person is suffering from mental illness or demonic possession (they have similar signs).

Signs of possession:

-anger

-hysterical laughter

-talking gibberish, speaking in languages the individual doesn't know, or speaking in tongues

-knowledge of things the individual has no way of knowing

-shifts in bone structure and body contortions

-aversion to holy objects/holy water

-changes in voice, personality, and appearance

-self-harm

Characteristics of demonic activity:

-foul odors

-banging/knocking

-oppressive feeling

-shadow figures

-growling

-reaction to religious objects/prayers

-heavy objects moving on their own

Stages of demonic possession:
1. Manifestation: when the demon is invited in (either directly or indirectly)
2. Infestation: when the demon makes itself known (growling, whispers, etc.)
3. Oppression: when the demon oppresses an individual physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually
4. Possession: when the demon has access to the body
5. Perfect Possession: when the individual accepts the demon, and an exorcism is no longer possible

In order to act on behalf of Christ, the priest must do an act of contrition before he performs the exorcism. Before the exorcism begins, the possessed person will be restrained so they can't hurt themselves or anyone else, then the exorcist will recite prayers both in English and Latin, which takes 35-40 minutes when read non-stop. The exorcist will also attempt to get the name of the demon and ask for the time and date of the demon's departure.

During the panel, we watched videos of exorcisms from other religions, which was pretty interesting, and Alex played an audio recording from one of the 67 exorcisms performed on Anneliese Michel (who was the inspiration for The Exorcism of Emily Rose), which really creeped me out. Anneliese died from malnutrition and dehydration at the age of 23, and her parents, a priest, and a pastor were all charged with negligent manslaughter. (You can find out more about Anneliese here: http://www.demonicpedia.com/exorcism/the-exorcism-of-anneliese-michel/)

I've watched a bunch of movies about demons/possession and read a few books on the subject, so I thought I knew almost everything there was to know about it...but the Demonology panel was fascinating, and I learned a lot. I didn't really enjoy riding home in the dark afterward or trying to fall asleep that night though. ; )

http://alexmatsuo.com/

EXORCISM: LIVE!

Destination America is planning on showing a live exorcism around Halloween, and of course I'm planning on watching it and writing about it for the blog. EXORCISM: LIVE! will air on October 30th at 9/8c., and the cast of Ghost Asylum will attempt to exorcise the house that inspired The Exorcist. An extra on The Exorcist DVD talks about the case that inspired the movie, and I remember it scaring me more than the movie did (I wasn't thrilled to find out that The Exorcist was based on a true story), so I'm excited to watch this. The network must be pretty excited about it too since the title is in all caps and has an exclamation mark. ; )

http://www.destinationamerica.com/tv-shows/exorcism-live/

Book Review: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

A Head Full of Ghosts is a 2015 novel by Paul Tremblay, and if you're planning on reading it, make sure you don't have anything important to do that day because this one is hard to put down (also, maybe don't read it right before you go to sleep).  When doctors are unable to prevent the more serious symptoms of schizophrenia in 14-year-old Marjorie Barrett, her desperate parents turn to Father Wanderly, a local priest who concludes that Marjorie's behavior may be the result of demonic possession.  In need of money, the family agrees to let a camera crew film their experience for a reality TV series (The Possession), and fifteen years later, a writer interviews Marjorie's younger sister, Merry, about that terrible time in her family's life.  The novel is told from Merry's point-of-view, both as an 8-year-old and a 23-year-old, and I really liked that Tremblay chose to tell the story that way so we could experience everything as it happened around young Merry and then learn more about what was going on from adult Merry fifteen years later.  Despite the fact that most people have never had to deal with one of their family members possibly being possessed by demons, I felt that the Barrett family was pretty easy to relate to, and I really cared about what happened to them.

I loved A Head Full of Ghosts, and if The Possession were a real show, of course I would watch it (what kind of paranormal blogger wouldn't watch a show like that?).  The novel had a great, surprising ending that I'm still thinking about long after finishing it, and that's something I always appreciate in the books I read.  I'm looking forward to reading more of Tremblay's work, and I hope someone makes a movie out of this novel ASAP. : )

My rating: 9/10