I’ve written about exorcism and demonic possession in the past and covered the subjects on my podcast, The Devil in the Details. However, it’s not every day that someone—let alone a skeptic—gets a front row seat to witness an exorcism. So, when my friend Kenny Biddle sent me a link to a YouTube live event hosted by Bob Larson, “the REAL Exorcist!” in which Larson would allegedly confront the evil behind a demonic doll “in a showdown with Santería,” I knew I couldn’t miss it!
First, I’d like to point out that the thumbnail for the event is of a doll. However, the doll has nothing to do with either demons or Santería; it’s actually a character from Capcom’s latest entry in their Resident Evil video game franchise, Resident Evil: Village. Maybe … and this possibility is scarier than any demon … Bob Larson is secretly a gamer. So far, we were off to a great start.
The event started at 9 PM on October 21, 2021. Larson began, not surprisingly, by accusing creyentes (believers) of Santería of “Simply idolizing demons. They’re practicing a very diabolical form of witchcraft.” In reality, Santería, “the way of the saints,” was a way for African slaves to preserve their culture and religion when they were brought to the New World.
According to Joseph M. Murphy, “The founders of Santería called their African gods santo (saints) and venerated them in churches according to the Roman rites. But, among themselves, they worshiped the saints with the songs and dances remembered from their motherland” (Murphy 1988). Calling Santería “witchcraft” in the twenty-first century is the same ignorant, colonialist mindset that justified forcing slaves to worship the Christian God of their oppressors. I suppose we should expect nothing less from Bob Larson.
Larson’s guest, a man named Jaraht, explained that he first encountered the demonic doll named Thomasa when he was living with his aunt (presumably as a child). Jaraht claimed the doll originally belonged to his uncle, that his mother explained to him that the doll offered protection, and that his aunt would offer the orisha “coffee, cacao beans, cigars, alcohol.” Orishas are spiritual beings that are personifications of ashe “the blood of cosmic life, the power of Olodumare (God) toward life, strength, and righteousness” (Murphy 1988).
Those human beings who honor an orisha have that power at their disposal, for example, those women hoping to conceive or who are infertile might honor Oshun, an orisha associated with rivers, fertility, love and sensuality (although, in Larson’s case, Oshun is reduced to what he calls a “Jezebel spirit” or temptress). When Larson asked Jaraht if his aunt still had the doll, Jaraht’s story changed to “I think she had to return it to the original owners of the doll,” to which Larson asked “So somebody loaned this to her?” Jaraht replied “Yes,” contradicting his previous statement that his uncle was the original owner.
Disappointingly, Thomasa never actually made an appearance; I was expecting something like Sanzia from the movie Dolly Dearest (which, I confess, scared the hell out of me as a kid). Instead, Jaraht and Larson discussed Jaraht’s past with his abusive father and how that led to him becoming involved with gangs and drug abuse before giving himself over to Jesus Christ “last month.”
Since then, Larson claimed Jaraht had been casting demons “Out of your brother, mother, and your wife!” That would otherwise be an unremarkable if perhaps inspirational story, except for the fact that the stated purpose of this livestream event was so that Bob Larson could exorcise the evil spirit that had cursed Jaraht. How could someone who was possessed by a demon or cursed by an evil spirit be able to cast out demons themselves?
One thing that bothered me about the livestream was that Larson, in asking questions about Jaraht’s past, asked him if he had previously felt suicidal. This is obviously a delicate topic, but when Jaraht confirmed that he had, Larson pressed the issue further asking “Did you make an attempt?” I thought this was crass and still don’t understand the relevance of Jaraht’s answer (what does it matter if he had?). But it also led me to wonder on what grounds I was supposed to believe that Jaraht’s misfortune wasn’t the result of his poor life choices or unfortunate circumstances beyond his control, instead malefice perpetrated by a demon doll? Notably, nothing supernatural was being attributed to the doll—it apparently didn’t move and never attacked anyone. It didn’t even speak. For that matter, Jaraht himself didn’t exhibit any of the traditionally accepted signs of possession; he didn’t demonstrate superhuman strength, knowledge of future events, or the ability to speak in tongues.
Past trauma and mental illness are a sufficient explanation for most people’s involvement in gangs or falling into drug and alcohol abuse. Why blame a doll, let alone one that was supposed to be for protection? Furthermore, if it was true that Jaraht was someone who had a past history of mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicidal thoughts, was encouraging him in his belief that he was cursed by a demon really a good idea? Not according to a 2017 article published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, in which authors Nie and Olson concluded that “among young adults, believing in demons is one of the strongest (negative) predictors of mental health,” and “belief in demons can lead to lowered mental health (…) but low mental health does not lead to greater belief in demons” (Nie and Olson 2017).
Exorcism, as I’ve previously mentioned, as defined by Father Juan Cortés, “in general is the act of driving out or warding off demons or evil spirits from persons, places, animals, or things that are, or are believed to be, possessed or infested by these spirits or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice” (Cortés and Gatti 1975).
Although the Catholic Church has had, perhaps more than any other denomination of Christianity, an authoritative role in defining what demonic possession is and how exorcisms are carried out, demonic possession and exorcism are not exclusively Catholic phenomena. Bob Larson himself claims to have “personally performed more documented cases of exorcism than any Protestant minister in history,” a remarkable and unsubstantiated claim.
Usually, Larson’s exorcisms are dramatic affairs wherein the possessed growl, snarl, speak in funny voices, and contort themselves into wildly uncomfortable positions while Larson and his aides slap them with Bibles, jab them with crosses, or dump holy water or oil on them. By contrast, this livestream exorcism was a letdown. The most that happened with Jaraht was that he sat upright and stiff in his chair and twisted his neck and face, all while his fiancé sat next to him unfazed. Larson (brandishing one of his signature crosses) repeatedly asked for the demon’s name and where it came from, commanding “Answer me, is there any part of Norma (the aunt) there? Or if we’re just dealing with the spirits. Who is it? Whoever this is … Oshun? Jezebel? The spirit of witchcraft?”
Jaraht (or the demon) persistently refused to answer Larson’s questions, which prompted Larson to eventually stop admonishing the demon and instead advise Jaraht “Just for a moment now you gotta let them take you over. Even if it becomes just a little physical. And you become very angry and very evil, that’s what you’ve got to be.” I found Larson’s instruction not only absurd (hadn’t the demon already taken Jaraht over?) but potentially dangerous: Larson was acknowledging that the demonic entity might become physically violent toward either Jaraht or his fiancé who was in the room with him, but was assuring Jaraht this was something that had to be allowed to happen. If Jaraht (whether possessed or not) were to have hurt either himself or his fiancé, I have to wonder whether Bob Larson would take full responsibility for encouraging it to happen?
Curiously, despite calling on the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ, Larson had to resort to telling Jaraht “Anything in your head just say what it is” and asking the live chat “Come on, let’s get those emojis going.” Apparently emojis will do just as well as the power of Christ in a pinch. Despite Larson repeatedly asking the demon whether it came from the doll (according to Vincentius von Berg in his 1743 Enchiridium, it was part of the exorcist’s task to ascertain how the demoniac came to be possessed), the spirit never answered Larson’s question. If Larson had gotten his answer, it surely would’ve been hailed proof of the glory of God. In the face of his apparent failure, Larson created a scenario in which he won anyway by declaring “We may not get all the answers, we may not need all the answers because he (Jaraht) is so strong in the Lord.”
Naturally, as a skeptic, I kept wondering to myself throughout the livestream whether or not either Larson or Jaraht genuinely believed in what they were doing or whether this was all an act (I didn’t see any compelling evidence that this was a genuine case of possession). The simplest answer is the most straightforward: that both of them did in fact genuinely believe they were exorcising an evil spirit. Nevertheless, it is my opinion that Jaraht’s behavior was influenced, albeit perhaps unconsciously, by cues from Bob Larson. At one point, Jaraht seemingly began to calm down and his contortions lessened, only for Larson to command the demon to “leave him fully,” at which point Jaraht started acting up again. At another point, Jaraht’s entire body began heaving, and in response Larson explained, “What you’re seeing there is the reaction of a snake spirit, that’s why his body is undulating the way it is.” It would seem possible that the expectations, beliefs, and behaviors of both the exorcist and the demoniac influence one another.
Regardless of whether or not Jaraht is (or was) possessed by any demonic spirit, I wish him and his bride-to-be all the best. Whatever success and happiness Jaraht has found in his life, it is the result of his own actions and hard work. As I’ve said before, demonic possession may or may not exist, but mental illness, addiction, and suicidal tendencies are very real and very serious. I encourage anyone, if you are struggling with your mental health or believe you are the victim of demonic activity, to seek help from a mental health professional.
In the U.S., the national suicide prevention lifeline can be phoned 24/7 for free at 1-800-273-8255 in English or 1-888-628-9454 in Spanish. The crisis text line can be reached by texting HOME to 741-741.
In Canada, the suicide prevention service can be phoned 24/7 for free at 1-833-456-4566 in English or 1-866-277-3553 in French. The crisis text line can be reached by texting CONNECT or PARLER to 868-868.
To find mental health resources in any country, visit https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines.
References
Murphy, Joseph. 1988. Santeria: African Spirits in America. Beacon Press. Boston, Massachusetts.
Nie, F., and Olson, D. V. A. 2016. Demonic influence: The negative mental health effects of belief in demons. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 55(3), 498–515. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12287
Cortés, J., and Gatti, F. 1975. The Case Against Possessions and Exorcisms. A Historical, Biblical, and Psychological Analysis of Demons, Devils, and Demoniacs. Vantage Press, Inc. New York, New York.