A Woman Possessed
- gbatesmommyx2
- Jun 3, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 31
The virgin. A succubus.
Devil with a Blue Dress. The Devil Inside.
As a proclaimed horror lover, I’ll be honest. There is nothing that scares me more than the possession genre. Books are written, purportedly based on actual accounts of demonic possession. Movies are made. There are 150 exorcists working in the Catholic church today. As far as movies reflecting the times, we are seeing a resurgence. It happens in waves. And the tide has come in.
Most of the time, it’s about a girl.
I won’t go on with my own interpretation of why the stories typically focus on young girls as the main character, the victim. Others have and quite well I may add. I’ll list some posts below. But I will say, after watching Late Night With the Devil, the idea popped into my head. Why women?
Since this is a tender spot for me, I will say I haven’t watched a lot of possession movies, so I’ll go with what I know. I am a child born in the late sixties. I was a young girl when The Exorcist came out. Still the scariest movie I have ever seen. In my 30’s, I watched it every October, to try to get past my fears; but it never worked. Finally, I asked myself, “Why am I doing this?” So, I stopped.
I can’t even watch the trailers for movies like The Conjuring, The Nun, or the most recent The Exorcist: Believer. There is something about the imagery. It sticks with me, haunting me and disrupting my sleep. I can’t shake it. The night I saw Late Night With the Devil, I had several nightmares, crying out for help. Later, when the vision of the young woman, Lily, would pop into my head, I said to myself, “She’s just an actress. She’s just an actress.” Why does this makeup/special effect stuff get to me so bad? I blame The Exorcist. That, and being raised southern Baptist. I have to say I'm curious to discover what Mike Flanagan is going to do with Blumhouse.
Fear. Fear of losing the autonomy of one’s body. That’s a big part of it. Being out of control. Losing freedom. Do you get why I say this comes in waves? Historically, it’s been about a girl because girls, women, are thought to have to be in control of their sexuality. Historically, adolescent girls on the brink of womanhood are told to “save themselves” for marriage. And if they are possessed by lust, they must squash that part of themselves because they’re the ones who have control, intimating that young boys do not. Just look at contemporary school dress codes. Mustn’t tempt the boys. And if the devil or some demon has actually gotten inside a girl, she needs authority, religion, well, men, to then save her, body and soul.
I do like horror, but not all horror. Maybe one day I’ll get over my own fears, realizing that it’s only makeup, pretending, play acting. “She’s just an actress.” Because of the invasion and loss of control, perhaps it’s a trigger for something else. The idea of a whole woman, or that a woman needs to be rescued. There’s lots of layers psychologically. Maybe the stories in these movies will start to shift with the times. Maybe the girl will save herself.
Recommendations:
My guilty pleasure
Lately, I’ve been napping with my dog, binge watching, Law and Order: SVU. Probably not the best show to binge in order to maintain a bright, sunny mental state. However, they are well written and there’s always a twist. Informs my writer’s brain.
Batty forever,
Greta
Notes:
Devil with a Blue Dress, written by Shorty Long and William "Mickey" Stevenson, first performed by Long and released as a single in 1964. Wikipedia.
"Devil Inside" is a song by Australian rock band INXS. The song was written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence and was released as the second single (third in the UK) from the band's sixth studio album, Kick, in February 1988. Wikipedia.